I am getting a little sick of this top. Many of the scraps I have available are the same size and the same fabric, which makes for boring piecing. I think it looks nice, but I will be glad when it is done.
Tag: Improv
Community Quilt Bonanza
Cheryl agreed to help me with a few projects, so the other day I received a large-ish box from her. At first I didn’t realize it was from Cheryl as it seems like boxes are arriving at our house 3 times a day. The YM is sending stuff here, DH and I plus gifts from out of town relatives are also being sent here. It’s crazy.
Anyway.
In addition to stuff from the project on which we are working, were three community quilts.
She asked me to bring them to the meeting in January. I am happy to do so, especially since that means I will have something to show! HA!
Clearly #2 and #3 are related. Also, #1 and #2 are in the same format as the Color Group Donation Quilt I worked a few years ago. I can’t say whether she was inspired by (or even remembered or saw) that quilt. It isn’t as thought that layout is novel in Modern Quiltmaking circles.
So, these will be the first three quilt tops for the 2020 BAM Community Quilt Project. YAY!!
White Improv Donation Quilt Progress
I have been making some progress on the White Improv piece. I am not working as fast as I would like.
It is looking good, I think, different than the others, but interesting in its own way.
The pieces I have in my scrap drawer are a trial, however. There are many, many pieces of great fabric in stupid lengths. They seem to always be wrong. I am making it work, though.
White Improv Progresses
Now that I finished the White Strip Donation Top, I can work on the White Improv Donation Top in earnest.
I spent time on it this past weekend and the slabs are getting bigger.Except for the middle, the piece is still very much in process. The strips I have are very uniform in size and I feel like the other pieces are all triangles, so this isn’t an easy piece to put together.
There is a large-ish slab in the bottom of the drawer and I don’t know if I will make a journal cover or if I will use it in this piece.
White Donation Strip Quilt Progresses
It is a slow process, but I am making progress. I have all the sashing cut and placed. I have also started to sew the sashing to the blocks.
It is hard to see because of the color, but I think you can make out the blocks.
White Improv Donation Quilt
No, I am not finished with the White Improv Strip Donation quilt, but I needed some leaders and enders, so I started sewing bits of white fabrics together to start the improv version in my series.
Some of the bits were not used for the strip blocks and some were long enough to be added as the shard grew.
Orange Improv Donation Top Finished
Yes, I sewed the last piece (bottom row??) to the top and it is done. I need to make a back, but I haven’t done it yet. The top is 41 in x 43 in, slightly smaller than the others, but in the range.
The funny thing is that I have, perhaps, 5 orange scraps left and they are super tiny shards. I might as well just toss them out.
Even More Orange Improv
When I do a lot of work on Flying Around, a lot of work gets done on donation quilts or other projects. You already know that this Orange Improv quilt is currently on my small design wall as my leaders and enders project. I made a lot of progress over the weekend.
The size is about 34″x34″ right now. I like to make these quilts about 45×45, but I am really running out of orange scraps. I have 3 large, marginally orange at best, scraps left in my scrap drawer and a handful of scraps that SIL #2 gave me on Craft Night.
More Orange Improv
I worked hard during the past week to make this piece large enough to call it done. I am scraping the bottom of my orange drawer to have enough! I am still liking the way it looks.
Orange Improv Donation Top Progresses
I mentioned the Orange Improv donation top yesterday and realized it had been awhile since I showed it. I just finished adding a major piece, so it was time to post it again.
It is progressing. The orange scraps in my drawer are significantly fewer than before. I have some large-ish pieces and am wondering if I should add them as is or cut them up. I like the look of the piece now, which is mainly small pieces.
More Orange Improv
Over the weekend, I worked on Flying Around and on the Orange Improv donation top. I am pleased with how the Orange Improv top is looking.
I am trying not to insert big strips in as I didnt’ like the effect with the Purple Improv Donation top. I am inserting bits of strips in. I don’t think the ones I have added take the focus away from any other part.
Orange Strip Donation Top Finished
I thought I would finish this top before the meeting, but I didn’t. the last few weeks have been harrowing. Nothing bad. Just a lot. That means I haven’t taken much time to sew. Some, but not as much as I would like.
I did work on Sunday. I worked on Flying Around a little, fixed the sleeve for FOTY 2017, finished this top, worked on the Orange Improv Donation Top and started on the back for this piece. Not bad, but not as much as I wanted and not a lot to show here.
Still, I am pleased with this piece. I like the blue and hope it doesn’t overshadow the orange too much. Ever since working on the Wonky 9 Patch, I have been unconsciously looking for an excuse to use this color combination again. I am really glad Friend Julie and AQ reader Sherri mentioned it.
It’s All About Orange Right Now
Because you have seen the Orange Strip Donation Top and the Orange Improv Donation Top in progress, you know that it is all about orange around my house right now.
As I rummaged through my orange scrap bin, I found a shard that was really great. It was made from some of the same fabric as my Fresh Fruit quilt. I decided that it would make a perfect journal cover for my AQ business notebook.
Since I had a big shard already, it didn’t take long to make as I use a really basic version of the tutorial. I used interfacing and no flannel for the inside, so it came out very slim. I am trying different things to find the best way to make the edges of the journal cover easy to sew through. Without anything (like batting) in between, the maker is already sewing through at least 8 layers and that doesn’t even take the seams from the piecing that might hit the edge. I don’t know about your machine, but that is a lot of layers through which to sew.
I still haven’t quite figured out how to center exactly what I want on the front. I did a pretty good job on this one, but would have preferred to have more of the front inside cover on the front.
Orange Improv Donation Top Start
While I was vacillating about the sashing color, size and fabric for the Orange Strip Donation Top, I still needed some leaders and enders. I started in on the Orange Improv Donation Top.
This part of the project is also coming out quite well. I am starting to think that I pick my oranges carefully and they go together well.
I really like the orange dot at the bottom of the left hand photo. However, it really stands out in real life. I might have to use smaller bits of it, so it doesn’t dominate.
The top piece (in this post) is about 8 in x 10 in right now. I have some sewing to do to get it to a larger size.
The smaller piece will be added on to the larger piece when it gets to the right length or width to fit. I am at the point now where I make smaller pieces fit together to attach to the larger ones.
Purple Improv Donation Quilt
Tim and I had lunch, then worked together on the BAM website this past week. After we were done, we looked at his projects and considered quilts.
One thing he did since the last time I saw him was quilt the purple improv donation top. Now it is a donation quilt!
His skills are improving tremendously and I think this quilt looks really good. I love the designs he chose.
This will be part of the exhibit we are planning, so we won’t give it in just yet. We need someone to bind it and Tim was going to see if Mary could do it.