Wednesday, June 5, 2019

A Finish and More Progress on the Applique Baskets

Playing With Scale is totally completed now! It was one of those Adhoc. Improv. challenges that really stretched the brain waves. In a perfectly relaxed sort of way of course....
Playing With Scale a finished quilt!
It's probably not something you see all the time out there on the Net, these colors and prints combined with the free-cut strips, but I find it ridiculously charming all the same. People who stick with solid colors just don't know what they're missing!
So glad I added the flower into the mix
The {oh-so-obvious} different widths of the free-cut strips are especially appealing to me. Must be part of the old fashioned, utility quilt look that consistently seems to melt my heart.
Interesting to have a graphic look with these subdued fabrics.
I had determined that this one was going to be machine quilted and then at the last second, dumped it into the hoop instead. There was this very real fear of massive puckering from those feed dogs pushing and pressing the off grain strips.
Loving the hand quilting texture
I am so, so glad as the hand quilting bumps it up a notch in my opinion. Plus, this one was a breeze to hand quilt which means it's full of all kinds of feel good vibes.
A snugly looking quilt!
The color palette is not one that I'm instantly drawn to or even have to return to again. Nevertheless, it filled the need of helping to empty out the stash totes of some lingering, but very good fabrics.You know how it goes when fabrics aren't being used up fast enough and before you can even blink, there are newer, shinier fabrics flirting with you instead.
So many different shades of green...
I wondered about the amount of hand quilting. Is it enough? Was I cheating the quilt? And then when the quilt was flipped over and I could see all the stitching on the back, it was totally fine. Big sigh. I want the backs to look 'full', not have large pockets of un-stitched areas.
Always interesting to see the back...
It was tough to get really good pictures of this one. The pale pink fabrics sewn next to the black and very dark brown fabrics wanted to wash out and tended to look white in all the pics, no matter which filter I tried. They aren't. Every single fabric in those areas is a very, very pale pink. The lightest colors have been intriguing me lately and it's always such an interesting challenge to try and make the most of their subtlety. Always so much to learn!
When the centerpiece isn't centered at all...
The first thing I did when finally getting back in the quilt room was to make a new stack of fabric. The yellow/gold stash tote has been overflowing for much too long and so I started there. Had myself an amazingly relaxing evening picking and choosing fabrics that tickled my fancy. Big surprise on the colors that ended up being picked to be added in! Somehow I always end up with this particular blend of colors though I find these quilts hard to give away. Not everyone enjoys a predominantly yellow quilt. Why? I need answers to this important questions! lol
A new stack of goodness
Instead of doing much hand quilting this week, I've been working on the applique for these sweet little baskets. They are approximately 7 1/2" inches but will be a 12 1/2" block when the cheddar hsts are added onto them.
Sweet Tart Baskets all lined up...
As you can see, all the baskets are slightly different as far as placement. I don't think it's very obvious and I wouldn't care anyway. The 'eyeball' placement is what I do best and an attempt at anything else just drives me insane. Completely ruins the enjoyment of the quilting process and so then I just quit sewing, which of course interferes with my ability to get anything done!
Hope this works the way I want it too!
The middle fabric is super sweet, but looking a little bit spotty from a distance. Oh well. Most quilts around here are used, not hung up on a wall to be admired. All 126 hst units have been trimmed up now and so hopefully there will be time to get the basket blocks all sewn up and ready to go. It's always a dilemma, isn't it? Catch up on the blog or spend time in the quilting room....

23 comments:

  1. nothing at all ridiculous about it...just plain charming...colors work well....makes me think of 1890s paris for some reason...

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  2. LOVE this line: "The first thing I did when finally getting back in the quilt room was to make a new stack of fabric." So matter-of-fact, so perfect. We in Blogland are so lucky that you have this type of constantly-creating attitude!

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  3. Purty, purty!! (says the hillbilly in me...) I love that color combination, and I know just what you mean about not machine quilting...I hate the wrinkles I inevitably get!

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  4. love that quilt!! I keep telling myself I need to do one by machine yet they keep all ending up on the frame

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  5. love your finished quilt ~ great colours & really liking the feel the free-cut strips give the quilt.

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  6. I love the quilt. Hand quilting and free cutting has the old-fashioned charm! Really, really handmade! I use the "eyeball" technique a lot!

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  7. Just another beauty finished!! I like the improv look you achieved...and that one off-center flower is perfect
    nice work hugs, Julierose

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  8. Great quilt, glad you hand quilted it. Love the colors, and the flower is so special. It's the coziest looking quilt. Love that immediately you pulled fabrics for the next thing;).

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  9. I love your finished quilt! You (or the quilt) were absolutely right -- had to have the hand quilting to finish it right!! Love the flower. Can't wait to see what you make with your new fabric pull; And the baskets are delightful -- thanks for sharing!

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  10. I for one happen to love quilts with a lot of yellow in them - but I've seen several others locally who do not like that look. Their loss as far as I'm concerned. Your finish is spectacular - love it for every single reason (and I'm glad you hand quilted it). And those baskets . . . happy sigh.

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  11. Congrats on the super sweet adhoc finish!!
    Love your newest stack of fabric colors!!

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  12. Your playing with scale quilt is wonderful! I can see why you love it. I really like the saw tooth border around the basket. Looking forward to seeing where you go with it.

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  13. Congrats on the new finish... love the totally delicious hand quilting texture!
    I love the idea of fabrics flirting with me! I'm going to write a blog post on that! LOL

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  14. There is a strong graphic quality about this quilt that I absolutely love. Kind of a Gees Bend - Gwen Marston - and totally Audrey. The hand quilted texture is so lovely and the softness provides a sweet contrast to the lines of free cut black. Good to know I'm not the only one who gathers up groupings of fabrics for those future quilts, though I've often gone back to my color bins looking for a fabric I know should be in there, only to find it a couple years later in the 'future quilt' stack. I love yellows, orange and gold in quilts, don't know why more quilters don't feel similarly.

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  15. Your strip quilt is sew cute and looks so cozy! I love the variety of fabrics and the applique is a wonderful addition.

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  16. Oh do I love the texture in this quilt! I am so happy that you went with the hand quilting, it really adds to the overall happiness of the quilt. As for the Sweet Tart baskets - yum! And, since my favorite color is yellow, I am looking forward to seeing what you do with that pile!

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  17. Lovely finish! It definitely has that old-time utility vibe and I like that your colours choices are just a tiny bit unpredictable but then they all look like they were always meant to be together. As for yellow, I used not to love it, but now I'm drawn to it more and more. It does seem to be one that divides the crowd though.

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  18. You must tire of me saying the same thing over and over, but this is another beauty! Love your style Audrey and wish I had more of that in me.

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  19. Wonderful, wonderful quilt Audrey!! Love your little single flower looks so at home amongst the changing scale blocks. Super finish!

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  20. Love the charm and uniqueness of your pink and sage green quilt!

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  21. A wonderful quilt! I love all the colours and your hand quilting makes it another special beauty. And, the off centre flower is delightful! Looking forward to seeing more of the baskets & yellow.

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  22. Your Playing With Scale quilt is a most beautiful finish. I love all those colours playing nicely together and the medallion off centre is inspired. Gorgeous quilting, too. I must say your baskets are looking fabulous.

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  23. I have been very intrigued by your use of old fabrics for this quilt. They mix so well. And the black looks great. When Freddy Moran taught a class I realized she uses clear colors with black and white. And I don't do that often but black adds such depth. You mixed those delicious, mushy colors and soft pastels with black to perfection.
    Your new baskets are sweet; adding the cheddar triangles elevates them to superb. Good job, Audrey.

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