Another Play With Improv.

I'm sure you've heard it before, but I've got to say it again. I'm simply terrible at keeping up with BOM's, Linky Party's and QAL's. Please don't take offense if you have one I keep skipping. And what beautiful irony that I have my own monthly linky party going on around here at the first of every month! Oh the laughter that has caused me a time or two, as I'm sure you can guess.

The Ugly Quilt

The one thing {other than my daily circles} that I determined to make sure and keep up with was Ann and Kaja's AHIQ series. No matter what. So yesterday and today found me sewing up a storm. I wanted to finish up with my improv. string borders on the Ugly quilt especially. 

When sewing the strings together, I just matched up two longs sides and sewed, no extra cutting for curves etc. Then, when I had about six brown and pink strings sewn together, I added in a red string. That string was laid face to face with a brown or pink string set and then cut {freehand} to the curve. Next, I added another brown/pink string set, cutting to the curve to match up to that previous red string, and on and on I went. It seemed to help 'straighten' the border and also add some interesting wonkiness. This all feels very new and 'modern', but really, this is a very old style/design in quilting. Making the border in these comfy colors really emphasizes the vintage make-do look for me. I can totally see this quilt hanging out on my couch some day in the future!

No fancy corners for this quilt!

So then I jumped to these crumb/improv. blocks from the scrap bin. A couple weeks ago I had pieced the blocks together in sets of four with a light colored striped fabric. There was a plan of sorts. I really liked the 'glow' that was slowly emerging, but then somehow I ruined it by adding in too much brown. That's a tendency I have when it comes to brown, using too much, but I continued on with what was pre-determined. Honestly, I think my brain was on auto-pilot or something because I wasn't really thinking about anything but getting it done.

Improv. Squares with first short sashing strips

The plan was to add long brown sashing with the shorter brown strips {picture below}, but this just immediately set my nerves jangling. I mean the very second I put them on the wall! Waaay too contemporary of a look for me. I couldn't get the long strips off the wall fast enough. And then I was stalled. Duh.... Time to wake up and pay attention! With the idea of sashing still in my brain, I considered using a lighter colored fabric in place of the brown {looking at the picture above sort of gives the illusion of that}.

Adding the long sashing strips

Then I stepped back from the wall and gave it all a very long look. Hmm....  What if? And so yes, I squished all the rows together and gave that a good look. And I'm liking this very well indeed. Not exactly what I was expecting out of these blocks, but still... It's sort of interesting in a scrap bag kinda way.

And then taking them away

There are still three more rows to add onto this quilt, and it's only about 42" wide--much too small to call it quits. For now I'm leaving it on the wall and looking at it every time I walk through. It's not my normal style of quilting and yet I'm absurdly pleased with it now that all the rows are cozied up together. 

I'd like to think I'm opening up to the idea of what Improv. might be. A What If sort of conversation that is really just an extension of what I've been trying to do for the last couple years. And I'm not done with strings either. I had a great idea pop into my head just the other night. Maybe next month I can actually find the time to explore where my brain is going with those.... Time to link up with Kaja and Ann's January AHIQ!

Lots of Little Baskets and Some Crumb Block Play

The fire quilt has been something I've decided to push to the front of the line as far as applique priority, but it will not be the only thing I'm working on. Who can possibly do all applique, all of the time? Okay, definitely not me, but I did finally come to the realization that even if I can't be doing the actual stitching, there is some prep work that could probably be taken care of now too.

Little baskets in progress...

So I started working on prepping little baskets, of which I want plenty for this quilt {36, give or take a few}. I had a vague idea of some Blackbird Design 'Trick or Treat' style baskets. And then I thought, wowsers, I will be stitching FORever and a day if I do all the wording I want, lots of baskets and all the other applique stuff I'm thinking about. Seriously? Am I insane?

Much easier to cut the slits and then turn inside out than to cut
down to 1/4" and then try to turn it inside out...

And just before I nodded off to sleep the other night, an idea popped into my head that maybe, just maybe, I could simplify things for later with that as well. There are ways to do things and then, well, there are other ways. I remembered a method I tried years ago where you sew the (traced) applique shape face to face with some thin backing fabric {I used a interfacing material of some sort the time before}, sew along the marking, turn inside out, cut the back out, iron and then, wallah--stitching the finished side down to the quilt top should be a breeze at that point. Not great for precision work, but I'm easy. This is a story quilt after all!

Anyway, I mulled it over and came up with a little basket that has softly rounded corners. I had to make a cut-out for the inside of the basket handles, but other than that, all I will have to do is make sure the edges of the baskets are securely attached. No worrying about fraying edges and lots of time spent pinning etc. Yes, a bit of time spent now, but so much faster later on when I will be more pushed for time if I want to meet the July deadline. And all the backing fabric was leftover bits and pieces that should blend well with my quilt top fabric--very key for making it go faster with the stitching.

Little baskets ready for applique..

We shall see if it truly saves time later on, but for now, I'm trying very hard not to burn out on the lettering part of the quilt. Which means I do occasionally have to do something different. Like working on these crumb blocks?

Crumb Block Play

I completed enough {28 blocks} to make one more outside row and then put them on the wall just to see how it was coming along. Hmmm... I think it's worth sewing together and then maybe even taking time out to play on yet another day. There really something to be said for mindless sewing, especially when it's coming straight out of the scrap bin....

New Log Cabin Blocks

I've slowly cut strips from the stack of low volume prints until I had enough to do something with. It took me awhile to get in the mood to start sewing though, mostly because the charm of these particular fabrics is very, very subtle. Working on the crumb blocks helped a lot, allowing me to see wonderful texture from combining unexpected prints together into a whole. We really shouldn't underestimate the ripple effects simply caused from playing!

My fabric strips

After thinking through different ideas about how to use these fabrics together, I decided on making log cabin blocks. I used to get stuck on the idea that difficult or complicated blocks made for better quilts, but more and more, I'm trying for simplicity {whatever that may be} in order to let the fabric, prints and/or color combination speak 'louder'.

 I cut the low volume strips into random widths from 3/4" to about 3", usually with a mix of several widths per fabric. I wanted the different strips widths so that I could more easily create a 'free' looking block, but I did use a ruler {and the straight of the grain} so I didn't have to worry about weird bias stretching. The fabrics may be quiet and subtle, but they can still have character. Mixing different widths seems like a super easy way to achieve this.

Starting the log cabin blocks

Starting with a set of five, {working in a chain piecing manner}, I made the first log cabin blocks. I sewed the lengths together, ironed them open and then trimmed at the end. Rinse and repeat around the center square. They don't look like much in the picture, but let me tell you, I am very excited to see them come together! The part between envisioning a quilt in my head and then trying to make it happen is often very difficult. Those wispy ideas seem very mercurial and uncertain when in reality, I need to remember that those ideas are just the spark. It's the place where I get started is all. And how many years did it take me to figure that out?*wink

The first 5 blocks on the wall....

Onto the next set of log cabin blocks! I will keep adding strips of fabric until they are approximately 9 1/2" square. Right now I am tentatively planning on making at least 32 blocks. Depending on how I end up setting them though, the number might increase to 40 or more. I like to keep my options open and um... free wheeling? This quilt is much more serious to me than the crumb blocks, but really, it's just a different kind of play.

Starting a new set

And why not? That's the best part about quilting for me, never quite knowing where I'll end up. Every now and then I actually get a result that feels rather brilliant and then all the frustration and agony of making the next decision feels totally worthwhile. When I get bogged down with indecision... well, then I just go play with something like the crumb blocks! Something that feels very no-pressure to me because honestly, I don't much care about the end result. Of course I'll be thrilled if it turns out to be really cool, but if not? What have I really lost? A bit of time and a handful of scraps from the scrap bin!

Crumb Blocks play

And yes, I did end up sewing the little strip of orangey-yellow into the crumb blocks after all. I really like the energy it adds to the quilt, that little unexpected bit of zest. Hmm... I think it's time to leave this on the wall and let it simmer for awhile. There are other, more important, projects beckoning right now!

Crumb Block Play

I didn't get much quilting done over the weekend. Too much going on and besides, my neck has been stiff for days. Makes it hard to do any of my hand quilting or hand work projects. It's finally starting to feel almost normal today which makes me very happy!

Playing with crumbs...

The little bit I did was just pure playtime. Someone told me crumb blocks are addictive and you know, they might be right... I've been sewing similar colored bits of fabric together until I can trim to a 4" block.

Auditioning the next round..

As you can see, I started with four red blocks, added two blue ones and then kept going around the red center with some mixed black/brown blocks-kind of a log cabin type thing? I'm just winging it really, until I get bored with what's going on!

Maybe an extra bit of color?

Anyway, here it is. Crumb block playtime. Good distraction from a lot of things that needed to be accomplished, including the monster pile of Christmas cards I was trying to get addressed and ready to send out.*wink

It's Scraptastic Tuesday Again!

First of all, feel free to check out my giveaway over here. It's open through Friday! I finally made it through all 16 of my paper pieced scrappy tulips. I really, really like them, but honestly, foundation piecing just annoys me.

A stack of scrappy tulips. Keeping it real so you can see the puckers too!

Especially when I have to remove the papers. That's when I do lots of mumbling under my breath about someone thinking up yet another brilliant idea. Not that phone book paper doesn't come off relatively easily--nice trick that. I just hate having to take an extra step before I can sew!

Taking the papers off....

Once the papers were off, then I carefully sewed them together. It's a slight curve, so nothing too traumatic, but because of the scrappy piecing, I did end up getting a very small pucker occasionally. I used a seam ripper on the worst of them, but not all. It is a project from the scrap bin after all! Looking at them up on the wall made me want to do a happy dance. What is it with me and flowers, especially ones made from my scrap bin? Be still my heart! All the paper piecing angst is gone. Poof! Like it never even happened. lol

Looking at them on the wall!

I wasn't sure if I would set them in the original layout of a 4-flower block, but after laying them on this particular piece of fabric? Oh yeah! Ideas are already zinging around inside my head.

And then on a potential backing fabric...

And then, because I desperately need to work on reducing the scrap bin monster in the corner of my quilt room, these crumb blocks came about. I just grabbed bits of similar colored fabrics and sewed, ironed, trimmed, sewed, ironed, trimmed etc. until they were 4" square.

The first crumb blocks

It's a start to something. No doubt we'll be having a chat about that when I figure out what exactly! In the meantime, I am linking up to Scraptastic Tuesday. Can't believe I missed it last month!