The first thing that I needed to do was make the strip sets for the background blocks…
I only had 3 fat-quarters in the needed greens so I knew that I was going to have to be VERY precise in my cutting and planning!
I trimmed a minimal amount to even up the edges…
….and cut a set of strips out of each fabric. They varied in width from 1-inch to 2-1/2- inches.
I matched the fabrics into duets….
….and sewed them together, being REALLY sure of my 1/4-inch seam allowance…..
I even chose to piece with a Bottom Line thread which is 60 weight thread. I have never used this before but it seems to be working well.
OKAY….the first set of strips are sewn…..
Am I happy with them?
Not so much!!!
Come back on Saturday to see the next moves!
In this blog, I post DAILY stories about creativity, techniques, tools of the trade, and lots more about the wonderful art of quilting. If you are enjoying these posts, please subscribe to be notified of each new blog as it becomes available.
On Tuesday I posted about using Deb Tucker’s ruler (Split-Rects) to make a series of Split Rectangle blocks…..
Now that I had a bunch made, it was time to figure out what I could do with them!!
I spent time looking at quilts online and found LOTS of ideas, but nothing that appealed to me.
I did play some with stars…..
And some other ideas…..
…but didn’t come up with anything that I was really excited about.
I also played with random placement…..
…but that was just “MEH!!”
So, I decided to lay out all of the squares, separating them between the two layouts…..
HMMMM….. I kind of like the straight diagonal lines that appear.
I wanted it to be very random, so I took all of the blocks, mixed them up, and put them in a pile…..
I stood at the design wall and picked up one at a time (without peeking) and placed it on the wall. This was my “random” design…..
I kind of like that!!!
This quilt needed to be 24-inches or less, and I was afraid that it would be pretty boring if the ENTIRE quilt was made of these triangles. So, I got rid of two columns and one row of blocks…..
….giving me room to add two borders!!
Piecing the blocks was super easy and I was pleased with how the points came together.
I added a scrappy border and called the top finished…..
Since I had some blocks left over, I used them and pieced the quilt back too…..
Come back tomorrow for the quilting!!!
In this blog, I post DAILY stories about creativity, techniques, tools of the trade, and lots more about the wonderful art of quilting. If you are enjoying these posts, please subscribe to be notified of each new blog as it becomes available.
A few days ago I was scrolling thru some YouTube videos and came upon this one from Deb Tucker. She goes even further in the quest for straight seams…..
I really like Deb Tucker of Studio 180 Designs. She has some fantastic rulers and techniques!! You might check out her website for more!
In this blog, I post DAILY stories about creativity, techniques, tools of the trade, and lots more about the wonderful art of quilting. If you are enjoying these posts, please subscribe to be notified of each new blog as it becomes available.
Today, let’s cut the strata into strips and start piecing!!!
When they cut strips, some people sew the strata into a tube, but I decided instead to simply fold it a couple of times and cut the strips that way…..
I had to think about this a bit since most Bargello quilts wrap around from the top to the bottom and I didn’t want any black at the top or yellow at the bottom.
So, I cut each strip and laid it out as I went. That way I could judge how many steps I could go and still be able to trim a straight edge along the top and bottom.
That sentence probably didn’t make a lot of sense, so let me show you instead…..
I could see that I had a lot of black fabrics to play with. I had plenty of room to trim and still have plenty of black showing.
The same was NOT true of the yellow. In my current configuration, I was going to lose most of the yellow floral and THAT was my favorite part of the quilt!!
So, I went back in and started adding another yellow strip to the top of each of the bargello strips…..
Yes, it was painful and YES, it would have been better if I had made this discovery BEFORE I finished the strata…..
But, there you have it.
I finished cutting everything and got all of the piecing done. Now I realized that it needed something else at the top and what would be better than FLOWERS?
I drew a few out just to see if I liked them……
And then looked for flower patterns to use…..
Next, I had so much fun finding my favorite colors and making nine flowers to add to the top…..
As a final touch, I turned two of the strips upside down and added them to the sides to “border the quilt…..
I truly enjoyed this design process and am happy with the top.
Come back on Sunday and we will get it quilted!!
In this blog, I post DAILY stories about creativity, techniques, tools of the trade, and lots more about the wonderful art of quilting. If you are enjoying these posts, please subscribe to be notified of each new blog as it becomes available.
The pieced competition at the International Quilt Festival has always been one of my favorites. I am thoroughly amazed at the creativity and accuracy that these quilts exhibit!
Audrey Esarey got my viewing off to a good start with her Mobius quilt….
“Mobius Radial No. 2
This is one of those quilts that will stay in my mind for a long time!!
This quilt from Beth Nufer and Clem Buzick was made with Dupioni silk…..
“Sphere”
Don’t you think that would be REALLY hard to piece and applique??
The Blue-Ribbon went to Amy Pabst for this beauty…..
“Heat Lightning”
This is another example of her “Micro-piecing” technique that I talked about a few days back. Check out this post for more examples of her technique.
I especially like the border treatment…..
This beauty from Setsuko Oki was hand pieced and quilted!!
“Symphony of Light and Breeze”
I always tip my hat to handwork artists. It is something that I do not have the patience for!!
This quilt from Sarah Ann Smith is simple but so effective…..
“Phlamingo, Some Assembly Required”
It shows a great usage of the “Crossed Canoes” block and I love the small amount of “Big Stitch” quilting that she added….
Second place was awarded to Ruth Ohol for this ACCURATE quilt….
“Memories From Hotel Fahey”
I think that I would have gone crazy trying to piece that border!!
In her artist statement, Paula Doyle said that she was trying to create a quilt with a fresh and contemporary feeling. I would say that she accomplished that…..
“Yukata Bee Quilting”
Nancy Goodman scored a Third-place ribbon for this fun quilt….
“Alhambra at Sunset”
My mind doesn’t do well with Improv piecing, but Nancy’s sure does!!
Being a SUPER FAN of Sunflowers, this quilt from Luz Seidensticker definitely caught my eye…..
“The Troubadour”
Linda and I both loved the dimension that she presented with these upturned flowers….
It is so much more effective than just having all of the flowers facing forward!!
The name of this quilt is “The Troubadour” and after I read that I had to go back and figure out why. The answer came in two paper-pieced birds….
I hope that you are enjoying these impromptu quilt shows!! Come back tomorrow for a showing of various miscellaneous quilts that caught my fancy!!!
