Blobs of Improv Applique

At some point in the last few years I made one of these blobs. I was using it as a sample for an Improv Applique class I was teaching online. I probably made another one in another class. These were only ever intended to be samples.

Intentions and reality rarely meet in my quilting play.

Now that I have the studio and no machines at home my Morning Make is always handwork, when it comes to stitching. As I uncovered these blocks during the move they came to mind as one thing to play with as the morning grew cold and dark. It turns out they are a fun spot of joy! Now I keep making them.

This was my initial plan for layout: random. Just the four colours and laid out in no particular order. As soon as I decided to turn these blocks into a quilt this was my plan. I also wasn’t expecting to make a large quilt, only 5 x 5 blocks. As the background pieces are 10'“ squares, this would make a simple little baby quilt.

But then… but then I laid out the blocks by colour. It was actually only so I could ensure I wasn’t repeating the background fabrics in each colour way. Seeing them together was easier than thinking through that. And oh! Did that change everything!

This layout is amazing. It is so much stronger in showing off the blobs, giving them colour order. I still get randomness in the various fabrics, but the structure of columns is a much stronger design. There is no going back now.

What I do need to do, however, is add more columns. I’ve currently got 7 of each colour. If I add one more colour I now get a small lap quilt (47.5” x 66.5”). If I add 2 then I get a bigger lap quilt, especially if I make 8 blocks of each colour (57” x 76”). I could add 3 colours, stick with 7 blocks, and get a classic square (66.5” x 66.5”). I’m torn, to be honest. So, I will add 1 colour and see how I feel about it.

Who knows? I may change my mind completely again.

Braided Rug Quilt Block Alternative - Colour Focused Scraps

So I think I started a new quilt. I didn’t mean to, honest! It was just an experiment that I fell in love with!

There I was, teaching a Scraptastic class with a guild out of the Whistler Valley. We got to the part where we play with strips. At this moment I always give students a choice on what technique they want to explore. The Braided Rug blocks won out that day. While demonstrating the technique I decided to explore a square block. A change from my original. One pile of pink scraps and some sewing later, an idea was born.

It’s a been a few weeks and that idea has already evolved. I thought rows of blocks first, then placed four together like this. Okay, that works. let’s try another colour and maybe do a round robin, like the original again. I really liked that shape formed by the four together though so placed another colour that way. Yup, that’s the winner! I’ve already picked my next colour - green, for hope - and will make another set of 4. I’m thinking, only thinking, of making 9 sets of 4 blocks. We’ll see how the motivation lasts. That being said, moving to the new studio uncovered A LOT more scraps than I thought I had so there is no shortage of fabric options!

Just playing around with potential colours. This is a more random colour scheme, maybe I will edit it down, maybe not? For now, one block at a time.

Braided Rug Quilt Top

When in doubt, go bigger. Sometimes I like to say #gokingorgohome. Maybe not quite that big here. But once I had done a certain number of blocks it was clear this needed to be a bigger quilt, so I made more blocks. And a quilt that started, in part, because I needed to be able to close the bin of scrap strips is now ready for next steps. It finishes at 77” square.

The blocks themselves began life as a sample for the Scraptastic class that I teach. Every time I taught the class I made a block. Well, a few months back, I was teaching the class again and we also started playing with layouts of the blocks. That moment sparked something and I raced to make more and more blocks. It was a creative pull that spurred the action, but it was fuelled by that desire to clean up the scrap strips.

Did I use all the scrap strips? Nope! But I would say I used about 3/4 of what was in the bin. Great progress! Of course, I’ve already added back in to the bin. That’s how it goes with scraps. Unless you stop making any new quilts, you are going to make scraps. Just makes for greater opportunities in your quilts!

I know, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the scraps, or feel like using them is a futile effort. I totally get that. There are only two ways out of that:

1. Changing your mindset. Seeing scraps as a burden rather than an opportunity is very negative. I prefer to apply some girl math and think of it all as free fabric to play with!

2. Just use them. Kind of like writing a to-do list with tasks on it you’ve already completed just so you get the satisfaction of crossing them off, using scraps when they overwhelm you is the best way to quell the overwhelm.

That doesn’t mean you have to finish a whole quilt either. Just starting something with the scraps might be enough. So long as starting and not finishing a quilt right away isn’t another source of anxiety! Making a few blocks today may be just enough to calm down. And when the bin gets some more additions, you can always make more blocks. In time, enough blocks will be around to make a whole quilt. No rush. They are scraps, they will always be there!

My plan for finishing this quilt is to tie it. I’ve never done it before! I haven’t decided yet if I will use the bin of scrap yarn that seems to be hanging around or if I will purchase a single colour. I’m just going to let this marinade a bit while I play on some other things. The itch has already been scratched, the bin closes again, and the rest of my stash is calling!

Virginia - Maple Leaves for a Unexpected Fall Quilt

Virginia

60” x 60”

She is a crafty girl, taking her knitting with her everywhere. At this time of year she is buried in yarn and apple cider and cat cuddles. She wants to jump in a pile of leaves, take her girlfriend to a sunflower maze, and totally watch Gilmore Girls even though it is terribly problematic. She’s wearing layers at the first sign of a chill and refuses to take them off when the sun warms her on a walk. She may come across as basic, but she is anything but.

More than a year ago I made a single block. Just one maple leaf to show some folks in a Playdate that you can find use for the ugly fabric hiding around corners in your stash. Ugly, after all, is just like beauty - it’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Of course, of course, I put that first block dead centre in my finished quilt top. That so not me leaf fabric was paired, unexpectedly, with a ikat butterfly print from Tula Pink. From those two fabrics the rest of the quilt came to be. I shopped from my stash and had a blast putting together different combinations. The end result was a fall inspired quilt like no other.

The quilting is there merely to add texture. Each block was quilted with wavy lines crossing the block on the diagonal. Because the leaves themselves change direction across the quilt, I carried the direction of the waves with each leaf. For thread I chose a teal blue Superior at the long arm rental spot. (My preference is for 100% cotton, but this works well with their machines and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.) I wanted the quilt to be extra squishy so an allover design versus outlining each leaf was preferred.

I broke my fabric shopping fast (I have sooooo much fabric) to pick up a binding choice from the clearance section at My Sewing Room. As I was taking the quilt off the long arm I realized that a rosy binding was going to be the perfect choice. Now, I know my stash, there is not a single rose coloured fabric in any value in there. I am a hot pink girl! Keeping with the theme of the quilt as a whole - starting with ugly fabric - I chose a print very much out of character for me. Turns out it was perfect. It binds the quilt so well and is a great complement to the colour scheme.

In the end, this quilt is another unconventional fall quilt. They don’t all have to be reds and oranges folks! And as I was stitching the binding I also realized that it goes perfectly in our living room with its chartreuse sofa on one side and the blue/brown one on the other. I guess it was just all meant to be!