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.

Much Needed Play with Ravel by e bond

Before there was such a thing as an influencer we had celebrity endorsements. When real people started to become more popular through blogs we simply called them bloggers. As a quilt blogger it was quite common to receive or at least be offered fabric. The catch being, of course, that you would make something to promote the fabric. Ideally, you would do that to coincide with either fabric purchasing for stores or the launch itself in stores.

Many times I was offered fabric. The first few times you get super excited and jump at the chance. Free fabric and exposure?! Sign me up. Then we realized that we were giving away free labour and not really getting paid by the fabric companies to use us as promotion. Not really a fair deal for the time invested. On top of that I was positively AWFUL at actually making something with all the shared fabric in a reasonable time frame. I was, frankly, a crappy promotional partner. So working with me to promote a fabric line was a bad deal for both parties.

On top of all that, I always found it very difficult to work with a single fabric collection. It felt stifling, creatively, and was always a challenge because of one common issue with fabric collections: the majority of the fabrics are the same value. This means it is hard to get contrast in your designs. As a result, many designs made with a single fabric collection, without the addition of other fabrics or neutrals, can fall flat.

So, no matter how much I’ve loved a collection, I rarely buy a single line of fabric. Instead, I pick favourites or the most interesting or simply what I need at the time.

I could not resist, however, when I saw e bond’s Ravel collection. I love everything about it! The colour, the text, the graphic nature, the graffiti... and while I've never met e, her online presence is inspiring and real. I've had it for a couple of months and just started playing with it. Not only did I buy the whole collection, I'm using it all together. Who am I?

Yes, a good chunk of the fabric falls in the same value family, but there are enough contrasts with the lights and the darks as well as the texture of the prints that things seem to be working so far. I couldn’t resist though, I did add in a few solids for fun and respite.

I have no real plan for the quilt. I’m just playing. Life has been quite heavy of late and none of my current projects were giving me the joy I needed from my quilting. I’d sat with the fabrics and obsessed over coming up with something just right. That was taking all fun out of it so I decided to just grab some fabric and cut. I defaulted to my comfort of improv curves, primarily, but other things come up here and there and I let them happen.

Normally, when I make an improv quilt that is block based, I make all the blocks and then figure out a layout. This time around I am enjoying adding and subtracting and playing with composition as I go. Not so much planning each block as an individual unit, but seeing how a few blocks might talk to each other. A conversation. As it grows I am really embracing the chaos it brings. It’s a wild thing. In a way, it reminds me of a spot under a bridge with layers of graffiti marking the lives of people who’ve been there.

Working Title for This Quilt: Happy Scraps

Barbie Pink became a trend right when I needed it. Hot pink is always a dopamine hit for me. I will seek out the colour on a down day, fixate on things in this delicious hue until I feel myself smile.

This particular quilt started as a mess on the flower. More than a decade ago my son was playing at my feet as I wrote. He pulled down the coloured scrap bins and had a grand time throwing fabric around. He was happy and I was sewing so it was a win win situation. When it was all over I had a mess of pink, orange, yellow, and a grey scraps all over the floor. Clean up got a lot more fun when I simply started sewing. That’s right, I grabbed two pieces from the floor, sewed them together, and repeat until all the pieces were picked up. A much more enjoyable way of cleaning up! A little while later I had a small quilt top.

Then it sat. And sat.

Last year, as I finally felt healthy after a years long depression, I embraced all the pink in the world. This quilt, then, came to mind. The top I made more than a decade ago was a small, awkward size. I generally don’t worry too much about size, but I wanted this joyous one to be big enough to snuggle with myself. Luckily, I never have a shortage of scraps. I simply sewed pieces together, making slabs to ‘border’ the original top. I assembled them log cabin style around the original in the hopes that it would blend more.

It gave me such joy to finish piecing her, to play with this colourful fabric. There are some treasures in here, some long time and recent favourites playing together. I will never not smile looking at this quilt top.

Tula - Using a Single Fabric to Make a Quilt

Tula

78” x 78”

Years back I worked with Lucky Spool, the quilt book publisher, on some challenges. Called Mighty Lucky, a group of designers came together for some fun challenges for participants. This particular year my challenge was to play with a single fabric. (The year was 2016!)

I finished this quilt top in 2018 and then it sat. It sat for no great reason, just hung out in the quilt top pile until motivation hit. Motivation came in the form of wanting to complete a long overdue wedding present and this top seemed right for the couple.

In the end, I quilted it with a unique response to each round of the quilt top. Using a deep rose pink from Aurifil to match the tiny pink strip in the Tula Pink fabric. Honestly, you don’t really see the quilting much. It doesn’t add much to the overall design, but it does help define each round a little. And, of course, it makes the quilt cozy!

While making the quilt I returned to the store on 4 separate occasions to buy more fabric. I would have been better off buying a bolt! Somehow, I had the foresight to buy an extra meter for binding. Considering how long ago I made the quilt that is some serious foresight! I’d always had it in my mind to make a bias binding for this. As I was stitching it down, however, I realized that a plain stripe would have complemented the last round of the quilt a bit better. The bias doesn’t look bad, not at all, just that the plain stripe might have been a better choice. Oh well!

If I had bought the bolt I might have had enough fabric to use it on the back too. Alas, I had to make do with another Tula Pink fabric, this time in pink. It’s quite a nice contrast to the stripe, but still coordinates in colour. Geez, have I ever been this matchy matchy?

Turns out you can still access the 2016 Mighty Lucky Challenges as a PDF. Check it out!