Gremlins

80” x 80”

Named because scraps, like gremlins, multiple at night.

If I’d started this project thinking I was going to make 400 4 1/2” log cabin blocks I never would have started. Thankfully, I started with a bit of play; just seeing if I could use a pile of skinny scraps in an easy and useful way. One block, then another, and another. Indeed, the pile came from the trimmings from yet another scrap quilt. The scraps truly never end!

As I was binding the quilt I kept examining the blocks, looking for memories. You know what I mean - oh, this fabric is from that quilt, and this from that one! The truth is, though, so many of the fabrics I use find their way into multiple quilts. That is that whole scrappy look I seem to be known for. Needless to say, I couldn’t find a single block where I could identify each previous use of all the fabrics. Even the binding was leftover from a previous project. (Only it that case it was the background material, not the binding.)

My plan was to get my friend Phil to baste the quilt for me. I wasn’t keen on wrangling the pins through all those little pieces. I changed my mind on her front steps though. She does lovely panto work and I really just wanted this quilt done. A dense panto called Time Warp done in pink thread provided amazing texture and stability to all these pieces without overwhelming the value work of the block placement.

Months ago I grabbed yardage of this amazing Allison Glass print for the back. I didn’t have quite enough to match the print when piecing the back but it is so busy that only I (and now you) will know. Such a perfect compliment to the scrap goodness of the front.

To end, I want to share a little unknown fact about scrap quilts: they are heavy. Because you are using smaller bits of fabric than most of us sew with and you are using a lot of it to make a functional quilt, the extra weight of the fabric in the seam allowances adds up. That added weight to the quilt is glorious. You don’t need a weighted blanket if you have a great scrap quilt!

Improv Square in a Square Exploring Prints

You’ve probably heard me say to my students before that nothing you make in class has to be anything. You can just play for the sake of playing! Honestly, that was my intent for these blocks. Make a few to test then demo the technique and that’s it. But I’m in love, I’m in love and I don’t care who hears it!

After 5 blocks I was making eyes at them. After 10 blocks I believed that I was in like like with them. After 15 I was flirting. And by 20 I was ready to have their baby. Well, at least commit to making 80 more blocks to make a decent sized quilt.

These are the improv square in a square blocks I made during the last Quilters Playcation Playdate. Sure, I’ve already made a big quilt top with the same technique. This time I was exploring a different scale. And next time (there will probably be a next time) I will explore an even different scale.

The whole thing is a colour story I’ve not really played with before: Yellow/orange/coral with blue/turquoise. I really love the interplay of warm/cool as I make the blocks. Exploring value is also quite interesting in these blocks. I want to do that a little more as I make the last half of the blocks. It will make the final layout of the quilt top very dynamic.

My initial thought was to only use each fabric in one set of blocks but even my stash is not that deep. We’ll see how that plays out.

There is no rush with this quilt. I make a set of blocks in about an hour, puttering around my sewing room in the evenings. Eventually I will have 100 blocks. No matter what, it will be time well played.

Rediscovery Brings Joy: An Old Quilt Block Becomes a New Quilt

Periodically I will clean out the stash, the started projects, even the scraps. Like Marie Kondo, sometimes you have to let go of the things that are no longer bringing you joy. But then you have to actually move them out of the house, not just the laundry room. The laundry room where they sit, untouched, only to fall off the shelf when the Covid chaos spills into the space. Then, when you bend down to clean up the mess you realize that this block looks quite cool and very cheery and it might be exactly what you need to work on RIGHT NOW. So you pick through the scraps bins and hunt through the stash, you play around with sketches and do some math, you hunt down the right kind of freezer paper, and then boom! A new full size quilt starts taking shape.

Generally when I make a quilt I get an idea and start sewing. I make a pile of blocks or components, play around with options, then decide what else I might need to make or start layout at the design wall. This project is a bit different. To match the seeming randomness and play with contrast of the original block I felt the need to lay it out, to design it in advance. It doesn’t mean it won’t change, but I felt I needed the guide. The circles aren’t on each half square triangle so sketching it out to get the right balance in layout gave me the math for cutting and piecing.

This cutting everything at once is a very different way to work than my norm. I can see why people do it though, because then you get to just sew, sew, sew! In my improv work I often tell students to front load as much of the decision making as possible so they can embrace the process of sewing, this is the same idea.

So here I am: everything got cut, all my half square triangles are sewn, and I am about half way though the circle prep and appliqué. My sewing opportunities come in fits and starts over the week, usually in the evenings when everyone has retreated to their corners of the house. I have a few projects I am actively working on at the moment, this is one of them. The colour combination is full of energy and that springtime glow. The sewing is not hard but it has great impact. This project is giving me such joy.

A student recently described her own Quilts Under Construction as Somedays and I just loved that sentiment. I’m glad that this particular Someday returned to me, just when I needed her.

Improv Square in a Square with Hand Dyed Fabrics

Hand dyed fabric plus an improv experiment equals a vibrant and unexpected quilt top.

The hand dyes were the rejects from my perimenopause project. Just not right for that project but still a stack of gorgeous fabric. to be honest, I simply expected them to be set aside to be used years from now - like most of my experiments. But then I had an idea, a wonderful, let’s see if this works at all idea.

Even though I’ve been quilting for a few decades and I can design patterns, with the math, without too much trouble, sometimes you just need to cut up the fabric and sew to see if the idea works. So I had an idea and needed to cut and sew to see if it was plausible. The stack of the hand dyes was there, just looking pretty. In my quilting journey I was taught that hand dyes were precious and to be savoured. Well, life these days begs for joy wherever we can get it so I dove into the pile. Also, now that I’ve been playing with the hand dyes I am comfortable making more if I want/need them. So I grabbed the stack, picked a few and got to playing.

And play I did! My experiment worked and I fell in love with the results. So I kept playing and playing and in a few hours I had the makings of a quilt top! The pretty stack of hand dyes is now a messy pile of scraps and I couldn’t be happier.

It all worked so well that I’ve decide to offer up this Improv Square in a Square as the next Quilters’ Playcation Playdate. We will hang out and I will demo a stress free way to make this Square in a Square block in any size. Sign up for the Friday or Saturday session, or both.

June 4 - 5 PM MST or June 5 - 10 AM MST

Remember, if you sign up for the Quilters’ Playcation Get The Scoop newsletter you get a discount code for your first event.