While digging for fabrics for a project recently, I ended up stumbling onto a whole stack of leftover linen triangles from a pillow that I had made for my husband. Then the idea hit me that I could use them with the leftover scraps from my Modern Improv paper piecing pillow to make another coordinating pillow for my parents... but I wanted this one to just happen.
Am I the only who does this?: As I sat down to finish my husband's pillow I was
quite perplexed because I didn't have enough triangles to finish all the blocks... so, what did I do? Cut some more... of course. You cannot imagine how annoyed I was with myself to find out later that I actually had cut them (like I thought), but they had fallen behind my sewing machine where I didn't see them.
I suppose if they come to good use in the end, then it doesn't matter how they get there, right?
I first started out with a random color layout, but found it to be a little chaotic. When I grouped the colors and organized them a bit, it seemed to have a better flow. There have actually been several projects where it felt like I had just hit a roadblock, until I reworked the color organization.
I also let the shapes within the pillow dictate how I did the quilting by first following them, and then simply echoing the quilting in various widths.
As I've said with just about every improv project that I've ever done, it's an uncomfortable stretch for me, and I'm still left asking myself if I will ever warm up to it. I guess it's a little like eating broccoli... it's ok to try it every once in a while to see if you still don't like it.
What's your "quilting broccoli" that you have to keep coming back to, just to see if you still don't like it?
Linking up this week to Let's Bee Social.
Let me reassure you... there is no need to wipe your computer screen... no need to grab an extra cup of coffee... no need to pinch yourself to see if your are dreaming. You are NOT seeing things...
I suppose that might be just a wee bit over dramatic, but if you have been around for a while, then you might know that I DON'T work with solids... at all. However, on that same note, if you've been around long enough to know of my avoidance of solids at all cost, then you probably also know that I can only sing the highest praises of Basic Grey grunges... this not-quite-a-solid IS my solid.
The motivation to steer clear of my beloved prints is because these are a
present for my parents (when I talk of these, it includes the remaining
three that I have planned to make) Even though I would describe my own personal decorating tastes as transitional, my folks definitley lean towards a more modern style. I have to admit that in this case, these bold splashes of color give a more powerful impact than my prints would, and give it the modern feel that I am looking for.
Because improv is also not where my strengths or passions lie, I very much appreciated these free paper piecing templates from The Long Thread. It was fun for me to experiment with multi-directional quilting, finding and following the design of the piece itself for the hints of how it should be quilted.
Are you a solid teetotaller or do you cherish your beloved prints and leave your solids on the shelf?
Linking up this week to Let's Bee Social
They say that it's sometimes the best thing to step outside our comfort zone... always stretching and pushing ourselves to come out of that place of familiarity and safety that keeps us there to begin with. Of
course trying new techniques for any quilter can only build on already
established skill levels, and if you really want to step outside that zone then improv is the way to go!
I realized as I was working on my last bee blocks for this year that I forgot to share the improv blocks that I made for Yara. (check out her progress here) For her, the bold colors were her big stretch. From time to time, I convince myself that I need to try improv, yet again. Usually after struggling and muddling through it, I remind myself that all the struggling and muddling is why I DON'T like it. Am I closing the chapter on improv? Well, I suppose I'll venture out again once I forget this short lived epiphony.
... and with the busy season coming to it's peak, I'm happy to say that I just sent off my last bee blocks for the year! I am really looking forward to what Vicky does with her cute fish blocks. Vicky is another make it up as you go quilter, coming up with her own patterns... and she has a keen eye for color and a great sense of design. (not to mention the most rockin' green chair that I've seen this year ; ))
She had requested ocean blues combined with yellow/chartreuse fish and grey/black accents. I decided to use paper piecing for the inner parts of her fish... who would have thought, right?!?
Looking back at my 2016 goals from last year, I'm really happy to have put the last two check marks on the done box. Ahhh... yearly goals, hmmm, that's coming up too.
Linking up to Let's Bee Social.
It's no secret that I've become a huge fan of paper piecing since the very first stitch... but what I'm not a big fan of is the amount of seemingly still good and usable scraps that can be produced throughout the process.
I really wish that I could make grandiose claims of being a good little quilter that uses every last little delicious bit, scrap, and snippit that one creates when cutting up fabric only to sew it back together again... but I have to admit that large amounts of scraps overwhelm me, and in a big way! No worries, I don't throw away every little snippit that happens to fall to the floor, but the reality of it is that if it's too small then it lands in the trash before it lands in the scrap bin.
After finishing a few of my bee blocks, I realized that I had too many great scraps to just scrap (pun intended!) So, I decided that it was time for me to try out an improv project. I made up several long, wonky half square triangles and played around with a few design layouts.
This is the design that I finally settled on, and I kind of like how it's come together. It's not a highly improv piece, but improv enough for me. I have a few more projects and techniques to get out of my system first before I jump in with both feet.
How do you use your leftover bits and pieces? Do you save every little scrap or are you able to let the teeny tidbits go?
Linking up to Let's Bee Social and Sew Cute Tuesday and Scraptastic Tuesday.
