Colour Blocks

A while back I shared with you an improv colour block I made as a sample for my Improv Class. That pile of scraps has developed into a full-blown obsession.  So far I've made 16 blocks (at 16 inches square).  A good dent has been made on the scraps, but I still want to make more. I'm aiming for 25 in total.

Here is the first round of blocks.  I took these photos on our plain white new curtains, hence the stained glass effect.

My goal is to get the blocks together and the quilt finished in time to submit to the Quilt Canada 2010 Invitational.  I see lots of late nights sewing in my immediate future.

Bits and Pieces

Life is a bit all over the place right now.  I'd hoped to have wrapped up the Quilt Along by now. My sincerest apologies.  But if you've been following along then your top should be done. And if you've been following, but not keeping up, then you are probably happy for the break to catch up. Or, the break to actually deal with a hectic holiday season. We'll return to wrap up the Quilt Along (or start it) in January.

Lately it seems like everything I do - whether it is life or quilting - is happening in bits and pieces.  We're knee deep in dust and noise as the basement reno is in full swing - new furnace and water system, walls, and concrete Oh My! Between work, writing, and family there is only time for snippets of life and creativity where one can get it.  That explains the above picture.  I was sorted small scraps while the girls played in the tub. I thought it was bad enough sharing those stylish, but horridly coloured bathroom sinks, so I spared you the charcoal/mustard combo on a 50 year old bathroom! But don't my piles look pretty.

I've been turning those piles into these blocks.

Single colour blocks of scraps, with that one bit of white thrown in for fun.

These blocks are so cathartic to make.  I can simply sit and sew, grabbing as I go. There is no plan to them.  I trim pieces relatively square and start sewing them in pairs.  Then I trim the seam allowances, press, and keep adding pieces.  After I have a couple of sections made I square them up and start playing with overall block layout.  Then I add or trim as necessary until I have a block big enough to trim to 16 inches square.

I say they are cathartic because there is no prep to them.  No cutting, no precision, no purposeful thought.  It is simply sewing.  And when life is throwing you so much it is nice to break down your creativity into simple processes to nurture the soul. No pressure either, just action. Little bits when I can steal little bits of time.

SCRAPS!

Okay, like I need another project.  I have a project yet to reveal, a baby quilt started that will probably be late, my water quilt, and a million ideas racing around in my head.  And those are only the active ones, not the pile of UFOs hiding under the bed (literally). But I really, really like the Values quilts that Katie does over at Willy-Nilly.  And now she is hosting a quilt-along.

Shocking, I'm already behind.

  
The other day Hubby had The Monster our running errands so Smilosaurus and I played in my stash.  I decided that this Values quilt would only be scraps.  But in truth, my definition of scrap has changed over time.  Originally, anything smaller than 6 inches was a scrap.  And everything else got thrown back in the colour-coded bin as stash.  For this project, however, I was going to need bigger pieces.  So I refined my definition to anything I'd used before and might be less than a fat quarter.  A pretty generous definition if you ask me.

I must confess that this pile was not even close to everything that fit my refined definition.  I want to really like this quilt so I picked out only those fabrics that I still really like.  Or, at least the fabrics that I really liked that day.  I'm going to cut one of each and see where that gets me.

Let's see where this one goes...

Grass - Revealed

Okay, enough already.  Here it is - the Grass Quilt.  It was time to put Water aside and showcase something actually completed.  There was no trauma in getting this one together.  I knew what I wanted to do from the first scrap of green that I pulled. My ode to Grass, in 68 inches square.

This quilt is also my personal backlash against white sashing.  Yes, I love it and I've used it plenty, but I was getting a little tired of seeing wonky log cabins sashed in white. So I switched it up and made the squares plain white.  Some of these are plain Kona cotton, and the rest are whatever white on whites I had laying around to make 12.5 inch squares. One of them, you can see, photographs quite yellow but it isn't that way in person. The greens are all from scraps and stash.

The quilting process I've already told you about.  It uses a lot of thread and I did have some needle sizing issues.  But I am thrilled with the way it turned out and the quilt has a wonderful drape despite being so heavily quilted.

This is the back.  I took some more scraps and essentially made a runner. The rest of it is some Katie Jump Rope that I found on sale.  That fabric is so soft that it makes a lovely backing. What I didn't think of was that the softness would more or less be lost with all the quilting.  Oh well, it still feels good.

The label will eventually go here, but I print mine and I need to wait until I have another finished quilt so I can print two labels on one sheet.

And now, let the vacation begin.

Luck Be a Pink Hat

This one has been a long time coming.  I had the top finished, and the back too, over a year and a half ago.  I managed to get it to the long armers shortly before or after Smilosaurus was born, I can't remember.  And it sat for nearly a year once I picked it up.  I simply had no motivation to get the binding on.  It's not like I dislike the quilt, I quite love the boldness of it all, I was simply lazy and didn't want to sew on a binding.

The motivation to finish it came because I entered it in the show over the weekend.  Nothing like a deadline to get your butt in gear!  So I found the perfect fabric, braved the bias cut, and got it done.

The center portion of the quilt is from a book called Strip Pieced Quilts by Maikke Baker.  I was at a retreat with some quilting friends in my Red Hat group, The Garnet Gals.  Yes, I know I am way too young for a red hat, but these great ladies welcomed me in and still share lots of life and quilt experience with me.  We decided to sew one afternoon and put this together from stash.  And we all liked it too much to donate it - bad us! - so we drew straws to see who got it. I won!

The borders were pieced from scraps, yet another black and white fabric, and more circles.  If you look closely in the bottom photo you will see that the purple we used had coloured circles scattered across the purple.  That's where the colour of my circles came from.

This is one of my favourite backs ever.  So simple, yet really bold.  My initial plan was to put the label in a circle in the green, but I couldn't print a small enough, yet still legible label for any kind of border on it. It still works.

It now seems that the girls can't keep their hands off any aspect of my hobby, er... obsession.  It was impossible to get a shot of this quilt without them in it.

I had this one professionally quilted by a local lady, Berny Sproule.  She used a purple thread in a swooping meander pattern to bring it all together.  

Now, don't get too googly-eyes staring at the photo!

How Can You Tell I'm a Quilter?

With my return to work imminent I've been quilting up a storm and I've been trying to get the house in order. We still have no nanny, but the house is almost ready for a new person to be trying to get around. Seriously, why is it so hard to hire a nanny? We aren't crazy people. Maybe a little odd or uncoventional, but not crazy.

I digress.

One morning last week Smilosaurus and I were playing in her room while Hubby worked in the living room. While she was happily crawling around and exploring I started taking a few photos for my colour study (see the right sidebar there). I was struck by a grouping of books on her shelf. As I took a photo I also noticed the pile of books sitting on the floor, pulled off by the little one. It is my anal nature to want to organize things alphabetically. Alas, the girls aren't quite old enough to shelve things this way. Sing the Alphabet Song, but not put things in alphabetical order. What's an anal quilting mom to do? Organize by colour, obviously!

I tried this once with all of my own books and hated it. I was used to the conventional way and suddenly couldn't find anything. In the girl's room, however, I thought it would be perfect. And now I walk in and honestly I feel calmer. Order is nice, colour is even better. I did show my stash, right?

As you can see, we have a lot of books! There are some hand-me-downs and some books from Hubby and his sister's childhood. There are a lot of new books because I always ask for books as gifts when questioned. Plus I'm a sucker for sales on books and will buy more for us when I go in to buy for gifts. I should point out that there is also a pile on the nightstand and a basket in the living room where we rotate seasonally appropriate titles.

Could I pick a favourite? Aside from Curious George and The Three Little Pigs, The Monster is in love with this book.

I must admit, I am too. Rhythmic, urban, and unique it is fun to read. The book is Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie.

Share your favourite book with the Children's Book Parade over at 6 O'Clock Stitch.