On A Mission

 I was on a mission to get Rachel's quilt finished, photographed and delivered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see....I wasn't the only one on a mission.
My adorable granddaughters are a force to be reckoned with.
A trip to the Zoo was in the cards as well.

Here they are taking turns howling with the white wolf.....good times!!!

Accidental Use of Negative Space

Things were moving along swimmingly...... 

I was enjoying the almost magical process of joining the Quilt As You Go rows. 

It did cross my mind, that once again I had fallen short of my mandate....to use more negative space. 

 I was also reveling in the fact, that the backs of QAYG quilts are usually interesting.... just as a by-product of the technique itself

 Then as I lifted up the quilt I realized I had sewn one of the rows on backwards!! (The far left row should be facing the other way)

 And there you have it.....a quilt with a fair bit of negative space and all by accident. 

I pulled out my trusty seam ripper and pulled it apart, but not before taking a picture.....I just might have some potential in the negative space quilting zone after all.

Back on track and hopefully finished soon.....now for some binding choices.

All is NOT as RANDOM as it Might Appear....

Seriously, there is a method to my madness... 

 

Looking at this project, one might wonder....how does one even prepare for a quilt such as this?

I start by digging through my massive stash and then I cut a huge amount of strips....but really, I do have somewhat of a method.

After one quilts for a while, you start to realize what sizes of strips you have a tendency to use over and over again.

Here are my go to sizes:

• Two and one half inch strips 
• Two inch strips
• One and one quarter inch strips
• Four and one half inch strips

My reasoning being, not only can they be used for piecing the blocks, but for binding, joining my Quilt As You Go blocks using either wide joining strips or narrow joining strips and for applique strips, as they are the right sizes.

Since so much of my work is improv I don't worry about cutting more strips than I need, which as you can see, there is no if, but, or maybe about it....I always cut more than I need, but I'll always find use for them.

 

 

In the Quiet of My Studio

After a crazy busy week, I found some calm, in the quiet of my studio.....sigh. 

Amazing how some music in the background and a little quilting time can bring such refreshing. 

I started joining some of the blocks for Rachel's Quilt. 

As usual, I still have several design decisions to make along the way.  In all honesty it's not over until it's over.......as in completely done that is. 

Switching Gears

It always takes me a little while to switch gears... going back and forth from BC to Alberta. 

I transition from:

The coast to the prairie

Downtown living to suburbia

Husband working from home to husband gone all day

No family to grandma mode

One studio to the other

And last but not least....one project to the other, as I try not to bring projects back and forth.

I told myself just to go into the studio....and see what happens.

I managed one block....for Rachel's Quilt. Hopefully that's all it takes me to get back into the zone. Only one more block to go!!!

 

Should I Be Worried??

 Usually It's pretty smooth sailing with these QAYG log cabin blocks.....

But would you look at the size of that pucker....not exactly smooth sailing, more like a luff sail (a saggy sail in sailing terminology), my husband will be so proud I actually picked up something from his sailing world.

Dare I just quilt it out?? You have to understand, since these blocks are QAYG , meaning the seams are already quilted to the batting, nowhere for the bubble to go.

Oh well...I'm always saying what a wonderful walking foot my Bernina has. I'm going for it. 

Would you look at that!!!! 

My machine ate that pucker for breakfast!!!! 

Success!! 

By the way....Ten Blocks down, two more to go!!! 

Six Blocks Done

Six blocks done and six to go...... 
I'm trying to use lots of neutrals and some negative space but, there's always the temptation to turn up the volume and fill every square inch.

 

Endless Design Possibilities

 As long as there are continual design possibilities and decisions throughout the process.....I'm good.  I'm real good!!!

Consider all the choices involved in designing a quilt; color  fabric, shapes, lines, thread, quilting, style......and that's just the beginning!!

I think it's important to find a process that one is comfortable with and that gets the creative juices flowing. 

For me, I love making continual design choices as I go....that is probably why Quilt As You Go is such good fit for me. Even after all the blocks are quilted, there are still several design possibilities.

 Since most of my blocks are usually individual rather then repetitive, block placement is a huge possibility in and of itself. If there are twelve different blocks, each having four sides...... how many combinations could one come up with???

 I think I just might leave the answer to that question, up to the mathematicians ...all I know is there are more than I can count.

 As I piece and quilt my blocks I get excited about the unknown possibilities that lie ahead.

Quilting Choices....You know how I love my spirals! 

 Fabric Choices....I'm often adding more fabrics into the mix, almost to the end.

 

 

I go back and forth between all the steps.....never really knowing the end result , until the end.

Once the blocks are finished and the block placement decided there's still joining and binding decisions to be made. All the reason for having a large and diverse stash.....I mean I really can't be running to the quilt shop between every block or can I? Well, sometimes I do.

I could be designing on paper or with my computer but hey, FABRIC IS MY MEDIUM FROM BEGINNING TO END!!

When All Else Fails....Just Start Cutting Strips

Thanks for all your wonderful comments on what you do when you're in a down cycle. It's so helpful to know I'm in such good company.....

Here are some of the fabrics I pulled out of my stash, during the past few days. A while back, one of my wonderful nieces asked If I would make her a quilt....time to get started.

She's loving the colors of Debbie's (Eschhouse Quilts)  quilt on the cover of this month's Modern Patchwork Magazine, as am I, of course.

Just a little aside.....In this issue is an article by Amy Ellis about The Blogger's Quilt Festival.

It was a lovely surprise to see Colour Shot included in the article!! (I was even quoted in the article....how crazy is that!!!)

Back to the project at hand....I just happened to buy this lovely fabric when I was in Austin for Quilt Con.....hmm, just maybe I can come up with something. The colors are perfect!!

 So....I ripped a chunk of all the above fabrics and just started cutting strips. As you can see It didn't take me  long to create quite a mess of those strips.

There's nothing like some wonky, QAYG, log cabins with luscious, colored strips to loosen up one's creativity!!  We'll see if this works out...... 

Good thing a quilting buddy is coming over to quilt with me tomorrow....another great way to get motivated!!