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Sunday 10 June 2018

Breaking out of the box.

The self imposed quilting box that is.

I read a post from Jo of Three Stories High, and the pairing post from Christina of A Colourful Life.

They have each made a log cabin quilt, a classic design that I have made once or three times. Both took a different approach, Christina went down the control path. That is the one that I tread,careful cutting, each strip the same width and squaring up after every addition. Each block finishing within a hairs breadth of the next.

Jo's path was more relaxed, so much as to be almost horizontal. 

BUT.

It piqued my interest and I read the post through a second time.
I have a box of small strips and squares, along with some odd shaped scraps.

I have another of strips, mostly WoF, random fat quarters and larger scraps. When I tipped this out I found some 1/2 metre cuts that I bought a few years ago. I must have had a "put it away, anywhere" moment.

Some of this collection was won in giveaways, some I bought and much was given to me.

There are quilters out there whose idea of sheer hell is a scrap bin! So strange.

Any way, I pressed, selected and rejected, cut and pressed again and started to sew.
I used small squares and some smaller strips for the middle of the blocks.


I used the same dark red flower print in each of the blocks. I had 20 squares so made 20 blocks. 
The red Flurry strip is one of my go to patterns and I think that over the years I have bought it in every colourway. The green print is a left over from the Quilt that I made for Jess last year.



A few time I started to run out of strip so added a bit on.


Almost there, 2 or 3 strips to go, the lilac print is a scrap from a dress that I made. I never throw fabric out, it all finds a home in the fullness of time. Some of the fabric that I have used is at least 15 years old.


The most recent socks, I knit them toe up, two at a time and put the Fleegle heel in. There are 4 too many stitches in the cuff soit looks a bit "frilly" here. There is another pair on the go and after the heel I decreased 4 extra stitches, they look much better so far. I did use a stretchy bind off, I may not bother on this current pair.

Yesterday was a full on garden day, it is much hotter today so we will not venture out till after 2:00.

Now I am off to my log cabin blocks, they have a strong siren call. None of the blocks are the same, I just piled the strips up and grabbed them randomly. I owe a debt of gratitude to Jo, this is so fast, the only trimming that I have done is on the edge that I am attaching the next strip to. 
Having said that Christina's "ordered and maths related style" is dear to my heart as well. I will spend some time in the box for various projects.

I am aiming at a finished size around 84" by 100", it is for a double bed and I like them to hang over the edge a fair bit.

I hope that you are all enjoying the weekend, the weather is lovely just a bit on the hot side for me.

                         TTFN                                            Pam













10 comments:

  1. Way too hot for me, Pam. We were in Glasgow City Centre to collect a satnav from John Lewis this morning and had to wait for 10 minutes until it opened. I too like both quilts and love to use scrappage for projects. Off to finish a sailing boat which is a joint project with him outdoors-it’s for the upcycling charity where we volunteer and not a penny has been spent.

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    1. Sounds like a perfect day. My blocks are almost done, just 1 more strip to sew, there is a stack of short strips ready for the next scrappy project.

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  2. 'Waste not, want not' ... a familiar saying from my grandmother. She was of the opinion everything had a use at sometime in the future ... a quick quilt this is going to be using your oddments.

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    1. It has grown so fast, I have only spent an hour here and there on it. No measuring or fussing over colours has saved so much time.

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  3. It was fun to see Jo and Christina's quilts, yours is going to be wonderful. Love the socks.

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    1. I do love scrappy projects but still need a bit of control,this will be the first one without any.

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  4. Ohhh, I love those quilt blocks. I also save every small scrap of material. You never know when it will come in handy.

    God bless.

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    1. I used all my thin strips to make a small quilt, some of the ones I am using are 4" wide, the scrap mountain has certainly shrunk a bit.

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  5. Oh I am going to be daring - soon. I really want a wonky line quilt. Look forward to seeing yours.

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  6. Love the blocks, I often work ‘outside’ the box, I may share my finishes on instagram and Facebook but I am not fond of the restraint some people think we should work under. Years ago when quilts were home made the fabric like the fabric for rag rugs were sourced from the remaining good bits of fabric from the dresses, curtains, eiderdowns, jackets etc. No one worried about the fabric co-ordinating, whether they’d used the right balance etc. These were loved and cherished because of who had made them and they brought back many memories. I love using the scraps, I’ve made several quilts using Jera Brandvigs book Quilt as you go made modern. It’s a great book and cuts down on the time. Looking forward to seeing your quilt, I do enjoy your makes.��

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