Wednesday 7 January 2015

effort- to- impact ratio


It's interesting, isn't it? A quilt with complex traditional piecing certainly creates a lasting impression, but so too can a quilt simple in design yet meaningful & vibrant. I have to say that last year was a real mixture of quilting styles for me. I enjoyed making several quilts for gifts. To me, while the quick & easy sewing made for minimal effort really, these quilts still seemed to have great impact, mainly due to using beautiful fabrics! Gotta thank those designers out there- lots of fresh, new fabrics are amazingly released almost daily! They're very tempting with large graphics & florals, and really too wonderful to contemplate cutting up into teeny tiny pieces!


On the flip side, I also had a few slow burning projects on the go last year, complicated designs with small, fiddly block construction like Gypsy Wife & Retro Flowers quilts.  They were challenging but I was content to take my time and found it extremely satisfying as I slowly worked thru' all the processes.

My first WiP for this year is all about the fabric!
I've always wanted to make a coin quilt, and as I'm on a bit of a stash attack at present, I decided on a scrappy stacked coin quilt! My inspiration came from a combination of a couple of ideas, from here and here. I popped out to see Cheryl at all things patchwork as she has a sale on and I bought a largish piece of AMH's Primrose in Sapphire as the background focus fabric. Back home I started sorting fabrics from my stash, colours that could compliment, and am now in the middle of swapping different sized strips around to get a nice balance-thingy happening!






What are you most happy stitching... great impact with little effort? ... or slow sewing, savouring the process as much as the result? ... or maybe like me, a bit of both! 


Linking up with Lee here for WiP Wednesday
pop on over to see lots more quilty inspiration!



9 comments:

Julie said...

This is going to be pretty - of course I am partial to AMH. Have you seen the Sew my Stash 2015 at Project Leasa?
Here's the link:
http://www.projectleasa.com/sewmystash2015-kickoff/

Serena @ Sewgiving said...

Wow you must have an amazing stash, I love every piece of fabric in your pics :) I like to have a slow project on the go as well as some quickies to satisfy the need to finish something!

Lynne said...

Definitely a bit of both! Scrappy quilts require time and effort but are usually so worth while! Sometimes, though, I just want something that comes together quickly and easily. (visiting from Freshly Pieced: WiP Wednesday)

Chris said...

Very nice. I love scrappy quilts and they are fun to put together.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Yes you are so right.. a scrap quilt can get out of control & lose its charm very easily, so a bit of thought is certainly required! (Having a design wall helps too!) Thanx for popping by, Linda

Kathy@KayakQuilting said...

Great question! I love a quick finish, but only if it looks like I put a little thought and love into it. On the other hand, some of my most loved quilts have been those that percolated for a while, took a long time to piece and an even longer time to quilt.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Yes, I’ve only just scratched the surface here! My personal stumbling issue – if I put alot of time & effort into something, I really find it hard to part with it, much to my daughter’s dismay! So sometimes I do just want to make a striking yet speedy quilt! Amy Smart's book 'fabulously fast quilts' explores ways to create something pretty using shortcut methods! Thanx for popping by, Linda

Jennifer Boes said...

I love coin quilts - if it were me it would be solids with a bit of pop in the coins, but I love the patterns! You have a great eye.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Thank you!
I have yet to really make an all-solids quilt... I think I would find it quite difficult! I had a little peek at your website, some lovely work and I see you use solids quite a bit! Thanx for popping by, Linda