50 shades of pink

*EDIT: pics updated, see below

Thank you for all the feedback on my last couple of posts,

seems like lots of you are enjoying my 50 shades of pink

💕

 - next batch of crumb blocks

- my focus fabric 

I've been busy making more crumb blocks this week for my present pink project, the 'predictable' quilt, {pattern @sunspell, who encourages you to put your own spin on her design}. It's all made up with HSTs, with the interest lying in the random way the triangles are laid out, giving it a modern vibe.

And I thought I'd combine this project somehow with the recent AHIQ challenge. Kaja from sewslowly discussed our various preferences to working asymmetrically or symmetrically with our quilts. Her new challenge is to pick whichever of these is furthest from your comfort zone and see what you can do.

After some research, a few panic moments & a couple of chats online {thanks to both Susan & Julie}, I'm thinking my 'predictable' quilt could be leaning towards being an asymmetrical quilt - it's got that modern asymmetrical composition with the more traditional HST blocks. I'm also planning on adding an asymmetrical border on two sides, shifting the midpoint over to further achieve asymmetry.

Here's a few progress photos of how things are looking down on the 'design floor' . . .

- now this is looking more interesting and exciting!

{wink wink} Still don’t know if I’m on the right track for the challenge, 

but I'm trying not to overthink this too much.

And it's certainly predictably unpredictable!

* EDIT

Ever had a vision of a quilt then as you work on it, you find it's just not coming together?

Well, after lots of faffing around and with only 4 more blocks to make,

this is finally coming together nicely and making me smile again! 

Love to hear your thoughts on which sort of quilt you prefer to make -

symmetrical? or asymmetrical? 

Linda

a new challenge

a new challenge : Asymmetrical v Symmetrical

Kaja from sewslowly recently discussed our various preferences to working asymmetrically or symmetrically with our quilts. Her new challenge for AHIQ is to pick whichever of these is furthest from your comfort zone and see what you can do.

I did a little research and to put things simply - "Something is symmetrical when it is the same on both sides. A shape has symmetry if a central dividing line (a mirror line) can be drawn on it, to show that both sides of the shape are exactly the same".

Hmm, well I think I definitely tend to make more symmetrical looking quilts, 

here's a few that stand out to me...

More research was required to further define asymmetry for me because, while I have made a few quilts that were definitely more improv in style, where that cohesive balance took a bit of work, I can't say I've ever made an asymmetrical {modern} quilt as such. 

But what I did find were a few examples of asymmetrical balance within my own quilts. Here are a few quilts that I think have an asymmetrical composition of the more traditional patchwork blocks, like New York Beauty, Flying Geese, Log Cabins, Rail Fence, etc.

And like Janie from crazyvictoriana I knew if I shared these you'd get all excited, share your quilts, and maybe join in the challenge too . . .

 

This first quilt was made from a selection of orphan blocks. To me it's improv, as I didn't use a pattern nor did I have any idea how the finished quilt was going to look. 

Again, this feels like improv to me, no pattern, just an overwhelming desire to work with the colour "grey". The asymmetrical balance in this quilt could be viewed as chaotic or visually interesting & exciting, depending on your point of view!

 symmetrical arrangement of asymmetrical blocks ↑

AND 

↓ asymmetrical arrangement of symmetrical blocks, yes?

And finally, leftover low volume blocks put together improv style using the 'magic numbers' formula. I love an inconsistently balanced quilt.

I think I mostly have the asymmetrical/symmetrical labeled right, let me know what you think.
Asymmetry is one topic I do find interesting, and definitely The. Most. Challenging. So I'm off now to deal to my present pink project, my 'predictable' quilt - it's been giving me headaches but I feel very much like it could fit somehow into the asymmetrical section of Kaja's challenge!

Wish me luck 🤞

Linda 

'predictable': a new project

It's another wet weekend here,

what's a girl  woman to do but sew!

Not sure I needed to start another quilt just yet though … but it's happened!

I was trying to sort out some of my orphan quilt blocks, maybe to sew together into more cohesive segments, but then I got distracted and started stitching small bits together into crumb blocks. Totally got off track in the sewing room, again. 

So now I'm working on another crumb quilt, and I thought you would like to see what I've done so far. From its cheerful colour palette to its grab-bag construction method, it's super fun to make.

There's a mixture of recycled, vintage, a few solids and new fabric, including a few silky bits and a bold green & white striped skirt that I got from Aunty Freda. 

I'm sewing with fabric strips in pinks & green with splashes of blue & gold, joining them up in no particular order, then cutting them, pairing them, and then sewing them back together again, with an occasional additional long strip. I'm aiming for a selection of small pieces of fabric, sometimes only slivers of special pieces, within each 6" little block.

So, not so long ago I made a crumb quilt, still love  it, but this time around I wanted to go just a tad further. And luckily sometimes, when you’re killing time on Instagram, you manage to find The. Perfect. Pattern, see here @sunspell for the 'predictable' quilt pattern. I was also inspired by a couple of IG feeds - Margaret's version here @semichaotic, and all the crumb block love over @afullenglish. 

It is such a fun pattern celebrating the good old HST, with endless possibilities for where the pathways can go. As I have a big pile of these crumb blocks made up now, I'm making a few HST blocks, combining the crumb block squares with squares in an assortment of pinks in different values, {since I don't have 2 metres of any one fabric in pink}. Then I'll put my own spin on this pattern, joining them all up into a predictably unpredictable pathway! 

😕 maybe something like this . . .

 or maybe I'll go down the easier path with a more predictable setting like one of these . . .

 or even this . . .

No setting decisions just yet.

But it sounds like lots more wet & windy weather tomorrow

so I'll be back at the sewing machine making more crumb blocks before I make that final decision.

Linking up with Cyndy for 'oh scrap' here

Until next time, Linda

a spot of Kaffe colour

I do enjoy it when a quilt begins to come together. I often start out on a whim - usually with no firm plans and none of the maths worked out - just an inspiration or idea gleaned from a book or another quilt I've seen somewhere. Things seem to slowly evolve in their own way, changing as I progress, and I tend to end up with quite a different look from what I started out with in my mind, you too?

Take these 16 patch blocks I'm making at present … I was going for a rather vague idea of combining 
lots of Kaffe pastel spots. The more I sewed, the more I began exploring scale and value, and the clearer the picture became - one of a delightful mosaic effect in bright pastel blues & purples, with a little help from supporting floral fabrics in grey & pink, and a very useful white & black spot.

Then up popped Kaffes 'dancing dahlias' in multi! No need to rethink this though, the warm slivers of extra bright colour in this print are a super addition to the fractured look. Love the pic in one of Kaffe's books of a his entranceway, diamonds using smashed up garage sale and flea market finds, {see my inspiration collage pic below}.

I spent a bit of time auditioning the blocks I'd made, adding repeats of colour and taking any glaringly 'wrong' blocks out. I ran out of time to actually get the top all sewn up, but here's how things were looking down on the design floor last night . . . 

And a day later . . .

Quilt top stats: 

The pattern is a St Louis 16 patch {with creative license!} using Kaffe fabrics

Initial inspiration was a quilt in Kaffe's latest book, but then I wandered slightly "off-piste" a little. 

16 patch squares are 31/2” cut, 3” finished, so the blocks are 12” finished,

setting 5 blocks by 5

Linda

spots & dots

It's been a wet winter's weekend here. And I've spent  a whole weekend faffing around in the sewing room. I started out initially trying to sort & tidy up my baskets of spot fabrics. However, I got sidetracked quite quickly, as you do, with lots of 16 patch action happening. So here's a splash of Kaffe colour to brighten up your weekend too.

These blocks are a colour story I have not played with recently, inspired by pics in Kaffe's latest book {due out in August}. I've had super fun exploring scale & value with this selection of prints. Who knew I had this many spots & dots to play sew with in my stash! 

Loving this playful mix of spotty dotty fabric 

and, in no particular order, here's how far I got today. . . 

… still raining... still sewing

… Moroccan pork, chickpeas & Kūmara dinner cooking slowly in the oven. 

Could. Not. Be. Happier. 

Linda

seeing stars

Love a simple block, or two, on repeat! I finished making up all my star blocks this week. To see lots more {bolder & brighter} versions over on ig, click on the link here @momandpop quilt.

I started out with yardage of two muted colours for my 'sawtooth' stars, 'Lotus Leaf' an early Kaffe and a low volume Alison Glass in white. 

One of my other real joys of the quilting process is to create a bundle from my stash. It’s a great way to clean out some lonely fat quarters in your stash … with little voices whispering “pick meeeeee”.  

I sorted enough FQs to make up a pretty bundle of fabrics with a pastel, whispery vibe for my 'ohio' stars. After all the FQ fabrics were cut out, I had lots of fun mixing & matching them to get a super scrappy look.  

I'm usually a block by block maker, impatient to see how each finished block is going to look. However, with this last batch of blocks, I chain pieced the steps for ease & speed. Once all those little hourglass units were all trimmed up, the 'ohio' star progress happened quite quickly!

I love how my quilt ended up looking half scrappy / half solid {= potentially more cohesive overall}. The repetitive blocks are like 'anchors' and the mix&match adds a bit of spice!

Finished quilt top measures 45"x45" a nice toddler throw size. And the quilting will be very do-able on my own machine!

#friendlyfabricmonster {see more 👾 pics here}

Loving this cohesive and yet scraptastic mix 💖

Linking up with Wendy for this weekend's 'peacock party' here

and with Cyndy here for 'oh scrap'.

Until next time, Linda