Thursday 3 January 2019

an unexpected adventure

Oh my, it's a new year!
and the idea of a new scrap quilt is tempting me



Late last year Sujata from therootconnection asked if there was any interest in a quilt-along inspired by all the wonderful quilts from THE book, one of my favourite books - 'Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar' by Roderick Kiracofe.
If you know the book, you will agree there is inspiration on every page, quilts that break the rules with bold colour and character, perfectly imperfect quilts, and quirky quilts.

I decided I would join in with the quilt-along this year, which starts 7 January 2019. I love the idea of using one of these quilts as a starting point


. . . but the journey of my unfinished projects continues, and I can't really start another quilt, not just yet. Then I got thinking, maybe I could start off the new year being practical? and making do with what's on hand? 
So, inspired by the quilts in my lovely new book, I decided I would relook at my little pile of WiPs to see if anything could work. 

And I came across a bunch of pastel flying geese blocks I made sometime ago, {pop back here for a few earlier geese details}. 


During the days between our Christmas and New Year celebrations I made a little start, my own way. Just to test out if I could revisit this quilt idea and turn it into something I was happy with. I put an assortment of my already madeup blocks up on the design wall and added some sashing strips. Then I let them sit over the week, while I looked at them each time I passed by.


Of course I needed to tweak things a bit, to get the 'look' I was after. I played with the values to get some more contrast happening between the rows. And I added in a few solids too. I also wanted to draw out my basic colour a bit more, all the blues in different shades, so I made up a few more blocks to help. I'm loving the overall busy "printsonprintsonprints" effect with this {a Kathy from Material Obsession quote}.






Here's how my design wall is looking now . . .


Still very much a WiP, but I'm so happy to be revisiting these quilt blocks, 
an unexpected
upcycled 
scrappy adventure 

Linking up with Cynthia for 'oh scrap' here

Pop on over to Sujata's from therootconnection on the 7th January to find out more QAL details and/or to follow along too. An exciting way to start off the New Year!


18 comments:

Quiltdivajulie said...

I did the same thing you did -- looked through that fabulous book with an eye on the fabric pulls and projects I was already considering. And I found three that fit with U and U and three that fit with Lori's String QAL. That made me SO happy. LOVE your flying geese!!

Dolores said...

Flip one of the geese strips and see if adds interest. It seems like there are several quilt alongs starting up.

Suz J said...

It's great when an old project becomes new again... sort of like a recycled WIP!

karenbbsnow said...

Looks like a great start, looking forward to seeing what you add to it next.

Linda said...

Great idea to alternate vertical rows of geese with fabric strips. You have the makings of another lovely quilt and at the same time you're tackling a WIP. Good start to 2019!

Ann said...

It's hard to choose only one of these quilts. They are all exciting. I like your idea of mixing the UandU with a WIP.

Kate said...

Great way to "renew" a project. Lots of scrappy fun up on that design wall.

audrey said...

This is a great idea, mixing up the older blocks with a new project! I'm sure many of the quilts in the books were made in just the same way!

gayle said...

Oh, I love your geese! Great way to roll a WIP into a new project and get a beautiful result!

Karen S said...

A great start. Definitely worth leaving them for a fe days and seeing if you still like them.

Raewyn said...

A great looking start! I love it when my brain starts working like this and everything starts falling into place - it looks like you are embarking ona fun adventure!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I will enjoy following along with your scrappy adventure! I actually just recently checked that book out of the library, so I'll have some fun reading it and maybe get some inspiration myself, too.

Cathy said...

I keep seeing blog posts about the U & U quilt along and keep thinking that if lots of people make quilts like in the book then they won't be so unusual and unexpected anymore! I like where you are going with the Flying Geese.

the ark said...

This is great! Your pictures actually have my mind racing, picturing my own fabrics and patterns. Thank you for the inspiration!

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

Beautiful Linda! What a great idea to turn an older project into something fresh and new. Thanks for sharing with Oh Scrap!

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Thanks Cathy. It’s quite satisfying revisiting this quilt idea and turning those geese into something I’m happy with.
I guess the idea is too use the book quilts as a starting point? And with today’s fabrics, there will be some differences. I’m thinking maybe rather than simply copying the “source” quilt, there will be lots of “modern” takes? {more like what the quiltfolk patterns do,yes?}
I jumped in quickly here, but am looking forward to Sujata’s post later today for her ideas on how to approach the U&U QAL.

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

... my pleasure!

Julie said...

Look at you go - how many quilts do you think you'll make this year?