Piecing. It’s not been very much of my quilterly life over the last few years as I’ve focused in on machine quilting and have in essence become a whole cloth quilter because I love to play. Oh how I love to play at machine quilting. Watching what develops under the needle is so exciting and peaceful. There is something incredibly beautiful about watching a piece of cloth become something, oh something different and exciting. Changing thread and fiber.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been enjoying some piecing. I think I’m doing a bit of a creative reset. It started with Gramma’s quilt and has just moved right along. I love stitching tiny pieces together. There’s something oddly comforting knowing that I can cut accurately and piece well. Please take a moment and pick your chin up off the floor. Thank you.
Last week I posted that Melanie Testa gave me some of her hand printed fabrics. I love them. I think Melly is pretty fab – her creative spirit is energizing. If I ever owned a quilt shop each one of the employees name tags would say “fabric enabler”. I have learned something over the last few years I might be introverted by nature but by quilting bold would do quite well. To me, black would be too strong, a deep gray a bit less strong still deep enough to make the color just pop. I also thought of fuchsia. (please tell me that you’re not really surprised by this fabric choice.)
The lighting is bad here really bad.
I found a way to incorporate the fuchsia
into the quilt. The fuchsia is from dyeing to sew. To go with this the choices were a more solidly cheddar orange or a paler orangey/yellow. I went with the palery orangey/yellow to pop the fuchsia. And it worked!
The strips for these 9 patch blocks are cut at 1 1/4″ making the blocks 2 3/4″ finished. Can I just add how fun it is to piece this size block? Part of it is the challenge and part of it is my own confidence level has really changed over the last 5 years. I’m not planning on competing with these, it’s just play time.
(Insert gratuitous lily photo here)
All in all.
Quilting is supposed to be fun.
Go have fun quilting!
Teri
Like you, the quilting is ‘playtime’! I knew that I couldn’t keep up with that part of quiltmaking, so the wholecloth version is the answer (and Cindy Needham’s approach so appeals!!!). I have, also, begun quilting other’s tops. Fun but have discovered how my exacting approach to piecing is not entirely shared by everyone…..LOL! I’m beginning to get quite proficient at “pulling in” fullness on wavy borders and stretched bias pieces. I just tell myself it’s the current “challenge” rather than get totally frustrated and lose the enjoyment.
Love all those bold colors!!!! Hugs…….