A couple of months ago I was browsing through the several books written by Kim Brackett. I drew several of them in EQ, printed them and them stuck them in a folder of Future Ideas. And then forgot about them. After working on a very intensive hand applique & embroidery quilt for several weeks, I needed a break. So I pulled out my idea folder and started cutting, putting together seven kits that I could work on when I felt like piecing. Well of course those kits just kept calling me and calling. And now I've pieced all but a couple of them. All in a row, kind of binge piecing.
For this pattern, called Scrap Basket blues, I wanted to try using some of my white novelty stash. They don't seemed to get used very often, so I gave them a try. The contrast isn't as good as I'd like. It looks a bit of a muddle. If I make this one again I'd use a white TOT instead, and I probably will as it was fun to sew.
Instead of mixing colors on this next quilt, I decided to make the center pinwheels in black novelties only. But when I put the blocks together, the colors really did not standout as I had wanted. So I played around with the sashing and borders to add some more punch. I'm pleased with the final result, plus I got to use that rainbow fabric that I always seemed too bright on other quilts.
I was very intrigued with the pattern for this quilt, called Candy Canes. It's one of those patterns that is much more complicated than it looks. And what a fun result.
I've been calling this one Pez because it reminds me of those childhood candies. It would make a great album quilt too.
And here is another candy quilt - I'm seeing a trend. Three quilts with candy themes! And very easy to piece. The hardest part of this one was figuring out the layout so that the HST's had enough contrast between each half. As you'll notice, there are tons of HST in all these patterns, resulting in a gallon sized bag of waste triangles. I can't bring myself to throw them away, but they are pretty small, all cut from 2.5" strips. Someday I might make another tiny triangle quilt - later....
These last two are ideas I got from MSQC's wonderful videos. I really enjoy watching their videos, even though I don't always use their construction methods. I modified this 1st one called Half-hexi links. I decided I didn't like the large white spaces between the "wrenches". A friend suggested that if I added hexagons they would look like bolts. So I made the shapes using freezer paper and machine stitched them down - easy as could be. And just in time for my boss's 2nd grandson - great timing.
This final quilt is called RicRac, and what a great fun pattern! I did use the white novelties for this and it worked fine, perhaps because the areas were larger. The original design uses 2.5" strips through out but instead I used a 4x6 block in the corner. Frequently I will adjust patterns this way so that I can maximize the novelty fabrics. I don't want to cut through the pictures any more than necessary. I think this one needs a border but I can't decide exactly what - I don't want to detract from the pattern. I need to think on it for a while.
In the meantime this top is hanging in the closet along with six others, waiting for me to get the quilting bug. I'm committed to trying some new quilting patterns but I have three Christmas project to finish first...It is almost the end of October already - YIKES! I need to get busy.
