In August I emptied my creamy neutrals crumb box
and grabbed the creamy neutral strings.
This was the resulting pile.
Innocent looking, isn't it?
As I have worked on other projects,
I have also been stitching pairs,
pairing the pairs,
and pairing those paired pairs.
Once I had segments large enough,
I trimmed everything into four different widths.
(3.5, 4.5, 6.0, and 10.5 inches)
Earlier this week, I started stitching the same width pieces together.
In this photo, the 3.5" and 4.5" columns are pinned to the design wall
(along with a few other random pieces)
and the 6" and 10.5" segments are still waiting to be stitched.
SO much scrappy goodness!
* * * Squirrel Alert * * *
Something about seeing the panels on the design wall
sent me searching for this stack of 48 blocks.
(5.5" blocks from April pieced using
leftover scrappy strata from
Just Wing It - a project that WILL resurface!)
I also grabbed the project box with . . .
 |
| results after first pass at stitching pairs |
. . . these scrappy batik strips.
(originally die cut last January for a log cabin quilt)
The quilt didn't happen.
Like Wanda said the other day,
" I wish I could make my hand drop them in the wastebasket, but I can't."
I've tried to toss these strips at least three times now.
(As you can see, I've also retrieved them each time)
Yesterday I made a decision.
I decided to stitch the scrappy logs end-to-end
(randomly, of course)
in order to create one very long 1.5" strip.
(Think Dumpster Diving and so many other Tonya-inspired "legos" quilts)
 |
| results after the second pass at pairing the pairs |
Just keep stitching . . .
just keep stitching . . .
just keep stitching . . .
 |
| Photo will supersize if double clicked |
By the end of the day,
THIS is what had been pieced and
pinned on my design wall.
From left to right:
+/- 65 linear inches by 10.5" of scrappy creams
A 30" x 40" panel made using the 48 blocks
A 1.5" scrappy batik strip well over 1,300 linear inches long
Over 160 linear inches by 3.5" of scrappy creams
Over 190 linear inches by 4.5" of scrappy creams
and
Over 290 linear inches by 6" of scrappy creams.
* * *
I love it when ideas collide!
* * *
Linking up with the First Ad-Hoc Improv Quilting Link Up
organized by Ann of Fret Not Yourself and Kaja of Sew Slowly.
CLICK HERE to see more AHIQ projects in the works.
Quiltdivajulie
18 comments:
This feels like a kind of "I love it when a plan comes together" moment - all your various bits work so well together and it looks like you might finally have found a home for your strippy scraps (or scrappy strips?) I am intrigued to see where you take this next.
OK, I'm game. "Squirrel Alert" ?? Does this have anything to do with raiding a stash? Here we try to figure out ways to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeders.
Love all those scrappy creams.
I can't believe I just said that.
Giggle - DH would tell you that I pretty much drive him nutty with my frequent outbursts "oh look, there's a squirrel" every time one runs through our back yard. (kind of like - warning - sharp left turn ahead . . . " )
This is really looking interesting...can't wait to see what you do with all these beautiful strips
I can't wait to see what you do next. Whatever it is, you've already got the perfect name for the quilt!
(I'd be appliqueing swirly reds and oranges onto those cream scrappy strips. Why, I don't know, because I prefer piecing to applique, but the temptation is strong...)
Wow! What a great assemblage. I like that thing where seemingly disparate elements come together, and I'd say that some part of your brain was telling your hand NOT to drop those strips into the trash, for a reason! I'm envious of your large design wall!
Thanks for sharing your process, very encouraging. I can see you are having fun, looking for that 'aha!' moment, when it 'says' what you want it to 'say.'
They are playing so nicely together. Can't wait to see more of this!
This looks lovely, the two sets of scraps play together so well!
It's all looking very exciting, you can almost feel the two projects melding! Look forward to seeing what happens next!
Oh, yes! So far so good! Glad you didn't put some of those things in the trash.
Julie, you are like one of those cooks who can open up the refrigerator and cupboards, pull out a whole bunch of disparate ingredients, and whip up a gourmet meal. Bet you are happy you never actually threw out those log cabin pieces. This is all looking wonderful!
These look so good together. I can't wait to see what you do next. (Squirrel Alert made me think of the movie, Up. We use that phrase, too.) Thanks for linking to AHIQ.
Wow!! I like your squirrels!!
You sure got a lot done. Intriguing. I will be very interested to see what you do with all these parts.
lots of work, want to see what becomes of them
Lovely stuff!!! What a great idea to collect pieces made but never used to "create with abandon".
It's going to be fun when you post with updates, love your scrappy creams and then your coloured strips - what a lot of them!
Mmmm I should have s look in my rather large box of bits under my cutting table.
That's a whole lot of inches! Love the batiks going around your strata blocks. It's great when you have an 'aha' moment and something as wonderful as this begins to take shape :)
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