Concatenation - the Quilt

Concatenation is now finished and has been gifted to younger son.

At the last minute we both decided the planned binding no longer worked so he chose this one instead.  

Wise decision.

Quilted with oversized liberated orange peels using Glide thread in Persian.

The pieced backing turned out beautifully - including the red violet strip added to the bottom.

Finished size is 55" x 71"

The finished quilt is soft and light and is already on top of his bed.

It was very (!) windy outdoors so I took two more photos indoors where the quilt was not (a) plastered against the fence, or (b) being blown away by the wind.

Concatenation was created as part of the January 2022 AHIQ Color Palette Challenge.

I am delighted with the results, despite the long and winding road to reach this destination.

Quiltdivajulie

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"How difficult it is to be simple."

Vincent Van Gogh

Concatenation - the Flimsy

The top - sewn together but not yet pressed.  

Concatenation is my AHIQ Color Palette project based on the January 2022 prompt (click here).

You can see all the posts for the Color Palette challenge on the AHIQ blog by clicking HERE.

Concatenation on the design wall after being pressed.

56" wide x 72" long.

There were a LOT of design changes and starts/stops along the way, but I am SO happy with the way this has come together.

(You can read more about Concatenation's journey here on my blog by clicking on its label at the end of this post or in the sidebar)

The backing fabrics are in the upper left corner and the planned binding is in the lower right corner.

I've made a sketch for the pieced backing's plan and tucked it in the project folder until after all of the October baby-related quilts are on their way to Michigan (two finished, two more to go)

Quiltdivajulie

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"Art allows people a way to dream their way out of their struggle."

Russell Simmons

Blocks Made - Layout Chosen

All sixty-three plates are empty now which means all of the blocks are made.

YES!

They are also trimmed and squared to 8.5 inches.

After a bit of tinkering, this is the final layout.  

My first attempts were based on the diagonal color run of the four patches but as I stood back and pondered, it became obvious that the larger squares were drawing my eye more (especially when they were chaotic).

So I took everything down and started again.

If you double click to supersize the photos, you should be able to see more detail of the scrappy fabrics.

And now the blocks are clipped and ready to web together sometime this week (if all goes as planned).

* * *

This AHIQ challenge project was named Concatenation early in the process.

As time as passed, the word's definition has held true in so many ways . . .  "a series of interconnected or interdependent things or events."  

I'm elated to see the many bits and pieces finally coming together.

Quiltdivajulie

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“We can talk ourselves out of nearly anything using logic, yet logic rarely produces magic.  Do the scary thing that’s been resurfacing again and again.  The thing that won’t let you run from the ache of what might unfold.  The call of what could actually be.  Ditch the waiting.  Be lit aflame by the magnetic pull of possibility.”

Victoria Erickson

Progress

As mentioned in the previous post, I pulled out the resource boxes for blue, blue-green, aqua, and blue-violet to look for options to cut the larger squares for Concatenation.

I cut quite a few and did a few mock-up blocks on the design wall before quickly editing out several choices.  

In the end, all of the squares save less than a dozen came from the resource boxes.  I cut that smaller group of ten or so from two pieces of yardage in the stack shown above.

(and at some point in the near future I need to re-fold and put away the piles on Max's table and return the resource boxes to the design studio since there are quite a few quilt tops/backs waiting for their FMQ)

I first sorted the four patches into 63 pairs with similar colors using my plate system.

Then I worked my way back through adding two large squares to each plate to create the double four patch blocks. 

This method takes some time up front but it makes it easy to sit and sew the blocks together.

(the squares on the sewing table are extras so I can make changes as needed when the individual blocks are laid out for sewing)

And here is where things stood at the end of Thursday afternoon.  

Stretching up just a bit and taking advantage of the air space below the bottom of the design wall, I will be able to lay out all nine rows without needing the step stool (which I try hard not to use).

I need to take the backing yardage off the wall (or move it to the left) to make room for the seventh column of blocks.

Once all of the blocks are on the wall, I will spend a day or two rearranging them and editing/replacing as needed in case any of them don't play well with the others.  

* * *

Younger son claimed this AHIQ project several months back and he totally approves of the double four patch approach.  He's also quite pleased to see the quilt top moving forward. 

So am I.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Life isn’t meant to be lived perfectly…but to be lived boldly, wildly, beautifully, uncertainly, magically, and imperfectly.”

Mandy Hale

Concatenation Revised

It started here in February - this was my initial post for Concatenation on the AHIQ blog and the "Pick a Color Palette" challenge from Kaja.

And this was the initial fabric pull.  From here things have only "gone south" instead of moving forward.

In June, I shared this update post on the AHIQ blog after the initial design idea was abandoned in favor of a Scrappy Trips.

And this was the enhanced fabric pull to brighten and lighten the palette.

But still nothing happened and the yardage shown above went back into the stash.

Somewhere since then the design idea changed again, from a Scrappy Trips to a Two by Four layout with the blocks oriented on their sides (inspired by one shared on Cathy L's blog).

Over the weekend, I pulled out the already cut strips (half-WOF in length) and sorted them into pairs, just to see where things stood.

My reaction?  

Ugh - too dark.  And too muddy.

Not to mention there are only half as many strip pairs as I'd need to make 70 blocks for a quilt 56" x 70" in size.

I pulled out the backing yardage and hung it alongside the strip pairs.

Just not loving this plan at all. But since I still love the elephants, I am going to give these strips one last chance to become a quilt.

Version 4 will be inspired by Cluck Cluck Sew's free tutorial for her Scrappy Summer double four patch quilt.

Step one was to check the drawer where I keep the random leftover 2.5" strips.  

The weathered gray would make a good alternate color . . .  

And, given the past "stalls" on this project, I decided to forge ahead with this latest plan rather than setting it aside.

It wasn't long until I had paired the two different grays with some of the already cut strips to create 126 four patches.  (my version will be slightly smaller that the one in the tutorial)

The four patches are now pressed and ready to help guide the choice of scrappy alternate squares from the resource boxes.

Onward.

Quiltdivajulie

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“I think that, with a lot of art, you just have to be bad at it sometimes before the magic happens.”

Hugh Howey

Introducing Dulcet and Logophile

This was one of my Christmas presents from DH.

I made a flannel quilt in 2006 using a palette

of dark cream, burgundy, and hunter green.

I've been wanting to make another "lighter" flannel quilt 

and when I saw these Mammoth flannel bundles,

I quickly added them to my wish list.

After they were laundered, instead of putting them away

I cut 14 of the FQs into pieces for 

It's a Plaid Plaid World from APQ (free download).

Saturday I enjoyed some quality sit and sew time.

First four columns pieced and sewn.

(vertical seams pending)

By the end of the day all seven were pieced.

The pattern's dimensions are 56" x 62" 

so I used all but three of the remaining segments

to lengthen each of the columns.

The top should end up in the 56" x 65+" range.

The plan is to make a giant four patch back

using the two flannels on the left.

I've named this DULCET meaning 

"extremely pleasant in a gentle way"

As I stitched all those columns together I was also

leader-endering these cut-and-paired-in-2020 HSTs

for a project I named LOGOPHILE -

meaning "a person who loves words."

My design and color palette were inspired by 

this late 2019 photo of Little Man 

during one of his regular Saturday visits to

 the Childrens Room at the Public Library.

(if you've never read it, he highly recommends

The Word Collector by Peter Reynolds)

* * *

Finally, Kaja over at The AdHoc Improv Quilters blog

has shared the latest six-month challenge 

called "pick a color."

You can see my first post for 

the color palette challenge here.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Every decently-made object, from a house to a lamp post to a bridge, spoon or egg cup, is not just a piece of 'stuff' but a physical embodiment of human energy, testimony to the magical ability of our species to take raw materials and turn them into things of use, value and beauty.”

Kevin McCloud