Twiggy and Opal: Wonky, Wacky and Wild

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Wonky, Wacky and Wild

Time to share my latest! I have been hanging on to a group of Shot Cottons waiting for inspiration to hit me. The colors are amazing! From the lightest of pinks to a dark plum and everything in between. I did add a few hand dyed fabrics just to round it out and they were so perfectly matched! I have been immersed in Half-Square Triangles for what seems like months and months, and I was itching to go in the opposite direction. Get wild, let loose and just go crazy!

Inspiration smacked me upside the head one day and I went for it! These are the 12 blocks I ended up with. My disclaimer: The colors of these mosaics are brighter than in real life!

I wanted 12 blocks in random sizes.

Each one needed to be different.

I wanted one thing (besides the fabric) to tie all the blocks together. I decided a 1" square somehow incorporated in each block was the answer.

I honestly felt like Edward Scissorhands while making these blocks! Fabric flying, scissors and rotary cutter snipping and shaping! Edward and I have a few things in common. While I don't have the facial wounds, I do sometimes have wild hair and most definitely have the dark circles around my eyes!

I knew I was going to frame the blocks with a gray. I went with a lighter shade ~ Kona Shadow. I also incorporated the same gray in each block.

After deciding on a layout, I framed each block and assembled them in horizontal rows. I wanted each block to be not only different, but different sizes as well. Grid like, but keeping it random.

Once the front was finished, I went to work on the back. I'm a pieced back kinda girl ~ so I went for it! The back is Kona Iron and Pewter with a little Shadow left over from the front. The blocks were some test blocks that had to go somewhere. I don't know about you, but I cannot ignore, toss or save blocks for later use! Its now or never!!

I really like the back. So much so that it has me thinking of new quilt design! Imagine if we could make each and every design we think of! It never ends...

And so, this brings me to the quilting of this wacky goodness! I was seriously going to attempt some free-motion quilting. I actually tried it on one block. After seeing it I knew I would totally ruin this quilt if I went any further. I wish I had the confidence, skill and patience for FMQ. I know I would love it if I just let myself go. One day, right?!

I decided staying in my comfort zone was the best option! Once I decided on a quilting design, it was thread picking time.

These 4 colors were perfect. I planned on alternating thread colors throughout the quilt. I don't often go with pretty colors with my quilting. Usually a good neutral does the job. In this case, color was screaming out to me.

And so it began. Machine quilting. Thread changing. Quilt turning. Pin removing. Over and over again!

I divided the quilt into 4 sections. I wanted to mimic a block design that is in the quilt. Log cabin-ish was the plan. I intentionally did not use a ruler during the quilting process. I'm just going with it. Very random, very dense, very not perfect. Organic. Don't you love that word?! It fits most of my quilting adventures!

It may take a while to finish the quilting. I have time. I love getting half way in and feeling good about it. Getting excited to finish it. Looking forward to seeing it after it has been washed. I think that's when the quilt comes alive. The cherry on top!