'Finely Tuned' :: Design to Quilting

The beauty of scraps!  I always get a little 'twinge' when I end up with a pile of scraps from a previous project.  Call me strange, but it's fun for me to reconfigure, twist and turn and come up with a quilt.

This is my funky creation from scraps I had left over when I made a whole slew of placemats. Check out Geometric Placemats to see the original source and From Trash To Treasure! The Process how I took the scraps and pieced the quilt.  

Finely Tuned
51" x 65 1/2"

It still takes me a while to come up with a quilting idea, and when the idea finally came to me I jumped in!  Which also led to...there's no going back!  Once I started I couldn't change my mind and flip the script.  Regardless if it was easy or hard, it was happening!



To be honest, I think I picked my thread colors before I knew what my quilting plan was!  I first used Aurifil Dark Pewter (#2630) and quilted in the ditch around most of the dark lines in the quilt.  Aurifil Aluminum (#2615) and Bright Pink (#2425) was used for the rest of the quilting.  

  

I set about mimicking the vertical design with 1/4" spaced lines in the center portion of the quilt alternating with ping and grey thread.  

     
The triangles were the only place where I quilted a different pattern than the rest of the quilt.  


The real fun began when I was able to start quilting in the border!  At first I thought it was going to be a nightmare, but soon found out that wouldn't be the case.  



I was able to wiggle and maneuver the quilt around pretty easily to accomplish the maze effect I was after.

In order to get just the right lines around the border, I would do a series of 1/4" lines using a ruler and my hera marker.  Once I had completed a round, I marked another series and repeated the process until the end and I was satisfied.



The back isn't quite as intriguing as the front, but you can get a sense of design a little better.  It does fit in with the front as far as colors are concerned!



Ignore the uneven lines please!  I'm quite sure after I wash it it won't matter one bit!  Usually I wash all my quilts before sharing the finish.  This time I just didn't have the time.



Which leads me to ask, do you usually wash your quilts before sharing?  I wonder about that! Also, if you are putting a quilt in a quilt show, is it common practice to wash quilts first or not? Curious George here!

I am not sure exactly why, but I decided to name this quilt 'Finely Tuned'.  For some reason all I could envision was an instrument being tuned.  The neck of a guitar, the scroll or tuning pegs of a violin and even the strings inside of a piano.  Actually, my Mom came up with the name and it grew from there!  All the more reason to keep it as 'Finely Tuned'!



What I like about these 'improv' or 'scrap' designs is hearing what others see or feel from looking at it.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, art is objective and that's just the way I like it!!

If my last few posts have seemed scattered or not my usual style, it's because I have been in Oregon for the past couple weeks.  As of today, I'll be heading back home to Tennessee. It's time to get back to 'things', get back on track and readjust.  

So, thank you for sticking with me!  I am so, so thankful for all the support I have received from everyone.  Yes, it's true...Our quilting community is like no other!

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