And explore I did! I was curious if I could make the twists two colors, a different color on each side. My first attempt I tried sewing two different colors together and pressing at the seam. It worked, but it was a lot of work and a pain in the butt! Bear in mind my strips for the twists are only 3/4" wide before folding in half.
You can imagine how that went and hopefully can understand why I looked for an option to get where I wanted to go without creating more work than needed!
Then it hit me...stripes! First and foremost they needed to be the right size for cutting. I looked at my options and only had one. These Kaffe Fasset woven stripes were exactly what I was hoping and looking for. They were just about the exact size I needed.
Even so, there was some work to be done. I started by starching the fabric. This fabric is thinner than your typical cotton and requires starch to maintain its shape. Especially if you are cutting skinny strips and then folding them in half.
The change in color from one side of the twist to the other is not quite as bold as I was hoping for, but it is the effect I was after. Also, because the fabrics I choose are lighter weight the twists don't stand out (or stand up) as much as I hoped. I'm on the look out for some regular cotton stripes!
I can't complain! The idea is there, it just needs a different medium to make it better!
After making a few blocks the first day, I wasn't exactly thrilled. The usual 'what the heck was I thinking', 'why'd you waste all that time', 'I need a drink'!! By the next day I wasn't feeling so bad about them. They grew on me by the third day and I knew I needed to make more.
Which I did, but I also made some funky log cabin blocks to add for yet another twist!
And why not use every single color of Shot Cottons on hand?! Let's make it fun, bright and crazy!
Which is exactly what happened! Color, color, color and more color!
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| 26" x 26" |
It kept growing. And growing. And growing. I'll tell you it isn't easy to maintain nice perfect straight strips with this fabric. Starch does help but it doesn't cure the problem.
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| 45" x 47" |
I finally cut myself off from adding more strips...enough already! Yikes! It grew from 26" to 45"!
I started quilting it yesterday and hope to have it finished today. Hmmm...what did I learn? Use regular quilting cotton if you want to maintain shape, quit before you take it too far and find some new stripes!
That being said I do love all the color! And I love the concept! And I love this quilt! It may be a wonky funked up mess in the end, but who knows...maybe I can pull it off yet! *SIGH*
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Very colorful, indeed!
ReplyDeleteThat it is! I totally threw in the kitchen sink for this one!
DeleteBeautiful! I am so impressed by your creativity and "outside the box" thinking.
ReplyDeleteWhat an exploration. The stripes are so interesting. Curious how the quilting is going to play in...
ReplyDeleteThis is gorgeous, Jayne! A lot of work, but worth it for the effect!
ReplyDeleteIt always surprises me when a quilt starts out as ‘iffy’, but grows into something you love! Thank goodness I didn’t scrap the project after the first few blocks!
DeleteI have seen twisting strips like that in art show quilts at the quilt shows but never really looked at it close enough to see how it was done - very interesting affect!
ReplyDeleteamazing! and brilliant to use stripes! I love it
ReplyDeleteSomething tells me the finish might be funky, but not a mess when it is finished. :) I love the idea of using stripes to get a color change and I hope you find a print that works perfectly with your vision. If not, there's always Spoonflower... ;)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful colors and techniques. I'll be interested to see your quilting choices, and how many different thread colors you choose.
ReplyDeleteMy initial plan was to use one color thread when I started quilting. That lasted about 10 minutes before I pulled out a lot more! How could I not?!
DeleteYou know, the wonkiness of the borders seems natural based on the center of the quilt! Who says it must be square? Congrats on letting your creativity shine through!
ReplyDeleteI love this "fun and bright and crazy" wall hanging! It will bring a splash of wonderful color to any wall! It's a work of art, Jayne.
ReplyDeleteOh, wow! Now I want to cut up my striped fabrics and try this!! So cool, Jayne. You always inspire me :)
ReplyDeleteJayne, I'm just loving your twisty stripes experiments! This piece has so much wonderful, playful energy. The asymmetrical borders add so much, too.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE it. Thank you for sharing your challenges when working with the shot cottons. I have a collection of them but have been afraid to use them because they are so much thinner. Now when I do decide to dig into them I will be better equipped. The quilt looks more like a painting in an art museum.
ReplyDeleteWow, I'd call this a success! You should enter it in Quilt Con.
ReplyDeleteI love it! Great great ideas, and all those colors are wonderful together!
ReplyDeleteYeowee, that is one bright quilt, where are my sunglasses, hehehe!! You know I am teasing you, right? You are just one creative cool cat!! Anxious to see how you will quilt it.
ReplyDeleteI love all the color and the concept, too. I don't think you could ever call it a mess though!
ReplyDeleteYou are so smart - using stripes is brilliant! I am pretty sure I have some wide stripe fabrics if you have problems finding what you need. They are just hanging out in the scrap bin!
ReplyDelete