Twiggy and Opal

Monday, June 18, 2018

Blue Wave :: Scrap Mini #2

I haven't had a chance to photograph the large quilt yet, so I thought I'd go the 'scraps before the original' quilt route this time.

BLUE WAVE MINI QUILT
16 1/2" X 17"

For this quilt I went with improv wave strips and a dark blue background using Kona Nightfall. The trick here was to get a good curve and still allowing the 'textured twist' to show.

Except for the strips on the left and right, it worked. The outside strips ended up having one straight edge and one that was curved. Yet again, they became scraps from scraps. You just can't let it go can you Jayne?! (no...I cannot)

I am shocked that I didn't have a dark blue thread in my stash! I ended up using Aurifil Delft Blue (#2730) which I don't hate!

I quilted curvy lines from top to bottom. Some areas were left open, some areas were super dense by the time I finished.

If you haven't tried organic curves or even straight lines, I would encourage you to give it a try. It's a nice change from perfection, but I'd argue that it is still perfection just in a different way!

The back highlights the quilting in a completely different way! As you can see, I didn't quilt at all in the textured twist strips. It didn't really need it.

By the time I show you the original project, you'll be so sick and tired of it you may not even look! Sorry about that! If you know me, you know I latch on to a project and keep going until every scrap is gone. That could mean 2 quilts, 3 quilts or more!!

JUST FOR FUN

If you are on Instagram, you know about 'stories'. Did you know you can do polls with stories? I bought this fun little rainbow flower pinwheel and asked in my poll 'Do You Love Rainbows'? I was surprised to see there were 14% of the people who did not...What?! How can you not love rainbows, love color...but, the good news is 86% do love rainbows!

So I will informally ask you...Do You Love Rainbows? 🌈

LINKING:

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Mid Week Makers Needle & Thread TGIFF Crazy Mom Quilts Can I get a Whoop Whoop

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Huge Progress :: Plus A Mini Quilt

If you remember last month, I started a project I thought was going to be laborious and tedious. My post 'Tedium Begins' shows you exactly what I'm talking about. It had all the makings of something that was going to be time consuming and most likely push me to the limit.

I'm happy to say that wasn't really the case when it came time to sew! It really was an intense time cutting and pressing all the pieces, but the main part, the part that really matters wasn't quite as bad as I had thought it would be.

Perhaps the hardest part was making sure I got all the beautiful folded strips in the right order on each panel I was making.

Writing numbers on each strip with a black sharpie and taking my time paid off! I ended up with four big panels to work with. Each panel ended up being about 18" x 22". When I first started cutting and piecing I was worried I wasn't going to have enough to work with for the quilt.

Turns out I had plenty! So much left over that I was able to make two mini quilts and then some!

This is my first mini made from the scraps. I kept it simple, light and worked with what I had on hand.

TWISTED HERRINGBONE
15" X 18 1/2"

The strips finish at 1/2" and 1/4" wide. Even though the strips were super skinny, I was still able to give the 1/2" strips that signature 'textured twist' to them. And that made me happy!

It was certainly a fun exercise in tiny piecing! One that I always enjoy immensely!

I quilting this one using the best of both worlds. Free motion pebbles and ovals and straight line matchstick quilting.

As you can see, some of the FMQ ended up being a little funky! It matters not at all to me! I will most likely never become great at FMQ, but it certainly isn't going to stop me from doing it!

The background fabric is Kona Ice Frappe. I pulled out some thread and settled on Aurifil Pale Green #2880. Normally I wouldn't go green with this fabric, but it matched and in the end blended perfectly!

Binding is always a place where we can add a little extra zing! Even something as simple as yellow, orange and red pieced together gives an added visual.

The second mini I made will be another post, another day. I also hope to get some pictures of the quilt in the next day or two so I can share the main event with you!

I'll leave you with a couple fun and interesting pictures!

A warped view of the panels and...

The near perfect pressed panel back!

LINKING:

Oh Scrap Main Crush Monday Freemotion by the River Let's Bee Social

Mid Week Makers Needle & Thread TGIFF Crazy Mom Quilts Can I get a Whoop Whoop

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Scrap Magic :: Bits-n-Pieces

As promised, I'm sharing my finished table runner that I made from scraps. Scraps from a secret project that has since become 'not' a secret project! That project is here: Scattered, and the process of how I used the scraps from it is here: Improv Scraps.

I'm a sucker for using every last piece I can and its not unusual for me to use the 'cast off' pieces and finish it before the original project. When I was making the panels for the Scattered quilt, there was an excitement brewing inside me as I trimmed down the blocks and saw the scraps grow! Gotta love a challenge!

Stained Glass
14" x 54"

I use gray as a background in so many projects, don't I?! Usually I go with a very light grey, but decided to use the charcoal gray leftovers for this. And I'm super glad I did! It makes me want to replenish this one again.

The black binding gives it more definition, or frames the pieces as if it were a stained glass window!

I quilted a combination of straight lines and free motion pebbles using a dark gray thread.

You can see the quilting a little better on the back. Pretty simple and easy to do! The back is three different shades of gray pieced together. I often have large scraps laying around that aren't large enough for one project, but when pieced together they certainly are!

Scraps of all sizes can become something. By adding a larger piece of fabric to a small piece on one side or all sides become instantly more manageable. Try it! Once the piece is bigger you can trim it into a shape such as a square and piece several together.

You could add strips between each scrap and make a long row and leave it as is, or it could be chopped up again. The hardest part is letting go and letting it happen when faced with a golden pile of bits-n-pieces!

This type of piecing and playing with scraps isn't every ones favorite thing to do. You may look at it and think 'what the heck was she thinking'! Imagine if we all did the same thing, imagine how boring that would be!

I tend to appreciate a style, theme or technique regardless if its my thing or not! Its about the journey, the dedication, the time and work that goes in to a quilt.

If it weren't for our community and it's support of one another, we wouldn't be who we are now or who we will become in the future as quilters. So, a huge thank you for all the support I've received over the years. This community has made me a better quilter!

LINKING:

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Mid Week Makers Needle & Thread TGIFF Crazy Mom Quilts Can I get a Whoop Whoop

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Bee Inspired 2018 :: Chutes & Ladders

Wheeeeeee! Play time! This month our Bee Inspired prompt was from Audrey @artandstole, and it was a fun one!

Chutes and Ladders is a game most of us are very familiar with. Audrey requested something to climb and something to slide down using a blue background and as much color as our hearts desired! My heart desired it, at least for part of it.

I was excited when I finally had the time to start this prompt. It was sure to be a fun one. The blocks needed to be at least 12" and the ladder/slide needed to reach from one side to the other.

'Chute/Slide'
14 1/2" x 17 1/2"

First up was the 'chute'! I had no idea where this was going to go or even if it would work out. Improv can be a challenge! I love when improv takes me on a journey. Having a basic idea to start, figuring it out as I go and then seeing where it takes me.

I wondered, if I had my very own slide what exactly would that look like? Certain it would be a beautiful bright one. Something with a little kick to it, but nothing that would cause bodily harm!

I started with bright pink, because...I like pink. I also like pink and orange together. The 'sit your butt and slide part' did not come to me right away, so I let it sit until the next day. I just couldn't find a color that would give this slide the punch I wanted.

The next day it an idea did come to me! What could be brighter than a rainbow? I pulled my colors and viola! It happened!

I pieced together the rainbow and promptly sliced out my slide. I wanted my slide to flip me into the air at the end where I could fly out of it and land on my feet! Well, if I were much younger...I wouldn't want to break a bone!

Next up I had to tackle the ladder. My first thought of a ladder was a crooked one. I was firmly embedded in my brain and I couldn't shake it loose!

Ladder
14 1/2" x 14 1/2"

The picture in my head was of a funky old ladder. You know how wood gets old and lichen (moss) starts growing on it after being left outside? That's what I was after.

I used two green shades for the rungs and added the blue background in between.

My ladder was also going to need perspective. So, I made my top sections start small and gradually grow wider at the bottom. And with that, I sliced in the sides and added the background.

A super fun challenge and I'm excited to see how Audrey puts these blocks together! It's sure to be a fun and amazing 'game board'!