It's been a lovely sewing week so far, and it looks to only improve! Taking a short break today though for a picnic in the park with my boys--mac and cheese, fruit salad, and apple pie!--but I'll start back tomorrow.
I finished up my July block for In Color Order's BOM. I hadn't planned to devour it so soon, but I really loved the block and couldn't wait to make it. And if I'm adding in small pops of yellow to the gray monochromatic theme, why not add the occasional pop of crimson? I bought that crimson batik fabric for the Reunion quilt, but I had a bit left over, and I seriously heart the way it looks.
Speaking of the Reunion quilt, I'm nearly done with the first pass of quilting. I think another half an hour or so? I do have a question for you lovely readers. I had originally planned to diagonally quilt across the patchwork, then come back through with another set of perpendicular lines to form an "x" over each box. (Probably didn't explain that the best way, and I'm hoping you get what I mean!) But after I finished the first set of lines, I really kind of like the way it looks. So! Do I go with an "x" or keep it the way it is? Not making a second pass will shave lots of quilting time off, but I want the quilt to really look sharp since it's a gift.
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The first block she talks about is a wonky log cabin, so I started there. I'm not in love with the block, but I'm saving my final critique until this baby really births itself.
The second block I finished is something that kind of put itself together. If you've been reading long, you know I love these dancing monkeys, so I started with that piece and looked for pieces with a similar length, then framed it with the green and gray on the sides. And I love it! I think blocks like this are more to my liking.
Both blocks are around 7" square. What do you think a good picnic quilt size is? Having never made one, I'm debating that. My husband asked on Monday if I was planning to have it done for our picnic today, and I laughed thoroughly. This is a project that will take a bit of time, and I'm hoping to put together blocks when I need a good break from other stuff. I had a lot of headaches last week, and I think they were from trying to make sure all of my quilting lines are straight and lovely on the Reunion quilt. It was lovely to take some time and piece together random scraps without worry of it looking perfect.
I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced. Love love love looking at all of those gorgeous projects! I feel like every week I get jealous because someone has posted a quilt that I wish I had made! (But it's a happy jealous.)
I love the July BOTM! I just finished laying out fabric for mine, and also did red in the corners. Great minds think alike! =]
ReplyDeleteA picnic quilt is an awesome idea. My guess is that the size would depend on how many people you were planning to actively have on the quilt. We always used a queen-sized sheet for picnics, so that's the size I'm used to, but a 6x6' would probably work. You could try mapping it out on the carpet with string/thread/painters tape, and see what you like.
My theory for quilting is to stick with what you like. If you like the quilting the way it is, then stick with it! The other thing to consider is how rigid you want the final quilt to be. If you do the perpendicular quilting, the quilt is going to feel more firm, especially with the size of the patchwork you used. I do love how it's coming together, though!
Yay, red corners! I'm hoping to keep my blocks around 7", and I thought about either 70" or 84". Maybe I'll just see how the blocks lay out. I like the idea of mapping them.
DeleteI decided to forgo any further quilting, and I did the machine-stitched portion of my binding. I also made sure to add a triangle label; I love that idea! I really really like this quilt! :)
Looks like many of us are scrap busting lately! A picnic blanket is a great idea. About the quilting...it will look good either way, and no one will know if you decide not to do the x lines!!
ReplyDeleteFirst time visitor here and I love your blocks! Think I might have to subscribe! :-) I am also trying to scrap bust! So fun to use scraps in ways you never thought you could!
ReplyDeleteI love the way the red looks with the grey and yellow! Awesome choice. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the more random blocks, too -- I think I could get into quilting if I could just sew cool fabrics together in a random way.
Happy 4th, dude! I hope you enjoyed the pie.
Thanks, dude! I really like the random blocks, and I'm excited to see them en masse. I took a cue from you and put together a rainbow block, hooray!
DeleteAnd the pie...oh the pie. I learned yesterday that I make a ridiculously tasty apple pie. :)
I think the Reunion quilt looks sharp as-is! Twice as much quilting might look like too much (but you know that I like minimal quilting for most quilts). Did you use poly batting? The lines look close enough to not worry about it shifting a lot over time or after washing. The risks to quilting more are that you don't like it, and then if you remove it, you can see the holes and potentially have some bearding. Plus, it's time that you could spend making other quilts! ;)
ReplyDeleteI used a cotton batting, and after finishing up the quilting last night, I decided to keep it as is, and I sewed on part of the binding. I really like it. I can't wait to see it with the binding finished!
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