Improv Curves Quilt - Another Finish

Because I got four quilts sandwiched at the last ECMQG sew day, I've actually been pretty successful at getting them quilted and bound this week.  This one is the newly completed Improv Curves quilt.  I don't think I've ever made a quilt that I've taken apart and put back together as much as this one.  And I don't think this will ever be my favorite quilt.  But it's finished, and that's something, right?

On two of the Improv Curves blocks I did a 1/2-inch insert of the background.  The cool thing about a 1/2-inch insert is that it leaves the lines created by the seams of the block pretty much intact, whereas larger inserts make the seam more disjointed.

I found this piece of backing fabric at A&E on the sale aisle for $2.49 a yard, so it was a thrifty purchase, and the colors were right.

I used the #4 Bernina stitch for the quilting.  This is a really quick, fun quilting method.  Ironically, the day after I finished the quilt, Faith at Fresh Lemons posted a tutorial on using this quilting method the Bernina WeAllSew website using this technique.  I pretty much did as she outlines in the tutorial,  although I set my stitch width at 6 and my stitch length at 3.5.

 In her tute, Faith mentions that she doesn't mark lines on her quilt, she just lets the quilting self-correct when she comes to seams in the quilt, and that's pretty much what I did also.  I just started next to a seam and moved over about an inch for each row, then just let-er-rip.  Little vagaries in the rows really don't show because of the wavy nature of the stitch.  It's great for hiding little flaws.

I found almost 1/2 yard of this pink polka dot on the donation table at the ECMQG meeting and just knew I would need it for something.  It turned out to be perfect for the binding of this quilt.  It wasn't cut quite straight, so I was short one WOF strip.  I dithered a bit about what to do, but then I saw the last little bit of the stripey binding from the Citrus quilt in the scrap basket, and it was perfect.  Just.  Long.  Enough. Total serendipity!!!  (I really love it when a plan comes together!)

Thanks, Diane, for showing me something new, and for your encouragement as I struggled with this process.  I really did learn a lot.

Five Easy Pieces - Part V

At the March ECMQG meeting, the lovely Diane taught a class on improv curved piecing.  I hadn't given much thought to this technique before, so I grabbed a stack of FQ's and headed out the door to the meeting. 

Diane's creations are truly awe-inspiring.  I love the way she just takes ordinary fabric and makes such amazing things.  Be sure to check out her blog.

Me?  Not so much. 

I thought about cutting the blocks in quarters and trying to do something with them that way.

But in the end, this is what I ended up with.  Five big blobs in a bigger gray blob.

And I hated it.

So, in the end, I took it all apart.  I left one third of it alone. I cut part of it into a row of small, narrow blocks, kind of like a ladder and fit it in the center.  Then I cut one of the blocks apart and put it at either end of the larger block.

I still don't think this will ever be my favorite quilt, but it's better.  And I learned a few things about curved piecing.  I might try this technique again, but not with these colors and probably not with curves in both directions.

But, when it's quilted, it will still be bright and cheerful.  It will still keep someone warm.  Those are good things I think. 

Stymied

After almost 2 full weeks of playing, I came home from church today determined to get caught up on some stuff, most notably the February and March bee blocks from the Modern InstaBee that I joined back in January.  There has just been so much going on, I hadn't taken the time to sit down and make these blocks.  But, as so often seems to happen, I was frustrated at every turn.  Both the February and March queen bees want Kona white as their background.

Do I have Kona white?  Nope.

I haven't bought any since I bought the bolt of Moda Bella White several months ago.

And they are not the same - I know, because I mixed them in a quilt and you can tell.  You can really tell.

So, tomorrow I will haul myself off to Joann's or my LQS and buy some Kona White, and get these boogers made.

I hope.

Yesterday at our ECMQG meeting, Diane did a demo and workshop on improv curves.  I've done some improv curves before, but our sew days at ECMQG are really fun, and I haven't been able to stay for awhile, so I dragged my baby sewing machine off to the meeting, and decided to play with the group.  I used 5 of my FQs from the warm FQ Scrap Pack I bought from Westwood Acres Fabric (those scrap packs are so fun!) and played with the curved piecing Diane showed us.  I managed to get my 5 blocks put back together before I left, but they were a little boring so I sliced them up going the other direction and put them back together again and this is what I ended up with.

No idea what to do with them now.

They kind of remind me of the Oh Fransson Crazy 9-Patch and Lattice Quilt  blocks

That I used to make this quilt (which was one of the first "modern" quilts I made and still one of my favorites...)

And this one, which was a charity quilt made from donated fabric (definitely not a favorite, but I didn't choose the fabrics....)

I'm thinking of squaring them up and maybe cutting them up again.  After that I'm kinda stumped.

But I'm open to suggestions...

So I spent the afternoon writing blog posts and surfing Pinterest.

Don't judge me.  {please!}