Sunday, July 18, 2010

I'm Playing Along Too

Magpie Sue here. I stumbled onto this blog the other day. I've been making blocks like this for a at least a year now but there seems to be no end of scraps in sight so I figured I could play along and continue nibbling away at the accumulation of years of quiltmaking. I love the idea of spending at least 15 minutes a day sewing, and there's nothing like a commitment to someone else to hold me to it!

I originally had my scraps sorted by color families. When I got serious about trying to use them by making these blocks I found that sorting them by size was more efficient. You start with the smallest bits, you see, and then work your way up to the longer pieces. So now I have my bits in a popcorn tin when I'm not actively using them and my longer/bigger pieces in a plastic box. I can start a couple of blocks working out of the tin and then I move to the box when I need more length. I normally have at least two blocks going at a time, that way I can chain piece them. When I get to the end of a set of blocks I pick up two new little pieces of fabric, run them through the machine and leave them there until the next time. That's how I made the blocks for this quilt:

If you look carefully you'll notice that the alternate blocks - between the Shoo Fly and Barn Door blocks - are all liberated log cabins/crumb blocks. The "precision pieced" blocks were all made out of patches I cut from larger leftover pieces of fabric so they're all scrappy too.

I have to admit that when I first completed the top I was a bit overwhelmed by the busy-ness of it. After I quilted and bound it (it has a multi-fabric binding too) I put it away for a couple of weeks. Then I had an opportunity to take it to a friends' house where we laid it out on the grass. That was when I fell in love with it. Now I'm looking forward to the cooler weather when we can have it on the couch to snuggle under while we watch TV. :- )

12 comments:

Unknown said...

I love busy quilts...this one is incredible!

Bonnie said...

You have made a wonderful, fun quilt. I say the more the merrier. Bonnie

Kim said...

Its pure fun and delight....I hope you love it forever!

Happy sewing

Quilter Kathy said...

What a great quilt! Love it!

Kim Brackett said...

That's one quilt I'd love to see up close. I'll bet there's a treasure trove of fabrics all mixed up in there. Great quilt!

Mego said...

absolutely fabulous! What a great reminder of all the 'traditional' quilts and their fabrics you have made. I LOVE this!

Carol E. said...

I love it! It'll be a great TV-cuddler!

beth said...

what a wonderful quilt!! I love it too!

holly k said...

Like!!! It has a lot of what I call "churn dash" blocks...trying to figure out what to do with a bunch of these blocks. I like looking at it to find the pattern/order of it amidst all the busyness...makes my eyes see new things! :)

WoolenSails said...

It is a beautiful quilt and I love the scrappy look.

Debbie

Mary said...

The more fabrics, the better the quilt. I love the very scrappiness of it!

Magpie Sue said...

Wow! Glad y'all like it so much!