wacky squares quilt, part 2

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The big reveal… the top of the quilt is all finished. I really went heavy on the white space, like I said I would. It’s still being debated (with my spouse) whether or not I should add some other sort of detail or color to the outside, like pick out the seam between the white and the black and white outer border and add a thin strip of color to ‘put a box’ around the 4 squares or just leave it. I’m inclined to leave it- enough already. I think I’ll run it past the quilt guild ladies tomorrow- they’ll have some excellent ideas I’m sure.

I truly love the white and black geometric ‘step by step’ Alexander Henry outer border fabric and in this setting. I’ve been hoarding the 2 yards I have of it for some years now. I’ve always pictured it as a summer skirt. Well, it seemed to fit well here so I grabbed the scissors and cut before I could change my mind.

For a look at Part 1 and how to piece this type of squares, visit here.

Bonus feature: Here’s another finished quilt top, made by my 13 year old daughter… who was just playing around in the fabric strip scrap pile. I love to see the youngsters being clever and especially making entire quilts! Now we just need to get both quilt tops quilted and bound and placed on the end of our beds.

wacky squares quilt, part 1

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I just came across these squares… I had pieced them last summer using blue-themed scraps. Oh, how I dislike the unfinished project- it was haunting me, mocking me every time we crossed paths, so let’s see if I can make them into something useful this summer and do away with our uncomfortable encounters.

I was originally thinking about making them into a table runner. Something wasn’t quite right (or maybe it’s just me) the side by side layout (pictured above) wasn’t working or I just got bored of the project and I shelved the squares.

I like the squares better like this, all four together. But still, there needs to be some gaps, empty space to make the randomness intriguing and inviting- not frightening. It needs white, a contrast between the squares to set it off. It could use some flow and continuity amongst the 4 squares as well.

I do love the colors though, I think I’ve got an idea…

First, I trimmed all of the square to the exact same size- 15.5 inch squares.

I piled all the squares up on top of each other and cut them in half with a rotary cutter. Somewhat scary… so I just took a deep breath and cut.

With the squares still stacked, I cut them in half again. Now each stack has a swatch from all 4 original squares, pre-selected for you if you want to keep things easy in the next step.

Take the 4 stacks and lay them out into 4 new squares made from 1 of each original square.

So far… all the blocks sewed back together again. I’ve got a plan for the next phase, stay tuned…

Look here for part 2!

back in the swing of things

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Phew, what a month it has been. Hardly a moment to do anything but sleep and my filthy house and disheveled affairs show it (hopefully not the children). Organizing the Beehive Bazaar and then sewing for the event kept me busy the first few weeks of May and right on the tail of that… I jumped on a movie, learning the wardrobe biz. Thankfully it was being shot very close to my house and this made the long days (at least 12 hours) bearable. It was super fun learning wardrobe and right up my alley. It’s like my brain was built for the job.

Now I gotta pick it up, (it’s like I’ve been in a coma for a month) and get everything back on track, and school’s out tomorrow… an added element of madness ensues. I’ll have a 9, 13, 15 year olds (16 yr. old is in Costa Rica as an exchange student until July) with oodles of fresh free time on their hands.

And so, as I blink and stagger back into my life, I’ll share a few giggles with you, these videos have been making us laugh, over and over.