Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Doodled


Doodles are what doodles are, and rarely have I given them a second thought. Until a few weeks ago, when a random meeting doodle needed to be translated into fabric.


I had a few new stash additions, palette stacks by Marcia Derse, which I'd bought at a guild meeting where Marcia spoke; and Grid by Kimberly Kight for Ruby Star Society. The basic 'block' was quite simple, and I alternated between two versions. Nothing spectacularly clever, but satisfying nonetheless.


So I made a bunch of blocks, at some point adding a gray grid in with the black as things seemed a little dark. Eventually I put them all up on the design wall but nothing was really speaking to me. I rearranged and rearranged, and still I wasn't sure. So finally, I just started sewing, hoping it would figure itself out. I had a bit of an inkling that things were too crowded, so I cut a stack of rectangles from each grid fabric, and randomly added one in as I sewed the rows together. One thing I did love all along though, were those fabrics.... the colored print was just so interesting all cut up and dispersed, and those grids were the perfect geometric counterbalance.


By some miracle, it all worked, and by the time the top was pieced, I'd grown some fondness for it. So on to quilting! A grid was the obvious choice, and I decided to go low-key with some Aurifil 50wt #2600 (light gray). This was some fun, stress-free quilting, and I used Erica/Kitchen Table Quilting's method of quilting the right half, rotating 45-degrees and quilting the right half, rotating, and repeat. Both times I've done this it worked out really well, no puckers, and less bunching under the machine's arm. Yay. In no time I was binding it off with more of that black-and-white grid, which was the perfect frame.


So the whole reason I started this little (42" x 40") quilt was 1) as a way of procrastinating working on those larger wips hanging around and 2) a chance to play with those new stash fabrics. Even though there were bumps along the way, it was definitely a fun exploration, served its purpose well, and I'm ready to face those wips again.



This project was on my 2019 Finish-A-Long Q4 list!
Linking up with Meadow Mist Designs' Favorite Finish Monthly Linky!
Linking up with 2019 Finish-A-Long Q4 Link Up!

10 comments:

  1. Such a perfect little diversion! I love it

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  2. How fun is that!? You nailed it, color, composition and it looks great all around.
    Bravo.

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  3. That is one fun quilt! Sometimes the freedom to play results in the happiest creations!

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  4. Isn’t that the best kind of creating? The kind that happens along the way.

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  5. This is a fun one Debbie. After hopping over to look at the Palette fabric I better understand the shapes now too. It's a great mix of two basic fabrics for a very dynamic finish.I really need to follow your lead and make smaller in order to play more.

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  6. What a great project, I love it hanging on the wall.

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  7. Another great finish - and I love that it all started with a meeting doodle!

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  8. Yay, you have a finish! And thanks for the more detailed infos. At first I thought you had improved those tiny colorful pieces... And again adding in some simple blocks, to lighten it up, was perfect. Enjoy! xo

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  9. I, as well, thought you had pieced the colorful bits. But, no, you've got a fantastic fabric that works well all cut up into lovely little jewels. Thanks for the inspiration. take care ~~rita

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