Scrap Stacks

So if you look back at the last several quilts I've made, you'll find that their focus has either been repurposed fabric or scraps. And after piecing together my second carefully measured and constructed Plaid-ish quilt top (which just got sent off to be long-arm quilted), I was back in the mood for some more improv.

I flipped thru Nicholas' Inspiring Improv (again) and realized I hadn't ever tried the 'stacks' technique. Well maybe I had done something similar, but it had been a very long time. So I rummaged through that scrap basket again, just pulling some bits and pieces that felt like they'd be good together. I just started making blocks and putting them up on the design wall, building as I went. I started in the upper left corner, so you can kind of see how some colors (like the lilac) are concentrated there, then as I move out, other colors (and sizes) are added in and then left behind. There really was very little rearranging of blocks once I'd worked my way through the pile. Maybe there should have been, but that just wasn't what I was feeling.

Once the blocks were done, I actually pulled another small pile of strings and stuff that I thought I would incorporate as I puzzled the blocks together, but strangely enough, I never added a thing. I just pieced and trimmed in sections, again building as I went. And then it was time for a pieced quilt back.

For quilting I did a randomly spaced and non-straight grid with Aurifil 50wt #2600 [light gray]. I like how it really stands out on the darker fabrics, yet recedes nearly completely on the lighter ones. 

And oops! When it came time for trimming, I just couldn't square it up. Again. Binding was made out of those strings I mentioned earlier, so yes, I did use some of them after all.

And once the quilt was done, I threw it right in the wash. Not my norm necessarily, but this one just called out to be crinkled. Measuring about 44" x 49", it's a funky finish - soft and textured and teeming with a scrappy spontaneity that I love.