Abstractions Redux

So here's where I left things on January 3 - putting my Block Studies Collective Abstractions piece away and just moving on. To be perfectly honest, I had already given half of my Tara Faughnan-curated bundle of fabric to my daughter, but I kept the pieced bits and the long strips of fabric I'd already cut. So I had a little to work with if it ever called my name again. Luckily, it did.

Honestly, it was hard for me to say good-bye to the season of Block Studies Collective with five finished works, and this pile of unfinished business. Suddenly, I wanted to see if I could make something with it. And that's where this part of the story begins.

I just started brand new with the bits and strips of fabric I had left, not really knowing how big I could go with it. The goal was to mix things up a lot more than I did on the first go-round. And I liked that much better. That said, I maybe should have paid more attention to trimming blocks as I pieced them, as things looked a little more improv-y than anticipated. But actually I was kind of ok with it though. It felt like mine.

At this point, the piece was about 13.5" square, and rather than make a mini quilt with it, I decided to finally try Kelly Spell's @kellyspell tutorial on How to Mount a Quilt on Canvas. 

I purchased a wrapped canvas that measured 14" square x 1.5" deep. I'd actually not been sure what size I wanted when I went to the store, but they were all out of 16" or even 12", so I grabbed what they had. And then after debating whether or not to quilt my piece, I decided yes, I would hand-quilt it. So I added a 2" black border to it, knowing full well my finished edges would not be square, and basted it on Quilter's Dream Cotton Request Loft (low loft). Then I loosely hand-quilted it with Wonderfil Spagetti 12wt SP202 [Charcoal]. 

Once done, I added the black facing per the tutorial to finish it up. It's not perfect, but I like it, and I learned a couple of things to pay closer attention to next time. 

I highly recommend Kelly's tutorial, and if you wonder why the staples on the back aren't more numerous, as she suggested, it's because we ran out. I'll be adding several more once we restock. But still, I feel good about the finished piece, and even better about doing something with those fabric bits. Truth is, I still have that original discard, so time will tell if I revisit it yet again.