Pick-A-Color :: Purple

I don't really remember why I set aside some purple scraps months ago, but I happened across them as I began my 5th scrap quilt of the summer, and decided I'd just keep adding to them, mission unknown. So by the time I was ready to work with them, I had quite a nice quantity and variety. I tried my best to identify them, and whether one piece, or much more, I know that at least Kona Eggplant, Purple, Hibiscus, Noble Purple, Tulip, Raisin, Orchid, Orchid Ice, Petunia, Morning Glory, Amethyst, and Lupine; and Cotton Couture Amethyst, Blackberry, and Purple are represented among them.

Pulling out this mix was timely, as I'd just read The Power of Purple: Depth, Ambiguity and the Color Between Warm and Cool by Carolina Oneto @carolina_oneto. What an interesting read! Besides calling purple "The Only Color With Two Temperatures," she shares a lot of its history, and ways to explore using it. My current project will probably not be quite so intentional, but it's good info to consider.

Meanwhile, my purple scraps are also timely, as I was reminded about the QuiltCon 2027 American Patchwork + Quilting Pick-A-Color Scrappy Challenge. "Eligible quilts will use at least 10 different fabrics and feature one overarching hue in the design." Well, my current pile of scraps definitely fit the bill there. So we'll see. I have already begun to piece the smaller scraps together, and randomly put them up on the design wall. IE. the photo is definitely not a final layout. But it's a start. I have a handful of quarter-circles yet to piece, and then I'll be left with a few bit larger pieces. My (hopeful) goal is to create something in the spirit of my recent pieced quilt backs. I know. I know. We'll see where the scraps take me. And wherever it is may or may not be submission-worthy. But I'm going to head in that direction and take it from there.

Overmuch

I was deep in the process of making scrappy grab&piece blocks when it dawned on me that my whole purpose - making a quilt top in the style of my pieced quilt backs - was not going as planned. The problem was simple. Unlike my pieced quilt backs, where I used the finite amount of scraps left over from piecing the front, I had what felt like an unlimited amount of scraps to pull from my scrap basket. It totally changed the look of the blocks, and when I realized what I'd done, it felt too late to go back. So I continued on, using as many scraps as possible, and created Overmuch.

Despite the unintentional change of plans, I enjoyed making the scrappy blocks very much, and obviously, used a good amount of scraps. For the back, then, I did do my normal thing, using leftovers from the front, as well as all the greens I could find in my scrap basket. I used several smaller-sized greens from stash to fill in, and was quite pleased with the result.

For quilting, I used Aurifil 50wt variegated 3320 [Light Spring] and did some organic straight-line quilting, which I don't think I've done for quite a while, at least not on a quilt this large, 52" x 60". Then I bound it in Kona Wasabi. I'm not sure what came over me, especially since I hand-bind my quilts 99% of the time. But I was in the mood for machine-binding, so that's what I did. The result is quite possibly, the scrappiest quilt I've ever made.

Overmuch is the 5th scrappy quilt this summer, and believe it or not, I already have scraps pressed and sorted for #6. Might as well keep going while I'm in the mood.