Still Looking Up

From the day I thought of using "Looking Up" as a Bee Sewcial prompt, I loved it, and there was no looking back. A stall, perhaps, but no looking back.

Looking Up :: 75" X 60"

I spent weeks looking up and taking inspiration photos, though I knew my bee-mates would easily find their own, just by taking a moment to look up wherever they might be. And of course, they did!

In the photo above you'll see [top to bottom, left to right]: "Storm" by Leanne/@shecanquilt, "Perception" by Silvia/@astrangerview, "Bridge" by M-R/@quiltmatters, "Dormant" by Stephanie/@spontaneousthreads, "Timber!" by Hillary/@entrophyalwayswins, "Ceiling" by Felicity/@felicityquilts, my own "Swinging", "Fascinating" by Marci/@marci_girl, "Aspire" by Anne/@playcrafts, and "Redwoods" by Karen/@capitolaquilter. Each block so unique and individually inspired.... I've spent alot of time looking at them and appreciating them.

I also spent alot of time fretting over how to puzzle the blocks into a whole, and at long last settled on an improvisational sashing using Kona Overcast, which besides being the perfect color, just added to the sentiment of the design prompt.

For quilting, I used Aurifil 50wt #2600 (light gray) to create a free-form mesh inspired by the power lines on our street. So mostly there are groupings of parallel lines angling across the quilt, grounded occasionally by a trio of vertical 'poles'. It was one more aspect in keeping with the theme, and I love the idea still, though the execution left some empty spaces larger than I would have liked, many of which were secured by just following the lines of the fabric. It all worked well enough for me to be satisfied for trying it, knowing just the same that another choice might have been better. I can live with that.

This one called to be horizontally oblong, and why not? Measuring 75" X 60", I finished it off with a faced binding. Though pulling my bee-mates' remarkable blocks into a cohesive whole nearly did me in this round, I love the finish for the thoughtfulness that went into it, for the admission (by me) that indeed, the struggle can be real, and especially for the reminder, as always, to pause for just a bit.... and look up.

This project was on my 2018 Finish-A-Long Q1 list.
Linking up with Finish It Up Friday and 2018 Finish-A-Long Q1 Finishes!

Swinging

The project weighing on me right now is my latest Bee Sewcial quilt. Yeah. It's always challenging to puzzle the improvisational blocks from my mates into a cohesive whole, but this one seems even tougher than usual.



For reasons I can't totally explain, this layout made sense to me. Squishing the blocks edge to edge just didn't feel right this time, so I'm working on a very irregular sashing of sorts. And in starting in on that, I realized I really needed to add one more block - my own take on the prompt "Looking Up."



I've asked all my bee-mates to share a one-word description of their blocks, and my word for mine is "Swinging." Imagine you're swinging, and as you pass under the bar, you lean all the way back, arms straight... and you look up. That's the moment I tried to express. I happened to be swinging with grandgirl when I took the inspiration photo, so it'll be nice to have that little memory tied up in this quilt. Here's hoping I can pull it all together in a cohesive way....

Looking Up

One has to think long and hard when choosing a theme for the improv bee Bee Sewcial. Or maybe that's just me. At least I settled on one a couple of months ago, giving myself time to take some inspiration photos.

I'm hoping to encourage each of us to pause just a bit.... to notice the little things.... to be aware.... to look up.

The photos here are examples of what I've seen lately just randomly looking up when it crosses my mind to do so. I'm instructing my bee-mates: Please look up where you are. Base your block on what you see. Just tip your head back and look up!

I'd like one block from each of them, though I'm not particular about size - just the rough equivalent of two 12 1/2" blocks. The block can be square, or any proportion and orientation of rectangle. 

Another key element is the palette. I'd like all blocks to be done in grayscale - primarily using anything in the range from white to shades of gray, though small elements of black are fine.

And yet one more little request. When posting on Instagram or Flickr, please include ONE WORD to describe what your block represents to you. See in my Looking Up Flickr album how I have labeled my photos, each with a single word.

So relatively simple. Hopefully thoughtful. Minimal. Colorless. Just Look Up.....

Any and all of you, please feel free to sew along with us, posting on instagram with the hashtag #inspiredbybeesewcial.