Modular Realized

It's taken a while to get this far, and now that I'm here, neither schedule nor weather has allowed for the truly modular photoshoot I had in mind. But that doesn't mean the finish isn't worth celebrating, so I'll call it a day and maybe another time I'll get that photo I'd hoped for.

So my Modular Bee Sewcial finished at 68" x 82". Two of the blocks I'd received plus my own were unique shapes, and the others were all more rectangular. So it ended up that I added to the three unique-shaped ones to square them up a bit. That wasn't my original intent, but it's what seemed to make sense once I'd come up with a layout. One end of Marci/@marci_girl's I did leave angled though, just because I liked the interest it added.

In trying to tie in the orange spots in each block, I used half-inch strips of two orange solids, drawing them all the way to the quilt's edge via matched binding once on each side. Another thing about the binding is that I made it to finish at 1/2" wide to add another connected element to the orange "sashing."



Quilted with a hand-drafted 3 1/2" x 4" tumbler design, execution went really well, though overall it's less dense than I usually quilt. I tried out several tumbler sizes and shapes, though, and the one I went with just seemed to fit the scale of the rest of the blocks. Not sure why the quilt looks wrinkled in these photos, because in person it looks really sharp. In fact I'm super pleased with it. Bee Sewcial quilts are always a special kind of challenge, and I'm glad to have conquered this one. Thanks to Karen/capitolaquilter, M-R/quiltmatters, Leanne/shecanquilt, Stephanie/spontaneousthreads, Ken/thekinglacker, Felicity/felicityquilts, Silvia/astrangerview, Marci/marci_girl for their inspired blocks - exactly the kind of improv with intent I was hoping for.

More about this quilt was shared during its making, so if you'd like to know more, see:

Modular ~ Modular in Multiple ~ Modular Report ~ More Modules

And of course #inspiredbybeesewcial is worth a periodic perusal. 
Lastly, this project was on my 2019 Finish-A-Long Q4 List!
Linking up with 2019 Finish-A-Long Q4 Link Up!

More Modules

Seems I started in on quilting my Modular quilt before sharing the finished top! To say I am pleased with it is an understatement. For some reason, it seems oddly cohesive to me, and for not knowing how I'd pull those random orange 'spots' in each block together, I'm happy with the idea that came to me.

Of course the top hung on my design wall for weeks before I came up with how I wanted to quilt it. It was actually a quilt hanging in my bathroom that gave me the idea. In keeping with the modular theme, I finally settled on doing a tumbler design in a scale similar to the blocks. In fact I cut out several tumbler shapes to 'try out' before choosing the one I'm quilting.

It's actually pretty easy to execute - first sewing the horizontal lines, and then following that with hera-marking vertical lines to guide me as I eye-ball-stitch the slanted sides of the tumblers. Dare I say it's going extremely well! Love when that overwhelm with a project dissipates and suddenly it all seems so doable. I'm enjoying that space as I'm quilting along....

Modular Report

It was back in May that I posted my latest Bee Sewcial prompt for my bee-mates. The "modular" blocks trickled in, and I'd press them, admire them, and put them up on the design wall together, and then fold them up while I waited for the next. Eventually of course, they were all in and it was time to start some serious puzzling which as often as not is the hardest part for me.

So five months later, after rearranging them numerous times, I finally got an inkling of how to make them one. I 'added' to a few of the blocks including my own, and cut some skinny (1") orange strips to help accentuate the modular theme. And I pulled the largest piece of gray solid I had stashed to use for background - and I plan to use that at least until I run out.

Though I initially started just sewing from the design wall, eventually I needed a little cheat-sheet to clarify my vision, so I 'drew one up' in Publisher which has really helped. (Obviously I'm not too savvy when it comes to design software!) But  progress is being made, even more than shown here, and I'm pretty excited about it! Just a few more hours' work, and I should have a quilt top.

Modular

Ready or not, it's my turn to choose the prompt for Bee Sewcial. This is my fifth year with the improv bee, which continues to challenge me every month - which is a good thing! If you've missed the previous quilts I've made with Bee Sewcial, they are Mod Mood, Baconrific, Looking Up, and the most recent, Homage.

Soooo... after lots of consideration, I've chosen the theme "Modular". Think modular bookcases, furniture, buildings. According to dictionary.com, modular can be defined as: "composed of standardized units or sections for easy construction or flexible arrangement." I've created a pin board with inspiration photos to get my beemates thinking about possibilities. Up until now, my Bee Sewcial prompts have resulted in quite maximalistic quilts, and this time, I'd like to be a tad less so. Not that the block/s have to be minimalistic, but I'm asking my bee mates to pare down rather than get too detailed.

Color Block Wooden Shelves by Sugar & Cloth

Number of blocks and block size is up to the maker, keeping in mind the approximate equivalent of two-12" blocks. As far as fabric, I'd like all the 'backgrounds' of each module to be neutral - white, cream, snow, natural, etc. And the lines between each module to be quite dark - black, dark gray, dark blue, or even very dark purple such as Kona Raisin. The one exception to the above is I'd like to give each maker the option of incorporating ONE piece of coral or orange into their work - possibly a module background similar to those in the photo above - maybe somewhere else. But that's totally an option - if it feels, right, do it; if not, ignore it.

So, unlike my previous prompts with Bee Sewcial, I'm actually making a block up front. I just had an idea and I needed to see if it would work. Plus, it shows off the colors I've chosen, including the optional coral. It's about 12" big at this point, and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to finish it off, but there's plenty of time for that.

Bee Sewcialites, you'll find details posted in our Flickr group. Please check in there so I know you've see this month's prompt. #inspiredbybeesewcial