Making Motions with Sidewalk Chalk

It was January 25 that I posted about A Big Bed Quilt. I had fabric I'd procured over the last several months, a pattern (finally!) chosen, and Rachel/Stitched in Color's Big Bed Quilt-Along to egg me on. I hadn't anticipated this being a beginning of the year project, but all the pieces fell into place and I went for it.



I'm so pleased to say that the top is finished! I highly recommend the pattern, Sidewalk Chalk by Meghan/Then Came June. In fact, it was really fun to put together. There are several different blocks, but once you get past the half-rectangle triangles, the blocks are super simple and in geometric combinations I love. Then it's a bit of a puzzle to piece them into rows, but the kind of puzzle that totally makes sense. Wouldn't you know the largest size, Bed Size at 90" x 104", wasn't quite large enough, once I took the time to Measure Up my own bed. But no worries, I was able to add one extra row plus one column, which brought it up to 96" x 112", which was perfect, even considering a little shrinkage from quilting and washing.



For backing, I ordered several yards of the crisscross in black wideback by Carolyn Friedlander, which is one of the low-volume fabrics in my original pull, so now I'm all set.



Set for what? Set to send off to Rachel/Stitched in Color herself for long-arming. The quilt is not yet in transit, but will be soon, and I'm more than thrilled to be at this step in the process as I head off to QuiltCon. Besides finalizing decisions on thread and quilting design, I'm also anxious to see how I like the Quilter's Dream Select batting, which I have never personally tried but heard lots of good things about.



So yay! I stepped from behind the quilt in this last photo - you know, for scale! The colors are a tad off, since the quilt seems less 'creamy' in person, but I'm loving the low volume. And see those trees placed throughout the quilt top? They are from the Lagom border print, and perfect, I think, for a Pacific NW quilt. Enough already. I'm shipping it off soon and will be sharing a finished quilt with you before we know it.

Improv Stripes Layout

So over on Instagram, we're considering layout for our final projects and beginning to sew up our quilt tops.. I just kept rearranging my blocks, taking a quick photo after each possible layout, until I found an arrangement I was happy with. Here's some of the options I cam up with.

I like to trim my blocks as I construct my piece. You may even find you'd like to cut some blocks in half and repiece to make longer, skinnier blocks. Or you might need to make a new block or add to one for the size needed for your design. The possibilities are nearly endless! Here's my completed quilt top. 

I'll confess, I've already started quilting, using several colors of thread to go with the multi-colored nature of my quilt....

We'll be sharing our finished quilts on Friday. For those of you at another stage of the process, no worries! Just keep sewing along. It's all good!! Love the wonderful work you all have been doing! A few of you have shared with me, and I've enjoyed seeing what you're done with your improv stripes!

If you're able, do check out the #improvstripesqal hashtag!

Improv Stripes Progress

Just popping in with a bit of an update on the Improv Stripes QAL going on now on Instagram! Over 50 of us are sewing along together and what a gorgeous array of blocks are showing up in the #improvstripesqal hashtag! Not mandatory of course, but if you are sewing along, consider making some 'mixed' blocks if you haven't already. Or in some way, make a few that are different than the others you've already made. Whatever, have fun and don't over think it!



To you who are joining in, do keep me updated either in the comments here with links to your progress photos, or feel free to email me at aquilterstable@gmail.com. Come Friday we'll start considering layout for our final pieces!

Crosscut Showing Two

Hope you enjoyed the first round of Crosscut Quilt-Along finishes! They just keep coming! I love that after seeing all the Crosscut process photos in their Instagram feeds, more folks joined in this last weekend. But meanwhile, here's another batch of awesome finishes, with a little surprise use of the project piece at the end of this post! Be sure and click through to see more of these makers, and maybe even find a few new ones to follow!

a_swede_life

barkinghen

flourishingpalms

hezbez13

lizziebet001

marci_girl

releh

stufenzumgericht

tinwoman48

trishasews

twiggyandopal

vickijensenstudio

sstaum

marly_rylaars

katyquilts

I'm so pleased at how personal these projects are, and how much folks are enjoying the technique. Very fun!

A Modern Sampler

Another quilt along was not on my radar. At all.

But then Caitlin/Salty Oat posted on Instagram that she was hosting a quilt along for Yoshiko Jinzenji's Modern Sampler Quilt. Get where I'm going here? One block a month sounds doable, right? Yeah.

Each block is made using templates, which I admit, isn't my favorite; in fact I cheated a bit making the center of the first block using my tried-and-true piecing methods. But I did use those templates for the 2 borders and they worked great, which is a good thing, since there are 1 or 2 borders on each block we'll be making.

As you can see on the logo below, the original quilt has bits of color sprinkled throughout the quilt. I'm not quite sure where I'll go with mine, but my first inclination is to keep it very neutral. So time will tell.

It's not too late to join in! I'm posting my finished block A today and will link it up over at Salty Oat tomorrow (and onward on the last Tuesday of each month). So you'll be able to see everyone's blocks there, as well as on Instagram under hashtag #modernsamplerquiltalong. The quilt pattern can be purchased online through Zakka Workshop, the pattern's publisher (use coupon code QUILTALONG for a 20% discount). Basically, all the scoop on the quilt along can be found over at Salty Oat!

 

Linking up with Modern Sampler Quilt Along.