Color Strung

Color Strung is a cherry reminder of a really enjoyable and insightful class at QuiltCon last February. In Color Play with String Quilts with Tara Faughnan of Tara Faughnan Quilts, we explored alllll sorts of color combinations, rethinking our thoughts about color and daring to go further.

As you see, my quilt's palette is not my norm, nor anyone's really. But I love that it came from a place of color exploration. As Tara said, "Color gets all the credit, but value does all the work." Hmmm.... I'll keep thinking about that one for a while, I'm sure.

For backing, I was lucky enough to find a generous length of an older Valori Wells' Novella floral that was very nearly large enough. Though there's a strip of contrasting fabric (not shown) along one edge, the primary backing fabric does indeed make its own statement.

When it came time for quilting, I debated for a while, then chose a design from Walk by Jacquie Gering. Might as well try another something new, right? It's called The Simple Diamond and I really like the way it echos the lines of the quilt but not too closely.

It's a little hard to see, isn't it? Trust me, it suits. And it was really pretty simple to execute. It did require some marking - the grid was done with my Hera marker, and for the little dots needed for the diamonds, I marked on a leap of faith with a FriXion pen. I used Aurifil 50wt 4651 (Bari) which is a variegated thread - a little yellow/gold, off-white, and light purple - that just nestled on in.... nothing too obvious, but it added a little interest for sure.

Binding was chosen on a whim. I dug into the ole stash and some Free Spirit Flamingo spoke up, and I think it's a nice fit.

So this quilt was the second of two I put on my Q2 2018 Finish-A-Long list back in April, and I'm cutting it close to link up my finish. But it's done! Gosh that feels good!

This project was on my 2018 Q2 Finish-A-Long list!

Blogger's Quilt Festival :: StringSong [Small Quilts]

Small quilts are my happy place. The opportunity to use a quickly chosen stack of fabrics, experiment with a technique, or just go to the cutting table with rotary in hand and start cutting to see where it leads me.... that's the very best kind of sewing to me, and when it's a small quilt, thus a quick finish, all the better. And it was in such an environment as this that StringSong was created.

My second entry in the Blogger's Quilt Festival was inspired by one little piece of an improv string slab I made for our guild's BOM.

I made big string slabs, and then cut them up to get the elements I needed, deciding what that was bit by bit. And yes, sewing slab scraps together to make more usable pieces totally fit the process.

Matchstick quilting was definitely called for, and it just seemed right that I gather as many coordinating threads as I had on hand. Plus it added to the fun. I switched between threads whenever the mood struck, and in this case, it seemed impossible to overdo it.

So this little quilt really does represent what I love most about quilting .... using fabric and thread to create just for the sake of creating. Using colors and designs only because they please you. Figuring it out as you go. Oh yeah.

Many thanks to Amy/Amy's Creative Side for hosting the festival. I've been enjoying reading through many of the entries! If you are visiting A Quilter's Table for the first time, welcome! You can also find me on Instagram @aquilterstable, and if you'd like to subscribe to my bi-monthly newsletter, The Scrap Basket, just leave your email in the pop-up box, or in the comments. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Quilt stats:

Finished size: 25" x 25"

Pattern: my own

Fabric: randomly pulled cotton solid stack
Thread: Aurifil 50wt - #2021 (Natural White), #2140 (Mustard), #2230 (Medium Peony) 
#2600 (Dove), #2610 (Light Blue Grey), #2975 (Brass), and #4020 (Fuchsia). 

Quilted by: myself, using a walking foot
Category: Small Quilts

My previous entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival:
Yay or Nay, 9/21/16

Room Temp, 5/20/15

Keychain, 5/19/15

Red Hots, 10/27/14

Unlocked, 5/16/14

Crazy Rainbow, 10/25/13
Absolutely Mod Pop, 5/19/13

HST Love, 5/17/13

The Stars of Summer, 10/26/12

Hopscotch, 5/19/12

Mango Revisited, 10/28/11

Supernova, 5/13/11

StringSong

Now this was fun - the kind of project that makes me happiest these days. No deadline, no guidelines, no real purpose other than an idea I had that I needed to pursue.

Remember my improv string block from January for our guild's BOM? Yeah, well I couldn't get one little element out of my mind. It needed to be explored further - that small square wrapped in string strips.

So here are a few process photos, as the piece grew and grew....

Actually, the above photo shows the final quilt top. Until I let it be overnight. In the morning, I woke up knowing I needed to tweak the bottom left corner. oh yeah. Much better. 

Quilting this 25" mini took a while, but the matchstick quilting was so worth it. I gathered a bundle of coordinating Aurifil threads - #2021 (Natural White), #2140 (Mustard), #2230 (Medium Peony) #2600 (Dove), #2610 (Light Blue Grey), #2975 (Brass), and #4020 (Fuchsia). 

I randomly switched between threads as I felt like it, just enjoying the effect. In this case, it really seemed the more the merrier.

So once this one was finished, it was quickly bound and taken out for a little photoshoot in my mom's garden before the rains came. I noticed once I was home editing photos that I'd rotated the quilt in nearly every shot. 

Funny though how we always know the 'right' orientation, when to a casual onlooker, it may not be obvious....just another part of the fun of improv.

Linking up with Finish It Up Friday!