Saturday, July 27, 2013

The Therapist

I finished my scrap quilt this weekend, and I feel better.  I really did enjoy every step of sewing it.  I started sewing these blocks last fall.  They have been a really satisfying and enjoyable long term scrap project.  As I wrote earlier this year and more recently, I began sewing these monochromatic strip sets as a sort of therapy, without a definite plan in mind.  I totally recommend mindless, colorful scrap sewing.  It's happy stuff.
If you enjoy that sort of thing, I can also recommend Scrap Republic by Emily Cier which is full of inspiration.  Her Volume quilt was the starting point for this quilt.  My version is larger, at 60 x 80.
I also incorporated neutral blocks.  I always seem to have lots of these low volume strips, which can be hard to use up.  I think they provide restful bookends to the quilt.
I used a simple figure eight, free motion quilting design in each column, moving from side to side, starting at the top of the quilt and going down each column to the bottom of the quilt.  The side to side movement was hard to achieve fluidly with my tiny machine's throat space because the columns are 5 inches wide, but it was doable.  I think it would be far easier with narrower columns, and I will certainly try it again.  It went so quickly.
The black and white striped binding is a great choice for any rainbow quilt.
Amazingly, I still have plenty of scraps.  I'm contemplating some more therapeutic sewing: maybe a baby quilt with a more limited palette.

17 comments:

Vicki said...

It looks great, Alex. I love the quilting.

Linda said...

Your quilt is lovely! I am also a fan of Emily Cier and have made several of her quilts but not this one. Your neutral bookends work so well. How deep were the strips cut? 3"?
I can see why you want to make another,

Anonymous said...

Hi Alex, your quilt looks wonderful! I've recently begun to collect scraps for Emily's Slices quilt and it's very enjoyable to know that one's scraps will become something grand one day! It is slow, but I don't mind at all.

Katie B said...

Love this!! The neutral strips at the ends are really cool.

Leanne said...

Your quilt is beautiful and what a great way to use up those pretty bits of fabric.

Anonymous said...

I love everything about this quilt. Adding the neutrals and blacks is really my favorite part and the quilting is impeccable!

Debbie said...

This is realllly lovely! I just like everything about it. Perfect quilting you chose, and the binding - spot on. Congrats on a lovely finish!

Tracey Jacobsen said...

I just love this! Beautiful!

Wens said...

Gorgeous quilt! I totally love the figure 8 quilting to finish it off too - perfect!

Kelly @ Vintage Fabric Studio said...

this is a beautiful quilt! Rainbows are my favorite come to think I have one waiting patiently for quilting. Everything about this quilt fits just right, well done! Have fun with the next one ;)

Lee said...

Gorgeous! I love it!

Kelly said...

This is kick ass girl!!!!! Great job as always!

knottygnome said...

i love it! i've been wanting to do a gradient quilt of sorts lately. i like how you used low volume at the ends.

Helen in the UK said...

Saw this on Flicker and had to come take a closer look! LOVE IT! I'm a big fan of scrappy and this is a shining example. Love your layout and the quilting suits it perfectly :)

cinzia said...

It's beautiful! And you achievd such even patterns with your quilting. Well done!

Rachel at Stitched in Color said...

I think it looks great with the neutrals and top and bottom. Beautiful!

Amanda Jean said...

I love this quilt so very much! I totally agree. Color fabric play is great therapy!!!