Saturday, August 15, 2020

Breathing Room

Remember this scrap project from last fall? I made three quarter log cabin blocks with my print scraps, using every shade and pattern. It was fun and therapeutic, but once I completed the blocks, I was dismayed to find I hated how they looked together. I even wrote a post contemplating where I went wrong. After leaving them on the shelf and the mental break of working on other projects, I decided to see if I could rescue the blocks. I do not ordinarily use sashing, but I knew the blocks needed some breathing room.

The fabric I chose for the sashing is Homespun Essex in indigo (although it reads as grey to me), and I think it is just what the blocks needed. The neutral space between the crazy prints tones down the chaos just enough. I picked my favorite 45 blocks, which finish about 9 x 12, so this will be an extra long twin when I get it pieced.


Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Modern Appliqué Table Runner

My latest experiment with improv appliqué is perhaps the simplest of all - organic ovals not unlike stacked river stones. Each shape was cut by eye and appliquéd in place with matching thread. The fabrics are all shot cottons, and their shimmering colors are hard to capture in photographs. While not a strict gradient, the colors are arranged to shift harmoniously from one to the next. I think the design is at once bold and peaceful.


To add texture, I quilted the runner densely with organic straight lines in creamy Aurifil 50 weight thread. Keeping the focus on the appliqué, I bound the runner in the background fabric which makes it nearly disappear.

The runner finishes at 16 x 49, and this unique art piece is available in my etsy shop.