Quilting Behind The Scenes!

With the release of our Four Patch Fun Leader & Ender Challenge yesterday came so many inquiries of "What Else Is Under Your Needle?!?!" and I think I am finally to a point where I can share what's been going on in the studio for the past many months.

Many months?

Yes...because this project started out on a whim with inspiration from a vintage quilt used as the background of one of my Quiltville Quotes.  A photo I took while antique mall wandering.

Inspiration comes from everywhere.

And even my color choices began here, and expanded.

The first block I made is the one at the upper left.  Not bad.  Made 3 more.  Placed them together.

Kind of ho hum.

I was not in love with the big giant blank corner squares - they just butted up and became an even more giant blank square.

And here they sat for months.  Since last fall.

This spring my Flame Azaleas bloomed next to the side porch at Quiltville Inn.

And with the beautiful blooms came an idea....what if I biggie sized the star blocks so that I could do MORE in those blank spaces that come together when blocks are joined?

And that's how my design process takes shape.

It all happens with WHAT IF?!

And those first four blocks?  They'll go into a sampler or something.  But from that point on I was in search of pinks in peal to fuscia.  And oranges from peach to mango to melon to pumpkin.

I love making Flying Geese with my Essential Triangle Tool.  And then after taking this photo giggled...because I saw a two-toned bikini with this layout. 

Once you see it you can't unsee it!

And I am super charged and in love with how these blocks came together - bigger bolder and more in my face than my original thoughts.

Yesterday I put the last block together.

After the ankle mishap a week ago...I found I had plenty of sewing machine time in front of me with less trips back and forth on foot from the ladies on retreat next door.  I just sewed.  And got these done.

This morning I'm ready to sew these together to complete the top.

I was thinking of hand quilting - but I think I'm not.  Not for now.  I'm going to continue to push the hexie quilt further along using that as my evening hand stitching.  I'm reaching half-way on that and after years of it being my travel project, I'm really wanting to see it finished.

While I was cutting out that last star block I thought I'd stick in a little visual of how I keep my scraps pared down.

If you look closely you'll see that I was cutting some half-square triangles from a pair of strips.  I got to where there was just a bit of the neutral strip left over.  Not much, but some.

At this point I will cut whatever sized square I can get out of it in my most used sizes:  1 1/2'', 2''. 2 1/2''.

In this case that short strip end was only enough to give me a 1 1/2'' square. I trimmed that square to save in my squares drawers by size.

The remaining pieces were all deemed too small to save.

I keep this basket on my cutting table.  So far in this basket are saved squares from kitting up my Four Patch Fun blocks, and now this newest quilt yet to be named.

There are 3 piles: 1 1/2''. 2''. and 2 1/2''. All trimmed from short ends on strips while cutting out blocks.

I had the rotary cutter in one hand, and the ruler in the other already...so I just trim down scraps as I make them and then it is never a big job later.

Now that I'm done with the blocks I'll spend some time clearing the cutting table and put these squares by size in their corresponding drawers.  I use these all the time.

Next project up on deck?

Doing something with this jumbled mess of random strips in my sewing room at home.  I have a plan.

But first - I need to get this Azalea inspired top together and think about a backing.

Right outside my back door at home - the mountain rhodies are in full bloom!

And they are to the point of starting to lose their petals.

This came and went so fast - but right on time.

What's up for your Thursday?

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Oh, it gets a little sweep through now and then and piles on flat surfaces get moved to other flat surfaces to clear a space.

And I'm good and happy with that!