Sewing these blocks is so zippy-quick and relaxing. There’s no wrong way to cut those improv slices. I am using a ruler to cut and working quickly and instinctively. In a jiffy a pile of ready-to-sew pieces awaits by my machine.
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To keep the original grids prominent, I used only medium value fabrics for the filler squares. The medium value fabrics are lighter than the dark deer print and darker than the wonky star backgrounds. How fun that, as a result, the work looks rather like plaid! The medium value fabrics seem to overlap to create the dark deer prints.
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A design wall allows the fabrics to speak to me along the way. Rather than following the prescribed route, sometimes we changed course. I am sure for the better. Here are several color choice processes facilitated by my design wall today.
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This work-in-progress is called Collaboration, so named after the Collaboration patchwork group from Positivities quilt which inspired the design. With such a quilt each round of color builds on the one before. They interact with each other in a powerful and sometimes surprising way. The patchwork effect is so different than looking at the fabrics together as simple fabric stack.
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Yesterday was a treat. The sun was shining, Elora was playing happily with a neighborhood friend, and I was able to spend loads of time in my sewing room. My goal? To start on Collaboration, a spin-off quilt for Positivities club. I got a great, leaping start!
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I absolutely adore it so far! The colors are so exquisitely beautiful and joyful, and I am happy with the composed, elegant and ladylike vibe. That’s why I’m going to call this one not “Harlequin” but “Lady Quinn.” She’s all lady, don’t you think?
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My New Maid’s quilt top is complete! She’s a New Maid, because there are no Old Maid’s anymore, I do declare. Today’s women find happiness at all stages of life and in a myriad of unique ways. Here’s to strong women everywhere! We’ve got this puzzle solved.
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I decided to make a large batch of repeat blocks rather than searching for new combinations. When you are feeling a good thing, lean into it! So, I put on some music and cut/stitched/pressed my way into that patchwork zen. Aaaah.
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Choosing for color, choosing for beauty, choosing for me. My heart like bright pink confetti, feminine and strong.
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Floris says that my latest quilt top has a retro vibe, but I think of it as pure Anna Maria Horner. It’s about abundance - all the colors, all the patterns, all the energy and life. What could be better on a drizzly December day?
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People often ask how long it takes to make a quilt. The most impossible question! First because the time varies radically based on the patchwork and quilt size. Second because most quilters don’t keep track! When we’ve really found our groove with a delicious project, time falls away into an immersive, satisfying present.
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Have you tried web piecing? It is an advanced variation on chain piecing that is ideal for joining lots of small pieces while keeping everything in order. The method takes some getting used to, but it is certainly worth it! I just learned how to web piece from Steffi @Quiltwerke, via her Tilda Quilt highlight reel.
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This month I have been keeping a secret. Or really, it’s been longer than that. Certainly my marriage has been dying a long, slow death of many months and years. For a long while the edges of that growing reality were soft and slippery until their form became a solid thing that could not be denied.
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Our family was hit with a very intense flu, so it was a stay-at-home sort of weekend with lots of naps. Still, I did make it to my sewing machine a few times to feed these triangle scraps under the humming needle. Sometimes a distraction is good medicine.
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These Still Point blocks are the trickiest sew in the entire quilt. They utilize y-seams to create a flurry of twists and turns. But the tradeoff to stretching your wings is the view once energies take flight. There’s a special zing of pleasure and satisfaction when you succeed at something that took pluck.
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On this sunny weekend I caught a few hours in my sewing room to add to my Pas de Deux quilt. That was my Easter treat! My Evening Star blocks have a variety of background colors, but continuous (instead of scrappy) circles. I do so enjoy trying new things.
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Welcome back to my sewing room. Today is my last day of corona quarantine, and I’m feeling full of energy! I think it’s time for some progress on my rainbow Pas de Deux quilt. Let’s begin this time with grass green and silver gray fabric scraps.
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If your quilt-in-progress has blocks that interact with each other you need some way to stay organized so that everything will match up at the end. Don’t have a design wall? No worries. Here’s how to easily organize your quilt project so it can be packed away, while keeping everything where it should be.
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