The Little Rubies blocks are sewn together, which means I met my One Monthly Goal for February. Whew! It was a challenging one.
I don't usually count pieces, but when I put the top on the floor and wondered whether it was square, curiosity got the best of me. The X blocks have 88 squares. So many tiny pieces, so many seams, each one an opportunity for a block to be out of kilter and then a top to follow.
This quilt top has been challenging in several ways. First, the browns. When I began cutting and sewing I intended to make 3½" 4-patch blocks in reds and browns, equal amounts of two colors using lots of scraps. But those first 4-patch blocks were boring. I decided on double 4-patch blocks using brown as the background. Then at some point I realized that tiny double/triple 4-patch blocks would add some interest. When I made those two choices I had no idea how much brown fabric the blocks
would need. (If I'd though about it a little more I might have reconsidered....)
The second challenge was creating a quilt that looks unified despite the variation
in browns. It is a scrap quilt but I didn't want one brown to take over a
whole section of the quilt. With this quilt
pattern I'm not sure so many browns with variations if value, prints,
etc., could have resulted in unity among them. Some of the browns were
cut at 3½", some at 2", others at 1¼".
The third challenge has been taking photographs that show true-to-life colors of
the reds and browns. The photos lean toward the washed out side or
toward the zing-of-red side. In life, the colors are somewhere between
the colors in the photos in this post. (How I wish for a place with perfect lighting to hang a quilt for photographing it.)
All along I imagined using a piece of brushed cotton, brown with narrows strips of muted red and tan, for the back. As I was sewing the last rows together I had what I thought was a brilliant idea for the back: a large scale print with a brown background and red flowers. What fun to turn this basically brown quilt over to see a bright pattern on the back. I scouted around for fabrics that might work but none stood out to me as just right. And then I realized that, after all, this is a scrap quilt and I should go with the fabric I have on hand. (I know I could piece a back but there are already too many seams on the front to easily hand quilt and I don't want to add more seams than necessary to the back.) I hope to cut, wash, and dry the brushed cotton today or tomorrow. Depending on how it weathers the wash, I'll use it -- or scout for other backing fabric.
I neglected to say how pleased I am with this layout. I love the tiny red diagonals enclosing the larger double-4-patch circles/squares. Early on those tiny, red squares running diagonally across the quilt reminded me of strings of rubies, hence the name, Little Rubies. I love how the reds of the rubies transition along the strands, going from bright to medium, from dark to printed dark, etc.
I'm linking this post to One Monthly Goal February Finish Link-up at Elm Street Quilts. Thanks for hosting, Patty.
I'm also linking to
> Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday (TGIFF) at What a Hoot Quilts
> Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
> Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Thank you for hosting, ladies.
--Nancy.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Friday, February 8, 2019
Three in the Que for Sashing
Linda Brannock's Flowers blocks are high on my list to receive sashing. These are photos of the blocks collaged onto a background similar to what I hope to use. Unfortunately, the photos were not all taken in the same light so their colors are not true to life.
The sashing will be multi-colored half-triangle squares with a near-constant color (fabrics below) for part of each square and a variety of fabrics and colors for the other half of the squares. I think a variety of fabrics will be more interesting than only one fabric but I may change my mind after I start cutting, sewing, and auditioning.
The sashing squares may become leaders/enders for one of the other quilts below.
Another quilt awaiting sashing is The Blue and the Gray from the book, The Blue and the Gray: Quilt Patters using Civil War Fabrics by Mary Etherington and Connie Tesene. I doubled the sizes of the blocks.
The 9-patch blocks will finish at 9½" square and the red cross corner stones will finish at 4½". It's taken a while to collect a variety of grey fabrics for the sashing. Each piece will be cut at 4½" x 9½". I don't think any of my fabrics qualify as true Civil War reproductions but who will know that was the intent of the quilt if I don't tell them?
And last for sashing is Cheri Payne's Everyday Patchwork. These 6" blocks (or 8" with the borders) will be sashed with scrappy black fabrics. It will get a wide border with applique.
I find I'm hungry for color after working on Little Rubies with its limited palette of red and brown for 5 weeks. Thinking about working on the quilts above encourages me to continue and, perhaps, work faster to finish Rubies. I tell myself I'm almost there, with only two large 4-patch blocks to cut and sew, 14 more 3½" squares to cut and sew, 5 6½" x 12½" rectangles to cut, about 27 blocks requiring 4 seams, and sewing the rows together. I'm eager to get these pieces into a top so I can layer, baste, and begin quilting it. Soon, soon....
I have to say it's been really hard not to start another quilt, especially for several of the quilt-alongs going on around the internet. Last Thursday evening I went to bed with a great idea and the decision to begin. When I awoke the next morning, the idea was completely gone, with not a shred of a memory of the idea. I took that as a sign I should not start a new quilt now. Haha.
I took this photo the other morning as I travelled a rural road on my way to I can't remember where. It was a quick phone snapshot just so I can remember the beauty of a snowy woodland.
I'm linking this post to
> Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
Thanks for hosting, ladies.
--Nancy.
.
The sashing will be multi-colored half-triangle squares with a near-constant color (fabrics below) for part of each square and a variety of fabrics and colors for the other half of the squares. I think a variety of fabrics will be more interesting than only one fabric but I may change my mind after I start cutting, sewing, and auditioning.
The sashing squares may become leaders/enders for one of the other quilts below.
Another quilt awaiting sashing is The Blue and the Gray from the book, The Blue and the Gray: Quilt Patters using Civil War Fabrics by Mary Etherington and Connie Tesene. I doubled the sizes of the blocks.
The 9-patch blocks will finish at 9½" square and the red cross corner stones will finish at 4½". It's taken a while to collect a variety of grey fabrics for the sashing. Each piece will be cut at 4½" x 9½". I don't think any of my fabrics qualify as true Civil War reproductions but who will know that was the intent of the quilt if I don't tell them?
And last for sashing is Cheri Payne's Everyday Patchwork. These 6" blocks (or 8" with the borders) will be sashed with scrappy black fabrics. It will get a wide border with applique.
I find I'm hungry for color after working on Little Rubies with its limited palette of red and brown for 5 weeks. Thinking about working on the quilts above encourages me to continue and, perhaps, work faster to finish Rubies. I tell myself I'm almost there, with only two large 4-patch blocks to cut and sew, 14 more 3½" squares to cut and sew, 5 6½" x 12½" rectangles to cut, about 27 blocks requiring 4 seams, and sewing the rows together. I'm eager to get these pieces into a top so I can layer, baste, and begin quilting it. Soon, soon....
I have to say it's been really hard not to start another quilt, especially for several of the quilt-alongs going on around the internet. Last Thursday evening I went to bed with a great idea and the decision to begin. When I awoke the next morning, the idea was completely gone, with not a shred of a memory of the idea. I took that as a sign I should not start a new quilt now. Haha.
I took this photo the other morning as I travelled a rural road on my way to I can't remember where. It was a quick phone snapshot just so I can remember the beauty of a snowy woodland.
I'm linking this post to
> Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
Thanks for hosting, ladies.
--Nancy.
.
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