Tuesday, 22 August 2023

Catching up

Not sure where the last month went.  Well, that's not true; I have a pretty clear idea of what I've been doing with my time but it's not interesting enough to go blogging about it.  Apologies to everyone whose last comments I failed to get to, I won't make a habit of it, honest.  

I have been quilting a lot, rather than piecing, for practical reasons, and have two quilts finished but am having issues with photos, again for reasons I won't bore you with.  However, before I put my machine into hibernation, I did manage to get Wild Things across the line.

I thought, way back when I last posted, that I was happy with the length of this, but when I looked again I felt it needed just a smidge more, so I added plain chunks top and bottom.  You can tell this is reaching the end, since instead of saving these few final pieces in case I want to chop them up, I am happily using them as they are. 

I figured that I could use up my last curved blocks too and laid out the long columns of stripe roughly where I thought I wanted the edges of the quilt to end up.  You can see my problem - I had a gap to fill. There were still some crosses floating about.  Enough, in fact, to get me about three-quarters of the way there, but I still had gaps.  Bother.  

So back I went to my bags and boxes and tried to find something that would do.  In the end, this black and brown check seemed to fit the bill, so in it went.


And just like that, I was done. The finished top looks like this.

I'm still a couple of weeks off being able to piece again and am feeling distinctly fidgety about it, but am trying to give some thought to what I might try next.  This is the fourth circle quilt in a row, so maybe it's time for a change. 

13 comments:

Kathy said...

This is one that you will never get tired of looking at--very eye-catching! And if 'circles' is where your brain takes you right now, keep doing circles! Glad you made it to the finish line with this one. It's wonderful!

patty a. said...

I like how the bigger chunks make a border and contain the energy of those spikey circles. The transition of the "gap" to the outer border is perfect with using both chunks and the cross pieces you had left. Love it!

Julierose said...

I really love how those circles make your eyes travel about this lovely quilt. The crosses are a nice foil for the circles too. Nice finish...hugs, Julierose

Quiltdivajulie said...

Oh, I DO INDEED like the way this turned out!!! Adding the extra fabric into the inner borders really brings it all together. WELL DONE!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

I'm really glad to hear that while your sewing machine had to be packed up that you've been able to be hand quilting. And getting 2 quilts finished and this quilt top pieced is a lot of great progress! I love the way Wild things plays with the relationship of the cures to one another, and I've certainly been enjoying your jaunt into curves. They can be fun and addicting, can't they?! :)

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Super inspired by these curves & spikes Kaja! Just today I had dug out my New York Beauty book, thinking it was time I had a wee improv play!

Robin said...

So innovative and fun. You and that amazing creative style of yours has come through once more. Love the finish.

O'Quilts said...

Brava, my friend....this one is so my favorite!! xoxo

Mystic Quilter said...

Brilliant finish for Wild Things and I love the name!!

Shelina said...

Ever since we lost Bloglovin' I am having a hard time keeping up with blogs. I do have Feedly but it just isn't the same. I am sorry I have missed coming here, since I love seeing your work. How fabulous to be able to see a finished quilt top. Love the triangles you put around the circles.

Janie said...

Super top finish Kaja. A very happy improv pieced quilt.
I can empathize with 'a distinct fidgety feeling' about not being able to piece for a couple of weeks. I've been there.

Sue D said...

Hey Kaja, Pete and I are in Shetland and just talking about you Elie and the kids , missed you this year , I searched for this blog cos I don't get updates any more , much love Sue ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ

Ann said...

A striking quilt. With a limited set of fabric, you covered a range of values. The stripe and check mix works well and your border finishes everything off/encircles it well. In fact, that might be be why it works so well - it mimics the circles of the quilt.
How did summer get so busy. I've had so many things going on, though nothing particularly interesting to write about either.