Quiet Quilt - done and dusted

All finished.

A close up.

Binding.

And a shot of the back, as it blows away from me.

Details:
75"square.  

Quilt and backing made from stash fabrics.  I can't identify them all but there is some Oakshott (that bronze colour solid), some grunge (the blue-y bits), some Lotta Jansdotter (the black and white stripe), some Janet Clare, I think some Lecien Japan...

Wadding is Sew Simple Eco Blend (70/30 cotton/polyester, all recycled), which I toy with occasionally as an alternative to wool.

Quilted with Aurifil Lana, which is a rather lovely 12wt wool thread.  It's the first time I have used this and I would be happy to use it again.  

I pieced this what seems like ages ago, between 9th October and 14th December 2015.  Okay, that doesn't just seem like ages, it is ages.

Quilting started 12th February, finished 13th April 2017.

Some of you may remember I went off this for a while and it missed it's allotted turn for quilting as a result.  Happily I like it now!

Linking up with NinaMarie for Off the Wall Friday

 and 

Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Whoop Whoop

Quilting like a maniac

Actually it's hard to quilt like a maniac, what with hand quilting being such a calming activity, but I have been putting in a lot of hours and as a result I am now binding, so the end really is in sight for Quiet Quilt.

Yesterday I pin-basted my denim 365 circles.  In a moment of distraction I did this with the backing on top, but don't really mind that everything's back-to-front.  

I've also almost finished a back for All at Sea, but keep running out of fabric.  I am always surprised by how much fabric it takes to make a backing for a big quilt.  I've no idea why this comes as a surprise, especially when the top is sitting right in front of me.  Somehow I think a couple of fat quarters will cover the back of something 80"x 90". Yup, I know that's ridiculous but I keep expecting it to work that way.  

I'm linking up today with Linda at koka quilts and julie from julielou for their new link-up Sew, Stitch, Snap, Share.  

234 little squares to go

Actually, I just made 234 up.  I know I have fewer than 30 of the 9 patches in this quilt left as I only counted yesterday, but now I can't remember exactly how many.  234 is in the ball park though so I'm calling it poetic licence.

Since I've either finished, or almost finished my most recent piecing, I'm going to take a week's pause, give some thought to a couple of other projects I have on the go and try to get a good chunk of this out of the way.

Linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Still doing what I'm doing

I'm just quietly stitching away, trying to get a bit of quilting done each day.  Having said I would be able to keep track of exactly where I was, by counting my squares, it turns out that's not as easy as I thought, so I haven't bothered.  I can say I'm about twenty big 9 patches down, so that's still 60-odd to go.

I'm also making slow progress with my Alabama Chanin-style piece.  This is going slower than I would like, because it turns out that if the light isn't good I'm finding it hard to tell the difference between the stenciled bits and the fabric.  I wanted the stencil to be close to the base colour, but hadn't though this might be a catch.  With the benefit of hindsight I should have chosen to go just a shade or two lighter, but it's a bit late to worry about it now, so I just stick with doing it in daylight.

Linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.

New project and more quilting

Not much piecing going on around here this week, but I have done quite a bit of hand stitching.  I have started a new Alabama Chanin piece: fabric cut and stenciled so now I am back-stitching around the shapes. The fabric is an organic wool jersey, which I hope is going to be nice and warm, especially as it is a double layer.  It may not be finished in time for this winter, but at least I'll be ready come autumn.

I have also been quilting Quiet Quilt.  It felt like I was making good progress but then I made a big mistake.  I realised that since the design is basically 9x9 9-patch blocks I could work out exactly how much of the quilt was done at any given point.  That will probably be fine once I'm halfway through, but when you still have 650-odd little units to do it's not so encouraging.  I have done 7 9-patches this week, which leaves me 74 (or 666 of the little squares) still to do. 

On the bright side, I am happy with how the orange-y thread is working. 

Linking up with Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching.

Next quilt in the hoop

When I finish piecing something I always take a few days before starting the next project, just to let my brain settle down a bit.  But hand quilting, I just keep right on, so the next quilt in the hoop is already backed, basted and ready to go.  Having pushed it back down the queue (so that I didn't end up doing 3 circle quilts in a row) it is Quiet Quilt's turn.  A look back tells me it has been waiting since 14th December 2015.

I am trying out a new thread for this: Auriful lana, which is 50% wool, 50% acrylic and comes in some lovely colours.  I have a couple of neutral shades but thought I'd give this a go first.

Although I wondered if such a definite shade might be a bit much, I actually rather like how it looks, so will keep going for now.

Linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching.

AHIQ - do more, do less

Today I've got some musings sparked off by Stephie.   When I issued a challenge to people to cut up their most precious yardage, (and that sparks a whole other debate on what constitutes a big piece of fabric), she responded that she only has small pieces so her challenge ought to be using a precious piece without cutting it. (See what she did here)

This has got me thinking about my own quilting journey and some of the stages it has been through.  When it first occurred to me that I could just do my own thing, without all that tiresome following of patterns and matching of points (well, more like failing to match points), I made several quilts which were pretty much just big pieces of fabric, arranged in a way that was pleasing to my eye.  I don't have photos of all of them, but these two will suffice to make the point:

Then I read a few books, including Gwen Marston's Liberated Quiltmaking II, and started thinking I could put traditional elements back into what I was doing, which made me happy, and I have pootled along doing this making it up as you go along thing for a fair old while.

I still like doing it too, (and just this morning found myself making a couple of wonky stars, which is something I haven't even contemplated since Little Elephant) but at the same time I started to wonder if there was a way to make things simpler.  The last couple of projects demonstrate where this has taken me: working with what feels like quite limited palettes and deliberately sticking to just a few basic shapes/blocks.    

So what? I hear you wonder.  I guess what I'm saying is that whilst it's no fun constantly taking ourselves outside our comfort zones, maybe sometimes we can stretch by just making one small change, or a couple and this might be an easier way to grow as quilters than trying to make huge, dramatic changes and feeling uncomfortable with them.  Cut it if you usually work big, leave it alone if you tend to go small; add something if the last few things you've done have been simple, take something out if, like me, you have had lots of fun throwing in everything but the kitchen sink.  Do more, do less.

Quiet quilt - done for now

I have to admit that I fell completely out of love with this quilt as it went along.  I love the fabrics, like the idea, but those 9 patches took all the fun out of it for me, even though each one was different. It's a lesson for me: I'm just not cut out for too much repetition - I made myself do it, but it's not a road I will be walking along again in a hurry!  

But enough whingeing, it's done for now and I quite like it, but no more than that.  Maybe by the time I come to quilt it I will have warmed to it a bit more.

At least, to finish on a cheerful note, I tried something new with my fabric choices:  I have definitely enjoyed this quieter palette and think I will consider turning to these tones again at some point.

Practical or pretty?

I am so close  to a finish now but not many photos.  Here's why:

Yup, I'm currently working in a space which just doesn't allow proper photos once you go beyond a certain size.

It did eventually occur to me that I could venture into the (unheated) conservatory; not something I am normally keen to do at this time of year. Actually, thanks to the ridiculously mild winter it was not too bad and I managed to get one photo of the bottom two thirds - though I had to hold the camera at arms length, above my head, and just hope for the best.

The tricky thing with putting this together has been that while the bigger curves came into being largely as a way of making the smaller units larger, and hence are entirely there for a practical purpose, I want some control over where they sit within the quilt as a whole, so that they look right to my eye.  I've too-ed and fro-ed and have added one curve that isn't at all necessary (not visible in this picture) but am reasonably happy with the piece in the photo.  I thought maybe the large curve on the right hand end needed to be moved, but am waiting to see that it looks like when the top row is ready before I do anything drastic.  

With a fair wind this will be done by the end of today.

Losing count

Not really!  In fact I am constantly aware of where I am with this one.I have just completed my 8th 9x9, and I have two of the next set done too, so only seven more...

I have also done the circle for this set, but there's an electrician in my  room right now, fixing the light, so no photos. (The last couple of weeks I have had to stop when it got dark, which some days seems to be straight after lunch!)

I am also making a circle for the last set of 9 patches, as this is all I have left of the striped fabric.  Once the circles are made I can use the last scraps for filler strips without worrying I will run out.

And, since this is Monday, it's Design Wall time over at Patchwork Times.

Taking a calculated risk

Still plugging away at the 9 patches, but this morning it got too much for me, as you will see.  I did finish my next big 9x9 - here it is lying in its place.

The interesting bit of this is definitely going to be in how all these bigger bits fit together.  Cutting freehand means that the sizes of these blocks varies quite significantly.  Take a look at the difference between the middle row and the two on the bottom.  See what I mean!  Unless I really can't come with anything better I don't want to trim the bigger ones down so the challenge will be in what to add to the small units.  I reckon this is a pretty good example of the excitement/frustration of this way of going about things.

Anyway I was having a tea break and contemplating my little pile of scraps when I found a tempting piece and an idea struck me.  Forget about the 9 patches - I decided to do this.

And then this.

One of the good things about the 9 patch construction is that if I hated it, I would only have lost 3 little squares, so could reconstitute things quite easily, but as it happens I like it.  I like that it's a slightly different way of adding this fabric, and its an efficient use of the limited quantity I have and I like that it's the reverse of the one on the left; I like that it's another way of adding a bit of width/height.  I also like that chopping into something feels less scary every time I do it!

Linking up with Patchwork Times again today.

Six down, three to go

I love a productive morning: 50+ tulip bulbs in the ground and one more 9x9 under my belt.  

Just three to go.  I lay them out on the floor to keep an eye on where I think the circles should go, but every so often I shuffle things around.  Right now I think these bits will go where they are lying, but tomorrow who knows?

Last reminder too, that the next AHIQ linky kicks off tomorrow - all welcome.

As usual I'm sharing this at Design Wall Monday.

Circles in squares in circles

Well, yesterday went by in a blur of broken glass.  Have you ever seen a window do this before? This is the door in our conservatory.

There is clearly a point  top right where something happened but we have no idea what (and I was in the next room when it went!)  

Next thing you know the glass fell out of the shower door.  And just like that the day was over and I had done no sewing, no blogging, nothing unrelated to glass...

But today I have made more 9 patches and cut one more arc.  I should mention that the arcs are serving a practical purpose, which is to make the smaller 9x9 patch blocks a bit bigger.  I'm anticipating each row being a different height but clearly they all need to be the same width, one way or another.

Next time I must remember not to take pictures on the cream carpet - it would show up so much better on the kitchen floor! (And also to straighten it out properly - it does sit flat, honest.)  I now have five 9x9 pieces and am most of the way to the next one, so if I just keep going there will be an end to the 9 patches.  

For a change I'm linking up with Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation.

I cracked!

After a week of dutifully making my 9x9s, I couldn't take any more.  So I cracked and tried something new.  I was inspired by Ann's comment on my previous post, and had grand ideas, but hit the bitter reality that if you only buy half a metre of any one fabric, you simply won't have enough to cut big sweeping curves, so I am trying this instead:

But it hasn't been all fun and unfettered cutting, I have kept the nuts and bolts going as well.

Linking up with Patchwork Times today.

My brain's too full!!!

My head is buzzing.  I actually woke up in the middle of the night with quilty things whirring around my brain.  I don't mind too much - for some reason I am just excited right now about all the things I am doing.  I've got little circles, big circles, quilts to start, quilts to finish...

I haven't been making 9 patches today, but for the perfectly good reason that it felt like time to put what I had into bigger chunks (nothing to do with lack of patience, short attention span, just a perfectly good, pragmatic decision).  So now I have four 9x9x9 pieces.  

Now I really do have to get on with the squares.

As it's Design Wall Monday I'm linking up with Patchwork Times again.

Circles, and more circles

It's all about circles for me right now.

First off, I kept diligently plodding away making my 9 patch blocks until I had four complete sets.

Then, frankly, I just couldn't stand it any more and had to make another circle. Just the one.  I'm not stockpiling them, so will only make them when I have a set of 9x9  ready to go.  I'm happy with how this is looking, so this is my way of keeping to the task in hand, instead of veering off and making way more circles than I need, just because they are fun to do.

I have been thinking about placement too and wondering why I so often start in either the upper or lower left hand corner.  Is it because I am left-handed?  Or just set in my ways?  I have also, more usefully, been thinking about the next step, when I start to put these big blocks together.  Given that there is quite a marked discrepancy in sizes, I have to think about filling the gaps again - the story of my quilting life.  

I need to decide:

• whether I  arrange them so that all the fillers go on outside edges or with fillers in the body of the quilt
• what to use for the fillers.  They could be just pieced strips of fabrics already included, or I could sneak in an extra row of squares here and there, or possibly more of the bronze, though I don't want to overdo that.  Alternatively I could use something new: maybe one of these:

On a different, though still circular note, I am going to join in with the Quilty 365 project just starting at Quilty Folk (button on the sidebar). A circle a day, every day for a year.  Now I just need to make some initial choices and get on with it!

Just squares and a little self-control

That's right, no going off course and making lovely improv circle-y bits today, just focusing on the 9 patches (and feeling self-righteous about it - can you tell?)

There is, of course, no telling how long I will be able to keep this up!

AHIQ - Serendipity

Today I'm just going to talk about something that's been on my mind this week, which has been brought into clear focus by this great post by Monica.

For me part of the fun, the thrill of improv is in not knowing exactly what happens next. I might have an idea of what I want to achieve, colours I plan to use, shapes I'm going to focus on, something I hope to say, but because not everything is planned there is always room for happy accidents.  

A couple of examples.  My current WIP started with a serendipitous moment when I was scrolling through the black and white fabrics on a fabric website and found these two next to each other.

I wasn't looking for a starting point for a quilt, but there it was and it niggled away at me for three or four weeks, until I went back and ordered both fabrics.

The next example is from the same WIP and this is something I just noticed yesterday.  This is in essence quite a simple idea: 9 patches and curved blocks combined in a way that pleases me and relates, in my head at least, to the photo I took as a starting point - not much more to it than that.  But, as I add strips to my starting squares, to make them fit together, I am creating little secondary patterns. Look at the darkest square in the right hand section here - see the little rust coloured 'L'?

Now that I have spotted this I will think a bit more carefully as I add my filler strips, to start, sometimes, doing this deliberately rather than accidentally.  For me it is picking up on these little themes or motifs that emerge all by themselves and incorporating them as I go along that often gives a piece much of its rhythm.  Serendipity creates these elements but it is up to us to spot them and use them.  Sometimes they work quietly away in the background, sometimes they change the way everything looks.  This quote from M Mueller (from Joe Cunningham's Men and the Art of Quiltmaking, p.47) sums it up well:

...even though I may make a plan in the cutting and the laying out of the pieces, it is more like writing a short story; I can fill it in and if there is a narrative element that kicks that outline awry, I can go with the new narrative element.

As an aside, sometimes when I write this stuff I half expect someone to pop up and tell me it's all a load of bunkum. If I start producing nonsense, do feel free to let me know!

Back down to it

Before the quilty stuff a quick, but very large cheer for the mighty, mighty All Blacks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Back to my machine today, and I started off trying to be disciplined and making more 9 patches, laying them out on the floor as I went.  Then I got twitchy and made another circle...

and then I  cracked and sewed a whole second set together.

I have two observations about this: first off, the  strips I am adding to make things fit sometimes make everything look quite different by the time the 9x9 blocks are done.  Secondly, this bigger block is quite a bit smaller than the first one.  I thought about adding extra bits now to bring it up to a comparable size but have decided to wait. I think this will leave me with more options.  Right now I'm not at all whether these will even be adjacent to each other by the time I'm done, so I like that room for manoeuvre. 

On another subject entirely, if you haven't checked out the bloggers who linked up with this month's AHIQ on Tuesday, do have a look at the post below and follow some of the links - there are some really interesting posts and some pretty cool quilts too.

I'll be linking up today with Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday.

Square, circle, square...

Mostly this week I've been making my smaller 9 patch blocks.  I haven't sewn any of them together, just laid them out on the floor as I went.  I want plenty to play around with and even though I am being (for me) quite efficient, they take a while to make.  I hardly ever think to do this, usually it's one little unit at a time, but with this I am trying at least to line up two or three bits to sew at a time.  Even so there's lots of fitting together, adding of little bits etc to be done.

I don't often keep making the same unit over and over - short attention span don't you know - but am persisting with these as I don't want to get over-excited andoverdo the circles. In the end, though, I'd had enough and did make just one...