Oh, Kaja, who blogs at Sewslowly has a brilliant block this month for her month as Queen Bee. I LOVE improvisational blocks so this was right up my street. Kaja's request was very simple, squares or triangles based on a rough guide selection of colours inspired by a photo. Or possible represented in a photo. Love purples and greens. I would like to steal her photo to show you, but I won't. Just click here to see.
My first block was a large triangle. The base triangle was just a triangle plastic thingy tool for quilting. Never quite worked how to use these things. Cut round it and then just started adding fabric strips to the sides, but not the base. A couple of the strips I cut at an angle and some of the strips were varied. Now, I am not the best church attender, but I do find little bits of my Sunday School days pop up now and again. As soon as I had finished this I found myself singing "All things bright and beautiful" in particular the verse beginning "the purple headed mountain". I suppose this means I fit the brief of a river tumbling down a purple heather bank. It has ended up about 15" across the base and about 10" in depth, or thereabouts.
The next two blocks I made were squares. Or they started off as squares but ended up slightly rectangular. I didn't square them off. I left it for Kaja, she might want to trim them moving the central focus slightly or even chop them up into smaller squares. I find that prospect quite exciting.
I could have kept making these all day. I was like a pig in clover, kona clover. Incidentally I went to my lqs to buy some more plain fabric. I bought two more purples and three greens. And ... you know what .... I bought exactly the colours I already had at home!
I am Queen Bee for November in this Bee. The best kept to last (?), this being an eleven month Bee. I am just grateful that everybody has stuck with it, always a danger when you are last!! At this stage I am undecided whether to go with a square within a square, sort of improvisational courthouse steps or a string block. I do love me a string quilt, but are string quilts so last year dahling? Whatever I decide by the end of this month, I would like a little bit of selvedge in it. So don't throw out your selvedges in the next week or so!
Helen x
My first block was a large triangle. The base triangle was just a triangle plastic thingy tool for quilting. Never quite worked how to use these things. Cut round it and then just started adding fabric strips to the sides, but not the base. A couple of the strips I cut at an angle and some of the strips were varied. Now, I am not the best church attender, but I do find little bits of my Sunday School days pop up now and again. As soon as I had finished this I found myself singing "All things bright and beautiful" in particular the verse beginning "the purple headed mountain". I suppose this means I fit the brief of a river tumbling down a purple heather bank. It has ended up about 15" across the base and about 10" in depth, or thereabouts.
 |
| my purple headed mountain |
 |
| my three completed blocks |
I could have kept making these all day. I was like a pig in clover, kona clover. Incidentally I went to my lqs to buy some more plain fabric. I bought two more purples and three greens. And ... you know what .... I bought exactly the colours I already had at home!
I am Queen Bee for November in this Bee. The best kept to last (?), this being an eleven month Bee. I am just grateful that everybody has stuck with it, always a danger when you are last!! At this stage I am undecided whether to go with a square within a square, sort of improvisational courthouse steps or a string block. I do love me a string quilt, but are string quilts so last year dahling? Whatever I decide by the end of this month, I would like a little bit of selvedge in it. So don't throw out your selvedges in the next week or so!
Helen x
Putting a comment on my own blog ! That's not Brown but Purple in the photos
ReplyDeleteI had a lot of fun with Kaja's block this month, too. I just started saving selvages, so you are lucky to have been at the end of the year from that perspective!
ReplyDeleteOh! Ya, it looks brown! Weird how lighting cannot quite get real life right...I do love these blocks Helen! I'm still mainly a "meh" when it comes to improv, but I'm slowly starting to like it; did a vest for a doll (who still is bald btw) making a slab of fabric oh, 15 years ago and I loved doing that...hmm should try this again as I really love your triangle! (love her photo too, checked it out) It will be really cool to see what Kaja does with these. And cool to see what you do in November!
ReplyDeleteLove your blocks. The inspiration photo is gorgeous xx
ReplyDelete