impromptu improv

At our last PMQG meeting, Michelle of Design Camp PDX gave a fabulous talk and demonstration on improv piecing, inspired by a class she attended with Denyse Schmidt and projects she's pursued since then.

One of the visual examples she brought to the meeting were blocks constructed by members of the guild at a sew-in exercise a month or two prior.

Not having been at the sew-in when these guys were originally made, at the end of the meeting I volunteered to "inherit" the blocks in order to piece them together into a quilt top that will then be quilted by Nancy of Just Quilting, and donated to the guild's chosen March charity organization, Quilts of Valor.

They have now been up on my design wall for the better part of the week, and I still have not approached them. For various reasons, mind you, but I KNOW that when I take them down and set my scrap baskets by me it will be hours of madness! I think the good kind of madness, not angry or frustrated, but madness nonetheless. I've been needing some clean finishes first, I think. And thankfully, I currently have 3 small binding projects at home with me for the next few days, then I might be ready to dive into the scraps!

A Month of Drunk Love?

I think that most of us in the current Modern quilting world hear the phrase "drunk love" and rather than picturing a torrid bar scene or even a romantic dinner at a fancy white table cloth restaurant will automatically conjure images of bright, improv-style wonky log cabin blocks, inspired by modern quilting icon Denyse Schmidt.

And sure enough, that is what I'm talking about. This month not one, but TWO of the bees in which I'm participating have selected the DS drunk love block. No complaints here!

For Design Camp [think outside the block] Swap, Yolanda sent us a beautiful selection of tan and taupe neutrals with a snippet of a red and cream fabric to use. She did invite us to add bits from our own stashes, if they blended, and I couldn't resist taking her up on that. I hope she's not off-put by the bits of Rouenneries by French General.

(Oh, and that little bit of Lush woodgrain I found hiding in my scraps!)

This really is such a classy, beautiful palette, don't you think?? And she included some gorgeous fabrics, including a linen and a crossweave - I do love that crossweave!

And then for our circle of do. Good Stitches Amanda requested the same block design, but a completely different palette, and therefore look. Pinks and oranges. A color combination my stash is not currently lacking! And I loved the opportunity to pull almost entirely from the scrap baskets!!

So, though I don't see any more of these blocks in my immediate future, it's always fun to play in an intuitive way and see such effective results so quickly.

pulling fabrics

I've started pulling fabrics for that second version of the curved-pieced quilt. And I am going to try and keep it within the parameters of the Tangerine Tango Challenge, though not sure if I'll be entering that (though, since they have the same deadline as the quilt show call for entries, I might as well, right??)

I'm feeling a little gun-shy about cutting up the blocks before I can envision the various combinations, so earlier today I was playing around with the stacks until I came up with 4 groupings that I think I like together.

And though it was difficult to find a fabric to tie together the tangerine/orange with that deep wine color, when I found it I knew, and that Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley print on the bottom is just the link!

Hope to begin cutting into these guys by Thursday or Friday.