Somersault Quilt

Here are a few pictures of the progress on the Karla Alexander class quilt.  It is So interesting to step back and see it on the wall.  I am able to get about 13 feet away, which meets Karla's "ten foot rule."  But I discovered taking a photo and looking at the photo is an even better way to get a fresh look at the overall composition.  

It was so exciting to be able to put the squares up on the design wall!

Not sure if you can tell with this photo, but there's a small glitch in the upper right corner.

Last night I just put the pieces up following the book design, not worrying about which particular fabric went where.  (I looked at a couple other possible patterns that could be made, but decided I like this one best.  Especially since I'd already put on all the little squares.)   Tonight I have a shopping outing planned, but tomorrow I will start moving them around so that the different fabrics are more randomly distributed.  And figure out what to do with the glitch.  It's only a minor glitch.  I sewed a few too many little squares on, and don't have enough plain ones.  So I can rip them off or maybe use a couple slightly off-size blocks that I've set aside.  Or make a new block.  There was plenty of fabric left over, but somehow the idea of stepping back to make another block instead of moving forward is sort of unappetizing.

I'm really pleased with the visual quality and excited to see this thing put together an draped over the back of my couch.  While trying to get motivated to wake up this morning I was contemplating quilting designs.  I am still a "stitch in the ditcher" when it comes to skills, but I really admire the look of the more densely quilted "New Modern" quilts I see on line.  So maybe I'll add some diagonal lines?  Maybe in the opposite direction from the pattern...?

Workshop Planning and Organic Quilt

I haven't been blogging much. I've been completely absorbed in and obsessed by Pinterest.  It's a familiar pattern.  I find something new and different, and can't tear myself away.  Then I get bored.  I'm now bored with Facebook, thank god!.  Pinterest is different, I can browse images, mostly of art quilts, for days.

I'm starting to get serious about getting ready for the Nancy Crow workshop in February.  This involves buying lots and lots of fabric.  My estimate is I'll need to take at least 80 yards of solids.  I've never bought many solids, so there's lots of shopping to do.  I don't want to be limited  by my fabric choices, but at $7-8 a yard... well you do the math.  This week I ordered, and received (IN TWO DAYS!) a 16-yard Kona Cotton sampler package from Pink Chalk Fabrics.  It's beautiful!  I love to look at it.  Of course there's also the tuition, meals, and housing.  But I'm totally psyched, thrilled, and a bit scared.  I hope I have some decent work to take with me.

That leads me to wonder why I'm spending time on the Karla Alexander quilt project and not the art quilts I always think about but too rarely work on.  But it's good sewing practice, and I need that! I'm calling it "The Organic Quilt" because that's the term she used.  I didn't really get it because we are all cutting the same curvy blocks.  But everyone else did blue or purple like the example.  I did green.  And mostly earthy greens.  To match the NEW COUCH!.  Anyway, I enjoyed the class.  It was low stress and enjoyable, and the quilt's coming along well - since we cut blocks prior to class we could actually achieve something in the 6-7 hrs. we were there.  It sure goes fast!  I have all 70+ blocks cut out, sliced, shuffled and reassembled.  Now I need to trim to size, add the accents, and figure out the layout.  Karla says to do the layout before adding the accents, but my NEW DESIGN WALL isn't quite big enough for that.  I guess I'll do what I can.

I should have posted about the design wall last week.  Having a DH at home between jobs sure is a blessing! He built a removable styrofoam wall that is about 7 feet wide, and 4 feet tall.  7' because that's the space we have between light switches.  And 4' because that's a standard sheet of insulation.  I LOVE it!

Here's the finished version, with the fabric somewhat  permanently attached.

Yes, that's just blue painters tape.  But I will probably change this white flannel to a piece of batting at some point.