Vintage Blocks Wall Hanging

Vintage Blocks Meet Vintage Fabric Pack

In the first years of quilting, I spent considerable time acquiring new fabric. Then I began collecting old fabric, blocks, quilts, ephemera, and so on. The day of reckoning came when I said, "What am I going to do with all this stuff?" (or my kids if I leave it undone.) And that pretty well sums up where I am at currently, and hoping to direct my quilting energy and time to correcting. 

I am a sucker for the tag sales where there are stacks of blocks stuck in a baggie for $2 with lots of pieces waiting to be sewn. It just screams, "Make me, Julie!" Mind you the fabric is from the 1940's, and 85 years later still not sewn together. It's usually a case of someone trying out a block, and it didn't come together as well as they'd planned. Many start out as hand sewn, and honestly those are the best as you can easily unpick them. It's not always necessary, though, and often I like the look of hand pieced, slightly imperfect blocks. That was the case here even after fixing a few seams that had pulled.

Big Hapi Quilt Top Finish

Hapi Quilt

My design wall has been dominated by this large quilt for a few weeks while undergoing a slow design process. Slow design is just that at times. Slow. But when you do figure out what a quilt is asking for, you'd like it to happen right then--that day, and have it done! Unfortunately, big quilts take a long time simply because they're much bigger. This one finishes at 92.5" x 93.5". That's the same size as about 4 baby quilts. I asked myself how long 4 baby quilts might take to finish, and relied on patience.

Herding and Bordering Flying Geese:Day 9

Rows of Geese

I made these flying geese with a method that produces bias edges on all sides of the original HST. Check it out HERE. After turning them into flying geese strips, I was left with just a bias edge on each outside edge. These will all be bordered with fabric so it won't be a problem. 

Mrs. Bannister's Star Finish and a Y-Seam Link Party

More Design On the Fly

Winter light makes it tough to get the shot just right.

Tokyo Train Ride Out to the Borders: Design On the Fly

You might call this busy.
I say it's happy.
I like happy!


Design On the Fly

I like not knowing exactly where a  quilt will wind up. Also, I'm honest to a fault about my work, and believe wholeheartedly in showing you the process. It makes me feel very human when someone else shows their me their struggle to design, and I assume I'm not alone. Unless you're following a well tested pattern, there are lots of little roadblocks to work through. Rarely it works like you planned it, but the whole creative process with changes and all is very liberating. It's not really improvisational quilting, or improv. It's more 'design on the fly'.