BLOG 341

BLOG 341

Nothing concentrates the mind more than a form which you have to fill in! It demands actions and decisions and it makes you focus on what it is demanded of you. Such was the case at the Gresford craft group this week when we were given the forms for the exhibition in June. We were asked on the form what we will be putting in the exhibition just 2 months hence. It seemed a long way into the future on the day before going to Gresford but, when the form was placed in front of me, it brought it threateningly close!

I then thought of the colourful quilt that I have promised to make for someone and panic set in. This is just what I needed so, with Rog away for a couple for days, I got stuck in! The client had asked for a colourful quilt not unlike the Multi-coloured Dream Quilt which I made for and sold at the exhibition last year. I never like to repeat a piece of work as I think quilts need to be individual and, if I made the same thing over and over, I wouldn’t feel as though I was developing as a quilter. All you have to do now is look at the waste basket to see that there is proof of activity.

               Proof of activity

 I decided to make a string quilt as I have masses of colourful strips which are ideal for this project. Habitually, I start off in a vaguely organised fashion but it doesn’t take long for chaos to descend. I have always believed this to be a vital part of the creative process and I don’t want to stunt my innate creativity by having to worry about tidiness and orderliness. (That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it!)

             Disorganised chaos

               Creative clutter

 As is my preference, I chose to use a paper piecing method for accuracy. I have gone through this method in previous blogs, and there is so much about string quilts on the internet, so I am not going to dwell too much on the detail.  Here is what I am trying to achieve.

                 The vague masterplan

               The building block

              Triangle 1

             Triangle 2

The block and the 2 triangles will be used to build the larger sections which will make up the finished quilt, as in a 9-patch. I have decided to break down the quilt into smaller sections to make it easier to handle when I get to the machine quilting stage. As the client also wants the back of the quilt to be useable in its own right, that could be some distance away!

               Section 1

             Section 2

And then look what happened! I got so fed up with rooting through my strips to find ones of a suitable length that I decided to spend a few minutes at the end of a sewing session sorting them out into vague piles. I cannot tell you how much this revolutionised and speeded up my procedure so just ignore the rubbish above about stunted creativity!!

               Organised!