I did get some sewing time in on Sunday. I had some strips of fabric up on the wall for my Lake Michigan quilt, and I decided that rather than lay out the whole quilt before sewing, I'd stitch the water and then lay out the next section from there. It will be much easier to handle if I sew as I go.
Here's a close-up of a section:
And here's how it looks from far. (Sorry about the blurriness here. I was too far away for my camera setting and the lighting. I'll try to get sharper images when I add more.)
To give you some perspective, the work is approximately 32 inches wide, and the water section is about 6 inches from top to bottom. (I pinned the "wet sand" fabric to the bottom to get an idea of how the bottom edge of the water will look.
You can see in this post how I pinned fabrics to my design wall when I started. In the end, though, I just cut strips of random widths ranging from about 1 1/2 inches to about 3 inches, and then made random wavy cuts, pressed under a quarter inch, and laid them out. (The technique is Accidental Landscapes by Karen Eckmeier.) I knew I wanted some bright turquoise somewhere because that's one of the striking features of Lake Michigan, but otherwise I just quickly slapped them up and pinned them together before sewing.
I usually sew the strips to a foundation, but this quilt is larger than usual and I didn't want the layers to be too thick. So I topstitched each strip to the one behind it and then trimmed away the excess fabric.
It occurred to me while I worked that this is an improv quilt for me. I have a basic plan, but I really don't know exactly how it will look in the end. So in addition to linking up with Freshly PIeced for WIP Wednesday and Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social (if Lorna is doing it this week--remember the Dog Gone Cute link-up is going on), I'm linking up with Ad Hoc Improv Quilters.
Have fun quilting this week, improv or not.
11 comments:
Congratulations on your cuddly, new grandson! I'm looking forward to one of my own in a few months. Great collection of blues; they make wonderful water. Your plan seems to be working well. Thanks for linking this post with AHIQ.
Love the fabrics you are using
Improv it is! If I ever get a grandbaby I think all quilting will stop for weeks, so well done for keeping yours going. I like your colours a lot here and this stitched section has a great watery feel to it.
I am so interested to watch your progress. Great start! We lived along Lake Michigan for several years.
Don't ya just love improv!!! You water is looking great!! Glad you are getting LOTS of grammy time!!
I love the feel you are able to create by your piecing!
This is looking good! I will look back to see my Lake Michigan shots from the UP along US2...oh how I love that drive. Isn't it rather freeing and fun to make a quilt where you aren't sure where it's going or how you're going to get there? I need to do more of that.
Loving those different colours of the water - great job and congratulations on the new addition to your family
This is a great piece! I really like the light to dark effect!
I love these colors together! They really capture the depth of the water.
I love this quilt. It is certainly "improv". I like the idea of accidental landscapes. Nice work, and I will look forward to seeing where it takes you next!
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