More improv…

Posted in Finished Quilts by wombatquilts

So this week’s quilt uses a technique similar to last weeks but gets a very different looking quilt… which I love.

Like last week this quilt uses a foundation, this time a navy blue 5 inch square, and uses scrap strips…. but this time I used just warm solids and a band of white.

Also this block’s component adds fabric to two opposite sides of the foundation…last weeks only added fabric to one side of the foundation. The result is a tighter collection of diamonds on the quilt and the navy foundation feels more like sashing.

As you can tell I used a variety of different shades of blue for the foundations…mainly because I was using up scraps… but I love how the variety gives the quilt some depth and interest.

The backing of this quilt was one of my favorite sheet – a London themed Whim sheet. I have been using sheets for a few years to back quilts and love Martha Stewarts “Whim” line that Macy’s stocks. I actually bought two of the London sets and are hoarding the last of it for a special quilt that I have planned.

This quilt has also already headed out to Dornbecher PICU… I will eventually catch up and be showing quilts before they head out into the world, I promise!

The pinkies will, of course, have the final word…..

Quilt Details:

Blocks: Improv diamond using 5 inch foundation

Fabric: Variety of Kona solid scraps

Size: 54 x 63 inches

11May2018

A little Friday Improv

Posted in Finished Quilts, Scrap quilts by wombatquilts

The quilt I am sharing today was made during one of our Guild’s Charity Sew Days. For these sewing adventures I usually pick a block to make in advance, pull and cut all the fabric and do a couple of sample blocks. There is quite a bit of prep work… but not on Improv days….

golden improv quilt 2

On Improv days I get to pull fabric but I do not have to cut anything…. I really like those days… and Improv log cabins are the best…

quilt detail 4

This quilt was inspired by some mustard metallic that had been donated to the program – some Mirror ball and some Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets. I also had a stash of black and white scraps which needed using and a plan came together…

golden detail

There are some wonderful novelty prints in this quilt and some great fussy cutting. That dog looking out put a smile on my face every time I see him…

quilt detail 5

The color scheme is gender neutral and I think a little more grown up than some of the brights I usually do… and I thought this would be a great quilt for an older kid.

golden improv quilt

The photo shoot for this quilt (and a few more I will share in the coming week) took place at a local garden. Mr Wombat was very patient and a real trooper as some of these quilts are quite big…

the struggle is real

And the wind did not always co operate with us… I finally gave us trying to get a decent shot of the back of the quilt… and went for a close up instead…

quilt back detail

The close up gives you a better look at the fabulous ostridges and their golden butts that are on the back. This is actually part of a sheet set I bought at Macy’s… I have become obsessed with the Whimsy sheet sets Martha Stewart does as they are perfect for backing kids quilts.

Quilt Details:

Block: 12 inch wonky log cabin
Fabric: black & white scraps with a smattering of mustard.
Size: 60 x 72 inches

27Jan2017

A little Improv

Posted in Finished Quilts by wombatquilts

After battling with Internet outages all this week I am pleased to be able to share another quilt with you this Friday….I was planning a WIP post on Wednesday but we had not internet all day. It is not until you are unplugged that you realise just how much you rely on the net for your day to day workings. I am now playing catch up on the Aussie Open tennis and quilting while watching the matches of the last couple of days.

Anyway onto business… today’s quilt is another beautiful group quilt from the Portland Modern Quilt Guild charity sew days. We are currently making quilts for the local children’s hospital, and they are readily supplied with cute kids quilts, they struggle at times to find quilts suitable for their older patients – they treat kids up to 18 years old. So with this in mind I chose a black and white with a splash of colour…

pmqg-improv-charity-quilt

For this quilt I pulled a whole pile of black and white scraps and a small handful of solid scraps in ranging in colour from orange/yellow to a pink/red. The scraps were dumped out on a table in our sewing area at Modern Domestic and people just went to work sewing bits together and making blocks.

quilt-detail-4

There are so many fun little bits and pieces in this quilt… and also some nice little fussy cut moments. I love this kids quilts because it is such a great opportunity to throw in a fun print here and there…even for the more “grown up” kids.

quilt-detail-2

Some of our talented volunteers went about making their own fabrics by cutting and cross cutting their blocks. I just love how different each piece was…

quilt-detail

The over all result is just so much fun…

improv-quilt-detail

The finished quilt top was then handed over to the wonderful Nancy Stovall who weaved her quilting magic all over it.

improve-quilt-detail-2

For the back of the quilt I must admit I got a little carried away piecing it… I had some larger black and white scraps as well as a part quilt top that had been donated. It was all sewn together to produce this…

pieced-quilt-back

The quilt was then finished off in some scrappy solid binding, reflecting the colours of the solids in the quilt…

binding

If you have the opportunity to be a part of a group charity quilt you should jump at it. There is something wonderful about a group of people getting together and making something for a stranger…it gives me such a sense of community and gives me hope.

Quilt Details:

Name: Improv love
Pattern: 12 inch Improv blocks
Fabric: black & white scraps and Kona solids
Finished size: 60 x 72 inches

19Jun2015

Rainbow Crazy

Posted in Finished Quilts, Other fun stuff, Scrap quilts by wombatquilts

This week I finished up my Rainbow Improv quilt just in time to ship it to Sisters for their quilt show next month….there is nothing like an impending deadline to get you working hard!

I started this quilt a little while ago, making the blocks in between some complex paper piecing projects. It was so much fun to do something so free from rules and constraints. You can read more about the process on my original post…

I just used a rainbow of solid fabric scraps and played with colour. I must admit I did not know what the end product would look like, I just enjoyed the process of making the blocks.

Because this quilt was going to Sister’s I wanted to do something modern for the quilting, but I did not want to distract from the blocks too much. In the end I went with my beloved straight line stitches but used a rainbow selection of thread for the quilting.

Each row of blocks got their own colour, which was so much fun to do.

I just used my walking foot as my line guide…I did contemplate marking up the quilt top but this was so much easier and worked out perfectly… I got 16 lines of stitches per row and only went a little off course, one or two times.

For the back of the quilt I went with a patchwork of solid Kona greys (Ash, Charcoal and Medium Grey), which was perfect for highlighting the change in the thread colour. If you look closely you can see the rainbow effect of the quilting.

The final touch was some scrappy grey binding, a label and I was done.

I am so thrilled with how this quilt turned out. It is so different from what I usually do, but was just so much fun to make…

Quilt Details:

Blocks: 6 inch improv blocks
Fabric: Variety of solids – Kona, Michael Miller, American Made and Bella.
Finished size: 48 x 48 inches

24Apr2015

A little bit of Improv fun…

Posted in Other fun stuff by wombatquilts

Over the last month or so I have been slowly making a quilt top, using nothing but my solid scraps. This week I finally finished sewing it all together to make this piece of modern crazy….

It all started when I began cutting up my solid scraps into useable squares…

I was left with a pile of long strips, small square and random shapes. As a scrap quilter I could not just throw them away, so I started making Improv blocks.

My first step was to sew lots of the small little bits together to make bigger units.

If I found a curved piece in amongst the scraps I used it…

The same with triangles (there was no shape biased here!)…

I was not afraid to slash through a block and add extra bits…

And I always made sure that there was tonal variation in the blocks…

I worked colour by colour….first I pulled out all my yellow scraps and made blocks….then my orange…then my red etc. Working row by row, colour by colour I could make sure that there was some flow between each line of blocks…

My blocks finished at 6 inches square and not one of them is even remotely like the another. I found an amazing freedom in making this quilt….there was no pattern to follow, no measuring or pre-cutting to do.

When I needed a break from paper piecing or just wanted to do something quick and creative I grabbed a handful of scraps and made some blocks.

So much fun…I can highly recommend this process… it is perfect for letting go and just playing. There is no right or wrong, just colour and creating and fun.