I had to make it! I don't remember the name of the book that this is from but I saw a sample on a wall at a shop and it began to dance in my head. Again! I would go back and visit and think about fabrics and finally started cutting the strips.
This is not strip pieced in the way you might think (and I thought at first). Instead, you create two strips (staggered at the ends to account for the diagonal cut you're going to make) and sew them together at the top and botton (so you really have a tube). You then cut the "tube" into a triangle and pick out the stitches at the peak of the triangle. When it's opened you have a square....and you have homespuns on the bias with no foundation. So, for this to work, you have to use WOF strips and not the "scraps" we normally have for foundation piecing string quilts.
I got really weary of this and all the sewing and put it up for two years. I'm pleased to say I pulled it out in a fit of "finishing" last year and perservered to finish it. I really like it but it lost some of it's appeal when I got tired of sewing, cutting, and re-sewing along the way. The sashing is great,I think, and does a great job of stabilizing the blocks. You can see just a bit of the piano key border -- which was a great way to use up scraps, thank goodness. I had oodles.
My learnings are that maybe homespuns weren't a good choice for this type of construction. Batiks would be great because they are not 'wishy washy' fabrics and they have a mind of their own. But, too much sewing makes Jan a tired chick and that's what happened here. I started getting pulled to new projects when I thought this might never end. I have a few others of these out there and hope to get the finishing push back one of these days.
I'm happy to say I have one more complete and on the shelf and, by the way, it's heavy!!! Between the seams and homespuns -- there's a lot of fabric in here.Keep piecing, Jan
3 comments:
That's a great quilt, and I'm glad you finished it. I have that book, too, but don't know which one it is. I collected homespuns for awhile and decided that I would never have enough variety for the whole quilt. I really like your batik idea though.
I also have this book (it's by Evelyn Sloppy, I think) and hope to do it one day. After reading your comments, I may do my blocks the traditional foundation piecing way. I think I would rather peel of paper than fight stretchy bias edges with the homespuns and recycled shirts I've collected. Your quilt is so pretty it makes me want to get started.
I love this quilt! What an amazing job you did!
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