The Creative Process

I really never thought anyone would find the process of making a quit interesting, but I have been getting more and more questions (such as, "how did you think to do that?" and "how do you know to put those fabrics together?" and "that looks hard to do - is it?") So I decided to join a whole host of other bloggers and I took the Process Pledge.

So you will start to see more photos and explanations of not just my completed quilts, but quilts in the making. I suppose if you are one of those people who do not find it interesting, then don't bother reading - just look at the photos and move along!

I just recently completed two quilts, and have two smaller quilts up on my design wall (two charity quilts that one of my virtual quilting bees are helping me with. If you want to see what I'm talking about, click on the "flickr" tab above. It will take you to my flickr photostream.) Even with all of that going on and since there was room on my cutting table, I figured I could start on another quilt. Why not, right?

I bought two charm packs several months ago (Freebird by Momo for Moda) and had a hard time deciding quite what to do with them. They've been up on my design wall in various arrangements and I never was happy with what I saw. For awhile I was thinking of making a new table runner, then maybe just some new pillows. Then I came across this Stepping Stones quilt and knew what I wanted from those unassuming little charm packs:

After scribbling away in what I refer to as my "magic notebook" (I really do call it that!) I created a sketch in Illustrator to see if I like the color distribution, the ratio of color to white and to determine about what the finished size would be. It shows promise!

I started it last night and it's coming together quickly. Last night I got all of the cutting done and during my toddler's nap time I was able to start piecing.

Once the kiddos are asleep tonight I'll be able to start sewing the long strips together. Oooh I love a fast quilt.

Basement Blocks

Months ago I visited one of our local libraries and checked out a very tall stack of quilting books. One of them (I wish I could remember which one!) was all about the stack n' whack method of quilting. Since the cutting process of quilt-making is my least favorite part, I thought I'd give it a try. I went for simple the first time around - squares in squares.

The verdict? Love stack n' whack. Love aqua & brown together. Love the look of straight line quilting (takes forever though). Love having someone tall around to hold up my quilts for photographing!

The fabric is from the Blush line by Moda. It's a perfect match for our basement - this is a photo from last year that shows the color of our basement walls:

I did simple pieced back, using up some of the scraps leftover from the front. The brown fabric is one of the Grunge Basics, and I have to say that I'm not a fan of that grunge look.

The quilt is meant to be a tv-watching quilt for our downstairs tv room (hence the quilt's name: Basement Blocks) and measures 51x67.