Thursday, May 23, 2013

Improvisational block Orange

 I have been working on a series of extra blocks that are all improvisational strips, squares and rectangles of orange fabrics with bits of brown and gray. It all started with a gift of some lovely scraps from a couple of the quilters in DC Modern Quilt Guild. I began playing with grays, blues and greens then moved away to my warm palette with the bold oranges, marigold yellows, flame reds and it soon won out on the felt design wall. It has been a lot of fun and a lot of work piecing dozens of bits together. Today I think I am finished with the top. I didn't want to spoil the final reveal by showing an incomplete quilt.... so
Flowers showed up to match my project, I decided to incorporate them in a view from the ironing board to the kitchen and bedroom beyond. 
Instead I will show the rarely seen reverse side. This is the underside where all my quarter inch seams are pressed flat open and starched to keep them from bunching up under the sewing machine and quilting needles. Thanks to my mother's Christmas gift, I have a light weight and very effective steam iron. I still use her aunts antique ironing board in our foyer room to do pressing after sewing the seams. I run from living room sewing table, to ironing board foyer, to bedroom design wall where I have my felt hanging to lay everything out to puzzle over how the pieces will fit together.
see iron on the book shelf upper right side of this image 

close look if you want to see the seams and the backside of the printed fabrics

the long view with perspective
Now and then I have to go to the back porch studio to cut larger strips of fabric on the big table out there with a straight edge and rotary cutter, so in fact I use the entire apartment to sew. Keith has been supportive all along never complaining about being crowed by my ever growing stacks of fabrics and materials. Thanks to everyone who supports my creative productions and my emotional life with gifts of fabric scraps, comments, complements and sometimes purchases of my creations. I am really happy with how this scrappy quilt top project has unfolded over the last couple months. Now it is time to find a complementary backing to quickly set this up to be quilted so I can show you the finished version. Seems I need to find a cooler colored project to hang on the bedroom wall now that the heat is beginning to arrive our steamy sub-tropic Washington, DC. Moon lit gardens come to mind. Cool dark colors perhaps?

2 comments:

Annie said...

That's a very handsome quilt, I love orange too!

Frederick Nunley said...

Thanks Annie, I love your portrait with the same machine I use! Featherweight's rule!