Friday, January 29, 2016

OMG - Improv!

I am always amazed at how quickly I can get through a project once I have a vision!




This fabric has been sitting in a pile for at least a year.  It was a fabric pull I put together from a bunch of older, "unloved" stash pieces.  I knew there was a quilt in there but every time I would pick it up to work on it, I was immediately distracted by something else.

I finally just decided to start cutting without a plan.  I knew the Jane Sassaman floral was going to require some fussy cutting.  I started with the biggest designs and then just kept cutting out all the areas I liked. 



Once the designs were cut out, I started framing them with some of the other fabrics and throwing them up on my design wall.  I saved the largest cut of the blue fabric in hopes that I might be able to use it for the background or the backing.  Once I had the blocks where I liked them, it was time to make a final choice on the background.  I only had a limited amount of blue and with the blocks being placed willy nilly, it was any ones guess how much fabric I would need.

I decided just to go for it and use the blue.  And yes, there was a lot of head scratching and partial seams to get this one sewn up!



 With just a few tiny strips of blue fabric left over, I was able to get it sewn up and loaded onto my longarm for some quick daisy-chain quilting.



 From "unloved" to loved!  
I am so pleased I went with the blue print for the background!




 My favorite part of the quilt is the diagonal tulip rectangles.  
Maybe because I am so looking forward to spring!


 And an orange print for the backing!


RedLetterQuilts



Finishing up this quilt was my One Monthly Goal for January so I will be celebrating by linking up to Red Letter Quilts.  Be sure and go see what others are sharing!


Linking Up:

Fret Not Yourself (AHIQ)

Crazy Mom Quilts (Finish it up Friday)
A Quilted Passion 
Red Letter Quills (OMG)





41 comments:

Chantal said...

Congrats on a beautiful "love" finish. I never know what to do with big print fabric so I admire what others can make with such fabrics. The fabric used to frame the fussy cuts are just perject. It turned out GORGEOUS!! ;^)

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

I love this. The fabric is awesome. I don't think I'm brave enough to just start cutting fabric -- I need a pattern/plan. And I love the orange back.

Libby in TN said...

Jane Sassaman fabric is so easy to recognize. I love what you came up with. Sometimes you just have to start cutting and that fabric said "be careful, go easy." I bet you were holding your breath on that blue background decision, but it really sets everything off nicely.

mumbird3 said...

Love that fabric - and the quilt is very attractive! Thanks for sharing it!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

This is a lovely, bright finish. I really like how the panels float in the background. How awesome to have just enough of the background fabric to get it finished!

cspoonquilt said...

I like taking motifs out of fabric and making blocks out of them too! Some prints are just o pretty to cut up! I like the way you just went for it! cheers!

Anonymous said...

What an awesome quilt!! That blue fabric is just perfect and really complements the rest of the fabrics...the fussy cutting really makes this quilt pop!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Sandra B
scb304@juno.com

KMSC said...

Gorgeous!

Heidi said...

Ba Da Bing, you made that look easy! Congrats on this lovely finish!

Cut&Alter said...

What a lovely quilt this fabric has finally made!! Isn't funny how once a decision has been made how quick a quilt can come together ..... sometimes!

Jasmine said...

Love it! What a great way to use a busy print.

em's scrapbag said...

A great use of your unwanted fabrics. It turned out wonderfully!

Anonymous said...

I love the brights with the blue background, and your method of construction. It came out great, maybe because you didn't overplan. I think anyone would like this quilt!

Lois said...

That's my fave way of doing things - I've made my father-in-law a quilt top the same sort of way but need to complete it!! Maybe it's the next thing to do. I love your fussy cutting and colours:))

Ivani said...

Pretty quilt from unloved to loved. Congrats for having achieved the goal of the month.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

That is just gorgeous! I am in love with the orange. I never knew I liked orange fabric until just recently, but now I want to sew with it more! Beautiful finish with fabric you weren't sure about to begin with!

Emily said...

It's so pretty! Sometimes it is worth waiting until you get inspiration. And then dive right in!

Vicki in MN said...

Love love love the blue for the background, it all came together wonderfully. See you were just letting that fabric ferment until the right project popped into your mind, LOL

Dona said...

WOW! I love the colors and the improv design is really nice. Inspirational.

Clare M said...

Wow Cynthia, I just love your creativity with this one. Totally gorgeous and that blue background is the making of it. Awesome eork. Hugs Clare.

TheEclecticAbuela said...

Great work!

Every time I read your blog title, I think, "Yes it is!" :)

Anonymous said...

What a fun approach to a large-design fabric. Love the blue background--am sure you were relieved when you realized you had enough. And the orange binding is just right.

Ann said...

What a great way to use this wonderful fabric. So smart of you. Thanks for linking up with AHIQ.

Astrid said...

It looks great! Love the design and colors.

PeggyinNO said...

You did an amazing job on this! Love the orange backing too!

Kaja said...

I love how you started with a pile of 'unwanted' fabrics and ended up with something lovely. I really like your fussy cutting and the colours and am impressed by your willingness to wrestle with the partial seams to make it all come together!

Helen in the UK said...

Good job (and I love the use of orange for the binding) :)

Nell's Quilts said...

Your use of the focus fabric was inspirational. Sometimes you just have to make that first cut for it all to come together. A great finish.

Jayne said...

Great job! The way you dove in is not always easy to do, but you met the challenge with a beautiful quilt!

Linda said...

I love this and feel your joy in it! :)

Sheila said...

This is beautiful! The blue was perfect for the background. Orange backing perfect. I love this one.

Kathleen said...

I love how you describe resisting these fabrics and then finally diving in. It came together beautifully!!

Kate said...

Love the vibrant colors in this one. Congrats on reaching your goal.

Gina said...

Great quilt. I love how you used the patterned fabric x

Deb R said...

Such a great idea and a gorgeous finish!

Paige said...

I know Jane would approve, great use of her fabric! And congrats on OMG!

gayle said...

Wonderful! The blue is perfect for the background, and you won my heart with all that lovely orange. 8) Definitely a quilt worth waiting for!

Marly said...

This is an amazing finish; this is a brilliant way of making a little of the big print go a long way and the blue background is perfect at pulling everything together.

Zenia Rene said...

WOW! Someday I hope to do some amazing unplanned work like this! It's lovely Cynthia!

Unknown said...

Fantastic! That turned out really well! I love the colours!

Mary Marcotte said...

Oh wow, talk about a vision! It's fantastic! I have some unloved fabric. If I can pull it off half as well, I'll be thrilled.

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