Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Scrap-A-Palooza! Quilt #8 Part Three

I think some of the best things about string quilts are the endless variations you can can create, the speed at which you can sew up a large number of blocks and the fact that you usually don't have to do a lot of cutting!  This month's Scrap-A-Palooza quilt was no exception.
 
 


 Last week I shared a tutorial on how to sew these strings onto a fabric foundation.  Here is my stack of forty two 10.5" blocks trimmed and ready to get up on my design wall.  I was so pleased to see almost all of the scraps I had in these colors get used up.










My original plan was to just sew all the blocks together but once I had them laid out where I could see them, I decided it needed a little something to break up the pattern.


I pulled some black fabric from my stash and added this "hashtag" inner border (I don't know what else to call it!) 

This border treatment works great when you are working with a pieced outside border as its addition doesn't mess up the math and require you to trim any blocks to make them fit around the outside.  I cut these strips at 1.5" so the finished border is quite small at 1" but I think it has a great impact.





I should note, when I sewed the top together, I pressed all my seams open.  With the extra layer of fabric, the seams can get a bit thick.



Here is the finished quilt top outside in the sunshine.  It is really hard to say if it is mostly yellow or green, the lighting really affects the colors on this one.

 
 

 
Here is a bit of a close up on the border.  The black fabric I used has a bit of a gray swirl printed on it.  I am now planning on using this print for the binding to tie it all together nicely.  I also made some time to sew up my backing so the quilt is ready for me to sneak it into the quilting queue.


While I don't yet know how I will quilt this, I will say I usually keep the quilting easy on my string quilts, especially the multi-colored ones.  The quilting just doesn't show up much.  Which also means I sometimes use these quilts to work out a new free-motion quilting pattern.

So I hope you try something slightly outside your comfort zone when you quilt up your string quilt.  They are perfect to practice on!


Here's an overview of the important stuff to do before the next step
  • Decide on a layout
  • Sew up the top
  • Dig in that stash for a backing (it is in there - just keep looking!)
  • Try a new quilting pattern - something out of your comfort zone.


And remember, you can check out all of the previous quilts made in the Scrap-A-Palooza series by checking out the gallery tab. Not only are the steps to each part linked up but I have also shared quilts made by others so you can find lots of inspiration to sew up those scraps.

 
I'll meet you here next week with my finished quilt!

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22 comments:

Michele T said...

I love it with the hash tag!!! I made a string quilt for my aunt's 80th birthday and it turned out beautifully... Wish I would have thought of adding something like this to give it an extra special touch!!! I am definitely pinning this for future reference (hope you don't mind).

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

That is beautiful! The orangy-red really stands out for me, but I loved the addition of the black border, too!

sew.darn.quilt said...

This quilt is phenomenal! I really like the way you've broken up the design ever so slightly with the black.

Tami C said...

Love your "Hashtag" quilt! I'm still saving my strings! I think I'd like to do this with them!

junacreationsuk.blogspot.co.uk said...

I love string quilts and with the black inner sashing/border it looks lovely, you're right, it does give it that little something extra.
I've made four string quilts so far and having just had a good ole sort through all my scraps, I noticed I have a lot of strings in there... maybe time for another!

Vicki in MN said...

I just love your idea of putting that skinny black border in there! Thanks for sharing it!

PaintedThread said...

That border is great! I'll have to remember that trick.

Barb Neiwert said...

You have a lot of great tricks up your sleeve - and I love them all, especially the addition of the black. Absolutely perfect!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

The black hashtag sashing frames it out so nicely. I think it will also be a perfect binding!

Michele said...

Great scrappy quilt! You are all ready for fall :-)

Gold Shoe Girl said...

I really want to try a string quilt soon! Thanks for the inspiration and helpful hints.

Lynda said...

I have so many scraps and just don't know what to do with them - I find it hard to do "scrappy" - I am a planned person - type A - but watching this blog is starting to inspire me to jump into the pool

Quilting Dee said...

Really like this quilt! Love the colours in the mix. The black # makes it stunning!

Unknown said...

Wow, that small black border in there really brings the whole thing together nicely! I'll have to give this string quilt a go at some point.

Terri said...

I like the black inside border... nice set off to the other blocks. Good color choices. Love it.
Hugs

Ann said...

What a successful inner border. Black was definitely the way to go. Lovely post.

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

it looks good to me so far. Goo dluck getting it finished

Marsha Cooper said...

String quilts are so much fun to make and I've not made one in a long time now.
I want to try a spiderweb quilt.....whenever I find the time to see if I can do it.

schmidt1016 said...

I think "hash tag" is a perfectly wonderful name for that border. It's funny that you don't know if it is a yellow quilt or a green one. What I see first is red. When I read that part, I had to go back and look again. There isn't so much yellow that it dominates, and I don't even see green on first glance. In any case, it is a terrific quilt. Will you bind it with black, too?

Leslie S. in MN

Wendi said...

This quilt is beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing it with me, I really like your border, gives the quilt the perfect touch.

Anonymous said...

Great quilt, great color choice. The black inner border breaks perfectly the quilt design. I suppose that you shall also use black fabric to bind it. Thanks for sharing. Barbora

Lara B. said...

Saw your quilt on N&TT and had to get a better look. Cynthia, it is wonderful! the black "hashtag" inner border really adds a great effect and ties in all the blocks so well. The black used throughout your quilt adds a great bit of contrast. Beautiful fabrics too!

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