I have no idea

I have no idea where this is going. It was supposed to be a quick little quilt made with scraps just to give me something to do while I was between "real" projects. Sometimes I just can't get going. I resolve that problem with a new project. Every time. I resolve to work on finishing something. Anything. But the new project just happens.

I guess the Red as a Neutral just isn't out of my system, because when I went to the scrap cupboard, they somehow followed me to the worktable. Anyway, there were some large chunks of scrap fabric in both bins, so win! I tried mixing it up a little and put some pieces on the design board. No, that was not working.

So I cut some pieces, trying to tone it down a little with larger pieces of neutral (left), making these rectangles cut on the diagonal and pieced together. No, not really working. I tried to make them into windmills (right). Still not a plan. But now I have a mission. I just don't know what that might be.
I'll keep you posted, both here and on my blog.

inspi(RED) - the Flimsy

The idea for this quilt arrived in February of this year

as I trimmed the strip-pieced center panels for Luminous.

I've always wanted to make my version of

Amanda Jean Nyberg's Birch Trees design -

and this was the perfect opportunity.

I could combine the already-pieced skinny insert strips

with reds from the stash and count this project

 towards the AHIQ Red is a Neutral challenge

from earlier this year.

I've also always wanted to make a RED quilt -

so the collision of timing with all these elements

was absolutely perfect for me.

The finished top measures 48" wide x 60" long

and features 20 different red fabrics from my stash.

I even found a very red reproduction print 

in the stash  that will work beautifully for the back -- 

another bit of fortunate timing.

inspiRED makes me VERY happy!

(and I have another empty project box)

Quiltdivajulie

Update on my "Red as a Neutral"

I'm not sure that's going to be the title, but right now it's all I have. I'd love suggestions. This is where I was this morning...

  and this is where I am now....

The only thing left to add are the borders. I've decided on a five inch border all around to add more red. 
Yes. More. Red. It's a neutral, you know? Plus the quilt needs to be a little bigger, and I am tired of making these fiddly blocks. So borders it shall be. It's about 48" square. I've cut out some five inch strips, so that will add another eight or nine inches overall--just about right. 

Red is a Neutral... five more blocks

I didn't do much this week. (I don't even know why!) But I managed these.

I know I'm dyslexic, but even that doesn't explain the mistakes I made while making the three blocks I needed this week. So why do I have five, you ask. That story is on my blog. Be forewarned: it's not that interesting, but it is typical Mary reasoning.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Red is a Neutral - triangles and strips

I have a top all sewn up!!

For those who read my blog you will know the story, for those who don't

here is a brief summary and a look at the top

which is considerably smaller than I had intended, but I found working

with so much red a little overwhelming and my idea of a throw

size quilt was abandoned.

In fact at one point I considered abandoning the project totally!

Perseverance crept to the fore

Measuring 33" square it's fine for hanging on a wall.

I had quite a lot of reds left over from my Chinese Coin wall quilt

and good use was made of my scrap strings.

The border took a little time to hit on the one I really felt

tied the whole together - Rings in Black from

KF Collective fabrics.

Wonder what the next Challenge will bring!!

Always Happy To Finish Another Adhoc. Improv. Quilt!

My Red is a Neutral quilt is finished! I've written all about it over at my blog. It's such a wordy post, I've almost bored with it myself. The post, not the quilt! I'll be having a hard time giving this quilt away though. It turned out so much better than I expected!

Lattice Quilt

Just wanted to pop in over here and give a shout out to Kaja and Ann. They always come up with the most interesting challenges!

Red is a Neutral

Since I'm not doing much actual sewing I thought I'd keep my blogging muscles working by doing a quick post reflecting on the Red is a Neutral challenge.

This is where I got to in the end.

Sadly it seems to be a difficult top to photograph and the bright sun here has washed out the colours too much.  I'll try again when it's cloudier.  In real life there are a pale green and a lovely lemon-y yellow which are virtually indistinguishable in this picture (though you can get a better idea here).

It's been an interesting exercise for me but I think on balance I'm happy that I met the brief.  There is a lot of red in this quilt but for me it works to enhance the blues, greens and yellows rather than demanding to be the centre of attention.  It's a useful notion to have up one's sleeve - that red can be used instead of, say, low volume options. 

I have also learned that if I stick with the same block for too long I get bored, then I kind of lose the will to sew at all, so if I want to work along these lines again I will need to build in variety, either by making more than one block or by changing scale or some other jiggery-pokery.

Starting without a plan

Finally I get to Red is a Neutral, though I have literally no clue now what I am about.  

I found these shirts:

and teamed them up with some reds from my stash (no pictures because I have shoved them in the washing machine, but there is an old Grunge and a couple of Oakshott bits).

So far so good, but it seemed very red.

So I added these:

I'm thinking that the bits of green, black, white and tan give me some options in terms of what else I will add.

These two could open it up even more.

I am torn since the one on the right almost deserves a quilt all to itself.  It's in the mix for now though.

Here they are all together.

Now I've got to team them up with some not-so-red fabrics and see where that gets me.

First steps with Red is a Neutral

I thought it would be the end of the month

before I made a start on the Invitational

taking place over the next six months.

Best laid plans and all that - I made a start today!

Ingredients for Red is a Neutral:

one stack of red triangles - more of a tomato red rather than scarlet

 heaps of scrap strips

40 pieces of Vilene to be used as foundation for the strips

and this is what I came up with

four blocks 7 and 1/2" square - at least they should have been that size 

but a slight hiccup in my making of the template meant I was

a fraction out on one of the measurements, so all of the he 40 foundation

pieces were out!

Not wanting to cut them all over again, nor waste the four blocks

I downsized them by 1/4".

I'm making Liberated Wedding Ring inspired

by Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran .

Now, twenty blocks with all that red could be pretty overpowering

so I'm sashing using black/white. 

First one I tried - the spot - no good

second - the elephants - still not good

but this one was perfect, at least I think so

a quick mock up

this particular fabric tones down the full on volume

of colour for me.

Making these could be quite addictive, I think tomorrow could

be marked down for more of these blocks!

Maureen