In the past month or two I've been thinking about making a quilt, but wasn't finding any patterns that I loved, and the time that I went to the fabric store, I couldn't decide on any combinations that were really calling me-- and I decided that if it's a quilt for myself, I ought to really love the design/fabrics!
I've been on vacation during the entire month of August, so I kept thinking "what a perfect time to get over-involved in a project!" In the past few weeks, I've been resisting going to the craft/fabric store: I didn't have a plan, and I really don't have the extra $$, and therefore I wasn't allowed to tempt myself by looking at the pretty fabric! haha! Well, things have a lovely way of falling into place sometimes.....
On Sunday I was with a friend M., to do some back-to-school shopping for a volunteer event with my school (we'll also be participating in an event day for the kids next weekend, I'm so excited- it was tons of fun last year!) And M. mentioned that her friend A. (whom I've met several times) had a bunch of her grandmother's clothes that she wanted made into a quilt as a gift for her mother. M. said that A. isn't a "crafty type" and just wanted to hand it over and then get a finished product in return (and she was willing to pay!) I talked with M. about the options, I looked at the fabric and realized that here was a quilting project, that I didn't have to pay for, falling into my lap in the last 2 weeks of my vacation--- what perfect timing!
Needless to say, I'm completely absorbed in my obsessive crafty mode-- I did all of the cutting on Monday, made 5 (of 25) 12" blocks on Tuesday! Yesterday (the 3rd day) was a shorter day as I had plans with friends, but at this rate I *might* be finished by the time I start my postdoc! (A. wanted the gift for a Dec 1st deadline, so I have plenty of time!!) Here are some step-by-step photos to show what's happened in the last 3 days. I have 5 blocks completed, and strips for the next 10 blocks ready for step 5!!
Credit for patterns/instructions goes to:
http://quiltville.com/scrappytripspf.html
Step 1: Take a bunch of housecoats and cut them up into evenly sized strips of fabric (2.5" x 16")
Step 2: Group the strips into sets of 6, hoping for some consistency but without getting too obsessive (9 different fabrics, but not all of them had the same amount of usable fabric! I had enough to make 25 blocks, so I will either do a 5x5 or 4x6 block design, depending on which design looks better!)
Step 3: Sew the six fabric strips together. Press & sew into a tube (not pictured)
Step 4: Cut into new 2.5" tubes so that each strip has all 6 fabrics. Then, using a seam ripper, open the tubes into strips with a stair-step pattern so that each strip has a different fabric as the top (not pictured)
Step 5: Sew the strips together into a 12" block! Repeat until the quilt is big enough (or until you run out of fabric, as in my case!) When assembled, the blocks will make a diagonal pattern-- which can be made into diamonds, zigzag, or kept in rows. I love piecing blocks, but the most fun might come at the end when I decide what pattern to make!
The green/blue fabric in the center was the largest piece of fabric (and the most contrasting) so I've decided to make it the center row on each block-- that should help make interesting designs when it's all put together... I guess I'll just have to hurry up and finish so I can see for myself! :)
