Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Braid Flimsy

The flimsy center is complete.  I like it.  I hadn't intended to keep this quilt, but now I'm thinking I might.  Need to think where I can use it.

The main purpose of this quilt was to use several yards of border fabric my mother had given me.  They were both beige fabric, one silkscreened with a navy and gold Greek key design, the other with a leaf design of maroon, navy and gold.  I focused on those colors as I dug through my stash.  The quilt turned out more red-white-and-blue than I had intended, although it's more striking in the photos than it is in person (which is more rusty and cream).

It took a while to find a pattern I liked.  I landed on a braided rainbow quilt that made think of doing the stripes, and found this tutorial that helped with size, yardage and piecing.

When I laid out the quilt, I staggered the silkscreened pieces.  But when I sewed it together, I reversed two pieces at one end and joined two Greek keys together.  Further down that same strip I had lined up the two different patterns, too.  Oops.  It didn't jump out enough to warrant ripping it all apart and sewing it back together.

One more oops - I ironed all the seams in the same direction.  But because I matched up the points on the straight sides, that made for very bulky seams where the braids were joined together.  If I do this again, I either need to flip the direction of the sames, or iron them open.

The quilt needs a border (to be twin-sized).  I tried out various colors and decided that I liked a dark gold best, possibly with a very narrow inner border of black.  I don't have enough of that to piece together now and am ambivalent about ordering more fabric online.  We'll see.  This project may have to go on hold until I can try out colors in person.

It's ridiculous how much I enjoy these types of projects:  where I have some fabric I want to use, then have to figure out how to incorporate it a quilt.  Some end results look a lot better than others.  There's something about creating with leftovers that gets my brain working, and then I can't wait to see how it turns out.  I'm then left with the problem of how to use (or gift or sell) the final product.

Sharing with:
My Quilt Infatuation - Needle & Thread Thursday
Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?


8 comments :

  1. wowie! That looks great!!! I love the different tones and that stripe!

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  2. I like how that turned out, too! You really did figure out the best way to use that original fabric. It definitely should be a keeper!

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  3. It never occurred to me to use a border print for a braid. Genius idea - it really dresses up a simple braid. I love seeing how you deep dive into your stash to coordinate with your inspiration piece.

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  4. I think this looks great, and your "oopses" look intentional and well-thought-out, actually. They add interest and I would have thought you matched a couple on purpose for variety and "deliberate randomness." I know what you mean about self-imposed design limits (such as wanting to use up a particular fabric or set of scraps) really stoking the creative fires. Great job!

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  5. Your new quilt top is SEW awesome!!! I've wanted to make a braided quilt for a long time. Thanks for the link to Kelly's tutorial!

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  6. Another fabulous quilt from your clever imagination and that stash of yours. Yes, you must keep it.....one can never have too many quilts, you know. =)

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  7. If the country manages to bring various local fairs back again, this one would be an interesting one to enter. I haven't seen another like it, at least not yet. Very nicely done. Thanks for sharing your journeys with us.

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