Resolution for 2018

Happy New Year! Have you made any resolutions this year? I have not made any New Year's resolutions for a while (because the UFO ones in particular were not at all successful*), but this year I have one:

Four new, small, wall quilts

Why?

I have a few bed-sized quilts I've started, where I tried to "push the envelope" with edgy colour and fabric combinations, that are giving me a lot of trouble. In 2017 I've spent a lot of time quilting, unpicking, and requilting Picnic. And I've changed my mind about the binding several times. But the bottom line is that I've realized it's a fun, vibrant quilt that's going to be hard to live with. As a large quilt it is just overpowering. But, don't worry, I'm still finishing it!

Then also in 2017 there was Moth in the Window. Within the blocks, some combinations worked really well,

...and some didn't.

But I realized that my real problem was the pink background I'd planned:

It's warm and pretty, but I can't live with this on a bed, the energy level is just too high. I've noticed that the blocks look quite good on the solid grey background I've used for the photos, so I'm thinking some kind of grey blender (not totally solid) will be much better here.

Remember Brinton Hall? Same problem:

My plan to was to applique this centre section onto some bright blue Kona solid. I couldn't let go of that idea! But, it was going to be too, too much on the bed. (Just right this minute I've realized that a dark neutral, maybe even brown, will be the way to go here. Aha! Once again, the benefit of blogging.)

Anyway, it seems to me that the solution for the future is to try out the more energetic colour combinations in smaller quilts. That's what I did with Daydream Baskets,

...and that worked great. And even though it was a busy time of year with the holidays, it's also already a finished top.

So, I want more of that. At least four more! Some piecing, some fusing, but all are intended to meet that "non-trivial" criterion that I mentioned last spring. This resolution is really a continuation of that train of thought. With Daydream Baskets, even though it is just one block, I am satisfied that the improv piecing and the bold colours give it enough personality to hold its own on the wall. That is what I mean by non-trivial. It captures and holds your attention.

And new bed quilts will have to be somewhat calmer. I've been looking at the 2018 BOM at The Quilt Show, "The Patchwork Barn" designed by Edyta Sitar.

At first I thought that all that blue was not my taste, so I was relieved that it was off the table! But then...Barbara Black, who is going to be blogging the project all year, showed the civil war reproduction fabrics that she planned to use for the quilt. And I didn't love those either. Of course, the natural question became, what would I love? For me, that is The Most Dangerous Question. I had three ideas in quick succession:

1. Brights on white, in the style of Lori Holt. Can you imagine the cheery red barn and bright multicoloured blocks?
2. 30s reproductions on solid cream, a softer vintage variation of the first idea. A very very tempting idea...
3. Then I started to think, most of the old barns around here are a lovely weathered silver grey, and wouldn't that be nice with the coloured blocks? Or...what if the whole quilt was neutrals, similar to Kyle's elegant version of the 2017 BOM, Halo Medallion? Grey and taupe on white, with a small hint of green and gold...a real challenge to get it right, and it could be really beautiful. Ack! Sold.

So, between the four arty wall quilts, my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts, this new BOM and all my UFOs*, the year is looking pretty full. I have no schedule, and I don't mind if I get behind on the BOM (sometimes that works better). Once I get Picnic out of the way there are several other flimsies that I'm raring to get sandwiched and quilted. But the four small quilts will be the top priority. It's going to be an exciting year!

*Oh, and yes, I've come up with an 18 in 2018 UFO list too! That'll be on Wednesday.

RSC17 Wrap Up

It's the last Saturday of 2017, which means it's the last link up for the 2017 Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This was my first year participating in the casual, choose-your-own-project link up, and I have really enjoyed it! Everyone has been lovely, and you can't go wrong looking at a lot of colourful projects every week.

I started the challenge halfway through the year, and made a few of Bonnie Hunter's Talkin' Turkey blocks each month.

This is a photo collage, since the top is still not sewn together! The grey background is just the back of my cutting mat, and I actually love the way it works for photos. The camera seems to "see" the colours more accurately, and there's less shadowing with the seam allowances. In fact, I like the grey so much that I've decided to use grey instead of pink for the sashing on Moth in the Window, which you'll see again with my New Year's resolution in a couple of days.

For this project, Technicolor Turkey, I decided late in the year to make a pieced beige sashing, which is part of the reason it got delayed. But, it's looking good, and the first quarter is sewn together:

With scrap quilts it is always a challenge to keep pieces of the same fabric from being sewn together into a clump. I realized that if I use a completely different set of fabrics for the sashing, I will be home free! Fortunately, I had just restocked my selection of beiges, so I used many of the new fabrics in the sashing.

Now it is just a question of buckling down and sewing the rest together. I won't let myself start on my 2018 projects until this is done!

And, there are two 2018 projects planned. This ambitious rainbow layout, that I shared before, is on. It seems that everyone loves a rainbow! You'll see the full horror drama of that plan when I actually start it.

The second, more relaxing, project will be another Bonnie Hunter design, Garden Party from her book Addicted to Scraps. I'll make those blocks only when the colour of the month is a flowery colour -- pink, purple, red, orange and yellow. And maybe white too! I plan to change the setting a little, and it'll be shades of green, blue green and aqua.

Katie has just finished her pretty RSC17 version of Garden Party, which you can see here. I think she had a smart idea to make this quilt as an RSC project, since it has so many blocks and so many small pieces. So I am following her lead!

There are other wonderful finishes too in the RSC link up this week. But really, I recommend the whole month of December, which you can see if you click here. I'm looking forward to 2018!

Daydream Baskets Flimsy

Last time you saw this project, I was thinking about using the fabric crumbs left over from the improv pieced baskets to make the setting triangles. I spent a couple days sewing, and a couple more days thinking, and then I threw all the bits out. It was just a distraction, and didn't help the design in any way.

There are two main stories in this quilt -- the improv piecing, and the colour scheme. For a small wall quilt, that's enough. So, I just sewed the blocks together and cut simple setting triangles from the same fabrics already in the blocks.

Daydream Baskets flimsy, about 37" (94 cm) square 

Two of my reject blocks were cut up to supplement the crumbs, and went in the bin with the rest. But, one had survived, and I used it as a setting triangle on the lower right there. A bit of Japanese influence to go with all the Asian fabrics!

I will say that as a rule, it would be better to use sashing or alternate blocks of solid fabric with these blocks, because there are a lot of heavy points coming together in the seams. There is quite a bit of "problem solving" happening in the seam allowances on the back!  Anyway, my plan is to free motion quilt it here at home, so hopefully I can work around the lumps.

This quilt was inspired by the #basketswu sew along started by Barb, and my improv inspirations are always Ann and Kaja. Check their blogs to see what else is happening with the Ad Hoc Improv Quilters as they wrap up 2017!

I will probably be back again in a day or two with some Ringo Lake progress. I'm making changes!