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Original orphan blocks
Quite a few years ago, I took a design/improvisational piecing workshop presented by my guild. I made these three blocks, which have been sitting in my “I don’t know what to do with these” drawer since I made them. While editing Rayna Gillman’s book, Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts, I started thinking about applying her process to these blocks. I sliced them up and started adding in other fabrics, following her “don’t think, just sew” advice. All of the piecing was improvisational, no rulers, just cutting and sewing. I made a bunch of units and put them up on the wall.
Individual units
Then I started sewing the units together. I was merrily sewing away and I realized, uh oh, too much. Way too much going on here. I put everything up on the wall again to take a look and think about what I wanted to do.
Way too much!
I took out the sashing that I had added in, and started working with the four “blocks.” One was still way too busy, so I ended up cutting it into 2 postcards and a little quilt for the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative.
I liked the remaining blocks and decided to keep them as separate units. I also decided that even though I usually don’t do hand quilting, these needed big stitch quilting with perle cotton thread and embroidery floss—it would add line and texture without being distracting and competing with the piecing. I didn’t want them to have individual frames, so I finished each with a facing instead.
My finished blocks
My next challenge will be to decide how to hang them…keep them as individual units or group them on a backing? Stay tuned.
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