Big THANKS to Marian @ SeamstobeSew for organizing and hosting this annual hop. This year's theme: What's the craziest thing you've made?
Well, I don't know if it's the craziest, but it is a bit wacky and the craziest thing lately. And wonderful!
My friend Shauna had cleaned out her mother Ruth's sewing room, sorted out what she and her family wanted to keep, then brought me the leavings. I told her I would see if there were any pieces that I could use and donate the rest to the local quilt guild for charity quilts. There were several garbage bags full of fabrics, quite a few of which would make good backings, and those were passed on to the guild.
Then I spied some half-square triangles packaged in a zipped baggie. It appeared that the fabrics were from old clothing. I began to lay them out, thinking, "Oh, this would make a fun doggie bed". Then I found more and more baggies full of these half-square triangles. In all, there were over 200 of these units!
The black pieces were from pants, skirts, lining, etc. and the colored part of the blocks were random fabrics: mostly double-knit polyester, with some wool, linen, paisley prints, silk, velour, and who-knows-what other content. Grandma Ruth's old pantsuits! This tickled me so much.
Then I proceeded to trim all the units to a consistent size (5-inch squares). Eleanor Burns' 6-1/2" Triangle Square-Up ruler was a lifesaver! (See my Tutorial of how to trim all 4 sides at once.) It filled up my grandmother's old brass bucket in a hurry.
Then I proceeded to trim all the units to a consistent size (5-inch squares). Eleanor Burns' 6-1/2" Triangle Square-Up ruler was a lifesaver! (See my Tutorial of how to trim all 4 sides at once.) It filled up my grandmother's old brass bucket in a hurry.
The colors were vibrant and bright, and I began laying them out on the sewing room floor in color order to see if I could make a pattern of some sort. It kept growing and growing. I spent a few days laying out blocks, switching them out here and there.
I finally settled on this design, then filled in the open spaces with a few black squares, and I like it! It's a design I've had in the back of my mind, and I was thrilled that I didn't have to sew all the triangles! I have to wonder what Grandma Ruth had originally planned for all of these blocks.
I finally settled on this design, then filled in the open spaces with a few black squares, and I like it! It's a design I've had in the back of my mind, and I was thrilled that I didn't have to sew all the triangles! I have to wonder what Grandma Ruth had originally planned for all of these blocks.
I took the blocks to a retreat and began sewing them together. Here are some progress shots:
I love it! Plus, that double-knit polyester will never wear out!
Here's an evening shot after a rainstorm. You can almost see the rainbow as it faded from sight - looks like it's shooting out of the quilt. I think Grandma Ruth would have liked it.
I sent a picture of the quilt top to my friend Shauna, but she told me to keep the quilt, so I'm planning to quilt it and use it for a class sample; maybe demo different techniques to make half-square triangles. Haha, look at all that texture! Not the easiest to sew!
Now what should I call it?? How about "Oil Slick"? You know, those rainbow-ish iridescent streaks you can see on the driveway when the oil leaks? Or what about "Iridescence"? "Luminescence"? "Prisms"? "Polyester Prisms"? "Prismatic Starburst"? "Rainbow Prisms"? "Wacky & Wonderful"? "Grandma's Old Pantsuits"? What would you call it? I'm open to suggestions! Also, should I write a pattern for it?
Leave a comment with your suggestion, if you'd like. See what qwazy things are going on at the following blogs today, then check in with Marian @ SeamstobeSew to find the rest of the week's lineup and enter a great giveaway for $35 gift certificates from Fat Quarter Shop!
Deonn @ Quiltscapes <<
Joy @ Days Filled With Joy
Pat @ Life In the Scrapatch
Alla @ Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes
