Project Update: 22.07.2021

Hello Friends and Welcome!

After a break last week, I'm back with another Project Update!

For anyone who missed the social media announcement, I chose not to share an Update last week because most of my time since the previous Update was spent working on my Summer Mini Quilts. I wanted to wait another week until I'd had time to make more significant progress on my other projects before posting again, and this week I have!

Keep reading for more about Simply Woven, block of the month, and my summer mini quilts!

National Quilt Museum Block of the Month Program

Since my last Update, a new block has been released by the National Quilt Museum!

For the month of July, we are making a strip pieced, improv block inspired by landscape art quilts! The block, One Day in Summer, was designed by Ann Brauer in response to the work of fibre artist Denise Labadie.

I love the way the different colours seem to flow through one another, colour placement and value shifts have a huge effect on the final outcome of the block! Playing with colour in this way was something I was really excited to try for myself!

Although this is an improv block, I decided to start with a sketch. I drew up a few abstract designs using my green, blue, and white colour scheme. I also have some gold fabric that was bought to be used in this project as a backing fabric that I decided to use as an accent.

I had an idea to make half of the block green, then add a slash of white, and the final quarter would be blue. This choice was because I'm still feeling like my blocks are disproportionately more blue than green, a problem I originally noted in my 22 April Project Update.

I ended up really loving the middle design, I felt like the white section included some really beautiful shapes and angles. I went ahead with the improv piecing, using my sketch to influence colour placement, but the more of the block I pieced, the more I struggled.

I tried to not think too hard and just go with the flow the way the instructions suggested, but I had already become too attached to the design of the sketch. The different angles and use of space really interested me, but they can't be easily achieved with the style of piecing suggested in the instructions.

I tried altering the piecing method by folding over edges and hand sewing them in place, but with poor results. Those seams really dramatically break up the flow of the piece in a jarring and undesirable way.

I ended up feeling really frustrated and uninspired by what I was making, and stopped with the block at this stage, with barely any green pieces at all. I'm sure there is a chance that if I had pushed through and finished it, I may have ended up liking the final block. But as a personal choice, I don't like to spend my time working on projects that make me feel badly about the pieces I'm creating.

Instead, I've taken some time to step back and reevaluate my methods. Taking another look at the piece, I still don't like it, but I can see a few areas that I do love.

I really love the overall shape of the blue segment. I feel like the different strip widths compliment each other well, and the piecing of the bottom most segment, where I pieced together three shorter strips into a longer one, really appeals to me.

I think I'll be making another attempt at this block, incorporating the parts that I loved most from this first one, and creating something better. Hopefully I'll even have it finished before the end of the month!

If you love Ann Brauer's original block, One Day in Summer, pattern instructions are available for free on the National Quilt Museum's website, along with the instructions for all past blocks!

Simply Woven

As promised in my last Update, Friends, I have made progress on the quilting of Simply Woven!

Since I chose to use a matching thread colour for my quilting, the stitches are difficult to see on the quilt from a distance. In order to show you the progress I've actually made, I'll be updating my quilting diagram!

The white lines show the segments I've completed quilting so far, and the star shows a partially quilted segment. Normally, I try not to leave incomplete segments since I'm worried I'll forget where it is or that I haven't finished quilting it, but I was forced to stop there when I broke my machine needle.

I'll be heading to the quilt store this afternoon to pick up a few new packages of needles since I'm down to only one. I don't know how I got so low without noticing, I must be having too much fun sewing!

Until I can get back to quilting, enjoy another look at Simply Woven! If you're interested to learn more about how I drafted the quilting motif, check out my post, Walking Foot Quilting Design for Simply Woven. That post also includes a bit of the quilt's collaborative backstory.

If you'd like to make your own version of the Simply Woven quilt, it's actually available as a free pattern! The pattern was originally designed by Jess Kelly of Sew Crafty Jess, and the instructions can be found on the Moda blog!

Summer 2021 Mini Quilt Challenge

As mentioned earlier, most of my time over the past few weeks has been focused on my summer mini quilts. These quilts are made in response to a self-imposed challenge to try a new quilt making technique every week this summer! If you'd like to learn more about the details of the challenge, or are interested in participating, check out my original Challenge Announcement post!

Since my last update, I've completed the two quilts made following the Facings prompt. Facing is a finishing technique commonly used in garment construction to seal away raw edges. In quilt making, it is a common invisible finishing technique used by art quilters and fibre artists.

The design of the quilt top celebrated the end of pride month in June by incorporating the colours of the Asexual and Agender pride flags! I was even able to use my favourite block, the rail fence! To read more about those minis, and how to use facings on your own projects, check out my facings mini quilt post!

The next mini quilt prompt I followed was Postcard Quilt! A postcard quilt, also called a fabric postcard, is a small, tradable quilt made with the intention of being sent in the mail. To make postage possible, it's really important to make the quilt thin and flat, but also quite stiff.

My design was inspired by a scrap of space printed fabric found in my stash. I used a pieced black background, with improv pieced applique circles as planets! I had a lot of fun making this project, although I haven't yet decided who I'll be sending it to. If you'd like to read more about postcard quilts, or see exactly how my postcard was made, check out my postcard mini quilt post!

More recently, the prompt from last week was English Paper Piecing! This is a traditional, hand piecing technique that I've been interested in trying for a long time, so I was really excited to jump in!

This method of piecing uses paper stabilizers to help the fabric keep its shape, preventing it from warping or stretching while being handled. Papers are basted to the back side of the fabric patches, pieced together by hand, then papers are removed before quilting.

Due to the slow pace of hand sewing, I was able to complete my English Paper Pieced quilt top during week four of the challenge, but didn't have time to quilt and finish the mini. So, I have chosen to carry this project into week five and complete it following the Hand Quilting prompt!

I've got a small amount of experience with hand quilting, but something I've never tried is quilting in a hoop or frame. So I've embraced the unknown and I'm giving it an attempt this week!

To learn more about how I made the quilt top, check out my English Paper Piecing post! I'll be posting my hand quilting research and experimentation on Monday, so check back then if you're interested!

While I apologize for the unexpected break last week, I think it was really worth pushing back the Update a little. I had so much more meaningful progress to share this week, and I'm really proud of what I've accomplished!

If you've got a project to share, or if you've made one of the patterns linked above, I would love to see what you've been working on! Feel free to leave me a comment below, email me through my contact page, or reach out on social media! If you're interested to see what I'm up to between Project Updates, visit me on Instagram, @vafibrearts!

I'm always so inspired by the work of other creators, and sharing your work with a like minded community is a great way to make new friends, and learn new tips and techniques!