A String Fling

For the past couple of days

Running Man and I have been off

to our favorite mountain retreat.

The YMCA of the Rockies

It's nothing fancy, but

the scenery is beautiful,

it's totally relaxing,

and the perfect place to get

a natural  "Rocky Mountain High."

It's also a great place for a quilt photo shoot.

String Fling

80" x 96"

I'm loving how all those

strips and strings from a multitude of

different fabrics came together.

I started this project only in January.

You can see the beginning HERE.

I was determined not to let this one

get bogged down.

Sewing 6 blocks at a time,

and keeping it random,

it didn't take long to make

120 blocks and get them sewn together.

The blocks were sewn with a muslin foundation

which kept the blocks square

after they were trimmed
and no paper removal.

You might have noticed that the

middle white strip varies in width.

Well, that was not done initially, on purpose,

but I liked how it worked out.

I didn't have to worry about matching up seams

and it added to the randomness, 

part of the whole charm.

My friend and machine quilter, Kathy,

kept the quilting simple for 2 reasons.

1. You're not really going to see it on the top

except for a little texture.

2.  The top is pretty heavy just with the fabric,

muslin foundation, backing and batting.  I didn't 

want any extra weight from being heavily quilted.

When trying to decide on a binding

I discovered a bunch of hidden leftover binding remnants.

Perfect.

Use 'em up!

Having this quilt with us

up in the mountains in March

kept us warm and snuggly while we stayed at the .....

 Y                 M                 C                  A

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Strings are the Thing for 2019

There are many of us who

have gotten all tangled up with strings.

Is  2019 

the year of the string quilts?

String quilts are not a new technique or idea.

Quilter have been making this style for a long time,

using up colorful strips of fabrics in a variety of widths,

on different size and shape foundations,

and either random or planned.

Talk about making a quilt uniquely yours.

I admit, I have been excited about

starting my 2019 string quilt.

There are some great resources 

available if you are interested in learning more.
Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville has a new book, String Frenzy,
as well as, Diane Knotts of Buttlerfly Threads Quilting
and her new book
Scrap Quilts Secrets.

And I'm super excited because a
copy of Diane's lovely book is heading my way!

Also Moda has a string-along going and
so does Lori at Humble Quilts.

But here are few things that  I've learned
since starting my blocks.

1.  Deciding what foundation to use is important.

Which one you choose does make a difference.

Try it first.

I opted to go with the muslin foundation.
Too lazy to tear away the paper
and the fabric foundation has a nice feel.

And besides, I have about 10 yards
 of muslin laying around from before
the turn of the century.


2.  String quilts are like potato chips...addictive!
Once I started sewing blocks
 I've hardly been able to stop.

My goal is 100  eight inch blocks.
I'm already up to 65!

This is fast,
easy sewing,

no matching,
no planning other than the fact
that I'm placing a neutral across the middle.

Trim the block

and you're done!

3.  Empty bobbins

This kind of sewing makes it easy to
empty all those  bobbins filled with different colored threads.

Why not use up some spools of threads
you're not in love with anymore.

4.  DO NOT WEAR BLACK PANTS
WHEN SEWING!

You'll have more string stuck on you
than on the blocks you make.

5.  A Stash buster?

Well, I'm not sure if I've actually
used up many different fabrics, but
I have cut a lot of strips.

It definitely  makes a mess pulling out
lots of old favorites and not so favorite pieces.

****
Have you become a part of
the string revival thing?
If not, it might be time to start!

Until Next Time-

Kyle