Monday, April 5, 2010

Free Form

I practice what I like to call free-form quilting. I start with a stack of fabric and a vague idea of that I want to do. Usually a block or a procedure, like strip quilting, and then I let it rip. In no time, and with very little intense thought I have a stack of blocks. Sounds great, right? The problem lies in bulk. I have a hard time knowing when to stop. Today I was quilting and ended up with two styles with 5 blocks each, and 2 blocks that were totally different that I made from the left-overs. That just doesn't work. I forgot that I need to shoot for 'divisible by 3' when it comes to making blocks. Most quilts consist of either a 9 block or a 12 block final pattern. Just because I had 12 blocks does not a cohesive quilt make!
This evening when I went to my moms house-so she could fix what I had done-she reminded me of the 3 rule. Luckily, and as always, mom fixed my bo-bo and now I can make a runner and a generous lap quilt out of my 'free-forms' and not have any waste.
I love the process of free-form quilting. The quilt I'm making started with a trying a new blocks: nine block of picket fences, and a variation of scot's plaid. I was in the mood for purple and didn't have enough of anything that coordinated really well, so I used it all. That's right I threw caution the the wind and started cutting up all the purple I had, regardless of the shade! Turned out GREAT!! Purple goes with purple and that goes with purple-and a little bit of green for the floral. I'll post pics when I'm done.
Free-form quilting allows for tonz of creativity. If I run out of a fabric or get tired of a pattern, then I can change with no pressure. I like the subtle variations within the blocks, I think they are interesting. I know when I try to follow a pattern I get hung up on the details. I get lost in following directions and forget that this is supposed to be fun. I need to apply free-form to my life as well. I get caught up on dishes and dinners that I forget to have fun in life, forget that I have loving people around me to fix my bo-bo's and pull my life together in to one beautiful quilt.

2 comments:

  1. I'm starting to get a little more comfortable with free-form cooking. Once I started learning how to cook, I had to follow the recipe to the 't'. Now, I am a bit more relaxed and know what seasonings and spices go well together, and I usually end up with a great tasting meal.
    I still have a lot to learn about quilting, though. Maybe we can spend some time together again and you can teach me. I'd love to make my own quilt.

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  2. Sounds so fun! I've missed reading your posts!! We should quilt together some time. I'm not very good, but I do enjoy it! Can't wait to see your pictures!

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