What's Under the Needle?

Quilt Thoughts of Stash Busting

Posted by Anita on 30 August 2021 | 0 Comments

Often when we are bogged down in a project - or several as the case may be with me at the moment, it is nice to take a step back and see what others have been up to.... so I made contact with Anita Eaton and she shared some thoughts of what she is currently thinking and aiming of working on for her next quilt.

I had to smile when her first words were.... "I am considering making a scrap quilt. My stash is too big! Lately, I have done small projects and they do not make much of a dent in the scraps." She went on to add....

Choosing a Design:

I looked at Pinterest and started thinking about why certain quilts appeal to me. I seem to like a wide spectrum of designs from very traditional to modern. For instance, I greatly admire Elizabeth Barton’s quilts...

“Trinity Celtic Knot” by Deborah Cohen

...and all sorts of traditional and new patterns. Ruth’s appliqué quilts and wall hangings are delightful, so what to do? 

The Process of Elimination:

For this project, an intricate pattern is too time-consuming for now so that eliminates appliqué patterns along with patterns with many small parts. (I expect to move in the next few months, so I would like to finish the quilt this winter before getting caught up in the chores related to moving.

I am restricted somewhat by what I have in my stash. After all, the whole purpose of the project is to reduce my stash. So at this point, since I have very few solid fabrics or batiks that rules out some kinds of designs.

Fabric Choices:

My fabrics choices are floral fabrics with whites, or red and white, black and white, or red white and black. I have a big bin of the red, white, and black fabrics, and a drawer full of florals. It seems that for this project a black and white, or a red and white quilt is going to be the choice since I have several quilts with all three colors.

So taking these thoughts and considerations, I put a clearer perspective on what I should create with a list of defining rules.

Purpose:   bed quilt, queen-sized

strong design, masculine (most of our quilts are floral)

use stash fabrics

Color:   black and white

red and white

Design: easy and quick

Possibilities: larger version of “Rainbow Peaks” with bigger blocks

make a pile of black and white 1/2 square triangles and just play with them until I find a design I like since they can be used to make stars, straight lines, borders, and all kinds of intricate patterns. Using color value to design as I did with Crystal Charms is a great way to create a new design.

use the Feathered Star Christmas quilt pattern, use two different star blocks as borders, one set 8” blocks framed and the other larger stars would be 12” blocks. The middle star is somewhat intricate, but the other blocks would be fairly simple to make.

My next step is to pull out the fabrics and assess the quantities and which option would be best.

That is Anita's thought process for scrap quilts, in fact, you can apply it to any quilt process. Will it help provide some guidance for your next quilt?

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