Tuesday, November 1, 2016

"Spare Parts"

"Spare Parts"  87" x 87"
I finished this quilt top recently.  It's all made from "orphan" blocks,
(meaning parts that didn't make it into other quilts.) 
It was on my design wall for three solid months, finding it's way to completion.



It all started out as an attempt to use all my orphan blocks that fit into 
 this color range.  
The baskets are from Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran's book,
Collaborate Again.



They seemed to need a border, so I pulled out some sawtooth strips from
a block exchange I participated in years ago.  



What next?  I had some words I'd made from Tonya Ricucci's book,
Word Play Quilts.  
"Moderation" fit the color scheme, but I saved it for another day.  
Besides, the word "moderation" in this mess seemed a little TOO ironic!



I loved those green and white fans all lined up, and the Freddy chickens. 
But something wasn't right.
The fans are extras from my "Eyelashes" quilt. 



So I took them out, and added more spools and simple log cabin blocks.
You can find the spools and basket quilts here.
Better, but...




Still, something was not quite right.
At least I found a home for some of the fans.




I realized it needed a little calming down, so I added solid red.
I had lots of string pieced leaves, cut out years ago, 
and some extra basket handles for the vines.



A couple of weekend road trips, and the leaves were appliqued on.



Now, if I just made it a little bigger, it would fit nicely on a queen size bed.
Ah-hah!  I had lots of leftover blocks from the



Ta da!
And I still have plenty of spare parts leftover for a rainy day.
Good thing.  We're having lots of rainy days around here.  





56 comments:

janequiltsslowly said...

This quilt is awesome. I wish I had as many spare parts in my boxes as you do. Usually I have only one or two remaining.

Frog Quilter said...

I love it. Orphans love each other. Bravo!!!

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

I'm glad you took "in process" photos to show what did and didn't work. I love the finished top.

Paulette said...

I just love this, and love reading about how it evolved over time with a change of this or that element. I find that so interesting. The subtle changes to the basket handles made a difference too. Beautiful!!

Terry said...

Seeing your progress photos with explanations is great. It is like a class in how and why parts work together to produce a great exuberant quilt.
Your quilts alwa brighten my day . Hooray!

Nancy said...

The happiest of quilts!!

Karen in Breezy Point said...

Love it--it's absolutely joyous!

Karen said...

You are amazing!! Really!! Love this.

Mystic Quilter said...

Love the wonderful burst of colour and amazing to know it's made from your spare parts.

jjnscat49 said...

So beautiful! Luscious colors!

The Cozy Quilter said...

Now that is a very Gwen Quilt!!!! I love your process! It turned out great.

Brenda said...

This is why I read blogs. I saw the quilt on IG and loved it, but I really love that you explained your process here and also explained how you had so many spare parts, and how you got them to work together. Another win for liberated quiltmaking!

m. said...

What a fun post. And another outstanding quilt. Always a joyful inspiration to see your work!

Rachaeldaisy said...

I love this top!!! It's interesting to see how it evolved. Its funny how all the options looked great but your final solution is so spot on, the perfect result.

Poppy said...

Amazing quilt and fabulous colors, love it in the first sight!

Béa said...

Love your progress, explanations and finished funny top, congrats. XXX

Annemieke said...

Oh waking up this morning to find this post of you waiting is such a good start of the day! I love it!!!! Thanks for showing photos of the process too. So good to see why or how you made choices. It could easily make it into a book of Gwen and Freddy.
It feels good to use the orphan blocks don't you think?
Groetjes
Annemieke

Anonymous said...

Oh what a beautiful quilt top! The colors are fabulous and I just love the red!

Kleine Vingers said...

What a great looking quilt! Love the bright and happy colors.
Greetings

Judith said...

This is fantastic! I could buy the pattern and you just did this on your own. Fantastic! Giid reason to hang on to orphaned blocks!

Karen said...

You had a lot of spare parts! And now put to good use.

patty a. said...

The Spare Parts is great! It was nice to show the process photos. Sometimes it take longer to think about the quilt than designing it! This is one happy looking quilt!

Selvage Quilter said...

I love this quilt! It is so much fun to see your process.
The green fans are stunning. I love it all.

Chris said...

I love this so much! It has everything I love - scraps, lots of color, and a nice mix of piecing and applique. I am so drawn to your quilts which usually contain red - maybe I need to add more red to my palette? This quilt makes me think of my grandmas, both quilters who were frugal and would love this quilt. And my one grandmas was an orphan! (on the orphan trains you may have heard about) Thanks for sharing!

Bruce said...

Lee Ann, this is wonderful! Thanks for showing the progression - what an evolution. A very happy quilt. Patty

Catskill Quilter said...

I LOVE it! What a stunner! It says "happy!" all over it!

Kat Scott said...

This is wonderful!

Ada Plouvier-Kopitopoulou said...

It turned out fantastic. Like your thought process!!

betty prins said...

So so beautiful, the solid red is binding it all together, love the leaves!!
And now i know what to do with all my orphan blocks, hang them on my designwall and see how they fits..

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Amazing! I loved reading how you worked through this, so much colour & so cheerful! I really must try & use more red in my quilts too.

Kyle said...

You have the best leftovers. I'm glad to read about your process.

Julie Fukuda said...

That is the most cheerful grouping of orphan blocks I have ever seen! Great job!

Anonymous said...

what a stupendous, inspirational, delicious quilt! thank you for showing us your process and thinking along the way. Improv takes longer - but the results are so worth it! this is right up there with the best of the best.

Ramona said...

Thank you for walking us through your thought process on this. It doesn't look like your normal crisp quilt tops like your recently posted flowering snowball quilt, but it turned out great. You continue to inspire so many of us.

Cathy said...

Love, love, love your Spare Parts quilts. They are fabulous. Hugs

Janette said...

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

claudia said...

Fantastic quilt! I love, love, love all the color and motion! You really put some thought into this! Thank you for sharing!!!

Marit said...

Fun to see the steps in the design process of the medallion. A very beautiful top at the end of it all. I really love how the wide red border with the applique vines and leafs brings everything together. And I love your way of putting colours together. Congratulations on a pretty finish!

; )

Hilacha (loose strand) said...

ohh! Those reds again!!!
I particularly love the eyelashes fans. Altogether by showing the process of matching blocks to contiguous ones, you have taught a great lesson.

Mona said...

It's super fabulous. I love the idea that you could pull something wonderful like this quilt out of a pile of orphan blocks. Very creative!

Unknown said...

So fun! What a great quilt.

vicki loves to sew said...

I really love this quilt too. You've made an exciting and fun quilt. I always look forward to viewing your new posts! :)

Scrappy Gal Quilt Co. said...

Fabulous way to use up extras

Barb said...

what a great process post. I loved watch the progression and getting a glimpse of how you think. I love your fun finished quilt.
You really have successfully gotten all the spare parts into a cohesive quilt
HIP HIP HOORAY!

trudys_person said...

Ta da! It is awesome! I wish I had a such great leftovers!

Ann said...

As everyone has already written, what a gorgeous quilt. It's such a wonderful way to use up your orphan blocks. Thanks for showing your process as you build it. This is why we read blogs - to understand the process. Can't wait to see it quilted.

Judy Martin said...

I agree with all the above. This quilt is a stunner. Your inate colour sense is what pulls your work together - your love of red and green and that you do not have fear. You plunge in. This blog post shows the importancce of a design wall for all of us. Thank you very much and best of luck with more new work. xo

Tonya Ricucci said...

So fantastic. loved seeing the progression.

Rebecca in AK said...

I love this quilt! So bright and happy! Thank you for sharing photos of your design process.

Marge said...

Another beauty...thanks for sharing your design process. I always love your quilts!

Kaja said...

Another thanks for sharing the process photos. I love where this ended up, and the way the wide red border pulls everything together. A fabulous way to use up your orphan blocks.

apiecefullife said...

I love this quilt. Lately I have been thinking about medallion style quilts with lots of borders. yours inspires me.

Miki Willa said...

I love the energy in this quilt. Red is such a fun color.

Kim said...

LOVE it! Gwen would be so proud of you and your creations......as always love your color sense! It is Fab!!

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving and Happy Sewing

Ariane said...

It looks amazing!!! I love how you pulled all your blocks together!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Fabulous process post - editing, adjusting, standing back and considering - and what an eye-popping treasure trove of orphans you have to work with! Be still my heart . . .