It all started as an outlet to just play. No pattern. No
rules. Just me and my scraps leftover from my Plus Infinity Quilt.
It’s interesting to see a project evolve when you have no
end point in mind.
It’s a liberating feeling and a process that brings me countless joy.
It’s a liberating feeling and a process that brings me countless joy.
I also find it fascinating to see what emerges from these
play sessions. This time, it wound up being an improv log cabin.
There were a bunch of strips of various sizes that were
laying on my sewing table and I simply grabbed whatever was calling to me. And
made it “fit” as I went.
The pieced top sat on my design wall for what felt like an
eternity! She wasn’t my main project, and since other projects had strict
deadlines, this one just kept waiting patiently for me to return to her.
THE MEANING BEHIND THE QUILT
Why “F” Quilt? Well, when I shared a sneak peek of her on my
Instagram stories someone (I wish I remembered who) said it looked like an “F”.
And they were totally right!
As I thought more about this “F” I thought it was totally
apropos for what I was feeling. Never mind that my last name is Fraser, so “F”
totally fits, but more than that it made me think of all these “F” words – no not that kind, although I do use that one pretty often 😉
Rather, these words kept swirling around in my mind:
Family
Freedom
Faith
Fear
Frustration
Future
Fun
Feisty
Friends
Fortunate
Focus
And the more I thought about it, the more I realized these
were all emotions that I had been feeling or thinking about. Funny how life
always seems to get channeled into our art, whether we’re conscious of it or
not.
When it came time to quilting her up, I knew I wanted to
focus on big stitch hand quilting with pearl cotton thread (see this post if you’re having a
tough time finding some). Since my plan was to make this a wall hanging, I
figured lots of texture was in order.
Once again, I decided to keep it all improv. I had no
quilting plan, I just started stitching from the center out and let the flow of
the stitches and my mood dictate where and what I stitched. I need to do that
again, because it was SO fun! I wasn’t concerned about keeping it to a strict
design, and it was beyond liberating. There’s something to be said for quilting
without a game plan!
Moreover, I love where it ended up. It was fascinating to
see the stitch work evolve and I even incorporated some curved stitching, which
was unexpected but one of my favourite details.
MATERIALS USED
Here is a round-up of the materials I used in this project:
Cotton Supreme Solids in various shades of blue and green
from RJR Fabrics
These are my fave basting pins
Kwik Klip (it really does help!)
Hera marker (for plotting some stitching guidelines)
Thimble (this is my all time fave)
What I’m learning as I’m exploring my craft is that I adore being free to go with the flow and just explore. I’m always amazed at how much I love, not only the process, but the final design as well.
Those who have seen it in person (namely my family 😉),
have all commented on the texture and how some of the stitches pop more based
on the colour pairing of the fabric and thread. Which is a great reminder that
those small details can make the biggest impact.
I hope that you too will consider going free form and just
following your design instincts and having fun with where ever the design takes
you!
I’m super excited to be knocking this project off my FAL Q3 list and will be sharing it with Amy's Creative Side's annual Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by Amy Ellis.
Happy quilting!
xo
Shannon
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I could see the "F" right away in the full shot. I think your hand quilting details add such a great touch to the finish. Do you have another long term WIP to work on now?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Yvonne! And I do. My Blue Dresden Plate quilt is my biggest and longest long term hand quilting project. It’s just shy of being King size and I’ve decided to hand quilt the entire thing! Since I have to pace my hand quilting, it will take me awhile longer to finish, but I know it will be well worth the effort and wait 😉
DeleteLove the rich colors and the hand quilting is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Audrey! Thrilled you like her!
DeleteShe is beautiful Shannon! The hand quilting you added really does add such beautiful texture to the quilt.
ReplyDeleteAw, Izzy, thank you for your kind words! I just wish I could hand quilt ALL my quilts – the process is just so enjoyable and the texture it adds is just so pretty!
DeleteI love this quilt Shannon. My favorite colors.
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you so much, Jan! Thrilled you like where it ended up 😉
DeleteI'm glad I read this post, although I have to admit the title of your quilt intrigued me, since I thought it was about the "F" word and another entry had already made a quilt with that word and I glad to see it was about the wonderful words beginning with the letter F. Your quilt is wonderfully glorious and what an inspiration your hand quilting is. Yes, you have inspired me to do some improv now.
ReplyDeleteYay! I love hearing that you’re inspired to try improv quilting! It really is such a fun process and I hope it brings you as much joy! I was concerned the “F” reference would put people off, but it was just so fitting. So, thank you for not being deterred 😉
DeleteThat is a lovely quilt, and I just love all the thoughts it provoked!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Pamela! Isn’t it amazing what thoughts come to mind as we work through the quilt journey!
DeleteThis is such a great quilt! I love the improv you did and really liked your story about the F words! Fantastic! Your quilting is the icing on the cake! So fun and it gives this quilt just the right texture!
ReplyDeleteSo thrilled you like the design, Cathy!! Hand quilting really does add the best kind of quilty texture 😊
DeleteAnother "F" word: Fantastic! I wanna play along.
ReplyDeleteYes! Fantastic is a great “F” word! And you should totally play along!! That would be fantastic 😉 Tag me and let me know what you create!!
DeleteLove this! Another beauty, my friend
ReplyDeleteYayy! So thrilled you like it, Tiffany!!
DeleteAbsolutely gorgeous quilt - the colours, and especially the stitching. I'm partial to the letter F myself. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Felicity! Aren’t we lucky to have a creative outlet to just let loose and explore?! Happy quilting!
DeleteJust gorgeous! thank you for your always insightful words-- Do you use a hoop when quilting? lovely- stay safe... Suzanne
ReplyDeleteThat is so sweet of you, Suzanne! I don’t use a hoop when hand quilting. I tried it once and found it more fiddly to have to continually reposition the hoop. But, I know several quilters who love using their hoops. I think it comes down to personal preference. If you’re interested in getting a hoop, make sure to buy one that’s for quilting and not embroidery, the embroidery ones don’t have the same strength. Stay safe, my friend - xx
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