Tag Archives: scrappy squares

TGIFF: Fandangle Scrappy Squares • 16 Comments

sarah • October 4, 2018

Fandangle Scrappy Squares is a variation on my technique from my Planned Improv: Scrappy Squares workshop. This piece followed my Modern Batik Scrappy Squares (<-- which will be hanging at PIQF in Santa Clara, CA Oct. 11-14). I shared my quilt top as part of the Fandangle blog hop in July. Last month I rented time on a local longarm to quilt it up and I'm excited to share the finish with you today for TGIFF. (Be sure to scroll to the bottom to link up your projects and visit the other finishes this week!)

I rented time on a longarm at Always Quilting (San Mateo, CA) for the first time... eleven months after taking the certification class. I warmed up a smaller quilt and then loaded this one up for some more dense quilting.

I opted for two motifs, a flame design in the grey background and spirals in the feature squares.

There's something exciting about seeing the full view of the quilt during the quilting process. I did pause on occasion to drool over the beautiful texture.

Just like my FMQ on my domestic machine I strive not for perfection, but for relative similarity in the density of the quilting across a space.

This quilt took me about 2 hours (and 3.5 bobbins) to quilt. It is about 41" x 54". I considered a grey thread that would blend in the background and I'm really happy that I went with the turquoise. It provided such a great variety of blending and contrasting across the quilt top.

I opted for a bit of fussy cutting from my favorite print in the collection to make my bias binding, finished with some machine binding.

I'm so pleased with this finish. I just love the cool palette of Fandangle and really enjoyed working with it.

Please share your Friday Finish in the linkup below and be sure to hop around to view what everyone else has been up to this week! Thanks for visiting!!

I've linked up to the Q3 Finish Along finishes linkup. See my whole Q3 list here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Fandangle Scrappy Squares • 188 Comments

sarah • July 17, 2018

I'm so pleased to be participating in the blog hop for Fandangle, Christa Watson's newest fabric line for Benartex. Fandangle is full of bright prints in fun, modern patterns. I was drawn to the cool color way of her designs.

After last month's Island Batik version of my Planned Improv: Scrappy Squares, I am excited to show a new variation on my technique. In my Planned Improv projects I have a general set of rules for creating the piece, and additional rules can give a twist to the design or provide continuity among different sections. Some of the rules I ended up following on this project include: the largest square is 12" finished, same general shape for each row, seven square along the top edge of each row (12" square in the middle), and rows off-centered from each other. I find that making a few adjustments to the design as I work can help add to the cohesive look of the overall piece.

My quilt top finished at about 41" x 54" So many of these fabrics are great blenders that would be a lovely addition to any stash.

GIVEAWAY (US addresses only)

For your chance to win a fat quarter bundle with a selection of 8 Fandangle fabrics, enter with Rafflecopter below by leaving a comment on my blog. Get a second entry by being a newsletter subscriber. Not a newsletter subscriber yet? Subscribe here, click to confirm your subscription in the email that comes to you. At the end of the giveaway I will email the randomly selected winner and they will have 48 hours to reply with their (US) shipping address or I will select a new winner.

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Thanks for visiting! Now you can view the finish.

Be sure to check out the other stops on the hop!

Tuesday
Heather from Quilta-chusetts; IG: @quiltachusetts
Sarah from Sarah Goer Quilts; IG: @sarahmgoer
Nancy from Masterpiece Quilting; IG: @masterpiecequilting

Wednesday
Sue from Sue O'Very Designs; IG: @sueoverydesigns
Sylvia from Flying Parrot Quilts; IG: @flyingparrotquilts

Thursday
Annie from By Annie; IG: @PatternsByAnnie
Brenda from Spool and Bobbin Quilting

Friday
Tina: @sashikostyle
Paige from Quilted Blooms; IG: @quiltedblooms

For more Fandangle fun:
Click here to see the entire Fandangle collection.
Click here to visit Christa's website. Find her on IG here.
Click here to read the interview with Christa.

Modern Batik Challenge: Scrappy Squares • 18 Comments

sarah • June 29, 2018

The products featured in this post were given to me by Island Batik, including Aurifil thread.

This month's Island Batik challenge was to go modern. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to play with my Planned Improv: Scrappy Squares technique in a larger scale.

I settled on a scrappy palette of pink, purple, navy, and turquoise, using the light Lilac fabric for my background. The Lilac was a limiting factor as I had only half a yard. (I ended up with about 8" x 10" of Lilac leftover.) Here are some of my feature fabrics:

Lavender Snowflake (Mountain's Majesty)
Grape Juice Pinecone (Mountain's Majesty)
Lavender Bark (Morning Sunshine)
Turquoise Bark (Morning Sunshine)
Navy (Foundations - Basics)
Grape Juice Jungle Animals (Petting Zoo)
Turquoise Jungle Animals (Petting Zoo)

The Planned Improv: Scrappy Squares technique revolves around starting with squares and designing the layout before cutting background pieces.

It's a bit of a puzzle. This one was more complicated than normal and I painted myself into a bit of a corner. No worries! I was able to finish piecing it with a series of partial seams.

This was my final seam of the quilt top -- the little partial seam right in the middle!

Once it was all together I had to contemplate quilting motifs. I chose Aurifil 50wt Light Lilac (#2510) for the background and Berrylicious Variegated (#4647) for the squares.

First I did some walking foot quilting to stitch in the ditch quilting in Light Lilac along the perimeter of the sections of squares.

Then I did a jagged stipple in Light Lilac all over the background. Finally, I finished up by quilting Berrylicious spirals throughout the square sections. The hot pink, turquoise, and white was the perfect companion to my palette! I chose a curvy motif to contrast the jagged quilting in the background.