Spring Scraps

Well, another gray, snowy day here. To brighten things up a bit (at least in my sewing area!) - Scrappy Bargello - all in spring-y colors. Pattern from Bonnie at http://www.quiltville.com/ -

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Here is a photo of how it looked once my strips were sewn together... DH thought it looked like a huge kitchen rag rug! I just smiled and didn't explain... but, now I am done with 3 stratas and he can see the design emerging! To me - that is always a fun part - seeing the design come together.

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I was surprised at how much sewing it took to get to this point! Sew, sew, sew, but I am making progress! I am not as fast as you Bargello Bowl sewers, but ah - yes, you do see that certain Little Boy on my top... with an assortment of toys on the floor! And don't you know - he just LOVES this particular top. Has decided that it is the perfect size for him in case he grows as big as a certain uncle - he will still fit under it. How can I argue with that logic? So - it will be his.

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I've had people ask me before how I pick my colors... for this one -I picked anything that looked bright and springy. I used lots of odd-ball fat quarters that I bought last year and alternated them with some older fabrics especially those medium values that are so hard for me to use when I am looking for contrast. For this one I didn't try to "match" or keep track of what I was using. But I know I do a little, subconciously. So, I sewed the strips together in segments of 10 and then once all those units were together - made the 6 stratas of 40 from there - just to be sure there was a good mix.

Other quilts - I will pick all fall colors. Or I will use just blues, or just greens, etc. For my log cabins I've used only lights & darks but in every color you can imagine and most of my lights were pastel calicos. By doing a little bit of color planning before cutting out a scrap quilt I am usually pretty happy with the end result... without having to go to the fabric store and buy a ton of fabric. Once I decide on a pattern/color scheme - if I am near a fabric store I like to pick up a few newer fabrics to add in to the mix to keep it interesting for me. And I almost always have to buy border, backing and background fabric. But the main part of my quilt - almost always comes from what I have on hand. At least until I use up my fabrics!!!

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Oh - and here is a photo of the pile of strips it took to make this top when I first started sewing them together - a tiny little bit really when you think about it - to make a good sized quilt. Actually I have plenty of strips left over in this color combination so I just might have to make another Bargello or spring-scrappy top with another pattern. I keep picking away at my stash, you know? I think I am down to about 2 biggish sized Rubbermaid totes of fabric now, plus several small containers of pre-cut strips and 1 bag of strings (at least on this continent). I have a couple of totes in Austria too, but not that much because everything over there - I had to mail! And I swear - the totes are smaller over there too so they should only count 1/2 as much! On the otherhand - as my stash slowly shrinks - my pile of finished quilts is getting very large!!!

Anyway - I have 3 stratas all done now so hopefully it won't be much longer before I have the main part of this top finished. My schedule is pretty busy right now so I am not sure when I will get it done. I am anxious to see it all come together though because I am liking it so far!