Claiming the strings blog

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Free-Form Finish

This afternoon I applied the facings to the quilted wall hanging that I made at the Rayna Gillman workshop.  The workshop was based on her book Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts.    I enjoyed the workshop, enjoyed the process and will definitely make more quilts using her improv methods.

Next time I vow to be more crooked!

Improv R Us!!!

Oh boy, I just spent a weekend in an orgy of strips and strings.  Rayna Gillman taught a 2 day workshop here in Washington NC.  Here is what I made, just waiting for quilting.

Here are a couple other compositions of fellow students:

by Debby McCullough

by Katherine McNeese

by Charlotte Elks

Stringing without Foundation

I made these strings without muslin foundations and found it was much easier. First sew string sets about 10 inches square. Then sew pairs of them together like potholders (90 degree rotation of the strings.) The last step cutting the potholders on both diagonals. Each new block has strings on one half perpendicular to the other half. 

Watermelon strings

I made this quick string quilt using **interesting** fabrics from my guild's stash.  As soon as I get the binding stitched to the back, it will be turned in as a donation for our Comfort Quilts program.

 

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Red and Strings

I traded with friends for these blocks but didn't make the quilt until several years had passed. The thickness of blocks with muslin foundation makes them harder to seam together. This time I added sashing to take care of that problem.

Cobweb Finish

I had to look way, way back .... to April of LAST YEAR, to find the post where I showed off this string quilt top.  Many things got in it's way, but last night the last stitches went into the binding.

It's story:  I bought a plastic box labeled "feed sack scraps" at a local quilt show for $15.  The box sat on a shelf for a WHILE.  I had just finished another string quilt when I saw this pattern in a little book of quilt blocks.  The perfect project for my scraps!  The size of the quilt (38" x 51") was dictated by the amount of scraps.  I have a few whole feed sacks stashed away, so that's the border.  

The green solid came from my stash and as you can see, I didn't have quite enough.  I quilted in big stitch.  I had one ball of #8 red pearl cotton and I was afraid that I would run short, so I used pearl cotton on the solids and 3 strands of the same color DMC floss on the prints.  In the center of each block, 12 seams come together and it's hard to make the intersection PERFECT, so I added vintage buttons.  30's reproduction fabric on the back.

check out the Festival of strings

I've entered this string quilt in Rachel's Festival of Strings.

Head over there to see some great string quilts,

or maybe post a few of your own.

 

I'm proud of this one because I introduced many of my local quilting friends

to the joys of strings.

At least a dozen of them contributed 200 or more 6 by 12 inch blocks to me

and together we're making four string quilts out of basically nothing.

I finished the first one and quilted it on my Juki with straight lines and free motion vines and spirals.

Two Finishes

I finished the Emerald Jewel quilt by adding a stop red border followed by the piano keys.

This one measures 56 by 76 inches.

I've had this "ugly" fabric for a very long time, looked at it once in a while but nothing came to mind until I was working on the Emerald quilt. I remembered that the ugly fabric had touches of green so off I went.

I pulled some duller greens and black strips and got down to sewing.

After laying out my design I knew that I'd want to do a border and decided to continue the diamond into the border.

I am very happy with the results. Lots of extra designs within this quilt top.

It measures 45 inches square.

Quilt For Wrap-a-Smile

I got most of these blocks from someone... I've forgotten who. I made a few more, and voila - a quilt for charity. It will go to Wrap-a-Smile. --carol e.