Experimentation
On occasion, I see a technique that I want to try but don’t want to put into a full quilt. Let me rephrase that: that I don’t have the time or resources to make into a full quilt. There’s no lack of quilting desire here!
This week, I made two experimental projects, both that I learned from Craftsy classes. The first was an experiment in trying step down piecing. Step down piecing is a way of using partial seams to add blocks or pieces down the quilt rather than working in traditional rows or columns. Sarah Fielke gives a step by step guide to this process in her Big Techniques from Small Scraps Craftsy class.
I pulled out my scraps from my Arcadia quilt, and subcut my leftover 1.5″ and 2.5″ strips into squares and got to work!
I really like the way it turned out, even if its a bit wonky. I think those little 1″ finished squares were too small for this technique as I had a hard time getting my foot back into those tiny areas to close them up. Next time, I’ll try with larger blocks which I think will help things come out a bit straighter.
I continued with my Craftsy-inspired experimentation to try quilting as you go which I learned from Tara Rebman’s Quilt-As-You-Go: Patchwork Bags class. She shows how to use the quilt-as-you-go technique to make both hot pads and a really cute tinker tote bag. I wasn’t really sure I was ready to tackle the large tote right away, but I wanted to try it on a smaller scale. Instead I made a clutch from a free tutorial Tara has on her blog. You can see it here.
As this was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment project, I didn’t have any of the hardware needed such as a snap to close the clutch and a zipper to make a pocket. I also accidentally curved into inside edges in addition to the outside…oops! I think I’m ready to try this again with all the embellishments!
Do you like to do quilty experiments?
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