Low Volume Quilt WIP

I've been working on a bed-sized quilt using 10 inch charms from a Flickr group swap.  I've also added some fabrics from past projects--bits and pieces that I probably would not have used otherwise but work well in this scrappy project.  The pattern is Bricks and Strips which you can download at Pink Chalk Fabrics.  For my quilt, I am alternating rows of solids and prints and incorporating Kona Cornflower which coordinates with the color of the walls in our bedroom, a soothing pale blue.  I've learned that low volume projects benefit from using a variety of large and small scale patterns and lots of colors.  They really lend themselves well to a super scrappy approach and I love that I can include some fun fabrics (like the cars in the center of the picture above) that I would not ordinarily use. 

Have you been bitten by the low volume bug?  I would love to hear about what you are working on!

Wishing you creative inspiration.

allison

Xylophone Quilt is Complete!

Completed wallhanging!

I am so excited to post these photos of my completed Xylophone quilt!  This is my largest machine quilted project to date.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I took inspiration from Elizabeth Hartman's book, Modern Patchwork for the xylophone strips.  I played around with the layout from the pattern but felt that for a wallhanging, something more cohesive was needed.  I eliminated the medium and large blocks  which were not working for the size of my project.  Then, using my recently adopted technique of piece, dice and repiece, I cut the larger blocks lengthwise and started experimenting with different layouts.  Eventually, I added the horizontal strips of solid fabric.  

I used a meandering quilting stitch and scraps for the binding.

The top and bottom rows include 'diced and repieced' blocks.

I quilted it using the Handiquilter long arm quilting machine at my local quilt store.  This was my first project for the long arm and I had a lot of fun trying it out.  I kept my expectations modest and am very happy with the results.

The back of the quilt with the blocks that were leftover.

Because I prefer a 'funky' look and because I think that using up fabric scraps is a way of honoring the origins of quilting, I used all the experimental but rejected blocks on the back of the quilt.  And I made the binding out of leftover fabric.

Here you can see the very simple quilting.

I decided to quilt only the background.

I'm sure that I don't have to tell you how satisfying it is to complete a project and be able to enjoy the results.  This quilt is hanging on the wall above my computer.  It was a large blank space and now it is full of color and a source of inspiration towards future projects.  

What projects are you working on?