Thursday, May 19, 2016

Last Scrap Squad Quilt


Two blog posts in one day?!?
My last Scrap Squad quilt has been posted today on the Quiltmaker blog so I had to tell you all about it! It's quite a bit different than my usual style of quilt, but I'm happy with how it turned out.
Which way to go?

I made this quilt for two purposes: 
1) it's my last Scrap Squad project using a pattern that I chose ("Which way to go?" by Nancy Allen) 
AND 
2) it was my entry for my local quilt guild's challenge called "25 shades of grey". I don't like grey, especially in the middle of a cold Canadian winter! But I persevered with the grey fabrics and because of the dramatic red background, it was manageable!



This is the arrow block as it looks on the edge of the quilt. The arrows on the inside of the quilt couldn't be sewn until I knew the exact placement of all the fabrics in the quilt top.

I thought it might be interesting to show the progression as I worked with the pieces on the design wall. 
Rail blocks sewn and placed on the wall 
The darkest and lightest fabrics had to be balanced first, and then I filled in with the mid range grey fabrics
Sewing the quarter square triangle blocks
Once I was happy with the layout, the blocks were sewn together in rows

Once the quilt top was sewn together, it was time for the basting and quilting. These are the Aurifil threads I used for the machine quilting. I used the free motion foot on my sewing machine, quilted with grey in the arrows, and wavy lines with red thread over the seam lines.
The quilt finished at 47.5" x 59".

It has been such an honour and a pleasure to be on the Scrap Squad for Quiltmaker magazine. I made 6 challenging quilts while being on the squad and am delighted that they are all so different. 

If I was independently wealthy, I would fly all the scrap squad members and their quilts to meet somewhere in the world so we could see all these wonderful quilts and quilters in real life. Until then, we will have to enjoy our connection through the internet. A huge thank you to Diane Harris for organizing us, and to my fellow scrap squad members Pam, Emily, Donna, Julie and Keri for all the fun throughout our scrappy adventures together.

12 comments:

Vicki W said...

I love this quilt....especially the gray with red.

Ellen said...

Great job Kathy...I love it!

Needled Mom said...

That is great. The red and gray make such a terrific color combination.

gayle said...

I was surprised at the construction of the quilt, since when I looked at the first photo I assumed it was a diagonal setting using blocks that each contained an arrow. It never would have occurred to me to do it in rows! (But then again, I'm such a fan of diagonal setting that I over-use them...)
Love the grays with the red background!

Sophie Zaugg said...

I love it ! Stunning effect and construction.

Jean said...

Your quilt projects have all been gorgeous!

Julie said...

I love your final project Kathy. I am currently working on a gray, red and white quilt for my daughter and it's a great combination. I would love to meet up and have a Scrap Squad get together, it would be a lot of fun. It's been a wonderful experience.

Julie said...

I love your final project Kathy. I am currently working on a gray, red and white quilt for my daughter and it's a great combination. I would love to meet up and have a Scrap Squad get together, it would be a lot of fun. It's been a wonderful experience.

Lisa J. said...

Hi Kathy: You told me I would be surprised when I found out which quilt you made and you were right. This looks more like something I would make than you. I love it of course. I like your construction shots. O.k. The one I thought you had made was also very Modern looking it was the very small sort of triangular piece. It was the smallness that made me think it was yours.

Janet O. said...

Like you, I am not a huge fan of grey, but this quilt turned out very striking. Interesting to see the process.

Deanna W said...

Love the gray and red! and what are you doing...two blog posts...making some of us look really bad! I have the feeling that gray might be the new "go to" colour. I am seeing it a lot around quilt world!

Kate said...

It's a very dramatic quilt. The red really makes a statement. It's been fun seeing your quilts come together.