I like it when I'm busy. I also, apparently, like it when my quilts are busy. Like this top I just finished, which I shall call Scrappy McScrapperton.
It was inspired by a few things. First of all, the scrap quilts that my grandma made. Second, a similar quilt top I found in a magazine. Which I promptly lost, so I can't add a pic of that one. Third, recent research suggests that all those pastel baby things we get for newborns, can't actually be seen very well by babies. They develop a sense of contrast first, black and white is best, then the spectrum of colors begins to be processed. Geometric shapes are easier to see than fuzzy blobs, but they eventually register by the time baby is about a year old.
My Grandma Louise made scrap quilts. She typically used a 9-patch, but I saw a quilt in a magazine (seriously, where did that thing go?!) that made squares within squares. It also had sashing, but I opted to just put the blocks together without it. When my sister's kids were little we'd put my quilt from Grandma Louise on the floor for them to play on. My nephew in particular, enjoyed discovering matching squares throughout the quilt; a bit like the game of Memory, but without the cards being flipped over. Hey, when you're 1 1/2 that's about all you can manage.
So, I put together a bunch of fat quarters with different colors, shapes, and varying degrees of contrast, cut them into strips 2 1/2 inches and 4 inches wide. I didn't worry about the length because I didn't have any idea which ones I was going to use where, though I did have some which were shorter and longer and I made squares of each size. I also used a couple of scraps left over from another quilt. They weren't the right size, but I just worked with them as they were.
As far as putting the blocks together, it was an exercise in improvisation. I'd pick a center piece, (some were squares, others were rectangles. I like variety.) and then I'd put together the pieces going around the center piece in much the same fashion as you would for a log cabin block, only without the triangular color separation. I trimmed the length of the strips as I went around to square them off. I also didn't want the blocks to be perfectly square. They're 11" x 12". Sometimes, because of the trimming, in order to get the right size, I'd have to add an extra strip to one end. I just played around and had fun.
Once I had 20 blocks, I laid them out and played around with placement, following my instincts with regard to the way the colors made my eyes bounce from one part of it to the next. I also decided I wanted 5 more blocks. It's meant to go on the floor to let your kids play around on it, rather than cover a specific size of bed, but I wanted it to be just a skosch bigger than it was at 20 blocks.
I still have a ton of scraps left over, so I can make similar ones, or pillows. Or something completely different.
Some of those fabrics were used in Lillian's baby quilt. I took what was left, added some solid batiks and had enough for a twin sized bed runner. Or, as I like to call them, Tootsie Toasters.
It was pretty windy when I took this one, so I put some rocks on the corners to hold it down. Also, there's some schmutz on the camera lens. I'm just going to pretend it's a fancy schmancy artistic filter, 'kay? I may even have enough of the hot pink flannel I used for the back of Lillian's quilt to back this. I haven't checked yet. What? I've been busy.
Also, today is my little guy's 6th birthday. He's busy playing with his presents, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to add these photos and blog.
Happy birthday, Li'l Pootie Boo!
