As I add more blocks to this design wall, I’m liking this quilt more and more. The image I shared in my last post had me thinking the blocks were all too similar. I’ve been adjusting pairings of fabrics as I go along, cutting a few lighter fabrics along the way, and I’m liking where this is going.
I’m thinking there are some blocks in here that will ultimately be removed. But I want to see all the blocks I have planned before making a final decision.
The blocks are more defined now. I think the addition of those lighter fabrics really made that happen. The previous set of blocks all just sort of blended into each other.
I’m really loving some of these fabric combos!
I have 34 blocks done, but only 25 are shown in the photo above. I have the duplicates of 15 of these that still need to be sewn.
Clearly, I spent some time on these blocks this weekend. I’ve been trying to be efficient in how I’m working, so I’m sewing multiple strip sets at a time, then cutting them all, then sewing the blocks.
This means that I didn’t finish the sashing on my batik improv quilt. But I did rearrange those blocks on the design wall so they were more random. The first layout had them all in a diagonal pattern by color. It was too structured. I like this more random arrangement better.
As I was looking through my Kaffe stash to find a few lighter fabrics to add to my sixteen patch quilt I realized that I have essentially NO blue fabrics. so I went online today and ordered a bunch of half yards of KFC blues. I’ve recently sold a few items and thought that was a good way to spend that money.
Tomorrow night I’m going to clean my living room so I can put up my little LED lighted birch tree and some lights on the mantle. I may put up a few holiday decorations, but I’m not going to go crazy. My lighted birch tree will stay up well into March. I just love having those lights in the room when it gets dark so early. Here’s a picture from last year.
I only need a little holiday cheer!
agilejack 
Oh, yes, loving the blocks with greater contrast and the one you have shown here – beautiful colors! Where did you find your lighted birch tree? Pretty 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I bought my tree a few years ago on Amazon. You can just do a google search for “lighted birch tree” and you’ll get lots of options. After seeing mine, I have a lot of friends who bought them. I just love mine!
LikeLike
Loving those Kaffe 16 patch blocks. High contrast really makes them pop. I’m working on a Jelly Roll “Race” quilt of my own design in blues, greens, purples and lime. It’s really fun – and fast! I fall into “the Zone” when I’m sewing and don’t mind the outside world and all its complications.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You know, that’s something I’m really enjoying about making this quilt. It’s almost meditative. I’m loving sitting at the machine and sewing all these stripped and cut pieces into a block. I can’t believe I waited so long to make this!
LikeLike
When our Christmas items come down and get packed away for another year, I keep out our white battery candles and wrap them with white fairy lights, setting them with clear crystal garlands (for their reflective qualities) and decorate the mantel/hearth for “winter” – I need those extra lights through the end of February at a minimum and usually into early March.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It gets dark here at around 4:00 in the dead of winter. It’s a lot of darkness. I put white lights on the fence along my patio in the back yard… just for me to see out the sliding glass door. They come on at dusk and stay on for 8 hours. I just love them. They don’t quite replicate the long summer evenings that I love so much, but they make the darkness more bearable.
LikeLike
That is what I do too, re-evaluate the pairs as I work on the quilt. I think that is the fun part. I was short of blue Kaffe collective too for awhile but I think I have a good amount now.
LikeLiked by 1 person
… and I went and ordered even more blue fabric from another online seller!
And I’m with you. I love putting fabrics together. Definitely my favorite part of making a quilt. Some really wonderful things can happen!
LikeLike
Your eye for combining colors really is impeccable–looking at your combos makes me want to start even more quilts of my own!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! Thanks! Putting the fabrics together is my most favorite part of making a quilt. I just love the reaction I get when I see combos that I like. The I love sewing it into a block! A Quilt like this is good for me because there are so many different combos. I can’t get bored making the same thing over and over! Get sewing!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m working on a quilt right now for my mom’s Christmas present! She liked the wonky log cabin patches on the bag I made using your tutorial so much that I decided to make her a whole quilt of them. 🙂 They’re really fun patches to do.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love wonky blocks like that! I made a wonky log cabin quilt out of my batik scraps not long ago. https://agilejack1.com/2019/12/13/wonky-batik-log-cabin-complete/
They’re so much fun to sew. You can just be creative and not have to be precise! I love them. I can sit down and make ten blocks in no time! I just get lost in it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s really cool! Funnily enough, I’m also using black and white for the sashing and backing, but in solid colors with texture–my blocks already have a lot going on, color- and pattern-wise (I have pictures of a few here: https://malycef.wordpress.com/2020/12/15/wonky-log-cabins-again/).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your blocks look great! Thanks for sharing that link.
LikeLike
Thank you! They’re definitely improving as I go.
LikeLiked by 1 person