January Round Up

I completed the scrappy Remixed Geese quilt top I began for Scrap Happy Day. You can see that post here. In the end I chose to keep working until I had the full set of geese called for in the original pattern. I didn't have to make very many more geese to get to 54" wide and 66" long.

 A few of the short seams between geese had to be taken out to simplify assembly of the top. I don't mind reverse sewing in cases like that. The next step will be to make a back for this one. 

On the slow stitching front I have kept up with Kathryn's weekly stitching prompts. So far, so good! You can see week one here and week two here. For week 3 the prompt was "diversity." Kathryn made tiny samples of kantha stitching, boro stitching, darning, and quilting. All over the world the same simple running stitch is used to create or preserve textiles. I chose to cut scraps from fabrics from around the world instead and secure them in place with that same simple stitch. I was delighted to find fabrics in my stash that represented textiles from all around the globe.  

Working from the upper left corner clockwise I have Australia, the UK and/or the USA, Africa, India, the Polynesian islands, Japan or China, and Guatemala. I sewed around a button (which I then removed) to get a circle started. The circles began concentric but evolved into a spiral. 

Kathryn presented week four as an exercise in randomness. It was also a way to use up narrow strips of fabric and leftover threads. A selection of strips went into a container from which we could pull blindly. The first strip was sewn on with large running stitches, essentially basting stitches. Then another strip was sewn on, pulled at random from the bag. We even tried to choose the threads from our ort piles at random. Once I had all my strips in place my square looked unfinished to me. I carried on using up leftover thread ends to cover my piece with stitches.

And for the Color Inspiration project... You can see what I made for the initial prompt in this post. I included subsequent prompts onto a single "page" for my little fabric book. First we were to use a complimentary color to the color we originally worked with and also add black and white. Then Annie tasked us with including a shape as well. I chose a triangle for my shape and cut them from a black and white print. At that point I couldn't see how to include a complimentary color. The black and white was all it appeared to need for contrast.

Finally Annie encouraged us to add texture to our work. I outlined the triangles with a black yarn couched in place. While I was digging through my small stash of yarns I came across a kinky purple yarn intended for doll hair. That purple was just about perfect as a compliment to the yellows I'd used. I dug out some beads in the same shade and couched the yarn in place with them. 

You probably can't see the beads in the photo, not very well at least. I stuck to smaller sizes to avoid adding extra bulk to my page. I also stitched triangles in the background areas with more yellow thread. 

And that pretty much wraps up January here in The Magpie's Nest. I do have a new quilt project underway but I'll save that for a post of its' own. 😊