2/26/08

Fill In The Blanks


I've had this quilt in my head for a few months but it finally took shape this weekend. Today as S was sleeping, I realized I had hit a wall in three major projects I'm trying to finish up so I felt 'allowed' to make something for myself. It was so refreshing to start cutting and watch it make sense in its free form essence. I get the biggest rush when I'm making something from scratch with no patterns or dimensions to follow that might give me any sense of the outcome. I usually make mistakes I didn't anticipate but the process is so much more fulfilling than fussing over details. Sometimes it means tossing the whole thing in the trash but its still my favorite way to work.

I'm filling in the blank spots with unbleached, 100% natural cotton and then backing it with unbleached muslin. I'll bind it with the darker yellow and use my ever trusty 'stitch in the ditch' quilting method.

Its similar to the Denyse Schmidt designs but more reflective of the Gee's Bend essence. Its a simple idea that you could try with a variety of colors but I'm really into this monochromatic look right now. I'll be sure to finish my other projects before I start up again but I'll be sure to post it when its done.

15 comments:

Sarah said...

Love this idea... I really have never quilted much but i am in the middle of a crazy quilt and a simple 4x4 inch square vintage fabric quilt for my son. I need to get cracking but to busy scrapping. Sounded weird huh? Thank you for the comment on our cute little house to be. Can't wait to see it finished!

Sara Berry said...

I grew up near Gee's Bend in Alabama and we have some pretty old quilts in our family that incorporate real-life fabrics. One day I'd like to do something similar to those free form quilts...just add-on as I gather materials. Good luck with this one, it already looks beautiful!

dani j. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dani j. said...

Denyse Schmidt's quilts are just ... yummy.
I love what you're doing here, that yellow is perfect and the cotton and muslin sound wonderful! I can't wait to see it when it's finished!

danijohnston.typepad.com/dj

Kinsey said...

It's just lovely...great work as always :]

Kinsey

PS. It is positively unreal how big S has gotten...I was without internet for a couple of months (in transit) and I come back and...he grew!

Anonymous said...

wow... you are amazing... i can't wait to see it when it's done!

bettyninja said...

Ummm... I love this idea! Really really cool. I can't wait to see your finished product.

cara harjes said...

i can not wait to see this quilt! i think it will be amazing!

Anonymous said...

I don't like to use patterns either. So much more fun when you just pull out the scraps and start sewing. Can't wait to see the finished quilt!

RachelDenbow said...

Thanks for leaving sweet comments!

Michelle said...

It looks so beautiful! Yellow is such a happy color.

Melody said...

I love to be completely random and free of patterns. That's the way I make most of my things. It's funny to read 'stitch in the ditch' here because I just learned about that this morning on a quilting show. Before then I'd never even heard of that term before. It looks really interesting and I really want to try the method sometime. Do you have a long arm machine or just a regular machine?

~*Melody*~

JB said...

WOW! I can't wait to see how that turns out! Keep us posted ok?

Rachelle said...

LOVe this quilt idea rachel!!
so freeform...i need to try this. one ?...are you going to piece in the muslin or just applique the yellow on top of the muslin? i especially love the color. xxr

Holly said...

You're off to a good start! I think that wuilt sounds like so much fun to make. Can't wait to see the finished product. :0)