Saturday, February 13, 2016

Rhythmic Grid Results from the Study Group

Wow! This was one of our most successful scores. Everyone was so excited by their work, in part because we used our favorite fabrics and/or colors. All these tops blend so well, they could go into one quilt, couldn't they? Clockwise from upper left in the photo below are MK, Tami M-N, and mine.

Four variations of Rhythmic Grid score

M-N surrounded cream with beautiful blues. She and I read the directions to mean eyeball measuring each block. It took me several days to estimate the various widths and sew sashing so each was in the planned location. MK and Tami didn't worry about that aspect at all. Isn't it funny how differently we read {and hear and see} instructions?

MK picked up discarded fabrics at her last guild meeting. The squares were already cut so she spent time arranging the pieces to please herself. Love the cherry reds! Because her centers were the same size, it was easier to create a zigzag design with the sashing.

Tami's fabrics are her favorite colors. What a beauty! She used narrow strips of filler to fill openings along some of her rows. I hope she'll write a post about her process soon.

Here's my finished top.

Center section in cream, brown, orange, pink. Outer borders in green and blue
Rhythmic Grid top

I like the combination of creating strong borders with the blue gingham and softening the same borders by extending some dark browns across. Running out of the first green border fabric was another lucky event. The two replacements are even better choices. The tan on the right also softens the delineation of the border. Definitely a "yes, and..." experience.

I deliberately buy smaller amounts of fabric for this exact reason. Running out forces creativity IMO. This quilt used a total of ten fabrics, a very small number for me. All that remains is a fat eighth of the center cream and the blue gingham. How's that for using it up?

Enjoy the day, Ann

18 comments:

Quiltdivajulie said...

Totally agree that having smaller amounts of fabric encourages more creative choices and combinations. Too much of anything can quickly lead to paralysis and/or boredom.

Julierose said...

Oh I like your finish a lot--all the pieces look great. Who knew running out of fabric could turn out to be such a good thing? hugs, Julierose

Mary Marcotte said...

Wow, these look great together! The quilt will be awesome when it's all done.

Ann said...

I'm in good company then. Glad we're on the same wavelength, Julie.

Ann said...

Thanks, Julierose. It's always fun to see how others interpret the same score.

Ann said...

Thanks, Mary. I think they will each be beautiful but we won't make them into a single quilt. More fun this way.

Kaja said...

It's always interesting when you show all the work from your study groups together: fabric choices make such a difference to the feel of a piece, don't they? You know 1/2 yd is the most I buy, but for a very long time I thought that was a big piece. Running out certainly works for you. :-)

Ann said...

I like seeing how differently these scores are interpreted, too. In some ways, these look the most alike and their fabric choices are the highlight. I've been buying 1/2 yd or less (unless I'm forced to buy 1yd on sale.) However, I have more problems with the backs recently. I do have some of the ugliest backs around. Perhaps I need to buy a bit more there so I have a theme... And that could be a post for AHIQ.

Mystic Quilter said...

All beautiful! Love the one with the Alison Glass fabric in the centres and so interesting to see the individual interpretations.

Lara B. said...

You approach for buying less fabric really pays off Ann! You have made so many amazing creations! I enjoyed seeing everyone's score and love the look of your quilt top! I think what you just wrote will help me relax a little more about the idea of running out of fabric.

audrey said...

What a great quilt top! I agree that running out of certain fabrics was a happy event for this quilt.:)

Stephie said...

I love the orange (my favourite colour!) and I much prefer the variations with the odd sized centres. Your version has come to a great resolution Ann. I'm totally with you on just buying small amounts of fabric, it really does force you to be creative when you run low on something - as your fab solution to the green border proves!

Ann said...

We all like Tami's best. And it's absolutely "her" colors. So fun to see the quilt and her enthusiasm.

Ann said...

What a lovely comment, Lara. I like your quilts, too. There are many different ways of working. I'm an oddity and become absolutely paralyzed when I have too much. Fortunately, I manage to work through the stash quickly. Just need to remember not to hold the good stuff back. At my age, it could become my shroud. (A bit ghoulish.)

Ann said...

Thanks, Audrey. It's fun to see how you handle running out, too. Some day soon I'm going to get to the appliqué border of my spiderweb.

Ann said...

Thanks so much, Stephie. I like those odd shapes, too, but M-N and I drove ourselves nuts trying to get everything to fit. I think Tami had the most fun: just make it and add a filler strip if/when necessary.

Mel said...

Yet another fabulous combination of prints and textures--making for a dynamic quilt top!

Mel said...

Yet another fabulous combination of prints and textures--making for a dynamic quilt top!