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| Chinese Coins II with green sashing and star posts |
On the other hand, the green sashing blended into the blocks too much. {Here's the photo from last time to compare.} Also, everything here was too squared up.
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| Posts without stars |
I considered applique flowers over the posts again but really wanted some red and pink here. You can see how circumspect I was adding tiny bits of red Coins.
Star points were cut from more squares the size of the posts. They were sew-and-flipped to the sashing then pressed. That let me use the sashing as a guide to again square up the sashing.
Many of the coins were hand cut. Of course, some were rotary cut scraps from previous projects. If they were already a decent width I left them as is. I overlapped the the light and dark coin sets before rotary cutting that seam line without a ruler, both to add individuality and to keep as much length as possible. But I squared up the final coin set pairs and cut the sashing with rotary and ruler. I liked the combination of free and sharp this gives.
Several quilters combine these techniques, including Freddy Moran, Gwen Marston, and Sujata Shah. Look at Sujata's Windmills quilt as an example. Free cuts within the block but block perimeter is squared up.
There wasn't enough green to complete the outer sashing either. Fortunately a half-yard of this navy print waited in my stash. Even it wasn't enough so a fat quarter remnant fills out the top and bottom.
#AHIQtwoblocks
I've been thinking about two-block quilts. Several ideas are running through my head for future quilts but a second block might make a good border here. Improv quilts are a learning experience for me - at least, I want them to be. There are many techniques to be tried: non-paper-pieced curves and perhaps another bout of applique.
This is the year to be fearless; to push myself to learn new skills; to create more textured quilts. So I'm mulling inspiration from Kaja and Audrey's beautiful quilts.
Enjoy the day,
Ann
Star points were cut from more squares the size of the posts. They were sew-and-flipped to the sashing then pressed. That let me use the sashing as a guide to again square up the sashing.
Many of the coins were hand cut. Of course, some were rotary cut scraps from previous projects. If they were already a decent width I left them as is. I overlapped the the light and dark coin sets before rotary cutting that seam line without a ruler, both to add individuality and to keep as much length as possible. But I squared up the final coin set pairs and cut the sashing with rotary and ruler. I liked the combination of free and sharp this gives.
Several quilters combine these techniques, including Freddy Moran, Gwen Marston, and Sujata Shah. Look at Sujata's Windmills quilt as an example. Free cuts within the block but block perimeter is squared up.
There wasn't enough green to complete the outer sashing either. Fortunately a half-yard of this navy print waited in my stash. Even it wasn't enough so a fat quarter remnant fills out the top and bottom.
#AHIQtwoblocks
I've been thinking about two-block quilts. Several ideas are running through my head for future quilts but a second block might make a good border here. Improv quilts are a learning experience for me - at least, I want them to be. There are many techniques to be tried: non-paper-pieced curves and perhaps another bout of applique.
This is the year to be fearless; to push myself to learn new skills; to create more textured quilts. So I'm mulling inspiration from Kaja and Audrey's beautiful quilts.
Enjoy the day,
Ann
26 comments:
It's looking great! I need to push myself to be more free with some of my sewing too. I think it would be a fun experiment.
I love the stars! What a great solution. And the navy border works really well too. Looking good!
Wonderful! The stars really make it, and the scrappy border suits this quilt perfectly. Bravo! It was worth the struggle.
Thanks, Ariane. I've been feeling very "tight" about my sewing. Or is it uptight? Need to loosen up a bit.
Thanks, Monica. Me, too. Funny how I don't mind the stars taking over but did mind the green sashing taking over.
Thanks, LeeAnn. I'm intrigued that the blocks are forming a background. And here I thought they were overly bright and loud.
Wonderful solution to your dilemmas - the stars are unexpected and I like the variety of fabric in the outer sashing! I agree with you about the mixture of straight and free form lines.
Those stars are the perfect touch.
Thanks, Julie. Once I quit trying to make it "look like" Nettie's there were so many options. I remembered that I didn't use many red coins because I wanted red in the rest of the quilt.
I forgot to add you as an example of mixing ruler and free-form lines. You do it so well, too.
They sure were fun and I used all the "prettiest" brightest reds and pinks.
Wonderful solution, I love the addition of those stars!
so liking the stats you have used as corner stones with the sashng not seen this done before
What a clever and unexpected solution. My eyes are drawn to the stars/green first now, but I don't think that matters as the whole thing sits together so nicely. Also, I don't know why but in this iteration I am more aware of the light/dark arrangement of the coins, and how that gives an extra layer of pattern, which I like a lot. The scrappy border adds something too.
This looks fantastic!
I really like the direction this quilt took. It is beautiful!
Thanks, Linda. It's certainly taking a much different path than I originally planned.
I'm sure someone has done them. I think making the pointed triangles a bit larger so they overlap the sashing made this work.
That's what I see first now, too. I agree- it doesn't matter. The foreground and background work together instead of two separate entities. I like the depth and layering, too.
Thanks, Helen
I knew it was the way to go once I tried making the stars.
Gosh! You are very clever. I need to slow down when I'm browsing through blogs. I saw this lovely quilt. I saw a quilt that was pleasing to my eye. I noticed the green sashing and then I noticed the red stars. Then, I decided that I needed to take time to read. I think of coin quilts being blocks of fabric not a block of strings or are they crumbs? I'm not sure what classifies as what? I didn't even notice of what the coins were comprised as I whizzed through the blog. The picture was eye candy for sure. The border pulls the sashing together with the coins terrifically. I adore the pop of red, too. It is just right for me - it's not overkill. Thanks for sharing with us. I want to try this as my scraps grow to the point I can take on this task. I usually make quilts from kits and thus there are not many scraps. Have a blessed day!
What an inspired idea, the stars are delightful and just perfect for this quilt, as is the border, love the scrappiness.
What a great solution! I love the play with value in the stars and how they sort of glow and provide a wonderful framework for your coins. Thanks for the reminder of how ruler and free-form work can play nicely in the same quilt. I find myself leaning one way or the other in the same quilt and have to keep telling myself there are no hard and fast rules!
Our online group, AHIQ, worked on Chinese Coins the first quarter of this year but, of course, I'm running behind. There were linkups the fourth Tuesday of each month that showed loads more examples or you can search for #AHIQChineseCoins. Coins were the starting point but we all found there were many ways to create quilts. Enjoy all the others, too.
Thanks, Maureen. The two parts finally work together. It just took a while to figure out.
I even used some bright pinks, although I thought those might be too weak at first. Thanks for noticing the glow; just what I was trying to achieve.
I'm a "rules" person, too... and and a graph paper queen. We all bring different talents and sometimes work to overcome them.
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