Primitive Garden & Improvisational Quilting

This is Block 6 of my Primitive Garden Quilt . . . still a work in progress! It's called Sap Bucket.

 Here are some components left over from the Chevron Baby Quilt I made in February. I just bag these pieces up when I finish a quilt in hopes of doing something with them later . . . Well, now is later!

Hmm, here is a possibility for the squares.  . .

 Lots of little odd triangles. There were no blocks in the quilt like this but the easy technique used gave all these leftovers.

 I began experimenting to see how to put them into a new quilt.

 Another way . . .

 and yet still another.

 Okay, this is a possibility for a strip quilt which I really enjoy doing!

 Just going to line all these up as far as they will go in rows.

 And now it's looking a little unorganized and boring so I think I'll add a little contrasting color - red seems good to me!

 I just happened to have enough red left from the construction quilt a few months ago to make all these 1inch finished strips.

 I've almost used every single piece I had of leftovers

 and here it is quilted - still on the longarm machine.

I used a pantograph I've been wanting to try for a while - Basket Weave - actually gives it more of a contemporary feel. I'll finish this with a red binding soon. 

Improvisational Table Runner

 This quilt began with scraps from my fall tablecloth of last year. I had saved the leftover fabrics in a plastic bag for a smaller project.

 I pressed the strips and tried to decide how to start.

I added a few more fabrics from my scrap basket that might go and decided to cut some rectangles and strips and began putting them together. That is how the large tablecloth was made.

 This is done rather randomly and really just what piece might fit to another. The rectangles are all different sizes, no measuring, just sewing. After all, if they went together once then they will have to go together again in a smaller project, right?

 After getting close to 20 blocks sewn, I just put them up on my design wall to see what they looked like together. I just made them fit sort of like a jigsaw puzzle, trying not to put same colors right next to each other.

 Eventually it looked like this. The table top was 20" x 41" so that was where I was headed size wise. I could always either add to this piece or trim away.

 I finally decided upon the top row and sewed most of them together.

 The next sections I put together in large rectangles, just as that is how the blocks seem to want to fit. It is quite fun to figure it out as you go. . .no perfect half square triangles to worry about, no exact size, just sew and see what you think. Add a strip if needed . . .

 Here are the 'parts' before sewing them all together.

 And here is the completed top. I did have to trim it down some as it was too large, even allowing for a little shrinkage after it was washed.

 Now it's quilted and bound!!

 A close up. . .

 one more close up. . .

and the backing. . . pieced of course with leftover fabrics. 

Here it is completed and on the old sewing table. I am officially ready for autumn and today is the day!!   I need to put something interesting in the marble bowl that my son-in-law brought me from Afghanistan this spring - the colors are perfect!

Here is the fall tablecloth. I must not have shown a picture last year after it was finished but it's one of my favorites. Happy Autumn!!