For me, the defining feature of a scrappy quilt is that I use-up scraps of fabric I already have, rather than select and acquire fabrics on purpose for a theme, color scheme, or design. My recent Acid Trip quilt having used up nearly all of my long strips of scrap, I just have smaller pieces left, and a desire to use what I can and throw out the "crumbs" -- anything less than 2 inch square. (I don't have the patience for crumb quilting!) Moreover, I really enjoyed foundation piecing to make Acid Trip, so I seek another pattern I can do the same way. The Double Wedding Ring pattern (example above) appeals, because I can foundation piece my scraps onto the "melon slices" and go from there.
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I've written before about the book Cut the Scraps!, by Joan Ford: The book's premise is simple and smart: take your small scraps of quilting cotton, anything under a fat quarter, and cut them into a set of prescribed sizes: 2" squares, 3.5" squares, and 5" squares. Sort these squares by value rather than by color, so you end up with a pile of lights, a pile of darks, and a pile of everything in the middle. If you make a four-patch with four 2" squares, it makes a 3.5" square; if you make a nine-patch with nine 2" squares, it makes a 5" square. Then the book has instructions for twenty different quilts which can be made from squares of those sizes. I love the idea! What I didn't mention was that I also "cut the scraps" in the same sizes. Do I have enough scraps to make something? I certainly have enough scraps to speculate!
The story of Jacob's Ladder is written in the book of Genesis. Jacob, a grasping sort of character who conned his brother into giving him his inheritance, is fleeing his brother's rage and going to a far-off land to live with his uncle. One night while he's on the run, Jacob puts his head on a rock for a pillow and tries to sleep. In a dream, he looks up and sees "a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!" From the top of the ladder, God tells him that He will keep the promises He's already made to Jacob's father, and will fulfill them through Jacob and his sons. (Not that Jacob deserves this grace, the cad! It's more about God's character than Jacob's.) When Jacob wakes up, he's stirred to make a monument to this special place where Heaven touched Earth, and he promises to serve God as long as God keeps His promise (and, oh--lets him return home safely without getting murdered). Jacob's path back home isn't an easy one, but that's another day's story. For today, we have the story of Jacob's ladder, a symbol of God's choice to make connections with creation, and to reach down into our reality and effect it. Jacob's Ladder is also the name of a string game, a wooden toy, and a quilt block. Guess which one this post is about? During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, several of my friends got married. Now they are producing little humans! Time to make people quilts. However, I have scant patience for stereotypical "baby" quilts... I don't like washed out pastels, toy or cloud motifs, flannel, or appliqués! (If I were fonder of appliqué work, I might be done my Dandelion quilt by now!) Instead, I am playing with patchwork, and enjoying the opportunity to play with color schemes I might not otherwise choose, in small sizes! I like the idea of the baby still using the quilt as they grow, long after the cutesy stuff is consigned to memorabilia. Today, I share a quilt for a co-worker who is adopting. The colors work for boy or girl.
* Observant readers will notice that the Delectable Mountains Block is not yet sewn, so expect another post about that soon.
I was originally calling this quilt "Pick-Up Sticks/Acid Trip", but as I work on it, my pick-up sticks inspiration is fading, while the acid trip associations are getting stronger.
Anyway, I'm calling it the Acid Trip quilt, now. Here are the posts, so far:
1. String Piecing (Pick-up Sticks/Acid Trip) 2. Pick-up Sticks/Acid Trip coming along |
Karen Roy
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