Like in some other crafty things in my life these days, I was under the influence of JulieFrick at the time when I started this project. Yes, yes, let’s blame Julie. Heh. She wanted to motivate herself to finish some quilt tops and so she declared that she’d sew one block a day all summer. And after a flutter of messages a new challenge was born: 60 Blocks of Summer. It was a great group for conversation, ideas and contagious momentum. And I met several new-to-me online quilters. Oh, and I made 122 blocks last summer.
Inspired by this block but quite beholden to my scraptacularity manifesto, it all started with these:
My buddy, Danielle, called it “purely insane simplicity.” Well, she was making a more expansive statement at the time about that being the way to describe my textile work. I’ve come to embrace it and explicitly explore it lately.
What’s so insane? I pieced together the smallest scraps in my house to make new fabric that I then sliced up again to make the log cabin blocks. The parts became tiny sometimes after all the slicing and dicing.
It was the beginning of my summer break from work and I needed to completely disengage. I found The Zone and ended up making 36 of these blocks from scratch in less than a week.
Then a few weekends ago I basted the top on impulse and just started doing some channel quilting.
The backing is a vintage sheet from the thrift shop and the batting is made from recycled plastic soda bottles, so that’s why it’s green. The binding is some County Fair dots on lightweight canvas.
The details:
Pattern: log cabin (using 2" strips of improv pieced scraps)
Materials: white-on-white fabrics from stash; tons of tiny cotton scraps donated by my flickr friends; vintage sheet for backing; Dream Green batting
Techniques: machine pieced; machine quilted; hand-bound
Patchwork size: 63.5" square
Patchwork started: June 15, 2010
Patchwork finished: June 20, 2010
Quilt finished: January 29, 2011
Truly amazing! The process behind it, and the outcome!
Fantastic! Bravo! Now I want to make one. But I’m not sure my insanity quotient is high enough :) (Oh, it’s plenty high in OTHER ways, just not sure I could tolerate piecing all those bits …)
All the little pieces are like jewels in a treasure box! If you get really tired of that day job of yours…
Btw I think I must have been prejudiced against clean white with multicolour until now. In your quilt here it is just crisp and fresh and lovely.
I love this so much
Seriously awesome! Love the idea of scrap fabric!
I too save every little tiny scrap. I just caught myself saving 1.5″ by .5″ scraps from my current quilt, haha :)
This is probably one of my favorites so far (not that I have watched long)… amazing job, now you will have me saving EVERY scrap.. I don’t know if I have room for that. How do you keep all the seams straight? Ironing is the part I dread about starting my quilt.
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
Oh, oh, oh. I love it like WHOA.
My head started pounding taking in the size of those blocks!!
You are amazing as always!
Holy cow that quilt is amazing C!!
That photo with the penny!!!!!!
Stunning. I love your eye for color, which is why I need a folder under my Flickr Faves for “C’s Awesomeness.”
Woohoooo! Love seeing a hint of our summer madness right now. I need all the summer I can get. We’re DEFINITELY doing 60 BOS again. And this is so great!
OH, C, I turned out GREAT. I love the channel quilting too.
I LOVE putting scraps together like that. the quilting came out great and the colors look amazing popping off all that white. how do you like that green batting? I’ve seen it but haven’t tried it
omg, so beautiful!!
Absolutely stunning – it’s just so, so lovely and unique! I also love the pig linen fabric of the bag (?) on your work top – can you remember what fabric it is?
It’s freaking incredible! I love it, love it, love it.
Your work is seriously stunning! LOVE all the tiny pieces!
It gorgeous! I am so curious about the green batting, do you like it? Does it show through white?
so gorgeous!!
so creative and stunning!
Simply amazing. Simply insane. Simply beautiful.
I can’t believe you pieced that in FIVE days! A lovely story and a really gorgeous quilt at the end.
That is totally awesome! I love the picture in the snow.
Truly scraptacular. I’m feeling the scrap inspiration coming….
Obviously, I need to quilt more so I can have more scraps so I can make something one tenth as fabulous as this!
Truly a feast for the eyes. I’m always in awe of how MUCH you are able to do, AND with with such beauty. Brava!
WOW! You make some beautiful quilts! Thanks for sharing!
I have been staring at this since I saw it this morning – I can’t get enough of it! Outstanding!
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!!
insane!! but in a very good way.
I am in awe.
… a good kind of insanity, methinks. Wow.
So pretty, C. And such a great use of your scraps!
Scraptastic!
Oh C! Stunning piece of work. Truly! I love looking at it. I am inspired. Thanks for sharing it with us.
You really can use up every last scrap of fabric, even the ones that are hardly an inch square? This is a revelation! At some point I’m going to become a quilter, I promise.
Love your simple insanity. I am such a sucker for riot of color + white.
Oh C, I love your work! This quilt is so beautiful. ♡
Once again I’m just in awe of your work/craft/artistry. Wow.
Holy Freakin’ Crap. Totally awestruck here.
Amazing. Just found you, thanks to your Shelter knitted blanket and Jared. You’re my new inspiration!
:)
This is utterly gorgeous! I’ve done a quilt using this technique, but didn’t dare go to this level of insanity (as in, such tiny pieces). It was well worth it. What a beauty!
oh! It’s wonderful!
x
Gorgeous!!! A Summer challenge sounds great to me! You obviously have a plethora of patience :-) And I love the quilting too!
Another beauty–summery and colorful. Loving the white with brights. May need to do one of these myself.
With a title like “Simple Insanity,” how could I pass this post up?
The quilt is beautiful. Once upon a time, I was a quilter, but always by hand. You’re right – you reach “the zone,” and sometimes, for what ails us, there’s nothing like a bit of the zone. Then again, can’t use the fingers to sew when they need to tap-tap-tap on the keyboard to earn your keep. But now I’m itching to dig out a half-pieced queen size quilt I tucked away in a box, about 3 years ago…
I know absolutely nothing about quilting but that is one beautiful quilt! Makes me want to try it out!
Simply put: I am in awe.
:)
WOW! super dope quilt i love the colors
http://enjoibeing.wordpress.com/
That is beautiful!
so unusual, yet so creative. quite stunning, i must say =)
Wow!!! Totally inspiring and beautiful. I have a quilt top I finished before my son was born….8 years ago, maybe I will challenge myself to finish it.
Congrats on FP!!
The patchwork quilt is beautiful! I wish I had a stitch of creativity in working with my hands!
Congrats on being featured on Freshly Pressed!
http://www.secretsofmoms.com
LOVE IT! I am going to play with this idea sometime soon. If I ever get my office moved out of my sewing room…
Beautiful, congratulations!!
Good work. I used to work with someone who was a quilt artist, actually I have worked with two quilt artists, now that I think of it. I have much respect for all of you.
Your work is beautiful! This gives me the itch to get back to my quilting. I like to do the entire thing by hand, so I really only ever made small things, not real quilts, but I haven’t had much free time lately. I love the process you’ve described here. It’s inspiring me!
That is simply lovely! What a great idea. I will be moving soon so that might be a good time to get all the scraps out of the house! Beautiful colors it just turned out perfectly.
It looks nice and warm. Nice job!
http://www.hcrproducts.com
this is BEAUTIFUL!! i’ve been looking for a good use for my scraps, and i think this is it!!! thanks for sharing!
This quilt is absolutely gorgeous! It’s so beautiful that I’m inspired to make some blocks of my very own. I’ve already finished three and they’re so fun to make! I’m enjoying reading back through your blog. You seem lovely!
oh wow – well done, i respect the patience, dedication and passion that has been put into this!
These quilts are just so beautiful, I just want to crawl up with my kitty and take a nap in them. Wonderful work!
Love the quilt. It is inspiring. Congrats on being freshly pressed.
Whoa! I am completely blown away! I can’t even sew a button onto a shirt let alone sew anything that beautiful. Do you give lessons?? ;o)
I really love this quilt. I have so many projects started at the moment, you really motivated me to finish a couple of them. Thank you!
Your quilt is awesome! Great job on using up those pretty scraps. My scraps always overwhelm me because I don’t know how to use them, this however is so manageable, and look how beautiful! Great job :)
You are an artist, I tried it some time ago but it was a bit of a disaster !!
congrats for the FP
Gorgeous! Makes me want to run home to my stash and machine! And I love your manifesto.
Wow that is amazing. A lost art definitely.
Gorgeous! It seems like a detailed and colorful process I might enjoy. The only problem is I would have to finish the entire quilt in one day or else I’d never finish it. :(
wow blown away….glad there are still some true textile maniacs out there!! go girl!!
I am so inspired by this! I love the bright color and the clean lines. Thanks for sharing your process!
I thought this was very creative, and wonderful, I would love to do this, unfortunately i dont know how to thread a sewing machine
This is beautiful! Love the detail and your attention to the colours. Wonderful!
Absolutely stunning! As a fellow quilter I can so appreciate the work you put into this. I’ve had a love affair with white and color scrap quilts for years. I used to hand quilt all of mine. Now you have me itching to try my hand at machine stitching. Thank you so much for sharing your work. It’s truly beautiful.
I love how it you immediately relate to these pieces- almost as though you can feel the satisfaction of the process through your own hands. Seems simple, yet completely intricate and beautiful
Wow! A work of art in only 5 days,amazing.
My mother loves to quilt in her spare time. I can’t say I really have any interest, but these are amazing. Maybe I should go back to my mom for a few lessons, if she can give me some, and if I actually manage to get to learn how to quilt.
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
Ashley, aka TheEverydayMuser
http://www.theeverydaymuser.wordpress.com
Your creativity is inspiring and I like the fact you are using recycled material. Being unable to sew, I always admire those who can. Quilting takes it to new heights, especially a creation as spectacular as this!
beautiful and the colors/patterns are fantastic! i want to try quilting one day…
I always want to do things like this, until I see just how painstaking it really is.. Nicely done! And congrats on being freshly pressed.
I like that you posted the start and finish date of your beautiful quilt. It really emphasises the job well done. Well done!
Wow, I’m sending this off to my sister. Absolutely beautiful… but I’m not a quilter. I do love photography and your pictures are superb!
it looks absolutely delightful!! <3
I am so happy you made it to Freshly Pressed otherwise I might not have seen this post. I love it! I’m a huge fan of the textile arts, adore quilts and imagine myself attempting to make one some day. Your project is lovely and inspiring. I have you bookmarked!
This is incredible! I’ve pinned it on pinterest.
look beautyfull
I absolutely love this idea and your wonderful quilt! I have 3 unfinished quilt tops and a pile of fabric waiting for “someday” This could get me quilting again! I’ve sent a link to my girlfriend as an idea for her quilt group, and will post another link on my blog, for the quilters who visit. Thanks for sharing!
great contrast between the pure white and those colors!!! just amazing…
I can’t believe you made this on one week. Truly insane! It is beautiful though, and I give you tons of credit. The quilting really is phenominal. You must have the patience of a saint.
Love the penny picture. Awesome color and texture. Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
Just lovely in every way!!
This is so awesome – I love the colors! I am jealous of your amazing talent =) Congratulations on making the front page!
This is incredibly insane and beautiful, very inspiring.
An amazing quilt! I love your photography as well!
This is really cool!!! Thanks for sharing…I always wanted to do something like this. I love the colors!!
this is fantastic. i love watching the process of a quilt coming together. the photographs are very nice as well. well composed. great post! keep sewing!
You’re on the front page at WordPress!! I took a screen shot in case you miss it ;o)
Stunning results.
Very motivating. I am working on a denim quilt with my Mother. She refuses to even look at a computer screen but I am goig to print off a picture for a little incentive :)
It’s beautiful! Nice work!
waaw, thats amazing. and the results are realy cool
greatz
Thanks for posting! Truly beautiful!
This is absolutely beautiful! Very talented!
beautiful pattern :)
This is nice, I love quilters patience!
WOW! Amazing! I admire your patience and attention to detail to the EXTREME!
very creative… mbah jiwo Indonesia
very nice. I belong to a group of women who make quilts to donate to young, single mothers and the elderly. I contribute on a minimal level at this time (due to my full time job). I relish the day I can get back into sewing and quilting as you.
That is amazing, gorgeous, awesome, etc.!!! I wish I could do that, but for now I’ll stick to my duct tape crafts :-)
Absolutely GORGEOUS!
Thoroughly impressed and happy to find someone enjoy a hobby that is out of the ordinary. The detail is absolutely beautiful and the best part is that it’s cost effective and Eco-friendly. Major kudos.
I have to say, this really impresses me, having those ideas. great work!
MASHALLAH God that is AMAZING!!!! God, you are gifted!
I can’t sew even if someone wanted to sue me! (LOL lame joke)
But Really, you are blessed by Allah Almighty to create cool craft. You sell these? ^_^
I’m not big on quilts, but this one is awesome. I want one.
That is truly amazing. I wanted to start my simple quilt project, but ended up doing nothing all day, but blogging. Fool me. I think I really have to leave my toshiba and heading to the other room to meet my janome. You’re so inspiring. Thanks for sharing this beautiful work of yours, and congrats for being in freshly pressed.
It’s a lovely concept. Just like recycling…
Hello! I’m happy I found you! This quilt is amazing! I also love to work with tiny patches and enjoy to see your wonderful work with them! I’ll go to see more your works!
Sunny wishes from Finnish woman living in Crete! Teje
inspiring! must give this a try.
Wow! Great job using your fabric scraps to create something beautiful. You must have been REALLY motivated to do 36 blocks in one week. Your quilt looks great.
I found your blog through the Freshly Pressed page on WordPress ~ Congrats!
Its so pretty! I love the colors!
I love quilts, my grandmother used to make them. Wish I had taken the time to learn how.
amazing job :)
Stupendous concept! I will lay my hands on this.
Its awesome. I loved it! am gonna try doing one for myself!
а я английский не знаю….=))
and just 14 days to make it? :D amazing!!! and nice pattern!!
WOW…it’s awesome
Thanks so much for the photos and explanation. I really hope you enjoy your handmade quilt.
Heidi House heromobilecafe.com
when i look at it in isolation , then it is not so awe-inspiring, but when finished it really looks fabulous
Beautiful, I love quilts. I have use one myself as a bed cover, so cozy and warm looking!
Will be showing this to my craft crazed daughter who wants to make a quilt!! I particularly like that you finished yours in under a year!!! Setting a goal and then working out what needs to be done and then assigning the time to do it (then actually doing it) – this is an experience I would love her to have.
I also love the balance of calm and colour you have used.
Wonderful quilt!
Although it’s reminded me I have a lot of hand sewing to do on my mum’s old heart blocks before I can learn the quilting bit >.< – or I could make a quilt with my finished holly hobbie-ish blocks but I don't know what to do with them at all…
Certainly something I would try if I knew I would live long enough to finish. Beautiful design, beautiful work.
I must say.. This… is very interesting.
I love it…Got to try it out as soon as I have my sewing machine.
i can use censor-worthy words to describe the amazingness of this and you but im sure you get the idea.
Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.
It’s very pretty! I’m hoping that one day I can actually sew a straight line on the machine!
This is absolutely gorgeous!!
So, so gorgeous! My girlfriend’s done her share of quilts so even tho’ I’m too busy framing to try my hand at it, I know what goes into this kind of work – but you’ve taken it to a whole new level! I love that you used up the scraps too small to otherwise get used.
It’s always exciting framing a quilt – maybe we’ll get to do a design for something of this caliber someday.
wow…you must have some patience to come up with this!!!and they wouldnt have come across as beautiful as they are without these amazing photographs too!!!loved them!!
WOW not only your quilts are gorgeous, but your pictures are great too. How you make a coin and some fabric look like art?!!!
Great work!
My head started pounding taking in the size of those blocks!!
You are amazing as always!
Wow, this is awesome.