This is a continuation of the Choo Choo Quilters
Brown Bag Challenge (read Part I
here)
and the contents from the fourth bag that I received. The theme and block design was well established but
the fabrics were quite diverse—felted wool, batiks, flannels and cottons. The previous contributors established a bordered block design with a flower in the center of the block.
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| Flower blocks contributed by previous participants. |
A nice design element in some blocks was where parts of the focal image (a leaf, petal, stem) extended into the border—providing a sense of depth. My task for this bag was to find or design a pieced or appliquéd flower quilt block. The inspiration came from this display at a quilt show I attended during that time.
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| Inspiration at a regional quilt show. |
My contribution included one appliqué block and one pieced block. I followed suit and one of my flowers had elements extending into the frame.
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| My two flower blocks: appliqué (left) and pieced (right). |
Here are all the blocks Kim received at the final reveal.
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| The final group of nature-inspired blocks. |
A revisit of techniques learned in a workshop with Nancy Crow was the impetus for my contribution to the
fifth bag. With a request for a
Gee's Bend style quilt, I abandoned the rotary ruler and did all free-hand rotary cutting—whoop, whoop!
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| Contents from the last bag. |
Newly created strip sets were added to the bag, and I also
re-configured blocks from previous contributors. This was very liberating
and allowed (per the Challenge guidelines)! In reading the accompanying
Brown Bag Journals, I was not the only participant to invoke this option.
As the last contributor, you can get a
better perspective of the project—you have more pieces to work with and can insure everything is
unified and cohesive. The last contributor can fill in any holes and add final touches (like making a label), or crank out a few extra blocks to complete the top. If needed, she/he can reign in the renegade bits... unless they support the composition. I think this is the last person's responsibility... "turn off the lights and lock the door if you're the last one out," you might say.
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| Final strip sets and blocks. |
The other component of the Challenge was the
Quilt Journal, which I will discuss in Part III of my ramblings. Stay tuned...
To see what came out of all the
Brown Bags, visit the
Choo Choo Quilters Challenge recap.
