Tuesday 9 March 2010

Jumping On Bandwagon #2 (Strings)

What does this:


this:

and this:

look like??

A string-quilt in progress, of course :)

I've seen so many online, and liked them all, I had to try one! It seemed that you couldn't do anything wrong, some people reportedly just pull fabric strips randomly out of a bag and sew them on.

So I took a stack of scrap paper, cut them down to 8.5"x8.5", and started following the many tutorials I've read about paper-piecing string quilts.

I got about this far -

- yes, two whole seams! - before I decided that I couldn't stand the sound of the needle going through paper and that the smaller stitch-length was taking too long to sew.

So I did it without the paper, just to see if it would work.

It did:


I pressed the two blocks and used the pre-cut paper to square them up.

(here you can see my new cutting mat!)


Here is block #1, pressed and squared-up... I like it ;)


And here are the first two together: (I'm using the same colour for the center strip in all blocks)


I have a lot of blue strips left from previous projects, so this is a great scrap-buster project.

Except....

... now what do I do with the new scraps??? *LOL*

7 comments:

Nichole said...

they look nice! i like the blues.

i tend to use those little bits leftover at the corners of my string blocks. they're usually just the right size and keep me from having to cut into another piece of fabric.

Crispy said...

The blocks look wonderful!! I never understood why they are usually paper pieced, your's came out perfect without the paper thing.

Crispy

SandyQuilts said...

I love making string quilts and have made many. I use muslin as my base thought ... no it doesn't make them any heavier. I just ate sprits the water on paper and removing.

Leslie said...

wow, good to know that it works without the paper...that is what was putting me off. these look great

Unknown said...

Oh I remember seeing these for the first time on Mary quilts...she does so many for charities.
Check her out. Fabulous strings!

Rebekah said...

Love the blue strings...this quilt is going to be striking!

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

I think like that too - what to do with the leftover fabric of a leftover quilt? I would save them for postcards and ATCs although I am trying to just let them go.

Your newest quilt looks wonderful to me. I think we are our own worst critics. Love the "hang them high and keep them moving" quote. I drape them over chairs - keep them folded, or put them behind a collection of something.