Curated Quilts: Flapping of Butterfly Wings (a finish)

Improv is not really my thing so when the latest Curated Quilts Mini Challenge was announced I thought I was going to sit it out. The theme is ‘Connections’ and like a dog with a bone I kept trying to brain storm ideas. Eventually I came up with this idea: in chaos theory small events can make big differences in outcomes and a common analogy is the connection between the flapping of a butterfly’s wings and the occurrence of a tornado.

That off centre section in the navy background is my attempt at a cyclone/ hurricane/ typhoon symbol. 

Note, also, that like a real meteorological map my quilted spirals are closer and more organic around the cyclone symbol? That wasn’t exactly intentional but more a product of the difficulty of quilting a tight circle. It gets better as it goes further out and the circles are larger.

The challenge colours are yellow, mustard yellow, navy, cream, grey and moss green. I made a moss green butterfly as well but I couldn’t fit it back into the mini within the size limitations I set myself. Finished size is 10 ¾ inch square.

I’m trying to keep track of the issue with Blogger and comment notification but so far there has been no fix and time marches on. They say they are working on it but in the meantime I won’t be able to reply – my apologies, it’s one of the best parts of blogging.

Happy sewing

Sue

Linking up to Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Just a Little Improv

I’ve had a little experience in improv piecing with a couple of the bee blocks I’ve made but a full project? No. So I decided it was about time I had more of a go and what better project to take a foray into this technique with than a mug rug or two.

According to improv tutorials I read a common mistake is forgetting about the seam allowance and making the blocks smaller than you wanted. I made that one, and the whole mug rug could have been a little more generous in size if you ask me, but it still works and I’m using it *slurp* so it’s practical. They finish at around 4 inches by 6.

I’m a fan of Cindy Grisdela’s work so these pieces channel her influence and I quilted them in a fairly dense crosshatch with dark green thread.

After that experience I’m still keen to do more but it doesn’t really suit my control-freak-must-work-with-plan personality so the projects will likely stay small for a while.

What about you? Have you tried improv and what are your tips?

Till next time, enjoy your sewing

Sue

Linking up to Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter