CONTEMPLATING QUILTING

 I've been thinking about how I want to quilt Spider Legs.  I keep coming back to quilting it on the diagonal.  Which means loading it onto the longarm on the diagonal.  I've watched a few how-to videos on YouTube.

I think I might do it.  So, now I'm wondering how I want to quilt it.  I printed out a photocopy of the quilt and started drawing lines on it.

Since it's called Spider Legs, I thought about putting hairy spikey things on the legs.  So, one of the legs on the photo has straight spikes the other has curved spikes.  I'm leaning towards the curvy ones.  And then there's what to quilt in the black legs.

What do you think?  Any ideas or suggestions?  I'm open for input.

BACKING FOR SPIDER LEGS

 I've been procrastinating, but I finally finished making the backing for my Spider Web project.  I've named it Spider Legs because it doesn't look like a spider web anymore.  

I think I'm procrastinating because I don't know how I want to quilt it.  I've got a few ideas, but I haven't decided on anything yet.

HOURGLASS TOP FINISHED

It's done.  I finally finished the Improv Hourglass top.  

It's about 51" by 72".

There's lots of scraps, I think I'll sew them together and incorporate them into the backing.

REPLACED THAT BLOCK

 I spent the morning making a bunch of smaller wonky improv Hourglass blocks to replace that dark brown block that was bothering me.

I got it all sewed together, too.

Here's how it looked at the end of today.

Now, I think that left side looks a little bland, so I changed the bottom right corner.  

I think it's looking better now.

PIECING THEM TOGETHER

 I've been sewing more and more of these Hourglass blocks together.  

Here's how it looked at the end of today.

I'm thinking about replacing that large chunk of dark brown with something else.  

MORE HOURGLASS BLOCKS

 The Hourglass quilt is getting closer to the size I want as I add more blocks and move some around.  And sewing a few of them together.

WORKING ON HOURGLASS

 I've  been making Hourglass blocks in various sizes since the workshop with Sherri Lynn Wood.

Here where I am at the moment.

I added some more and took this photo in mono to see how the values are working.

NEW LOOK FOR SPIDERWEBS

 I made more Spiderweb blocks and as I squared them to the correct size I put them up on the design wall in a different configuration.

DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION

 I squared up the blocks on one side and then put them back onto the design wall in a different configuration.

Here's how that looks.  Now I need to make a bunch more blocks.

SNAKING AROUND

It is the Year of the Snake, you know.

So, here are all of the blocks I've made so far, up on the wall.

 

Now, I need to make more strip sets and make more blocks.  

A SNAKE OR A WEB?

 I thought I'd try to make snakes instead of webs.  Not sure if it will stay this way though.

CHURN DASH IS A TOP

 I finally got the Churn Dash quilt top sewn together.

Afterwards, I cleaned up, put all the unused scraps back into their proper buckets and moved onto the next project.

CHURN DASH PROGRESS

 I've been working on the Churn Dash a little bit, sometimes a lot bit, almost everyday.

And I'm making progress, sewing the parts and pieces together as I go.

STRIP SETS AFTER WORKSHOP

It was the next Improv That Block Squad workshop with Sherri Lynn Wood.  This month's block explores the Spider Web block.

We discovered two different ways to make the blocks. 

I worked on making my strip sets all day.

This is how many I have so far.

I choose to make my 'webs' in black in white for a couple of reasons.  One, the Black/White/Grey Scrap bucket is overflowing.  And two, I also remembered a memory from elementary school.  The teacher took us out behind the school in the morning, where the trees surrounded the playfield.  We took black construction paper and laid the wet spider webs on it then sprinkled flour or some kind of white powder onto them to capture a permanent record of our webs.  

Spiders are creepy, but I love the webs.

 

CHURN DASH SO FAR

 I've been enjoying working on the Churn Dash - making more blocks, moving them around, finding the best place for them.

This is how I'm leaving them for now.  Although, I might still move some.

TREE TOPS QUILT TOP FINISHED

 I made the last bit for the bottom of the Tree Tops quilt and added it on.

It's basically finished and ready to be turned into a quilt.

CONTEMPLATING THAT LAST ROW

 I started making that last row on the Tree Tops.  I thought it might be good with more yellow.

Once I got it on there I didn't like it.

Luckily, I hadn't sewed it onto the rest of the quilt, it's just pinned there.

So, I took that down and tried it in different colors:

Then I wasn't sure about these dark colors.

ONLY ONE ROW TO GO

I've been working on the Tree Tops project off and on lately.  I'm down to just one big row left to sew together.  Then it will be finished. 

IMPROV-ING THE ORANGE PEEL BLOCK

 I joined the Improv That Block Squad and Sherri Lynn Wood this morning.  We worked on improv-ing the Orange Peel block.

Here's what I had done by the end of the day.

TREE TOPS MORE ROWS

 I've squared up the Tree Tops and started sewing everything together.