The x+ block has made a huge resurgence lately, and like the scrappy trip along, I'm jumping on that bandwagon, too. These are a lot slower going than the scrappy trip, so I won't be posting a finished top anytime soon. But I'm loving playing around with fabric combinations, spending the time to get every one just right.
Coincidentally our February blocks for happiness at do good stitches are also x+ blocks. Bigger and in a more controlled colour scheme, but still as awesome.
But back to the blocks for my project. After all, it's all about me, me, me! These are really challenging me to make interesting fabric choices and to carefully consider scale and value.
Recently Rachel over at Stitched in Color wrote about building a fabric stash and the addition of helpful fabrics. I loved reading her thoughts on this because it's something I've been thinking about a lot lately, too. When I got back in to quilting a few years ago my stash was mostly multicoloured, look at me fabrics. The star prints of the collection. And nothing played well together. I've been slowly building my stash of helpers, but it's hard when they cost just as much as those glamazons.
I've also been really studying the fabric choices of quilters I admire and trying to dissect what makes their work so dynamic to me. This has meant really looking at what I'm buying and why. I still love those bold florals, but I realize I don't love them so much in quilts. What I do love are text, 30s, and quirky Japanese prints. Fuchsia and acid green. A little bit of clash. I really need to print out a picture of my ideal bundle, block, or stash, and tape it to the computer. No more impulse shopping, everything will fit the plan. Yeah right!
happy sewing,
c
