Branching Out

I have been very inspired by some other blogs lately, mainly John (he has pics of some really beautiful Gee's Bend-type minis that were made as part of a swap), Sarah (who's green quilt is out-of-this-world gorgeous!) and Paige.

I have started to look more closely at improv quilts, and quilts that have not been my "style" up till now. The Gee's Bend quilts are a good example of what I mean. I have always thought they were beautiful, but never, ever, EVER thought I could make one. I am (was!) everything-must-be-square Jennie, after all!

I put together a lovely gathering of fabrics to help me get started on my improv journey:

I started small- I had used fat quarters to make blocks for a 4-patch swap I am in, so I took the leftovers from that to dip my toes in, so to speak... this was my first EVER "wonky" block! And, as Hubby pointed out, it IS square... just not all the seams are square to each other!

The pull of "the box" was pretty strong at the beginning, but I managed to resist, and came out victorious- and with this darling little top! It's called Ebudae. That's an Enya song that was playing on my i-Pod when I finished the top.

That's Hubby holding it for me. Funny story about the border: I could not decide which of the two outer border fabrics to use. Hubby was called in to give a consultation (I do this frequently, and have never been disappointed with the results!). His suggestion: since it's supposed to be wonky, why not use both fabrics for the border? As you can see, I liked this idea!

I am having a lot of fun with blogs and Flickr groups. It's very enlightening to see what people in different parts of the world are doing! The swaps are a lot of fun too. I wish I had time to participate in all of them! It's so much fun to get something from someone you don't even know, really. The ideas and fabric choices are all fresh and new- and I learn something from each one.

My mini quilt from Carol in Iowa is a good example: I would have never in a million years thought to use the bright orange fabric she used- especially not with teal, brown and black. But it makes the quilt fabulous, not just "pretty"! And I have learned that I should not automatically rule out a fabric or color that I don't think will work. It just might be the one fabric that's needed to make the quilt shine!