Monday, August 17, 2015

Not all who wander are lost: continued

liberated
pattern-free
wonky
intuitive
improvisational

All are terms used to describe free-form quilt-making, unconcerned with patterns, straight lines, pointy points, matching seams. The processes are varied, the resulting quilts are non-standard. Julie Silber calls them "maverick". Roderick Kiracofe calls them "unconventional". I call them "the quilts that excite me & that I want to try to create myself".

As I explore this path, I will be referring to my process with liberated/pattern-free/wonky/intuitive/improvisational quilt-making as "no-plan" quilting.

Why?

Because I am a Planner. Graph paper, colored pencils & the Pythagorean Theorem are my good friends. I don't follow patterns, I draft up my own & follow my them pretty closely. I'm not a natural at no-plan patchwork. I have splashed in the shallow end & I think those efforts made some of my favorite quilts. So, it is time I flexed, stretched & developed my no-plan muscles. I've been pulling how-to books, watching Craftsy classes & reading tutorials. They provide paths to follow -- plans for no-plan piecing, if you will. But I'm beginning to think that the best source of inspiration is Inspiring Quilts -- antique, vintage & contemporary. Studying them has me ready to jump -- well, maybe maybe not a real jump, maybe more of a step, not into the deep end, more likely into the shallow end -- but ready to begin this.

But where to start!?! How to start!?! How about something simple first, a method I saw long ago, but have never tried. Simply stack several fabrics, cut through the stack, mix up the parts & reassemble. I picked a black & white plaid from a skirt, a vintage floral I got swapping with nifty quilts & a few others. And here I go!


7 comments:

Brenda said...

Great start! I've swapped fabrics with Leann at Nifty as well -- she's got great stuff!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Fun to stitch and fun to watch!

Sharon said...

Wonderful! I know it can be hard to get started. I always flail about for a while before I can really get going on that no-pattern thing.

It will be fun to watch you do this. Know that I'm cheering you on, as I attempt it too!

Nifty Quilts said...

Wahoo! Looks great. Love that plaid with the yellow florals. Really exciting! You've almost got me dropping everything and grabbing my piece of that fabric and putting it with a b/w plaid--right now!

Rachaeldaisy said...

Yippee!! Way to go!! I love it!! Brilliant fabric combo and piecing that makes your eyes dance around following shapes and lines and the patterns they make. You are going to have a lot of fun with your no plan piecing!!

O'Quilts said...

I love it too...it is my favorite way to go..but you would never know it with what is up lately...have fun.

Ruth said...

Sounds like heaven! I really like those fabrics and what I see in the photo. Go, girl!