A Bargello Experiment

To make a quilted Halloween treat bag for Kat I decided to experiment with an idea I had. I wanted to make a bargello patchwork that looks more intricate than it really is (and also hides my inability to match seams) but I'd never seen anyone try this variation of mine. I didn't know if it would work, either, but I had the fabric, so I thought what the heck. I started with these 5 Halloween fat quarters.

I cut all the fat quarters into 3" X 7" rectangles.

I sewed the rectangles into ten strips, staggering the placements diagonally.

I then sewed the strips together -- at which point you can clearly see how I suck at matching seams.

I took the block of patchwork and sewed the long ends together to make a bargello tube.

I cut the tube into fourteen random-width strips, just avoiding the vertical seams that were there from piecing the original rectangles. I then unpicked a seam on each strip counting up or down one seam from the last strip, which creates the bargello effect.

Here's the end result after I sewed those strips together. Turned out even better than I thought it would.

Comments

Goodwill Gamble #2 Arrives

My second Goodwill gamble arrived; this is one I paid ten bucks for last month. Just inside the lid was a big roll of plastic mesh that I think is for latchhook work. In the auction listing it looked like fabric to me, so that was unexpected. Someone at the seller's end was nice enough to put a note on this pinned fabric. I'll put on my gloves before I take it out to inspect it. The embroidered green fabric turned out to be 1-1/2 yards of sequinned and three-dimensional designer fabric. I'll guess this cost somewhere between $20.00 to $30.00 a yard, and it's in pristine condition. But here's a shot of everything in the lot, which is mostly crafty odds and ends with a small amount of cotton fabrics, a large amount of synethetic fabrics, and some other surprises. The original owner of these was probably a Catholic school teacher; these beads, crosses and medallions are the kind of rosary kits for kids to make at Sunday school or Bible camp (and s...

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.

Love Means This

Invested in a couple of hand-dyed bundles from one of my favorite fabric artists. This one said "Make me into something for Valentine's Day." So I went for a quilted and embellished tote. I kept thinking about what love means to me as I worked on it. Here's the finished tote. Although I was tempted to embellish with beads and pins, I got sick and only felt well enough to do a little stitching every night. As I worked I thought about how often love seems disappointing to us, especially when it fails to live up to our expectations. But now that I've experienced love in many forms, I can say that it's made me a better person than I might have been without it. Love is a precious thing, and should be appreciated in all its forms. I am very grateful for the love of my guy, my child and my friends who have stuck with me all these years. That's you two, in case you're wondering. :) Also finally found something to do with a ve...

Valerean

Search This Blog