Wednesday Work in Progress is all about Granny

I'm soldiering on with plans to turn all those mini granny square blocks I've sewn from scraps into a king-size quilt.  It's been a labour of love - cutting up countless 1.5" squares from a rainbow of fabrics scraps and then stitching them into blocks.  No fabric is repeated in a block - which delights me endlessly because it makes this quilt a bit of  an "I Spy" quilt of favourites.



I'm in the thick of it with granny blocks on the design wall and more blocks awaiting their turn in the layout.  I'm literally surrounded by grannies! ;o)



To make the layout as random in colour as possible, I decided it would help if I grouped the blocks into colour stacks.  It helped immensely and it was fun to discover my favourite pairing of colours (since I was working from scraps and making the blocks for year, I had no idea which colours I used the most).  Any guesses which colours were used for the most pairings? ;o)  I will tell you which colour I used the least for my blocks... yellow.  I don't hate the colour, but find it a bit tricky.  Too easy to have it looking like it belongs at McDonalds. ;o)



What about the layout?
  Here's proof a design board can be invaluable.  In the eight columns of blocks shown above, you can see two layout ideas.  A grid layout on the left, while  the four columns on the right are in a staggered layout.  Definitely a different feel to the two layout options.  Everyone in the household has chipped in their opinion on which looks best and I think I'll leave the blocks like this for a day or two so that I can decide. I can hardly wait to finish and finally be able to cross this project off my FAL list!




Sew Fresh Quilts

Comments

  1. This is going to be AMAZING - I think I like the left hand side layout better but the other would work too! Lucky you to have a design wall :)

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  2. Your design wall looks great! I definitely need one, but just don't have the space! They say that a little bit of yellow goes a long way! Your grannies don't seem to be suffering because of the lack of it!

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  3. I'm going to *stagger* my vote ;) I think you should call that quilt Patience - it must have taken a boatload of it to work with all of those tiny pretty little jewels of fabric! I love all the colours :)

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  4. It's going to be a beautiful time treasured quilt. I'm going to weigh in for the staggered layout.

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  5. It looks very pretty, I like the layout!

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  6. Those grannies are so cute. I like them both, but I like how different the staggered layout is. I think it depends on how you want to quilt it.

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  7. Oh, now this is sweet! I love your mini Grannies and their rainbow of colours! Both layouts are great, but I think the staggered rows are more interesting... Then again, you could do them on point, too!

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  8. The first words that came to mind when I saw your quilt was "Simply Stunning!!!". You definitely have patience and it shows in the piecing. I agree with the previous comment that the layout should be decided by the way you decide to quilt it.

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  9. Oh my goodness this is amazing, Katherine!!! The colors are beautiful and the layout is just perfect! Can't wait!
    Although you made me chuckle when you mentioned about the color yellow = McDonald's!? Too funny! :D

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  10. Great blocks Katherine....anxious to see it quilted...beautiful

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  11. So many granny squares! I personally like the staggered squares the best... but I'd hate to cut those granny squares in half. Either way, I'm sure it will come out amazing.

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  12. 1.5 inch squares--very impressive and very lovely. A real work of art!

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  13. This quilt is going to be gorgeous once it's finished! I'll bet it feels really good to get to this point of getting ready to sew all those blocks together.

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  14. Those are brilliant!! I love them.

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  15. Wow! All those little blocks! You must be so excited to be putting all those beautiful, detailed blocks together!

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  16. Popped over to "bee social" and am delighted to see your grannies on the wall! Super fun quilt.
    Carole @ Fresh off the Frame

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  17. What a great idea to use your designwall like this. I even don't have one!!!!! I lay my fabric on the ground but at night i have to jump in my bed sometimes'........

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  18. WOW!! This is going to be an awesome quilt!!

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  19. They are beautiful. Not sure which layout I'd pick! Either way it is a winner!

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  20. Love your grannie squares - the colors are so vibrant! Beautiful work. I like the layout on your design wall and look forward to seeing it put together.

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  21. What a beautiful quilt! Definitely a treasure!!

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  22. Soooooo pretty! I wish I had a design wall, oh well, the floor will have to do :-(

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  23. I look at this and... words fail me! What a swooning quilt this is going to be! I am enchanted and simply have to pin!

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  24. The is an amazing amount of blocks! How long have you been making them? I like both layouts but the staggered one really speaks to me.

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  25. LOVE the staggered layout!! I haven't seen one like it, and I feel it's unique in a very good way!

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  26. Looks really good in this layout. Yeah, your favourite colours are red, and a reddish orange by any chance?

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  27. It's a proverbial old folks home ;o) Those are wonderful blocks and the colour distribution is great. You're not wrong about yellow being a tricky colour to use. I tell my students to use it with care because it is just bright...doesn't matter about the shade you will always notice it.
    While I'm here...I wanted to ask you about the Singer machine in that first picture...I've been toying with the idea of getting a Vintage Singer either the 15K or the 201 model for free motion quilting because of the large harp...Just wonder what your model was and if you have tried that?

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