In the past I showed you the quilt which currently lives on my couch. It’s super comfy and squishy and was my first foray into piecing with a linen blend.  I was immediately hooked.  The texture of the linen weave… and then the wash…it’s a winner for sure.

So for my current project I’m again using Essex Linen; it’s a blend with 45% cotton, and this time in navy.

My first step was to audition scrappy strips to see what made the cut.

I like to choose an inspiration fabric to begin with.  I know for sure all the colors in it will blend well.  So then, if I choose scraps in those colors, they’ll play happily together in the quilt. The rumpled Kafe Fassett floral is my inspiration fabric. 

Then I crank up the music and rummage through my scrappy strips on a treasure hunt.  This photo shows a few that did NOT make the cut.  I felt the gold was too yellow. And as I held auditions for various scraps that contained white, I soon saw that they were too eye-catching to blend well.  I tucked a few in, stood well back and squinted at it…yep, they drew the eye immediately and that wasn’t what I wanted.  So all the bits that had white went back in the scrap bin.

Here are a few more auditions. 

Again, the first group had whites and yellows which had to go.  These strips will fit in well, I think. 

Choosing scraps is very subjective as each quilt maker brings his or her own personal taste to the choices. So include the things you like; toss the things you don’t.  Trust your taste.  It’s a really good idea to audition in daylight though.  Even WITH full daylight I found it difficult to take pictures that were true to actual color. However, I did find it helpful to view the colors through the lens of my camera. There’s something about looking at that small frame that removes distractions, and often I’ll have an immediate YES or NO reaction. 

Many of my scraps are trimmings off the edges of quilt backings, so I took the time to get them all trimmed straight and even.  I cut the widths randomly, anywhere between about one and two inches.  I don’t measure, just slide and cut; slide and cut. 

This is just a good beginning; more will be required.  But I don’t want to cut way more than I need, so I’ll get started piecing and cut more when I get low.

The next step is to cut all the background pieces.  For today’s project, I’m aiming for approx 55″ x 72″.

I cut navy strips 6.5″ and 8.5″ wide, and then subcut them into the angled chevron parts.  Some are 4.5″ long, some 6.5″, and some 8.5″. 

I made use of the 45 degree markings on my mat to cut them.

I laid out all of the background pieces on my design floor, using my diagram for the placement.  Then it’s a matter of making scrappy strip sets to fit all the holes.  But that’s for next week.

See you then!