Saturday, June 25, 2016

In the Middle

My creative focus for the past while, as you know, has been the JTQ (Japanese Taupe Quilt), also known as the WQ (Wedding Quilt)...and the wedding is now only four weeks away...!!

The quilt is being constructed in sections, quilt-as-you-go, which is reassuring because each time a section is finished, I can remind myself that it really is -- finished, that is -- because the quilting is done.  That's a relief when one's on a deadline that's looming ever nearer!

So.  There are four square 'corner' sections, each measuring 45" square (finished) -- here's a sample:

Section 1 (as in first one I made)
 - before quilting

Three of the four of these are now completely finished; the fourth is sandwiched for quilting.

The top and bottom two square sections will be joined together with pieced and appliqued mid-sections that are 18" W x 45" L (finished):

One mid-section, sandwiched for quilting

First two mid-sections, assembled

Both of these are now quilted -- the pieced sections by machine and the applique blocks, by hand:


Quilting motif close up

One of the applique blocks, quilted


The last part of this project involves attaching those mid-sections to their respective corner sections, creating a "three-patch" top and bottom section.  I still have 12 pieced blocks to cut out and assemble for this bit...

These will be joined by a long middle piece that consists of two more of these 'mid-sections' (pieced and appliqued), and an 18" square centre block:

18" square (finished) centre block

I apologize for the poor quality of that photo -- it was taken over 2 years ago, and I had trouble getting the lighting right.  :-(

While all of the blocks I'm using for this piece come from Sue Briscoe's Japanese Taupe Quilts, the layout and quilting have been of my own creation.  Once again I've been reminded of the challenge of quilt design -- that it's not any easier creating a bed quilt from scratch, mainly from stash fabric, without a pattern, than it is designing a landscape. :-)

So...I'm off to do some piecing...leaving you linked from here to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.   This week she contemplates picking up where one leaves off...which is what I'll be doing with my next 15 x 15 Group piece...after the wedding!


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Margaret, it's a stunning quilt and they will absolutely treasure it.

elle said...

I took a class with Mary Mashuta years ago on Pushed Neutrals. I luved it and still have that folder with my samples. I also succumbed to a pretty face and bought an expensive Japanese book on this style which eludes me at the moment. I'm a low contrast neutral gal! :)

MulticoloredPieces said...

Hi, Margaret. Lovely quilts that you're showing. The colors are so subtle, which is a nice change. Hope you're having a creative and productive summer! best from Tunisia, nadia