Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Goats Askew and You Know Who

Goats Askew


At first I titled this original design Askew and then I just had to add "Goats", can you see why? I fell in love with the vintage fabric and used stash to feature it. The scale is hard to capture in the same way Capitola Crossing appeared larger than it was, this seems like it photographs smaller.  Finished size is 72"x86"

It's a bit hard to tell but there are several different LV prints used to give a little scrappiness rather than the initial pull of just two shown above. The palette is much more controlled than my typical kitchen sink approach and that was an intentional goal I set out for myself. 
The technique is an improvisational project score from the newly releasing book (pre-orders for March 2015) titled The Improv Handbook For Modern Quiters by Sherri Lynn Wood aka: Daintytime.  She put a call out for testers that I was happy to be part of.  Although it won't be included in the book,  it was fun to give input.   

For the backing sleeve I matched the fabric since it was going to be permanent.  I'll share it at our local guild's show next February since it wasn't accepted at QuiltCon.  My skill set improved much more rapidly than I'd expected.  All the more reason to try new things, right?


The FMQ was a free form inspired by the shapes of the petals as well as the square in a square graphic in the feature fabric.   Although I didn't just finish, I couldn't share it before because it was a secret so I'll link up to Finish It Up at Crazy Mom Quilts and Let's Be Social now that I can. 

Behind the Scenes

First off, using scissors felt so foreign. I found that placing the ruler under gave me better control when cutting the strips.  My experience making bias tape was practically non existent before this and by the end, I felt pretty confident.
The frixion pen for the light fabric and chalk for the light were invaluable for tracing cut lines and registration marks.  
I challenged myself to exclusively machine piece rather than appliqué the quilt despite the need to join many (MANY) odd shaped areas.  This is lovingly referred to as my X-Y-Z seams. 
When the large chunks of progress became too cumbersome for the design wall, I migrated to the living room floor.  I used painters tape to square off the target size on the carpet and build out the background where I was shy and trimmed the excess where the petal hung over. 


I brought it with me to our SBAMQG Retreat last month to cozy up our cabin.   Goats Askew was a tad oversized for the twin.   My friend Renee and I celebrated our birthdays that weekend. 
Renee and I, the Birthday Girls
Funny enough, there's a photo of us at the Get Your Curve On workshop with Sherri Lynn Wood in this magazine.  It's the side of my head but that counts - and I'm especially proud of my excellent posture!  We had no idea until Renee was thumbing through "The Story of Modern Quilting" - so cool.   
One of my News Years Resolutions should be to finish up that UFO from the workshop - it's on my 2014 Q4 FAL goal that's not been met.
S'mores fire pit and our Workroom in the Redwoods
Since I may never get around to a proper post devoted to the 3rd annual retreat, here are some pics.  Anne is in charge of setting up the group shot each year and they are my favorites (past two are here and here)
SBAMQG Fall Retreat - Look what we did
Great Swag Bags

Wonderful Sponsors

One thing that I plan to be working on in 2015 is the Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt Along with Ginny at Fishcreek Studio.   Check it out - and read all about her on the Around the World Bog Hop post.  She tagged me so be sure to visit back and see who I tag next. 

12 comments:

  1. Your quilt is stunning, I love all the photos of it.

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  2. Your quilt is fabulous.....so sorry it won't be at Quilt Con, I would have loved seeing it in real life.

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    1. Thanks. It's OK that it didn't make it in but I am glad that I get to see yours!

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  3. Goats Askew is a fabulous quilt. It looks like it was fun to snuggle under at the retreat, even if it was a bit oversized! Getting all the panels to overlap and work together looks like a lot of effort to me.

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    1. Thanks. It was quite the puzzle but worked out better than I'd imagined taking a Y-seam to a whole new level.

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  4. Love "Goats Askew"; The contrast, the various angles, the overlapping. And it prompted me to put a hold on the book at the library where it is on order. If I feel I'll need it for reference, I'll go on and buy it. And you are right--the size didn't really become apparent till the bunk bed photo.

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  5. Wow. What an endeavor and learning experience! Well done!

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  6. This quilt is amazing! I love the curved improv piecing. And that feature fabric is just too cool! What an excellent finish. You should be so proud!

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  7. WOW! I commend you for your creativity..Your quilt is truly amazing, It's definitely one of a kind!I am so glad you included a photo of your quilt on the bed, it's always nice to see how it looks on the bed...Outstanding!

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  8. Amazing quilt! Love the big curves!

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