Friday, July 31, 2015

Plain Jane Updates

Over the last two days I've finally gotten a chance to work on Plain Jane, a cute quilt from the book Smash Your Precut Stash. (affiliate link)




She's currently on the frame, and should be finished up soon. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll get to work on the binding tonight! I only say that because life has been incredibly crazy lately - only getting tiny bits of time to quilt. Thirty minutes here, and 20 minutes there really dampens the creative flow!

Anyway, a bit about this quilt. When I first saw it,



the simplicity really struck me. Then on a trip to Joann's, I found this really pretty plaid, and a couple of coordinating Kona cottons.



And in my stash, I've had these pretty 2 1/2" squares set aside for something special. 



Perfect! Or so I thought. Turns out the pattern uses larger squares. Well, I didn't have bigger squares, and I didn't want a quilt that big. So I improvised. Making nine patches produced a size that was more of what I wanted. It also meant I couldn't faithfully follow the instructions. And being a bit lazy, I opted not to piece a bunch of strips for the upper half. A whole piece is a bit trickier, with some guesswork, but it worked.

The bottom half went together quickly.



Then life got in the way, and I couldn't finish it up until the next day. When I got to the side pieces, I wasn't happy with the plaid on the edge. I thought it made the little squares disappear.



Let's look at pink, 



then green.



I like pink the best - the green makes it look chopped up. Pink just makes a smoother flow to the design.



Adorable, isn't it? So don't be afraid to switch things up from a pattern. Do what works for you!

I'll post more about the quilting when it's all done. Until then, 
Happy Quilting!

2 comments:

  1. I agree completely with your pink choice. Nice quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the pink at the side as well. Great quilt. Lots of negaive space for playimg with a quilting design. Thanks for saying where the design is from. It might be a book I pick up.

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