Scrappy Big Tulip in the works

I still have a lot of 2.5” cut strips. I mean, lots and lots. I have made quite a few quilts from them and have many in the works, but have so many big bags of them that I want to pick up the pace for their usage.

I also want to try a little something different.

I got to thinking, “What would make it fun again for me to use up my scraps?” I’ve already made close to 90 different patterns in my 2” series and up to about 40 different quilts so far in the 2.5” series.

So what can I do to make it fun again for me? I mean, I want to enjoy making the quilts and want to love the results. I don’t want just ‘so-so’ results - at least not from my own designs. I want to really like them!

My spare bedroom is so full of scrappy quilts—but I still have so many more to make! I am always trying to think of something different to make!

So, I decided that for a few quilts, anyway, I am going to explore more of a play on color and/or making some big single block designs.

I wanted to show you the next top I want to work on. We’ll see how it looks.

diagram with lines

This is obviously influenced by Lori Holt - those of you who know her style. This tulip, while a tulip isn’t a singular person’s design idea, was taken from looking at some of her books. I decided to “go big or go home” and make a single tulip as the center of a quilt.

I have bags of 2.5” strips segregated into yellows, pinks, etc. so I am choosing light pinks, light yellows, etc. to make the tulip petals part.

I will probably choose from my whites and off whites or backgrounds without much design in it for the background part.

I don’t usually share what I’m up to when I’m making something, but I decided maybe that should change.

I did start by pulling some yellow strips from a yellow bag.

What it will probably really look like when finished. I’m aiming for lighter colors for the petals.

I decided to work this one by making 4 patches. It’s also not my normal way of making this type of quilt, but I decided that it would make it easier to make a good variety of pieces. Normally I would strip piece 6 strips together, subcut and then use those. However, I don’t need that many strips and I wouldn’t end up with much variety by doing it that way. So, I have opted to change it up a bit.

You can see the Lori Holt influence in the inner border. Well, I suppose it’s a combo Bonnie Hunter/ Lori Holt influence—Lori with the overall design, but Bonnie with the use of a pieced 4 patch instead of one single 4.5” piece. Lori would tend to use a larger piece and then snowball the corners. This way I can use up even more of my strips.

This one won’t be a queen size. I decided to let myself make a few lap size or twin/single size with these quilts so that they weren’t odd looking with too many borders or just having something that feels too big in the center.

I am starting by making 4 patches from the yellows. I am also being influenced by Lori Holt here and am going to press the seams open. This means I can sew the pieces together however I want and I won’t have to worry about nesting the seams.

Here is my first batch of pink fabrics. I can see by comparing my pieces to my picture, I need to add some more brightly colored pieces for more interest.

I hope to make several ‘picture’ block quilts like this using up scraps.

I’ve only just started working on the 4 patches. Naturally the fun part for me will be the petals - the pretty part.

But I will be glad to see some of these 2.5” bags shrinking in size for a change!

 

Thanks so much for coming along with me on this journey!

Have a great day wherever you are reading this.





Becky Petersen5 Comments