When I read the prompt for Project Quilting 17.2, Scads of Plaid, the first thing that came to mind was plaid fabric, but I knew I did not have any in my stash. So instead of digging through my stash, I started by working in Inkscape on my computer to come up with a design. I knew the design was going to require me to piece a plaid, so I started with that and then incorporated what I think is a very Yvonne twist to the design.
Sunday – Fabric Pull
Just before the light faded on Sunday evening, I went to my stash of Kona cottons and pulled (from left to right) Amethyst, Brt. Peri, Purple, Carnation, Bubble Gum, Azalea, and Valentine and paired them with a FreeSpirit solid in Pomegranate (upper right of the photo).
Monday – Strip Sets
Instead of cutting lots of pieces, I figured the fastest way to get to where I wanted to go was to work with strip sets. Even then, it took me about 3 hours to cut and piece the long strip sets together on Monday.
Monday – Subcut Strip Sets
On Monday evening, after subcutting the strip sets, I was able to lay them out and see where the plaid blocks were headed.
Tuesday – Plaid Blocks
After several more hours of piecing on Tuesday, I had (16) 10½” unfinished plaid blocks pieced. But just sticking with them like this feels a bit boring, right?
Tuesday – Subcut Plaid Blocks
So the only option was to cut them apart again! Using the custom 10″ finished drunkard’s path 3D printed templates I used for the Highland quilt, I turned the plaid blocks into convex pieces and cut the concave pieces from the FreeSpirit solid in Pomegranate.
Wednesday – Pieced Blocks
Wednesday was another piecing day. Although 10″ finished curves are nice and gentle, I wanted to be careful with the seams on the convex side of the blocks. Thankfully I like to sew with the convex side of the block on the bottom/by the feed dogs, so the seams did not get stretched too badly in the process.
Thursday – Basting and Quilting
Thursday was for basting and starting the quilting. While I was able to get about half of the quilting done, I completely forgot to document my process or progress until late in the evening.
Starry Plaid
I was able to get Starry Plaid completely finished on Friday, but had to wait until Saturday for better lighting for the photography. I used 50t Aurifil in 1100 (Red Plum) for the piecing and quilting. The quilting itself is stitch in the ditch with the exception of the plaid lines I extended across the “star” shapes.
Starry Plaid – Quilt Back
The backing shows off the details of the quilting nicely. Starry Plaid finished at 40″ square, so I was able to use a single width of fabric piece of the FreeSpirit solid in Pomegranate for the backing. I used the remaining scraps of Pomegranate for the binding.
Yvonne with Starry Plaid
Sometime on Wednesday I started to doubt the number of times I needed to cut and sew just to re-cut and sew again, but I’m really pleased with how it came together.
Linking up with Project Quilting 17.2, Scads of Plaid.
Yvonne, this is brilliant! What a creative idea, and being able to use the curved templates again, too. It definitely has an Yvonne twist, and it’s so good!
Such a lovely design! I honestly can’t believe you managed this finish in the time you had. But it is truly lovely. A very Yvonne design, yes. Beautiful.
absolutely enchanting! i love it
A very fun way to produce a plaid. Beautifully done! The colors work together so well and it’s definitely not boring!
Yes, yes, yes! Your solution was 100% brilliance. Well done!
Transparency and curves – So very You! You nailed it.
I love the Yvonne twist! Pretty colours and a really pretty finish. :-) Yay for your plentiful Kona stash; it’s been such a gift that keeps on giving!
I love this—very striking
Wild design. I love how it turned out.
A lot of work, but the result is very spritely! Love it.
OOOOOh very nice. Pattern? Yes
wow! what a fantastic take on the plaid prompt!! I especially love the combo of straight-line and curved piecing!
Now you’ve done it! I want to add “plaid” to my list of Quilts to Make, as this is so wonderful! Colors: perfect. Execution: perfect. Design: wonderful!!
Wow. Very cool !
You must have a great stash of solid fabrics!
Clever twist on plaid!!!
This is stunning! The curves and the plaid are such an unexpected combination, but just so great. I love seeing your PQ interpretations – so great. I find this winter to be a particularly tough one for lighting.
I’m so impressed with how your creative mind works. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this!