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Sunny Sunday

 

After recent snowy cold days, today was bright and sunny, a welcome change.  I did some sewing while catching up on The Archers omnibus, then it was an hour on the allotment.  I feel conflicted about my humble plot.  I really like the idea of 'no dig', of leaving the soil structure undisturbed, but then again there's something very pleasing about clearing a bed of weeds and standing back, seeing the earth newly dug and all ready for planting.  

I should've taken a few photos as there're crocus and hyacinths in bloom, plus daffodils waving their cheery yellow heads.  I  put in loads of strawberry plants last year, and they've survived the worst of the weather, and I should do well for foxgloves.  Their green leaves are popping up everywhere, not surprising given the amount of seeds I scattered last year.  Well, foxgloves are always so popular with the bees, and I like to do my bit to help our much needed pollinators.  

I thought I'd share some photos today of an on-going project, one I dip in and out of when the mood takes me.   I call it my Chris English scrap quilt.  It's basically going to be a single bed size (or larger) scrappy quilt made up of 6 inch blocks.  (They're 6 inches for the prosaic reason that I've got a 6 inch square ruler.)  This project came about after I saw an interview with Chris English, and was enthused by seeing his scrappy quilts and how he embraces up-cycled material.  I loved his attitude to patchwork, and the vibrant mix of colours and patterns.  (If you're interested, just type his name into YouTube and you'll find him.)

I like the make-do-and-mend approach of using up even the tiniest scrap of fabric, including selvedges.  There's a lot to be said for aiming for a Zero Waste approach when it comes to crafting.  

 Originally I made blocks featuring a completely random mix of colours, but I found it worked best if each individual block was based around one specific colour, such as red or dark green.  

Then, four of the 6 inch blocks are sewn together into a larger block.  The larger blocks need to be arranged so there's a good contrast between them.  I can imagine a design based on black and white squares would look really good, especially in a modern interior.  

Not sure when this quilt will eventually get finished, but there's no rush.  The enjoyment is in the process as much as the completed work.  

Okay, that's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.  


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