Awash In a Sea of Blue

 

I chose a group of middle-range blues to use as an outer border on the blue quilt. I cut the strips more or less about 20" long, but arranged them in a very specific sequence. I wanted them to flow into one another all around the quilt.

I joined the strips at a 45 degree angle (because I think that looks more interesting) and then start at one corner, sew to the end, square off the edge, turn the corner and keep going.

This is a big chunk of the quilt, so you can see the different fabrics and values of blue in the quilt.

Here is the finished flimsy.

Cherie's comment yesterday pretty much named the quilt - Awash In a Sea of Blue.

It's a Flimsy!

 

Each evening I have been assembling a row of blocks. By Friday night I had sewn them all but one.

Then I finished the last row, and sewed the rows together.

Here is the flimsy in a crumpled shot. Julie likes these.

I added a narrow border of some of the light fabrics. My plan is to have a slightly wider border of the medium blues. 

I've already ordered fabric for the backing and binding.

One Two Three Four...

 

Sewing the blocks together is a kind of a precise thing. I start at the right side of the quilt, and then place the right side triangle over the blue one, and then set it down. Then I move to the next block, and do the same thing. All the way to the end of the row.

My stack looks like this. Next I pin the two pieces together, keeping the sequence the same. Then I sew them, stack them, and then press them in that same sequence. Then I square them up,

and pin them together (same sequence), being careful not to flip the blocks over.

Then I press them, seams open.

After I have two rows done, I sew them together. Then on to the next two rows. Then I sewed the two two row pieces together into a four row segment. The photo above shows two four row segments sewn together, (at the bottom). I'm working my way through this each evening.

Complicated quilts can be really cool, but there's something lovely and hypnotizing about one block repeated over and over.

In this particular layout, it's very important the blocks line up at the corners so the points match and the blue and white shapes are crisp and distinct.