Friday, February 28, 2014

Improv patchwork for the kitties

Large, small, long and short, skinny strips, irregular hunks and everything in between… I've got fabric scraps! (What quilter doesn't?) And after hanging with the on-line Scrap Quilt Challenge Facebook group (sponsored by Fabrics N Quilts) over the last several months, and discussing crumb quilts, this is what I've decided to do with some of my scraps and fabric crumbs. These little quilts are for the recuperating kitties at the Cat Clinic located in Chattanooga's north shore area on Cherokee Blvd.
Improvisational patchwork.
Approximately 27" x 25" to fit the cages at Chattanooga's Cat Clinic.
Improvisational piecing is a perfect technique for using your scraps. Just take a piece of fabric and sew it to another one. Trim off any straggly bits so the pieces line up. Pick up another scrap and sew it on. Grow these bits into bigger chunks 'till you have the size you need.
Basically, it's no measuring, no stress, and just fun and easy sewing! And all those bits and pieces of fabric that you've saved? They are put to good use and have made room for new fabrics.
I did take color into consideration (loosely) if working with a theme print—like this underwater turtle fabric. I added strips and bits in colors that played off the colors in the focus fabric.
If the scraps had textural or geometric prints, they went together willy-nilly. Just make 'em fit, functional and useful—much like the maxim of today's Modern Quilting genre.
The 2.5" pre-cut strips come in handy for filling in the odd spaces. They also make binding a snap!

This improv patchwork is roughly 27" x 25" which fits nicely in the cages at the clinic. I'm planning flannel backings for these quilts as Dr. Toumayan, the Clinic's founder, says the cats like something warm to snuggle and rest on while they recover from a medical procedure.

So, if you are looking for a great scrap bender, make some kitty quilts for the Cat Clinic, or for the doggies and kitties at your local animal shelter! The fuzzy ones won't care if your seams don't match, if your quilting stitches are uneven, of if you knock the points off your triangles. (No quilt police over at the Cat Clinic!) The animals and staff will appreciate the love that comes with your quilts. After all, isn't that what quilting is all about??
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