Modern Mondays

I had an unexpectedly wonderful weekend, especially Saturday.  I was sitting at my sewing machine at 8:30 and didn't move from the studio except to catch a movie with Richard, who needed a break, and again for a very late supper.  

One of the reasons I enjoyed my day so much is that I was able to finish a quilt top based on scraps left over from a couple of other projects.  

I pulled the unused blocks, pieces, and strips out of the bin where they all end up, and auditioned several that looked like they could play together.  Two went back into the bin, but the others were willing to stay for a while and ended up in a new home.

One of the reasons I chose these particular pieces and patches is that they are all bright and colorful.  By combining them using only a couple of shades of medium gray, I was able to give them a sense of calm and connection.  

Once I was able to combine two or three blocks, I began auditioning different layouts using my design wall.

Since I worked in sections, I was able to move the sections around, turning them and flipping them to play and figure out what I liked.

I added more sections and played with those as well.  Once I felt that I was close to what I thought looked good, I measured the spaces left blank and sewed up a couple of gray blocks to fit those specific spaces.

And in less than a day I had a completed quilt top.  Better than just having a new, modern quilt, I also used up bits and pieces from other projects.  I love being able to do that.  I feel guilty about my castoffs.  It just feels wrong to toss out a big chunk of fabric simply because it didn't make the cut for a particular quilt.

Below is a photo of the finished quilt top with lines to show the sections of the quilt.  I also wanted you to see how I combined the different blocks.  Section 1 has blocks from two different quilts.  Section two has a full block (red) and parts of blocks also from two different quilts.

Section 3 is the gray section that I made to fill in the space.  Section 4 has strips that were sewn together for a fourth project, but I ripped the seam to make two squares.  Section 5 has wonky courthouse steps blocks that I started for some reason and never used.  

Finally, the strips in sections 4 and 6 are all left overs from two quilts that I made for my sister.  There are still some of these strips left.  

I don't know if this helps you to understand my thought process or how I pulled this project together.  I hope so, but I'm not sure I can explain it any better.  I don't document my process enough so writing about two days later is not easy.   

What do you think?  Does this post help to understand or is it best to just appreciate the quilt and move on?  Do you think about your  own process or try to explain it?  If so, please share your blog address.  I would love to read how others work and create since it helps me to be more metacognitive about my own process.

Linking up with @freshlypieced on #wipwednesday.