My 15 Minutes of Play Fun....Pattern Free Quilting from Craftsy too!

The book 15 Minutes of Play is so inspirational. Terrifically freeing and fun. But there are quirks to this sort of thing which you learn while trying it out. Victoria Findlay Wolfe is a textile artist, quilter and innovator. I suppose her book is another way of crazy quilting, but approached in a different way, and Victoria's way is the best I've seen. Most quilting or sewing books, good though they are, are not the sort of thing you sit and read through in a couple of sittings. I did this book just like that! She makes you want to run to your scraps and hit the sewing machine to see if you can do it. The photo is my first attempt and I did 8 blocks. Now I think I need to chop up some fabric to keep the pace. It's also the sort of thing you can do between other projects, building a hoard of blocks that you can make into a quilt at some future date. That is what I plan on doing.

I reference the class from Craftsy by Joe Cunningham  in the title of this blog post. His work is amazing. The Craftsy class is Pattern Free Quilt Making and I highly recommend it. I finished it and will be watching again. I watch the classes, don't do projects usually but use the classes for tips and inspirations. The class really ties in with the 15 Minutes a Day as well in his very appealing delivery and techniques. Basically you make the quilt as you go along, pattern and all, and it is a truly innovative approach. Joe is a textile artist for sure, and his work is amazing. So after watching all of his class, and reading the book above, I had to try some of the techniques. They aren't as easy as they look, and it is truly fun to try.

The other project I have in the works is my long-in-the-planning and kind of different Asian fabrics quilt. I love the Oriental/Asian patterned fabrics, and have admired them all my life since my Dad sent both dolls and fabrics home from Japan way back in my early days. I have some Japanese dolls and love the colors and styles of the textiles. I completed the first block of the side panel for the quilt today. There will be a side panel of blocks and a panel design for the rest of the quilt which again - is my own idea and has perhaps the chance of being too different, but we'll see. I think it will work out all right...I do love working with these fabrics.  I did fussy cutting on the middle square, and the other blocks will have different fabric arrangements around but all will have the black fabric with gold flecks on the top of the block.