Wednesday 30 May 2012

A Happy Work in Progress

Oh I am thrilled to be sharing this one with you! It's one of those projects that has just turned out exactly as I imagined. Don't you love when that happens?

So here it is! My Red Herring quilt! Okay, okay, it's just a quilt top right now! Soon to be a quilt when I decide how to back and quilt it). 

Before I go much further - I want to say a big thank you for the kind comments and encouragement about this little pattern of mine. In response to some of the questions, I am in the process of tweaking the pattern so that I can share it with anyone who is interested, and also doing a tutorial to help those who are new to the paper piecing world. Really - it's more to do with my goal of a paper piecing form of world domination than anything. ;)


And here's a funny little tidbit for you. My inspiration for this block was the clutch pedal in my car haha! Hey inspiration finds us in the funniest of places. Mine was while I was checking my feet for leeches after walking through the wet grass (paranoid plus) and getting in the car.

I just put in a pretty photo to get rid of the leech image I may have conjured up in the previous paragraph ;)
I saw the pattern on the clutch pedal (who knew they put designs on the pedals in the car!) and thought hey that looks like a cool herringbone pattern! But one thing about the traditional herringbone that I'm not keen on is trying to line it up perfectly when you cut it. I don't trust my cutting skills and I also don't like wasting fabric. So! Light bulb moment. Paper piecing! Of course!

Leech be gone! Admire the pretty fabric. So pretty.
 I drew up the design in Quilt Assistant to fit charm squares so there's minimal waste. Each block uses four charm squares (or close to it anyways!) and then some extra white fabric for the lines in between. I just so happened to have a charm pack of Half Moon Modern that was begging to be made into something fun! So there you have it. And because it's based on the herringbone design, but not quite, I thought "Red Herring" would be an appropriate name for the block. Fascinating back story no? ;)


I was a little disappointed in my charm pack in that it only had 4 charm  squares in red, orange and green so I couldn't make more blocks like I originally planned. However, I am now thinking this might make a cool wall hanging. It's either a big wall hanging or a small quilt (40" square).

Now the big decisions... how to back it? How to quilt it? How to bind it? Binding is the only one of those things I have an idea of. I just so happen to have some Half Moon Modern fabric in yellow polka dots. What do you think? Too bright? As for the rest.... back to my quilting motto... More thought needed. And of course, suggestions welcome!

ETA: There's now a tutorial and pattern available for this little block. You can find it here. Have fun!

Linking up with WiP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced :)



28 comments:

  1. I just love your red herring top and am very much looking forward to a tutorial!

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  2. Fabulous story! So glad I'm not the only one that gets inspiration in strange situations! Cannot wait for the pattern!!!

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  3. The quilt top looks great, who would have guessed that checking for leeches (!) in your car could lead to the beginning of your world domination!!

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  4. WOW ! this is fantastic , I love everything about it. I started something similar but so different ... maybe a project for next Wednesday. Now where did I put it ...

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  5. I don't think yellow would be too bright, just bright and happy - it might recall nicely your orange middle block! Simply lovely how this comes along.

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  6. The red herring is so cool! A gorgeous block and quilt!

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  7. It is indeed looking fab-o...although 'Clutch Pedal Pattern' has a ring to it! Sewjo returns.

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  8. haha, i love the name of the quilt. and geez, now I need to go look at my pedals! I bet my pattern isn't as cool as yours,though.

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  9. Love your Red Herring quilt, and a tutorial would be fabulous!

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  10. Love those blocks!! And the fabric choice is great - so bright!

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  11. Your quilt top is so cool! I especially love the story behind it! Imagine the surprise of the person designed the clutch that they inspired a quilt block!

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  12. this quilt top is amazing! I totally love your design love it so so much x

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  13. looks great! Thanks for the backstory. And I love that you call it red herring. I like the idea of yellow, but I am a brights person. Tough decision.

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  14. It looks just great and I don't think the yellow would be too much for the binding. Really lovely lovely quilt top.

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  15. So happy to see these blocks together in a quilt! They look great together. The story is hilarious too, I had to go look at my pedals LOL. Mine are only straight lines, unfortunately :D

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  16. The heringbones aka the gaspedals (love that story) looks stunning. Well done :)

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  17. loved the blocks - ADORE the quilt! Can't wait to see how you quilt it :)

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  18. What a great quilt! I love it!!

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  19. What a strange place to find inspiration! The quilt top looks great. Maybe try a herringbone quilting pattern? I think the polka dot binding will set it off nicely =D

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  20. Seriously LOVE the red herring blocks. I loved them when they were just blocks and now in a quilt they are even better. I can't wait for the pattern!!

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  21. Love these blocks - they look wonderful in your quilt!

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  22. What a great quilt block! Love inspiration from funny places.

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  23. Love this quilt block! What a great quilt top!

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  24. I think a pale yellow backing would be perfect. It is a lovely top,and whatever you decide to back it with will be just as perfect.

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  25. Wow - I LOVE it! I love your comment about find inspiration in the strangest places. I completely agree!

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  26. This is a beautiful quilt. I clicked over when I saw the thumbnail on the Freshly Pieced blog. It's far better than I expected. It's so fresh and fun, and brings spring trees to my mind. Thanks for sharing.

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