Quilt in Progress: The Pink One

When I started thinking about how to show everyone just how fantastic the new Classic Curves Plus would be, the first thing to come to mind -obviously – was to make awesome quilts and new patterns. That, I did. Last week I showed you the newest addition to the Classic Curves pattern collection, Joy Ride. This and some of the other new ones coming up feature block sizes that can be made with either the Classic Curves Ruler, or the new, larger Classic Curves Plus. Get your Joy Ride pattern here.

But…how to show what makes the Classic Curves Plus REALLY special?

I’ve explained how it can cut all kinds of curvy shapes from quarter circle/drunkard’s path & full circles to orange peels and arcs and anything else you can dream up. Typical template sets are for one specific shape, say an orange peel, but you need another set (spend more $$) to make other blocks. The Classic Curves Ruler makes them all with a single tool.

You heard about how typical template sets are for a single SIZE block. So, you buy an acrylic clam shape or drunkard’s path template set and you can make those blocks, in one size. The Classic Curves Plus can cut all the blocks in 19 sizes. Your read that right…19 sizes, from 4″ – 13″ radius or 8″ – 26″ circles. The Classic Curves Ruler can make all the shapes in fourteen sizes, 1 1/2″ – 8″ radius.

THIS is how the Pink Quilt began.

In the photo above are quarter circle cuts in 13 sizes (I did end up cutting shapes like this in all 19 possible sizes for my quilt). This makes me smile….because how amazing is it to cut all these shapes with one template? This was the start of the Pink Quilt. Next I need the fabric pieces with the corresponding concave curves to sew these pretty pieces to. Have you guessed that that fabric is Pink?

This really big piece of solid hot pink yardage was in my stash so it felt really good to put it to use! Plus, it looks amazing with the ultra saturated colors that I used for cutting the convex quarter circle shapes. This quilt is definitely a go all in on color and drama project!

Next, starting to sew the shapes together to make the first blocks. Keep in mind, I had no plan starting out. It would be tricky to make a quilt with 19 blocks (if I made one block for every one of the convex shapes), so I decided to cut 9 pink squares and incorporate the 19 shapes into those nine squares.

I know I am a total quilt geek, but how fun is it to see these cute blocks taking shape? You get a sense of the range of sizes, each curve is 1/2″ larger than the one before, starting with 4″. Now a design decision needs to be made: how to incorporate 19 quarter circle shapes into nine pink squares? first thing we’d do is sew one quarter circle to two corners of each square. That left us with one leftover we had to add in somewhere.

This is how this quilt became an example of the ‘precision piecing, improv design’ concept. I just invented that. Just now. (-:

What if we continue to cut and sew random size curves from the nine pink squares, rearrange them, sew them again and keep going as long as we want? I bet on this being a super fun quilt to make and a super fun finished design. I was right.

Sew, cut, sew, cut. Add more colors. Cut some more. Sew a bit more. Trying to decide when it’s finished. Then quilting in straight lines for absolutely the perfect texture and finishing touch  for a modern quilt.

Very intriguing, right? Making this quilt was SO MUCH FUN and helped me discover that improv really can be fun. I’ve always made quilts with more traditional designs: repeating blocks, nothing wonky. The free flowing style of this – sewing it without a plan and just playing – as well as the final design, was a creative awakening.

Watch for the finished reveal on Color Girl Quilts social accounts and the email newsletter (make sure you are signed up to get email!). Don’t worry, I’ll share lots of photos on our next post…I cannot wait to finish this and show you the awesomeness.

And back to the original purpose of this quilt…to show you just how amazing it is that the Classic Curves Plus ruler can help you make curved piecing blocks -in all the shapes- in NINETEEN sizes. Without extra templates.

Watch this space!