FMQ Friday – Is this Illogical?

Ah! I’m already feeling more peaceful and content because I’ve been extremely piece-ful today! I’ve begun carefully piecing the background for a new version of Express Your Love:

This might not look like much, but this is 4 hours worth of piecing. Actually more than that because the center star was pieced at Sew South back in March!

I’ve decided to make one version of this quilt that is entirely pieced. The background will be pieced around this star. Each lock of hair and breath and her body will be pieced from scrap fabric and then be appliqued over the background. Every section will be a mass of multiple shades of the same color.

I love piecing. It’s peaceful and simple, but I rarely give myself permission to piece often, largely because it’s so extremely time consuming. Of course, not all forms of piecing are time consuming. Last year the modern quilt we worked on together was a lesson in simplicity and it was a project that you could literally fly through, so long as you didn’t stop to think too much.

But today I am thinking and planning and fitting everything together rather methodically. Fortunately the cutting has been super quick thanks to the log cabin Accu Quilt die I’ve been using to cut the pieces for the blocks.

I’ve always felt a bit ambivalent about using my Go! for strip cutting, mostly because I can easily cut strips from fabric very accurately and feel that getting things on grain and straight on the die is a bit trickier than just using my rotary cutter.

Today however, I waved a flag of truce between the warring factions of speed and perfection. I accept that my log cabin blocks aren’t going to be pieced to extreme perfection so using this die definitely saved me loads of time.

Even still, it left me asking a simple, obvious question – why the heck do we do this?

I know where this craft originated from – sewing scraps of whatever leftover fabric was around the house into a utilitarian blanket for warmth and comfort. I understand that this particular version of quilting – piecing tiny bits of worn out clothing together that might normally be thrown away – has very frugal beginnings.

But I was working from yardage, cutting it up just to sew it all back together again. I think if I could go back in time and transport one of my great great great grandmothers into my sewing room, she’d probably faint at the idea. Is this even logical?

Maybe that’s the wrong question to ask here because I already know it’s not logical. It’s art. It’s entertainment. It’s meditative. And I enjoyed it!

And just to keep things in line with FMQ Friday, here’s what I finished free motion quilting yesterday:

The inner ring is done! I’ve decided to hang her up and enjoy her on my dining room wall until July. Then I’ll buckle down once again and quilt through each corner in turn. Right at the moment, I’m satisfied just to sit and stare at her through every meal.

So what have you been up to? Enjoying the heat of the summer or cranking the AC so you can quilt in comfort?

Simple rules for the FMQ Friday link up:

1. Link up with a post that features something about Free Motion Quilting (FMQ).
2. Somewhere in your post, you must link back here, or you can just post the FMQF button in your sidebar.
3. Comment on at least a few of the other FMQF links. Share your love of free motion quilting and make this weekly link up a fun way to connect.

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day