Monday, July 4, 2016

Go Ahead... Break the Rules!

Last week I was building up my inventory for the Farmer's Market.  Since it was the July 4th weekend and the City of Trinidad had lots of activities planned for the weekend I decided to create a few scrappy Patriotic items... 

This was a quick table runner that came together quickly.



One of the most popular items that spurred interest (both on at the market and on social media) was this square table topper. 


It was being shared and commented on by friends and friends of friends.  It was really the closest thing I have had to something going viral.  LOL!

I first created the center by creating a "wonky" star and appliqueing it to and 8-1/2" square, added the border and then I started my log cabin blocks.

I started with four center squares of two different fabrics for the log cabins and then I grabbed my scrap bin and started pulling strips that were long enough to build the log cabins.  Width didn't matter... which was nice!  And it didn't matter if it was 2" on one end and only 1-5/8" on the other end... It is what adds to its character and charm. 

In the "proper" quilting world where precision cutting and sewing seams are so important, sometimes it is nice to throw all rules out the window!  I just kept making the log cabin rounds until the squares reached 12-1/2"+ squares so that they could be trimmed down to the appropriate size.

Now, in life, I am not one who is comfortable bending or breaking the rules... My parents just didn't raise me that way!  But in quilting every once in a while when you bend or break the rules you end up with something quite spectacular!  So go ahead, break the rules!

What quilting "rules" have you broken?  Were you happily surprised at the outcome?
 
Happy Independence Day!
Melva

Go to QuilterBlogs to see what other quilters are doing!


5 comments:

  1. A bit of wonkiness adds so much character and a personal touch to a project. Hmmm, I guess about the only "rule" that I try to adhere to is a good seam allowance. Everything else seems open to interpretation to me!

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    1. That is definitely one rule to keep! A shallow seam may seem innocent, but when it pulls out it is disappointing. Fixable, but disappointing :)

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  2. Both of your table runners are wonderful. I love the wonky stars but I also love the small border of flag material around the square table runner's center star. I know I break all kinds of quilting rules all the time, but nothing too bad.

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  3. These are just great! Congratulations on having something go close to viral :-) - it's my dream!

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    1. It was really fun watching it get shared and commented on, but another reminder that I really need to watermark all of the photos I put out on fb as well as the ones on my blog. Wake up call!

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