0 the puzzle {a finished quilt top}

I finished my Puzzle quilt top and I'm so happy with the way it turned out. I've never made a quilt this way and I so enjoyed working with many different blocks and trying to figure out how to fit them all together.

These liberated pinwheel blocks are what started this whole quilt (you can read my post here) and they're definitely my most favorite part. I was planning on placing them right in the middle of the quilt, but somehow they ended up on the bottom. 

You see, that was the thing with this quilt, the blocks seemed to be "telling me" where they wanted to go. I decided to just listen and let the quilt take its own course. I think it worked.

And, just for fun, here's the picture of Albert, our naughty Elf on the shelf. Our youngest son is really enjoying all the shenanigans this little Elf is getting into.

Linking up to Lee's WIP Wednesday.

Detail: the puzzle {a finished quilt top}

0 more improv piecing

You know how I was planning on making some place mats, right? Well, it seems I really, really wanted to make them because that's what I did right after I finished writing up my post. And then I got some very nasty cold + flu that kept me in bed, and not sewing at all, for 2 days straight. Totally going crazy here!

So, I thought I'd just show you the two place mats I managed to finish. Hopefully more of them will be coming soon.

 This place mat was 100% inspired by the ones Chase made a while ago. I really loved all that improv patchwork combined with the white solid fabric she used, but I was being realistic here and decided to use darker fabric that will definitely be able to hide some stains.

I first quilted the patchwork part - almost in the qayg style since I attached it to the batting and quilted.

 I then added the backing and the two dark strips around the patchwork and quilted those using straight lines. I really love how the quilting looks on the back, too.

I decided to back it using my new favorite fabric I found at Joann - a very soft, inky colored jeans fabric. I found it in the pants section but it's so much softer and drapier than any other jeans fabric I came across before. (I'm thinking it would make a very practical and stylish backing for a picnic quilt.)

I then trimmed the place mat to 13" x 18" and bound it as I would a quilt, cutting my binding fabric to be 2" wide, instead of my usual 2.5" I use for quilts.

I followed the same process for making the second place mat, too.

 Here it is, very similar, yet not the same as the first one. That's what I like about them.

Wishing you all a wonderfully creative day. And to all my US friends, Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Detail: more improv piecing