Stash Statement Blog Hop - Fire Pit

 Welcome to my turn on the Stash Statement Blog Hop.  Here is my version of Fire Pit.

Finished Quilt

I was thrilled when Kelly asked me to be a part of the blog hop. That was the easy part. But it was tricky to pick just one because there are several pretty quilts in this book.

Finished Flimsy

I picked Fire Pit, because it is such a striking pattern. This pattern requires Tri-Rec rulers. I have had these rulers for a while but had not used them and this was the perfect opportunity.

Secondary Pattern - the Star

Kelly's new book - Stash Statement Quilts is all about Structured Improvisational Piecing. This means two things in this order (just my opinion)
1. Go crazy with your scraps (all shapes/sizes) and experiment with improv piecing
2. Rein it in with Kelly's techniques of structure (block creation methods)

Warm Chaos

Cool Strips

THEN we get to the patchwork, followed by quilting and binding. 
I spent a whole month just making the blocks.  Why is that?
1. I chose a finer grain (smaller scraps)
2. I chose to make a twin bed size quilt instead of the lap size in the book.

Shall we start at the beginning?  I started with warm colors for the square blocks.

Chunky

I made four blocks. I stepped away from the design wall to admire my handiwork. Looked good, but the block looked chunky.

So, I cut them up, and re-stitched to end up with a finer grain, so that the block was made up of several smaller pieces than a few large pieces.

Chopped

A more cohesive look

I like this look much better. And the tone was set.

I was having so much fun that I ended up with way more blocks than required.

Needed 25, Got 42!!!

Is that a problem? Of course not.
I'll just make a larger quilt.

Next came the cool blocks, the triangles that required the tri recs ruler. Since this was my first time, I figured - let me make a couple of test blocks. When I placed the ruler/template on the improv slab, I realized that the ruler is bigger than the slab, by just a smidge.

Slightly bigger than 6.5"

A smidgen more than 6.5"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH.

See, that is why you make audition blocks. I chose to cut the next slab a 1/4" larger, allowing some wiggle room.

Cool Slab

Cool Triangles

42 blocks were arranged in a 6 by 7 grid, resulting in a flimsy that measured 72" by 84".

Design Wall

This is when I stretched the quilt (a little imagination and lots of scraps) by 3" on top and bottom to get a top measuring 72" by 90".

Finished Top - About 72" by 90"

This was now a perfect size for a twin bed.   I chose this green wide backing to speed things up.

Quilted it simply with my walking foot and wavy line quilting. For binding I chose a striped brown fabric.

Does the striped binding on green background remind you of a snake in the grass?  Don't worry, I have tamed the beast :-)

Who is the boss now?

In the end, what you get out of it (life, school, workout etc.) depends on what you put into it. And for the six weeks that I put into making Fire Pit, I am thrilled about it.

Setting the Fountain ablaze

It was a gorgeous sunny day and I got carried away. So here are a few more pictures.

My sunshine

bee happy, stunned owls, and dancing stick figures (can you find them)

Since my stash includes a lot of cute fabrics, you can see a glimpse of them in the picture above.

Getting Close

smiling snails

sheep and chick - deep in conversation

Labelled

Stay Still

Loving it

Finished!!!

But I am dying to know what you think. Only honest opinions, however brutal they may be...
I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties.  See sidebar.

Every week, two quilters showcase one quilt from the book.  Here is the entire line-up. 

Stash Statement Blog Tour Schedule-

4/16- Grand Bazaar    Shelley @ Cora's Quilts

                                    Connie @ Freemotion by the River

4/23- Louvered  Lindsey @ Primrose Cottage Quilts 

                           Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

4/30- Precarious  Jess @ Quilty Habit                       

                             Myra @ Busy Hands Quilts

                                                            

5/7- Beach Retreat  Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts                               

                                 Liz @ Savor Every Stitch 

                                                           

5/14- Fire Pit   Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts                                          

                         Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts (you are here)

                                                            

5/21- Detour    Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts                         

                         Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

                                                            

5/28- Murrina    Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl             

                            Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

                                                            

6/4- Scattered    Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal                      

                           Christine @ Triangles and Squares 

                                                            

6/11- Bloom Chicka Boom   Chris @ made by ChrissieD            

                                               Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

                                                            

6/18- Regatta   Susan @ Quilt Fabrication                             

                          Debbie @ A Quilter's Table    

                          Christa @ Christa Quilts

                                                            

6/25- Catch a Falling Star  Cynthia @ Quilting is More Fun Than Housework        

                                              Anja @ Anja Quilts

                                                            

7/2- College Prep   Hilary @ by Hilary Jordan                 

                                Lori @ Crossquilt

                                                            

7/9- Take Flight (bonus digital pattern)  Kelli @ Seriously, I Think It Needs Stitches 

                                                                 Paula @ The Sassy Quilter

Stash Statement is available from the following:

• Kelly Young’s Shop – buying it here will get you a signed copy!
• Martingale – Stash Statement by Kelly Young
• Amazon – Stash Statement by Kelly Young