Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Zig Zag Strings

My zig zag quilt has been shared before, but I'm going to be posting about each of my string quilts over the next few weeks. First off, I LOVE this and wish I had stayed the course and made this into a king size quilt. Yes, you heard me, KING.


My love for 1800's reproduction fabrics had consistently been met with "Civil War prints are soooo drab."  I've learned a few things about this over the last few years. I now refer to these prints as 1800's reproductions since the Civil War time frame is only about 15 years.  1800's reproduction prints and designs span 100 years, so there is plenty to pick from. I do gravitate to the brighter side of things and this piece showcases many of the scraps in my sewing studio.


Did you notice that the blacks are not the same? It was a great way to use up those smaller, random solids of black that seem to kick around the studio. Not enough for a whole quilt, but too big for the scrap bin. The method I used for this is the "stitch and flip" method so the black fabric is the base behind all the strings. I start with a bigger block and then trim down after the strips are sewn down. After that, they are simply a 1/2 square triangle and you can have a lot of fun arranging them on your design wall.



I do love a good zig zag! And use your favorite fabrics. If you don't have a long enough strip, just add onto it. They don't even have to be the same color. You can see I have cobbled together two strips to make this block.


This is a fun and relaxing way to stitch up some blocks, and burn through some of the boxes, bags or bins of left overs that seem to multiply overnight.


The best part of working with strings is that you don't have fuss and it doesn't take much concentration; something I seem to be lacking these days.

Keep stitching,
Sharon

8 comments:

Sherrill said...

Ooo, I LOVE that!! I have lots of the 'civil war' prints from the days when I was making a lot of HOB quilts. I love them but haven't used them in quite some time. Might have to copy your beauty!

Sharon said...

I love your quilt! You've got quite a few brights in there too. String quilts are so fun to make and look at.

I'm going to have to make one before too long to corral all those strings I've been saving, and yours is great inspiration!

Karen said...

This is such a beautiful quilt, Sharon! I love the variety of fabrics and colors along with different sizes of strings. It's such an inspirational quilt for all of us to consider making with all the scraps we have laying around. Thank you so much for sharing! I look forward to the next post!
Take care and Stay safe!

Barb said...

love this style of string quilts! very graphic and modern

Lori said...

The black makes it very graphic! String quilts are so fun, but I'm done with them for awhile.

Lillie H said...

Love this! How big are your blocks? I have a big collection of civil war fabric and I need to use it up!

Kyle said...

There's a lot of zing in your zig zag. The black makes those 1800's fabrics bold and modern. I've found my strings don't seem to diminish but multiple. 😂

Karen said...

I don't remember having seen your zig zag quilt. It is wonderful. The strips look very narrow and they make a delightful design having used the brighter colors with a dark background.