NTT- Improv All the Way

Welcome to NTT, y'all!  My improv house quilt top is all finished, and let me just say that I LOVE it so much!

When it's time to fit nine different-sized blocks together, improv is the answer.  When I first started thinking about how to put them together, I played around in my design program and even tried using graph paper.  Both of these were doable, but made the whole process way more complicated than it needed to be.  

The problem is that each of these blocks is different, and they are all oddly sized.  When I made the houses, I squared them up but didn't trim them to whole or even half inch sizes.  So really, the only way to  put them together without too much fuss was to continue the improv run.  I played around with the layout until the quilt looked balanced, and just started piecing my low volume fabric chunks to the blocks to fit them to each other.  I did use my rotary cutter to make sure that the background fabric pieces were cut straight, but didn't measure.  Instead, I just cut a piece that I knew would be big enough and trimmed away the excess width/length as needed.  And I constructed the quilt in horizontal thirds, so there were no partial seams.

The low volume prints lend just enough texture and interest to the quilt, but let each unique house really shine.  Plus, I think this background adds just the right amount of quirkiness to the quilt.  I have the quilt all basted and ready to quilt, and I can't wait to get started on it!

Okay friends!  Before we party, check out some of last week's eye candy.  Anja Quilts linked up this beautiful quilt-

Turid at Den syende himmel shared this fun quilt-

Check out this beauty by Quilting Gail-

And finally, this stunner by Leanne at Devoted Quilter is a Make Modern cover girl!

Wow!  Y'all are really bringing the inspiration!  I can't wait to see what you link up this week.  Before we party though, I owe you a giveaway winner!

The winner of a $25 gift certificate to Lady Belle Fabric is Kathleen, comment number 45!  Congrats, Kathleen!

Okay, friends, let's get our party on! 

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)