“Zipper” Project

The online class I’m taking with designer Tara Faughnan kicked off October 1st with her improv block “Zipper.”

I immediately went down a rabbit hole, and here’s the outcome of many hours and some days of playing with fabric and “zipper” combinations.

Tara gave us a palette, but I wanted to pull my own palette, having had fun with that exercise with the “Summer Camp” mystery quilt. The guidance on the mystery palette was build your palette and trust it. I did add white and one more pale color along the way–as I wanted a more “sparkly” look. And, a deep mustard, but never used it. I found I had enough dark colors already for this project.

I am going to save this palette for November’s block–just in case I want to use this current piece as part of a quilt. It’s likely, however, to be a stand-alone little wallhanging–it’s about 27 inches wide–and the project may need some sliver trimming to make sure it is square–for which I’ll use a 24-inch ruler. I don’t really have a need for a big pillow, and I’d like to keep this project…around here. I’ll probably hang it somewhere upstairs in my studio.

If you want to see Tara’s beautiful Zipper projects, check them out on her Instagram page. It’s well worth the time. Meanwhile, the most astonishing blocks are showing up in our online community for this project. People are so, so creative.