100 Days of Stripes: Part 1

January 28, 2022

Several years ago, I decided that I wanted to try a 100 day project. I thought that it would help me to develop consistency and give me a reason to sew every day even as deadlines for other projects were fast approaching. It was close to the beginning of the new year, but I didn’t particularly want to start a project of this type on the first day of the year- how predictable would that be! 🀣 To avoid this I decided to select an end date and count back to determine the start date. The day I decided on was my birthday coming in the Spring- it would be like gifting myself a quilt! I carefully counted back only to discover that my birthday is the 100th day of the year. So despite my best efforts, the project would start on January 1st. Since then, I have done some form of a 100 day project each year.

For 2022 my 100 day project is focusing on the use of stripes, and I am incorporating a mix of prints and solids. The overall color palette for the quilt is pulled from the digital print you see on the left of the image below.

For the first set of stripes, as well as many others, I used a variation on a popular interleaving technique. I had used this technique to make the quilt, Forward and Back, and I am excited to incorporate it into this project. Interleaving takes two fabric components, in this case two sets of pieced stripes (above), cuts them into strips, then alternates them before sewing them back together as shown in the image below.

The focus on stripes also gives me ample opportunity to explore the use of pieced 1/8″ wide slivers. This is one of my favorite techniques, and appears in many of the quilts I have made in recent years. In the stripe section below, I used these slivers to transition between fabrics.

At this time, I expect to build this quilt out in a variation of a medallion quilt, starting with a centralized motif and moving outward. After developing a feel for the color palette, I started creating the block I expect to become the central piece.

The central motif was first constructed as a Courthouse Steps block, and I then cut it into quarters.

I tried rotating the block components and eventually decided that I wanted some sashing stripes to divide the pieces.

A four patch finishes the center of the block

I decided the block wasn’t quite complete, so I turned it on point.

Then I cut it into strips. (Yes, this was a little scary!)

The alternating stripes are a more simple composition.

It now about one quarter of the way through the project, and I am in the process of piecing these stripe components into a large block of interleaving.

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5 Comments

  • Reply
    Nancy McCaffrey
    January 28, 2022 at 8:40 am

    Ok, I love, and I mean that very emphatically, the 1/8″ stripes and am curious how to accomplish that technique? Is it as simple as sewing any strip together or is it trimming the seams to reduce bulk etc? I would imagine the pressing is critical to have it appear so flat and neat? I love interleaving quilts, they mesmerize me and I have done a few small pieces in that style. Would love to delve into it more, will be following your blog about this one! Thanks for sharing!

    • Reply
      thenotsodramaticlifeadmin
      January 28, 2022 at 9:55 am

      I have a brief tutorial on the “sliver” technique in the story highlights section of my Instagram profile: cassandra.beaver

  • Reply
    Linda Selby
    January 28, 2022 at 8:59 am

    I have not ever done a daily project! What happens if you miss a day? πŸ™‚ Can you make it up? Do you make your own rules around that? I think it’s a great idea to establish consistency on a project and to learn something new! I will have to try it.

    • Reply
      thenotsodramaticlifeadmin
      January 28, 2022 at 9:53 am

      Typically everyone makes their own rules for this type of project. Most of the time, my goal is to work on the project in some capacity each day. If the goal is to complete a certain amount of work each day, such as a block, some people will choose to work ahead or catch up later if they miss a day.

  • Reply
    Laura Gunn
    January 28, 2022 at 9:03 am

    This is great inspiration. I really like seeing your experimentation with settings of the same block, same fabric.

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