No. 26

No. 26

60.5" x 42.5"

Affectionately known as "pursuit". 

The background palette:

This one had a lot of design challenges. To determine the size of quilt I will need, I usually lay out the pieces on the floor or sometimes on top of another quilt that has the half square triangles for the background. Then I know the relative scale of the piece and how many blocks I will need. In this case, I used the humps and some blue painter's tape.

The original idea began with 4 quadrants like this:

...which was fine, but not great. This set of fabric choices in this array made me astutely aware of the lower right corner. It looked too dark to me. I tried rearranging the pieces, it was still not good. And it may not be obvious, but at this point, the blocks are only sewn into long strips, so I rearranged them vertically.

Ooooh, I liked this a lot better! It did require some "unsewing", and "resewing", but the results made it worth it. 

Then I drew my paper templates, cut them out and arranged them on the background. I will arrange, and rearrange the pieces until I see what I like, taking photos along the way to compare the options.

This was the original idea.... And, it is also nice, but it does not convey the feeling I am trying to evoke with this piece. The subtle directions of the 'humps' makes a big difference in the conceptual content. This one reads as "swimming along together". Also, a nice sentiment, but not what I was aiming for. 

Once I switched the top and bottom, it worked a LOT better. 

Like the others, the quilt was quilted, then the shapes were appliqued on top, and then more quilting. I love this 1/2 inch masking tape to help mark the lines I will sew.

A few shots of the hand quilting:

 

It is interesting to me, to start with a vague idea, and then watch it evolve as I make the quilt. Things change, ideas get threshed out, until everything is perfect!

Love how this looks in my aqua room!