Juggling Rainbows
So, it was one of those mornings when my poor children were repeatedly advised "Do. not. disturb. the. quilt." No, I don't have a design wall =). Yes, this is located, very inconveniently, in a main walkway. I'm working as fast as I can!
These are the many, very special blocks I received from the Faith circle of do. Good Stitches (an online charity quilting bee that benefits needy people in our communities). When I led the quilt design for April, I asked for rainbow blocks of any size square/rectangle and of any design from my bee members. The results are stunning! Each block is a gem and they're all so different.... Here are a random few:
My original vision for this quilt just won't work, so I juggled the blocks for a good while last night to come up with a new layout. Some of the blocks have lots of white space, while many of them have no white at all. At first I tried mixing everything up, both in sizes and in color intensity. Oh, it looked like a mess! I feel like sashing is a must. This quilt needs some cohesiveness! But what? Since we're making this quilt for a large family of many young children, white is not a practical choice. Stylistically, it's what I'd choose, but I just don't feel good about it as a mother.
I tried a dark purple sashing, since it's a color I'm sure the mother would like. But, nope, that's too harsh.
So, in the end I've chosen to use several sashing colors and arrange the blocks from most white (in the upper right corner) to darkest colors (in the lower left corner). The sashing will move from pale sky blue to a darker green as well. I think. No promises.
I'm very nervous about this quilt.
Not only do I really, really want the mother and her children to love it, but I also want to allow all of these beautiful blocks to shine. If the end result is a jumble, it's all on me. I may have been too open in my design concept this time! After the success of our Love in Wonky Stars quilt, I wanted to push the envelope again. It's so different designing a quilt for success in a quilting bee as opposed to a design I make all myself. I'm still learning!
Here is the bright white corner with pale Kona sky sashing. I think this is looking pretty nice?
In the middle of the quilt, where the sashing is Kona banana, I enlarged one block with this bright Argyle Remix print by Anne Kelle. So fun! I think I'll add this argyle sashing in a few other places in hopes of creating more unity.
Wish me luck!
These are the many, very special blocks I received from the Faith circle of do. Good Stitches (an online charity quilting bee that benefits needy people in our communities). When I led the quilt design for April, I asked for rainbow blocks of any size square/rectangle and of any design from my bee members. The results are stunning! Each block is a gem and they're all so different.... Here are a random few:
My original vision for this quilt just won't work, so I juggled the blocks for a good while last night to come up with a new layout. Some of the blocks have lots of white space, while many of them have no white at all. At first I tried mixing everything up, both in sizes and in color intensity. Oh, it looked like a mess! I feel like sashing is a must. This quilt needs some cohesiveness! But what? Since we're making this quilt for a large family of many young children, white is not a practical choice. Stylistically, it's what I'd choose, but I just don't feel good about it as a mother.
I tried a dark purple sashing, since it's a color I'm sure the mother would like. But, nope, that's too harsh.
So, in the end I've chosen to use several sashing colors and arrange the blocks from most white (in the upper right corner) to darkest colors (in the lower left corner). The sashing will move from pale sky blue to a darker green as well. I think. No promises.
I'm very nervous about this quilt.
Not only do I really, really want the mother and her children to love it, but I also want to allow all of these beautiful blocks to shine. If the end result is a jumble, it's all on me. I may have been too open in my design concept this time! After the success of our Love in Wonky Stars quilt, I wanted to push the envelope again. It's so different designing a quilt for success in a quilting bee as opposed to a design I make all myself. I'm still learning!
Here is the bright white corner with pale Kona sky sashing. I think this is looking pretty nice?
In the middle of the quilt, where the sashing is Kona banana, I enlarged one block with this bright Argyle Remix print by Anne Kelle. So fun! I think I'll add this argyle sashing in a few other places in hopes of creating more unity.
Wish me luck!