In talking about our project recently, we've both come to the conclusion that the full set of blocks is just going to be too much of a quilt for us. Annie came to that place long before I did. I was gung-ho on doing all the blocks, with a few exceptions. But if I did, I'd have a king-size quilt, which I don't really want to handle at the quilting stage. So I'd thought about doing two smaller ones. Today I decided I'm doing just one, like Annie is, and both of ours will be 31 blocks.
So, we went through our pattern books and decided which 31 they would be.
Helping us make the decisions is the realization that we prefer the more complex blocks, so we're focusing on those. Also that we're just going to bypass all the applique patterns with the exception of the Little Blue Basket, which has an applique handle.
After that, we put all of our blocks up on the design wall. I find living with block arrangements over time is the most useful thing in deciding if I like what I'm doing. I am blessed to have a great place for a design wall, and a family that likes to see the progress of each quilt I make. So, as we looked at what we have going here, there were some things that stood out.
First thing we decided is that we really prefer the darker shades of lights, so pulled the North Star block (left side, row 4, because it just sticks out too much.
Then we did some tea dying on Texas Tears, Birds in the Air and Comfort Quilt Blocks (all of row 3). We like the result much better now.
Then we pulled the Illinois Road block, bottom left, because we're struggling with the pink that just doesn't blend as much as we'd like.
The rest of the day, we spent evaluating the other blocks we have cut out and whether we want to substitute new lights. And we made good progress on that, as well.
Here's one we've changed and like it so much better. It's called New England and the first attempt is the top one. Revision is below. We tea dyed that center piece. :-)
So, revised design wall coming in the near future!
