Playing with orphan blocks............
This was the first layout following my graph paper drawing yesterday. I didn't notice the 4 patches turned the wrong way on the top until I got all the way to the computer.
I didn't like the all light edge on the left so I want back down to the basement and made some changes.
I fixed the 4 patches and rearranged the vertical row on the left.
I added the bottom row of strip pieced blocks but it looks too dark and distinct.
Back down to the basement........
I put in some lighter strip pieced blocks. The 4 white rectangles in the lower right are places for spacers. I can just add strips onto the blocks there or maybe make something specifically for that area. I'm not happy with that area. I will leave this on the wall for a few days. This would be about 46" x 59" right now, not very big.
I moved the 1.5" design wall foam boards into the place I had taken the 1" ones from. Now I need to get busy and quilt something.
8 comments:
I like what you've done so far, it's such a happy quilt!
I like it Wanda, but agree with you about the bottom right area - to my eye the scale of the blocks is too different from the rest of the pieces. I know you'll figure it out.
I like ti, but I think I would like it better if some more of the 4 or 16 patch blocks repeated at the bottom instead of all the strip blocks. I would move one of the +/x blocks -probably the rightmost one- next to the bottom star to continue the flow of the square-patch blocks.
Sorry if I rambled on too much. That really means that this inspires me.
I like it as it is. Only you could take disparate items and weave them together. Looks like one of those sampler quilts people are doing as quilt alongside, but with better color and fabric. I was revising the color wash again yesterday.
When people ask how long does it take to make a quilt I don't they understand the amount of thinking time it takes! I can see that you are standing back, thinking, making changes, and mulling over those changes. This will probably take longer than the construction and completion part!
Your orphan block quilt is coming along so nicely! I made one many years ago and it stayed on my wall for quite some time while I decided on the final layout. It is fun to play with the blocks until they seem just right!
Thanks for letting us peek into your process of putting the orphan blocks together. I really like where you're going with it. It will be a fun quilt!
It looks very promising. I have two general, and somewhat contradictory comments!
1. One of the big benefits of design walls and digital photography is that we're able very quickly to review our work and make adjustments, before we sew it up and have to do a lot of ripping. I have to constantly remind myself to take pictures of my work, or even just look at it through the lens of my phone/camera, to get a better sense of the contrasts and the overall big picture than I can otherwise get by just looking at it. I kept being amazed at QuiltCon last week, when I'd look at a quilt, then hold up my phone to take a picture of the quilt, and suddenly it looked totally different through the lens of my phone!
2. Gwen Marston gave the keynote speech at QuiltCon, and afterwards somebody asked her if she used a design wall. Gwen said that she really didn't, she would mostly just put things together right next to her sewing machine or in her lap, or maybe lay them out on the floor next to her. She said that she thought a design wall sometimes could be a bad thing because (I'm paraphrasing here) sometimes when you use one, you over-think the design and placement of blocks. Things stay up on the design wall forever, and you - and your friends - keep moving little things around and can't make up your mind, and maybe it's better just to pull the blocks out of a bag and sew them together randomly.
Just my thoughts not that they're at all helpful, just felt I had to write them down, and you happened to become the victim(s)!
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