Wrestling with a quilt

Literally and figuratively.

Quilt #1

This started as a bunch of string blocks, which I didn't want to use in a tradional way. So... I wondered what would happen if I cut off a corner of each block and filled it with a white triangle. Hmm...it didn't quite work the way I had imagined it would and I ended up with a bunch of wonky octagons that just looked boring and weird when I put them together in rows (see top and right-hand photo). So I wondered what if I took them apart and made a deconstructed version(lower left)?

It took me quite a while to find a layout that worked for me as composition, but I finally sewed it together and quilted it. It took hours and hours and hours and days and weeks to get it quilted. ARGH. But no, I will not send out my quilts. I hate the stitching, but it is mine.

This piece is larger than I normally work (36" x 48"), so I had to add an extra table behind my machine to keep it from dragging on the studio floor.

Here it is at home on my living room floor (in bad lighting), ready to have the facing put on and pressed. I have a love-hate relationship with this quilt, but didin't want to give up. It became a challenge, but not one I would like to do again.

Following my own advice to everyone else, I have turned it upside down and surprisingly, I think it works better. What do you think? And why?

It is still wonky and weird, but it's an improvement on the original from March. It still doesn't have a name, but turned this way I am beginning to have a glimmer of an idea. When you look at it, what does it make you think of, if anything?