Playing with Layouts

Truthfully, I've never thought of myself as someone who likes scrappy, chaotic quilts. I'm usually attracted to the more perfect, the more specific. If I'm picking a pattern or purchasing a quilt, that's what I want.

But nothing makes me happier than the absolute puzzle of fitting together totally unmatched, strange sized blocks -- either with each other or adding in lots of excess background.

I had a blast doing that in 2015 when my group made a wonky star quilt. Starting with something more or less like this group of blocks:

 And turning it into a quilt that looked like this:

It's the most strange, freeing yet precise puzzle I have ever done. And I utterly love it.

So, you know I'm having a blast doing it again with my current scrappy quilt.

After looking at the pictures from the other day, I did decide to move the dark brown zig zag quilt into the approximate center of the quilt, and I am more or less working out from there. Right now, it looks kind of like this:

There are a couple of 'blanks' that still need filled (bottom center is most noticeable) but I think it's coming together nicely.

For me, putting this all together is mostly about putting together blocks into bigger and bigger blocks, all while keeping the seams as square and easy as possible. So, I'm going from a couple dozen small blocks in random sizes towards the eventually goal of three super blocks (a left, center, and right) that should go together into a full top in 2 quick seams.

That's the plan anyway.

Right now, the right column super block is in 3 large blocks, and the center column super block is done except the blank spot, which will be built from any trimmings I have left when the left super block is completed (there's some overlap you can't see in the photo, so I know there's some excess). I haven't started putting the left column together yet -- though I know the order and have a plan.

All that said, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to need a bottom row super block (although it could go on top too). I'll have to see how the 'top' measures when I'm finished with the 3 column super blocks, but the quilt is shrinking faster than I anticipated (seam allowances).

I could also just add a solid colored border to size it up. I have been drooling over this all-grey scrappy quilt with a solid border addition (Lauren Hawley, via Pinterest). I'm not sure it would be nearly as appealing with so many colors.

Obviously just a quick mock-up. I kind of like it in the browns (because brown? because tones of a single color? because it goes with the center block?), but it's not quite as appealing as the inspiration.

Well, no reason to get too stressed yet -- we'll just have to see what happens when what I have is finished and how the size turns out. But the more I look at the brown one there, the more I like it.

I'm headed into a short week -- and really need to focus on a different quilt right now -- so I'm thinking this one should take a back seat for a while. But I'm not sure it will. It's still a good size to pull out and work on over breakfast and the few little breaks I get. Basting, not so much. But once I get that basted, I can quilt it in the same times and spaces, so... decisions, decisions!

But it feels really, really good to be back at the machine. Hopefully this suggests 2017 will be a more creative year than 2016.