A current project (one that has lasted for at least the last year, due to other quilt projects getting in the way) is on my design wall. It and I are having a discussion. The would be quilt is happiest it seems the way I have the blocks placed right now. I, on the other hand am having difficulty with the completed size.
I bought yards and yards of fabric for this project, only to make blocks that I don’t like because there wasn’t enough variety in fabric. The yards and yards I bought were only of about 8 or 10 different fabrics. Not a mistake I will easily make again. Don’t get me wrong, I like to buy a lot of fabric, but give me fat quarters! More choices in color and variety of texture the sure fire way to please the artist in me.
The block is a paper pieced New York Beauty and I have made scores of them. So many in fact, I doubt I will use them all. Herein lies the problem. All that work and I might not use what it took so long to make. My husband, bless his heart, thinks the idea of all that work going to waste is a shame. He also thinks if you’re making a quilt, make the biggest one you can so they can go on any bed in the house. Really? I don’t want to make bedspreads I want to make quilts. Quilts of varying sizes and patterns.
The layout on my design wall of this current project is small, very pretty, but smaller than I was hoping for. There will not be borders on this quilt, which makes it and I very happy, but doesn’t give me a chance to make it any larger. At this point any border seems only to be a distraction.
Also, if I add more rows of blocks the current design will be lost. I guess I could try different layouts, but the quilt top doesn’t like that and I stop myself after adjusting only a few to rearrange them back to the position they are now in. Maybe with all the extra blocks I have I could make a second quilt at the same time, but I’m not sure I can work on two projects at the same time that so closely resemble one another. Currently I have about 5 projects in different stages and the best part is how different they are.
Funny thing, I love it when my project starts to have a voice of it’s own and I can hear it. I only wish this quilt hadn’t started talking so soon.
