Friday, November 30, 2012

[workinprogress]

This week I have attempted to recreate a vintage quilt - a rough hand drawn sketch of which has been in my journal since "before Pinterest" although a similar design can be seen pinned here.  

Sometimes I feel the need to challenge myself a little with a more complicated design: doing the maths, working out the "best" way to go about piecing the units, and the direction to press seams.  The "best" way for me in this instance means paper piecing, which isn't the fastest method, but it is the most accurate.  And accuracy is important if I want to sew together these blocks into a quilt top without frustration.  (Only the units with red solid/polka dot fabric have been paper pieced).


At this stage I have finished piecing these 9 blocks - as pictured, and have all of the units ready to piece another 7 blocks. I am glad that prior to commencing this project I spent some time working through the patchwork piecing process with a trail block, although I was still surprised by how much fabric was required to complete all of the blocks. Paper piecing is rather wasteful of fabric (particularly as I was being mindful of the fabric grain and the orientation of the polka dot fabric).
More soon.

Thank you for stopping by,
Rita

ps  If you should happen to know the name of this traditional block please be sure to let me know.

Fabrics used:
Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in Coral

30 comments:

  1. It reminds me of a Christmas tree star. You work amazingly fast and come up with the most interesting patterns. Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't know the name, but the quilt is looking fabulous so far.

    ReplyDelete
  3. U R something else! An artist for sure. I love this one especially...great job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wowie! That is an amazing quilt block! I immediately wanted to make it too! It reminds me of a Kaleidoscope block. I am going to check through my books and see if I can figure it out. Thanks for sharing as always :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is SO incredible Rita, you are inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love that we have similar ideas, I'm just piecing together the last of my kaleidoscope blocks to make a king size quilt (my first and definitely my last :)).

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, that bold red-and-white really steals the show. Amazing design!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The word "vintage" caught my eye in your blog!!! What a great quilt, it combines so many aspects that I enjoy in a quilt....scraps,the traditional kaleidoscope pattern, and I just luv that coral focus!
    Linda
    http://kokaquilts.blogspot.co.nz/

    ReplyDelete
  9. wow! this is looking amazing so far!! Will you add something around it?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Perhaps wasteful of fabric, but I think the effort to orient the dots in the same direction/grain was really worth it-- it's striking and shimmery!

    ReplyDelete
  11. No clue about the name, but I really do like this quilt. Sometimes I get stumped with what to do with my growing collection of DS fabrics and this is a great idea! Thanks much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I completely understand the need for a challenge, squares get boring quickly! I'm currently working on a similar quilt (as the one in this post) but with all the little squares, it feels like I've been working on it forever!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That is stunning! Will you consider publishing a pattern of this one?

    ReplyDelete
  14. I LOVE this block (although I have no idea what it's called)!!! The quilt is going to be amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  15. A jaw-dropping quilt. Agree, if possible, you should consider writing up this pattern. So the rest of us can pay you to do our quilt math, :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've had an idea in my head for a while, for a quilt that would just be really difficult to pieces... it might work with paper piecing. Thanks for the idea! Love this quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  17. That is just amazing. I love it! I love the fabric choices. You have quite
    a gift of putting color and pattern together.

    ReplyDelete
  18. My heart is going pitter patter with this one!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I never would have thought to put that combination of fabrics together, but it looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  20. it looks fabulous

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm just curious how you always manage to get such awesome pictures!

    Love the quilt too

    ReplyDelete
  22. I would definitely buy the pattern from you!

    I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Absolutely stunning! I love the bold contrast, really makes the beautiful pattern stand out. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  24. This is definitely a departure from your usual style, but just as gorgeous. I think it proves that your talent knows no limits!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I would love a pattern if you wouldn't mind writing one - I too have had this pinned for ages but haven't had time to draft one myself!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. YES! No matter how beautiful the fabric is SQUARES are just SQUARES. Now this puppy has some flair! This is quilting, not just mindless sewing of squares.

    Very nice combination of a vintage block with modern touch.

    EXCELLENT INDEED!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment! I really appreciate it.

Comments are published after review.

Feel free to ask questions and I will answer either here or by email, as is appropriate.