Quilt Block Design : The Adventure Begins

You may have noticed that I've been posting some photos of quilts and quilt blocks recently, whereas I normally talk about garment sewing or knitting or even embroidery.  Well, I recently started quilting (again) after a very long hiatus.  I had a specific project in mind when I picked it back up and my vision was more for an art quilt rather than a traditional block.  So I designed a block (and an entire quilt) around my concept, which I then went about heavily modifying!

 

My original idea included embroidery and appliqué, none of which I included in the final project.  I still have my original sketches for the project and maybe one day I'll go back and actually make that version, but I'm quite happy with the detour that my project took because it ended up with me designing a quilt pattern not just for my own use, but for others as well. 

Designing and writing instructions for others to follow is quite the adventure, as I'm sure many of you know first-hand!  It's been a steep learning curve regarding how to organize and present information not only with words, but also visually.  An essential thing I've learned (or, rather, re-learned) is that we all have ideas about what is logical and makes sense.  What seems obviously logical for one person may not be at all logical (or functional) for another person.  We don't all process information in the same way.  It's yet another beautiful example of the rich diversity of the human experience.   

Of course, my design process started with me designing for my needs, but as soon as I wanted to include others, I had to radically alter my thinking.  Indeed, this is still a work in progress, so I am continually learning new things and adjusting, all the while trying to respect my unique vision and design goals.

Ultimately, that initial experience designing one block and one quilt pattern became my entry point into a new universe!  I've definitely been bitten by the design bug and I'm overflowing with ideas  In fact, my goal is to eventually release these patterns for sale.  I've asked several amazing people to test this first pattern for me and the feedback has been priceless.  That, too, has been a lovely reminder of how humans can so generously help out other humans, even in the midst of a frightening pandemic with all its economic complications.  

View from the "wrong" side of the quilt top.

 

Some of you may have already seen some in-progress photos that I've posted on my Instagram account (under Niddetissus), for example, like the photo above.  I posted a couple of shots of test blocks on that account as well.  I wasn't sure of the exact fabric combinations I wanted, nor on the quilting pattern to use once the top was pieced, and just sewing up a test and taking a photo of it seemed to help me decide.

 

In any case, this is just the beginning of my adventure, so expect to hear more about quilt design and quilting from this corner of the internet. Here's a little taste of my first finished quilt made with this design, until I can take some proper photos.

 

Happy crafting!