Spiderwebs

What scares you? As a child, my mother was afraid of a red, yellow and black quilt her grandmother made! She cried if it was put over her. We don't have the quilt anymore or even a photo so I don't know if her tastes would have changed when she got older.

While I've never been afraid of a quilt, I secretly used to think some were ugly... like spiderweb quilts. The last few years, however, my opinion changed drastically. Now I love their strong designs and colorations. Sujata Shah's Ferris Wheel and this one by Krista Withers are among the quilts that changed my mind brought me to my senses. Although they have very different feels, both always make me smile. The colored backgrounds add so much more to the design than muslin ever did.

A few months ago I decided to start with a 'vintage' Alexander Henry from 1998. You know, that piece you always liked but never used. I put most of it on the back of a quilt last year determined to clear out my stash. Now I wish I had more. Isn't that always the way?

The multi-color floral seemed to give me loads of color choices for the star background. So I cut several different fabrics. They looked good on the design board.

My starting fabric is the top right.

Then I sewed strips into triangles for the webs and... they don't make me happy. At first I thought I'd included too many darks so I made triangles with whites. I don't like them any better.

Spiderweb blocks

Fortunately photos are helping me. The top left star is too dark. Ok, it's not quite as dark as it appears here but it is several shades darker than the others. Although the values are good, the bottom right star is too busy. I like the lighter, more solid fabrics better because the webs don't get lost. I'm not sure if I want an analogous color scheme like green and blue or want to expand to the oranges and yellows also.

Fret not; enjoy the day.
Ann