Faith grows when faith is all that’s left.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Quilting
As I wrote a few weeks ago, this particular plan came from a talk Sarah Nishiura gave at the Iowa Quilt Museum. She didn't show her finished quilt - or at least I didn't see it. I assume she made one since she has a series of quilts with grid changes. In the talk, she gave general instructions to "make each row narrower" so that was what I did. {Well, I chickened out on the final row but went back and remade it.}
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| Optical Illusion baby quilt |
But the idea has been rolling around since I saw Ancient Directions by Allison Goss at a Festival in the 90s. Additionally, Margaret Miller wrote about warping blocks back then, too. Blockbuster Quilts addressed it a bit and I believe she wrote another book with more detail. But it took Sarah's offhand comment to get the match lit under my tail. So, thanks to all these quilters for the inspiration. I hope they help you, too.
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| Blockbuster Quilts by Margaret Miller |
The green main diagonal on my quilt is not a solid. It's remnants of a tone on tone print that was the back of my Wheels quilt. Because of that, most of the scraps and strings are much darker making this a very dark but dramatic baby quilt. A narrow border keeps all the bias edges in line. It's a print with sea turtles. One of my favorites. The back is four quarter- to half-yard pieces that have been hanging out in my stash for much too long. Since they needed to be a bit wider, I added a grey across the middle.
Once the top was complete, spiral quilting was the only way to go for me.
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| Back of Optical Illusion baby quilt |
Quilt Specifics
Size: 44" x 44"
Design: String quilt
Batting: Hobbs Heirloom Premium Natural Cotton
Thread: Aurifil blue cotton thread
Quilting: Spiral with walking foot
Approximate yardage: 6.5 yds
Previous posts:
FUR (Fabric Use Rate)
My tracking has been lax {nonexistent} this year but through June, I've used 39.5 yards.
Reading
When a friend told me about this book, it sounded interesting. Then I realized it's an earlier book by Rachel Joyce. I'm probably the last person to read The Unexpected Pilgrimage of Harold Fry but I've enjoyed it tremendously.
Harold receives a letter from a former co-worker telling him she is dying. He writes a short note in response but on the way to mail it, finds himself choosing to walk across England to visit her in person.
Parts of the book reminded me of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? but Rachel has a kinder heart and a talent for misfits and ordinary people with sad, lonely lives.
Enjoy the day,
Ann