Sometimes things just don't go to plan do they? So, of course, that must also apply when you're designing a quilt. Most of my designs start as a very quick sketch in my beloved sketchbook. I take it everywhere: my favourite is a plain A5 soft-cover Moleskine, with a mechanical pencil tucked inside. It might be a single block or a whole quilt-top, but that's where it starts. And then I draw it over and over again until the proportions look just right.
One evening - no doubt I was waiting outside school for the boys to finish - I started playing with nine-patch blocks. These are usually alternated with plain blocks to make a classic Irish Chain quilt and I used an expanded version to frame my 'To Skye!' quilt. This time I wondered what would happen if I started tinkering with the colour placement...and that evolved into the 'Forget-me-not' quilt. But not without the odd hiccup...
Because nine-patches lend themselves so well to strip-piecing, I immediately thought of using a Jelly Roll. I may have a few *cough* although I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels slightly sad unravelling all that swirly perfection. So back to the sketch book to work out sizes, yardage and sketch out the diagrams I might need for the pattern. Then on to the drawing board to draw up those sketches - in pen and ink on tracing, I'm an old-fashioned girl - and the computer to write the pattern.
And strip-piecing is so FUN, the quilt top practically made itself. The sun was shining and I whisked it out into the garden for a photo shoot. I even posted a few pictures on Instagram. And then the doubts set in. I had to admit to myself that I didn't like it. The scale was wrong. The strips were too big. The sweet little design in my sketchbook just wasn't there any more *sigh* and I realised it just wasn't good enough to publish as a pattern. Cue violin music...
But, if at first you don't succeed and all that...I'll be trying again. I've scaled the block down so not only is the motif repeated more often across the quilt, but it will have some of the delicacy of the quilt in that first sketch. Wish me luck...
U P D A T E Mar 10, 2017
I finished my revised version yesterday and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I'm so happy I persevered...
I reversed the colour placement and got rid of the fussy border. The fabric is a Bonnie & Camille line from Moda called Miss Kate, with a navy polka dot to emphasise the 'forget-me-nots'. I also mocked up a simple, two colour version.
It's interesting to compare this with the 'old' version, which finished at about the same size...
Never was a quilt so aptly named...
Nicola xx