Designing the quilt

Some people use graph paper, others use computer programs like EQ8. Me, I pull out the fabric, start making blocks and see how it goes. Here are a number of blocks I made, using purple. I have been using Deb Tuckers Lemoyne Star ruler. I’m getting different size blocks. It’s me, not the ruler, everything takes practice and no way am I going to have great results on my first few tries. Especially with an eight-pointed Lemoyne star.This is looking alright, even though the blocks didn’t come out the same size.More blocks and it’s one big hot mess.  Purple is a very hard color to work with, blue purple and red-purple don’t play that well together. My backgrounds were just too busy, it looks like a hot mess!So I went back to making new blocks, I figure – repetition is a good rule in design. So I made another star with the yellow background, just changing the position of the colors. Then I made two more stars, doing the same. I want to introduce the light turquoise, maybe not as background, but as accents, so a more neutral background it is.Much better, the mirroring, the symmetry, repeating the same star patterns twice. I think it has a calmer feel to it.Since it is a guild challenge, I brought it to share.When I got back into quilting 9 years ago, I bought this book. To be honest I was horrified at how much fabric was wasted with this technique, but I did use the book for some quilts.  So now I am busy trying to adapt these patterns using The Lemoyne star ruler, takes more work, but it’s working and I’m not having as much waste.The quilt is still going to be scrappy, I am using what I have on hand in my stash, I don’t have large quantities, so I just have to try and repeat as many of these fabrics as possible. Won’t always be possible, because some of the stash fabric is quite small.

I feel that sticking with pale yellow and grey in the background will help tie it all together. I am having fun, and that’s what matters.

Leah

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