eo-6 Cutting and Block Assembly

The pieces for the quarter-circle blocks were cut using acrylic templates that my husband was willing to make for me.

To begin with, I cut 4" squares, and then marked the profile of each template on the squares. This approach seemed to speed up the cutting process.

I then assembled the blocks by just ensuring that the two pieces were different colors. One of the most helpful tools to have handy when sewing curves is a pair of blunt tweezers to help pull the final bit of the fabric around the bend as it approaches the feed dogs on the sewing machine.

eo-6 Crop Circles

The sixth quilt in the Eastern Oregon quilt series is essentially a sky-view of crop circles. It turns out people grow things in the high desert. Irrigation is key.

The design will be a simple 12 x 16 of 3.5" quarter circle blocks.

The starting point of the actual doing of this quilt was a fabric audit. I wanted to see what was remaining of the fabric in terms of color and yardage.

The photo above shows all of the remaining fabric. I tried to arrange everything by tone. Two of the original colors were fairly depleted, but I had more than enough fabric remaining for two final quilts.

eo-5 Willow Quilt Complete

The fifth quilt in this series took me quite a while to work on and finish. Because this was not a traditional design, I really struggled with the worry about not making something that needed to be thrown on the burn pile immediately. The turning point was really when I just decided to treat this quilt like the others: a learning experience. Instead of just learning about a sewing technique, this time I had to stretch half a step further and come up with my own way to try to convey the beauty of the riparian area along the John Day River.

The trick to all of this is really to remind myself that, while I could do this much better now and that others could do even better, I am just learning and trying.

eo-5 Willow Quilt Final Assembly

The biggest challenge I am finding with paper piecing comes when it is time to quilt the top to the back. The variation in the thread grain across the block can result in something that does not sit very flat.

I suspect that a pro at paper piecing would be mindful to always cut scraps to result in pieces that have a uniform grain alignment. I will need more practice before I can do this.

I chose the same red fabric for the backing and the binding. I also pinned the quilt as densely as I could. The quilting was done with both white thread for the frame and red thread for each block.

eo-5 Willow Quilt Top Assembly

The nine blocks came together fairly quickly. The biggest challenge was the mental gymnastics required to cut the scrap pieces correctly. While the majority of the Kona cotton used here is a solid woven color (same on front and back) - the linen pieces are stamped. This required a little more thought and was a source of mistakes and good practice.

The blocks are shown above (the blocks are sitting on a white sheet). I did not use a gradation in willow stems from top to bottom. I ended up emphasizing the background color variation. I was hoping for a desert sunset effect - with the colors clear but also almost washed out in the distance by the sun. 

After trimming the blocks, I added the white frame around each. I used a block-width section of white between the rows and a long pieces separating the columns. You can also see that I rearranged the blocks in the final layout.

eo-5 Willow Quilt Block Assembly

Once I had the design worked out, the block assembly process was pretty straightforward. The image below shows the newsprint design for the top, brightest, row of blocks.

I went ahead an colored in the willow branches, to remind me of the orientation of the different parts of the blocks. To assemble each block, I had to divide the blocks along the willow branches, assemble each section and then add the willow branches in as the last steps.

Above, you can see how the blocks look when sewn to the tracing paper. After completing a block, I would pull the paper off by tugging the block on each edge. This would tear the paper at the seams. 

The reverse side of one of the blocks is shown above. You can see that I am not perfect at aligning seams. However, this was not a study in perfection. I was am happy with the effect of the different background colors.

eo-5 Willow Quilt - Design

The Willow Quilt design will be focus on the detail of willow twigs against a changing background. I want a series of nine blocks with a gradation in color - from dark to light. A foggy morning walk gave me the idea:

The density of the plant matter changes as the willow branches out. Also, the background is darker near the bottom of the image. 

I hope to create a windowpane effect, with each block surrounded by a white frame. The block size should be approximately 8.5" x 9.5" with a 6" border between each. The final quilt would then be approximately 44"x 47".

Each block will be paper pieced with a different design. I plan to draw the design on newsprint and then trace onto tracing paper. I don't plan to ever make this quilt again, so I do not want to use a CAD program to create the template. In a way, this makes the project a weird combination of art (one-of-a-kind) and craft (paint-by-number!).