1981 Quilt

Hello!  I wanted to share with you my quilt top that I had recently completed and entered into QuiltCon West 2016.  I had sketched out the bones of this design back in the fall of 2014.  It was incomplete but mostly it was just a starting point.   Just something for me to reference back to in case I ever felt inspired to finish it.  Since inspiration never came, I decided it would be best to make this as a sampler, so I could see what it would like look as a quilt top.   The majority of this quilt was improvised.  I wasn't sure which shapes would be which colors, and since the design was not complete, I wasn't even sure what the final product was going to look like.  It helped that I chose a cohesive palette.

I originally was going to frame it in black and then place a white border around that before binding it.  This was not planned and was not decided upon until I reached that point in the decision process.  When I had completed the binding, the white border did not include the black pluses in the corners.  I reached out to Instagram, and a lovely bunch of people suggested it.  Thank you if you were one of those who suggested black pluses because it came out fabulous.  I had also thought about incorporating 1981 somewhere in the quilt, but that never happened.

To balance out the large negative spaces of color, I added a strip of small piecing in the upper left corner, and to balance that out, I added the four triangles in the bottom right corner.

I would love to make this a bigger version as this only measures 39" x 42".

The biggest crime and mistake I made with this quilt was not entering it to be judged at QuiltCon West.  I only entered it.  I still beat myself up about it, but the reason I didn't get it judged was because I felt that I would be critiqued harshly on my hand stitching.  It's definitely not perfect, but I think that is what lends beautifully to the handmade look.  It is handmade.  I don't know why I ever listened to that little devil inside of me.

Why 1981?  This quilt is a dedication to my creative life and journey.  I love making things, and I hope it shows.

I had a few people say it reminds them of certain artists.  Some I have never heard of like Charley Parker and Mondrian.   Others, like Picasso, I do know.   But none of these artists were in mind during the making of this.  It literally was a sit down and draw, let's pull out some fabric, and let's-hope-for-the-best kind of quilt making.  So it all worked out in my favor in the end, and I couldn't be more thankful.

It makes me so happy when I look at it.  :)

xx nancy

One year ago:  Birchen Quilt top
Two years ago: Crafty Travelers Series
Three years ago: Creating with the Stars
Four years ago: Fabric Birds

I have a book!