As quilters, we often see pictures of lovely quilts and think, "I want to do that." That is exactly what happened to me when I saw this quilt:
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| My thanks to Jeanann S. for allowing me to use the picture of this beauty. |
Click the photograaph to follow the link to Jeanann's original photograph.
Notice how the illusion of circles pop out of this quilt. I tried and tried to figure out why--looking at colors, values, arrangements, etc.--but I could never really determine the reason.
What to do? Make one of my own and see what happens!
If you look at the pattern for the blocks, it is essentially a shoo fly--a nine patch that includes corner HSTs.
Since I'm a stockpiler :), I had the elements on hand:
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| Each block needs four HSTs of matching fabrics and 5 squares of prints. I used 4.5" squares. |
The pieces go together as any nine-patch, but pay attention to the orientation of the HSTs--they form a kind of frame for the block.
After sewing the blocks together, I looked eagerly for the circle illusion.
I couldn't see the circles at all until I took a photograph. They are there, but they don't jump out as much as those in the original. It could be because my squares are a different size, or it could be something completely separate from the quilt itself--lighting or photographic quality, for instance.
As Jeanann did in her original, I added a border that finished up the quarter-square triangle pieces at the edges--I think the quilt looks more complete that way.
I like the quilt, even though I didn't get the result I was looking for. I like the strong colors in contrast to the white.
I used a "cheater cloth" (pre-printed quilt fabric) as a backing. This way, both sides are pretty!
Many thanks to Jeanann S. for the inspiration and for the permission to use her photograph. Next time you see a picture of a quilt and have the "I want to do that" thought, give it a try!
