Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Quilt Reveal: Maximum Minimal

I am about to reveal my latest quilt to you.  It came together as a result of a confluence of factors.

1.  I decided to try to make a mini quilt a month again this year. There is a group of us who do this, as documented by Wendy at The Constant Quilter.  I made quite a few small quilts last year as a result of this group. You are welcome to join us.



2.  I looked through my library books for a pattern, and this book, Minimal Quiltmaking  by Gwen Marston, looked like it would give me a quick and easy quilt that I could finish by the end of the month.


3.  I decided I am going to track my fabric purchases this year.  Not to limit myself, but to be more aware.  Of course, I had to buy fabric at the end of the year sale from Bluprint that I did  not have to track.  There were a lot of fabrics that were $2.70 - $3.30 a yard, so I could afford to splurge. A smart person would have bought bigger yardage for borders and backings, but with so many pretty fabrics, I wanted one of each. They individually wrap each piece. I just bought for the stash and not for a particular project, so I just got whatever I liked.  I normally buy tone on tone type of fabrics, but I bought some large designs. They are less practical, but prettier. I was itching to use that rose print on the left and was initially thinking of using it as a center fabric of an Amish-type diamond quilt.





4. Kim has a wonderful blog called Sarah Lizzies where she shows gorgeous photos of flowers and quilts.  She said there is no such thing as too busy.  Since I was still under the influence of her blog, I decided to combine my fabric purchases into one quilt. I've done this before with Simply Squares and was really happy with the end result.  If you think my quilt is too busy, go spend some time on her blog until you fall under the influence too. Remember who sent you, and please come back to visit me if you can pry yourself away from her spell.


I have been trying to make a minimalist quilt for a long time, and consider myself graduated from that school after making the Blue Shirts quilt.  There is some sort of technicality about actually finishing the quilt, so I haven't received the diploma yet, but whatever.  I decided to go to the other extreme and make a maximalist quilt.


5. Of course I chose the least minimal quilt so I could show a large number of fabrics. The quilt pattern is a large one, so I did some math to cut the pattern to a quarter of the size of the original.  If you want to teach some kids some fractions, this is a great pattern to use, since pretty much all of the shapes wound up with a denominator of 8. Not the easy ones like 2/8 or 4/8, but the more persnickety 3/8 and 5/8 and 7/8. Lucky for me, the Project Quilting Challenge is Notably Numeric. This means that I can make the quilt I was already planning on making, but now instead of a month, I have to finish the quilt in a week.

 "Sometimes a quilt gets whomped with the ugly stick, but if you learned something THAT IS ENOUGH. Do it, get it done, and MOVE ON." Trish Franklin



Game on! I did change the pattern once I got the body sewn as I tried to find a pleasing arrangement using my fabric.  I wound up using the border fabrics as frames. This involved additional use of my calculator and thinking and measuring. Too bad I am using letter instead of number fabric.

All but one of the fabric is new. That one, the framed red violet, is a scrap of fabric that is in both of my Drunkard's Path quilts. The scrap box I am working on emptying now is an old one and had this trimming from the backing of my first Drunkard's Path quilt.

Also Linked with:
Needle and Thread Thursday 
TGIFF 
Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

17 comments:

Julierose said...

How small does your mini quilt need to be? I like the idea of smaller this year--am trying to pry myself away from the idea that all quilts have to be bed quilts....that is mostly what I have made along with large lap ones and a few large wall ones..it certainly is a different way of thinking and I feel more difficult colorwise...I love how your flowery one came out--(and I love Sara Lizzy's blog) thanks hugs, Julierose

Wendy Caton Reed said...

Oh wow! You have your January mini done already! It is wonderful and I love the thought process behind it too! I will link this into my post at the end of the month. At the rate you are going you may have 4 more by then - wink!! Thanks for participating again this year. I love seeing all the creativity!

Danice G said...

Really pretty, and great idea.

Joyful Quilter said...

I was looking at the Project Quilting Challenge also. Too many new starts for me, but perfect with your goals for this year. Your numeric mini is great, love all the colors and prints.

Robin said...

Too fun for words! Simply delightful. Maximalist, what a great idea - I think you nailed it. Love the quote about the ugly quilt. I've pounded on a few of my quilts with that stick.

Ann said...

Well done. I like the arrangement of the purple fabrics and then the way the grey ones frame the opposite side. The white florals diffuse things a bit. And I agree with you and Kim - I like busy.
I started tracking my fabric usage to become more aware. I thought it might help me consider how much I purchase if I see how fast or slow it goes back out. This is the first I've heard of Bluprint. Interesting.

Farm Quilter said...

Ohhh...fractions of the difficult variety!! Good job in getting it done in a week!!!

CowTown Quilting said...

Your fabrics are so fun! I love busy bright quilts & this one fits that perfectly! The pattern is neat too but you lost me at the fractions! 😬 LOL

Andree G. Faubert said...

Hi Shasta, what a lovely little quilt. I love Kim and her exuberant flowers but I'm not even tempted to make anything with big flowers. Although one should never say never :-)

Goldilocks said...

I love that you are tracking your fabric purchases! Just like Weight Watchers. It works 😊.

Kate said...

Love those florals! It's a fun quilt, it's not too busy, it's fun and lovely.

PersimonDreams said...

this is fabulous! I'm a maximalist myself so I definitely appreciate all the color and patterns in here!

Kim said...

I rest my case, there is no such thing as too busy, especially where flowers are concerned. Just look how your beautiful maximalist quilt sings with those gorgeous fabrics. LOVE the big and colourful rose fabric; actually I love every single fabric. What a rhythmic dance they are all dancing. Reading your thoughts behind the design was interesting and as for all those mathematical fractions.....well....let's just say I am mathematically challenged. Gosh, Shasta you are clever. Why, your beautiful quilt is just perfect! Thank you for your sweet reference to my little flowery blog. =) I will just keep on keeping on with the explosion of flowers, shall I??

Wendy Caton Reed said...

Well, I finally got this post linked up! Not sure what happened with the link, but it works now. Love this little gem!

Janet O. said...

This is definitely out of my wheelhouse, but so colorful and fun! I enjoyed the process as you took us through it.

tierneycreates said...

I love this piece! I have that same book and you have inspired me to revisit the book :-)

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