Tuesday, May 2, 2017

What Do You See?

I was very pleased to have a day to play with a design I came up with.  It was purely by accident, but I had to see what I could do with it.  I really wasn't concerned if it worked or not, I was more looking forward to experimenting.  


16" x 16"
While fiddling with EQ7 one evening, this design came to life and I knew it was going to be my next 'when time permits' selfish project.  I tweaked a few things here and there until I was sure it would be manageable.



 


People who have seen this block have said it reminds them of  mushrooms, rocket ships, fiesta or art deco.  But to me it first reminded me of the inside of flowers.  Kind of like these orchids.

  

Paper piecing was going to be the best way to achieve the shapes and with one printed block, I began the fabric selection.  I wasn't sure this would even work out.  So I had it in my mind that I would only try one block.


8 1/2" x 8 1/2" Unfinished
After posting a picture of the block, I was shocked at the response and encouragement!  I know I always say if you are unsure while piecing something to keep going because you never know how it will turn out...well, I should have remembered that piece of advice! Initially I wasn't in love with this block at all!  After a while it grew on me and I felt I needed to go further.

 

Three more blocks were printed, paper pieced and ready to go!  (almost!)  Because this was an experiment block, I went with an assortment of colors.  The only think I kept consistent throughout each block was the yellow.  All different shades, but yellow it was!



The colors are pretty vibrant and wild...like a fiesta!  I pulled some Aurifil thread and couldn't wait to dive into some quilting!  This screams for some fun dot-to-dot quilting!

 

The angles of the pieces made it so easy to quilt.  Simple straight lines forming an interesting geometric pattern.  



To break it up and do something a little different, I quilted a 1/2" grid in the outside sections. Gotta be different once in a while!

  

After all the quilting was finished I struggled with what color the binding should be!  Should it be white, yellow, black?  Should I piece the corners using the same colors of the block?  In the end I went safe and simple.  

The only thing I did differently was glue.  Yep, I love glue!  After sewing the binding on to the front, I wondered what it would be like to hand stitch a binding without any pins or clips getting in my way.  I decided to give it a try and see if it makes a difference.

And it actually did!  It seemed to me the hand stitching went so much faster, plus my thread didn't get tangled in clips or pins.  I'm sure I won't do this on every quilt.  It's nice to have options, don't you think?!



Isn't the quilting wonderful?!  Seriously, I love quilting mini's!  You can get more detail because it's small.  I don't think I would or could ever do this on a large quilt.  



Now that I've experimented with this block, I'm wondering if I should try it again.  There is a pretty amazing secondary design that happens and just looking at it now...I see another idea I may have to try!  Time, I need more time!

Naming this block is another dilemma!  I've thought about Firecracker, Atomic Boom! and Fiesta Floral.  Not sure any of those are worthy or adequate.  If you have a suggestion, I'm all ears!  Naming quilts or blocks is difficult, more difficult than naming children!


LINKING:

35 comments :

  1. An interesting block. Kudos to you!

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  2. It does remind me of the inside of flowers as well.

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    1. I was hoping I wasn’t the only one! It was fun and who knows if I’ll try it again in quilt form! It’s always an option!

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  3. A very happy accident. The straight line quilting is perfect for this piece.

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  4. Reminds me of rocket ships flying into wormholes, travelling through time and space! Really like it and the colours you've used.

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    1. I figured since it was a test piece, I might as well use a variety of colors! It’s funny what others see when looking at this block! I didn’t see the rocket ship until it was pointed out!

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  5. Love this!!! What about naming it Atomic Bloom? Kind of a mash up of the different viewpoints. :)

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    1. Sarah…you are a genius! I love that name! I’m all for mash ups…I have to use that name now!!

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  6. Not sure what it reminds me of, but I sure like it! The quilting is perfect for it. You need to keep on having those happy accidents.

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  7. Very cool design! Your quilting looks great too!

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  8. Sarah's mashup name suggestion is brilliant! I hope you get more time to play... I am curious what you see to try next! :)

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  9. I love your block! EQ7 is the best, isn't it? And it's amazing how paper piecing opens up so many more possibilities for what you can piece successfully. Great job.

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  10. A fun block! I am horrible at coming up with names so I will be no help.

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    1. I know! I sometimes feel like I need to be clever…but I rarely am!

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  11. You come up with the coolest designs! Love this one and all that dot to dot quilting.

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  12. You need to do MORE selfish sowing because you always come up with such fabulous ideas! These blocks are genious, Jayne and the quilting just enhances the design so well. I love naming things. I tend to play around with puns so not everybody likes my suggestions. :) This does remind me of the part of the anatomy of a flower called the pistil. How about Pistil Packin' Mama? (see, my names are kinda silly)

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  13. wow this is wonderful. I love your names. LOL I so agree that naming blocks is harder than naming children.

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    1. A great block. It could be named "Explosion". The design and quilting radiate from the centre and expand as the design and quilting move to the outside edge of the block.
      Caroline Ropchan

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  14. Revelry- they look like trumpets sounding.

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  15. Love it!! It would look neat too with the tips of the cones done in a completely different fabric from the background. So you'd have a little spinner thingie in the center. Like my quilting term? :)

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  16. Very pretty! I love the colors you chose. I'm not so good at naming blocks, but to me this looks like lamps. I know it's weird, but if you lie on the floor and look up, lamps look like this. What can I say? I'd love to have lamps like those!

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  17. Wonderful design! And it does look like the inside of a flower. Great finish.

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  18. I really like the colors and the quilting! I think it reminds me of origami flowers, or something folded. Thanks for sharing!

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  19. This is amazing! I'm confused - which isn't difficult. First, I thought you had added the gold border after you had quilted and bound the inside "quilt." Then when I looked at the back - the whole large "quilt" is quilted clear through the back except for the white binding on the inside "quilt." How did you do that? Also, it appears that the inside "quilt" is bound from the front and the binding pulled to the back and the outside "quilt" is bound from the back and pulled to the front - is that right or am I not seeing things correctly? I'm really confused about the these things. You are light years beyond me in quilting. Great job! I love your design as well as the details. I adore how you kept the yellow the constant in your choice of color. The point to point quilting design sure spoke to you and you heard - you have great hearing.

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  20. Such vision! I see the inside of flowers, too! Look forward to seeing what you do next?

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  21. Beautiful block! And the back is just as wonderful. I like Atomic Boom! I can see this block in Red,White, and Blue too. When I first looked at it, I saw mushrooms, but rockets are much more fun. :)

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  22. Beautiful! The quilting really adds to the overall effect too!

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  23. Beautifully done! The quilting is gorgeous. Sorry I'm no help on naming. Maybe Santa Fe Orchid?

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  24. Wowza! Jayne..... You have done it again! That new block is spectacular and so is your lovely mini. The colours and the quilting are brilliant!

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  25. Another awesome mini! I love how it is such a graphic design but still reminds me of a soft flower at the same time.

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  26. It has a 3D effect with the centres exploding out of the cones. I've been zooming in to find something to criticise, just because I know that's how I learn, but no, sorry, I can't find anything. Perfect as charged.

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  27. I love this, Jayne! I love the explosiveness of it and Atomic Bloom definitely seems like the perfect name. I always struggle with naming quilts too :)

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  28. I like this block a lot and absolutely see rocketship mushrooms, which in turn makes me think of one of my favorite books as a kid, "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet". Therefore, I would suggest the name Boom Zoom, after my husband's silly threat to the kids: "Do you want to go boom zoom to the moon?!" LOL and there's your brief glimpse into my crazy brain for the day! <3

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  29. Everything you touch is magic...even if sometimes it may not appeal to you immediately. This is not one of those blocks. This one grabs you by the throat and forces you to drop everything and stare in awe and admiration. You are a magician, Jayne!!!

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  30. In that case, I could sure use help with a boy name. Great block too!

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