Colorful Gravity

Nicole also brought me this amazing Gravity quilt (pattern by Jaybird Quilts) to work on. Once again, I thought the pattern was much smaller before I saw the quilt in person. This one is even bigger than the Swoon I showed yesterday!

 I was so excited to work on this quilt - I'm a color freak and the more the merrier! However this quilt proved to be trickier than I anticipated to plan.

One - with all of those colors it was harder to choose the right thread(s). We ended up choosing a medium gray for the entire quilt because it's a neutral and would work with all of the colors, but it's not too light or too dark for any one area. Granted it'll stand out a bit more on this color or that one, but you generally look at the quilt as a whole, not piece by piece.

Two - the size and the angles made it challenging to work through the quilt and advance. These pieces are massive and the pieced diamonds were large enough that depending on the angle it was pieced into the quilt, it may not have all fit within the throat of the quilting machine at one time. So what does that mean? Some blocks I could quilt all at once, some I would have to plan the quilting so I could split the block and quilt half, then advance the quilt and finish the other half of the block.

I had a ton of doodles and notes to keep myself organized and on task for this project!

 I had to take notes because there are two of every block and I wanted to keep the quilting the same in both. The matching blocks are on opposite sides of this "star" so I may not be able to see the first block once I got around to quilting the second - hence why notes were important.

 For the designs, we kept it simple between straight lines in diamonds and triangles, curved lines in a variety of formations and I think that about covers it. It's amazing when you keep the basic parts as simple as possible but change the delivery how it can look so detailed and complex, but I promise you it's not.

 And then to keep the focus on the center (and how could you not with all of those colors?) we kept the quilting as simple as we could in the background with straight lines in alternating directions. By alternating the direction it gives depth and interest to an otherwise plain area, but doesn't take away from the rest of the quilt.

 I had to plan and draw out the line idea for the background ahead of time to make sure with all of the lines and angles it would work out right and luckily it did! Phew! Crisis averted!

I mean seriously... how perfect is this photo? My own thread color coordinated and a nice little backdrop to this colorful quilt... It was a match made in heaven. Which is ironic because we only used gray thread on this quilt, but I digress...

I had a blast working on this quilt and it was a great creative challenge for me. Quilts like this - quilts without squares and rectangles and more colors than a box of crayons - make my brain work so much more than some others and it keeps me on my toes. And that's a good thing!

Sometimes too much of the same old same old gets us quilters in a design rut too. We like a little variety and a change of pace. Sometimes it gives us heart palpitations before we can calm down and think rationally, but that's a whole other story... For a whole other day...

Thank you Nicole for bringing me fun quilts to play with! Both of these quilts were loads of fun and I was so happy to get to put my little spin on them.

Oh and you really can't see it, but I loved this quilt as much for the backing as I did the front. Nicole found this awesome wide back that was white type on black - and the words were all colors. Saffron, magenta, orchid, cinnamon, greige, sunflower, etc. It was the perfect backing for this quilt because even though it was black and white, it was color related! How cool is that?!

Anywho, Nicole, if you ever find yourself tired of this quilt and it just needs to find a new home... Call me. You know the number. Just saying.

The hardest part of this job is pouring your heart and soul into these projects and then sending them back to where they came from. It's the great part of my job too - I love being able to give my all with each quilt... But that's also the part that breaks my heart. I don't want to give them back! I want to hoard them all and have a different quilt to love each and every day. But I give them back. All of them. I promise. As much as I don't want to at times, seeing your faces light up when you come pick them up or getting phone calls and emails when your quilt arrives at your door makes my day. Sometimes my week or my month. That's why I continue to do what I do and I promise I will still be doing this after Little Miss arrives. It may be a bit harder at first to get back in the groove, but I have high hopes. Especially if/when we move and I can work in between naps and after bedtime. That's the plan at least... Wish me luck.

Speaking of which I have to get out to the machine and quilt a bit today. If I sit here in my pjs any longer it's not going to happen... Until next time!