Toile Four Patch Quilt

 

After taking Joe Cunningham’s Pattern Free Quiltmaking class on Craftsy and vowing to make time, whenever possible, to “play” in the studio, I made this little quilt, based on Joe’s “Fantasy Four Patch” formula. The idea is quite simple, really just a play on the four patch, a pattern that’s been around for a bazillion years. But making a series of measured cuts and pairings, the four patch pattern is turned on its head, into something different. Without the added twists and turns this quilt is, in fact, a simple four patch pattern.
 

The tiny toile patterned fabric is a large remnant I found second hand. I’ve been hanging on to for a while, it’s so sweet I wanted to use it on just the right thing. The cream is Kona “Snow”.The blue binding is some unknown original quilting cotton I had in my stash.
I wanted to try this pattern mainly because it feels very different from the usual balanced, symmetrical style I am drawn to. The individual blocks were quick to cut and sew up, that part was easy. But I was putting the individual squares on the design wall, I wasn’t really liking them. But I stayed with it, unfinished projects languishing in my studio are mentally very stressful for me these days. The individual blocks must have been respositioned on my design wall at least 100 times before I settled on something between “okay…that looks good” and “god, it’s really time to move on!”.
 
Once the quilt was together, I wanted to blur the individual blocks even more, so I hand quilted squares randomly all over the surface (marked by tracing my 2 1/2″ quilters clear square ruler, my 4″ square, and my 3″. I do not consider myself an accomplished hand quilter (unless you call “highly motivated to finish” as the mark of a good hand quilter, in that case I’m fantastic), but after watching this Sarah Fielke video about hand quilting, the all-time queen of hand quilting, I found some DMC perle 8 cotton thread and started stitching. (For locals, if you need size 8 perle cotton in any color other than navy, cream, or white, the place to find it is at Weaving Works.)

I’m trying to decide if I prefer the texture of hand quilting or machine quilting more. I think it depends on the quilt itself. I do love the hand quilting on my Sunshine Medallions quilt, worth every minute.
 
But, the biggest question in all this is, how does it look on my “new” secondhand chair? I was so excited to find this little chair, now my desk chair. It needs a name.

(The 11 year old’s comment? “Well, it’s scratched and old, but it swivels”.)
Happy Tuesday!