My center block
I looked through the centers that I have done previously and decided that I needed to try something a bit different. As usual, I started out with a really ambitious design - a wonky paper-pieced NY Beauty design that I drafted myself. After considering the size constraints, I realized that it would never work, so I went in another direction and did some skinny bias strip applique. I will save the unused design for another day.
Clare, Nan, and Liz worked on my center block adding two borders and quilting it. This year, I decided to take my center and work through a design for each border on paper (or computer). I was inspired by one of the first years we did the Cotton Robin where the suggestion was made to make 2 centers and do one yourself in parallel. I was too lazy to do this, but I enjoyed the process of thinking how I would approach it compared to how other quilters did. Designing on paper eliminates the restraints of what fabric you might have available and the time/skill to create your ideas. But, I do most of my designs like this before I start, so it's how I tend to work anyway. Here is the finished quilt and my "parallel universe" version.
First border
My first border was added to Terry's center block. Her autumnal color scheme was a bit out of my comfort zone but I managed to pull some fabrics from my stash. I went with some slightly brighter shades of the same colors and I was quite happy with the results. I did two designs for this border using different colors and more/less diamonds. Here is the design I didn't use and the finished border.
Second border
The second border was for Cindy's center. Diana added a two-color border, and this gave me the opportunity to go back to Cindy's multi-color scheme on the second border without the finished piece being too busy (I hope). I decided on an hourglass block using multi-colored strips and a neutral solid. Although they all look the same size, it turns out that the red triangles in the first border do not divide the edge evenly into 4 parts. So my little blocks ended up needing to be squares and rectangles. I constructed them using paper piecing which made the rectangles the precise size I needed. As quilters we know squares and parts of squares so well, but rectangles are not so well behaved!
As always, I really enjoyed the process and the chance to try out new ideas. Check out all of the finished quilts on the Cotton Robin blog site.
