Red Pepper Quilts: Floating Squares

Floating Squares - A Modern Quilt

Last week I ventured way out of my quilting comfort zone. I know I am really comfortable with my own style of patchwork and quilting, but every so often I get the urge to try my hand at something different. I have had the general idea of squares floating on a quilt in black and white on my mind for some time, but I knew before I started that this project would be a challenge for me - not the actual piecing, for that is the simple part - but working through the layout, and developing and balancing the design.

There were sewing highs - when the layout flowed and I was able visualize the end result - and horrible lows of self-doubt, indecision and uncertainty. I don't usually experience such a range of emotions when I am patchworking, and the loss of confidence was unexpected. The lack of rhythm whilst working - from repetitive tasks like chain piecing, or trimming - was just as unsettling.

I don't like to start something and not complete it so I pushed on in the hope that in the finishing touches (the quilting and a contrast binding fabric) I would grow to love this quilt as an end product, rather than be reminded of the making process. And yes, now that the quilt is finished I rather like it. A lot. I love the messages and details that have been included in the quilt, ranging from text (see above) to the red wavy line of quilting that runs along the left hand side of the quilt.

The wavy red line is a decorative stitch on my sewing machine for which I have used a standard weight cotton thread (Gutermann 100% cotton). I did try a heavier weight thread - Gutermann Top Stitch - but it immediately seized up my sewing machine. I will have to keep experimenting with heavier weight thread on my less testy sewing machine.

For the back of the quilt I have used a single fabric from The Red Thread collection by Creative Thursday and the binding fabric is Straws from the Simpatico collection by Michelle Engel Bencsko. [The main fabrics used for the quilt top are Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Snow and Kona Cotton Pepper].

This quilt has been an emotional ride and at one point I didn't think it even worthy of sharing with you. Now that the quilt is finished and I have had time to reconcile the process with the end result I actually don't feel ready to part with it at this point in time. I feel like I need to hold on to it ... again a feeling I am not familiar with in regard to my quilts.

Floating Squares Quilt

I am itching to start a new project - a comfort stitching quilt - and although I haven't yet decided what my next project is I can guarantee it will involve fabric play and repetitive process(es); both of which I really missed in the making of this quilt.