Let the Layout Begin!

I finished piecing and trimming the MN WILD quilt, and so the next step is to layout the 80 red-centered blocks with the 80 white centered blocks in the swirly pattern. I could not see the swirl with my eyes, so took this pic to get a better feel for it. There will be 12 of these swirls; three across and four down. Four rows to each block.

Quilting, like healing, can be a mysterious complex process. Maybe this is why I am drawn to mystery quilts. This one is supposed to look like this swirled pattern, however, the scrappiness of each block gives it a specific nature. Then the question is raised for how the blocks fit with each other. This is why I made extras, and also why I left some blocks unmade in case they need some color to fit in with the greater vision of the quilt. As each block was pieced, care was taken to use differently colored logs. Having a random look to a scrap quilt means more mindfulness than one expects.

And then the back. I found a pattern called RAINBOW BABY and thought I made a copy of it. I know I did, however, with all the shifting of workspaces and taking down my Mac to set up this SmartTV and the other small work monitor, the pattern is hiding, so I measured what was done and created my own pattern for it. All the pieces to the RB were cut and only needed joining once the top is finished and measured. There are extras in the basket for it too so any adjustments are possible.

Our own healing often takes us by surprise and we are often only aware of it after the fact. So it is with scrap quilting. One day we realize our lives are not the same as they once were. Something magickal happened, and we are changed. We are not fragmented like the pieces we cut for the quilt. What was broken or cut into strips and squares is suddenly becoming whole. Miracles are possible, even for us. Even for our lives. Even for our quilts.

Yet, healing takes work. It is not something we do by going to some expert healer. We are the ones who do the work in making the changes. Experts tell us to eat right, to exercise. We are told to cut accurately, hold to a 1/4" seam and keep working on the quilting project until it is complete. So it is with our healing whether it is for our bodies, our minds, our emotions or our spirits. We do the work. Only us.

My design area is not on a wall, but ends up being on floor space. That means cleaning my great room floor by dusting and then using the wet spray for the hard wood and moving all the furniture to make way for the project. Layout for 160 6" squares has to be done in one session. It will need arranging and re-arranging to ensure the random look is there, then pinning rows and marking rows with my numbered pins.