Mini-Quilt Swap

Quilt swaps are always a lot of fun, and a good way to connect with other quilters, so I'm pleased to be participating in Cut Up and Quilt's Mini-Swap.  I have received info about the quilter for whom I'll be making a quilt, and I'm rarin' to go!  The creative pairings are a secret, so I'll try not to give away too much, so she doesn't recognize her preferences, should she or friends happen to read this post.  :-)

She likes modern designs, which suits my style just fine.  I started sketching some ideas for designs for the mini quilt, which is to be somewhere between 8" x 8" and 24" x 24".   I love technology, but I somehow seem to need to start with pencil and paper, at least to get ideas to come out from hiding in my brain..

Computer 'sketching" comes next, and here I can start to get a better idea of proportions.  It's easier to move pieces around to compare compositions and layouts.  (I use Word.  I know, I know, but I have used it so much that I'm most comfortable with it.  I have the Adobe Creative Suite, which has wonderful tools but, since Word is so comfortable for me, I can focus on the design aspects instead of how to use the tools.)

The first one didn't appear in my sketchbook but as I started drawing, copying, and pasting the black bars, the squares just sort of popped into my head and I tossed one in, just to see how it would look.  I liked it, so a couple more were tossed into the mix.   If I make the quilt (whether for the Mini-Swap, or for a later project) the number of bars and squares, might well change, as may the number of bars and the relative positions.


My brain thinks bars and circles are good foils for each other (if you followed my design challenge last year you might recall that) and I wanted to continue with some bead and bar layouts.  This has been rolling around for while, inspired by the little nubbly bits on the fabric of my shower curtain.  Ideas come from the mundane as well as the profound, right?  (Well, I'm not especially profound, frankly, so most of mine come from the mundane.)

I like most of them, but will have to live with them for awhile to make a decision.

A few designs in the sketchbook haven't made it to the computer drawing board yet.  One must spread out the fun, don't you think?

Another design that has been caroming around in my head might figure into this, as well.

It's great fun to be challenged to design a quilt for someone else.  The shipping deadline isn't until November and there may very well be more ideas ahead--stay tuned, and I'll post new ones as they arise.   I wonder if the final mini-quilt will look at all like any of them.  :-)