This quilt was gifted to my sister-in-law whose name is Dorothy, AKA Delse, AKA Dot. The repeating circular motif and the inclusion of only dotted fabrics gives this quilt it's name. I don't generally put borders on quilts but this work needed one. My challenge was to add a border that didn't look like one. Extending the angles of the interior blocks outward solved the problem. It was not an easy task but so worth it. Don't you agree?
This quilt is rooted in one of my favorite patterns, the nine-patch. Think of it as the rule of thirds translated into textile form: balanced, rhythmic, and naturally pleasing to the eye. But then I disrupted that order with the bold black lines, breaking the expected sequence. It becomes a nine-patch interrupted.
The escaping color adds another layer of movement, drawing the eye across and around the composition. This one was gifted to my granddaughter, Thea.
Here is a closeup:
It gets it's name from the colors chosen: lemon, lime, tangerine with a dollop of blueberry. The pattern is called Winding Ways. It was on my list of "Must Dos". The block is a small curved-petal looking square. See the two yellow with pinks beneath in the top row third from left. Every other block alternates it's color. So there is a block with green centers next to a block with citrus colors. The piecing is not difficult. For all of the curves, only one pin was required at the center for the last seam that joins the left half to the right. For that, I sewed from the center out on both sides. The pin and stitching method insured no shifting. It did require a lot of fabric pieces. I sent many fabrics to a vendor for laser cutting. Each piece was precisely the same size. And, I had many to choose from.
The difficulty for this design is the planning of colors to achieve the large round shapes. Each large ball touches 9 blocks. In planning, I laid out the pieces for each small block for the first three rows. When satisfied, I sewed the top row. Then I laid out the pieces for the 4th row. And, continued in this fashion for the length of the quilt.
There is always something that catches ones eye, a contrasting element of some sort. In this case it is the blues that appear however infrequently in this work. When I thought I was finished, I realized that the blues were mostly present at the top of the quilt. Another row was needed and added. Now there is balance
This work began with a very large collection of African fabrics that I had gathered over the course of 20 years or more. For the geese, I selected some of my favorite busy prints, while the backgrounds are made from tonal fabrics—those that read almost like solids but still have texture and visual interest.
The fabrics used for both the geese and the borders are repeated throughout the quilt. I used the backgrounds of the geese to combine similar colorways, creating a movement that draws the eye across the quilt.
If I had a list of the top ten quilts I have made that I love best, this one would definitely be on it.
