Making my first quilt - The Plan (sort of)

I have a new love.  It combines my simple, clean style and the satisfaction I get from creating things.  Modern quilting.  

bricks quilt

equilateral triangle quilt

I hear there's a movement underfoot, but I'm sure some of you stepped outside the traditional quilting box long ago.  The rest of the world is just taking notice.  I'm sure it helps that fabric designers are starting to put out fabric that is conducive to quilting in a fresh, new way.  On the other hand, the best modern quilts out there are made entirely of solids.  I used to pass over the solids thinking they were too quiet, plain, understated.  Silly me.

• Gradient Quilt @ A Few Scraps
• Color Wheel Mini Quilt @ Ellison Lane Quilts
• Raw Edge Pez Baby Quilt @ Canoe Ridge Creations
• Prism Quilt @ Fresh Lemons Quilts

After months of admiring the quilts of others, I committed to creating a modern quilt of my own.  In fact, I made it my 2012 resolution.  So for the last 6 weeks, I worked to introduce solids to my hoard collection of fabrics.  Welcome, Bella and Kona!

I know I need to start simple.  A basic, easy pattern.  For me, that translates to:

• a single shape to cut (squares, it is!)
• a shape that is easy to cut (four straight edges, 90 degree angles - I have the rulers for that!)
• a forgiving pattern (the plus sign seems basic, no?)

Thank goodness for free tutorials!  In Color Order gives a nice step-by-step.  

layout - via In Color Order blog

Feeling like I could handle it, I started cutting.  Four-and-a-half inch squares, because I had half yard cuts and wanted to get the most out of them.  I mixed in a couple simple geographic prints in the same color scheme.  Stacked them in pretty uniform piles, then didn't touch them for a week.  Ugh. 

[fast-forward about a week]

I decided on a white background, so I pulled out a white table cloth, laid it on the floor and started arranging - then rearranged - then rearranged - then rearranged. 

This is just a few of the iterations worth photographing that I came up with. Sorry for the 'great' lighting (where is that sarcasm font when you need it?).  This is the best my basement has to offer.  :)


At this point, I'd like to say I slept on it, pondered it, gave it a lot of thought.  But the truth?  I queued up a DVR'd episode of Toddlers and Tiaras and 'distracted' myself for close to an hour.  [imagine how much fabric and uber cool sewing machines they could buy with the money they spend on pagents...I digress]. 


With a newly refreshed brain (ha!), I went with option 2 for it's gradient nature.  Laid out two more rows and went to hang out with my husband for a while (after snapping a few pics with my iPhone - which I also love, almost more than I love a Starbucks Americano - which is a lot).  

And that's where I am.  I think I like it ah-laht (said in the voice of Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber).  



Here's where I could use your help.  Should I: 

1. fill the rest with white blocks (keeping just these three rows of color) OR 
2. fill in the rest with the repeating rows (so it's an overall pattern)

Help?  Thoughts?  

linked here