Quilt Layout

Do you ever start a project then get stuck somewhere in the middle because you suddenly realize you not only can’t properly do math but simply don’t have enough to finish it the way you originally intended? I’m kinda there right now.

When I started this quilt, my plan was to make framed 9-patch squares and separate each square with a thin strip of muslin I was using as a background and backer, along with a couple different borders to fill out the piece, one solid strip border and one of alternating squares. It seemed cool when I found the pattern online in the Moda Bakeshop by Roslyn Mirrington.

However, after I opened the bag of scraps I realized that I only had enough to make twenty squares at the most, not the twenty four the pattern called for, and I was okay with that, figuring I’d stretch it in some other way to increase the size. And that is where I am stuck. I thought that maybe doing alternating patterned blocks and solid blocks would work, especially if I did some interesting quilting in the solid blocks, but I don’t really care for the look of how empty the quilt feels like that.

Then I thought about not worrying about the size of the quilt, and tried the layout as shown. The only worry I have there is that with twenty blocks instead of twenty-four it’ll be a little short doing it this way, and I still don’t think I have enough to do the scrap square border.

I tried the lattice look and was totally put off by it, probably because this particular quilt doesn’t seem to want to lend itself to latticework. Or maybe I just don’t care for lattice.

I also thought that maybe by making the strip between the blocks four inches instead of two it would work, but I get the same empty space feeling as alternating solids and patterns. Perhaps I should try three instead?

And this morning I thought about the alternating square thing again, but this time set them diagonally. For some reason, even though there is the same amount of blank-space as an alternating set it doesn’t look as empty. I just don’t know if I necessarily want it to be set on the diagonal.

Why am I making this so difficult? I don’t know. I’ve only ever finished baby-sized quilts and the queen and king sized comforters I’ve made were pretty straight forward fabric piecing, either out of one fabric or two for the top. I guess I’m just one of those indecisive types who will probably end up doing my original plan and finding a way to make it work.