Weaving a Melody

Over the course of a few days, I’ve created a new group for my Pas de Deux quilt. This one turned out nothing like the original group, called Postage Stamps. Indeed, there are no small, postage-size scraps to be found! Instead, this block was created by making color connections with surrounding blocks, and experimenting with fabrics on hand.

My inspiration began with that showy purple moth print by Heather Ross, which makes up the center of this group. For the corners of the group, I chose petrol blue (top left) to connect to my future HST group, purple (top right) to connect to Circle Squares, peach (bottom right) to connect to my future Evening Star group and gold (bottom left) for color love.

At first I made all the stars identical in the one white floral fabric (Art Gallery Simple Growth); but, the abundant white space contrasted too strongly with the periwinkle center. That’s when I brought in the kitty cat fussy cuts for just a touch of color. Last of all, I turned the upper star coral red. I’m still surprised that injecting that bold color is what it needed. It felt like a wild guess, when I considered it, but as soon as put the fabric up there, I knew it was right for me.

You can see how the purple edges of my new group connect well with the Circle Squares blocks. I particularly like how the purples make a V-shape above the far right, white star.

Including that purple arrow print was a last-minute idea. It’s a favorite old Anna Maria Horner woven!

My hope with my new Pas de Deux iteration is to weave the colors like a melody throughout the whole quilt. This takes a lot more planning and the willingness to adjust/remake blocks as needed. So far I’m loving that challenge! I have made quite a few HST blocks that I ended up not using. Perhaps I can find homes for them in my HST group or in the Hourglass group that makes up the bottom edge of the quilt.

Next on the agenda - some peachy blocks to come in below what I’ve already created.