At the beginning of year, I challenged blog readers to make one “Bow Tie” block each day in January. The Quilt Along participants could choose a block size according to sizes of fabric on hand; I used 2 1/2″ squares and 1 3/4″ squares left over from the “Busy Bees” sampler project. Thirty tiny blocks yields a doll quilt; thirty medium blocks yields a baby quilt; and thirty large blocks yields a lap quilt. What size are you making?
After making thirty blocks, I asked your opinion in this blog post on the layout — colors placed randomly or colors organized in diagonal rows. Several of you joined me in preferring a conservative, organized layout, but the majority of commenters emphatically suggested the random arrangement because it keeps eyes moving around the quilt. You spoke, and I listened! Here’s the quilt with blocks arranged randomly. I like it!
With a 1 1/2″ wide inner border and a 3″ wide outer border, the quilt measures 29″ x 33.” I used off-white thread to quilt meandering loops and double loops over all. Tiny bumblebees featured in the fabric gave me the idea of quilting loops. The binding is the same fabric as the backing, a green print from the “Homemade” line.
Colleen sent me a picture of her “Bow Tie” blocks. Her choice of red tone-on-tones and red and white prints for backgrounds certainly makes for a color saturated composition!
No worries if you have not yet finished your “Bow Tie” project. Keep at it, using your scraps to make a quilt from this “old” favorite. I’d love to show blog readers a picture of your project, so please email me a picture: aby.quilts@gmail.com.