If you have been reading this blog, this quilt will look a little familiar. When I was working on my brother's quilt, I wasn't using a pattern (mostly because this block is really too simple to bother). I bought a yard each of 10 different colors, cut out as many 3" strips from each color as I could and then sewed them together in sets of five. When I finished, I cut the strips into blocks and discovered I had miscalculated on the number of blocks needed for a queen-sized quilt. I had 22 extra. The blocks are about 10" each, so there was plenty for a nice lap/baby blanket. I did the block lay-out slightly differently on this quilt, but you would have to put the two quilts next to each other to see the difference. I am also thinking I will use the last two blocks and some scraps for a tote bag.
Micah, my brother, and I have been discussing the best way to quilt his quilt, and we came up with the idea of using this diamond pattern. I wasn't sure he would like how it looks, so before launching in and quilting his queen-sized quilt, I thought it would be safer to test it out on this quilt. I will be selling this one on Etsy, unless Micah can convince me that he absolutely has to have both.
You may be asking what is a watercolor quilt? Watercolor quilts are not easy to define. Generally, quilters use the term when they are trying either to play with lots of grades of colors or when they are using blocks of different colors to make a picture. This quilt "steps" from dark blue to white and yellow to white, with each fabric gaining more white than the last. This quilt is not as elaborate as some watercolor quilts I have seen, where they manage to move from one color to the next in ten or more fabrics. In my case, it was hard enough to find five yellows that work together, let alone ten; the blues were no problem. I did do a log cabin watercolor quilt many years ago that went from dark blue to white in nine fabrics. I wish I had a good photo of it to show you, because it looks like a Blue Willow plate.
Again, if you are interested in buying this quilt, send me an e-mail, and I will let you know when it goes up on Etsy.
