2015 BOM - Bordered Rows

I began the 2015 Block of the Month program in January at my local quilt shop. The quilt top for 2015 is called Bordered Rows, and it comes from Marti Michell.  If I had known the  pattern in advance, I might not have signed up to participate in the program this year. But the way BOM works is you don't know what you are going to get. All I knew was the blocks would be set on point and what color runs we could choose from. You only get a block pattern once a month and you don't get the finishing instructions until you are about halfway through the year.

This year's design uses special fabric sold by Marti Michell. It has a complicated striped print as part of the finishing. If you don't use a stripe, you are going to have to think very carefully about what to use to have the quilt come out looking nice.

I think the quilt, as made by Marti Michell, is very UGLY - both the fabrics and the pattern.

Marti Michell's Bordered Rows Quilt

I especially don't like the asymmetrical placement of three rows of chevrons at the bottom vs. two rows at the top. The three rows look awful and detract from the blocks themselves.

To be honest, I didn't really like any of the color runs offered by my quilt shop, either. I ended up choosing a run consisting of watercolor batiks in primary colors. 

There was one multi-color print in the color run - a batik with a black background. I decided to substitute a grassy print with a green background because I was tired of black.

The fabric I didn't use

Autry Square - November 2014 BOM

I do not like this, Wilted-quilt

I do not like this on a train
I do not like this in the rain
I do not like it in the snow
I would not quilt a tic-tac-toe

I will eventually post a photo showing all of the blocks together. It will then become obvious that this square stands out like a sore thumb. Look at the photo of Marti Michell's quilt in 2104 BOM - Secret Garden (January 2014) to get a better idea. Hers is actually not as bad because she has more uniformity of color to tie the blocks together, and the crossbars tie in nicely with the sashing. That will not happen with my quilt top because the sashing is green and dark gray.

Lessons learned:

1) If you don't like a block, why not substitute another block?

2) Over-substitution of fabrics might solve one problem, but can create another problem when the squares don't have enough in common.

Kodiak Star - October 2014 BOM

I made a lot of substitutions this month. I am writing this several months later and can't remember what I was thinking. I assume I didn't like the fabrics in the BOM package. 

As it turns out, I don't like the lack of contrast between the inner star and the inner purple diamond. It is one thing to lay out pieces after they are cut and shuffle them around. It is another thing to be able to visualize the piece before you have cut anything.It is also important to think about how a fabric which seems to be black may give you large light-colored areas when it has been cut.

The July 2015 post shows what the typical instructions for a block look like. They are black and white, and the different fabrics are shown by using different designs, which may not be anything like what you are working with. I think you could get some idea of the finished piece by holding adjacent fabrics next to each other and trying really hard to visualize the finished piece. I was more focused on how the totality of fabrics in the block worked together.

Alternatively, I think if you followed Marti Michell's suggested fabrics consistently you would get a very nice result. That is difficult to do in this BOM program when fabrics are switched out all the time. One month a certain fabric is B, the next month it is D and a new fabric is used as B.

Lessons learned:

Stick with the tones/patterns suggested in the instructions or used in your model (if you are like me).

OR

Spend a lot of time thinking about, visualizing, and holding fabrics next to each other before cutting (if you like to be creative and don't like to follow directions).

Shutterbug - September 2014 BOM

Yes, it does remind me of the lens of a camera. I like the motion and the three-dimensionality of this one. I think this is my favorite block in the 2014 BOM series.

Crazy Anna - August 2014 BOM

Different block, same story. Too many fabrics, not enough contrast. I do like the way the black star design stands out.

Bloom Where You Are Planted - July 2014 BOM

Twenty! Make that twenty different fabrics. I bought two new ones to use as substitutes. I wasn't liking the fabrics provided in the kit.
 
I bought a purple floral and a green basket-weave.  You'll notice that the green basket-weave is the same pattern as the white basket-weave used for the background.

I really like the way this one turned out. It's brighter and it has better contrast. I think that makes the design of the block stand out better. It almost looks 3-dimensional, like a series of squares laid on top of one other. 

I am also very happy with the way the center pinwheel turned out. That's one of the things I wouldn't have known how to do without Marti Michell's instructions.

Hole in the Wall - June 2014 BOM

Another month, another BOM, another fabric. We're halfway through the year and we're up to 18 different fabrics. Maybe 19?

A new fabric showed up this month. It's also in the corners of the green square. Can't say that I like it.

For some types of quilts, that many fabrics would look great. I don't like it for a sampler quilt. You've already got 12 different blocks. You need something to unify it.

I don't have any life lessons to share this month. I guess that's good . . .?