Diagonal Madness Creates Madness

A more aptly named quilt I have never known. It is the simplest pattern to sew, yet somehow I managed to include some colors and fabrics into the mix that for some reason did not meet my "eye test." Consequently, I have spent the better part of this week considering alternatives and performing quilt surgery, all in an attempt to set things right.

I may be back on track. Let me show you.

Over a week ago, I was determined to at last finish Diagonal Madness, a quilt top I started late last summer.  It has been hanging half completed on my design wall all fall and winter! It was definitely time.

I have to say that it was lovely to look at through all these months. What cheerfulness! Those luscious Kaffe Fassett colors and prints cause my heart to skip a beat!

I spent parts of several days working on the remainder. I had no plan except for the picture in the book; I was choosing fabrics and colors as I went. Notice that in this much of my work, there is really not a lot of truly diagonal placement, so I worked intentionally to create the diagonal effect in the rest of the quilt top.

At the stage where I took this picture, I was growing increasingly concerned that my cohesiveness was becoming a wreck. To begin the diagonal "look" across the middle of the quilt was not at all pleasing to me. I stopped. I had to think about this. My mind worked and worked on it, figuring possible solutions.

The picture above shows some lighter prints pinned on top of dark ones to erase the severity of the diagonal across the middle. It helps it a lot, in my opinion. It still shows a diagonal, but much more subtly so.

My next concern was the overly "dark" conglomeration in the bottom right area. The first part I did was so much lighter and brighter; I wanted that same look throughout the entire top. So I added the next row using lighter and brighter fabrics. Hmmm. The dark section was not greatly improved.

 I took my nearly finished top to another space in the house to see if lighting made a difference. I don't think so. My eyes like what I did back in September; and what I have recently added appears to be messy in all spaces. So what to do??

Get the ripper.  

I began deconstructing; surgery in a serious way.

What is shown in the photo above is my current state of affairs. I will get back to the machine this evening or tomorrow in an attempt to finally finish off this quilt top.

This should be a lesson for me: do not let so many months interrupt quilt top construction, especially when the top has a distinct "look" that requires planning. I totally lost my eye for the plan in those many months of inactivity.

Happy Quilting, Friend!