Monday, July 23, 2012

In A Meditative Mode

Without the meditative background that is criticism, works become isolated gestures, historical accidents, soon forgotten.
Milan Kundera



The quote above seems to be the perfect way to open a Design Wall Monday post.  The purpose of having a design wall is so we can critic and edit our work as it progresses.  Having quilted for many years without one, I now have two, I did make use of the floor, a table and the bed when it was time to lay out blocks.  Now I am finding it so much easier to stand back and decide where things need to go or change.


Here are the blocks I have been working on off and on for a while.  The pattern was in the American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine February 2009 issue.  It is called Zen.


Pieced Zen Blocks

The pattern call for an alternating plain block.  I haven't cut any yet.  I have been buying a few more batiks because I didn't have a diverse enough selection for them.  My original thought was to use all pieced blocks.  Many of these were made from a sampler roll of batiks I had purchased at a show so I didn't have yardage or even fat quarters.  They were 6" x 18" pieces and I could get the block cut with just a few inches to spare.

More Balancing Act Blocks
The Balancing Act Blocks are still coming along.  I'm still cutting and sewing them.  It is a great one for using up some of my floral bits and pieces.  You can find the link for the block in my first post about them.

Back to today's meditative process.  Do you think the Zen blocks need the plain alternate blocks (they would be scrappy also) or do you like the pieced blocks alone?

I'm linking to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story  Check out what everyone else has been up to.



6 comments:

  1. I like the pieced blocks alone. It is stunning!

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  2. I think I'd prefer the Zen quilt with the alternating plain blocks, since you asked. A little more variation would be good there.

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  3. I'd have to look up the Zen pattern to see what the design looks like with plain blocks....IMO what you have looks good. (Batiks compensate for any design limitation!)

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  4. I'm not sure. I'd try putting up a few on your design wall. I think what you've made so far looks very nice. I'm wondering if the plain block would make the pieced block stand out even more. I like to see things before I decide so I would play around. Let us know what you decide!

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  5. I like the Zen blocks with out the plain squares (but that's easy to say when I can't see both). There is just something calming about the repeat pattern to me. Zen like :)

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  6. Hi Patricia! I just ran across this post and also finished this pattern. It was difficult to choose which batiks to use!

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