I Like My Blocks Big and My Palette Subdued

I’m a few dozen projects into my quilt-making career, and I’m still trying to figure out what my style is, what kind of quilts I like to make and design. I know that I gravitate toward quilts that straddle the line between modern and traditional. I also like lots of white. (I recently took a class with Timna Tarr and, when asked what my favorite color was, responded “Kona Snow.” True story.) And I really, really like my blocks and overall quilt designs big.

Here are three examples from the From Bolt to Beauty archives ...

* My Double-Sided Diamond Quilt features 18-inch diamonds.

* Bring On the Dancing Horses boasts even bigger diamonds.

* Obsession, designed by Laura Jane Taylor, is composed of four 40-inch blocks.

Longtime readers may remember my big geese from last year. I designed a quilt of gigantic triangles, some as long as 40 inches. The scrappy look I was striving for didn’t work in such dimensions, however, and I shelved the project.

But I couldn’t get the design out of my head. At the heart of it, this quilt is about shapes, so I set aside prints and color and mocked the design up in grays to emphasize these triangles and their size.

I’m halfway through piecing this project, and it’s been hard to stick with the gray palette. I cut up some precious Catnap prints to insert some color and character into the mix, but it didn’t work. I think I’ll forge ahead with Kona Shadow and Kona Pewter, and complete piecing the blocks in grays before I try to tweak anything again.

What does the subdued gray palette say to you? Do you find it serene (as Kim has been trying to convince me) or boring?!

Linking up to Let’s Bee Social and Needle and Thread Thursday ...