Tamed Geometry: A Minimialist Modern Quilt

I finished up Tamed Geometry awhile ago, but never got the chance to share! This quilt started with an Alison Glass print, full of geometry and busy with color. I loved this print, but it was sooo not something I was used to working with style-wise. I like to make quilts with a small handful of colors, not something quite so boisterous! So, there was my challenge - to "tame" the geometric print into a quilt that was me.

When I showed the quilt top, I got some awesome reactions. Lots of love, and a number of people who were unsure, plus some who thought that I lost the beauty of the print. It was definitely an interesting project. I liked it, but didn't love it, once it was all pieced.

And then I thought to myself, this one. THIS is the quilt top that should be sent to Karlee. I've been wanting to have something quilted by her for awhile now, so I decided to send it off.

She. NAILED. it!!! That graffiti quilting is positively stunning, with plenty of space for it to shine in all that background white. She painstakingly programmed her computer to outline the little squares, and the busy-ness of the fill picks up on and continues the busy-ness of the print, but in another way.

I bound it with a simple, soft gray. Choosing a color seemed so wrong, as it singled out a hue from the print and made it seem like the winner, in a way. This quilt isn't about a single color, though - so out that option went. Yes, I could have gone with blue, or pink, or gold, or anything in the print, but that made it seem as though I was attempting to cast some sort of mood onto the quilt, and I didn't want that. I then considered white, but the gray seemed to just fit - this quilt needed a little bit of a frame.

I sent Karlee some wool batting, and she layered a white cotton on top so the yellow of the wool wouldn't show through. The two layers make it pop gorgeously.

I haven't been brave enough to wash it, and I think this'll end up on the wall in my sewing room, since it's so enjoyable to look at.

Some may not call it modern, because it is, after all, derived from a traditional irish chain pattern. Some may not call it minimal, because there is, after all, so much going on. But whatever you call it, I love it. Overall, I believe this quilt definitely turned out to be a success.