Latest quilt pushes my color comfort zone

Not only is my quilting obsession satisfied by a project I've been working on since January, which takes me out of my color comfort zone, but my "order thing" is getting a workout too.

At the beginning of the year, I laid out some ideas for projects I'd like to complete in 2013. It dawns on me that my record is about 1 and 5. As I mused last January about a very ambitious quilting goal, I've fallen far short. I don't feel too badly about that though. I have always preferred spontaneity to being tied to a specific plan, so whatever I chose to do to fill my time was probably the right decision at the time. Since I haven't been bored in more than 50 years, I'm sure I enjoyed whatever it was. And isn't that what it is all about?

I did finish one project, Periwinkle Blue, in March. I am working on the second project, one that may be completed by the end of the year--the Quiltingboard.com Block of the Month, (BOM) project.

Not only have I kept up with it, but I've really enjoyed it. I get really excited when a new month rolls around. I like having this one scheduled activity since I try not to live with any rigorous routine. I rarely construct the new block on the first day of each month, but I nearly always check to see what it looks like and generally print out the pattern as soon as possible.

All of my quilt blocks will originate from this box

This project was important to me because I decided to use it to play with colors for the first time. Most of the quilts I have completed so far have been monochromatic. I just like a variety of values from the same color family.

With this latest quilt though, I decided to use two colors--yellow and aqua.

When I started, I picked out all the yellow and aqua fabrics that looked like they might go together. They were fabrics I had already collected in my stash. I have since bought a half yard here and a fat quarter there to add to it, but it is pretty much limited to the original box of fabric pieces I selected. The pieces vary in size. Some are leftover from other projects.

In continuity with my "order thing," the name I've given to a subtle but random need for organization in my life, I decided to install a makeshift design wall in my very limited sewing space. I placed a small three-fold paper cutting board covered with quilt batting against a wall next to my sewing machine. It only holds two 12.5-inch squares across and three squares down, but it is enough to give me an idea about what I'm working on. It isn't ideal, but it is definitely adequate.

I can also use my computer to view the finished blocks, and even to arrange them. This may be the best method for me.

I'm anxious to see what the final three blocks will look like. Until I see the finished pieces, I will have no idea how to finish this quilt, but there is certainly time to think about that.

These are the nine blocks I've completed so far, and they are in no particular arrangement.

While I wasn't certain about the color combination at first, the more I work with them, the more I am beginning to like the two colors together.

The blocks chosen for this project were supposed to be a challenge. Indeed, they have been. But that makes it all the more fun. I've decided that I really love matching seams and points, but triangles seem to give me fits. More than one of these seams has been ripped out and redone.

I think, at first glance, that some kind of sashing between the blocks would be in order, as well as perhaps some kind of border that can tie the colors together. Right now I have no idea what kind or what color, pattern or solid.

I still have to decide on the backing fabric as well as the type of quilting--hand or machine. Lots to think about yet, so I'm glad there is still time to decide.

If anybody has any ideas or suggestions, I'd love to hear them.