Deconstruction

Back in December, I was freaking out trying to get everything packed and holiday gifts finished and mailed off, and it was a scary scary time. Not that now isn't any less scary with all of the unpacking and crazy mess everywhere, but at least there's no finish date looming in the near future. All that being said, I packaged a box of holiday gift goodness, mailed it, then realized I hadn't taken photos of the mini quilt inside.

Photo by W. John MacMullen

This is Deconstruction. I usually don't spend a lot of time trying to discover the "right" name for a quilt. (Case in point, my last big finish was called The Purple-y Quilt.) Originally, I had planned to have it hang another way, but I worried about the balance, and when I turned it this direction, the name struck me, so I went with it. And if its title is totally cheesy and awful, don't tell me. I don't want to know. I'm basking in the creative process, friends! 

Photo by W. John MacMullen

I made this mini for my friend John, who was even sweet enough to snap the finished photos for me. She was made using scraps from my Black and Batiks quilt--there we go again with the SUPER creative quilt titles--and the back was made with other scraps.

This is the only photo I took during the entire process. Photo fail? I think yes.

I quilted each colored section with a different colored thread and a different style. The above is my favorite. Fun random boxes! It was a lot of turning--this was before my darning foot arrived--but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Binding was interesting--I didn't consider until after I'd quilted the entire puppy that I would have to deal with inverted corners. I found a tutorial that got me through the mess, and I'll readily admit the imperfect binding is my fault, and not the tutorial's. Also, I steadily improved, and the last of the inside corners almost looks *gasp* passable. This is the first quilt project I've thrown across the room, though I doubt it will be my last because that's just how I roll.

I think the orange rectangle appliqued on the black fabric is my favorite. This was the first quilt I put together by "playing with" the fabrics, and I used my small (15" x 36") design wall to do it.

Deconstruction was a good project over all. I learned a lot--curse you, inverted corners!--and I enjoyed making it. Best of all, my friend John likes it, which is the most important part, right?