Monday, January 17, 2022

Back to the Bowties

After sharing one possible arrangement of my collection of bowtie blocks last week, I've continued playing with some other options. Here's the layout I showed in last Monday's post.


Thanks to the viewers who suggested filling the blank areas with background fabrics for a modern type quilt. I hadn't planned to do that, but I am intrigued by the idea.

I did a partial layout of this design with the colors in rainbow order and filled in the top corner. I didn't put enough blocks on the wall for the whole quilt, but I do like it better than the random arrangement of colors.


My next idea was to separate each color from the next with a little spacer of background fabric. The close-up photo shows a gap of about 1" between the blocks. I liked the idea, but the full layout makes me feel a little off balance with the way the blocks seem to lean from the offsetting.



The next variation on that idea was to offset the blocks even more. This time they have 2" gaps in between, which is half the size of each block. That will give me seams to match up and nest together when joining the columns. The close-up photo shows rectangles of background fabric laid over the spaces between the blocks.




I'm planning to go ahead with this design for the bowties layout. I like the airiness that separating the colors brings to the quilt. I might decide to leave off the half blocks in the top and bottom rows and just fill in with more background. 

This quilt layout as shown will use 110 of my bowtie blocks, and the quilt should measure 44" x 58". That will leave about 250 more bowtie blocks still to be used in other quilts. Stay tuned for further design ideas!

Check out what other quilters are working on this week:
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA 

10 comments:

  1. That's a great layout, Julie! I love the movement in it, and the partial bowties on the edges!

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  2. Looking good! I think if you removed the partial blocks top and bottom and replaced the top left and lower right corners with background it would emphasize your original arrangement of the bowties.

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  3. What an odd optical illusion with the small-spacers! The larger spacer lets the ribbons breathe. What a terrific design!

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  4. I love all the options, so I am no help! What a great project!

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  5. Wonderful options. I do like the rainbow look. And wow you made 360 or so bowtie blocks? In one year? Have fun with them as you play with putting together another quilt.

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  6. Great layout for the bowties!

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  7. Interesting way to open up the design, Julie. Have fun playing with the leftovers, too!!

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  8. Thanks for sharing your process - I like the one you wound up with!

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  9. I like your final version. It does open up the design.

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