For lack of a better name I am going to call the quilt I am currently working on my “Diamond Quilt”  I am planning it as a queen sized quilt, and I intend to keep it.  The project began life as two large bowls of basted hexagons.  One of the bowls held solid vivid maroon hexagons.  The other bowl held hexagons made with a polka dot fabric which reads as a solid unless you are up close to it.  It reads as either maroon or brown depending on what other colors are in the local area.  The polka dot fabric can be seen in my header graphic.  It also can be seen, along with the maroon fabric, in this Deliberate UFO. The polka dot fabric was also used in this room divider.  It also also makes an appearance in the quilt runner. The polka dot fabric is obviously a favorite.  I have sought out additional quantities of it on the internet, and what little I have left is likely to be consumed by this diamond quilt.

Originally I had planned to create a lattice of intertwined diamond shapes and do something in the spaces left behind.  I played around on the computer in Photoshop and came up with this.

I was concerned however, with the amount of work that was going to be involved in planning the overlap of the diamonds as well as planning how the remaining areas would be filled.  I wanted to work a little more spontaneously than that. I wanted some mindless stitching to do,  so I decided to create some large diamond shapes designing them from the inside out beginning with my solid maroon fabric in the center.

I have already completed four of these diamond units.

Here is a possible layout.

However, I already know that I plan to add a repeat of the green patterned fabric along the outside edge of each diamond.

So the maroon hexagons will be separated at least this much in the final quilt design.  I believe that they will be separated even farther though, since I am considering adding one more set of hexagons of a solid, darker, and more vivid green.  I am thinking that the darker green would serve as a complement to the printed green fabric in much the same way that the vivid, solid, maroon fabric acts as a complement to the polka dot fabric.

I mentioned wanting to work spontaneously.  I associate spontaneity with speed, yet there is nothing speedy about creating a quilt of hand pieced hexagons.  When I speak of spontaneity I am referring to a sense of open mindedness in the design process.  There is nothing about this design that is finalized yet except the units that have been created.  The one limiting factor in the finished design is how many maroon hexagons I have left.  Currently I have enough to make a total of eight diamond shapes.  I’m going to make a total of five to begin with, and then start to audition possible ways to flesh out the design to cover the surface of the queen sized bed and design the overhang area of the design.  I don’t think I will be doing a design that runs all the way to the edge with the large diamonds because I don’t think I will be able to make enough of them.

I have enough polka dot hexagons that I don’t think I need to worry about running out.  I can purchase more of the green printed fabric if necessary.  I can buy as much of the second green color as needed once I decide what that color will be.  I plan to order a few greens from The Fat Quarter Shop and audition them next to the patterned green fabric.

I’ll continue to blog about my design decisions on this diamond quilt as I work on it.