That Niggling Doubt

Have you ever finished a quilt and then began to have doubts about it? That happened to me with this quilt.

I was happy with it and began to quilt it. But, you know, quilting is a slow thing and it gives you time to think. I slowly began to suspect that the quilt just didn’t have quite enough energy.

Hmm, how could I add some pizazz? What if I rearranged it (i.e. cut it) somehow?

First, I auditioned the idea by folding the actual quilt. Two vertical folds are shown here.  See how the lines now have a zigzag to them? And, of course, the proportions have changed.

And two more folds.

Energy yes. Greatness no. So, I worked on the computer rearranging things. First, 2 bottom cuts.

Then , a few more.

Next, I cut out some paper versions and cut them up.

Well, that was certainly energetic. I kinda liked it – even with the jagged edges. But, I kept experimenting.

I may have gone too far on the one above. But then I tried something very simple, just cutting the quilt into 3 vertical pieces. Then, I just swapped the two side pieces.

I liked it! But, what if I put black lines in the gaps? I auditioned it on the computer and got this.

Yes! I loved it! So, I finally had a plan.

I’m excited to move forward with this piece!

Ellen Lindner
P.S. I have a little bit of a reputation for cutting things up.