Blindman’s Fancy

I’m continuing on, sharing my most recent Blindman’s Fancy blocks with you and still trying to decide just how far to go with this quilt.

Blindman's Fancy block #9

As you may remember, in the beginning when I began making these blocks I decided to use my most favourite historical reproduction fabrics to make them even more meaningful. I’ve really dug deep into the fabric stash archives to find pieces that I had hoarded tucked away for a special quilt project, some pieces as small as a fat eighth. As I complete each block I am so pleased to see how well my fabrics play together, the old and the new, the plain and the busy, the brights and the subtles, they are coming together in a strange but beautiful harmony.

Blindman's fancy block #10

Although I did mention in an earlier post that I was getting rather bored with the making process, it’s all just a lesson in discipline and commitment, isn’t it? I’ve been a good little quilter, sticking to my pace of one block per week and balancing it out with sections of flying geese sashings but I’ve still had to break up the monotony of making the same block over and over by incorporating some odd little twist each time. Look closely and you’ll spot some serious quirkiness happening in some of the blocks. I think it will make the final quilt really interesting and keep the viewer guessing – “Hmmm, whatever was she thinking when she did that?”. Barbara Brackman usually comments on those quirky old quilts as having mistakes or perhaps the quilter is an inexperienced novice or perhaps a little daft, but I always just chuckle because those are the quilts I love the most. They have the best personalities and I assume that the quilters that created them had the best, quirkiest, weirdest personalities too! I honestly hope that some of my quilts will leave that impression after I’m gone.

I think it’s rather ironic that after battling the odds to create a block that contains fussy fractions like 1/16th of an inch for those half square triangles that I would go ahead and line them up in a non-conformist manner or twist one quarter square triangle so that it is different from the other three corners of the block. These are all tricks I’ve used to keep the process interesting while making these somewhat complicated blocks but I think in the end I will have created a quilt that reflects my own quirky personality and contains memories of my unique creative process.

until next time, happy stitching,

carol xox