It’s been a while since I’ve seen a quilt made from really huge, sprawling blocks Burgoyne Surrounded, of which this is just one variation, comes to mind, but this week I did notice this wonderful entry into DQS 8 made by what I never said.
I’d call this a single block – which it is – but it’s also much more than that. Nine-patches, rail fences, a bit of starriness in the corners…. It’s the best kind of miniature quilt, really, in that it contains everything a larger quilt does. But it’s pared down so you can really concentrate on the integrity of the design.
The fact that some of my favorite fabrics have been used certainly doesn’t hurt, but the more muted color scheme isn’t what I’m used to in the exuberant celebration that is your average doll quilt.
Then again, this is no average doll quilt. I’d like it in solids, but I wouldn’t love it, not in the way I love the blend of playfulness and sophistication she’s achieved here. But if you want to make a quilt like this, note how perfectly precise the piecing is.
Not easy to acheive, but so worth the effort.