Make It Take It // Macaroon Quilt

Sometimes I have the hardest time naming quilts.  I have to give credit for the name of this one to my friend Rachel.  Once she suggested the curved pieces look like Macaroons I thought swirls would be the perfect quilting for between the “cookies”.  I designed this quilt after Krista Hennebury asked me to submit an idea for her book Make It, Take It.  I have known Krista through our blogs for several years now, we had an instant bond over our background in geology.  I had talked with Krista a few times about her desire to write a book geared towards retreats, and I was only too happy to be a part of it once ideas became reality.

When i’m designing quilts I like to try and do something different, or bring something new to an old idea.  Curves certainly aren’t a new concept, but I definitely felt the half circle is not done nearly enough in quilt tops, but more interesting than the shape or layout of this quilt is how it’s put together.

It’s hard to show in photos, but if you could take a close look at the top in person you would have a hard time finding the blocks of this quilt.  This top is actually constructed with strips, not blocks like most curved tops.  The curves themselves are pieced into a long strip.  All the concave curves are cut at once (the strip looks a little like swiss cheese when it’s first cut), and then the printed curves are pieced one at a time into those concave spaces.  I felt this went quickly and had less room for error once the top was completed.  It’s no secret that the more piecing involved in the quilt, the more room for error by the end of the top.  With one long pieced strip you have very little room for small errors that add up to big trouble by the time you are done.

I really liked the idea of piecing these curves in strips because of the quilting freedom I felt I had.  Sometimes I feel boxed in by blocks when i’m quilting something, and with this top I didn’t have a lot of seam lines to limit me in my vision for quilting.  Sometimes boxes can be great for ideas when quilting, but it was wonderful not to be hampered by them in this top.

I really enjoyed selecting the fabrics for this top and seeing it come to life.  It was so nice to find a different way to construct this top and to be able to share it in Krista’s book.  All week long the contributors to Make It, Take It have been sharing about their projects, so be sure to stop in and see what everyone had to say.  There are so many projects I can’t wait to make!  I already have fabrics pulled to make Ayumi’s bag (as seen on the cover).   Before I forget, I need to thank Krista for taking all the quilt photos in the post.  I was in such a rush to get the quilt mailed to her that I forgot to take my own photos!  It will soon be on it’s way home to me and i’m looking forward to hanging this one on my studio wall to enjoy.

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