Implied Spiral: Mini Quilt #3

Mini Quilt Mania continues this week with Implied Spiral which is the third mini quilt finish for the year!

I started this week by doing some drafting for a theatrical scenic design which included two spiral staircases.

The first thing I do when drafting a staircase is to rough in the stair placement, and it occurred to me that this type of visual may be an interesting inspiration for a quilt.  I especially like seeing several spiral staircases together (like in the step by step image above)  When looking at a spiral staircase from the front, the stair placement shifts from one side of center to the other.  I sketched designs with and without the central post, but ultimately decided I liked the simplicity of the design without a separate vertical design element.  I did, however, want to emphasize the shift from one side of the quilt to the other.  This is how I decided to use a color shift to define the vertical areas of the design.

I started a pair of bright colors for the background with a single, sharply contrasting color for the stairs.  Then I experimented with a black and white version in which the stair and background colors would reverse on each side.  Finally, I combined the two ideas by using a consistent “stair” color with contrasting background colors.

I enjoy using complementary color schemes, and blue with orange is one of my favorites.  In looking through my stash, I was happy to discover some Carolyn Friedlander prints.  The architectural feel she uses in many of her designs reinforces the architectural influence of this design, and I had the same print in both the white and blue color ways.  Another fabric from her line is used for the orange “stair steps.”

I made up a quick cut list and layout for the design to help in translating the design from the computer to fabric.

Once the quilt top was assembled, I selected a blue from the stash to serve as a background.  I knew I wanted to do heavy horizontal quilting, so I thought a solid would show off the stitching without competing with it.

The quilting lines are mostly orange, but I did incorporate two white stitching lines through each “stair.”

I wanted to create a sense of continuity in the application of the quilt binding, so I chose to split the binding fabrics at the center line of the quilt.

I like the linear simplicity of this quilt, and I may create a longer version to function as a modern table runner.

Quilt Stats

Title:  Implied Spiral

Size: 12″x25″

Techniques:  Traditional piecing

Quilting:  Tightly spaced horizontal lines

Fabrics:  Front and Binding- Carolyn Friedlander prints.  Back- Blue solid from stash fabric

Batting:  Scrap of Cotton/Polyester blend

Thread:  Pieced with white Gutermann Mara 100.  Quilted with orange cotton Mettler and white cotton machine quilting thread

Binding:  Straight grain binding, cut in 2″ strips, machine stitched to the quilt front and hand stitched to the back.  Binding color shifts to match the background fabric.

What was New:

• Using fabric from one designer for an entire quilt design
• Matching binding to the background fabric

I am linking this post to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts, Show Off Saturday at Sew Can She, Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts, Let’s Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation, and Whoop Whoop Friday at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Please drop by to see all of the wonderful work being done!