Mondrian


"MONDRIAN"

Mondrian is inspired by the art of Dutch artist Piet Mondrian who popularized this primary colour motif in the 1920s - 30s.

*****

This quilt consists of 10 blocks.  If made with solids, it can be a great showcase for some creative quilting.  It is also ideal for showing off some of those large print fabrics that you don't want to cut into small pieces.  

Please note that yardage requirements may have to be increased if you want to fussy cut or use directional fabric.  The pattern includes cutting layouts, which may help you decide if you need more fabric.

The pattern also includes a colouring sheet, which you can print to experiment with different colour combinations and/or doodle some quilting designs.

*****

Mondrian is distributed by Erie Quilt Art.  If you would like it but can't find it, ask your LQS to bring it in.

*****

Thanks to all my great pattern testers.  They gave me some awesome feedback, which I hope has resulted in a better pattern.  Also - thanks to my long-suffering husband who helps me with so many things, including the cover photo and tech support.  😎

*****

Mondrian is a relatively easy quilt to make - it's just squares and rectangles separated by 1/2" sashing.  However, for a really nice looking quilt, it's important to get that 1/2" sashing even throughout the quilt.  Be sure to cut exact 1" strips and stitch accurate 1/4" seams.  Do a crisp pressing toward the sashing after you sew each seam.  

Also - cut the sashing strips to the necessary size.  Do not just sew on a strip and cut it to fit.  That will introduce distortion into your quilt.

Some of the seams are fairly long.  You may find it helpful to match up the half way points.  Also, to ensure that the ends are even, try stitching about 1/2" in on one end of the seam. Then turn the pieces around and start stitching from the other end until you join up to that first 1/2" that you stitched.  This will give you nice even blocks - no jagged edges.

Another tip is to take care to line up the sashing intersections. To do this, I mark both sides of the spot where I need the sashing to join.  You can see the marks below.



*****

Now, on to the quilting.  To keep the "Mondrian" feel of the quilt, the primary colours had to "read" as solid colours so I matched the thread up to each colour was closely as I could.  But I still wanted to have fun with the quilting.  I decided to use a motif for each colour to create a bit of unity across the quilt.  You will see each motif in the pix below and a bit about how I quilted them.  Also, take a look at the Mondrian posts in the main blog for closeup pix of the quilting.



I get asked a lot about "how I quilt".  For this quilt, as for many of my quilts, I started at the top and stitched in the ditch from top to bottom to anchor the quilt to the backing, then I basted the bottom to the backing.  I used Decobob thread (80 wt) for the ditching. (I don't float - I attach the top to the top roll bar and when I get to the bottom, I take it off the roll bar and baste to the backing.)  Once it's all anchored to the backing I trim off any excess batting and I am free to roll the quilt up and down as needed.  

Since I was at the bottom, I started there and worked my way up on the black.  I switched to Glide thread (40 wt).  Mark 1" grid, then stitch.  Every other square is filled in.


This is what the black looks like when it's finished.  I did the grid through all the black areas, regardless of size.  It's fast and easy.  Black quilting doesn't show much under normal lighting conditions so I don't waste too much time on it unless I'm using a contrasting thread.


The red, blue, yellow, white motifs were designed to fit into 6" x 6" squares but I quilted them into most of the larger squares/rectangles as well.  Here , the "red" pix are in a larger rectangle where I marked off a 6" square at one end then a 1/2" beyond that line to create a 1/2" border mimicking the sashing.   Then I marked the centre of the marked square and the centre of the sides (above).


I used two circle templates: 5" and 3" (above)


Start needle down in the centre.  Using the 3" circle, stitch an arc from the centre of the square to the centre of one side (below).



Above - then stitch from the side to the centre.  Remember to place your circle 1/4" off the start/stop points to accommodate the hopping foot.


Shift the circle to do the next "side petal" (above).



Above and below - work around the square to stitch in 4 petals from the centre to the side edges.




Above - now switch off to the 5" circle and repeat the process into the corners - centre to corner to centre, etc..






Below - here we are back at the centre and all the arcs have been stitched.  Stop, needle down.


Above - optional: before you tie off, make a little design into the corner "petals" - or all of them if you like.  Or only the shorter "petals". Whatever you like.  Note that I designed all these motifs to fit into a 6" square as that is the size of the smallest block components.  But I wanted to do the motifs in most of the same coloured components no matter what their size.  So on this one (red above), as an example, I stitched a 1/2" border along the edge that isn't black to mimic a sashing.  I did the "virtual sashing" in most of the larger blocks - take a look at the close ups in the blog post) . Then I did something else in the rest of the component.

The blue motif is a combo of ideas - one of Angela Walter's "shape book" ideas combined with a Lori Kennedy flower.  Above, the square marked out.


Stitched out on the left, above.


Here is the white motif - feather wreath.  Above - mark centre cross-hairs.  The easiest way to do this is to mark in the diagonals.  Then I used a circle template to mark in two circles.  A small one and a larger one (actually the smallest and largest of the green template circles).


Here is the motif stitched out.  Using the large circle as a spine, stitch feathers from the spine to the edge of the square, all the way around.  Once back at the start, go around again, this time stitching feathers toward the small circle and using that as your "edge" - i.e., don't go into that small circle.  I used "hook feathers" but you can do any kind of feathers you are comfortable with.


I want to talk about a few things regarding the pix above:
  • The yellow motif - I didn't get a shot of quilting it but it's easy.  I used my 2" circle to stitch a circle - off centre.  Then I did a spiral into and out of  the circle.  Then wavy lines from the edge of the circle to the edge of the square - all the way around.  Done.
  • The pix shows the white, blue, red and yellow motifs pretty well.  The black not so much, which is why I put in that pix of the black in the sunshine near the top.
  • See the "plus sign" formed by the sashing between the blue, yellow, black and red 6" blocks?  That's an example of where you need to be careful to line up the sashing intersections. 
And finally, I did a few fun things in the big blocks.  I didn't get pix of most of them but if you look closely at the close ups on the blog post you can figure them out.  Or better yet - think up some crazy stuff of your own!  Here's one:


I printed off a clip art pic of a sun and used that as a model for the sun in the big yellow block.  No magic, I just drew it on then stitched it in.  Use a small ruler or applique ruler to steady your stitching.

And that's all I've got - at least for now.  I hope you have fun making and quilting this quilt!

No comments:

Post a Comment