70s Child, 39" x 51"
70s Child is a recent finish that I only started a couple of months ago. I wanted to do a quilt based on improv curves. These blocks were cut free hand with a rotary cutter and machine pieced. I have done curves before, but never so many in one quilt. It turns out I really hate doing them. It's one reason the blocks sat for a bit before I got back to them. I first made the small (approx 5") blocks, then made the four larger triple curve blocks in the upper right. I set them aside to finish some other things, but every time I thought about getting them out I was turned off because I hated the process so much. In the end I realized the design had potential and I should really just suck it up and finish it. I made some more larger curved blocks (about 6"), then the rectangular blocks, and lastly the three largest ones at the bottom.
I just found out that 70s Child was accepted into the Modern Quilt Guild Showcase at IQF Houston this year, so that will be it's first outing as I need to mail it off soon. I don't know why they need them so soon when the show's not until November, but there you go.
It took me a little while to arrange them and start to put it together. When the top was finished I machine quilted with dense straight lines (1/4" apart) which is my go to for abstract modern quilts. It's not terribly original, but it's my thing. I'm done trying to come up with some fabulous free motion design. I really don't enjoy that and in the end I feel it can be limiting. In this case, the quilting adds lovely texture, but no (or minimal) character. I am not really interested in having someone else quilt it for an exorbitant price unless I am dealing with something too large for me.
I finished it with a binding pieced from scraps and I really like the result. By the way, the color palette started with the mustard yellow. I added the reds, pinks and gray and then needed something else and turquoise just seemed to pop. It started to remind me of the 70s while I was working on it. Partly it was due to the mustard yellow/harvest gold color and partly due to the shapes. Plus, I'm a 70s Child myself as I turned 6 in 1970. So, don't expect any more improv curves from me, except perhaps in small doses.
