What would happen if…?

In March of 2011 Joanna Rose and the American Folk Art Museum teamed up to present the landmark show Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC

I was living there at the time and volunteered during the show and spent a lot of non-volunteer time there.  I gazed in amazement at all the quilts – all in Red and White.

I was struck by both the utter simplicity and grand complexity that two color quilts could create.

 

One day  I was chatting with some friends and we gazed upward at one quilt and wondered if the circles were appliquéd or if they were pieced.  Thanks to the zoom on my camera I was able to figure out that indeed they were pieced and were a variation of the Drunkard’s Path block.

The quilt was so graphic and so simple. My mind began to ask the question: What could I do to change this block a bit? (You see, I can’t leave anything as it is – whether it is a recipe, my garden plantings or a quilt block!)  I awoke at 3 am with the idea of adding a half-square triangle to the corner of the block.

 

I sketched it out (if I didn’t I know I wouldn’t remember when I woke up for real) and went back to bed.  The next day I played around in Electric Quilt and this block was born. Yes, I thought I had created something new, but as someone once said “If you think you created something new – well, you just haven’t looked hard enough”.  And true – this variation was done by others in years gone by.

This block turned into my own Red and White quilt Infinite Possibilities which appeared in the March/April 2013 issue of McCall’s Quilting.

Photo courtesy of McCall’s Quilting

My obsession with this block continued resulting in more variations for piecing and setting it.  I love teaching this technique and students soon learn that curved piecing should not be feared and they soon get hooked!

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All this FUN has resulted in my new book A New Spin on Drunkard’s Path  which will be released by C&T Publications this August.

Twelve projects – each with a slightly different take on this block!  Stay tuned for a peek at all twelve projects!  But be forewarned – you might discover a new quilt block obsession!