RED, CREAM & FAWN QUILT

I have been working on a quilt this last week. Like many of my designs, it grew out of another project. Something about the way I was connecting a kusudama set off an idea which I modified and followed.

While the model could theoretically be continued until it was huge, I stopped at a 4 x 4 quilt. By this time I was getting quite bored with the repetition involved. Now I know why I don't specialize in modulars and huge kusudamas with umpteen tiny parts.

I would rate this as an intermediate level project. The quilt is easy to fold but the flower buttons are a little tricky to slot into place. Not fiendish, just annoying. The model is very firm and will take quite a bit of handling. It will NOT fall apart.

Storing it posed a problem. What I needed for my projects were several large pizza-shaped boxes. Unfortunately you cannot buy nice blank ones anywhere unless you buy about a thousand of them at a time, pay for all the ones you don't want and for the postage as well (which is usually about as much as they charge for the boxes themselves.

I solved the problem by taking myself down to the local pizza palour, explaining the situation and asking, nicely, if I could please have 5 large pizza take out boxes with absolutely no pizzas in them. The woman helpfully found 5 such boxes, charged me a dollar and told me, on my way out, that I was not the only person who had come in looking for take out boxes for storing items. So there is an idea for others to try out.

The model is made up of several different sections. The apparently continuous background is a trick of the eye caused by some careful designing. It is achieved by inserting or connecting several red pieces to the cream and fawn pieces. One of the pieces is simply a small square which is inserted into a host piece. One piece slots inside another which hides the connections underneath. The red "button flower" was invented to hide the gaps left by the intersection pieces between the units.


I have included a "cutting diagram" which shows the number of pieces needed for a module, and their relative sizes. The one shown was made from pieces which were 6", 4.5", 4" and 2.25" (for Americans who cannot cope with decimals this translates as 6", 4-1/2", 4" and 2-1/4" respectively).







The next diagram shows the crease patterns for these pieces. Naturally, the inserted "floor" of the top unit has no creases. I have added it there to remind you that it exists. :-)


The partially completed model gives you some idea how it is constructed.

The last photo shows all the items needed to make two modules. As in my completed sample, I have exchanged the colors of the nested squares on the second module. This picture provides a little more information about how the pieces are assembled.

The large square is folded first. The four side connectors are attached next. A triangle point is inserted into a side which is then folded under. This secures the connector to the square.

The connection is strengthened when the sides of the corner squares are turned under, and again, when the smaller square, with its added red floor, is slotted into these "picture corners". The connectors are shown upside down (revealing the pre-folding pattern) as well as the right way up for insertion into the carrying square. One piece is shown connected. Another is shown ready to insert.

Finally, cover the holes at the intersection points by carefully persuading the reluctant points of the flower button to slide under the edges of the corners of the surrounding squares. Cuss if it helps. I simply use a kitchen skewer and the discarded handle piece of those plastic milk bottles.

You can sometimes find the latter implement in the bottoms of the milk refrigerator in supermarkets. If the store takes its cleaning seriously you may have to ask the store manager or the milk department to save you some. At least some of the bottles arrive at the supermarket outlet with this molded piece still attached to the handle. The store generally pokes them out because the customer cannot otherwise pick up the bottle by the handle.