Diatom Quilt Along--The Fabrics, Block 1 and 2

 

In December, Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl kicked off her Diatom Quilt Along and I decided I would play along. I desperately wanted to make it in blues, like her quilt.  Most of the quilt shops in my area have closed so I traveled to one a few hours away in hopes to find fabric.  The selection of blues left a bit to be desired so I settled on purple...it's like blue...sorta.

So I opted for the throw size version and left with the fabrics above.  I wasn't convinced when I left the store that there was enough contrast between the two center fabrics.  I'm not sure why I didn't try a black and white picture before I left, but a snap revealed...

They really kinda looked the same, but I convinced myself to make it work.  

Fast forward to the release of block 1.  I discovered my next mistake.  I actually wanted to make the twin size version of the quilt.  The setting for the blocks is different and I have no idea how I missed that.  So, I decided there was only one thing I could do...go to a different shop and buy fabric in blue...like I wanted in the first place.  I call it fate.  I'll just make two quilts.

This time I took a black and white picture before I left the store.  

I found I had the contrast I desired and that I just needed to swap the two middle fabrics.  The darker one was not the one I thought it was.

But the purples.  I just couldn't get them out of my head.  Something about the contrast of those two fabrics kept eating away at me.  I just bought blue fabric...maybe I should make an adjustment to the purple?  I need contrast!  So back to the store...

Light gray.  Yes, that's the answer!  I pulled the purple with gold out completely and added a light gray for my lightest fabric.  This made my heart happy and even more exited for the quilt along.  Nothing to do now but sew my blocks.

Block instructions are easy to follow and they go together quickly.  The center of both the throw and twin-size blocks measure the same.  As I was putting the blue block together, I started feeling twitchy again.

I felt like at a distance those blues read the same.  But I told myself I was crazy and continued piecing until I had two finished blocks.  And stepping away from the block I noticed that in the blue one I have the corner blocks turned wrong.  Should I fix it?  I bet if my blues had more contrast I would have noticed.

Contrast.  I really want good contrast. And the corners are wrong.  That's all I could think about.  You know what I did, right?

You guessed it, back to the store for more fabric.  Fabric is an addiction.  I introduced a peachy color and added another blue to the mix.  So I'm happy to introduce blocks 1 and 2 for both quilts.

Now that I've landed on fabrics I'm in love with I can't wait to piece the rest!