Gemstone Beginnings : :

Today's my Birthday, hooray! But I wanted to pop in quickly and share what I started yesterday! I've had this idea to make improvisational gemstone quilt blocks for so long now. Sketching out various diamond and gemstone shapes has become habit for me whenever I sit down with a pen and paper. When these Cultivate fabrics recently arrived, even after I shared yesterday morning's post, I didn't think these prints were the right match to my gemstones quilt idea.



Then yesterday afternoon I took another look, and noticed the inconspicuous diamond shapes within these two Cultivate Seed Packet geometric prints. I was inspired to try!



The first block came together a bit slow. I was improvising, composing my block without any pattern or prepared cut pieces of fabric. When I first dreamed up this idea, I was planning to happily accept a bit of wonkiness, unmatched seams, etc... But as I worked on my first block I was being a bit too careful for me to not lose interest before making enough blocks to finish as a quilt.



The next two came together in the same amount of time it took me to make the first. They're certainly more wonky than my first try, but I love how they turned out! I especially love how the three look together!



The three 10" square blocks sewn together, with a long narrow strip added to both the top and bottom, finish at just the right size to turn into a new pillow in my new favorite 14" x 28" size. I'm considering it for just these three, there will surely be many more gemstones in my future! Hmn, what do you think?

♡ Maureen