Italiano antico

You may remember I shared with you several weeks ago about the Old Italian blocks I was making, and the dilema I was facing that would complicate the trimming later. I liked my plan, and spent the next several weeks making blocks, piecing a top, and quilting. But when that quilting was done, rather than trimming at an angle as planned, I trimmed the quilt square and proceeded to bind it right up that evening. It was only as I was editing photos yesterday that I remembered!! OH WELL. Hubby and I really like it as it is, though, so I guess it was meant to be.

So more about the quilt, as it really was an enjoyable process. It all began with a stash of crossweaves, chosen in an intentional analogous color scheme. All of the 6.5" X blocks were made with them, using a tutorial by Barbara Black/@bbquiltmaker. They made up pretty quickly, and it was fun to mix up the colors. Then came adding background squares to create the layout, in a part of the original plan that I actually followed through with! I cut squares in Kona Rich Red, Cotton Couture Paprika, Cotton Couture Cherry, Kona Red, Kona Cosmos, Kona Cardinal, Kona Pimento, and Kona Flame; and you may be able to tell that the colors change left to right across the quilt top.

For the pieced backing, I chose primarily Kona Cosmos, the 2022 Kona Color of the Year. I had stashed a couple of yards for a project featuring it, but after piecing the Old Italian quilt top, I knew it was too perfect not to use here. And I love it. As you can see, I incorporated several other solids, and a striped scrap that also found its way into the front.

So for quilting, I chose three Aurifil 28wt threads, #2260 [Wine], #2265 [Lobster Red], and #2270 [Paprika]. They were used in an orderly fashion, but unfortunately with the bold colors of the quilt, their differences aren't really obvious in photos. 

But the diagonal grid quilting went very well, and using a 50wt #2250 [Red] (not shown) in my bobbin worked nicely too. I did find I needed to stitch just a tad slower than normal, but I like the result.

I intentionally left the Xs unquilted, and later went back in for some big-stitch quilting with Aurifil 12wt #2260 [Wine]. Perfect it's not, but I love the look, and it was a pleasure to stitch.

The quilt was bound with a traditional hand-sewn binding in Kona Rich Red, and measures 56" x 56". Even though it's not quite what I had in my mind's eye at the outset, it was a joy to make, and I'm more than happy with the finish. That's more than enough, I think.

The Old Italian Block

After finishing up my latest bee blocks, I was ready for a new project, and after perusing my copy of Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar by quilt curator and collector Roderick Kiracofe, I was drawn in by an Old Italian Block quilt top. I had several red solids I wanted to incorporate into one work, and that really was my thought as I began rummaging through my stash for what to put with them. I happened upon a stash of crossweaves, many bits left from a piece made years ago. Little did I know that I would quickly fall in love with the analogous palette I chose.

The Old Italian Block is a quick make, and I followed the excellent tutorial by Barbara Black/@bbquiltmaker. The tutorial makes a 6.5" block, which actually was quite perfect for the quilt layout I had in mind.

So in between real life stuff this week, I've been making more blocks; and finally last night, was ready to cut some solid squares and see if my original plan was going to work. Happily it really really was.

So now I have a dilemma.... to start piecing a pretty traditional layout, or to turn things on their head a bit. Option two would mean making several more blocks and definitely would complicate the trimming later, but I'm thinking it just might be worth the risk. So stay tuned. I've really enjoyed where this fabric journey has taken me so far, and I'm just not sure I want to stop now.