Finished: 1/15/12
Techniques: Bargello Pattern, Stitch in the Ditch
Size: 23.5" x 16"
Description: I'm glad I started this project early in the week. It was not difficult, but it was time consuming. The pieces I used were small - no larger than 1-1/2 x 2", so that probably accounts for it. I started with selecting 26 batiks or brightly colored fabrics - 24 for the top, 1 for the binding and 1 for the backing. I had these left over from a quilt I did for my niece with paper-pieced batik stars on a black background. I cut 1-1/2" strips of each top color, sewed them into a tube, cut them various widths, detached each column at the appropriate point, then sewed the rows together again. Because of the different widths, a wave-like quality appears across the quilt. Before starting the stitch-in-the-ditch quilting, the mini-quilt looked pretty square to me. I had read that, to avoid a lengthening in one direction, one should alternate directions when stitching in the ditch, so that's what I did. However, this seemed to make the rectangles more like rhomboids and it didn't come out very even. Blocking may help. Next time I try this, I think I will try stitching all in one direction to see if it makes a difference. But I do like the colors (I find I'm very partial to bright cheery colors) and I do like the overall effect. One trick was to start with a light-colored fabric and go successively darker over 4-5 fabrics, then start with a new light fabric.
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