"Emeralds" in the woods

"Square-Cut Emeralds"
34 x 24 inches

Today I finished this "modern quilt" and photographed it in our woodsy back yard. It was inspired by the "Pantone 2013 Color of the Year" Emerald Quilt Challenge, created by Ali at www.asquaredw.com.



I free-cut everything with my rotary cutter (no measuring, no ruler) for a "wonky" effect when the slight curves were pieced together, which reminds me of the Gee's Bend quilts. The blue-green squares represent square-cut emeralds, and the white stripe in the center represents the "sparkle" of the gemstone. I quilted it in one big spiral with my walking foot. I've included pictures of earlier stages of the quilt and the back ...

Putting the units together ....













I decided on the neutral tan, or beige, color for the background. And began playing with the idea of corners to create the illusion of a frame.

 

Here are alternate versions of the quilt, which I decided not to do because a) they take away from the illusion of the abstract emeralds, and b) they just don't look right!

Here is the back of the quilt, with my cutting table and computer in the foreground and UFOs on my wall. I notice a lot of quilting studios look similar to this, so I know I'm in good company!