Solids...lots of them

Remember how I had a hard time deciding on a quilt for my daughter?  Well, when it comes to selecting a quilt to make for my oldest son, it's Deja Vu.  I've already made two quilts for him.  You can see them here and here if you'd like.  Now he lives far, far away in a place that's really, really cold, but his quilts still live with me ;-)

My collection of solid fabrics has grown...there is actually another stack behind this one.  I want to make a quilt for him using only solids.  

My first idea was a wonky snowball quilt.  I practiced making several snowball blocks.

These four have been hanging out on my design wall for a while now.  I'm not really crazy about them. 

Occasionally I will stalk Flickr searching various quilt pools for inspiration.  There were several quilts that caught my eye .... all the same pattern but made with various colorways.  After researching more, I discovered the pattern was Plain Spoken from Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr's The Modern Quilt Workshop.  Furthermore, I already have this book!  

I really need to move my design wall OUT of my closet!

So, I went to work cutting strips and making a  Maquette. ( "Maquette is a French word that describes an artistic prototype.  Maquettes are useful when trying to test color combinations, viewing proportions of color or form, and making general design decisions." See page 83 of their book.)

The true colors aren't clear in the photographs.  Basically, it is a rainbow of colors.  I like it, but what I'd really like is to a make an entire quilt similar to this pieced quilt backing.....I've played with an idea for weeks months now.  

I even went to my LHS (local hardware store...hehe) and grabbed sample paint color cards.  I've drawn out several quilt layouts...I'll save you the pictures of those...maybe I do need EQ7 ;-)  If it was mac compatible I would have it by now...but that's a whole other story.

I showed my other son both ideas on Flickr to get his opinion.  He kept asking "this is for Alex, right?" He must have asked me that three or four times.  That got me thinking...maybe he'd like a quilt for Christmas too....or maybe he was just double checking that I wasn't making it for him...ha ha.  This is from the son who will soon be graduating high school and who said he didn't want a graduation quilt, so who knows.  

I made the decision to make a Plain Spoken quilt AND a color card/artist palette quilt...so they each will receive a quilt.  You know what means....my daughter will need a quilt for Christmas too!  Then, since I have so many solids (or maybe not), I think I'll make another coin quilt too.  

...and that's how I added three (or more) quilts to my Christmas list!

Have an amazing day!!!  I need to get sewing!