I machine quilted together two vintage tops to make one quilt. The trip around the world side (below) is very nice. The pattern is easy to read… it’s happy!

The quilt top I put on the back has alternating 3″ squares and 9-patches made from 1″ squares. There isn’t an underlying theme or color palette on this side. It is mostly prints, plaids, and stripes that are individually wonderful, but together are a hot mess. Your eyes have nothing to focus on.

Look at the two, together…

Your eye can rest and explore the trip around the world. There isn’t any resting when you look at the 9-patches. And more to the point, there isn’t any real pattern.

Generally speaking, when we go to the effort to cut fabric apart and sew it back together, we do so for a reason. I wonder if the maker of the 9-patch just wanted to sew and had no other plan… because that’s what it looks like. And I absolutely understand that because I have done that myself with equally questionable results 🤣.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t successfully test the boundary between pattern and chaos. I wrote about the quilt below, Carnival, made by Joan Goetteman and Audree Sells, in this blog post. It was my Judge’s Choice at the Chaska Fall Splendor Quilt Show in 2022.

Yes, there is chaos, but it is not total chaos. There is just enough pattern to keep your eye happily busy. You may not be drawn to this level of visual activity, but I still love this quilt.

If you are interested in making this sort of quilt, go for it! Here are a few tips:

• When you find a quilt that embraces this sort of chaos, study it a bit to see what does and does not resonate with you.
• Consider how to create some sort of recognizable arrangement/pattern.
• Group colors in a way that enhances the plan you have in mind.
• Play small and large prints off of each other.
• Use a design wall!!!!

Happy stitching!