Calvary's Road Musings (Blog)

Why that design??

I guess every quilter/designer sets out to design in a certain way or in a certain style. I am probably no different in that respect. I really love for my designs and quilts to tell a story. I am going to walk you through Calvary’s Road because it is the most recent design and some may wonder why I chose the blocks I did. I design from inspiration and find that inspiration from almost anything.

For Calvary’s Road, the FB group asked for an Easter quilt, one to have complete by Easter around that theme. I decided I would go with the more historical traditional theme for the blocks rather than bunnies and eggs. Going to church each Sunday gave me that inspiration. The blocks in Calvary’s Road all have a Biblical meaning or name. The centre block, named “Crown of Thorns”, was the only one of it’s kind in the quilt, Jesus came to die once for us. These were surrounded by the Greek cross and other cross variations, representing those who were there with Him when he died. There is a narrow border around the crown and crosses aptly named “Road to Heaven”. The final themed block in this beauty is called the “Storm at Sea” block, symbolizing how our storms always have an end.

It was a matter of researching and finding Biblical Easter themed blocks first, which turned out to be easier than I expected. The harder part was colour and block placement to tell the Story of Jesus’ death beautifully. I think in choosing your colours and fabrics, some adding more storms around the corners tell your story as well. This experience has been an amazing one. For me, this was a very special quilt to both design and complete. I love everything about it, even the blank space has meaning for me.

For other designs, I try to stay in a common theme or maybe feeling I have. You can probably see my moods or emotional state in the designs. I can see how I have grown as a designer, thanks to all of you! I love to design “outside” the box. In saying that, I love symmetry and a sense of “complete”-ness, but am willing to go asymmetrical to tell the story. I am not one to use two of the same blocks side by side unless colour and depth require it. I love that each of our quilts tells YOUR story with your fabrics and colour choices.

As far as names…. that’s the hard question…. Seems as if I sit and stare out the window a lot when trying to name a quilt, but sometimes it is just there right in front of my face! I love that you just run with the names even though sometimes you may wonder “what was she thinking”? I have a few designs on the sticky notes for you (ones waiting for us to complete the ones we are working on!!)… Twinsies, Hugs & Cuddles, Picnic Party, Spinning Around, and Aroha to name a few. Each one with it’s own story to tell…