I’m trying to finish my Branching Out challenge quilt before Monday’s guild meeting. Once I’m done with it, I won’t get to do much quilting for the rest of the month or into August. These are a couple of weird, fragmented months, and I have much to do besides sew.
In the meantime, I continue to look for inspiration and ideas. While rolling though some googled images the other day, I noticed a handful of medallion quilts that had something in common. For each, the first border wrapped blocks around the center’s corners, leaving the middle of the border unpieced. The effect was to strengthen and extend the center block.
I drew some examples in EQ7 to save as reminders, and possibly as designs. They have a western or southwestern feel, masculine and rugged, but the idea is valid regardless of style or format. It could work just as well for a block quilt’s borders as for a medallion.
The first two illustrations don’t use exactly the same effect as the googled images, since they both have a narrow first border, followed by the block-wrap. In addition, my drawings repeat the corner design, which wasn’t used in what I saw elsewhere. Drawing in EQ7 leaves some “piecing” lines where I wouldn’t actually piece. Also all of the sizing isn’t exactly how I would make it in real life.
This is the center block.
This kind of corner gives a couple of positives. First, I like the way the fancy corners connect the rings of the quilt differently than with a more typical border/corner design. Second, the length of the border isn’t dependent on the length of the blocks in it. For example, in the second quilt above, the grey-blue strip between pieced brown blocks acts as one long spacer strip, and its length doesn’t need to be a multiple of the pieced block length or width. That makes it easy to adjust for odd border lengths.
Though these corners are a little showy, they don’t call attention to themselves, but contribute to the unity of the whole quilt. The repetition of the corner treatment in each design adds to that effect.
I don’t know if I’ll ever make any of them, but they have design elements that are worth remembering.
Catbird Quilt Studio 
Hi! I was drawn to the third example both for the simplicity of style and the colouring. I think I’d enjoy making that one.😊
That’s what I thought, too. Thank you.
I like the second one best, especially the checkerboard border with the little triangles – so unexpected! And the midpoints of the first red triangle border, where the two little triangles point in to the center. It feels very lively to me.
I actually do love those little triangles pointing inward, in the sawtooth border. That was darn near an accident, but when I saw what it did, I left it! 🙂
I like the 3rd one the best I think. But it is my own personal aesthetic. I like big designs, they feel a bit more modern to me. Also, you so more of the actual quilting when you have more negative space.
I meant “you SEE more of the quilting”…
Yes, I like its simplicity, too. I like the others but they are much busier. It’s just to a different taste, I think. Good to see you. Hugs… 🙂
Sorry I’ve been away. Life should get much calmer here in the next few days! I don’t always have time to read everything, but I always look at your pictures. As always, you do beautiful work. Sorry I don’t always express it.
No apologies ever needed. Family and “life” always take a higher priority than this. Both reading and writing are luxuries when we have time for them.
I like all your examples, but I think the third one is my favourite. I like borders depending on the rest of the quilt of course.
Thanks, Cindy. I like the 3rd one, too. I think one reason is its simplicity. Thanks for taking a look.
Nice idea about the borders anchored with corner blocks that “wrap”. I like your examples. Might be a way to sneak a border into a modern quilt, where borders are currently out of fashion 😉
I like borders. Obviously. But it’s true some quilts shouldn’t have them, and it’s true they can be used badly. 🙂
I like the second one, with the bear paws. Depending on the colours you used, it could either be spiky and rugged or feathery and delicate.
Good point about the colors. I like the bear paws, too. Or they might be giant pine cones. 🙂