"Humanity Contained" A Quilt for Me!

Shortly after QuiltCon I got on a sewing spree and made a ton of (okay, like 5) quilt tops all using the same method.

At that time, I didn't know that deconstructed 9-patch blocks existed, but I sewed a bunch of charm squares together and cut them apart ever other row and then unpicked seams going the other direction and created what I now know is called a deconstructed 9-patch block. After the first top, when I used the unpicking method, I figured out that I could  actually just sew 9-patch blocks together and just cut those apart. I had so much fun doing it that I kept making more of them. And I just love them!

But I actually have only completely finished one of the tops (thus, far) and here it is:

One of the tops (that isn't finished yet) was made with the Asbury prints by Thomas Knauer. I started calling it Joy Contained, because the 9-patch blocks were all contained between the sashings and borders, but the colors are so dang pretty and joyful, that it just fit.


In this version, the bright joyful prints from Comma, like the asterisks and atoms and polka dots in bright yellow and orange and green, reminded me of everything good and "bright" (as in smart) and thoughtful about humans... But the greys and blacks, coupled with the blacks I used in sashing and border, darkened the whole quilt and the News print, reminded me of socialism  and communism  and Orwell's1984 and a world where everything is numbered and humanity is controlled by the government. So, combining all of those thoughts, I jokingly started referring to this version of my (not-so-clever) deconstructed 9-patch as Humanity Contained.  And now, that is its name.


Also, the name inspired use of the old-school jail-like-black-and-white-stripe on the back and the news print as a portion of the binding... like a bar code for the quilt so it can be accounted for.

I think my quilt guild thought I was crazy when I presented it and explained all of this at Show and Tell, but everything reminds me of something else so I shared anyway.

Details:

Fabrics:
     Block fabric and middle border: Comma Layer Cake
     Sashing and first black border: An old black strip from Debbie Mumm
     Outer border: An old Jinny Beyer print
     Binding: Moda Bella Solid in Black and Comma News in White
     Backing: Something cool from my mom's stash mixed with a white and black stripe that resembles a jail print and Comma News in Black.

Blocks: Deconstructed 9-Patch with Sashing

Started: March 2013
Finished: May 2013