It’s a little hard to believe that my first self-published pattern of 2019 didn’t release until this month, but I think I needed that hiatus to clarify my process for pattern writing.
Also, I find it particularly sweet that my latest pattern is an offshoot of one of my all-time favorite designs.
I published a pattern for this quilt, Medusa, about 18 months ago:
I called it Medusa and I was and remain very proud of the design. It marked a transition for my design work, a clearer sense of my aesthetic vision.
Though, even as I completed this quilt, I knew I wanted to craft a second, simpler, solids-based version. The original Medusa was created to feature fabrics in my collection for Robert Kaufman Fabrics, Mark to Make, and I loved the challenge of using prints to create a strong, graphic image. But solids really speak to me because communicating movement and shifting light as well as clear, visible shapes is so much easier without the extra element that a print brings.
So, I made this quilt:
Medusa 2.0 is available as a PDF download.
Focused on two fat quarter bundles in gradients of red and grey with a single hand dyed solid as the background fabric, this version is smaller and, maybe, easier to imagine adapting to a different color palette. Making it your own could be as simple as swapping out the red-based bundle for one featuring a different color.
The design is planned in quadrants, so it’s also possible to play with value and color variations there instead of across the center seam of the quilt.
This top features four quadrants in two color gradients, warm and cool. Here, all the fabrics are hand dyed, but it would be simple to reproduce in commercial solids.
Currently, Medusa 2.0 is available as a PDF download, but I’ll be reformatting the pattern for paper also.
I’m also playing around with hosting a sew-along and would appreciate your feedback. Interested?