100 Day Project: Week 5 Update

Week 5 #DesignbyDice

It is hard to believe that I am a third of the way through my 100 Day Project!! I love having all the blocks hanging on my design wall, as it makes for an awesome backdrop for Zoom meetings!  Although I am running out of room on my design wall, which is a friendly reminder that I need to get going on assembling a quilt top from blocks #1-25!!

So without further ado, here is a recap of all the blocks that were assembled this past week with my own personal critique.

29/100

• The orange, yellow, yellow-green analagous color scheme inspired this citrus design (or perhaps it was a refreshing margarita?!?) 
• Each citrus wedge involved quite a bit of cutting and layering. So once I constructed 6 wedges, I started to play with designs. Using a diagonal layout was interesting but the corners needed something more, hence the wavy lines in coordinating colors, which added wonderful movement and in some ways represented juice flowing (aka margaritas!!)  
• Last week I swapped out Form for Size & Color, and this was the first time I rolled it. I played with the various size and scale of the various elements: citrus wedges, rines, in addition to the widths of the wavy lines. I strived for contrast as I chose the values for each wedge, as well as using the wavy lines against the dark background fabric.

30/100

• A set of hand-dyed solid scraps  gradating from light to dark teal made it easy for me to play with a teal monochromatic color scheme. 
• I set out to create some wavy lines that I then cut out triangle notches to yield zig zags for the patterning. I wish the variation within the zig zag heights was more dramatic, as I think it would have created more exciting background shapes.  But it still leads to some wonderful negative space design.

31/100

• When working with a monochromatic color scheme, it is important to incorporate a variety of values to add interest. These monochromatic fused purple scraps were leftover from kits used in an in-person workshop with Katie Pasquini Mosopust. 
• In order to achieve movement, I was inspired by the Family Circus cartoons where they often featured dashed lines to represent the kids' various wanderings as they were tasked with an errand or chore. I started by cuttting out strips in a variety of widths that were then subcut into interesting shapes to create five different pathways which intersect with one another.
• I dubbed this design Crossed Paths and reflected on how I've crossed paths with so many wonderful friends and colleagues over the years, and how I look forward to crossing paths again once it is safe to do so again.

32/100

• After rolling a triadic color scheme, I couldn't resist some more sheer play. A large wedge was cut from each sheer fabric and layered to yield new colors and shades. Things got even more exciting once I cut each wedge in half and layered one half at a time and left a skinny line between each half. I regret not taking a before and after photo of this transformation.
• Balance was achieved by placing the intersection off-center and filling the larger half with the wider sections of each wedge. 
• This block was probably one of the easiest to construct, as the sheers really do a lot of the design work! But I absolutely love how this block simulates the searchlights reminiscent of a big movie premiere in Hollywood! 

33/100

• I chose red-violet scraps for my monochromatic color scheme, making sure to incorporate a variety of printed textures and values. 
• In honor of Mother's Day, I cut out heart shapes, taking care to create a unique patterning of heart shapes and sizes along each strand.
• This design was inspired by one of my all-time favorite flowers: Bleeding Hearts.

34/100

• This was my second analogous roll of the week, so I chose yellow-green, green, and blue-green (teals).
• Feeling stumped on shapes, I opened up one of my reference books to scope out some new shapes to explore. I immediately got excited by the spirals, as I love spiral designs and knew the would do double-duty by helping me to tackle shape and movement! My spirals each started out as a circle in 3 different sizes traced from various spools of thread. Two spirals were cut from the same circle, which means you may see some very similar spirals in future designs!!
• Instead of filling the entire block with spirals, I created a pathway for the spirals and left some negative space surrounding this cluster. It reminded me of the weather forecasts depicting tropical storms growing in size and power as they approach landfall.

35/100

• After considering a few complementary color schemes, I reached for the chartreuse/orchid fabrics. I pulled out a variety of shapes and found some orchid arcs that I cut out triangle units to create spikey arcs. To balance out the jagged edge, some smaller arcs were cut from clamshell rows. 
• While the straight lines help conceal the seams, they also serve as an axis and help establish balance to the design. An individual spike and arc were added to fill in the vast span of negative space.
• I really love this design and its simplicity. I may revisit and explore adding some additional layers, patterning, or cutouts.

And here is the complete collection of all 35 #designbydice blocks!! I'd love to hear which ones are your personal favorites?!? I know I am having a hard time choosing just my top 5 favorite blocks!!

Blocks 1 through 35