An Iconic Bed Quilt

Part One of the Iconic Bed Quilt

Victoria asked me to make her a quilt.  Not just any quilt but a Beatles quilt. In all her 18 years I'd never made her a quilt; I'd made several for Anthony, her brother but none for her.  Of course I may have been distracted by the countless dresses, capes, and doll clothes that I made for her.  

Victoria wants a Beatles quilt.  She is a third generation Beatles fan:  I loved them, their early work especially but later really appreciated George Harrison's solo work in  My Sweet Lord .... Give Me Love .....and, As My Guitar Gently Weeps .   Victoria's mom (my daughter Amy), discovered the Beatles while in her teens and I have nice memories of Amy sitting on the floor with her flute, my youngest sister beside her with guitar ..... both playing from a Beatles songbook (circa 1980).  

And now, here we go again!
 

But does Victoria want a Beatles wall hanging, lap or a bed quilt? 

She tells me she wants a bed quilt for her dorm at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania.  .  . . Victoria is on the right, in the picture above right; it was taken in London this past September.

Design

I want this quilt to be bold and graphic.  I see it in black and white and with pops of color.  Maybe some red, orange or yellow.   I  can see images of the fabulous four on it and even song titles and lyrics upon it.  

I am off and running  . . . but .. .   As you will see . . . . not too fast  . . .

On the left, is a quick sketch of some early ideas --  I was just thinking on paper, not being restricted by the notion of producing a usable product. 

This is a later, and a more thoughtful rendition of an idea but  it's just a  too traditional. 

And more constrained than I'd imagined. 

. . . . Although it could be usuable if I staggered the rows just a bit ......

 Here's some initial prep work for image transfers.

 The quilt will be 'reversible' or in other words, no front or back.  I didn't know what to call the 'other side' until my friend Chris used the word 'verso'. 

Below was my first idea for the 'verso'.  But it was a short-lived idea at best. 

My next idea was to use off-cuts from the quilt blocks to create a black and white weaving for the center of the back.  Oh too fragile, I suspect.

Beginning
I settled in to audition, cut, sew, lay-out blocks.  This is the first time in years that I've made a bed-sized quilt.  My skills are rusty to say the least.

Up until this point, I was pleased with my progress. 

Until one very late night of insomnia when I took some photos.

"OH NO ... OH NO". 

"Get that YellowBlueRed outta there!  And the vertical sashing has to go too".

This project needs editing, ruthless editing.  And more work at the drawing table.

An Iconic Bed Quilt ... Part Two soon.