Maze Quilt - Design Choices

I made a quilt following an intricate two-color gridded design, using basic unit piecing methods.  It's 55x41" with individual squares that finish to 1" in size.

I'm going to share here what went into the design choices.  I will cover the construction details that are relevant to the nature of the design, but not attempt to cover basic piecing and quilting techniques.

Step 1: Source Pattern, Two-color Inspiration

There's lots of cool two color designs that would make dramatic quilts.  I was looking for a maze generator to make printouts with to amuse my young son, and when I found Unikatissima's Maze Generator applet , I was inspired to make a maze quilt.

Unikatissma has a Random Squares Pattern Generator that looks fun.  I also find Cellular Automata patterns a good source of inspiration for two color designs, and my favorite tool for exploring them is Mirek's Java Cellebration .  My next quilt is planned based on a "Life 012345678/1" rule automata.

Comments

[Very Interesting]

Very nice, and artistic!

[kitchentablescraps]

This is beautiful! Quilting is definitely on my list of things I simply must learn to do.

[momtes]

This is absolutely beautiful!

[drewnoakes]

Nice project. It reminds me of this photo I took in Paris:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drewski/4112733857/

[n_toxic_ated]

i see the maze pattern generated is dated april 2009 - how long did it take to make? (i quilt too - just spent 5 hrs making a pieced pillowcase [top only, no quilting] to match a quilt i made about 5 yrs ago -- yeah to me for keeping the 'useless' scraps!!)

[cfox]

That wasn't actually an easy question to answer; between printing the chart and photographing the top, about six weeks of real time (Sept.-Nov. 2010). Then it sat unquilted for about three months, and was quilted within the space of a week.

I don't manage to work on anything every single day, and I don't get more than an hour or two together when I do work on it; it's a common pattern for me to make a top, then let it sit while I quilt the previous top, or make the next one. (I generally have 2-3 projects on the go, but not more than that.)

[n_toxic_ated]

and people wonder why we don't sell our quilts or if we do, why they're priced so high...

[Rossyta]

Hey, what a wonderful idea. If I had a sewing machine I would be doing one of this now.
I loved the photo. At first sight it looked as if it were part of the desingn. The tree's shadow make it look really nice. It would be a a good Idea to make one with an image on it, so you'll have the maze and an image to decor your room.

[cfox]

Photographing a quilt in wintertime where I am is pretty tough :)

If you're doing a more subtle set of color choices, using the gridded fusible web method of putting together a "postage stamp" quilt might work better. I think I only got away with unit piecing due to having most of the units the same.

[lucek]

I really should try this. I haven't quilted sense I left high school, But I remember it was fun.

[sharzz]

A maze ing!

[kipluck]

BEAUTIFUL. Wish I was that talented!

[pattymadeit]

Breathtakingly beautiful ... took the words right out of my mouth! Amazing!

[PACW]

All Quilters are insane by nature, You may very well be the queen of quiltdom! This is breathtakingly beautiful.

[playfulplans]

Beautifully done, it must require great concentration. The design, color and execution are very strong.

I was immediately reminded of Annie Alber's seminal mid-century textiles work at THe Bauhaus and at Black Mountain College near our home. You are aware of her stuff I'm sure, here is a link to MOMA's slideshow:

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A96&page_number=5&template_id=1&sort_order=1

[rsislandcrafts]

What a great idea! I was just talking to my kids about making a maze quilt a couple days ago. Now that I know it's not a crazy idea, I can make one for our house without worrying if I'm crazy lol.

[mattthomas992003]

this is really cool, I would buy one in a heart beat from you if you sold them