Traveling Quilts: Round 4

For round 4 of the Traveling Quilts bee I worked on Elizabeth's quilt. For each round of this bee we add to blocks created in the previous round then send to the next quilter for further additions. There is a strong eclectic and improvisational vibe in the group, and we're free to respond to each quilt however we like. We can attach or not attach our additions, leaving composition to later robins, if we like.

Monica sent me Elizabeth's quilt many weeks ago. Elizabeth had started with a vertical box motif that my brain keeps calling the "rain chain," though I'm not sure that makes any sense with these colors. Next, Heather made four paper-pieced heart blocks with Elizabeth's neon colors. And Monica threw a Pac-man party!

I wanted to incorporate some of Heather's blocks, and maintain some of Monica's retro video game vibe. I framed two of Heather's hearts in solid colors, pulled out a large black dot print, and carefully measured to create a  ontinuous dot border.

Laying them next to the preceding pieces the blocks seemed so heavy and dark. The truth is I'm a bit scared of white, so I'm more likely to reach for a color or a print than for plain white. I stewed for a couple days (I was already late, mind you), and decided I could make it better, keeping the dark dots while making it a tiny bit less heavy. 

I unpicked the dots, trimmed down the color borders, amputated a dot on each edge, and I was satisfied. The 16-patch in the lower right is my own block, along with the connecting 4-patches between the large blocks.

This was a difficult round for me. There is a lot of color, and a lot going on. Looking at the photos, I wonder if a better strategy might have been some simple white borders. But here it is, and now it's Penny's turn.

Update: It's round 4, not round 3, so I corrected the title.