Live a Colorful Life Quilt Diary: 160. Reserve Champion

By 2016 I had been working nearly exclusively with solid fabrics, so the opportunity to work with different brands and their unique colors wasalways interesting. I was given a chance to work with RJR Cotton Supreme Solids as part of their What Shade Are You? campaign. This was the second time I had worked with RJR Cotton Supreme Solids and can highly recommend them.

I was able to choose a set of 12 colors, ending up with four color groups with three values in each, and then added two neutrals.

I always use the ~~latest state of the art design program~~ graph paper and colored pencils when I'm working on something new.

My idea was to use the traditional Sisters Choice block, alternate grid, and a partial larger block, along with alternating dark and light backgrounds within the blocks themselves.

After I sewed the original design together, something just didn't seem right. The large block in the lower left corner made it seem bottom heavy, and the negative space just didn't sit well.

I took most of it apart, made a couple more blocks, and ended up with a design that seemed much more visually appealing.

I used the extra blocks on the back.

The negative space gave Darby a chance to really make the quilting stitches pop. I just love the little circles here and there.

Mark thinks I would be remiss if I didn't explain how I came up with the quilt name, Reserve Champion. Originally I was trying to think of a male version of Sisters Choice, since I have no sisters, but I do have one brother. I couldn't think of anything that worked. My brother works for the Federal Reserve, and the name Reserve Champion just popped into my head. I realize that a reserve champion is normally given to a second place finisher, but I don't think that applies in this case. I'm really thrilled with the quilt, and I'm sure my brother is ~~confused~~ thrilled to have a quilt named after him. :)

In 2017, I wrote an article about double-sided quilts for Modern Patchwork.