Just finished. I wasn’t sure it was all going to work but it has.
If you click on the image above you will see the quilting detail. I thought about some kind of detailed quilting design but there were two problems. First, I didn’t have a hoop large enough to manage any kind of large block and there isn’t a really clear hexagonal shape to work with, even if I did. I defaulted to a diamond shape which is all I could accommodate. Second, any kind of detailed quilting, like I used on the previous diamond quilts, was going to detract from the effect of the rising, interconnected, vertical elements of the quilt design.
In the end I quilted the “diamonds” using a straight line design alternating the direction of the diamonds to fit into the overall array of interconnected elements.
Then what to do with the borders? I decided to use a rather dense floral quilt design; I set up a modified version which I used to fill in the half-diamond elements top and bottom. That decision turned out well.
I assembled a double strip of pieced strips to allow me to widen the backing enough to fit the quilt top. I bordered the insert strip with unequal strips of a light batik which blended nicely.
I finished the quilt with a narrow 1/4″ conventional quilt binding using 1 1/2″ strips from some Skyline fabric still in my stash which let me get away without having to piece a gazillion tiny leftovers from the Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics. The binding finishes the quilt hinting at the colours in the main panel.
So, the quilt is done. I started playing with the idea on May 6 – so 2 1/2 weeks is the time it took me to construct, quilt, and complete the project. I’ve had a lot of uninterrupted time to sew since we’ve been on COVID-19 lockdown here in NS since April 25 (we expect to remain locked down until at least the middle of June – maybe longer because while new case counts aren’t going up to any degree, they’re not going down, either!).
Now it’s time to turn my attention to sewing some summer clothes – a couple of dresses, maybe a jean jacket, some linen pull-on pants. I have the fabric on hand. I’ll start by washing it all tomorrow.
jmn 
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Wow, this is awesome! I might have to try it. Thanks for sharing.
REALLY love this quilt. I am going to share with my daughter as your “development”of the pattern & construction is right up her alley & we have a nephew who just got married & this would be perfect . I am so glad I read to the end. Your paragraph about how you had time because of covid isolating, & it might last until middle of June…I am currently isolating with 2 women that got it a day prior to 7 more coming in for a bookclub trip (9/22). I had it last July after a trip, & so far, my antibodies have protected me as I can’t get the newest booster for another couple of weeks. But, as you found, a lot of projects are getting quilted! Do you think we could make this work with aboriginal fabrics?
Mary, you can use any fabric you want to. Aboriginal fabrics I’m sure would result in an interesting quilt. Just keep in mind you need 25 fabrics – one solid for the “background” triangles and any borders you plan on adding; 24 patterned fabrics – 8 light, 8 medium, 8 dark (https://jmncreativeendeavours.ca/2021/05/08/the-escher-quilt-2/). I’m guessing it might be hard to find 24 related aboriginal patterned fabrics but you could certainly incorporate what you can get your hands on in each of the three categories, use them as your starting point, then fill in the rest with prints that blend in colour and design. Blending aboriginal print fabrics with batiks might do the trick – they’re colourful and there is an obvious design but it wouldn’t be so strong that it overpowers the aboriginal prints. You’ll likely do a lot of auditioning to build a collection of 24 fabrics. As for the background, I suggest a navy (which is what I used given the colour blend of my fabrics) but black is certainly a good option (that was the background colour in the original photo I saw). All the best with this quilt. One other thought, because trying to pull together a collection of 24 fabrics can be daunting you might consider a kit that has selected fabrics for you (these quilt kits are reasonably priced: https://www.quilt-agious.com/shop/Kits/p/Escher—Batik-x46838321.htm).
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Stunning and in such a short time frame! Like the off set back inset. The multiple patterns in the front – seems like a good plan to just use the diamonds rather than a more intense quilting pattern.
Thanks
Just WOW! I’m in awe, it’s spectacular. So clever and so much patience.
Very best wishes,
Lesley
One of your best!