I have been working through my latest book, Tree of Life Quilts, and designing – even making every-now-and-then – derivations of the quilts. Some derivations are inspired by the designs and some by technique – the book is full of new techniques. All that to say, I recently finished another variation. This one is based on a technique from the book – although I varied that a little as well. The new quilt is The Nautilus Quilt.

I have a little spot in my foyer where I can display a quilt – I have several that I rotate through – so I often use this footprint when I design a new quilt. I have also discovered that when I go to speak (1) smaller quilts are better when I am flying and (2) holders get tired of holding bed-sized quilts!

The Nautilus Quilt was inspired by the Architect quilt from my Tree of Life Quilts book. Here’s a picture of that quilt.

These quilts are constructed in a similar fashion – the biggest difference is that the sections of The Nautilus Quilt are improvisationally pieced. I started the quilt with a set of 10 by 10 squares of Blueberry Park fabric by Karen Lewis. I laid them out and only used the colors ranging from red to gold – the rest will have to find another quilt to become.

Here’s a peek at the progression.

Next, I added the background, quilted it and covered the transition lines with my go-to neutral: Kona Raisin. If you want to see more details and some video of the quilting, hop on over to Instagram!