T he miniature Scissors Quilt you see here uses a pattern that I created from a museum quilt which is in the collection at the Sherbourne Museum. I have never seen a quilt use this particular configuration of triangles and rectangles anywhere else. The basic block is built in such a way that you cannot see the image of the scissors until you have added adjacent blocks. The two basic shapes are a square containing an isoceles triangle and a rectangle half as wide as the square and just as long. You can make the basic blocks small as in the one pictured here, or larger for a full size quilt.

This is another miniature that uses foundation papers for piecing. I design the block on my PC, and then print out the number of blocks I will need to complete the quilt. I can also play in CorelDraw by experimenting with size, thickness, color, and the assembly, so I have an idea of the possibilities before I begin. However, once I start the actual sewing, I never go back to the computer. I let the work itself guide me.

This work is composed of 64 pineapple blocks, each measuring two inches square and containing 37 patches. I moved away from the traditional light/dark scheme by varying the darks and lights to intermediate stages. This gives me an overall palette of very light to very dark blocks, yet within each block there is still the contrast of light to medium, or medium to dark. I chose yellows and reds, probably because I felt starved for these particular colors. Finding just the right shade of each became a challenge as the quilt progressed. If you check out your local fabric shop, you'll notice the gaps in colors that are not particularly "popular" right now. Whole weeks could pass before a particular "quest" shade could be located.

The blocks are arranged to move from light at the top corners to the darkest at the bottom center, giving an overall sunburst effect. The central design is surrounded by a border of beige print 2 inches wide. The next border is a simple row of Flying Geese, arranged to span different portions of the spectrum of a rainbow. A black print surrounds the whole, and the work is mounted on a stretcher over a padding of quilt batting. The work measures 28"X28" and contains 3,461 pieces. I leave the interpretation to the viewer, since the experience from which the design arose is a personal one.