neutral 16-patch with orange medallion, top completed

16-patch with orange medallion.
72 by 72 inches

Made with over 1200 neutral (low volume) 2 1/2 inch squares pieced into 16-patch blocks.

How an idea is sparked.
When I sorted out the light 2 1/2 inch squares from the dark squares used for the Jack and Jill Round Robin Squares quilt, they sorted themselves into a pile that had me make neutral 16-patches.

I loved Kirstin Klasen's purple scrap squares with its off-center medallion. Then Wanda Hanson posted her bowties with medallions that messed with the grid.
These two ideas came together with the neutral 16-patches.

Kristin's quilt

Wanda's quilt top

Influenced by Kirstin Klasen's purple quilt on her July 26th Instagram augusthimmel and Wanda Hanson's blog Exuberant Color August 25th bowties quilt. (screenshots taken with permission)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDGsVb5nu45/
https://exuberantcolor.blogspot.com/2020/08/a-quilt-top.html

I first worked on graph paper to get my proportions. Moving to cloth had me re-think and I added some more blocks.
I made a pile of 16-patches, then assembled the medallion. To complete the quilt I worked my layout with the blocks showing back-sides to ensure nesting of most seams. There are a few "twisted sisters" on one side of the medallion.
This could be planned out in advance, but it worked well improvising.

I wanted the medallion to mess with the grid in two ways, that not all the squares in it line up with the 16-patches. And the medallion itself is a rectangle and is not in the exact equivalent proportions of the 16-patches.

16-patches, made from:
16 neutral 2 1/2 inch squares
Blocks finish 8 inches.

Medallion piecing: (I intended to use a stronger orange, but this soft one worked better. I am not sure of the manufacturer.)
23 orange rectangles cut 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches
8 orange squares cut 2 1/2 inches
THEN I added 3/4th sections of 16-patches to the bottom of the orange section so the medallion would measure 2 by 3 16-patches and it could nest into the surrounding 16-patches.

Because this was improvisational work the blocks were not assembled in rows. I did manage to make all seams nest except along one side of the medallion.

This quilt is leading to another using 16-patches made with darker squares and a different medallion.
I'll also work on a post about how I construct 16-patches with an eye for how they will nest later into a quilt.