Aviatrix Medallion, an Instagram Quilt-Along

Back in January, modern quilter Elizabeth Hartman showed off a pattern she was working on, called Aviatrix Medallion. It didn't really catch my attention, though, until in March she showed a version done in Kona Solids, with this as the center medallion:

(You can view the full quilt here, and I encourage you to look. It's a remarkable collection of traditional blocks turned into a stunning modern quilt.) As you can see from the picture above, the color shadings turn a lone star block into birds pointing toward the center. I've never seen this pattern before, but Hartman said it's a traditional pattern called Doves in the Window. When she published it, I purchased the pattern. To be honest, I found the whole quilt rather busy, but I was determined to make the center medallion, at least as a wall hanging.

In April Hartman announced she would be making another version of the quilt and she encouraged her blog followers to make it along with her. The quilt-along would be hosted by her on Instagram with the hashtag #aviatrixmedallion. I have an account there (I'm @QuilterPhyl) and I began following the hashtag as people posted the fabrics they were going to use. When I saw that some quilters were choosing fabrics that were different from the bright solids Hartman used, I began to get IDEAS. 

People, I was seriously stressed in April. I did NOT have time for IDEAS.

But look what I've been doing:

That's my center block above. I am using all batiks except for the dark grey background which is a woven linen. The contrasting texture is fun. I also purposely decided to stick to colors on the cool side of the color wheel.

I finished the center block above and decided I needed more color.

When I finished the first border I was still on the fence about making the whole thing or stopping right there. But I loved my colors and was having great fun on Instagram sharing my pictures and checking each day to see how others were doing. Oh what the heck...

And that's as far along as I am right now. While a few participants in the quilt-along are finished with their tops, others are just starting and plenty, like me are slowly plodding along. I have a skinny neutral border to add and two more colored borders. I also have other projects that need to come first (friends and family keep having babies!!!). But I sneak a little work on this into the mix whenever I can.

If you have an Instagram account and some time to spare, do check #aviatrixmedallion there to see the amazing variety of quilts being made from this one pattern. And I'll post a few updates to mine here as I make progress.