A Little Movement

Decisions have been made and progress is happening - at last. Four weeks ago I shared my dilemma regarding which fabric to use for the background for this EPP quilt. It was wonderful to have so many express opinions yet no one option stood out as a clear winner.
I realised that some of the blocks definitely looked better on a darker charcoal fabric while others looked better on the lighter smoke crosshatch. The idea of using both in some combination, maybe with another one or two similar shades was percolating in my mind when Mary, an experienced Swiss quilter, left her comment - "My advice for the background of your quilt: Use color "Vibrations" of different medium plain greys! I would give more depth and mirror like or transparency effect to the whole. Only one fabric makes it more flat or static. Good luck, whatever you choose will work!"
Back to the internet to see what I could find which may add to the two crosshatches or possibly a combination of solid greys. I chose one mid grey print which I thought might work. I made a tentative start on stitching some of the crosshatch pieces to three EPP stars. After a wait of nearly three weeks the fabric arrived, (we live in Australia) but my expectations weren't met. The shade and tone didn't work with the crosshatches I had (a downside of trying to choose fabric online).
Placing the blocks out on my design "wall" bed I could see that a random pattern of crosshatches wasn't going to work either but a carefully alternating pattern looked just right. It's hard to tell in the light of these photos but the two shades of crosshatch do provide that gentle movement which Mary also spoke of in her comment.

After unpicking the misplaced random diamonds I was able to set to work adding background pieces to each star. Over the last few days I have now completed five out of the twelve stars and it works well, looking better as more stars are added to the mix.

The crosshatch is definitely a directional fabric and looks best working in unison. Even though the diamonds are identical shapes I have had to cut each colour in three different directions to keep them in harmony for the background.

At this time of year the sewing machine is staying off our dining/school table but this handwork project is just perfect for those snippets of time here and there. Now I'm pondering backing fabrics......

Sharing at WIP Wednesday, In Hand EPP.