Totems

To finish out my posts on the amazing Free Bee quilting bee, I want to share the amazing blocks I received from my bee mates for my month in the group. One artist whose work I really love and admire is quilter Erin Wilson. If you are unfamiliar with Erin's work, I've included a few of my favorite pieces below. Or, click over and check out Erin's site yourself. Go ahead, I'll wait for you to get back ...

One series of Erin's that I particularly love are her quilt block "totems". Each of Erin's totems is a series of quilt blocks, vertically stacked, and cohesive in style and color.

I asked my fellow sewists to make me a totem consisting of 3 quilt blocks of their own design. I asked that the main part of the block itself be about 6" square, with approximately 2" borders all around, resulting in a 10" (10.5" unfinished) block. (I say 'approximately' because you can see that some of Erin's blocks are wonky, slightly off-centered, etc.)

I also asked that each totem convey a cohesive color story (red, blue, green, yellow, orange, brown, purple, pink, etc.) OR a 2-color story (green + yellow, red + orange, black + white, blue + green, etc.) I envisioned mostly solids being used, but always LOVE it if some peeks of modern prints popped up in the blocks. I love textured solids, too -- grunge, shot cottons, linens, etc.

Below is the gallery of totem blocks that I received from each quilter in the group.

Leanne:

Dan:

Stacey:

Krista:

Nicolette:

Krista:

Lynne:

Ethne:

Marianne:

And here's where I need your help, dear readers. I am ready to put these all together, but I'm a bit stuck. Do I sash them in rows and columns in a neutral (what color?) and have them evenly spaced in a grid? Or something a bit more creative? Should I turn these into 1 large quilt or, as Erin did, use them more for display (e.g. wall hanging(s)?) Looking for some new ideas here.

Thanks!