What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Spring bulbs bursting into life. A bit early here, winter has just started.

Both piecing and applique are fairly intricate, but effective.

Love it!

Love the mixture of piecing, applique and quilting.

I cannot pick a favourite between the two of these.

I often played with my Mum’s button box, but there was no bead box in the family,  but now I have a virtual bead collection to play with.

The best bit about virtual beads … I can’t spill them all over the floor!

Both of todays designs are  very pretty! I love the second design.

The colours are restful, and at the end of a very exciting day the bride and groom may need some rest.

Yesterday’s block set on point. Nice quilt design, but i can see it as a tiled floor, with kids hopping or jumping from one circle to another!

If these designs were on a bed in my house and small children were expected, I would shut the bedroom door firmly.

I have included a little bit of colour in this collection of wedding themed quilts.

Not many fans in the second design. However, I like both of these designs … no favourite today.

It feels like winter is close, so this week I will share designs for wedding themed quilts … newly weds just might appreciate them, though it is a bit late to star making one if the wedding is in the near future.

If I had started quilting earlier in life, and had the bright idea early enough, before my siblings and cousins had married, I could have made a family wedding quilt, to be passed on from one couple to another, giving me time to make each couple an individual quilt.

I love the muted colours in these two designs, and ...

There are lots of possibilities using Log Cabin blocks as borders.

That is how I started this project file, but then I started playing with using some Log Cabin block variations as the background for applique.

The first design has Log Cabin blocks around the edges, and some very pale or washed out Log Cabin blocks with applique on solid blocks.

Then I asked myself a question … What if I use pieced blocks as background for the applique, sometimes, or all the time.

Then I thought that some inner borders to break up the light areas would be interesting.

The ...

One of the more disappointing collection of blocks I have in my collection, but I like the results when I put them together …

… mainly because the variety of the block designs is limited.

I like the single bed design best of these two designs.

Strawberry season is over, not that I have had success with growing them since moving into this area. Maybe putting them in a pot in a protected spot where we can protect it from birds. And keep a good supply of icecream in the freezer.

I have just remembered that amongst the projects waiting for attention there is a small strawberry themed quilt. Perhaps I should make that one of this years projects to complete.

In the meantime, I can enjoy playing with strawberry blocks in virtual quilt designs.

Love the name of this project file … and love the block designs, and the quilt designs I find when playing with the placement of the blocks.

Love the first design today, and after changing just 8 blocks the second invites me to make it better!

I have been at a quilt retreat for a few days, with machines humming, and voices raised to be heard over the machines, and othe voices, not to mention the laughter! The first design today looks so peaceful in contrast!

Things will be busy for the next few weeks, but on the whole much quieter than the last few days, but probably not so much laughter.

 I love both designs, but the second one is my favourite.

More fantasy florals!

I cannot pick a favourite today … love them both.

I love playing with floral appliques even if , like this collection of blocks, they are just fantasy florals.

My favourite of these two is the second one, but I can see some changes I can make with the quilting design in the corners.

A third Banksia variation,  and more quilting in this project file.

The next step  I am thinking about for these is to mix them up in on project file, though perhaps a look to see if there are more leaf shapes to play with.

A different species of Banksia with very different leaf shape in today’s designs …

… and some quilting motifs added to the second design.

In my garden I try to choose plants which will fill a certain space … as a quilter I can prune any floral block anyway I want it.

Aussie native plants don’t like being told what to do, but quit block designs usually do as they are told

The most dominant colours of Australian wildflowers are red, orange and yellow. Plant breeders have not produced much variety by adding pretty pastels to the colour range, but I thought I would try breeding some fabric variations.

The shapes of Aussie flora in pastel colours are very pretty, but would not look so good covered in dust!

Australia has a very interesting collection of native flowers, and most of them have some very distinctive varieties. This project file has three species, and very basic depictions of some of the varieties. The first design has one of the acacias in the centre, and Banksias in the border.

The second has Gum Blossoms in the centre, surrounded by a very different Acacia.

The background colour is a pretty accurate depiction of the agricultural areas around us at the moment, but there are no Dessert Peas growing. They come after the first real rainfall, not just the few drops which have fallen from time to time.

At least the ones on the virtual quilts don’t need rain to grow, and I don’t have to damage fabric  to show off the designs.

I love the second design.