What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Happy New Year … and what better time to start a new series of designs from a new project file, with a jumbled collection of blocks from my Electric Quilt Library.

The colours are pretty, and the block designs are turning into quilting motifs, or just being modified a little in other ways.

Mmm… all applique blocks so far … will I add some pieced blocks too, or stay with applique?

It would be fun to be able to arrange a garden bed following some of the designs in this project file!

I love the layout above, but have no hope of reproducing it in the garden.

Love the second design too, especially the centre block.

For the gardeners out there, Brunsvigias are a South African bulb, love hot and dry conditions, and once established the flower comes before the foliage … but it takes about ten years for the first flower to make an appearance.

Thank goodness the foliage appears each year to remind us that the bulbs are there, and ...

Love the design above.

Love the second design too, but in a real quilt some of the quilting motifs would be changed to filler designs … straight lines, cross hatch or stippling, and use thread matching the background for those areas, contrast thread for the remaining motifs.

Start by making a block for a cushion, then add borders until it reaches a table topper, lap quilt, double, queen or king size quilt. The width of each border can be whatever you like. Narrow strip borders can be added between pieced and applique blocks.

I love the second design with the pieced centre, applique border, pieced border, applique border and final pieced border. By keeping the borders fairly open there is room for some creative quilting.

The colouring and design are both dainty and pretty. I like the mixture of pieced, applique and quilted versions of diamond shapes.

I tried to pick a favourite, and the deciding factor was the size of the finished quilt … the second one would be big enough for our bed, but I could always make the blocks in the first one bigger, so it didn’t really help with the decision.

Interesting.

My favourite for today is the second one, especially the border and the applique blocks.

I love the iron lace on older houses, and would love some applique lace quilts on the beds, but I already have too many quilts.

Love the second design!

The blank spaces in all my designs with quilting motifs would be filled with simple background fillers, with my first preference being straight lines or cross hatching, either vertical/or diagonal, and would use a thread matching the background for the fillers, contrast for the motifs. The applique pieces would also be outlined just outside the pieces.

The idea behind medallion quilts is to start with a block, then add borders.

The borders can be simple pieced blocks or applique, but work best with a mixture of simple pieces and more decorative applique blocks. The applique can be done on blocks, or long strips of solid fabric.

Interesting. Well, the cat thinks so.

I love the second one, even if the cat thinks it is boring.

Not impressed with the border. Note to self … change it! Love the design inside the borders though.

Much better border on the second design, and the space inside the border is OK too.

Love the centre block.

Love the colouring of the second design. It looks a bit dust, just like an Aussie summer!

Fiddling!

More fiddling, and now I have a new block in this project file to fiddle with. I was going to use it in this design but it didn’t really look right.

Very nice, though both the blocks and the background are a busy.

Very interesting!

Nice and neat.

Much more exciting! Love it!

Some of our Aussie flora have some weird but very interesting, and attractive, flowers.

Some of them are rarely seen in built up areas but are almost weeds in the bush, some are easy to grow under cultivation, and some of my favourites will not grow for me!

At least I can grow them virtually and in whatever combination I choose.

A very neat and tidy formal garden with an interesting layout, and no weeds!

I am not in love with the overall combination of colours, but I love the design.

Interesting

Love the second one. Love the colours, love the blocks, love the border, but the border is perhaps too wide in comparison to the blocks.

Parade ground precision.

Love the second design, still precise but with a soft touch.

These designs have a very lacy look, which is why they got the title from Aunty Flo, as she did a lot of tatting.

Lovely!

Very formal, but also cheerful for Christmas

A little bit more colour and it is more cheerful!