What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

~E.B. White

Remember all those months ago when we divided our fabric into three stacks? It's been a while since I looked at the others and I couldn't quite recall everything in them. Last time I was inspired by the white fabric with pastel circles on it. This time I'm driven to use this little bird print remnant from our darling sister who passed away almost a decada ago.  

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

~William Arthur Ward

How grateful I am to Audrey for hosting the Bramble Blooms QAL. Having done one myself I know how challenging it is to plan for students with varied skills, to explain each step, to answer questions, and to simply get it all together. I adore applique but don't do much so this QAL was the prompt I needed to try it again. Thank you, Audrey!

Not only that, but I used many of the last color group in my old ...

And every common bush afire with God,

But only he who sees, takes off his shoes, 

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,

And daub their natural faces unaware.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I quilted and mailed the quilt my granddaughter put together while visiting last month. Just in time for her sixth birthday. How exciting to see another generation of quilters in our family. It took most of the evenings. My remaining time involved moving bits and pieces around on BB1.

Yes, Audrey suggested applique in the first border. I didn't do ...

Life, though it is a gift, is not a privilege.

~Ross Gay

Audrey's linkup encouraged me to push on BB1 but it's still not complete. Here's the second round, a pink zig zag. All those points took way too much time and didn't all turn out as well as my usual work. But I'm pressing on.

So I made a few more. {And this is how ...

When I started counting my blassings, my whole life turned around.

~Willie Nelson

My leftovers box contains a pile of Ohio Stars. Most have red centers but several have this bright, strong yellow. The four added as cornerstones make me smile. But now the white looks weak. 

Eventually I pulled some of my never-ending Chinese Coins to make this border. Who'd have thought this much pink/coral would work so well with the reds and yellows?

That pushes the white round out. Something needs to go in it and there's not a lot of white fabric left ...

We are one people, one family - the human family - and what affects one of us affects us all.

~John Lewis

With Ocean Waves V sewed {but still missing a border}, BB1 needs its first {and second} border{s.} My fabric stack contains lots of pinks and very limited amounts of other colors so pink was test first. 

Wow. They pump the energy of the center, especially the bright print on the left. That was one of the prettiest fabrics I'd seen in years but it's never fit anywhere. It will work with this project, though.

Next, dark ...

'Thank you' is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, and understanding.

~Alice Walker

The quilt became too large to lay out on the floor of my sewing area which made it a bit harder to put together. There may be a few triangles leftover but I'll put them on my guild's Free Fabric table. What a diversity of triangles from dusty reproductions to fairly current clear tones and everything in between. I thought this mixture might look terrible but it may be my favorite ...

Your voice matters. If it didn't why would some people keep trying to take it away?

~ US Rep. John Lewis

Very slow progress. I changed the curvy leaves that were my first choice and constant downfall. You'll notice a couple still have curves and I may replace those later. 

Taking a cue from the striped stems and Audrey's post, I added a second leaf color. It looks much better.  

I also turned the background 180 degrees so the bubbles show up more. They inspired the stem and leaf colors. Although it ...