What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Baby Blocks become the stars in this project file!

The diamond shapes can be pieced separately in two pieces, which deleted some set in corners in some places in the design above, but not all of them.

There are so many ways to arrange the baby blocks … so little time to play with them to find more of the ways!

I like to see stars in a dark sky, which means I also like using dark backgrounds around stars in quilts.

Wow, a spinning star! Well, the centre bit is spinning.

More Log Cabin designs mid week next week.

Using less logs around the centre square saves a lot of time in making a block, and it makes a big difference to the design. I thought it might make the overall design less effective,, but now I think it looks more effective.

I love the design above … and the one below!

Not a big difference between the two, but effective.

The one above is very interesting

The last one is also very interesting, and below is the group photo of today’s designs.

There will be more Log Cabin designs mid week, next week.

Interesting design, pretty fabric choices.

I love the second design … totally different to anything I have ever seen anywhere.

It continues to amaze me that very basic pieced 9 Patch blocks can be mixed and matched in both straight and on point settings to create a huge variety of interesting designs in just two fabrics. If one the blocks is made in a lighter or darker shade, or any other colour a whole different look would be created.

One day I think I will start mixing colours and contrast to these designs … that is if I get bored playing with applique designs.

I love the centre of the first design for today.

Love all of the second design … the darker background makes the centre stand out much more.

Linked by Stars could be an alternative name for this project file.

Four extra dark shapes added to the first design makes more of a difference than I thought it would.

From black and white over the last week, to red and white for today, but today only.

The one above is interesting … but I think I might add some more white for a future post.

I have also corrected a mistake for the future!

I like the one above the way it is!

The one above is interesting.

That is all for this weeks mini retreat, or perhaps I should call it a mid week coffee break.

More Log Cabin designs mid week, next week.

Three very similar blocks in today’s designs.

The three blocks become three fairly traditional quilt blocks.

Interesting layout above, but they don’t really work as a border.

The design above works better though.

I like the design above!

They may not have worked in a straight border above, but they work when placed on the diagonal!

The three different blocks would all work as borders on the diagonal, and they work well going round themselves!

Wonder what they would all look like in colour! Maybe that might happen someday in the future. First I have to decide if ...

The two tiles from Birte Hilberg’s book I have used for today’s designs are a bit of a challenge for me to use … but though the first basic designs were not ones I would consider making, I eventually found some which looked more interesting.

Above is a pair of very similar designs, and not particularly appealing to me.

Now it is getting more interesting.

I was almost tempted to play with colour in the last few, but decided to stick with the black and white theme.

A few more black and white plans tomorrow, then back to colours!

The block above is from The Patchwork Planner by Birte Hilberg, the two blocks below are additions I drafted to create designs with the first, but I suspect that Birte has them in her collection of designs even if they are not included in the book.

The designs are in black and white fabrics, so you have to imagine what colours you would use.

Ooops! the last block in the first quilt design is upside down … some unpicking would be required if it was real, but thankfully all I have to do is flip the block in Electric Quilt but ...

There is just one simple pieced square repeated in all these designs, and all those I shared yesterday … along with about another dozen or more so far!

Many of the designs I have found are a bit tipsy, and I didn’t drink anything stronger than coffee.

I even found they could be tipped in opposite directions … useful in a room with two identical beds.

I like the one above … more balanced.

I have tried to create a maze, but keep losing the track!

My favourite of today’s selection is the last one!

Thirty years ago my Mum bought me a book titled The Patchwork Planner, by Birte Hilberg, published in 1994 in Australia, but first published in 1993.

At that time I was busy teaching quilting classes and workshops, designing quilts and dolls and many other crafts, making rag dolls for sale, along with family duties, and had little time to study even a book about what I was doing … designing quilts. I am finally spending time going through a fairly expansive quilt library, and learning variations of different techniques along with a lot of design ideas.

Over the next few days ...

In this project file i am playing with light, medium and dark shades of purple on a white background. he purple could be any other colour, providing they have the contrast in the same places. The lightest of the colour is used in the corners of every block to create a repeat design when the blocks are put together.

With a slight modification the corners become a frame around the medium and dark versions of the colour, as shown in the second design. The second design is my favourite of these two.

Stars in a dark sky … wonder why we more often put them on light to medium backgrounds!!

I enjoy designing complicated blocks, and then leaving out bits and pieces of the block design to make blocks to use with the original complicated design.

The stars in these should be yellow rather than white or blue, and maybe lighten up the background a bit, but not too much.

But then, we can be creative and use whatever colours we prefer, or simply use colours which match the room it is going to be used in.

Very interesting!

The second is my favourite of these two designs!

I haven’t quite finished my first coffee of the day, and it took me a couple of minutes to work out what was wrong with the design above. Can you see it?

It took a while for me to realize when I started this project file that the corners of each Nine Patch block looked better if they were a paler shade of green.

Answer to the question above … the corner blocks contain a mis-coloured piece, even when they are not on the side.

Very interesting.

Love the second design for today!

Love the third one too.

The one above is very interesting, but too many points for my taste.

The project file these designs come from has over 500 designs in it, and each time I open it I add more.

I think I might be addicted to designing quilts in Electric Quilt, but I am not looking for a cure to my addiction! I am going to add a few more designs as soon as I hit the schedule button on this post.

With the right fabrics the first design for today could become a giant flower.

I like the second design!

The centre of the one above is crying out for lots of quilting, or perhaps just some quilting to fill the space around an applique.

The one above is interesting.

Another one with an empty centre circle … but this time there is a block out of place near one of the corners! I should have learned by now to keep the best till last … not the mistake.

That is all for this week, but there will be more Log Cabin designs ...

Found this project file waiting patiently to be opened again. It was created a couple of years ago when I was thinking that I should try using some blocks I didn’t like much, and some fabrics in colours I didn’t like much.

I am not sure where the starting block came from, possibly from EQ library, possibly came from one of my play sessions, or seen in a book or magazine. Some of the modifications are in both books and the EQ library.

The second design is interesting, and I love the border combination.

Interesting design first up today.

On point setting makes the blocks appear very different to what they look like in a straight setting.

I think I like the second one best today.