Leftovers

I found some leftovers in My Pictures and had to share them with you because they are related to the last two blogs. The colors chosen are more edgy.

I think the pumpkin and white is very peaceful.
Hmmmm, all I can think about is pumpkin pie with Cool Whip. Guess I am hungry.

Onto the green and pink quilt which is saying "Look at me!!!" Those large stars in the corners are quite demanding.

It is hard to believe both quilt drawings (on Electric Quilt) are sized to 100" square.
They each have such a different feel.





















These are crazy quilts and I am a crazy quilter. It is almost 3:30 a.m. I must go to bed.
Hope you are more prudent.

Carlene

Inspiration redirected

If you read the last blog, you saw a quilt in five different color settings.

Now you are seeing that quilt revised into a circle of stars around a center double star.

I ended up making the white and red "Stars in a Circle" shown below. The 100" x 100" quilt contains only 17 blocks (18 of you count the "center" of the center star.)

I think this is a wonderful quilt for a gift. To me it represents family gathered around in a celebratory mood for a wedding, anniversary, graduation, whatever.

I hope you have the courage to revamp a quilt design to tell your story. It makes the quilt "yours" in every sense of the word.

Carlene

Variations on a theme...Stars in a circle

In 2007 (I believe) I went to the Machine Quilting Symposium in Overland Park, Kansas. The winning quilt looked something like this one...white with yellow stars. It was, of course, quilted beautifully, but it was the star layout that really caught my eye.

I went to my computer and using Electric Quilt I designed it in several colors. Here is periwinkle and white.

White with pink stars.

White with green and then green with white.

Which is your favorite?

I must confess that each one is special, but the darker ones really interest me the most.

Whether it is the stars, the moon or the sun (and its sunshine)--I hope you see something outdoors that sparks your imagination and appreciation today.

Carlene

Quilt inspiration from the movie "Baby Boom"

Do you remember the art work behind Diane Keaton when she was sitting in her New York apartment in the movie "Baby Boom"? I have been trying to think of a quilt I could make to display on my living room wall. It has to be compact and more modern (definition: less traditional) and this "quilt idea" came to mind.

I have changed the background to blue and green, kept the same bright colors and tweaked the borders. That gives me more to think about. I want to use quilts in my home, but haven't found the "right" mix yet in the traditional floorplan.

I hope you can find just the right quilt to make next.

Carlene

Say cheese!

For some reason I am totally into orange lately. Maybe it is all the gray skies here in Iowa. Maybe it is the lack of it in the colors of our clothing. Whatever the reason it is speaking to me.

So I went into Electric Quilt 6 and designed and colored a two color quilt with white and orange....and then orange and white.

Which do you prefer? Doesn't it remind you of "Dreamsickles"? Perhaps you knew of them as "Pushups"--vanilla ice cream coated with orange sherbet (or as we said..sherbert).

Hmmm...would these quilts keep you warm or cause you to shiver as you slept under them....not sure.

Perhaps this pink one would warm you up more.

That is what I love about quilting....the emotional connection to color and design.

I hope you have a warm quilt on your bed tonight. Sleep well and dream of the colors in your life.

Carlene

Not a baaaaad quilt idea

This is my latest quilt idea. I keep thinking of the movie "Babe" and "Baa-ram-ewe! Baa-ram-ewe! To your breed, your fleece, your clan be true. Sheep be true! Baa-ram-ewe!" which I quoted on the NSQG bus to Paducah when we watched the DVD.

Each of the sheep has 17 pieces in the block. I'm not sure if I will paper piece or use templates. The ear and tail will be sewn, turned inside out and slipped into a seam line. The eye will be a button.

Doesn't it make you feel peaceful? It would be ANOTHER 100" x 100" quilt. I'm sure I would have sweet dreams.

I hope you have sweet dreams tonight, too.

Night, night,

Carlene

A tisket, a tasket, white with blue basket

Here is a photo of a lovely full sized Depression era basket quilt which I took at the quilt show at the Shenandoah Historical Museum in September, 2009. I drafted a queen/king on Electric Quilt 6 and added a inner border to float the blocks more. In addition I changed the setting from alternate white blocks to white sashing. I have to make more blocks, but I chose that method.

Then I flipped the basket colors and actually like the white baskets on blue, too. I am a sucker for two color quilts. How about you?

Then I got to thinking...why didn't I like the plain alternate blocks? So I reworked the quilt a bit more and here it is in white with blue baskets and then blue with white baskets. Leave a comment if you have a preference.

I love to give my opinion. Don't you?

There's snow on the pink mountains

I've been working at quilting again. This is my pink and white delectable mountains quilt. Five borders are added onto the center block. As you can see, I am up to number three so far.

I am using the Eleanor Burns book and template. It was been going very smoothly.

After a green spell, I am currently on a pink focus. The next quilt is a trip around the world...or at least that is my current thought.

Last September I went to a quilt lecture by Star Anne McIntire Kloberdanz at the Historical Museum in Shenandoah, Iowa. There was a lovely exhibit of Depression era quilts which prompted me to take many pictures.

I have been using them as inspiration for new quilts to design and make. Here is their dark blue and white quilt that is inspiring me to use my indigo blue and white fabrics and their "Squirrel in a Cage" block to make my version of this quilt shown below in an Electric Quilt 6 drawing.

I have been very lax on blogging. Perhaps I will turn over a new leaf and use my blog to prompt myself to do more quilt re-designing.

I hope you are finding inspiration to create quilts or other arts that make your heart sing.

Carlene