Applique and baby

What can anyone say about these works of art?

Sarah's Blue Star

This is 30x30, my favorite size for a little baby. All cotton fabrics and thread; backed with the yellow-blue Beach House floral that is also the bottom left star background. Block pattern from a published source ("Hodgepodge" by Susan McDermott, Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting, Sept-Oct 2008); 9-patch border from Judy Martin & Marsha McCloskey's Pieced Borders. As usual, a contrast bias binding. Hand-quilted outline around the star points and again inside the square, 2" diagonal lines at 45 degrees elsewhere. Batting is bamboo-cotton blend from Fabric Cupboard. Sold.

Quilt show at my place yesterday

Just for fun. I'm still working on and thinking about the scrap quilt. I don't have as many scraps as I thought, or as much variety as I thought. The red/blue/brown color scheme would be heavily weighted toward blue (light) and pink if I rely on the scrap boxes. I've also got a few more orphan blocks than I remembered, and I really want to include them, although they don't seem to fit yet. Maybe these can be the start of my doll quilt wall - much better idea. Anyway, I think I'll keep making blocks with the scraps I've pulled, and then pack it all up again until the scrap pile has what I need.

I read Color Harmony for Quilters by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr last week, and it's really influenced how I'm approaching projects. They discourage the matchy-matchy appproaches of using a single collection (egad!) or pulling a color scheme from a focus fabric, and recommend instead that quilters begin with a theme that they want to convey and explore how it can be achieved through variations in contrast and hue. Their illustration of more than a dozen themes with quilts and the methodical breaking down of quilts into simple palettes is, so far, the best outline of a creative approach to selecting colors and fabrics I've come across.

Something else that has been going through my mind since Sunday has been symmetry and variation. The idea of symmetry is interesting: where are the fold lines? how much additional repetition is there within the repeated pattern? I'm also thinking about what makes some symmetrical patterns interesting, and others boring -- I guess that is the central question. I'm also thinking about integrating odd bits: how they can become part of the design without losing their difference, what they contribute to the overall impression. These thoughts are sometimes about stained glass (rose windows in our church), sometimes about quilts, and sometimes about society - mostly all mixed up together.

Inspiration for Quilters: Tanya Davis's "Art (I Want You)"

This song makes me want to do everything I've ever dreamed about. (And, like a true Canadian according to Ira Glass, I have to note here that Tanya Davis is Canadian. From PEI.) Isn't she amazing?

Flannel wall, April 18 2009

Flannel wall, originally uploaded by *Yellow House*.

Scrap-box lap quilt. This is a true scrap quilt. I have six clear shoebox-size scrap containers, one color for each, and they're getting full. I thought it would be fun to see what I can do with just odds and ends -- not the nicely folded yardage or FQs from my stash, but leftover blocks and fabric from other projects. We'll see how it goes, anyway. I'm thinking of a 40s color scheme, with reds, blues, and browns; something both light and substantial, but not primary-bright.

Central command

Central command, originally uploaded by *Yellow House*.

I thought it would be fun to post about my sewing room today. It's pretty small, but it's bright, and nicely located in a former pantry between the kitchen and the playroom. I do the big cutting, and certainly the pinning on the dining room table or a floor somewhere. The two cupboards on the left are fabric storage.

Closeup, Train quilt for Peter

Closeup, Train quilt for Peter, originally uploaded by *Yellow House*.

Another look at that sweet one. Anna, 2009, on Peter's quilt, 2006.