Primrose Surprise

Well, everyone, it's still February, the shortest month of the year that always feels looonger than the rest! Let me guess what you might be craving about now... a bit of color, perhaps?

My quilting friends delivered big time when they visited for my birthday. with this gorgeous basket of primroses! Aren't the amazing (the friends and the flowers)?a mega-dose of color technicolor

The rich velvety blooms reminded me of a signature quilt I made years ago. Wow, it's a perfect match!

It commemorates a special group of friends the year we all turned forty.

Although the fabrics were bright, they mostly read as medium tones. Without a strong contrast between them, I had to rely on something other than lights and darks to create the design. 

Instead, I set "warm" colors (pink, orange, yellow) against "cool" colors (blue, green) to create contrast.

Notice how the cool colors recede, while the warm colors advance, creating a sense of depth particularly visible in the zig-zag border.

Save your scraps! I used a few to spruce up the label on the back of the quilt.

Lordy, Lordy, We're 

Turning Forty!

20" x 25"

machine pieced, hand quilted

Diane Burdin, 1996