Monday, February 21, 2011

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


7 comments:

  1. Lovely Primroses!!
    I've always loved this littler quilt.
    Happy Happy Birthday!

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  2. Happy Birthday, i like your little quilt.wig.

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  3. Thankyou for sharing your wonderful little signature quilt! I only know this block from Kathleen's book and it's on my list to make. Yours has really inspired me!!!

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  4. Two years ago, I had NO idea what a wintry mix meant. Now I'm right there with you looking for signs of color anywhere I can *s*

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  5. The posies do perfectly match the little quilt, isn't that amazing :) Great design lesson, thanks! Happy birthday to you.

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  6. wintry mix . . .

    such as six new inches of snow on friday and temps in the upper 40's today~!?!~

    ohhhhhh . . . i'm ready for spring~!~

    your primroses are gorgeous and your signature quilt a perfect counterpart to them.
    thank you for the "light at the end of the (long winter) tunnel" post.

    and i'm wishing you a year full of happiness and love~!

    :-)
    libbyQ

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  7. The primroses are gorgeous! And I love the 40 quilt!

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