Primrose Surprise

Well, it's February, the shortest month of the year that only feels so much longer than the rest. Let me guess what you might be craving about now... a bit of color, perhaps?

My quilting friends braved a wintery mix of weather to deliver this gorgeous basket of primroses for my birthday. Aren't they amazing, (both the flowers and the friends?) What a mega-dose of technicolor on an otherwise dreary day!

The rich velvety blooms reminded me of this signature quilt I made several 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.

Be sure to 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

Cooped Up

I have a confession to make about the lengths I will go to for good quilt photos.

I once sent a quilt cross country to be photographed by a friend with her chickens. Even more embarrassing was the confidence I had that Jessica would agree to it and embrace it as a creative challenge for herself. Yeah, I know, like I was doing her a favor!

But the absurdity didn't stop there! Jess was pregnant when she said, “Sure, send me your quilt.” Two months later, she was traipsing through her chicken yard with a brand new baby strapped to her chest, taking awesome photos for my blog! 

I made this quilt when our boys were young and had the chickenpox. We were "cooped up" for three long weeks, in a 90+ degree heatwave, without air conditioning, and no way to escape the discomforts of home. I credit the quilt with "keeping my cool" during that particularly trying time! 

The pattern is "Folk Art Chickens" from Gwen Marston's book, Folk Art Quilts.

Enjoy Jessica's brilliant photography by clicking the link below. It will take you to a YouTube montage featuring my quilt with her highly cooperative chickens.

LINK TO VIDEO HERE

Thank you all for your kind words and condolences on the passing of my mom. Your support was a great comfort to me.

At Rest

Mom passed away this week. I'll be taking

some time off to spend with family.

A Pumpkin Extravaganza

Every autumn when the chill sets in, I get a hankering for pumpkin. None of those “pumpkin spice” imposters, mind you, but the real deal! My friend, Linda, recently shared a mouthwatering assortment of fresh-baked pumpkin goodies, including cream cheese frosted pumpkin bars, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies (not pictured for some reason) and pumpkin whoopee pies. What better way to display them than on a Pumpkin Seed doll quilt!

Here’s an autumn-inspired doll quilt with a pumpkin theme. The pattern is Pumpkin Seed, a slight variation of the popular Orange Peel design. In this case, the appliquéd segments are a bit narrower than the more robust Orange Peel.

18” x 21”

My friend and former QBU colleague, Mary Radke, made the quilt top for me, using Cherrywood hand dyed cotton fabrics. Mary machine appliquéd each pumpkin seed segment to a background square. I hand quilted, outlining each segment and continuing the pumpkin seed design into the border. The design turned the corners nicely at the top of the quilt, but since the bottom corners were unresolved, I filled the space with the date of completion.

Have a great Thanksgiving. I’m very thankful for you!

To Everything There Is A Season

Hello everyone. I love the changing colors of fall. Our Autumn Purple Ash trees put on quite a show. Their outer leaves turned a rich russet color while the inner ones remained gold. When the sun shown through the foliage, the trees seemed to glow from within. 

It's hard to capture in photos, but the effect was truly extraordinary! 

At the same time, we're transitioning my parents from their home of forty years into supervised care. Dad’s dementia and Mom’s tenuous health make it unsafe for them to be on their own anymore. To everything there is a season. 

Here's an autumn inspired quilt I made using reproduction fabrics.

These anvil blocks make a handsome quilt when set on point “strippy” style. I like how the dark browns set off the other colors. 

Each 8-inch block is machine quilted with a feathered wreath. 

Anvil Strippy Quilt

Checkin' In

You know it’s been too long between posts when your nonbloggy friends point out your infrequent updates. I got an email from my buddy Sheila recently, asking what the heck I've been up to. Well, there’s plenty going on, just very little that’s appropriate to share here on a quilt blog.

Health and family matters require my energy and attention right now. I need a little time to process all that’s happening. When I can write about things without sounding like I’m completely spilling my guts, I’ll share. I know many of you have dealt with the same issues I’m facing. They’re not new, just new to me.

In the meantime, let’s look to quilts for the solace and distraction they provide. My quilt (above) was inspired by a late 1800’s quilt (below) which appears in Sandi Fox’s book, Small Endearments: Nineteenth-Century Quilts for Children and Dolls.


I don’t know if I tried to recreate the antique quilt from memory or if I was just lazy, but I substituted four patch blocks for the nine patches of the original quilt. The result resembles the antique enough to please me.

The primary fabrics are from Harriet Hargrave's Heirloom Collection, produced in the mid 1990's. It was a great line of reproduction fabric, with lots of fine detail and several strong colors.


The background fabric is a mottled chocolate brown print which makes the quilt look old while still letting the colors shine.


Mine looks like it could do with a good pressing before it gets quilted!

Thanks for checkin' in on me!