Border Beauties 2

That border looks 3D, a happy accident of playing with colour/fabric combinations in Electric Quilt!

 

This is the first time for quite a while that I haven’t scheduled a blog post at least 2 or 3 days in advance, sometimes up to a month in advance if I am going to be away!

It took three attempts to get this picture loaded because I live in a country area, and even though we have broadband, it is not as reliable as it should be. Very frustrating because sometimes it works like a dream, so we know what we are missing when it doesn’t work like that dream!

I think I will turn the air conditioner on and hibernate in front of the computer later and schedule a whole heap of posts so I don’t get a little frustrated and have a one sided screaming match each morning to get a post ready to hit the publish button at 00.01am Greenwich mean time. (Not even a second coffee helped!)

I am not good with routines and schedules, so anything I can pre-prepare is good. I usually do a final edit, add a bit or something when I am home, but will try to keep ahead with adding the pictures!

Back to the design of the day, I don’t think the centre block is quite right, but rather like the big sashing. There are more to come, of course, and I can keep playing to make improvements for future posts.

PS

I was ready to publish a few minutes early, so scheduled this post anyway!

Back to my Virtual World ………..

……… after three glorious days amongst real quilts and quilters at Festival of Quilts in Adelaide. Stayed with a quilter for two of the three nights I was away, and went to a Quilter’s Guild of South Australia meeting.

I am not real sure which is best ………. quilts or quilters, but I suspect that quilters win! Found a few new friends, caught up with numerous old friends, met a couple of virtual friends, and connected some of the new and old friends with their virtual other! My two worlds colliding, and it was all fun!

Spent a fair portion of time demonstrating hand quilting, stab stitch technique, sometimes with Rachel expertly machine quilting, sometimes with Julie hand quilting, rocking technique, also Coralie doing hexagons and Tara and Julie both doing needle turn applique. A feast of differing techniques, and I learned heaps. At least one stab sticher came out of the closet, and several went away ready to give rocking another try, some left determined to try machine quilting. Around the corner Southern Comforters were rotary cutting and machine piecing.

Don’t tell anyone, but we had a ball, and put our names down to do it all again. Congratulations to the committee, and the Guild members who volunteered and exhibited quilts …………. you’ve all done very well!

I took photos, but the Coppyright Copper reminded me that I was allowed to take photos at exhibitions for personal use only.

EQ on Point 6

Sometimes I think I am so good at designing quilts. Sometimes it just works so well.

Wish everyday’s design turned out as well as this one, though if I set out to make this, it wouldn’t be like this! Those stars and the Bears Paw would become applique of some sort, and not too sure about both borders being exactly the same fabric, and I probably wouldn’t use those colours either ………….

It still works OK as it is here though!

I think the worst part of having EQ to design quilts is that I can see far too many possiblilities and variations. I am so glad I can add them to this blog so someone can see them before I make just a few more changes!

BSI 8

This Burgoyne Surrounded by the Irish series is intriguing me.

I like this layout! The laciness of  the Burgoyne Surrounded block lightens the mood and adds variety in the texture of the blocks as well.

As a bonus, free space for quilting.

Hi 5s 10

This series is a real shot of colour amongst the rest of the quilts I have added here. I should try using colours I don’t like more often!

However, what ever colour I use here, or what ever colour is used in a magazine or book, you should be able to see it like this……….

………….. and if you can see it like this you can add any colours you like! To see quilt pictures without colour you need a piece of red cellophane or perspex to look through. Or scan it in grey scale.

The thing to get right to make any design work is contrast, or lack of it, as seen in the colourless view.

Never reject a design because you don’t like the colours, just recolour it! How would Hi 5s look in blue and yellow, , ……….or brown and cream………. or purple and yellow, or ……………… insert your favourite colour combination here!

EQ 4s 18

Neat ………….. lots of little pieces though.

EQ 12 D6

This one doesn’t look as though the blocks are placed on point, but I do like it, even though that corner is still facing the wrong way. I must remember to check that future designs in this project file have corners all facing the correct way.

The sad part is, if I published this pattern with that corner uncorrected, there would be some people who would put the quilt together with one cockeyed corner because that is what the pattern said.

Others would put it the right way without ever noticing it was wrong. Some would notice and correct it and feel good that they were better than the designer, forgetting the designer got the rest of the quilt, and three out of four corners, around the right way.

And some would tell me about it in no uncertain terms. (This latter group would be more than capable of correcting the booboo without help, but would love to rub it in. And some of them are good friends! And others probably should be.)

By the time this is scheduled to be posted, I hope to be arriving at the Festival of Quilts, WAyville Showgrounds in Adelaide ……….. meeting old friends, making a few new ones, spending time hand quilting, spending money! It’s a hard life, but someone has to do it, and it may as well be me!

Super 7s 11

What if the narrow sashing is dark instead of the light (and therefore invisible) it has been in the previous nine designs in this series?

Nothing wrong with the idea, but this probably isn’t the best example of what it can do for a quilt design. Not a quilt I ever want to make.

EQ Album +10

What if I change the background from light to dark sometimes?

Log Jam 6

An exploding star contained just a little bit. Sixteen all dark, four all light, 40 half light, half dark blocks, and if you make them and put together this quilt you owe me a picture!

I hope that anybody considering making a Log Cabin quilt can see beyond the colour combination that I have used. I did try using shades of black and white but they looked too stark on the screen.

I am presenting a lot of different layouts for Log Cabin quilts, and they would look just as good, or better, in blue or red and white, or autumn colours with cream, or royal purple and pale apricot ………………  I am tempted to convert them all to black and white with red, but with hundreds of possibilites already in the project files that is a daunting task. (Especially as I add more everytime I open the file to pick another one to use. But adding more would make the task more interesting!)

They could become grey scale ……….. which may lead to something in PDF form later! Why didn’t I think of that before!

9P in Play 19

Dunno about anyone else, but I like this one, despite the pointy bits which I don’t normally like.

Believe it or not, this is post number 500 …………….. and early next month will be quilt design number 500!

I hope you all enjoy looking at the designs, and maybe learning something, even if it is something about what you don’t like! Thank you all for visiting and giving me a reason to keep adding a virtual quilt every day.

 

Aunty Flo’s Patch 2

A very elegant design, even if I do say so myself. Bit of excitment in the middle, but the rest is restful as well as elegant.

This is for those suffering an overdose of ghosts, skeletons and pumpkins today!

EQ Album 18

Another nice one!

I do like this lot. They are rather more formal than my house, but would add a touch of class to the rustic country decor.

This quilt design would go with the white sheets handed down from Grandma, Mum and my old boss, so would just add a toch of the aristocracy!

 

Our house is decorated  in a rather rustic country style because we couldn’t afford new furniture early on, and got used to the bits and pieces from our parents, and have added to them since.

Some examples of our style – the kitchen table has painted turned legs, an oiled top with scratches, burns and even some cuts on it. (No initials though! I am tempted to add them!) When we needed a new dinner set I couldn’t make up my mind what I wanted so went to the op shops and bought odd bits and pieces. They range from plain white to some wonderful florals. I have a matching set of mismatched cutlery too.

I use the term ‘our style’ like thr royal ‘we’ ……. Butch is happy with food on any table and utensils to eat it with!

EQ 9×9s 24

Aaahh! I am rather satisfied with a quilt design that turns out like this one. All in just two fabrics too!

At first glance this looks a bit like the Southern Cross, but it’s a LONG way from the one on our flag!

EQ Dozen 37

Number thirty seven …………. sounds like this series has been around forever! But it will be a long time before I run out.

However, with a few more series underway you will only get to see one a month beofre long, especially if I keep doing a few short series to space out the regular ones a bit more!

This one certainly isn’t one of the best I don’t think, but I guess it is interesting.