Berries, Bunnies and Bricks in a Cute Little Quilt!

   Some of my favorite fabrics to collect are prints with berries on them. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries....they all shout "buy me" when I pass by! This little quilt is handpieced...something to do while waiting for my daughter at ballet class. The pieces were cut by template...in the traditional old way.

   The concept always made me smile...there would be bunnies looking to get into the berries, but they would always be separated from the objects of their desire by bricks, straw, baskets and fences. This project started my appreciation for "architectural" prints....those that would be a good choice for buildings and cottages in a quilt. It also has some complimentary foliage in a dark green color, an alligator print that I prefer to think of as paving stones, and some flowers that probably are not an accurate portrayal of blueberry flowers, but, so what?

Using Fabrics in a Quilt That Go Together Great...and Some, Not So Much!

  The fabrics above go together very well colorwise, although they may be almost a little too similar. The styles are a little different, but in a scrap quilt like this one, that is just fine! These were all sorted as Dark fabrics, and none wound up in the same block. There is something about the design of each of the patterns in these fabrics that sets them apart from each other in my mind: the one o the right has very casual veining in the leaves, as well as casual detailing in the flowers. The center fabric is almost opulent; very traditional and old school with those very beautiful cabbage roses in full bloom, while the fabric on the left has a more modern detail to it with the pointed lotus flowers. Subjective, I know, but isn't that what quilting is all about?  (Can you tell how much I love Kaffe Fasset fabrics?)                                           

   These fabrics don't really go together colorwise at all...although the designs are identical. None of these fabrics wound up in the same blocks either, but 2 were sorted as Light fabrics, and one (the rust colored one on the left) was sorted as a Dark fabric. And while very few people in their right mind would put these colors together in the same quilt...a scrap quilt is the perfect opportunity to throw them all into the mix...you will be amazed at how they work together. Even before being sewn into the quilt, you can see the blue flowers of the light green fabric work with the blue fabric, and the baskets of the light green fabric work perfectly well with the baskets of the rust colored fabric.