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?

A Summer Quilt with Butterflies in Popsicle Colors

   The first time I saw this fabric, the solids were placed next to each other, and my first thought was "Popsicles!" I really wished there were a blue fabric, too...to mix with some flip flop fabric for a beach quilt. I didn't have any luck finding the blue, but I did find the matching butterfly print, and I changed the idea to "Butterflies and Pinwheels.

   It was a bit difficult to cut the print without slicing the butterflies in two....and I was lucky enough to find a dark fabric to mix with the popsicle bright fabrics. While I like the overall affect, and the quilt is cute, I think the butterflies got lost, and it does sort of end abruptly at the border. I still love the colors, though! Bright pink, lime and orange continue to make me think of those cold, drippy treats on hot summer days!

What Makes Stack and Whack Quilts So Much Fun!

     If you love surprises, Stack and Whack quilts are a hoot! For those of you who aren't familiar with them, the premise is simple...you take lots and lots of fabric (sometimes hideous!) and stack identical pieces exactly on top of each other. You then cut squares or triangles and sew them together to form pinwheel designs. What makes them fun is that you often don't know what the block will look like when you finish. Surprise!

     Here's one that I did a while ago.. The starter fabric was a huge print with watermelons and cantaloupes  on it. My big mistake was not understanding how much contrast you need in a Stack and Whack block. While I love my Watermelon quilt, the yellows and oranges in the melon fabric tend to blend a little too much with the background yellow fabric. It would probably have been better to use dark green for the background and the yellow for the sashing. Oh, well, live and learn! And, enjoy it anyway! Although I still may use some dark green thread to outline each pinwheel to add some contrast!

     What do you think? Please comment...and definitely link to photos of Stack and Whack quilts you have made!