Color and Design

It seems that no matter where I go, I find things that catch my eye with something special in their color or design.  Let me show you what I found last week on my vacation in Vieques--

I love these palm fronds, they make such a nice swishing sound in the wind, and the shadows and light created fantastic designs.

The base of this palm tree is just like the "french braid quilts" that many have made.  Do you think this was the original inspiration?!

The pearlescent character and shades of white to gray of this fish were more interesting to me than the fact that it would become someone's dinner!  I don't know the name of the fish, the fisherman might have told me it was a tuna but I'm not sure we understood each other's language!

This vine looked like little butterflies on a string!  And I like the dark green against the cement wall.  Beautiful!  Would like to put these colors together in fabric.

This cactus caught my eye because it the color of the branches was so pretty against the stucco wall and the clay pot.  And those little red tips will become flowers, I think.

This oddity was growing on a tree in the yard of the house we rented, but I couldn't find anyone who knew what it was.  Hard as a rock, about 4" high, and ridged around the circumference.  Such a strange shape, almost alien!  Do you know what it is?

The buds of a bird of paradise flower are such a beautiful color against the greenery.  And it did feel like paradise!

I stopped to talk a little with this beautiful lady who was selling jewelry on the sidewalk in Esperanza.  She was making pillowcases, and using some metallic floss for part of it.  She was frustrated with the twisting and knotting of that floss, and that's a feeling that is shared worldwide!

These color choices look great for a house in Vieques, but what would the neighbors say in Minneapolis?!  Our house colors are so boring!

This isn't actually a color or design feature.  But one thing we find as we travel to different places is the signs with little people doing funny things.  This little guy is running up the hill away from the tsunami wave.  I hope he runs fast!

Maybe you can find some inspiration for a quilt project here!  And if you want to visit this great little island, just fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and then go east to the next island and there you are!

Busy Bees

We are working like busy bees getting ready for the upcoming Quilt MN Shop Hop (Aug. 3-20).  It involves the creation of quite a few samples that use the focus fabric in the best way possible.  Then organizing the patterns and notions that are required, along with cutting and preparing kits for many of the projects, consumes a whole lot of our busy bee energy.  But it is all worth it when we pull the loose ends together and get feedback from our valued customers.  

In addition, I get to put on my designer cap and put together one or more exclusive patterns for the store.  Some of you might know that I have done this in years past, plus I have enjoyed publishing some other patterns along the way.  This year I decided to take on the task of coming up with a good way to use the 4 large printed panels that were designed.  They really look like vintage posters, the quality is great.  They measure about 11" x 15".  I decided to come up with 4 different border alternatives.  They are all 3" blocks.  Here's a snapshot that I took to put on the pattern cover:

 They could be hung together or separately, depending on your space.  I'm thinking I might hang them all in a row in my hallway.

But I couldn't just stop there.  There needed to be a quilt pattern, too.  I went for something quite different for me, and maybe for you, too.  But I ended up really liking it, so I hope you do, too!  The picture below is not the actual quilt, it is a digital rendition of the fabrics and blocks.  The real deal is still on my quilt frame!  

This uses a little of all of the fabrics (except the panels).  It is often called the Spiderweb or Kaleidoscope block.  I have titled it Pie In The Sky, because I like pie and it looks like big slices of pie to me!  The strips are all cut at varying widths (so not much matching seams to do!) and sewn to a stabilizer.  The light areas are made using a kite-shaped ruler/template.  It was really fun to put together!  I see more of these in my future!  Kits are being cut and packaged and we are taking requests for everything that you love.  Watch here for updates with more fun!

Wishing you a happy day of quilting!

Pam