Mail call

Many things in life are going digital now and it seems like we find fewer items in the snail mail all the time.  But today it was worth the walk down to the mailbox -- I found treasure there!

Advance copy of the September issue of Quilts from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks

Of course, I turned to my own quilt first!

My quilt looks pretty good in its "glamour shot", don't you think!

I've had time now to look at the rest of this issue, and I can see some lovely designs, everything from a table topper to a baby quilt, to lap quilts and larger bed quilts.   There is plenty of inspiration here to keep a quilter happily quilting for a long time.

You'll be able to pick up your very own copy of this magazine in a week or two -- so watch for it on your newsstand.

Playing with value

I've been having fun experimenting with value placement.  The block I've been playing with here is my Wildflower block.  It appears in the current Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks (Volume 13).

I began by dividing  the block into five areas.  There are several ways of doing this but I chose the block corners as area 1, the background (area inside the corners and outside the petals) as area 2, the petals as area 3, the "lines" as area 4, the 4 small squares around the centre as area 5.  The small centre square usually ended up matching the petals.

Here we have a light background around strong petals and centre squares.  The light lines really stand out on this one (I decided to emphasize the lines by paying attention to the direction of the print on the fabric.)

The stronger background area encloses the bright petals.

Here the petals and lines seem to float above the lighter fabrics.

Light petals anchored by  the surrounding fabrics.  The small squares around the centre are just a bit darker than the petals and seem to add dimension.  

I realize it might be a bit of a challenge combining all these blocks into one project, but I have a plan.  I'll let you know how it works out!

Here are some more Wildflower blocks made by my friends.

My friend Louise framed the red petals with the strong print -- this reminds me of a flower against the leaves.

Marie made three blocks in bright spring greens for a table runner.

Carol used a large scale print for the petals, and the centre square provides a bright focus point.

Kim made cherry blossoms by constructing blocks in two sizes and placing them on an angle.