Cool and Serene

In the summertime, when it's hot outside, it's especially pleasant to sit and stitch on something cool.
I was printing a batch of quilt patterns this morning, and came across an older one.... I forgot how lovely this one is, called MORNING GLORY, which evokes the blues, pinks, purples and plums of those bold climbing flowers.

I used a bunch of cool jewel-tone colors, making it look like an old-fashioned Amish quilt:

Very easy stitching, cool colors (with a bit of metallic sparkle) and a pleasing geometric design that is traditional yet modern when done!  What more could you ask for in a relaxing summer project?  It's available on my website, under the American Quilt Collection....

Color Possibilities: ARIZONA STAR

Playing with color is always a fun thing for me, so I've been exploring other colorways that might work for some of my older quilt designs.  A very popular design in the past has been ARIZONA STAR, which I stitched in soft sage greens and pinks.  I love how this design has a Southwestern feel, but also is very geometric and could be more modern, if the color palettes were different.

So how would it look in other colorways?   Playing on the computer gave me these possibilities:

BLUES...

PURPLES...

Or how about more masculine BROWNS....wouldn't that make a great pillow for an office?

So many more stitching possibilities to consider!!

Color Possibilities: SUMMER DAYS

Out of the blue this week, I had a handful of orders for an older quilt design called SUMMER DAYS:

As I'm printing, I always have to wonder if someone out there in Blogville is stitching up my design and inspiring other stitchers, or perhaps a store has a model stitched up...  In any event, this design came about after a store asked me to design something rectangular, to use up the 12" strip of canvas that always seems to get left over, after other square pieces of canvas are cut.  Well, that was a unique challenge for me!  Anyway, the rectangular design is a fun one to stitch, with several fun and easy borders to keep things interesting  Plus, I always think this would make a terrific bolster pillow....

I stitched the original model (shown above) in peppy blues and yellows, which reminded me of traditional french Provencal fabrics.

Now I wonder how it might look in other colorways, and - TA DA! - thanks to modern computer magic, I was able to play around and create some other fun colorways to share with you.   Such as...... a PINK & GREEN version!! (very Lily Pulitzer, don't you think?!)

Or how about a BLUE & CHOCOLATE version -- YUM!

And look at this GREEN & PEACH version...dreamy, n'est pas?

It's certainly an eye-opener to see how different a design looks and feels in another color scheme.  And it also gives you some idea of the endless possibilities within each quilt design.  The trick to stitching any of these new colorways would be to find a variegated thread that has those colors in it, then find matching solid colors: one dark hue for the borders, one or two medium hues for the accent colors, perhaps one or two soft metallic ribbons for a bit of shimmer, and a very pale color for the background.      Gets me itchin' to go stitchin'.... how 'bout you?

Old-Fashioned Quilts

I was doing some printing this week of older quilt designs and came across some favorites that evoke old-fashioned quilts that are softened and faded with time.  I pulled out a few of the models so I could look at them and reminisce about stitching them many years ago.  sigh... I still love these traditional quilt designs....

SAWTOOTH SAMPLER, originally stitched in soft pastels, but great for working from your stash:

I also stitched it in slightly BRIGHTER colors, and list those threads on the pattern as well:

Then there's FLOWER BASKET, a soothing geometric quilt, which I love for its scalloped borders:

And this is FLOWER GARDEN, which has a slightly stained glass look to it, I think, and looks good in lots of different spring color combinations... The first model I stitched in greens and pinks:

...then I stitched it again in cool greens and apricots (another yummy combination!):

Then there's GRANDMOTHER'S GARDEN, which has such a lovely old-fashioned feel to it
(and LOTS of little squares to stitch!!):

So if you're in a soft pastel, old-fashioned quilt kind of mood, please check out these quilts, along with many others, in my American Quilt Collection, over on my website....