Tuesday, February 25, 2014

I think it is too early....




My tulips are past peeking through the warmed earth, the trees are budding and my yearly visitors the perennial flowers are thinking about starting their grand approach to the season, and I do believe it is a bit on the early side. The local fruit orchards are nervous about this issue, fearing that the blossoms will come out and get nipped by a cold spell.  My family in Minnesota and Iowa have a different scenario, as they struggle through extremely cold temperatures and snow and more snow.  With are balmy temperatures it is difficult to not let your mind think SPRING!  So, my quilt holder is back at his job.  This is a Blackbird Design from quite a while ago......I fell in love with the tulips.  This quilt hangs out in our bedroom and remains one of my favorites.  I don't work with pink much, as most of you know by now......however, I had great fun collecting pink fabrics.  My version is a bit different as I divided the blocks into fourths instead of one large square for the background.  I thought it made the look more interesting, beside that it was easier to center the tulips on the background.
 
 
 

 
 
 
Here is a close up.....the alternate block is a nine patch made with pin wheels.  As you will notice I always try to sneak in some plaids, stripes, checks ........I just love what they add to a quilt.  The center star fabric is one that I am carefully hanging onto because it is one of my favorites.  I do believe we quilters are all like that, aren't we?
 
 
Today I'm going on a field trip with friends up to Sweet Lavender, the quilt shop which I featured in Roy, Utah.  Since we are craving a salad at the California Pizza Kitchen, we will make that our first stop.  I'll try to remember to get more pictures.
 
 
"Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;
Today the glint of green is there;
Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;
I know no thing so wondrous fair;
No miracle so strangely rare.
I wonder what will next be there"!
 
-L.H. Bailey
 
I wonder what will next be there....hoping it's rain and not snow!


6 comments:

  1. I'm not much for pink usually either, but your tulips are lovely. This is a quilt my mom would have loved, being especially fond of pink, and tulips! I love the four-patch backgrounds for the tulips. Yes, it definitely makes it more interesting and adds an element of dimension overall.

    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Its not that I don't like pink, its just that I don't have a pink house. I'm 100% Dutch, so it's no wonder I love tulips. Thank you.

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  2. Oh Norma! This is just a beautiful quilt!! I'm actually a 'pink' lover and this is so very pretty and feminine. I've just started on your Sweet and Simple BOM quilt - I joined Woolen Willow's BOM last year for this and it's very exciting to finally get started!! It's just a wonderful pattern.

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    1. Tina....thank you. The sweet and simple is being done in a booklet form, and will be available soon. You have a big job ahead of you, but slow and steady wins the race!

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  3. Hi Norma, I love it when rather than using one background a quilter divides up the block and gives visual texture with different tones of a colour. You've always gotta have some stripes and dots to make things interesting.

    Thanks for sharing your kovely quilt.

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