Vest Workshop this weekend

I'll be doing a vest workshop using my Yarn Fabrication technique this Saturday for the Riverbend Fiber Arts Guild. The members of this group are very artistic, talented and imaginative. I'm looking forward to a day filled with creative energy, fiber and fun.

 Oh, and the weather forecast is predicting mild weather. (yay!)

Round Robin: Pansies

Pansies are one of the earliest flowering plants, blooming right alongside the spring crocuses and other flowering bulbs. Many varieties of this delicate flower have coloring that make them appear to have a "face." The pansy fabric included in this Round Robin package was accompanied by blueviolet and forest green textured fabrics with a request for a "pretty, feminine, soothing" quilt. Two of us have added  rose-colored fabrics to this palette, which brings out the warm pinks and peaches of the flowers—very pretty and romantic.

The name "pansy" comes from the French word, pensie, meaning "thought" or "remembrance." I think the quilts made from our Round Robin Project, as well as messages in the accompanying Quilt Journals, will be a sweet and thoughtful remembrance of all the participants. We have a very special group.

Round Robin: an ocean vacation

On this rotation of the Round Robin Project, I have the "vacations, oceans, relaxation" quilt. The fabrics are perfect for this theme—cool and soothing with a seashell print. My contribution is the 10" square (bottom left). I call it the "Seashell on the Beach" block. The burnt orange fabric (the complementary color to turquoise) provides a little punch to the color palette and plays nicely with the red and yellow accents in the woven braid strips.

The woven braids and the paper-pieced sailboats are from other group members. Everyone is doing a great job and I'm having a blast with this project. It's a creative quilting challenge every month!

A blue & white quilt

Two of the classic color schemes found in vintage quilts are red-and-white and blue-and-white. The striking contrast in both value and color makes these color combinations real winners. Here is my Blueberries and Cream quilt (36" x 36") that went to my Aunt-in-law in Atlanta. Aunt Clara likes blue and white. The quilt was free-motion quilted with free-form feathers. The block reminds me of the Bird-in-the-Air pattern, so feathers were an appropriate motif. And, feathers are just plain fun to quilt!