Tag Archives: patchwork

New York Beauty Block

Posted on May 4, 2012 | 8 comments

It has been quite awhile since I played with Electric Quilt. So I had an early shower, put on my pajamas, and cozied up on the couch with my laptop.

New York Beauty is an old file (like many, many moons ago) that I thought would be fun to spend an evening with. This block can offer up so many variations; one can play for hours!

I made a New York Beauty quilt several years ago. I made it by the paper piecing method. I love the quilt, and it won The Harpist’s Award at the Washington State Quilters – Spokane Chapter quilt show (I’m sorry I don’t have a photo for you). But removing paper is tedious.

Linda Franz, over at Inklingo, has made this very easy (no paper piecing here). I have no affiliation; but I recognize a good thing when I see one (I wish I had seen this sooner.). She has created a great New York Beauty design (not like the one shown here) that has shapes that can be printed directly onto fabric. Check it out by clicking here and here and here and here (all different posts with lots of inspiration).

Happy quilting!

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Tagged Electric Quilt, EQ7, Inklingo, LCsCottage, Linda Franz, New York Beauty, patchwork, quilt blocks, quilt design

Orbiting Stars

Posted on March 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’ve been playing with another old EQ project file. The block was drawn many moons ago (very many moons) when I took an EQ class at Quilt University.

This is a simple layout…3 blocks x 3 blocks set on point with a 3″ sashing.

Boring. Floating blocks have their place, but not here.

Adding stars in the sashing adds more interest, but everything is still floating.

Switch up the color. Now the stars are anchored. I’m liking this mucho better!

How about dressing up the border? For some folks, this is too busy; other folks like lots to look at. Do what you like (or what the recipient of the quilt likes).

I do see that I need to go back to the drawing board and fix my star points in the border blocks. It looks like I’ve drawn the outer points longer than the inner ones. Nothing like a picture to point out one’s mistakes!

And with a click of the mouse, let’s change up the color.

Not everyone’s favorite colors, but I can see the stars in the sashing quite nicely.

Another click (or two) of the mouse and another color scheme. Hmmmm. I can see white paddle fans hovering over a tiled floor. Is it just me?

And yet another quick color change. It may be classic black, white and red, but it sure is busy. I think I’ll try that with a more solid black ground when I go back to the project file to fix the star points.

And the reverse of the previous quilt. I like it better.

There’s a lot more playing around with this design. My friend, Judy, is creating beautiful virtual quilts with subtle soft and muted colors. I got darker the more I played with this design. What if I went softer?