The end of the Blues

We're wrapping up "The Blues" with a look at the dazzling quilts we've featured over the last two weeks. And, we've come to a few conclusions. First, we love the color Blue, in all its manifestations. Second, we are captivated by bold graphic designs with high contrasts: there is nothing bland about these quilts! Finally, just looking at these quilts makes us feel serene and hopeful... which means that color psychology is for real!

Top row, L-R: Bachelor’s Wedding Ring, by Eric Gunson, at Pieceful Expressions; Kaleidoscope, the 2010 ASIJ Auction Quilt by Julie Fukuda and colleages, as seen at My Quilt Diary; Yuletide Snowflake design, by Joanna Figueroa, at Fig Tree Quilts (the quilt shown was made by Connecting Threads). Row 2: Glowing Splendor, by Barbara Cline, at Delightful Piecing; Teacup, by Maria Elkins, at Maria Elkins Art Quilts; Embroidered Japanese Crests, by Susa Glenn, at Susa Glenn Designs. Row 3: Victorian Gingerbread, by Janice Lee Baehr, at Pacific Rim Quilt Company; Albers at Sea, by Debra Levin, at the Empire Quilters Guild; Delft Storm, by Ionne McCauley, at Ionne Quilts.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of the artists.

Seeing Stars

The stars shine brightly in today's brilliant blue quilts by designer, quilter and author, Barbara Cline. Stars appear in nearly all of her quilts, including the lone star designs in her book, Star Struck Quilts. Barbara Cline's starry quilts remind us of a quotation by Mary C. Crowley, who said: "Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway."

Glowing Splendor, by Barbara H. Cline, at Delightful Piecing

"Glowing Splendor" can be seen in Barbara Cline's online gallery. Here we see a dimensional effect created by gradated blue fabrics that are pieced as hexagons, with 12-pointed stars in the centers. At the intersecting corners of the hexagons there are 3-pointed dimensional stars that look like the blades of a wind turbine.  The inner border of the quilt is formed by whirling pinwheels in five different blue hues, which are set in a tessellating pattern, as in Barbara Cline's Pinwheel Spin pattern.

Diamond Chain, 56 x 56" or 76 x 96", by Barbara Cline, at Delightful Piecing

The gradation of background fabrics from dark blue to white gives this quilt a beautiful dimensional effect.  The blue-black diamond chain running diagonally through the quilt creates an optical illusion, making it look as if the chain is moving!

The pattern for Diamond Chain is available at Delightful Piecing. Although the pattern appears to be complex, Barbara assures us that it is easy to piece when it is broken down into 10" blocks !

Image credits and links:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Barbara Cline.  She is the author of Star Struck Quilts - Dazzling Diamonds & Traditional Blocks, published by C&T Publishing.  Fittingly, the Amazon.com reviewers of "Star Struck Quilts" all gave it five stars !