quilts are my sugar

A chocolate box of quilt blocks                                              

I received an invitation recently from my friend Megan, which involved fabric, quilting and talented quilt makers .... yes please!

12 designers + 24 different quilt blocks ....... fun modern blocks like this block of Megan 's ...

... and the prettiest of traditional blocks, like this Churn Dash block made by Ange .
                           
Choosing an edge-to-edge quilting design to do all over the quilt would smoodge ("technical" term) all the blocks together visually ..... nah!
24 different and gorgeous quilt blocks = 24 different quilting designs = challenge!    

Traditional Granny Square blocks by Ali , above and below, had the cutest fussy cut centres which called for outline quilting to make sure the animals would stand out. 
The squares themselves though were large enough to add a pretty quilting motif just for fun. 

                                                      It still excites me how the same block can be made with different fabrics to give a very different look. Alisha pieced very small fabric squares in the sweetest designs, to make her bordered Granny Square block. Very simple quilting for this gorgeous block, allows the fabric to speak volumes.         

Annabel 's beautifully pieced squares have been highlighted by simple straight lines also. In my mind I saw a lovingly pieced, family quilt swaying in the breeze on the washing line every time I looked at Annabel's block.

                           

I often find myself quilting Log Cabin blocks with simple straight lines to imitate the piecing process of the block, but here I also added a little extra texture in the plain linen sections of Therese's gorgeous Log Cabin.  

 The quilt project brought four different Spool blocks, all similarly pieced, yet all quite different in personality. 

I loved how this one has the "thread" portion of each spool made from different scraps. Having a little space between the spools meant I could quilt some curling thread behind the spools.

*This was the point where I started singing (to the tune of "12 Days of Christmas") ...

"on the fourth day of quilting the quilt girls gave to me 4 spools of thread, 4 Dresden plates, 3 hex-a-gons, 2 embroidered blocks and a ...........                                                                                                 

        By using the same fabric for each pretty spool and its thread, the maker of this block gave me an opportunity to add lots of quilted texture. I've also added buttons/circles around the spools.

Peta's Spool block had "thread" which was a strong contrast with the rest of the block, so the quilting was restricted to straight lines to maintain the block's sense of simplicity.

                                                   Naglaa's spool block had a very different personality. This block spoke of  a sun filled work room, lined with pretty fabrics, rolls of lace and colourful threads. 

Please don't burst my bubble Naglaa :) 

I adore Dresden plate blocks and their variations, so was delighted to find I'm not the only fan  ... unintended pun.                                                                                                                
Images of scrumptious petit fours on delicate floral plates struck me when I saw Annabel 's  pretty block .....                         

    ... while in Anorina's Dresden plate I saw masses of beautiful flowers with their petals overlapping.

                                                        I'll save the rest of the quilted blocks for the next post but I thought Anorina's second block a beautiful way to say goodbye for now ....

.................... xo



P.S. I apologise for not giving the maker's name for every block, and would love to edit the post to credit the maker's name.