May Has Arrived - So Spring Must Be Here!

There is something about May - even here in New Hampshire, the snow is gone, we start to get a glimpse of green, and flowers emerge from their long winter's hibernation. Now I won't say I'm an avid gardener (too much quilting to do), but I really appreciate the colors of spring. There is nothing more beautiful than a beech tree in the spring when the leaves show the most amazing green color. Who would think that spring leaves could have such variations in colors? But each type of tree has it's own spring color, just as they have their own fall color. It is almost like a beautiful living quilt when I look outside. Then factor in the wonderful sunsets, all of the color variations and my visual stimulation is on overload.

Do you ever wonderful how some color combinations work and some don't? Do you ever plan a quilt thinking it will be the most beautiful quilt ever, only to be disappointed with the finished project? Maybe we have to take a lesson from Mother Nature and incorporate a more varied color palette into our quilts. I know myself that I really get into the "matchy" thing and occasionally it appears a little dull. Some quiltmakers think you need to throw in a "zinger" to avoid this. But if you are like me, it is hard to work outside of your comfort zone. Have you ever taken a class from Mary Ellen Hopkins? She has you put your hand into a paper bag and whatever you take out is what you have to use - right then, right now! No putting it aside until that color works into your plan. So maybe the lesson today is to get out some of your assorted pre-cut strips, that I'm sure most of you have on hand, and throw them into a bag, and then start pulling them out and sewing. Throw caution to the wind.......it won't kill you and maybe you'll find out that sometimes too much thinking takes away from the fun. The only trick I've found with "random" selection is the smaller the width of the strip the less the fabric matters. One of my favorite log cabin quilts was made with some of the ugliest fabrics I had on hand, but I cut them into 1-1/4" strips. When you have a 3/4" finished strip you only see color - you didn't see the Santa faces on the blue fabric, etc. Of course, it takes quite a bit of time to make something large with 1-1/4" strips, but at least it is something that divides perfectly into 2-1/2" jelly roll strips. Have a great week-end and let your creativity shine! Mary Jane