Quilt Blocks

QUILT BLOCKS.. how many is enough? By Creative Quilting's Michelle Frost .

Quilting blocks - how many is enough?  This is a question I often ask myself.  I have been collecting block patterns in the same frenzied fashion that I collect pieces of fabric that "one day" I'll turn into a quilt..

Recently at the Creative Quilting Club I started a 'block a day' program, so all the members at the club are receiving via email a quilt block pattern every day via email.  The response has been amazing - obviously I am not the only one who collects block patterns..  Luckily I don't have a shortage of block patterns to send this hungry crowd : )

Thinking about all these quilt block patterns started me wondering about what you could do with so many different blocks?  You often see quilts with more than one block type in them but how many different patterns should you include a one quilt?  And does it still work if you use very different patterns together?

The answer to many of these questions lies in experimentation and your own personal preferences..  Some quilt blocks are best suited for corners, or borders or as centre pieces.  Some block patterns put together create an amazing illusion, drawing your eye to certain parts of the quilt - and if you are not careful they can make you awfully dizzy :-).  How about the quilts that look completely different from a distance than they do up close?  Don't they amaze you?  So how do we come up with a combination of quilt blocks that is stunning and leaves people amazed?

The best advice I can think of is to become very friendly with a pad of graph paper and some coloring pencils (you could borrow your child's pencils if you've long since stopped coloring in ;-)).  Use the graph paper to draw the different block patterns you like - feel free in this process, you can use a eraser much quicker than a quick unpick!  Take different block patterns and experiment by drawing them next to each other on the graph paper - what works and what doesn't?  What happens when you put one block pattern inside 8 blocks of a different pattern (a nine patch)?  The possibilities are endless. 

Once you have decided on a mix of blocks start experimenting with color.  Maybe you already have a color theme or some specific fabric, picked out - use that to guide your color choices. Have fun with it - try colors you never use, mix and match them with other colors - really experiment.  Try and remember what it was like to be a child - when play was a part of your every day experience.  You may just come up with an incredible new quilt design that your family and friends will admire and treasure for generations..  Head over to the Creative Quilting Club and register, so you can start adding to your quilt blocks every day of the year.