Color me desperate for color

Maybe it's the weather. Or maybe it's that I've been sitting at my desk staring at black and white text on paper for too long. But I am craving COLOR and PATTERN and TEXTURE in abundance.

Luckily for me, "Collaborative Quilting" by Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston is about to hit the shelves. I wasn't able to get to Freddy's book signing this past Saturday at my favorite shop, Thimble Creek, but my signed copy from them should be arriving in the mail any day now. I adore Freddy.



Aren't those baskets charming?

So, until that comes, I've what any color/texture/pattern starved person without actual time to sew would do: I pulled out my entire pile of Kaffe Fassett books (and I have them all) and I've been looking through them each chance I've gotten.



I love the splashy use of color and pattern in these books -- in the quilts, of course, but in the photographs too. I can look at the stuff around and behind the quilts for ages.

But the quilts...oh, the quilts. I could just work my way through these books, making one quilt after another, and be very happy.



I'm very drawn to this right now. I guess all this pink just makes me smile.



A few years ago, I made several of these quilts, basically big nine-patch blocks alternating with big solid blocks...I used all big floral and leafy patterns the quilt came out looking like a big garden.



They were fast and easy and fun, and so gorgeous. One I made for my sister at a time when she was moving away from a home where she had a big garden, into a little place with no garden. Laura often drapes the quilt over a table when she's at shows selling her needlework designs, and I'm always gratified when people come over to look at it.

Okay, back to my black and white pages.