True to the Red, White and Blue!

Quilt Top By: Jo West
Quilting by Sunshine Quilt Company

For the Fourth of July, we're going to show some marvelous patriotic quilts. We have been celebrating this country with needle and thread since Betsy Ross made the first flag.

Auntie Chris' Quilt Fabric

Flying pinwheels are very like flags themselves. The use of stripes here really makes the pinwheels dimensional.

Squares and Triangles

There's nothing as simple or as showy as white lattice. And it frames every red and blue print.

McCall's Quilting

Love the bright white stars against the primitive looking background.

Quilting.about.comquilting.about.com

What a dramatic use of stripes!

1stdibs

Even Sunbonnet Sue waves the red, white and blue.

Celebrate our great country yourself with a quilt that reminds you that you are true to the red, white and blue.

Quilts to Warm the Heart

In the middle of February, it makes perfect sense to find a way to warm up. Any way. Warmer thoughts. Hot tea. Cocoa even if it spills in your lap. Pets who sit on you. Beach movies. Especially this winter.

But we forget about how strongly we respond to color.
So it's no surprise that there's a holiday that gives you the opportunity to make everything warmly, wonderfully red.
If Valentine's day hadn't been a tradition we would have had to invent it. Just to warm up. Imagine Valentine's day in July. You just can't. It's made for cold weather.

And it's made to lift us up in the dark of the winter. When we're young it's about candy and paper valentines. When we're older it's about matters of the heart. When we're a bit older than that it comes back around to candy, with or without the cards. But it's about two things, always. The promise of warmth in the middle of cold. The promise of the people we love, even in the coldest time of year.

Modern Heart Tutorial
http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/?p=1505

So get out your red fabric and make yourself warmer. Here's some modern quilts, for Valentine's Day.

Vanessa Christenson  I Heart You
http://quiltinspiration.blogspot.com/2013/01/vintage-and-modern-valentines-part-2.html

Love both of these half hearts. One appliqued, one pieced. Sometimes part images are much more striking than fully realized ones.

MICHELE BILYEU http://www.with-heart-and-hands.com/

There are a number of great pieced heart patterns. 

Pamela Lincoln, Mug Rug
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10122575@N04/5463371975/

And there are quilts that have a personal message, that's not clear, but is lovely anyway.

https://www.etsy.com/market/valentines_quilt

You can cut a heart.

Leah Day, The Free Motion Quilting Project.

Stitch hearts

Marian Howard Gallian,Pink Hippo Quilts, 

Applique them.

Or lose them. 

But no matter what, they remind you of the sweet warm things that seem to get forgotten in the snow.

http://stitchesfromthetub.blogspot.com/2013/02/studio-sunday-10-candy-kisses-quilt.html

Don't have enough red fabric? We have a sale going on right up through Valentine's Day. We can help you fill out your red stash, just to warm up.

Warm Yourself with Colors

Today may be winter's worst. Heavy snow, freezing temperatures, impassible driving, and a prayer that the heat holds out.

What's a girl to do?

Warm yourself with color!





Grab those oranges, yellows, pinks, plums, reds, maroons and purples. Yes, they Do go together.Here's some quilts that should warm you up. Add it to a hot cup of coffee, an extra sweater, and you may work up a sweat.

Fruit Punch by Tonya at Lazy Gal Quilting

What a great x and o quilt!

modern bee - hive 14 by sewcraftyjess on Flickr

Even against a white background these pin wheels sizzle.

Beehive Quilt by Eileen Richardson

These Beehive Quilts makes me think of flowers in the sun.
Forget the snow. Go grab some really hot fabric and warm up. The snow can't stay forever.

Primarily Speaking

So far we've talked about red, yellow and blue. You're probably already with me. These are the primary colors. They're primary because they are really separate in themselves. They aren't made of other colors. They're just themselves.

That sounds like a metaphor, but actually that's how they work in design as well. Because they aren't blended from other colors, they are incredibly loud and bossy with other colors. Why are they featured so strongly in kid's prints? Because they really stand out and children love that kind of stimulation. Although I could see it as a reason to choose something else for the hyperactive baby's room.
Of course they're a great way to make a really bold statement.

Modern Mood Circus by Sherri Lyn Wood

This quilt, Modern Mood Circus by Sherri Lyn Wood, is exactly that bold because she worked it in primaries.

Modern Crazy Quilt

This modern crazy quilt by Caroline Heinrich shines in primaries.

Kona Fabric

This new line of Kona Cotton celebrates red, yellow and blue in darker and lighter tones.

From Custom made Quilts

And even a simple patch quilt is cheery and bold.

Don't be afraid to work with primaries. They're bold, direct, bossy and sassy. Just like you!

Black and White and Red All Over: Modern Quilts with Snap

Black, red and white heart quilt

Color makes the quilt. We choose our patterns and we execute our stitchery, but what we take in first is the color. And it's great when your colors say"Wow". Particularly when they say it backwards.

Modern Red, white and black qult

Modern quilting celebrates streamed down patterns and bold statements. And nothing is as bold as red, black and white.
Why? Because it's the most dramatic color combination out there. It's the diva of  color combinations.Black and white are direct opposites  and red is as bold as courage or hearts.
One of the fun things about fabric line  collections is that they'll print the same fabric in different ways.
Here's a great run of red, white and black fabric.

It doesn't hurt that its a great print. But the contrast between the black and white is really exciting.

Another print of a different size gives it a different kind of contrast.

And add something with red in it...

You see what I mean.

Of course a great combination is something that's timeless. This quilt called Heart and Hat is over a hundred years old. And still fabulous!

Pick some white, black and red fabric and make a statement that is bold as you are. We've got a shelf of it waiting for you at Threadbenders

Here are some amazing fabrics that