The beauty of living on the East Coast is getting to experience the four seasons. Watching Nature change her clothes several times a year has given me a new appreciation of the steps involved in quilt making. A few years ago a catalog bulb company made an error in my order. Instead of one bushel of daffodil bulbs (200), they sent three!   Wild daffodils in my yard I went feverishly to work that November planting 600 spring bulbs, not knowing the wonderful surprise I would receive come March. The breathtaking display of yellow in all its glory was only enhanced by the spring green background. It was a welcome sight after a long, hard winter of gray, white and dull brown. It reminds me of the Daffodil Block from the Memory Bouquet quilt I made with my quilting friends from Atlanta 25 years ago. The Daffodil block from the Memory Bouquet quilt Here's the whole quilt in all its beauty! The blocks are 9" x 12" and the whole quilt is 63" x 63". Memory Bouquet Quilt ...

I love the longer days and the extra sunlight, but the chill factor is not nice where I live! Happy Spring to all (in the Northern Hemisphere, btw). My daffodils have been exploding with color for a few weeks now.   Here is a Daffodil Block from my Memory Bouquet pattern. Blocks are 9" x 12". This was designed by Eveline Foland for the Kansas City Star in the 1930s. I redrafted all 20 of the blocks. Daffodil Block from Memory Bouquet quilt Do you remember the entire quilt? I made this in 2002 with the help of my guild members. This appeared in Quilt Magazine in 2003. The Daffodil Block is at the top center. Memory Bouquet quilt : 63" x 63" I played with some yellow and orange batiks using some 60 degree diamonds and created a pieced daffodil. What do you think? I like the real daffodils better. We put some in a vase with water and get to enjoy them inside the house as well as outside. I wish you a happy Spring day and hope there are some flowers where you are!

Bring in the flowers! I love them all. Where I live the daffodils and crocus are in full bloom. My hostas are beginning to poke their heads through the dirt and my peonies have been thinned and are itching to burst into their hot pink flowers! My husband staked them last weekend. They get tall and need the support. And I even have a daffodil quilt block. It's part of my Memory Bouquet quilt made in early 2003 by me and my friends from Atlanta. It's also known as the Jonquil. Daffodil block from the Memory Bouquet quilt Here are a few other flowers from that quilt. It was published in Quilt Magazine in 2003 (with only 4 of the 20 blocks patterned). This first appeared in the Kansas City Star in the 1930s! This is a Lily of the Valley. Not sure where this block is in my closet. It was not part of the quilt set; just an extra one I came upon when I was an editor with Quilt. Lily of the Valley And another one, the Zinnia. There is a LOT of appliqué here! Zinnia Block And here are ...