What Mother Nature can teach us about quilting!

I can’t believe it’s been more than a month since my last post.  Since mid April , life has been just crazy with activity in our household – and fortunately it has all been good! 

Well I guess summer has officially begun here in the northeast.  After a cool and very wet spring, we have been enjoying mid-summer temperatures now for a week.  Memorial Day weekend weather certainly provided a beautiful start to the summer season.  The boys and I even enjoyed the community pool for a short time each day – and you know the water had to be warm for me to get in!

What really prompted me to write this post, however, was an incident on Saturday at my local home improvement center.  Timing and weather were finally right go pick out some annual flowers to put in pots for color around the deck and house.  I picked out some hot pink Geraniums, some yellow Lantana and blue Lobelia and spiky Dracena for pots on the deck.  As I was trolling for more, a sales woman that was helping another customer, spied my cart and brought her customer over.  “Look,” she says, “how this lady has picked flowers with varying textures and colors that compliment each other.  These flowers make a great combination.”  As she thanked me for being an example, I had to smile to myself as I thought that gardening and quilting are really no different!  I had simply applied the same priciples I use to pick out fabrics for a quilt to pick out the flowers.  As  I was just about to leave, I overheard the sales woman remark about her customer’s improved selection. 

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I have had many people remark about the interesting color combinations and prints that I use in my quilts.   Although I really love looking at beautiful flowers and plants, I don’t really consider myself a gardener.  I know that many quilters are,  yet so many quilters find it difficult to put colors/fabrics together for a quilt, hence the popularity of kits. Finding just the right combination is half the fun of quilting and  I think nature is one of the best sources of inspiration for what works!  Next time you find yourself lacking inspiration, take a walk outside, visit your local garden center or park and see what mother nature has put together!  You’ll be ready to head to the nearest quilt shop! 

Helle-May

P.S. Another beautiful combination that I can not take credit for was the hanging baskets I found of a combination of Large Lilac Superbena, Royal Velvet Supertunia, with just a splash of Yellow Superbells.  (The names are all Proven Winners trademarks).   I don’t really have a place for hanging baskets, but found that placed on the right sized pedestal type urn  – they are even more dramatic!

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