Quilt Patterns Relating to Gardening

It's amazing how the theme of gardening is carried into art, whether it's painting, collage, mixed media, or quilting. As I was browsing through my quilt books, I noticed a number of patterns named for topics related to gardening...whether vegetables or flowers.

Flowers in a Pot
Forbidden Fruit
Hawaiian Grape Vine
Kansas Sunflower
Melon Patch
Peony
Pineapple
Rose Petal
Sunflower
Tulip
Basket of Oranges
Basket of Tulips
English Poppy
Strawberrie

Do you have any favorite fruit or vegetable quilt patterns, or others related to gardening?

Irish Related Quilting Projects for St. Patrick's Day

Many of the quilting patterns pioneer ladies used reflected names of nationalities and the countries from which they might have immigrated. Here are some that might have a connection to the Irish and St. Patrick's Day.

• Irish Puzzle
• Irish Chain
• Double Irish Chain
• Triple Irish Chain
• Shamrock
• Anna's Irish Tulip

Do you have any special Irish or St. Patrick's Day designs that you make? Or that were handed down in your family?

Quilting and Patchwork Moves to BlissTree

My former blog, Quilting and Patchwork at b5media, has become incorporated into BlissTree, so you'll no longer find my individual quilting blog there. I'll be writing on quilting and other crafts. I'll try to let you know when I have new quilting posts up there, so you can find them without hunting around.

Here at Quilters' Potpourri, I shall be increasing the information I share, as I have time.

Also, visit my Tales of the Trails End Quilters blog about my quilting heritage. I'll be adding to it more regularly.

Happy quilting!

The Quiltmaker's Gift & Related Books

When I discovered the children's story book, The Quiltmaker's Gift, I didn't realize there were related books with quilt patterns and suggestions. When a quilter asked where she might find fabric with similar designs on it, I sent out her request in a post, Fabric to Represent Story Books, Particularly The Quiltmaker's Gift.

Then I discovered there were books with quilt patterns to accompany the picture book and wrote about them in Follow-up Books for the Quiltmaker's Gift.

You may want to check out these books:

The Quiltmaker's Gift
Quilts From the Quiltmaker's Gift
More Quilts From the Quiltmaker's Gift

March Blizzard Memories

Snow in March, like today's storm after two glorious days of springlike weather, brings to mind stories from childhood, when my grandfather reminisced about the Blizzard of 1888. A snowy day like today also is a good one to contemplate quilting projects or work on some already underway.

Also, for some reading about the catastrophic Blizzards of 1888, first in the West and then on the east coast:

City of Snow: The Great Blizzard of 1888 by Linda Oatman High.
In All Its Fury: A History of the Blizzard of January 12, 1888 by W. H. O'Gara.
Blizzard! The 1888 Whiteout by Jacqueline A. Ball.
Blizzard!: The Storm That Changed America by Jim Murphy

More recent blizzards & storms:
One to Remember: The Relentless Blizzard of March 1966 by Douglas Ramsey
Northeast Snowstorms by Louis W. Uccellini

Fiction:
Lost in the Blinded Blizzard (Hank the Cowdog) by John R. Erickson

Books About Daylight Saving Time & Spring

Discover facts and figures (the curious and the ordinary) about Spring and Daylight Saving Time

Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time by David Prerau
Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time by Michael Downing
Crafting Springtime Gifts: 25 Adorable Projects Featuring Bunnies, Chicks, Lambs & Other Springtime Favorites by Tone Finnanger
Time for Change: Setting Clocks Forward by One Hour Throughout the Year by Mayer Hillman
The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle