Parfait Dreams
In this redesign of the traditional Connecticut block, the nine main blocks advance because the large triangles are dark and intense, while the alternate blocks and setting pieces recede, thanks to their mostly lighter and less-intense fabrics. The lighter-value striped border recedes even more, putting the focus on the center portion of the quilt. See Books and Patterns. Machine quilted by Carol Walsh (quiltthis@sbcglobal.net). Click image for larger view. 42 x 42 inches

Earthscape
Value, temperature, and intensity are all at work in this small collage quilt. Light-value background fabrics by Elin Noble (www.elinnoble.com) suggest a sulfurous sky; dark-value foreground fabrics depict the volcanic landscape of Kilauea. Where the lava meets the ocean, light-value fabrics imply rising steam. The raw-edge pieces are adhered to the foundation with Misty Fuse. Machine quilted by Carol Walsh (quiltthis@sbcglobal.net). Click image for larger view. 28 x 36 inches

Puss in the Corner on the Courthouse Steps
Kaffe Fassett (www.gloriouscolor.com) and Michael James fabrics make up this original design. Ikat-wash fabrics in light green, peach, and lavender mix with darker prints and stripes in the Puss-in-the-Corner units; strips of darker, brighter ikat-wash fabrics “corral” the units and form the blocks. The striped border has an opalescent quality, a special effect that occurs when various colors in similar values are juxtaposed. Machine quilted by Teresa Leavitt. Click image for larger view. 68 x 68 inches

Tropical Hole in the Barn Door
Students often ask, “How do you choose fabrics for a quilt that repeats a single block?” I follow a color-and-value recipe to create variety and cohesion in repeat-block quilts. For a contemporary take on the traditional Hole in the Barn Door block, I followed this recipe: a red center square; batik surrounding squares; cool, dark inner triangles; light outer triangles; and warm strips that form the lattice. Machine quilted by Carol Walsh (quiltthis@sbcglobal.net). Click image for larger view. 52 x 56 inches

Siesta
This little leftovers quilt illustrates how easy it is to turn a secondary pattern into a primary pattern. Each olive green polka-dot square would be the center of a traditional Churn Dash block, with the striped triangles in the outer corners of the block. By shifting the block units, four striped triangles congregate to make a primary pattern. The light-value Kaffe Fassett stripe, pale batik, and polka dot fabrics form the backdrop and become the secondary pattern. Machine quilted by Teresa Leavitt. Click image for larger view. 44 x 56 inches

Square Dance
This Double Four Patch variation, made up mostly of Cherrywood Fabrics (www.cherrywoodfabrics.com), was inspired by the glass tile backsplash in my kitchen, featured in the Sunset book, Reinvent Your Kitchen; see Books and Patterns. As haphazard as it looks, there is a color recipe at work: warm and cool fabrics for the 1-inch squares (with random squares of batiks for dashes of light); dark fabrics for the 4-inch squares; and lighter fabrics for the 8-inch squares. I fell in love with the hand-dyed rickrack (rainbow@mcn.net), which I appliquéd to the borders before attaching them to the quilt top. Machine quilted by Carol Walsh (quiltthis@sbcglobal.net). Click image for larger view. 50 x 64 inches

Double Four Patch
This block is the first exercise we do in my Color! Color! Color! workshop. To make the design work, you need just enough contrast for the pieces to separate visually, but not so much that one fabric "pops." Once again, I had a color-and-value recipe: the vertical small squares are warm and light, and the remaining small squares are warm and dark. The larger squares are cool and dark, while the surrounding triangles are cool and light. The fabrics are all from Cherrywood. Machine quilted by Beverly Bixler. Click image for larger view. 42 x 49 inches

In and Out
More stripes, more batiks. These blocks are loosely based on the quilt on the cover of Passionate Patchwork (www.gloriouscolor.com). I did my quilt differently, pairing a strip of batik fabric with a strip of striped fabric. The key is value: the batiks are light or medium in value, while the stripes are darker. When you make the units, you get opposite pairs; that is, for every unit with a stripe on the outside and a batik on the inside, you get a unit with the same batik on the outside and the same stripe on the inside. Hence the name, In and Out. Machine quilted by Beverly Rodgers. (See Books and Patterns.) Click image for larger view. 56 x 56 inches