Our latest issue (March/April, No. 132) features a calming quilt by Julie Herman called Cornflower Fields on page 52. The Nature’s Notebook fabrics are from Moda Fabrics, and are available in local quilt shops.

Cornflower Fields by Julie Herman

A while back it was my job to find an alternate color scheme for the quilt which would create what we call a “color option.” You’ll see color options near the end of most Quiltmaker patterns, and they’re meant to expand your vision for a project by presenting a completely different look using different fabrics in the same pattern.

An interesting thing happened as I was thinking about another way to present Cornflower Fields.

Instead of the usual colored quilt diagram (above), I had a diagram with only the lines of the quilt, and no color (below).

I was surprised by how much this opened up the possibilities! Jumping right off the page were trees, trees and more trees. I couldn’t see anything but trees. And so began my inspiration for Hoo’s in the Forest?

A search through our fabric room, which is well-stocked with the latest fabrics from many companies, brought me to Robert Kaufman’s “On a Whim” owl print. Perfect! I wanted the owls to take center stage, so plenty of tone-on-tones from Robert Kaufman’s basic lines such as Mixmasters Dot to Dot and Fusions fit the bill. For the border, a fun plaid with all the right colors from Flower Child framed the quilt nicely. I left off the border sections in this version, which made it a “design option.” A design option goes a few steps past a color option by changing not just the fabrics, but also how and where they are placed.

Hoo's in the Forest?

Hoo’s in the Forest?, an abbreviated version of Cornflower Fields, is now a free online pattern. We’re excited to offer timesaving kits for Hoo’s in the Forest? as well.

I started thinking about how often I look at colored diagrams or even photos first, and I’ve decided that I’d be much more open to the infinite possibilities if I’d look at only the lines. In a future post I’ll expand on this idea and show you more examples.

Yes, our first 2010 issue is at the printer now (where has 2009 gone?) so I thought I’d give you a little sneak peek of what’s coming:

We’re kicking off 2010 with a  new column, Addicted to Scraps, by one of my favorite scrap quilters, Bonnie Hunter. Bonnie sent me a funny screen capture recently after her son posted about his “famous” quilting mom on Facebook:

Have you seen French General’s fabric line Rouenneries for Moda? It got a lot of buzz at Spring Market ‘09 and now it’s showing up in quilts and stores. Carolyn Beam, QM’s Creative Editor, designed a fantastic pair of quilts with a twin size and bonus doll quilt. (QM Kits of Duette will be available in early December.)

Our 11th pattern designed with Project Linus in mind will be flying high in this issue with Kite ‘n Kaboodle, designed by me with fabric from P&B Textiles.

Leave a comment and tell me what quiltmaking skill you’re looking forward to improving in 2010 by 3 pm MST on Tuesday and I’ll give away this color option + binding fabric from Courtyard made from Maywood Studio fabric in Quiltmaker’s Favorites, Spring ‘09 issue.

And the winner is #24, Sarah Vee! Congratulations!

So the giveaway is over, but we’re finding these answers fascinating as we plan content for 2010. I’d love to see more answers–who knows you may influence what goes into Quiltmaker next year!

I’m so excited that Quiltmaker is finally blogging! You’ll be hearing from the QM staff and me as we join all the blogging fun that we’ve been watching for so long.

We’ve been storing up all kinds of content in anticipation of getting things started—giveaways, designer interviews, inside peeks at what goes on in our office and so much more.

Did I just say “giveaways”? You bet I did—where should I start? Since the month of June just started (and that’s my name), let’s give away something from our May/June ‘09 issue.

Peekaboo Pixies, color option for Ribbon Trellis, as seen in Quiltmaker's May/June '09 issue.

Peekaboo Pixies, the color option for Ribbon Trellis. That’s right—I’m giving away a color option made from Dance with the Fairies fabric by elinor peace bailey for P&B Textiles—a very fun and whimsical fabric design.

The first place winner will receive the quilt top—the one you see here, along with backing and binding fabric. Bonus: 4 additional winners will receive fabric bundles from the same line of fabric.

Leave a comment by Monday, June 8 at 12 noon Mountain time and tell me what you’d like to see Quiltmaker blog about. I’m looking forward to getting to know you!

[6/12/09 update: This giveaway is over now, but you can still tell me what you'd like to see us blog about.]