Never Say Never

I can't say that the Bowtie block has ever been one of my favourites. That was until I saw this gorgeous creation by Maryse; she's called it God's Green Earth and has kindly agreed to let me share a few pics with you here, but do take a look at her post as well for more details.

It leaves me speechless. It's graphic, wonderfully scrappy and perfectly quilted. It's 'green' but not totally; the addition of other colours adds wonderful depth. I also like the way that the bowties create a circular pattern; often they are laid out in a linear/diagonal pattern, which doesn't do much for me. I could go on...

I love everything about it, to the point that I've started playing around with one of my own.

The blocks couldn't be simpler - two sized blocks cut 3.5" and 2.5" make a 6" Bowtie block. She found the pattern in Kaffe Fassett's Simple Shapes, Spectacular Quilts but I just found a tutorial for the block and worked through it. So here it is, in case you are smitten too:

Cut four 3.5" squares, two green and two neutral, as well as two 2.5" green squares.

Lay the smaller green squares atop the larger neutral squares ...

and sew on the diagonal; trim.

Sew a 3.5" dark square to each of the pieced squares.

Flip the bottom one around so that the green block is on the right side and sew the two strips together.

Voilá - a Bowtie.

Lay out four of them and a second voilá - a circle of Bowties. Make 120 Bowties and you have a quilt.

All seams are pressed to the dark side with the exception of the final one down the centre of the block as I think it will make joining them easier and reduce bulk.

I suspect that this will be one that gets sewn between other projects, and that's okay - I just wanted to get it started. You know how it is - my fingers got itchy. My stash isn't as diverse as hers (she has such a great collection of fabrics in hers!) but, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Thanks again Maryse for the inspiration and for letting me share your beautiful work...M