Blue and white quilt ideas
 

Hi all,
I am working on two quilts right now, and also want to start a blue and white for myself. I like stars, but am still pretty much an advanced beginner, don't want to paper piece, and I get BORED easily! Do you know of any samplers that are not too hard and I could do in blue and white? Also, it is always hard to tell in pictures, but in most traditional blue and white quilts, are there shades of blue? They often look like one shade of blue.
Thanks,
Nancy

look at all these

https://www.google.com/search?q=blue...w=1280&bih=620

I definitely would want shades of blue. The first ones I though of were Log Cabin and Double Irish Chain, but neither has stars, though a LC can be laid out to resemble a Lone Star. A Carpenter Star is not hard. I haven't done smaller stars like the Ohio Star, but they aren't complicated. If you get bored easily, as I do, then look into a Carpenter Star.

They're gorgeous! I just can't tell what ones are doable by relative beginners!
Thanks,
Nancy

Thanks, Irish rose! Will do!

mostly, i just wanted to show you that working with shades of blue is quite lovely. Click on a few that appeal to you. you'll find out a lot more that way.

Here you go. look at her others listed on the left side, too.
http://www.maryquilts.com/carpenter-star/

This one doesn't have stars, but I was pleased with it. It has the blocks set on point, which was new to me. Other than that, it is a nine patch and a fence rail, alternating. I consider myself an advanced beginner, and that sort of matches what you were saying about yourself.

I am sending this, just in case it is something like what you are looking for

Dina

Thanks, Debra K, I get it now! And thank you, Dina, I like that a lot! Irish Rose, I love her stuff! Beautiful!
Nancy

the 'Alex Anderson's Keep on Quilting' book is a great sampler style star blocks book- i did the quilt once in all creams/whites- it came out so great- i bet in blues & white it would be stunning- it is a great book for a (fairly new) quilter- one of our lqs' used it as a 'saturday sampler' program one year & none of the newbies had any trouble completing their quilt - yet those of us who were more advanced really enjoyed it too- i highly recommend it for anyone looking for a sampler style quilt- & stars.

Thanks, ckcowl! I will go,check it out!
Nancy

That google search of blue and white quilts.....aren't they spectacular?!!!!

Jan in VA

I love blue and white after seeing blue and white quilts, Jan! I never did until I saw some gorgeous quilts online on Pinterest, now I want to do my entire house in French blue and white!

http://quiltville.blogspot.fi/2005/0...ue-heaven.html
I'm making this one in blues and naturals - mostly off-white- for my nephew for Christmas. As a matter of fact, Bonnie Hunter's quilts are easy and you can always substitute your own colors and they are never boring!

I did a Star Sampler once. You can go to http://www.quilterscache.com/QuiltBlocksGalore.html and find star blocks suitable for your skill level (there are tons). It turned out to be the best quilt I've ever made.

I agree Jan - those quilts are amazing!! Thanks DebraK for the link!

Thanks for the links, ladies! I am off to explore!
Nancy

I have done several blue and white samplers by simply browsing through books of block patterns and picking the ones I like. "Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks" are also good. I have made samplers that include a variety of sizes as well as those that are all the same size. "Sylvia's Bridal Sampler" and "Dear Jane" both use smaller blocks, and I did a DJ variation in blues and white. I like a mix of blues from dark/navy to light to turquoise to gray/blue.

All I can say is WOW, they are all beautiful. I could not decide which I liked best.

omg! so many beautiful quilts

DebraK,

Thank you for the blue page! WOW! Also I love your PEAR quilt.

The awesome thing about quilting is that there are so many options and variations available to us, regardless of skill level. You can take any pattern in 2 colors and change it up by using many fabrics and shades of the 2 colors rather than just the 2 original fabrics and it will still be beautiful and striking. This is a great way to use up scraps too! I saw a quilt, here on the board I think, that was amazing. It had 2 colors, scrappy, and was stars set in an Irish Chain. The stars were sampler, each different, and scrappy. The background was offwhites and pale neutrals, also scrappy. The chain was done with darks of the main color, but scrappy. I just loved it. I am thinking it may have been a blue and white/neutral but am not sure.

WOW! What a beautiful site! Thanks for sharing the eye candy!

My first quilt was the Ohio star, which I did in 2 colors...Mine was solid yellow and a small blue flower pattern...

Oh my Gosh, that was serious blue and white quilt overload! Thank you for that. It is wonderful. Never knew one could do that with Google. Learn something new every day.
Judy

there are dozens of 4X4 star blocks that use squares and HST. Some bear the "star" name and come don't.

I'd pick a pretty white on white background fabric-----------maybe with stars. Then a couple differnet tones of blue print.

Some of my favorites are
Annie's Choice (yes, it's a star!)...........
Clay's Choice...............
Simple star....................
Star and pinwheel.....................
trailing star........................
8 point star (you'll find all sorts of names for this one block.)...............
Saw Tooth Star...............
Shooting star

On some such as Annie's choice the named block is a solid background and one print. But you can customize the block and change it a bit by using a different blue print for the outside corner pieces. If a second solid is shown, you can easily substitute a 2nd blue print.

If you use a site like Quilter's Cashe, she tries to claim ownership of hundreds of patterns. She does not. Most of the 4x4 star patterns were in the public domain long before she was born.

These are all simple blocks----------about as simple as you're going to get. They can easily be adjusted to make whatever size of block you want-----------from 2 inches to 2 feet, or even more.

Good luck. Your blue & white is going to be pretty.

Blue and white quilts
 

There are so many here!! I love the blue, yellow and white ones. Definately shades of blue. Try a log cabin quilt in a day. It goes very quickly if you strip piece it.

What about a sampler? You might start with easier blocks, and learn new techniques with each block. I found a lot of blocks I like to do and some not so much! Have fun with it!

Thanks for the suggestions, ladies. Log Cabin in a Day? Have to check that out? And a sampler? I think I am going to do that. YOu are all great!!
Nancy