Sierra

I went into my quilt photos to see what I tend to do.... If they are small I make them go every which way (often on kid quilts); if it more "formal" (carefully framed like 8" squares of fairies) then I put them all facing the same way (the child can decide which way she wants to put her quilt on her bed, with the fairies facing the same way she is, or towards her); floral quilts with complete flowers I see that I put them by a garden path (facing out on each side) or, when I'm using big florals I cut them so they have no directional elements. Butterflys I put in any direction on the same quilt top.

Bottom line is that every quilt speaks; sometimes it takes longer to understand the message, but if you fiddle with it long enough it will tell you what to do. If there is a REAL RULE about this it should be ignored. Each quilt (and each quilter) are different, thankfully! It helps me to think of the person who will get the quilt (like the fairy child above), or the gardener to whom I'm giving flowers..... Think how boring it would be if there were rules about everything and we all HAD to make our quilts the same!!!!!!!