Where do apples come from?

Okay, that's rhetorical. They come from much cooler climes than we have down here in Texas. I'm sure there are a few people that can grow them here, but everyone I know that has tried ends up with sour little knots. But, we get the best peaches ever! Hmmmmm...


So, where do apples come from has all kinds of meanings for me today. First, it's fall and fall always makes me think of apples and apple pies and cinnamon-ey smells, but how did I start out quilting leaves and flowers and end up looking for a child's drawing of an apple to use as a quilting motif? Well, the focus fabric in the quilt I'm quilting has apple blossoms and leaves in it. I decided to follow that theme in the quilting. And, after quilting about 100 blossoms and 400 leaves (okay, probably not really, but I've gotta be getting close) I need something else for my mind to focus on and to add some variety to this quilt. I searched my books, and searched the internet, and started following some blogs about FMQ and even bought a new book full of motifs. I thought of apples while I was laying in bed last night. They'd fill the bill just perfectly in those squares I couldn't think what to put in. And, they'd give me a great focus for the flower arrangements I'm going to quilt in the open triangles near the edge, and they'd give some variety to the flowers and leaves I was planning for the border.


Okay, so I get apples on the brain and I start to realize that not only is the focus fabric made up of apple blossoms, but the colors of the quilt are red, green, gold and brown. If you think of dried up apples as being a really dark brown, then those are the colors of apples. So, I have even more reinforcement for adding apples to the quilt.


But my mind doesn't stop there. One of the apples I quilt in should have a big bite taken out of the side of it. Just one. All the others should be whole. Okay, so that might just be funny to me and others might not find it too whimsical, but unfortunately, at least for the day, the idea is stuck there.

Then, I went one step further. If the quilt is quilted with leaves and apple blossoms and apples, then the name should be about apples, too. So, "Where do Apples Come From?" came to mind.


And, all that from just a tiny bit of focus fabric. I thought I would have a better picture of it saved somewhere, but I don't, so you'll have to pull out your glasses to see where all this started.



I'm probably a third done with the quilting. And, in my usual style, I'm still making it up as I go. It's impossible for me to fully plan a project like this, although I did give it a real try, printing pictures and drawing out what I had planned. Of course, all those plans were for an asian themed quilting plan, and you can tell that didn't happen. We'll have to see if I'm still thinking apples tomorrow...or maybe I'll end up quilting in zucchini and change the name again. ;-)


Take care and have a great Monday! Lane