Themed quilts can be very fun to make. Most quilts have color schemes. But a real theme, an idea outside of mere color, can be fun to incorporate. Using a single fabric line, so the designs on the fabric coordinate can be one way to do this. But incorporating the outline of objects in the top can be another. In these creations from our longarm machine renters we see a couple of fun themes: cats, dogs, and butterflies, but I know there are so many more out there.

This quilt gives a new definition to Calico cat. I love all the different colors and the fact that the cats don’t all face the same direction. Cats are anything but conformists. They do their own thing. The dark blue border within the gold really frames the cats nicely. Deborah used the orange peel design board to add a lot of amazing texture to this quilt. It can be fun to add a quilting design that adds to the theme. The circles on the cats does draw to mind balls of yarn or toys filled with cat nip.

This is a quilt from Linda. These are sweet little dog bones in a fabric line showing woodland creatures dressed in tribal attire. It is very light hearted and cute. The Prairie points around the edges are a great touch. She followed the directions she received with her kit, but we agreed that the directions were wrong when it comes to long arm quilting. She probably should have added them after she quilted. Oh well, we made due and it turned out great!

She had to be careful about the where the edge of the quilt was and now she just has to pick out the tacking stitches we put in the points of her points before she trims her quilt. She chose the Square Spiral paper pantograph because it looked like the little teepee points that are found in her fabric patterns that make up the dog bones. It turned out adorable.

Here is a quilt from Dennis for his granddaughter. The colors are bright and playful. I love the white background with the white sashing. Nothing separates the butterflies. But the bright cornerstones are a great touch. He quilted this with Kashmir, a paper pantograph. It has large four petaled flowers. It is a beautiful touch to this butterfly quilt. Honestly, what would go better with butterflies than flowers?

When you have a theme in your quilt, whether it is the fabric patterns or the piecing pattern, you can continue to add to it with the quilting pattern. So whether it is cats or dogs or butterflies, you can find a design that builds on the theme you chose.