I discovered a plethora of beautiful rocks on the beach last week. Such great shapes and colors. I arranged them on this square in the sand. Rocks are an easy free-form design to quilt. Practice the motion first by drawing on paper, or as I 
did here in the sand: circles and oblongs of various sizes. Quilting tip: It's OK to double-stitch part of the circle to begin another shape. This adds texture to the overall look. Depending on your background fabric or thread color, these shapes may resemble rocks, bubbles, floral bouquets, or spots on an animal. Make notes in your sketch notebook and try drawing with different colors to see the possibilities!
Shells are another seashore-inspired design. Notice the mussel shell at the center. Quilting tip: Start by making a teardrop shape. At the base, quilt an arc back to the other side, touching at the middle of the first teardrop. Make one or two more arcs. Begin a new teardrop shape off to the side and continue building the design. For a slightly different look, make a teardrop shape but hook it back out to give an open-shelled appearance, as I did here with my doodle in the sand.
Copyright 2008, Sharon Baggs
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