Big Quilt Blocks - Debbie Bowles style

 I watched a Nancy Zieman video where she had a guest, Debbie Bowles explaining her Big Quilt Blocks.  As I watched it, I was struck that that might be the perfect block for some paneled fabric one of my sisters gave me.  There were 18 panels and I had thought to make a twin size quilt top with it, but as I began the planning, it occurred to me that if I made 3 baby quilts, it would divide more evenly (I wouldn't have to come up with 2 more big block centers to make the 4x5 blocks needed for the twin).  Plus, it would give me 3 quilts instead of one to practice longarm quilting on . . . when I get it . . . in another 3 years or so.

  It ended up being a good thing in another way - using fabric that was given to me, there was not enough of the green to do what I had wanted to do with all of the blocks.  I found a nice brown that complimented very nicely and did one with the green frames and two with the brown.  However, I ran out of the blue that was between the panels, that I was using to make those panels just a wee bit bigger so that it was the full 12.5" squares needed.  So on the one with the green frames, I used the brown, but on the one with the brown frame, I didn't want to use the brown again, so, I used the tiny scraps of the green I had left to frame one of the blocks.  A great lesson in "making do." ;-)