Color

Since I am a new quilter (less than 2 years if you don't count my halfhearted attempts as a child and the king sized block bedspread as a newlywed) there is a lot I am learning. Lately I have been learning more about color. There are a lot of resources out there. My favorites so far are from Joen Wolfrom.

A quote to tease you from one of her books:"To my amazement, I found that I could learn wonderful color concepts from nature, and the same effects could be created in art by following nature's lead. "

For my batik quilt, I just picked from the basic pattern colors. It's easy that way, and I don't have to worry if the colors will match or anything. I love it. Then I did a table runner. On the bolt, the fabric looked great. But the finished table runner didn't have enough contrast for my taste. I like it, but I don't LOVE it. I made a quilt for my daughter, black and red and white. I love it-- but it's a tried and true combination. Other quilts have been scrappy ones, just squares, nothing brave. Purses don't take much color sense, they are usually just one fabric, maybe two. I made one purse out of upholstery fabric swatches; easy, all one color family.Now I want to do at least one quilt in my lifetime that is Absolutely Stunning. Maybe that's everybody's desire! I am not fooling myself, there's a lot to learn. But I watch customers in the shop and take mental notes of what they like and don't like. It's always wonderful when someone comes in and picks colors that really go together for ME-- then of course I want to buy it all and make something.I see that we all choose totally different color palates. When Diane and I are choosing fabrics, she's focusing on the yellows, pinks, greens-- they stand out for her. The rich blues and greens and purples are my favorites. Both of us melt when it comes to batiks. Some people aren't that fond of batiks (imagine that, lol!) They may choose 30's, or Asians, or Civil War prints.Really, I don't have to please anyone but MYSELF. Even when I am quilting for someone else, I am giving a piece of ME. I think it's harder trying to please someone else's taste.So I will keep looking at books about color, and try to keep an open mind.

Lions and Tigers and Bears

Oh my. I visited a couple of quilt shops yesterday and can anyone say "New Projects just jumped out at me?"Tayo's is great! I know I will be back. One of the good things is that it's right by a walking bridge across the American River. We had a lovely stroll after our shopping spree.I guess I'm giving them free publicity, maybe odd for someone that works in a quilt shop and Ought to be Loyal; but quilters need plenty of variety, and not all shops are the same. Every buyer has different taste; nobody could carry ALL of the wonderful fabric that is out there.Tayo's has a youngish feel; lots of baby stuff and lots of wonderful brights. Lots of panels for easy and fun gifts. I was inspired to do more brights just by being in the store. They carry a line of stuffed animal patterns, some with noses included! Also some clothing patterns, and lots of minkie and oh-so-soft stuff that I successfully resisted; and great batiks.The other store I visited was Bearpaws & Hollyhocks. What a lovely, quiet, reserved atmosphere! I can see that the owner/buyer's personality really influences stores. This one has a more old-fashioned feel to it. A project jumped out at me there too; very different from the first shop. This is a spot that you can rent time on a longarm. There are classes you can take to get started. I also got some embroidery floss there; that's getting harder to find.I enjoyed both shops. And I also enjoyed that my husband went with me and helped me pick out some great stuff-- and used HIS credit card! What a guy!

Sewing machine News!

A few weeks ago, I actually bought a new sewing machine. A Janome Decor Computer machine. I really like it!! I got it at Meissner's in Sacramento and would highly recommend both the machine and the source.http://www.meissnersewing.com/Looking forward to taking a class or two there.

My latest project is with my sister in law. We are in the process of appliqueing 140 butterflies for a quilt started some years ago. Loretta cut out the squares and wings, and her mother embroidered all 140 of the butterfly bodies. Now, it is going to turn into a quilt for each grandchild, with 20 butterflies on each quilt.A good opportunity for spending time together, which has been scant the last few years, and lots of practice with applique.

Art Quilts

Amazing quilts. Amazing Art quilts. I am blown away by the beauty of these quilts.

http://www.quilts.com/fqf07/enVivo/SpecialExhibits/IQAWinners/

This all started with reading an article about Philippa Naylor. One of her quilts brought tears to my eyes. You can see a snippet of it here:

http://www.quiltingbythelake.com/PhilippaNaylor4.htm

I haven't found a full picture of it, and don't want to run the risk of copyright issues by posting a scan of it or anything. You just have to imagine it. If you want to try to find the whole picture, it is called "The Daisy Quilt". Come in the shop and I will show you the picture.

Finding my way...

Finding my way

I love fabrics. I love the feel of the fabrics, the beauty of the colors. A really great fabric is almost huggable. In the past, I created clothes with fabrics. I made my clothes starting in High School, and continued right up until I started to have children-- and then switched to making tons of T shirts and shorts. Occasionally my daughter and I would have matching dresses, and once I made matching T shirts for everyone. Unfortunately, we never took a picture of all of us dressed in our T shirt best.

At some time I quit sewing. Instead of being thrifty to sew, it started costing more than buying in a store. Patterns cost $10 or more, instead of the $2.49 I was used to. I had less time. Because I was a stay at home mom, I had no more need for dressy clothes. A couple dresses for going to church, but T shirts and shorts in the summer and sweaters and jeans became my Uniform. All I was making was the occasional purse-- I can never find just the right one and usually end up making one.

Then I had the opportunity to start working at Quilter's Friend. It has sparked my interest again. I am no longer that interested in making clothes, although I did buy a beautiful knit piece a couple months ago when I visited Stretch and Sew in Stockton. It is still waiting. Patterns are back down in price. No reason not to sew.

The first thing I did for Quilter's Friend was an apron with three matching potholders. Fun! On to something more challenging, I picked out some batiks to make a wall hanging. It took me nearly a YEAR from start to finish. Finally, it's hanging in the shop.

I've been enjoying the challenge of free motion quilting. I don't think I want to progress to all those matched stars and delicate appliques, but at least I understand the process. Maybe some day, when I get the stack of projects that I have acquired under control.

So, finding my way. Quilting and piecing takes a lot of practice. Maybe someday my descendants will find my quilt creation packed away with great-grandma's and grandma's quilts. Maybe someday I will be a famous quilt designer. Maybe someday I will have my own longarm quilting business. Maybe someday.....

So although I am not starting to quilt early, there's adventure ahead.

Exploring

Quite recently, I have been exploring blogs, due in part to Meda's tagging me, and thinking it would be fun to participate. Today I came across this one in a rather strange way:

http://sweetleafnotes.blogspot.com/

I was looking for notebook covers. I love to use fabrics in unique ways. I made a carrier for my laptop out of double quilted fabric, and wondered if I could make sort of an inner zippered case to better pad my laptop. So I was following links as I love to do, and there was a blogspot blog.

To see the laptop carrier, go to the Quilter's Friend Lodi website, and click on the instructions link on the right.

I keep adding more stuff as I think of it. Anything you would like to see?

Another blog I found while looking for color ideas for a website update... this has nothing to do with website colors at all. http://oohprettycolors.blogspot.com/

And her website has a wonderful gallery of art quilts:

http://www.dianedoran.com/

 

I have always been intrigued by the cathedral window quilt, and someday hope to do one.

So if you need inspiration, go blog hopping-- I'm ready to do a Sweet Leaf Notebook cover now, right after I finish the baby blanket, my daughter's quilt, and my son's quilt.

Free motion quilting...

My first completed free motion quilting project! I've been practicing a lot, both with a wipe-off pen on plastic and with my sewing machine on fabric "sandwiches".

Finally I decided to attempt a baby blanket. It's simple, just fabric, not pieced. It's flannel on the other side, with another layer of flannel for batting in the middle. There's a fabric book that goes

with this fabric, Animals Around the World. It shows animals from different continents. Educational, and cute too! My grandson will love it!!

It is just simple stippling. That's as brave as I am at the moment.