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Beautiful Enough to Use!

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What great comments. I especially liked the expression “shopping your stash”. Thanks Cindy. I think many of us could make wonderful quilts without ever making a trip to the quilt shop.

I was very convicted by Pat’s challenge to use my Liberty fabrics and they’re hanging on the design wall now just waiting for the right idea to grab me. (this may happen after the holidays – we’ll see). 

While I was writing the “Too Beautiful” post I came to realize that I actually had reached the point a few years ago that when I buy a fabric I really love I allow myself to use it as inspiration for something new right away. The blendable, “tone on tones” go into the stash, but when the new, jaw dropper, makes my fingers start to itch I’ll often just ignore the guilt of that project I’m in the middle of (which isn’t as exciting as when it was first begun) and indulge in playing with the exciting stuff.

Another method I’ve found helpful lately is to put the new gorgeous stuff in the stash just until the next time I’m ready to take a new challenge or I need to come up with a new class project. Then I grab that inticing piece and allow it to be the impetous for this new endeavor. This usually helps to get the ball rolling. Picking out other fabrics to go with the exciting one is always such fun for me.

The only problem with this system is that the great fabrics from my “petting and not using” days are still in the stash. So, thanks to Pat, I’m going to focus on some past loves. Who knows, some of them may look great together.

Perhaps I should step away from the computer and fondle some fabric :-). Blessings, Chris

Too Beautiful

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Mary Beth made a comment last week that inspired this week’s topic. She said she had received a piece of fabric in an exchange with a quilter in Africa and it was too special and unique to cut into. Haven’t we all been there? In 1989 my husband and I vacationed in London. Liberty’s of London was at the top of my list of destinations because I’d heard so much about their fabrics. They were beautiful and had a lovely silky feel. My husband was indulgent and I purchased a meter of 3 different yards and a few scraps from a bin. For years I would take them out and pet them and then put them right back in the purple plastic Liberty bag (duh!). That’s where I found them today.

This reminds me of a quote from Ricky Tims: “If you never use it, you’ll never use it”. I used to love it. Now I don’t. What a waste.

Admit it. You’ve done the same. Please let me know your philosophy on this issue by commenting at the end of this post and I’ll have a few comments on Thursday :-).

Foreign Exchange

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I’d like to share an interesting story concerning quilters in other countries. My first book, Replique Quilts, is out of print, but I have an attic full of them. I offer them for sale through my website and over the years I’ve had a few inquiries from other countries. The problem is I don’t take credit cards or do PayPal. This means both the other quilter and I are disappointed.

Six months ago a dear lady from Kamloops, British Columbia emailed me for a copy of the book and I came up with a rather strange proposition for her. I told her I would send her an autographed copy of Replique Quilts if, in return, she would send me something of equal value from her area that she thought a quilter in the US might enjoy. This idea was very exciting to me …… and she liked it too! A week later I received a lovely book about Kamloops which I devoured page by page.

The following week she emailed me asking for my address again because she wanted to send me an autographed copy of a book about a fiber artist in Nova Scotia! What a blessing.

 

I’m now awaiting a package from a quilter in New South Wales, Australia :-). This is a lot more fun than cashing a check!

Have you done any interesting exchanges with a quilter in a foriegn land? I highly recommend it.

International Quilting

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The top ‘o the morning to you! (to which I now know to respond “and the rest of the day to yourself”)

What a wonderful time we had in Ireland! It is a truly beautiful country! Wendy and I, and a delightful group of quilters, non-quilters and 1 charming (and somewhat brave) husband visited the Emerald Isle by motorcoach. It was our first non-cruise trip and we’ve discovered there are plusses with both types of travel. One of the best parts of traveling by land was the flexibility we had with the schedule.

Peggy Anderson, of Travel Leaders, did an outstanding job of finding quilt related stops. We visited 3 lovely shops and did our fair share of spending, even though there’s no such thing as “Irish” fabric that’s made in Ireland (we’ll have an easier time finding that here around the middle of March).

My favorite part of the entire trip (and that’s saying a lot) was getting to know some Irish quilters! A group of members of the western branch of the Irish Patchwork Society met us for tea at our hotel. We shared show and tell and had time to make many friendships.  

On the last day of our trip we were the guests of honor at the October meeting of the Eastern branch of the Irish Patchwork Society in St. Anthony’s Hall in Dublin. Both groups were warm, friendly and very talented.

A dozen years ago I had the opportunity to meet with a group of quilters in England. It was a blessed time of sharing and the ladies were delightful, but I was surprised at how dated their fabrics and patterns were at the time. This is no longer the case. The shops in Ireland were very up to date in their inventory and the quilts were spectacular. I bet the internet had something to do with this :-)!

Do you have a connection with a quilter from another country? What are your observations about the similarities and differences? I’ll share additional thoughts on Thursday :-). 

Snuggle and Learn Update

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Just a quick note as I do my final packing for Ireland.

My current book: Snuggle & Learn Quilts for Kids is available through Martingale & Co. and can be purchased in quilt shops and on line. I have a trunk show of quilts from the book that has traveled for almost 2 years and is coming home for a rest. If you know of someone who owns a shop and would be interested in displaying the show, please pass along my blog address. There is no charge for hosting the show and a fun 4 step demonstration of my Replique technique is also included.

Thanks!

Adding Color to My World II

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Years ago I made a quilt for a challenge entitled “Name That Tune”. Can you guess the title of my quilt? 

 

I was a teenager in the 70’s, so if you didn’t get it, you probably weren’t <g>. The name is “Color My World”. It was a slow dance song by Chicago. It may be difficult to see on this photo, but in the void under the world I hand quilted the Creator’s hands in metallic thread so the sub title is “He’s God the Whole World in His Hands!”

I thoroughly enjoy choosing colors/fabrics for my quilts. I’m not much of a cook, but when I start pulling bolts and come up with a good mix I sense that it “tastes good”. This may sound a bit weird (I’ll accept that :-), but I actually begin to salivate when I feel the color combination coming together. It’s the only way I can describe it!

I think “drooling” over fabric is more common than you might think! If this version of quilting excitement has passed you by, here’s a suggestion for getting your taste buds tuned up:

I’m often inspired by color combinations in nature. What a wonderful week to be conversing on this topic! The trees (many maples) in my yard have finally turned. This hasn’t been the most colorful Fall, but I have some pictures from past Autumns and here’s one of my favorites:

My recent trip to Alaska provided some great shots. This mushroom was growing in Hazel’s front yard!

Or how about the phenomonal hues God’s paintbrush created on the Kenai River:

 

If you have a picture, but aren’t quite sure how to pull the colors from it there is a great website for doing just that. Go to: http://kuler.adobe.com/. On the right side under “Welcome to Kuler” click on “Adobe TV” for a short and simple tutorial. They’ll show you how to upload your image and choose a color scheme from it in a way that’s easy, quick and fun 🙂.

PS I will not be posting for the next 2 weeks, as Wendy and I will be taking a group of quilters to Ireland! I’m sure I’ll bring back more photo inspiration and I’ll be anxious to share some with you when I return.

Adding Color to My World

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Students often tell me they are not good at choosing colors for their quilts. I don’t believe they are truly bad at it, I’m convinced these quilters just need a bit of confidence boosting and encouragement.

When a painter begins a new project he/she has only individual colors to start with, whereas quilters are blessed with many wonderful fabrics that talented designers have already created for us and these fabrics provide a good jumping off point. By picking a multicolor print that is appealing, a good color scheme has already been chosen for us. Pull colors from this print and good results are almost a given!

 

 A color wheel is another safe way to choose good color combinations. There are many great quilting books available on this subject and they cover the different color wheels much better than I could.

I’ll share my personal ways of choosing colors on Thursday. Until then, please let us know how you deal with this topic. Do you stay within manufacturer’s fabric lines? Do you ask for help at the quilt shop? or do you just buy kits so you don’t need to deal with it :-)?

A Good Read II

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I enjoyed reading everyone’s magazine choices and was a bit embarassed that there are so many quilters who are better organized on this topic than I am.

The 3 subscriptions I currently receive are Quilter’s Newsletter (I like the variety of information), American Quilter (high quality photos and I enjoy seeing all the winning quilts from their many shows) and Machine Quilting Unlimited. This last one is fairly new, but I have found many informative and helpful articles in each issue. I truly devour them cover to cover :-)!

Here’s my storage system: I leave many scattered around the house and then put them in boxes with the pages I like dog earred. Then I seldom ever go back through the boxes (I didn’t say it was a good system :-).  A dear friend helped us move into this home 6 years ago and at one point, a lid fell off the box of quilt magazines he was carrying. When he realized what he was lugging, he set the box down and said he was happy to help, but he drew the line at old mags! That should have been a hint, but I’ve continued to pack them in boxes anyways.

I’m not sure when I’ll get to my many old boxes, but I have a new plan for future arrivals:

When I’ve finished with a new issue I’ll copy those articles I’m interested in and donate the entire magazine to my guild or give it away in my classes. That way no quilter will be disappointed by  missing pages (thanks Char!). It sounds good, now to actually put it into practice.