colour

Aloha Kakou - a Tropical Version of Vintage Spin








Aloha Kakou 
52'' x 52''

A precious gift, finally delivered. I feel that way about so many things with this quilt and the reason behind it.



This is the baby boy of a dear friend. A woman who started out simply as a roommate in a creepy rental. That was 16 years ago and we're still friends, still laughing, still rolling our eyes at each other, still slightly wondering just how we got to where we are. Back in January baby S joined her life, our lives. Crazy munchkin.

When she was pregnant she chose to keep the baby's gender a surprise until birth. I love when people do that still, even if it does present an extra challenge to making a quilt. Then again, who says fabric has to live up to gender norms?!

My fabric selections started with some treats she brought me back from a trip to Hawaii a couple of years ago. I must admit, when she brought the fabrics I hesitated. Batiks and prints best suited to a middle aged man's Hawaiian shirt. But cut up? Perfect! I combined them with various prints and even batiks from my stash. Some of Malka Dubrawsky's original batiks, a Yoshiko Jinjenzi print, screen prints from Karen Lewis, as many organic prints as I had from Daisy Janie, Birch, and Cloud 9 (including the Lisa Congdon print for the centre squares), an old Denyse Schmidt, and quite a few more. It is an eclectic mix and totally perfect.


The pattern is Vintage Spin from Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession fame. It comes from her book, Adding Layers. It was the perfect choice to showcase the fabrics yet still benefit from the crazy combinations I put together. It does use a template to cut the fabric, and there are big scraps leftover after piecing. But I've gathered those and maybe they will turn into something else? The one change I did make was the use a square for the centre of the block, instead of a circle. A conversation with Rachel at 2nd Avenue Studio led me to try it and it works so well!


It thrills me to finally present this to my friend. I made it big enough to grow with S and for the two of them to snuggle together.

Cirrus Solids at Play


It is a very good day when new fabric arrives. It is especially good when that fabric is the new organic solid range from Cloud 9 Fabrics.

When Cloud 9 contacted me and asked me if I wanted a bundle to play with I totally hesitated. With so many quilts under construction I didn't exactly need more fabric, nor the obligation to make something. But I was intensely curious and I've always been quite impressed with Cloud 9's fabrics. At worst, I thought, I can add them to my Solid Sunday Morning.

Then the fabrics arrived. What glorious colours. Some great greys and neutrals and those deep blues and turquoises. I was smitten. And I had an idea percolating in my head after teaching a Values class in September. The only thing that stopped me from cutting into them right away was my trip to Alabama.


As soon as I could, though, I started sorting piles. Lights and darks, darks and lights, darks and lights and medium. I used the black and white feature on the camera to really get a good handle on the distinctions. My plan was based on the Pinwheel quilt from A Month of Sundays, with a twist. Value distinctions were going to be very important. Instead of the big swath of white triangles as in the original, I wanted more pieced HSTs. But if those didn't look different than the pinwheel section the design would be lost.



In the end, I made all my half square triangle blocks based on the piles above. Just random HSTs. Some with light/dark, most with dark/dark. I grabbed whatever came next and didn't worry at all about the combinations other than my values.

And, it didn't work. There were just too many medium values muddying things up. If I had kept them out it might have worked. The quilt would have been small in that case and that's just not how I work. I'm going to keep the concept out there and maybe play with it again at some point over the winter.

For now, however, it is still fall. A glorious fall. And in the last few days I played with all my HST blocks made for the original idea. The pinwheel concept stayed, but it looks radically different. I shared a few layout options via Instagram and received some great feedback. My initial pinwheels were the typical four patch pinwheel block, but that smart lady Victoria Gertenbach suggested some scale changes. I tried it and it was perfect. Thanks Victoria!




The Cirrus Solids were great to work with. They frayed no more than any other solid, which was nice. The hand on them is amazing! So soft cut right from the bolt. This quilt is going to be a dream to cuddle with when it is all done.

Right now Cirrus Solids are available in these 21 colours. All are cross-weaves, which means it is two different colour threads that make up the fabric. But they aren't obvious cross weaves like the kinds where two very different colours are used. Subtle, but the texture of a cross weave is definitely there.

I do not know what Cloud 9's plans are for these, but I hope they take off at Quilt Market so that more colours arrive. Personally, I would love to see oranges, more lemony/buttery yellows, and grassy/minty greens. Solids aren't generally my thing, but I can definitely see these becoming a go-to source for me.


Abstract Painting with Kids


While many of my American friends are seeing the end of summer, and the return to school for their kids, we've still got 3 more weeks of summer vacation. I've been trying to make the most of it. For both myself and the kids. Field trips, swimming, lazy days, and new creative activities.

Last week we started abstract painting. To be fair, I think the kids have been doing this for a while! But this time we did a bit of research on abstract painting, discussed emotions and their expression, and I used real, ADULT acrylic paints on canvas. Having fancy supplies goes a long way.

To start with, the girls picked colours to express an emotion. Our first emotion was happy. Yellows, oranges, red, pink, turquoise, and silver. Bright, shiny colours. My only bit of control over the project was that I doled out the colours on the canvas. So I dotted it where they told me. Then they went to town.


They ground the paint into the canvas, they gingerly spread the paint, they used broad strokes. They played. And I resisted - badly - all attempts to direct their activities. That was very, very difficult. In part I wanted to participate. I also wanted to interrupt and give directions constantly. But I held off and only spoke when adding more paint or to emphasize the emotion they were conveying.

They filled the canvas, making sure no white spots remained. They touched it up with silver. And then, because they didn't quite get the notion of abstract, they added some lettering.

You know what? They were happy doing it. And I was happy watching them. It was a new form of creativity in this house. I think my oldest, especially, loved the idea of expressing something without having to be literal in her art. Because when you are 8 you are usually literal. This gave her an unexpected freedom.


The whole idea for the project came through Pinterest. Yes, I've finally joined Pinterest. And lo and behold, I saw this idea on a random pin one of the first days I was on there. No instructions, just the image of the paint dots, painting, and the canvas. Because Pinterest is still new for me I actually acted  on the inspiration!

To start with we looked up some abstract painters, classic and current. Like Kandisky, Lisa Congdon, and Marissa Anne from Creative Thursday. We talked about what one can do with just paint and about expressing feelings or ideas. It all felt rather liberating.

We've since done more canvases. (A friend of mine gave me the tip that we could buy small canvases at the dollar store. That certainly cuts down on the cost once we invested in the paints.) I still police the paint use as a certain Evil Genius has a tendency to want to use ALL the paint. I do not, however, paint myself with them. I find my kids compare my work with theirs and I don't think that is fair to them at all. They skip the adult versus kid part of that and get deflated because they perceive mine as better. So I let them be and wander around their own creativity.


If you are on Pinterest, you can follow me. I am trying to fill my boards with all sorts of inspiration. More pins daily. And let me know if you are on there too.

Playground


Playground
78'' by 62.5''

Finally, I can share this quilt with you. A year ago one of our awesome preschool teachers retired. She is a quilter and I offered to make a quilt for her. Alas, the Preschool Board had other plans. But a few months later they took me up on my offer after the other preschool teacher announced her retirement. She was presented with the quilt at the end of year party last week.

This quilt contains 120 signature blocks from present and former students. A simple layout, reminiscent of Plain Spoken by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr, is rounded out with Modern Solids II from Alissa Haight Carlton. The quilting is a very simple grid, 1/4'' from each seam line. I went with a white Aurifil thread so as not to take away from all the colourful signatures.



To get all the signatures we held two open houses at the preschool. Mailouts went to the local elementary, junior high, and high schools. Notices sent to the current preschool students. I spent some time cutting down Kona white into two sizes of rectangles. My girls helped me gather the fabric markers. Kids showed up, teenagers arrived, parents exclaimed.

To be honest, I'd seen previous teacher's gifts and wondered why people went to all that effort of making them a quilt. Sure, I've given many, many quilts as gifts and I know the value of the gift - to give and receive. But I couldn't fathom getting that excited by a signature quilt.

Was I ever wrong!

Let me tell you, it was actually pretty fun to do this! Seeing all the kids so excited to contribute, talking to the parents thrilled at being able to say thank-you for a good start to their kid's education, and getting pretty jazzed when putting the final quilt together. Not once did it feel like drudgery or did I ask myself what I got myself into. And I'm thrilled at the final result. I think our teacher is as well.


(And who could resist a buggy backing fabric? It was the perfect choice to remind us all of the mosquitoes keeping us company at the park after school everyday. Except these ones don't bite!)






Klee's Trees by Malka Dubrawsky


Only about half the time do I like to do such precision piecing. I have to be in the mood for it. But every time I do it I get pretty excited by the results. Templates or paper piecing or just really good cutting, they all work. So when Malka Dubrawsky asked me to check out her her latest pattern and share it here I couldn't resist. 

 In her words:
A while back I traveled to Switzerland and saw so many amazing things, but not the Bern Bears. Rather, I opted to visit the Klee Museum and view an extensive array of work by the artist, Paul Klee. I was especially struck by his drawings of trees. They were simple, stylized and abstracted. 

I came home knowing I wanted to translate those drawings into a quilt pattern and, after several attempts, came upon a block design that I feel captures the essence of Klee’s trees. 

This simple-to-piece block is graphic and clean and has a decidedly modern feel. Craft it in solids against a dark or light background or play with warm and cool colored prints to differentiate the “trees” from the “forest”.


It is a graphic pattern, that gives finishes to a rather cool quilt. Malka provides layout for a pillow and a quilt in the pattern. But you could easily change the size of the quilt but adding or removing blocks.

I made my block in about 30 minutes, but that was 30 minutes of supervising and providing snacks for 2 kindergarteners. And sewing upstairs to watch them play, but still cutting and pressing in my basement studio. Not very efficient!


It is wonderful for me to support quilting friends like this. Malka and I have only had a couple of brief conversations in real life. We live in totally different worlds - oh her heat of Texas. But we bond over swimming and colour. And I really credit her with my low-volume obsession. She was the first person to use the term and share examples, as far as I can tell. Make sure you check out her blog too, always full of her glorious colour and pattern.

The pattern is available in Malka's store, pick it up here.

Malka has very generously offered to give away two copies of the pattern to readers here. 

If you'd like a chance to win a pattern, leave a comment - make sure I can respond to you. Tell me your favourite colour, your favourite artist, whether you've ever been to Switzerland, or even what you had for breakfast! 

Giveaway open until May 14,  6:00 pm MST.



New Tool


It was time to start a new sketchbook. For a change - and because my girls have used up my special markers for sketching - I broke out the Prismacolors. I adore the perfection of them before they've been used and shortened and sharpened. Using special fabric? No problem! Using new pencil crayons? So hard to do.

Now, I wonder how long I can keep the kids away from these?


Friday Favourite - Coral


Somewhere between pink and orange lies the color coral. Sometimes bright, reminiscent of the dream coral of the ocean. Sometimes soft and not quite peachy. Whatever you do, don't call it salmon.

I'm on a coral kick lately - picking, gathering, and hoarding my new love. From light to dark, soft to bright, coral makes my heart sing. Dreams of swimming in the sunshine of the sea carry forward. Blooms that capture the central part of the sun's rays. Or just the tempting blush of a smile.

Coral.

(Don't be surprised if you see some coral added to these blocks.)

Necklace Inspired Fabric Pull


One of the most exciting parts of quilting for me is the fabric play. It is one of the excuses I maintain for having a ridiculously large stash - shopping at home. It really is lovely to be able to just open the closet, rummage through my bins and bins of fabric, and come up with something pretty to play with.

Here I am playing with fabric from the latest inspiration. This quilt is for a deadline, so once I found my inspiration I dove right in! Above is the initial fabric pull.

Below is the final fabric pull. I decided to edit out the fabrics to reflect the inspiration necklace in direct proportion. It remains to be seen which fabrics actually end up in the final quilt, I'm not sure I have enough of each of these for the planned pattern. We'll just have to see!


New Inspiration


With a million projects on the go I felt the need to start a new one. I bought this necklace in Austin, at this awesome store selling only products from Texas artisans called Parts and Labor. Oddly, this necklace came with no info. It didn't stop me from buying it. And it's become the jumping off point for a new quilt. Also oddly, I had the sketch and pattern written before I'd picked fabric.

Seriously, what's happening to me?

Oh Canada


Oh Canada
72" by 48"


The Maple Leaf quilt is finally done! (Sorry, it's been done for months but it took me forever to get photos I liked.)

Made in complete proportion to the real Maple Leaf Canadian flag. All the coloured sections are made from slabs - scraps pieced together to make fabric. The technique is in our book, Sunday Morning Quilts. I wanted to show that the slabs can be used for more than straight blocks. I also wanted to share a little patriotism to show the Brits that the Union Jack isn't the only flag worth making into a quilt.


How awesomely Canadian of me to snap the photos on Lake Louise as we skated on a snowy days. Hockey skates, fires, mountain, snow... Damn, I love where I live!

Seriously, I do love where I live. Even when I have to pay my taxes and deal with dumb politicians (but those are everywhere, right?). I love our spaces, our vistas, our social leanings, our multi-culturalism, our healthcare (even when flawed), our cities, our variety in everything. I even love my accent. And that's PROgress if you know me.


For the quilting on this I used a combination of Aurifil 50w in white - to densely quilt the white sections with a lot of texture - and Presencia in coordinating colours for each flag section. There were a lot of threads to bury at the end, but it was so worth it.



I will be developing this into a pattern, I promise. Hopefully before Canada Day. I'll keep you posted.

Wine Gums




Winegums
40'' by 55''

Look, I finished something!

This is my version of Amanda's quilt from our book, Sunday Morning Quilts. Such a fun piece. Little scraps, some raw edge appliqué, and really casual quilting. And look at that Washi fabric from Rashida on the back! Because of that I went with a grey and white dotty binding, instead of a harsher contrast with black and white.



I started this quilt off on the wrong foot, when I didn't read Amanda's actual pattern in the book. That left me to come up with a different way to stabilize my little pieces. It wasn't a big deal and I'd happily use glue again. But I did follow her directions for quilting the piece. One straight stitch underneath each row to keep it all in place and make the rest of the quilting easier. Then free motion stitching following each arc - over, back, and over again. If you don't love little frayed edges after washing then this might be a challenge to your sensibilities, but it is worth it. Think of it as another layer of texture.


Pre-washing above, post-washing below.




There is a part of me that wishes I had made it bigger, like my original plan. That will just have to be another quilt. I'm sure I'll have scraps enough!

Considering that I never made my son a baby quilt I think he may lay claim on this one, if he ever stops his commando crawl long enough to savour it.


(PS Sorry about those top two photos, they get all blurry when I put them here... working on it.)

Had To



It had been weeks since I sewed. All invigorated from vacation and bursting with inspiration and one of those pesky ideas that just won't go away I had to get in my sewing room and sew. With just a cutting table and a couch I piled, cut, and started sewing. A few days later I had a sewing table and a design wall and three helpers constantly underfoot.

More on the sewing room next time.

For now, let's focus on my current obsession. An obsession it is. A million WIPS to finish, looming deadlines for articles, quilts, and more, and a house that still hasn't fully recovered from the holiday season. All of it thrown aside to work on this quilt.



It started with the Architextures line, a wonderful fat quarter bundle that Carolyn Friedlander herself sent me herself (she is such an awesome friend!) I had a concept in my head for some text letters too. Instead of using the whole line I decided to focus on a few specific colours: pink, navy, and orange.

A note on the colour focus. It wasn't until I was putting away our vacation laundry that I realized why I focused on these colours. Those were the colours I also packed for the trip. Seriously, all my clothes were navy, pink, or coral with neutrals thrown in. Funny.


So I shopped my stash for more low volume prints and a few darks. Then the rotary cutter came out and I started to hack it all up. This is both the terrifying and exciting part. I LOVE this line of fabric and it would be easy to hoard it. But I was giddy with my idea and wanted to get going.

And go I did. In between school pick-ups, swim lessons, play dates, construction, and interruptions I managed to get some letters pieced. And then some!

Capturing Inspiration


Just because I was on vacation, it doesn't mean I wasn't thinking about quilts. 

Confession: I brought some hand sewing with me, but it never left the bag.

When you are open to it, inspiration is everywhere. Even my daughters were getting in on it. They pointed out textures and colours that would make a good quilt. 

I try to capture all inspiration one way or another when I see something interesting. Sometimes I sketch it out. Just a rough doodle and a few notes. I put date and location on the sketch that act as a trigger for my memory. Quite often I take a picture. It doesn't have to be a perfect picture, if the colour is what matters then who cares if the focus isn't perfect. My cell phone - which does not have a good camera on it - is filled with images that serve as inspiration scrap book.

It is pretty much impossible that I will make all the quilts that these inspiration images conjure, but it is nice to have a bank of concepts. You never know when the right fabric will appear for one idea, or you need a quick quilt and can't decide what to make. Then there are the times where you just HAVE to make something because the inspiration is too strong. I don't know anything about that...

Here are the images from my trip that may or may not get translated into a quilt one day.


Texture, all about texture.


Colour and stripes! Plus that age and fraying.


Light and texture. This is the sun through my hat.


My daughter loved the woven effect of this palm. Me too.


Blue.


Energy and colour contrasts.


This may be the start of a mild pink and white colour obsession.


Shape and line.


Curves. Simplicity.

They Never Stop


Gee, maybe I should write a book about scrap quilts?


(This is the top of a queen size bed, for reference.)

I started looking through my bags of scraps this morning, all in search of one particular fabric for a stocking I started. After getting through 2 unsorted bags from recent work (yes, I don't always listen to my own advice) I remembered that I'd used it. Sigh.

Well, no time like the present to enlist my 4 year old in a colour game.

Ripe (Weekend Reads)



It's not just because we both have the same name. It's not because she is wickedly funny. It's not because I tested recipes for her book. You should get Ripe because it is just a damn good book.

This is my favourite cookbook from this year. Cheryl Sternman Rule is a great writer. The kind of writer I want to grow up and be someday. It makes the recipes in here a joy to simply read. She is a great cook, inspiring with a simplicity in her recipes that makes them very approachable. And did I mention that she is terribly funny?

One of the best things about this cookbook is that is arranged by colour. I know! How awesome is that? Unlike the typical and trendy seasonal arrangement, you can literally read and cook through the rainbow. This appeals to the quilter in me, obviously, but it also appeals to the Mama in me. My kids flip through it looking for something in a specific colour, just because they want to eat that colour. This is a far more appealing way to get kids interested in vegetables than by making goofy faces on their plates.


I was able to test a few recipes for Cheryl and they've easily become part of my regular repertoire, like the Smashed Cherries with Amaretti and Ricotta. I leave out the cookies and toss in more almonds and I have breakfast. Or dinner in the summer when it is too hot to cook. I've also made a dozen more recipes since getting the book. You need to try the Grapefruit Honey Sorbet. Seriously, this book is worth it just for that recipe.

I'd love to share a recipe from the book with you, but there is no way an adaptation can capture the humour and spirit that come with each entry. You just need to fill a bowl with something yummy, settle in for a good laugh and a growing appetite.

Friday Favourites: Acapulco Bags


Storage! Funky retro storage!

Or...

Horribly tacky, tourist storage.


I picked these up off the floor of my Mom's garage. She'd had a garage sale a few weeks before and shockingly, shockingly, no one bought them. I do remember them hiding in the closet of my parents' room and I have a vague recollection of the trip to Acapulco where these originated. Obviously they were well loved because my Mom found a bottle of rum from the same trip in the bags.


And now they hold in progress quilt projects. Hubby even kind of likes them. Then again, anything is probably preferable to a plastic bin in the corner. The small one holds my Maple Leaf blocks (more to share on those next week).

Wine Gums Top


Well, I'm managing to sneak in bits of sewing here and there. The baby is napping well and my little girl loves to putter around the house on her own, when we aren't having tea parties. Phew.

It didn't take much to finish this top. Worked on in snippets (hah, get it Amanda?) it comes together rather easily. I love this top. I love the concept, I love the colours, I love the construction. I'm looking forward to the finished project.

At one point I can grand plans to make 4 square panels of these and use them as quadrants, all in opposing directions for a large quilt. It is SO hard for me to work small. But I decided to stay true to the original pattern size so people can appreciate it for what it is.