Quilting With Low Volume Fabrics - on CreativeLive

Let's talk Low-Volume. (You can whisper if you want to, I am.)

Low volume fabrics remain trendy. You see them popping up in fabric collections, shop bundles, and in quilts. When I pitched A Month of Sundays nearly 4 years ago the term and the fabrics were just starting to emerge into quilters' consciousness. Now, you can hardly look anywhere without seeing these gorgeous fabric options.

There are so many people, however, who stop me to ask questions about just how to use them. Some people think low volume can only means black and whites, or only tone on tones, or only colours. Some people only think you can use low volume prints as backgrounds as a completely scrappy look. Some still believe that low volume only means light fabrics or that there is no contrast in a quilt made from low volume fabrics.

In both A Month of Sundays and my CreativeLive class, Quilting With Low Volume Fabrics, you can learn that all of these things are small little pigeonholes in the possibility of using low volume fabrics. By following along we learn that the principles of colour, value, scale, and texture still apply with low volume fabrics. We learn that while there are no wrong ways to use these fabrics, there are better ways to use them in order to enhance your quilt design.

In the class you can also sew along with us. I chose the famous X-Plus block as our exercise. We go through different fabric combinations to illustrate all the lessons of the class. The studio audience is learning right along with you. That means you get their insight and A Ha! moments too. It truly is a learning by doing exercise.

At the end of the class you will be very comfortable using low volume fabrics effectively in your quilts. You really can't go wrong with these fabrics. They are a great alternative to white, cream, or grey backgrounds, but they are so much more. Knowing how to pick and use them means that your options for fabrics opens up tremendously.

This was my goal in A Month of Sundays as well. But for those of you who learn by doing or watching, grab the class. Then you can hit the book for some inspiring quilt designs.

Oh, and all the Craft and Maker classes are on sale at CreativeLive until March 15. That means you can grab any of my classes for just $19.

Announcing My CreativeLive Experience

It's been a few weeks since I filmed my CreativeLive classes. It was such an intense experience prepping and filming. I wanted to deliver classes that you've not seen from me before. Some are an extension of things that I do and have done, but with more details or a different twist. Some are totally brand new. That's what made the prep so much work. Totally worth it though, I think these classes are awesome. If I may say so myself.

If you've ever met me or taken a class from me you know that I can talk. But wow, filling two straight days of airtime was tough. That means you get a lot of stories from me throughout each class, on top of my direction, tips, and lessons.

CreativeLive is a well oiled machine. They know what they are doing in filming and delivering classes. It was quite phenomenal to work with them. Commitment, enthusiasm, and professionalism. From my producers to the camera operators to the assistants who kept me in tea and my voice cracked, everyone was wonderful.

If you've not heard of CreativeLive before I think you will be very pleasantly surprised by what they have to offer. Most of their classes are first broadcast live. And when they are live they are free to watch. You can then purchase from their catalog if you want to hold on to the class. 

And the catalog is filled with some amazing classes. Their Craft and Maker section is growing, but don't hesitate to check out the Photography and Money & Life sections (my favourites) too.

Oh, make-up! I'm a mascara and lip gloss kind of girl, when I do get dressed up. So having my hair and make up did was quite the treat, if not adventure. But I had a great make-up artist who made me look just a little bit more so. Such a simple thing, but it was nice to know I didn't have to worry about my looks when being immortalized like this. Such vanity, but definitely a part of the stress. I won't lie about that. Much thanks to my best friend here at home for helping me pick my outfits.

One of the really fun things about CreativeLive is the studio audience aspect. As a quilt teacher it can be really difficult to teach without the response from students. For my classes I had 4 incredible women join me in the studio. Karen, Michelle, Nicki, and Tracey were all from the Bay Area and took time off work and their family schedules to join me in the studio. I had so much fun with them! Such enthusiasm and they really embraced what I was trying to do both in the studio and for everyone watching at home. 

The other great thing about having an audience is that all the concepts I teach get demonstrated different ways. So it isn't just my work that you see. I really find that we feed off of each other in a classroom environment, so getting to see their work helps everyone who watches.

(And that is Kris with us up there. He was a lovely director!)

Aren't these lovely? Michelle made a crane for each class we filmed. It was such a lovely feature on the set. While I didn't get a chance to take many pictures throughout, I couldn't resist snapping this pic before everything got packed up at the end. A perfect end to our time together. A perfect reminder to let your creativity take flight.

In the coming weeks I will talk more about the classes in detail, but you can still check them out now.

Low Volume Shoeman's Puzzle Update

This week's old project to work on was these Shoeman's Puzzle blocks. I was originally inspired by Denyse Schmidt's version in Modern Quilts Traditional Inspirations. Hers, however, is a two colour quilt.

The low volume prints mean the pattern is quite subtle, but it is there. That's because I used various shades of solid white for contrast. Print will always contrast with solid (as long as it isn't too tiny of a print) so the design still comes through.

I am so in love with these blocks. A lot of the quilts I've finished in the last while I've given away, or they are for teaching. This one, this quilt will be mine. With the slabs it captures the essence of my first book, especially because it is mostly made with the scraps from second book. Most of the slabs get made while I'm teaching - I use these as demo sewing. I feel it represents everything about my quilting as a career to this point. There is no way anyone else will get this quilt.

There are still more blocks to make. How many, however, is still up for debate. In my head I'd always pictured it 70'' x 70''. A generous lap quilt for me. For a brief moment I considered making it 80'' x 80'' so it could go on one of the girls' beds, but thought better of that. When the rows are an odd number the pattern is even. Normally I am all about the symmetry, but I kind of prefer the look with the uneven number. 50'' x 70'' is fine for a lap quilt, but I don't think that is enough to get the full effect of all the secondary patterns formed by this pattern.

So, I guess that means I have at least 21 more blocks to make. At least.