October Stix Retreat

The next retreat is scheduled for Friday, October 26 through Sunday, October 28, 2012. Plan to arrive on Thursday afternoon, October 25th. Mark your calendars. The project I have in mind (my secret for now) can be completed in two days (three at the outside). It's kind of artsy, but practical. While it's doable for everyone, some of you may consider it a "stretch". Actually, now that I consider it, you'll all think it's a stretch! But, I think you'll enjoy the process and like the results! Between now and then I'll be working on a prototype and looking forward to another great weekend! ;) 

Checking In...

It's official - it's mid-month, July 16th. Where does the time go? I have very little to show for the first half of the month and practically NO quilting! I've spent my time over the past two weeks blogging (blabbing is more like it) and beading, actually I've started two peyote bracelets and have yet to finish either. Pathetic! But, I've spent a lot of time talking about beading, surfing the web for beading inspiration and supplies, and planning beading projects...does that count for anything??? And, I have spent some time flipping through quilting books, visualizing my latest project completed and hanging on the wall, and making lists of things I want to accomplish in the second half of this year...any credit for all of that??? NO? Thought so! 


What is going on with me?...I've lost some of the creative momentum I had during the spring and seem to be falling into a creative slump! Help! I know exactly what I need to do, because I've been in this place before and for long periods of time. I need to JUST DO IT! I need to walk away from this computer and all of the other distractions (most of which I create) and walk down to the Studio and begin...

Okay, I hear those words loud and clear. JUST DO IT! I'm leaving now. I mean it! I'm out of here! No more excuses! Next time we talk I'll have a long list of finished projects complete with pictures and I will feel good about myself. Computer: I'm turning you OFF! Iphone: that means you, too! Goodbye!

Breaking Boundaries - Release the Secret Weapon!

Most of us live within self-imposed boundaries and avoid opportunities that come along which would force us to abandon our comfort zone and break through those boundaries. Why? Because it's familiar and it's safe. Some of us establish more narrow boundaries than others, but we all have them. Artists don't have boundaries. They have an attitude of "what if?" and are always looking to break the rules and experiment, eventually finding their own unique form of expression which continues to evolve throughout their lives. Probably the greatest risk to artists is that of success...they give up the art-making process to turn out work that pleases their audience. The economics of their success, money, becomes the driving force in their work and rather than continue to explore and enjoy the process of creating, they set a boundary based on what sells. Talk to any artist and you'll discover what they love most about art...it's the journey, the creative process. 


The certainty of playing it safe with old, familiar quilting patterns and color choices is comforting. But the excitement of change is stimulating. I think we each have a rebel within (a wannabe artist) that's just aching to get out. Dare to change? Let the rebel speak. One way to start is to add one or two colors to your next project that you'd not normally use. Rather than letting the rebel run wild, refer to your color wheel to make sure your selections work according to color theorists. It may mean expanding your analogous selection a bit to include a few colors just slightly beyond your comfort level...that's exactly what I did when I added yellow-green to my palette for the Unusual Lone Star (see yesterday's blog Making Good Choices).


Sometimes its fun to experiment and work with a color palette that's completely new to you. Last fall I decided to make my son a wall quilt to hang in his bedroom, which was decorated with Ralph Lauren neutral bedding (shades of beige and gray). These colors are NOT ME! I would never make myself a quilt of neutral colors. Choosing the fabrics for the quilt was a new experience for me. I had no idea manufacturers made so many neutral colors. Several trips to the fabric store and enough fabric to make several neutral quilts and I still felt something was lacking. I took out my trusty color wheel and looked for the complement of the predominant color in the quilt. A complementary color is that one directly opposite on the color wheel. My colors certainly didn't match any on the wheel, but I noticed that the gray was actually a blue-gray and the complement of blue would be yellow. So, I chose a gold to incorporate in the quilt. Wah Lah! The quilt came to life. A small amount of gold was just what it needed. 


As I write this I'm thinking: Why do we create these mind blocks and refuse to experiment with colors that we've placed outside our comfort zone. I've often said that I don't work with particular colors or I can't live with some other color and so on. Sometimes a little bit of that off-limits color is just what is needed to bring to life what would otherwise be a dull and boring quilt. Let's all try to find the rebel within us and break free from the limitations we've set for ourselves! Your rebel might just be your secret weapon!


Hint: "Release the secret weapon!" is a line from An American Tale, one of the girls' favorite movies back in the late 80's.

Make Good Choices

How do you choose just the right fabrics for a new quilt project when you're clueless, devoid of ideas? 


One source of inspiration is a favorite fabric. On a couple of occasions I've started the quilting-making process with the back of the quilt. Choose your top fabrics to harmonize with the focus fabric to be used for backing. By selecting the fabric that'll be used for the quilt backing at the onset, you've solved a couple of problems: (1) concerns over whether or not fabrics "go together", as your color scheme has been decided for you and more than likely, decided by an artist/designer; and, (2) avoiding the need to find just the right backing fabric for the pieced top...the finished quilt is "all of a piece" as the top was literally made to go with the backing. 


Another source of inspiration for a new project is a picture. Not just a picture from a quilting magazine or book, but pictures from sales catalogs, fashion and cooking magazines, etc. Always be on the lookout for colored photos that appeal to you. These photos were staged and shot by artists, who work with color every day and have a far better understanding of it than you or I. They know what works! Just a few days ago I flipped through a Crate and Barrel sales catalog and before I'd gotten to the end had torn out three pages. One was a photo of stacked pillows in various colors, two vases and a lamp. I loved all but one of the colors in the photo, but on a closer look realized it was that discordant color (in my mind, not necessarily in theory) that made the whole thing work. This is a great way to find the inspiration needed to go beyond what feels safe, to get out of your color rut!


Another tool, but one that may require a bit more skill than taking your lead from a piece of commercial fabric or from a photo, is a color wheel. There's a wealth of information in that little wheel. Beginning with monochromatic color schemes to complementary to split-complementary and so on. What's not included is "anything goes," because typically the anything-goes approach doesn't work. Buy a color wheel and maybe even a book on color. Try using it as you plan your next quilt project. 


In an effort to practice what I preach, I took out my color wheel this morning and considered it as I looked at the stack of fabrics I'd chosen for my current project, An Unusual Lone Star. I felt I'd made good choices (analogous colors of blues, purples, and blue-greens), but something was missing. I found the answer on the color wheel...a light yellow-green. I happened to have a good one in my stash, placed it on the pile of fabrics, and it was magic! It seemed to bring to life the color combination. Whether or not it made much of a difference is questionable, but at this moment I'm feeling much more confident with my palette.

Life's Full of Tough Choices, Innit?

I'll give you a hint: the quote I used in the title is from Little Mermaid. Don't you just love Ursula, the wicked sea witch?


One of the tough choices that comes to mind is selecting just the right fabric for a quilt. It's easy for me to walk out of a fabric store with a bag of fabric that simply appeals to my senses. With no purpose or plan at the time it goes home and is added to the stash! Color is the first attraction and design/print follows. I become attached to designers and begin collections of Kaffe Fassett, Philip Jacobs, Valori Wells, or Laurel Burch and the stash grows. Or, I may become attached to certain era's: the 30's, the 60's, the 70's and the stash gets a bit bigger. Or, maybe it's a particular manufacturer, such as Moda (I've got two storage boxes filled with fabrics I refer to as "Moda"). Or, it may be ethnic prints, such as Asian or African (you guessed it...I've got two storage boxes filled with fabrics I refer to as "Ethnic"). Before long the the stash is moved from a closet to an entire room (I'm thinking of my 25+ boxes of fabric that takes up half of the cabin porch). Choosing fabrics for a specific purpose or pattern is another story. Not so easy! In fact, it's often the most challenging part of the quilting process.


There are numerous simple patterns available that lend themselves well to large scale, colorful prints, such as Kaffe Fassett. You can't go wrong with these types of quilts. Buy a variety of fabrics by designers with similar styles, cut them up and put them back together in block forms; sew the blocks together; quilt the pieced top; bind it; ENJOY! There are other patterns that require a bit more finess...more thought in fabric selection. More consideration given to the color, values, and design of the fabrics that will be combined to make an altogether new and original piece of fabric...the quilt top. 

Everyone who sees my version of Cinco de Mayo (I call the quilt Fiesta) is blown away by my "color choices" (in quotes, because I've heard those words from everyone whose seen it). Please don't misunderstand me - I LOVE being thought of as a Quilt Goddess, a Master of Color...but, I assure you I. AM. NOT. At least with respect to my most recent accomplishments, my success lies in the fact I understand values and the importance of contrast! I understand that black and white value chart that shows the lightest of lights (white) to the darkest of darks (black) and ranks them from 1 to 10. We've all seen it at one time or another, but most of us filed it away and never used it. Well, I suggest it's time to get it out and use it! 

I've never been more aware of the importance of contrast than while working with Fiesta and my latest project (started just today), an Unusual Lone Star. These two quilts have several things in common...the blocks were designed by Karen S. Stone, both are foundation pieced, and both rely COMPLETELY on contrast...NOT color. Don't get me wrong, color is important to each of us as we each have our own unique palette that we find pleasing. For me, it's bright, clear colors mostly in the primary and secondary families. I favor purples, blues and greens...cool colors. I can appreciate other color schemes/palettes, but cannot live with them! I look around our home and see purples, blues and greens, not earth tones or a monochromatic scheme of whites and beiges or autumn colors of browns and oranges. 

So, when choosing fabric for a new project, color is very important. If you're making it as a gift, often the first question you ask of the lucky person is, "What's your favorite color?" If it's a keeper, you don't have to ask that question, because you're naturally drawn to those colors you prefer...your "feel good" colors. What you probably don't always consider and, depending on the quilt design may be key to a successful project, is contrast. Contrast can make the difference between a ho-hum quilt and one that is breathtaking! Consider the log cabin design...without high contrast it's just a bunch of long, skinny rectangles (logs) of various fabrics sewn together in a design that's barely recognizable. Same is true of Cinco de Mayo. Without considering contrast, all of those incredibly tiny pieces of fabric (one block had nearly a hundred pieces) would just blend into one another and the hours spent piecing the block would have been wasted and the finished quilt been a disappointment as it fell into the "ho hum" category. On the other hand, a quilt that is intended to have soft and subtle changes in one piece of fabric to another can be spoiled by that one disruptive fabric that breaks the rhythm and draws your eye like a magnet, because of it's sharp contrast to the surrounding fabrics. Contrast is still key to the success of the quilt, but in this case the goal is to achieve low contrast with small changes on the value scale.

My thoughts are continued in "Make Good Choices"

Longarm Projects Completed in June

I only quilted two tops this past month...disappointing, as my goal was three, but not bad considering the time spent getting ready for the June Retreat. Both quilts were for Sally...the first was the red/white checked top she pieced for her friend/roommate and the second was the Kaffe Fassett snowball quilt made at the February Retreat. The red/white quilt had a lot of open space, which was perfect for intricate quilting, but totally intimidating to me. I put off quilting it as long as a I could...finally sucked it up and just did it! I wasn't disappointed with the results. It's very striking and a good example of what you can do with just two high-contrast colors. Here's a picture of Leesbeth with the quilt Sally made for her...

Another Successful Retreat

Where do I begin? How can I possibly describe in a few short paragraphs the incredible weekend we just enjoyed? Imagine Perfect Weather (high 70's with a slight breeze); a Perfect Studio (take a look at my blog from June 24th to know all that Verne and I did to prepare the cabin for this event); a Perfect Setting (background sounds of our chickens and occasional crowing of the rooster, about 20 head of cattle grazing in the field, the vinca major surrounding the cabin in its summer glory...you get the picture); Perfect Food prepared by our own Chef Verno with the enthusiasm of Alton Brown (an Asian pork tenderloin with stir-fried green beans one night, Chicken Diane on another, two of the best fresh blueberry/blackberry pies I've ever eaten! and on and on); a Perfect Project that taught three new techniques (new twists to old techniques for some). All of this was just background to the pleasure of spending three days with a group of fun-loving friends and fellow Stix Chix...sewing, ripping, laughing and just having a good time!!!


A few unplanned things happened over the weekend that further added to the enjoyment of our June Retreat:


Neil, who I will now call Roach-Coach Neil, showed up around lunchtime on Saturday with a truck full of food (this is no exaggeration). Wanting this to be a surprise and not knowing our likes and dislikes, Neil brought lunch-making food for every persuasion. He'd prepared a delicious ham (his own recipe requiring four days of preparation) and all the sandwich fixins', a deconstructed fruit salad (separate bowls for about a dozen different fresh fruits), chips, and a finale of jello with whipped cream! It makes me smile just thinking about it! Neil, you are one of the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful people I know! 

Sunday brought another pleasant surprise. Knowing my interest in learning to bead, Sandy invited one of her Sutter Creek friends, Lori Yardley, to drop by for a few hours to give me a lesson in the Peyote Stitch. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most social person and not always open to making new acquaintances, so while I appreciated Sandy's intentions and Lori's willingness to drive to Volcano to help me...I was lukewarm to the idea. Well, all I can say is: I've met a kindred spirit! Within a few hours on Sunday and long calls/conversations each of the next three days, I was completely enchanted with this amazing young woman. 


To those who attended the June Retreat and read this blog...thank you for making it such a success. I had a wonderful time! Here are a few pics...