The Alchemy of Fabric Club- April 2017 Edition:
Floral Fusion
This is the perfect month to look at fabric with “new eyes”. It is spring and the image of flowers brings with it the association with ease in the weather, a new season, color infusing our world, delight and sweet moments. Flowers bring a happy feeling to most everyone. The fabrics curated for this month and the projects have a focus on collage elements and literally a floral fusion that births a “new mix”. A new fabric is created from the fussy cut floral & leaf elements brought together in harmony from many fabrics. This is a planned cut process to create your own mix of alchemy.
The first fabric is Tula Pink’s “The Hare” from her Slow & Steady collection. If you look closely there are limitless possibilities to create various sizes of leaves from. The dots so carefully planned when isolated in one fussy cut shape give a jeweled effect. This fabric has a beautiful balance of line and color.
The second fabric is another Tula Pink design called “Eek” from her Tabby Road collection. The ornate shaped leaves throughout give a variety of color of aqua, yellow green and thistle purple. The ornate shapes can be kept intact with all the intricate curves or simplified in your collage. Remember with leaves to vary how much is seen to give your collage more interest. Use a variety of full leaf shape to partial shape peaking out from around and underneath the flowers.
The third fabric is by Free Spirit. This collection is called “Natural World”. This fabric has a variety of succulents throughout. The succulent shape blooms out from the center reminiscent of a rose. This fabric design has many colors of succulents so you can pick the color desired as well as decide on the size. You can use the bud like center or full blossom! Some leaves are rounded and some are more gently curved. Just like the leaves utilize partial succulent shape or full floral shape.
The fourth fabric is designed by Amy Butler from the Free Spirit collection Splendor. This fabric has large showcase florals meant to take a center stage in your collage. When fussy cut for collage they make a statement so in creating your mix position them to shine! If used in a quilt this fabric has fabulous lines and graphic elements too.
Flowering Field with Three Sisters Mountains
The fifth fabric is by Valori Wells from her “In the Bloom” collection. It has a whispy feeling to the fabric and will give a softened effect when used in a collage. It can be in your collage like using baby’s breath in a bouquet of flowers.
The sixth fabric is a Kaffe Fassett design called “Bekah”.He is a master of large florals. All the flowers in this fabric have a painterly look and the colors of flowers vary from lavender, to magenta, to purple to red. With the loose brush stroke shapes and lines along with the vibrant color these flowers will definitely be another “leading lady” in your collage.
The seventh, and final, fabric is a Philip Jacob Classic called “Brassica”, a cabbage rose design. Like Kaffe Fasset he designs for Rowan fabric and has a different feeling to his florals. His florals when you study closely always have intricate lines and details throughout. The vibrant colors gently vary from shape to shape by comparison to the way Kaffe uses color. With that said wherever they are placed they will still demand a center stage and are another “leading lady floral” in your quilt story.
The ten supplemental fabrics for this month were selected with more traditional piecing rather than collage in mind. They are all meant to let the florals pop and be the focus rather than being florals themselves. Additionally, these fabrics could be used in a collage to create visual interest, become a base to build upon, and break up the flowers in surprising ways. If you look at a photo of a field of flowers, you might be amazed at how much of what you see is not actually flowers.
Happy Creating!
Our intention for creating the "Alchemy of Fabric" club is to provide the spark... the catalyst... the inspiration... for a project that your color palette is built upon. We have a monthly tutorial of insights on each fabric chosen. We have also included 10 other recommended fabrics to expand from the core fabrics and further guide your choices.
We are excited to share this educational opportunity as a study in color and fabric as well as build your artist palette of fabrics. As you practice designing your project from many different designers and collections our hope is to facilitate greater confidence and empowerment in your creative pursuits..
At the Stitchin' Post were are committed to creativity and inspiration and we are now embarking on a journey opening to new options together as the "Alchemy of Fabric" unfolds each month. Please share with us what the spark has ignited in you using the hashtag "#AlchemyofFabric" on your preferred social media platform, so others can be inspired by your work! You can also search #AlchemyofFabric to see what others have done, and to gain your own inspiration.
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