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New! Revised and Expanded 2nd Edition of Intuitive Color & Design by Jean Wells

What’s new?
I am sure you are wondering about this when you see “2^nd edition” on the cover.
As most of you know, I do a lot of teaching, and my active role in design is ongoing as I create multiple quilts every year. As I work I think about instances that come up and how I can share these in the classroom. That is how the update happened, and 2/3 of the content and photos are all new. My ultimate desire is to help you engage in this magical creative process that I love.

 

Speaking of which, images play a big roll in color and design for me. I am not looking to create the imagery realistically, just how I see it--I am looking for clues in how I might use color, texture, and line in future quilts. I take lots of photos and keep track of them on my IPad. I print them out from time to time, and paste them in my journal using rubber cement. (I like this method because I can peel the photo up if I need to.)

This afternoon, clouds arrived in our 94 degree summer day and I realized that the light was perfect for taking some photos. My garden and yard is truly in bloom and just feels magical to me. I will comment on the different images, and maybe it will inspire you to look around you and find something interesting that sparks your imagination.

 

A triple sunflower appeared today in the garden. I like the radiating idea of the petals, maybe I should do another New York Beauty style quilt, but design my own block?

 

Purple and leaf green is a favorite color combination, but the bit of orange is just magical, too.

 

 Lamb’s Ear is so fascinating when it blooms with the tiny clusters of flowers and simple shaped leaves. Of course, the colors are so soothing as well with the dusty sage green and just a bit of purple. The simplicity of the leaf shape could easily translate into a quilting design.

 

 

This year I wanted my patio pots to have interesting textural plants as well as flowers and I settled on blues and oranges. I constantly look for textured fabrics that could make an appearance in my work. I especially like silks and linen, and sometimes a commercial printed fabric or a hand printed texture will work. Send me photos of your work in progress or finished. I love to see what people are creating!

Jean

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Color Vocabulary

The second edition of Intuitive Color and Design is out!  I have signed copies available exclusively at the Stitchin' Post.

There are so many ways to talk about color and what I have learned through the years that is most important is the relationships that colors have to each other in the composition. Simplifying that to a vocabulary list of descriptions have been very successful for me in the classroom.

 

Rather than naming a color if you think of it for the role it is playing then you will intuitive know if it is working or not. My vocabulary lis consists of :  Temperature (warm or cool), Intensity (dull or bright),

value (light or dark), Volume (weight - lighter or heavier).

 

In this little sample of strata (see strata assignment on p. 52) I played with the cooler lighter orange and balanced it with the bright intense orange. I made sure the brighter orange appeared in smaller amounts so it would not dominate the composition. As I look at this not the darker purple near the center is feeling a bit large but as I add more strips I can remedy the amount of darker purple in the whole piece. It really is about relationships and we certainly can feel if a piece is working or not.

 

Trust yourself!

I love to add bits of texture. From these scraps you can see how the textured fabric add another dimension to the piece. The grey section has bits of cotton as well as linens. The Essex linens from Robert Kaufman are part cotton and the hand is soft and plays so well with cottons.

Spirited Hues is the last quilt I made for the new book. I had collected the fabric for it for some time and it sat on my cutting table until I finished all of the writing for the book. My reward to myself was to get to sit down and design and sew the quilt. 

Happy Designing!

~Jean

 

Alchemy of Fabric

Water is a tricky thing. Monet knew it and spent most of his life trying to understand how it plays with light and reflection. As you can see in this month’s collection of water photos that Valori curated, water looks different everywhere.

How does this play with your creativity? What does water mean to you? Looking beyond the color blue, what do you see?

I see lines. In the first image, we see both organic lines from the tree reflections and the straight man-made lines from (I believe) are the tiles at the bottom of the pool. The organic lines are easily seen in all of the other photos in this collage. Straight man-made lines are repeated in the bridge photo. This contrast of line would be fun to play with in both an art journal and in quilting.

Light is another element that stands out to me with all of these water photos. Where is the light coming from? What does the light, or lack of light, do to the water? What would 5 feet under water look like in the top photo versus the bottom one? Yet another idea to play with in an art journal!

Creative challenge time: How can you create a similar look to the water breaking in the bottom photo using paper? How can you use fabric to create this look? Now set a timer for 20 minutes and use whatever is near you to create the water breaking. After your timer goes off, stop and walk away. This is now an inspiration model. It can be anything! Next time you are contemplating water and all that it means, look at your model and see what sticks out in your mind and go with it! Don’t think too much and be sure to have fun!  Oh, and remember to share your inspiration model (however it turns out, don't be ashamed.  You only had 20 minutes) using #AlchemyofFabric.

Happy Creating!

~Katie

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.

 

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.

Alchemy of Fabric - June 2017

 

 

Our focus for Alchemy of Fabric Club this month is “water” and the variety of shades of blues, aqua-green, and everything in-between. The colors of water that you perceive when looking at the water before you, is momentary and fleeting. It is an ever-changing scene affected by the sky and light on the water. Monet painted plentiful scenes of water in his “Water Lilies series”. The theme of water lilies or as he called them “landscapes of the water” first appeared in Monet’s work in 1898 and was a theme until his death in 1926. There were approximately 250 oil paintings that became larger and larger paintings as the theme progressed. In observing and studying the colors used in these paintings, the water varies in color from deep purple to lavender, dark cobalt & ultramarine to light blues, reds & pinks, yellow and yellow greens. Virtually every color in the rainbow is seen in the reflections, giving the water a multi-colored appearance. The blues are generally a reflection of clear skies above. Sometimes in his paintings you see the surface, sometimes into the depth of the water. The colors used affect the atmosphere or mood conveyed. Sometimes it provokes the clarity of the day or the overcast, soft misty feeling to that moment in time that was painted. With Monet’s “water color palette” as inspiration, use this as a helpful guide in selecting fabrics for your quilt or project. You might also employ the use of printed texture to give a feeling of ripple like movement to the water.

         Our “water fabrics” capture some of the variety that you see in the Monet water lilies series of paintings. Jean Wells shares her experience, “this spring I had an 'ah haw moment' when John and I were driving to California for my teaching job at Empty Spools. Around the Redding area it had rained so much that there was standing water everywhere and the grass was bright green. That day the sky was clear, brilliant blue and the reflection of the blue sky on the water was amazing. I will never forget that. The color was almost surreal. I find that some form of blue or green can almost always save the day when I am trying to put a palette together. They are 'Mother Nature’s' neutrals”.

With summer temperatures beginning and “water play” close at hand I hope you enjoy these “water” fabrics curated for you. Our hope is that you create a fabulous fabric expression that brings back great summer memories that last long after the season changes.

~ Kayley

FABRIC PACK:

*Zen Chic-True Blue- Notice the dots of reflected light on the water reminiscent of a clear day when there is a slight ripple of wave. The dots of light give a pattern to the suggestion of waves in the fabric. Two color variations are in the fabric pack to give some repetition to your design. The lighter version of Pattern 1625 is Color 19 and the darker is Color 22 by MODA.

*River Journey by Holly Taylor has a wonderful feeling of flow with organic curved lines that are light on dark. It is Pattern 6684- Color 11 by Moda.

*Fresh Water Designs- Java Batiks- example the natural variation water as it covers over areas of different depths reflecting from vivid turquoise and green to purplish blue. Adding the batik gives a spark of variety to your project.

*Wilmington Prints-Essentials by Joanne Porter gives a mottled blue look like shallow water over a reef area where there are areas of clear water allowing you to see the shallow bottom mixed with darker areas of coral & vegetation. A perfect addition to the many scenes of “water”.

*Robert Kaufman “Manchester” textured cotton was included in the fabric pack to give an area of quiet reflection on still water.

*Aria Cotton by Kelly Ventura gives the swirl of continuous ocean movement with undercurrents creating pockets of varying wave activity in the mix of one incoming tidal wave. It adds movement to your quilt project and is a “star” fabric no matter where it is placed.

10 Recommended Fabrics:

These fabrics were chosen to expand on the concept of water to a palette guided and inspired by the colors in the “Water Lilies” paintings by Monet.

*Handmaker by Natalie Barnes has a plant like pattern on a coral red colored fabric. This fabric choice was inspired by the many shades of reds that Monet painted in the water lily flowers.

*Island Batik Bubble Hole-Leprecheun-Dotalicous gives the luscious green to the vegetation that Monet illustrated in his paintings.

*RJR-Dots & Stripes- is another variation of dots of light on water in teal & aqua

*Michael Miller- Beachcomber is a color indicating water depth or shadow under the lilies in a rich navy ble with lines very close so there is subtle movement as you look closely.

*Island Batiks creates a batik that has small leaf forms on a light yellow green. Use it in areas in your quilt where you want to suggest “light”. Monet fairly consistently used this color to suggest light on the water lilies.

*Alexander Henry- HeathDE –is a textured patterned fabric, which from a distance will read as a solid, but up close gives visual texture wherever it is used. It suggests areas of shadow.

*Moda Cross Weave Wovens in Color 79 is a textured cotton in a red that works harmoniously with the Natalie Barnes fabric. This fabric adds variety and is used in some of his paintings in subtle shadow areas of the water lilies as well as the water lily flowers.

*RK-Helinki- Jamaica- has a large circle shape on fabric that ranges from green and aqua to yellow green and blue. A full range of water colors with circles suggesting the shape of beautifully round water lilies.

*Timeless Treasures in Vine Color gives the cool rich deep green color needed for balance in your color palette.

*Island Batik-Snow Balls- in a gorgeous yellow green suggests spring growth in the water landscapes and was a color repeatedly used in the majority of his water lilies paintings.

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.

Alchemy of Fabric- May Collage

Our focus this month for Alchemy of Fabric are neutrals and how they play together and with bright supplemental fabrics, much in the style of Jen Kingwell.   While she was here, she wrote a guest blog post about her thoughts on neutrals. In that blog post, she talked about different tints of neutrals (grey, cream, white) impact colors differently. Jen likes to use over one hundred fabrics in a quilt using all different prints and scale of prints. When first looking at this month’s collage by Valori Wells, texture and scale is what stuck out in my mind.

Look at the entire collage. What do you notice first? What changes in each image? How do the images affect each other? Notice the values throughout the collage.

The first thing that I notice is the kitten because that image has the highest contrast. My eye then moves up to the flower then around and down in a counter-clockwise direction, ending on the cat again. When I look at each image individually, I react the most to the changes in texture. In the kitten photo, you can see how she is soft and fuzzy without touching her but the bricks around her are hard. The wood grain above her has a texture that I can feel simply by looking at the photo. In the upper left, the carvings have a distinct texture by their look.

How can you play with texture using fabric? Maybe finding a woven neutral that has a different texture to it, that will cause it to pop when next to flat cotton fabrics. Maybe stamping or painting on the fabric makes a new texture. Maybe some simple hand embroidery, like French knots or Kantha stitching will create a new texture that you will love.

Something I love about this collage is the difference in scale. If you look at the upper right corner, the trees are small and seem to be far away while the flower just beneath it is very large in scale by comparison. If you compare the flower and the kitten, the scale is very different. If you look at the fabric pack for May, you’ll notice that the scale of patterns on all the fabrics is fairly small but there is still change in scale. How would a background change if you throw in a large-scale print? These are things to consider.

It is important to keep the elements of design in mind, even when working in neutrals (or monochromatic themes). Even without a range of colors, the elements of design are ever present and even more noticeable. If you get a small stack of neutral paint chips from a home improvement store and cut or tear them up to create a neutral collage in your art journal, you can see how a small change in texture or scale will drastically impact the overall design.

Happy Creating!

~Katie

 

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.

Alchemy of Fabric

The Alchemy of Fabric Club- May 2017 Edition:

Friends to All

“Friends to All” really is a good description for neutral themed fabrics. We are so fortunate these days to have the variety that we do in the scale and content of the prints. We have chosen a wide variety for you to sample and play with in your creative endeavors.

The change in scale with the dots is interesting. Notice how the white dot on the grey has less contrast than the two black and white/cream dots. Jen Kingwell is a true master when it comes to mixing not only prints but in blending colors. Two of our offerings have more of a creamy background where the others are black or white. In the old days of owning the store, quilters would never have mixed cream and white backgrounds in the same quilt. But quilters are more adventuresome these days.

Being open to new possibilities will give you more design opportunities. “Matchy-matchy” is fine, but I am drawn to work that has a more edgy feeling as it engages my curiosity to want to take another look. The three prints with text-like writing add a whole new feeling to blocks once they are cut up. They have more of a random textural feeling.

 

10 Recommended Fabrics:

The featured quilt in the May Alchemy of Fabric is from a pattern called “The Avenue” by Jen Kingwell. Both Jen’s patterns and color palette is our focus for the month of May. We are lucky at the Stitchin’ Post to be hosting two classes mid month called “Quilting with Jen” where the students will be using a variety of her patterns in classes. “The Avenue” was Jean's favorite pattern she saw at Quilt Market in Houston last fall. The inspiration for “The Avenue” pattern is the trees lining the avenue in Paris. Our featured quilt in May is made by Jill Beaman.

The neutral light colored fabrics in the fabric pack is for the background and the black fabrics in the fabric pack are for the tree trunks. The neutrals set the stage for the trees, and the vibrant colored fabrics in the 10 recommended fabrics are for the tree bodies, which are composed of 4 fabrics.

The 10 recommended fabrics are meant to give a high contrast with the background fabrics. The intention is that the neutral background fabrics allow the trees to take center stage. With the exception of one of the fabrics they are mainly medium value fabrics, which easily harmonize, in the unit of 4 pieces in the tree body. The advantage of using high contrast fabrics for tree bodies in comparison with the background fabrics is that it gives a distinct shape to the trees. This is just one effect. Mixing in a few pieces of lower contrast fabrics will give a very different effect.

We chose fabrics for the tree bodies that have vibrant colors, along with small, medium and large prints to add texture to the overall effect of the trees. Little dots in the “Over the Top” dots fabric are a small print in comparison to the large swirls in the “Heart to Heart” fabrics that are both designed by Jane Sassaman. The “Cat Eyes” fabric of Tula Pink with an oval shaped focus and “Aria Cotton” with a square dotted surface design. We also chose some fabrics that read as a solid along with the other prints.

A variety of surface design elements along with a variety of color is the key in the tree bodies and they add up to a quilt that has interest and movement.

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.

Alchemy of Fabric

"Floral Fusion" Collage by Valori Wells

It has been a long winter here in Sisters this year, and we have all been looking forward to spring.  So we chose Floral Fusion as our Alchemy of Fabric theme for the month of April.  Valori made a photo collage inspired by the fabrics that we chose, to inspire us and think about new possibilities with these florals.

As always, this collage is a good place to consider the Elements of Design. The Elements that struck me with this collage are Scale and Proportion.  When looking at the whole collage, it would be easy to become overwhelmed with up-close shots of flowers, but Val mixed in photos with small flowers so there is lots of visual interest. 

 

That visual interest is important to note because when you are mixing different fabrics with the fabric pack from this month, which is primarily large flowers on varying backgrounds, a few small prints will help to break up those bold florals.  Even in the large flowers, there are smaller, detailed, yet repetitive patterns in the flowers themselves.  In some of these photos the buds are the repetition, meanwhile in other photos the flower centers are the detailed section that breaks up each image.

 

My favorite things in this entire collage are the bees (above) and ladybug (can you find it?).  I think of them as the hidden jewels of the collage.  Including little gems from other fabrics or dimensional, multi-media items with these fabrics can be really fun!  Becky used animal fabrics that were fussy cut in her "Old Blue" quilt which we looked at last week.  What could you include in a floral collage that is not just floral?

 

It is almost impossible to talk about design in the shop without mentioning color.  I love all the bright and fun colors that these flowers are, but remember when Jean taught us that "green is nature's neutral"?  Look at the whole collage at the bottom of the page and consider all of the different shades of green that are included in this collage.  We have sage green, bright spring green, darker forest-y greens and they all look so good with these bright colors.  The consistency of the green throughout the piece gives your eyes places to rest as well as a great foundation to build the bright colors on-top of.

 

A great exercise with this collage is to create your own field of flowers in your Art Journal.  One option is to collect floral photos and just make a paper collage with fussy cut flowers.  Another option (which I love to do), is to paint a page or spread with watercolors, then build the collage on-top of the base you created, and let the wash peak through the flowers as you would with a fabric collage.

Happy Creating!

~Katie

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.

Alchemy of Fabric- April Example

The Alchemy of Fabric Club- April 2017 Edition:

Floral Fusion

When I first saw Laura Heine's pattern for "Old Blue", I knew that my husband would love it. He had a "52 Chevy pickup when he was 17. His grandfather had given it to his dad for him to fix up with my husband, Dave. They hadn't gotten very far when Dave's family broke up. His father took the pickup with him and Dave never saw it again and to this day, doesn't know what happened to it. So although the memory of that pickup is bitter sweet, it still has a fond place in his heart. He love his grandfather dearly and was very close with him. We decided to call this quilt, "Poppi's Pickup" which is the beloved nick-name his children and grandchildren call him.

~Becky

The first thing that Becky did, was to create the base on which she would build the collage.  This included the base fabric as well as the truck, which she followed the pattern to create.  We recommend using Steam-A-Seam 2.  This kind of Steam-A-Seam has two sides of fusible and is great for creating collage!  

Then she spent a lot of time fussy cutting flowers, leaves, bugs, and animals to fuse on top of the truck.  What can you find hidden in this quilt?  I personally, am I fan of the little fox!

Becky added words and fussy cut letters to the quilt to make it her own before layering and pinning to be quilted.  She claims that she went a little overboard with the flowers, but I disagree!  It screams spring, which we are all so ready for!

At this point, the quilt is all finished and ready to be quilted.  Notice how Becky did not pin through her many, many layers of fusible to quilt it?  This is because the fusible webbing makes it too thick to get a pin through.

For the machine quilting, Becky sewed straight lines in both directions (don't forget to start in the middle and work outward in both directions!) to keep all the edges of the fusible from peeling up over time.  

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.

Alchemy of Fabric

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.

"Jean's Greens" Collage by Valori Wells

The Stitchin’ Post Team calls the March Alchemy of Fabric “Jean’s Greens” because we all know how much she loves green! Last week, Valori made a photo collage inspired by “Jean’s Greens” (the whole image is at the bottom of the page). As an artist, I like to create collages to help inspire me in the artistic process. Sometimes I do this at the beginning, sometimes in the middle, and sometimes near the end of the process depending on the needs of the project. I like to create collages to see patterns in the images or to find differences in what I have versus what I have curated with the images.

 

 

The patterns that I look for in a collage are always a few of the Elements of Design: Color, Line, and Texture. When looking at this collage, the color green is overwhelmingly present but if you take a closer look there are other pops of color that are so rich and vibrant. The rich Cobalt Blue is used very little but has a great effect visually because it helps the eye move across the entire piece. There are also touches of Fire Truck Red, Magenta, Yellow, and Peru Brown. These all break up the green and create a full profile. When selecting fabrics to assist the “Jean’s Greens” fabric pack, consider adding pops of color just like Val did with this collage.

 

 

The second Element of Design that I notice is Line. This collage has a great mix of both straight lines and curvy “organic” lines. I find this is important to take into consideration because mixes of curvy and straight lines help the eye rest and to not look “Too Busy”. Something I noticed about the fabrics for March were that all but one fabric were curvy lines or circles, the abundance of straight lines in this collage might direct me to choose a pattern with straight seams rather than a lot of curvy or wandering seams. Or perhaps I would choose a supplement fabric to balance the curves. Balance is art.

 

 

Look at the very top right photo in the collage and imagine how that would feel if you could reach out and touch it. That is Texture, which could also inspire your next project. This is important with fabric whether the project is a cozy bed quilt or an art quilt because the texture (or surface feel) will change how the piece is interpreted. Think back to that top right photo and how could you achieve that texture on the flat cotton fabric in the March pack? Perhaps some embroidery, beading, paint could create that effect.

 

 

Any time I am stuck, collage is what helps me to move forward. Hopefully, this discussion with us will aid you in your Alchemy Journey this year! If you so desire, you could print out some green photos (even the ones above) and create an inspiration collage in an Art Journal. Perhaps this process will help you with projects in the future!

 

 

For more information about the Elements of Design, here is a great article!

Happy Creating!

~Katie

 

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.