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Dreaming in Color - Shades of Winter with Jean Wells

It is January, and as I write this blog it is trying to snow outside. To so many people, the winter colors in the landscape are dull and uninviting. When I take time to sit and really look outside, I see some very interesting combinations of colors. Seeing our Central Oregon sagebrush with snow opened my eyes to the subtle elegance of neutrals.

That imagery stayed with me and I started noticing other combinations, some even with high contrast.

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On a drive to the bay area a few years ago in early March, we came upon Grass Lake. I asked John to stop the car, so I could photograph the beautiful blue color reflecting from the sky on the ice with the warm cream colored grass. This image has stayed with me for a long time, and below you can see how I used those colors in Entwined.

During a recent hike along the Metolius river, I noticed the ice blue water again and then saw the contrast of the warm and cool neutral colors along the river's edge. On down the river, the red berries on the bare branches jumped out at me. This gave me the idea of using red for an accent in a neutral piece.

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It seems mother nature reminds us of the wonderful contrast of green in the moss and lichen you see in the woods. I feel like green is a neutral in nature. And if you look closely all the different shades and tones of green, all work together in nature. When I used to teach sampler classes and a student might be stuck, many times some form of green would save the day.

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This quilt was started in January a few years ago. I pulled mostly neutral fabrics with subtle hints of color that I start to see appearing in March as we approached spring in the high desert. The lichen type of green just seemed to work with this piece.

In 2020, I hope you will take the time to sit down and reflect on what you see, and take time to analyze it. Inspiration is all around us, but until we open ourselves up, it is invisible. Take notes of your observations, try finding descriptive words to describe what you see, and write them down. Happy New Year to all of you.

Jean put together a set of winter inspired fabrics for the January Palette of the Month Fat Quarter Bundle. Use them to spark your own inspiration. 

Dreaming in Color - Color Inspiration through Travel

There is something magical about seeing a place for the first time. I was fortunate to be able to attend Valori Wells and Kelly Sheets Morocco Creatives Retreat in November. Valori has been to Morocco several times and her photos taken there made me want to visit. First of all it is a desert, high blue skies, arid, and full of people in Marrakech. We stayed at Peacock Pavilion just outside the city at a retreat villa.

Being in an unfamiliar environment, I always find new color combinations whether they are cultural, or in the environment. On vacation you are not dealing with day-to-day chores, so you are more open to the “wonder” of the unfamiliar.

My first thought when I saw this door was that the blue and orange are complementary colors on a neutral background. As I looked closer the subtle nuances in the neutral are what really intrigued me. There was so much richness. The surrounding neutrals seem to neutralize the impact of the complimentary colors. I had to take a second look.

Pattern and color are everywhere. The beads alone are a fabulous palette, but they stand out so well draped over the mostly black and white vases. The palette reminds me of my dear friend, Freddy Moran, who is known for working in this palette. The more I look at this photo the more I am tempted to get out my cropping squares and find even more palettes

I cut L shapes from heavy paper to use for cropping ideas. 

The framed piece of the photo inspired this month's fat quarter bundle. Can you see the similarities? 

How many times have you seen a similar display of onions in the grocery store, but do not take the time to study the colors and take a picture. The salad presentation was a piece of art and gave me an idea to use at home. Garden colors have always been my favorite. I associate them with freshness.

This palette was familiar to me, but looking at the cactus up close, with it being against the terracotta wall, I saw more detail in the color as well as pattern and texture.

I was so taken by the simplicity of the desert and the complexity of the land shapes. There is something so calming about a neutral palette. The tent color on the hillside at this eco resort added an accent. You cannot forget the color of the sky, which makes the scene come alive. Not only was I interested in the colors, but the lines and shapes of the land were an inspiration too. When the camels arrived to take us for a ride they brought so much life to the scene.

The pond at the Marjorelle Gardens at the St. Laurent Museum was a feast of blues and greens with touches of terra cotta. I have been pulling together a palette of these colors without even knowing what I might create. They were so happy and summer feeling. Sometimes a season will be an inspiration.

Look at the intensity of color of these pod-like shapes. I use a term “pushing a color” when I want to pick several shades and tints of a color and this is definitely pushing orange.

And another version of blue, I would like to end this post with one last photo that depicts the pattern and colors of Morocco. What an inspiration travel can be when Dreaming in Color!

Messenger Bag - Embellishment Options

It's week three of our 12 Projects of Christmas newsletter series and this week we're making a messenger bag. Man or woman, boy or girl, everyone needs to carry things. A messenger bag is an ideal gift, especially for those hard to shop for men or teens. Fair warning though, once you make one, you'll want one for yourself too. 

Our pattern, written by Valori Wells, is the perfect size to hold all the essentials with pockets inside and out for extras. The bag is fully lined for a beautiful and durable finish. Experienced sewers can complete this bag in an afternoon, and all the straight line seams make the project achievable for confident beginners. 

Because the pattern will lead you through the construction of the bag, we are going to focus on ideas for customizing your bag. As you can see, the outside of our sample bag is embellished with a block printed pattern. You can carve your own or use a purchased stamp of your choice. In the video below Valori shows you how to properly ink a stamp and apply it to your bag.  

Try a simple pattern in one section of the bag like we did, or apply an all over pattern before you sew your sections together.

If you're an artist paint or draw your own design with fabric paint and/or pens. Pictured below is an example of our logo tote bag embellished with fabric paints by June Jaeger. We wrote a post about it and embroidering a tote last November. 

The front flap of the bag is a great spot to show off some applique, embroidery, or a combination of the two. Experiment with your own designs or choose a design from a book to spruce up your bag. We like Simply Stitched, Creative Stitching, Organic Applique and Organic Embroidery. Or, try one of our wool applique kits to add some color and texture. 

Instead of using a solid fabric for the large exterior piece customize your bag with your favorite patchwork, or simply add a stripe or other shape with contrasting fabrics like the bag pictured below. 

Not interested in coming up with your own designs for embellishment? Pick a fun print (this is a great time to show off a large scale print) and add a bit of stitching to enhance it (or just let the print shine on it's own). In the pictures below we added a simple embroidery stitch to a floral print. 

More ideas to customize the messenger bag:

• For a new parent: Baby/diaper bag - add some piping, pick a children's theme print, personalize it with an alphabet embroidery kit on the front and/or add a coordinating changing pad.

• For a quilter/sewer: Sewing kit  - personalize it with a pieced front flap and customized pocket sizes for tools
• For an artist: Portable supply kit - personalize it with a painted or mixed media front and add a pencil roll. Customize pockets for sketch book, paint brushes, pens, etc. 

• For a teen: Laptop bag - add soft and stable interfacing. Personalize it with an iron-on patch, applique their initials, or a stamped Kraftex patch. 

• For a man: Laptop bag - add soft and stable interfacing. Personalize it with a photo transfer, turn a favorite old T-shirt into an iron on or paint/stamp a simple geometric pattern. Although, some men might like it plain and simple made with canvas or denim.

• For a bike commuter: add padding to the strap and some reflective tape.
• For a Knitter/Crocheter: add fusible fleece interfacing to keep needles from poking through and a coordinating yarn/project bag. Customize pockets to hold notions.

With a minimum of thought, possibilities for customizing this bag are nearly endless.

Quick Note: The pattern doesn't require any interfacing, but if you want a more structured bag you will need some. We recommend Soft & Stable for a padded and firm but flexible bag. Great for laptops! If you want a softer bag with some structure use Fusible Fleece. Lastly if you'd like any of the pocket to be stiff (like the large inside pocket) use TimTex. All the options listed are washable. 

Shop for Messenger Bag Supplies -  

Kits: Messenger Bag, Applique

Fabric: Quilting Cotton, Canvas, Denim, Flannel 

Interfacing: Soft & Stable, Fusible Fleece, TimTex

Pattern: Printed, PDF

Books: Simply Stitched, Creative Stitching, Organic Applique, Organic Embroidery

 

 

 

 

Pincushions - Pretty Experiments

Every crafter needs a pincushion, or two, or three. Even more than that, crafters need a way to experiment. You can't grow or improve as a quilter without trying new techniques, patterns, and colorways. A small project, like a pincushion, can free you to experiment without the commitment and cost of a larger project. Smaller projects can also be a way to fit creating into our busy lives. Make a pincushion as an easy way to try that technique you've been wondering about, or to work with a new mix of colors. Jump in and play.

Besides feeding your creative self, pincushions make a wonderful gift. Making them for gifts also provides you with a very respectable reason to spend time sewing. "I'm sorry I can't do the laundry, I have to make a gift for the Secret Santa exchange!" Your spouse can't possibly complain about that. 

You can make pincushions from just about anything, including scraps, but we're going to take a look at two books. Pin Pals by Carrie Nelson and Bowl Me Over by Debbie Busby each offer many creative options and fun projects. We enjoyed both books so much, we used them as the project for one of our recent staff meetings. Everyone got a pattern and a set of fabric, and we went to town sewing and chatting. Most weren't quite finished during the staff meeting (too much talking), but all are relatively short projects and each book has as range of project difficulty and techniques to choose from. 

Pin Pals has 40 different patterns. These aren't your grandma's tomatoes, there is a little bit of everything in this book! Experiment with curves, applique, traditional blocks, strip piecing, triangles, precision piecing and hexies. We made the patterns: Solid Checkerboard, Random Strips, DNA, Ohio Star, Spokes, Beach Houses, Fresh-Cut Cube, and Bear Paw.

Bowl Me Over is a book of 37 "little pillows" and even more ideas. Projects are made from cotton and wool with embroidery stitches and wool applique. Fill a bowl with them, stack them on a shelf, or make them pincushions. If you've ever considered trying embroidery or applique this book is a wonderful way to get your feet wet. Debbie gives the reader thorough instructions for each project, but also offers general instructions and ideas to make your own variations. We made patterns: Welcome to Our Neck of the Woods, Be Strong, Nighttime Forest, and Little Cabin in the Woods.

Want more pincushion ideas? Check out our Pincushion Pinterest board. 

Now that you've made a pincushion, or ten, you need to fill it. In theory this is pretty simple, but in practice can be frustrating. 

First pick a filling. You can fill one with any number of things: rice, sand, sawdust or pellets. However, you will get the best results with a combination of poly-fil and crushed walnut shells. Use the poly-fill in corners, points and curves, then add the walnut shells for weight and firmness. 

Add your poly-fil first and using a tool like the Purple Thang push the stuffing firmly into all corners, other shapes, or edges you want to keep crisp. Then use a narrow neck funnel to add the crushed walnut shells until your pincushion is full and firm. Be sure to pause and give your cushion a shake to settle the shells, then continue adding more shells. You can also use the end of your funnel to push the shells into the corners and help them settle so you can fully fill your pincushion. Here's a quick video of us filling a pincushion.

 

You can find all the supplies you need for this project at Stitchin Post. 

Pin Pals Kit - Pin Pals Book - Bowl Me Over Book - Crushed Walnut Shells - Wool - Needles

Be sure to sign up for our newsletters to receive all the information about this project and all the other 12 Projects of Christmas. 

Stitchin' Post's The 12 Projects of Christmas is a newsletter event. Each week starting in October we've selected a fun and fast project, perfect for gifting or holiday decorating. Every project is designed and selected by our experts to make it easy for you to find and craft stylish useful items everyone will love.

Dreaming in Color - Palette Play

Back to school for me is more time for creative pursuits. I am putting the garden to bed, and this weekend I cleaned the studio. I found so many lost treasures, and color stories started presenting themselves right before my eyes. “Palette Play” is one of my favorite pastimes. Usually a printed piece of fabric, a snapshot, or a memory will spark an idea. At this point in the creative process, I just play and have the question, "What if?", in the back of my mind. I pull any color that seems to want to play with the rest of them.

This floral print from my stash caught my eye. I kind of like the true red with the raspberry, and the pinks set on the soft rust that just felt like fall. To balance out all of the red families there is a bit of forest green, gold, deep navy, light blue, and white.

The fabric palette got my creative juices rolling and I started pull friends that might work in the creative process. As you can see from the pieces below I “pushed the blue” to a warmer turquoise and it felt right so I kept it. I also stepped up the reds.

I always feel better during this time of discovery when I cut into the fabric and make a couple of samples to see what relationships I can create. As you all know a color will look different depending who it is next to. Take a look at the two pincushions below and you will see that in the first one the colors are richer and there is more depth (read the end of this post to see how you can win one of the pincushions). 

In the second one I added the soft pink and the light gold. I am not sure about the pink. It almost feels like it should have been narrower. As I look back if I had taken more clues from the fabric I would have realized that the light pink is like little brush strokes. I could have repeated that in the composition and it would have worked better.

With my explorer hat in place, I wanted to try to simplify the colors using solids for my next experiment.

Here are more experiments.

Here is an example of pushing a color lighter, darker, brighter, duller in one family. I use this technique to create variety in my compositions.

What I have learned from an afternoon of palette play with these fabrics is that I will make a larger quilt from these and develop the plan working intuitively. Referring back to the two pincushions, my favorite discovery is the raspberry color and how it created more interest in each composition.

I teach ongoing workshops at the store using my two books Journey to Inspired Art Quilting and The 2^nd Edition of Intuitive Color and Design as the foundation for gaining confidence to trust your instincts and dive into the creative process. I purposely put text in the books about the creative process, and encouraging words that will help students who cannot be in the classroom.

Do you want to win one of Jean's pincushions? All you need to do is leave a comment on this post by Oct. 6th. We'll draw two names from the commenters on Oct 7th and announce the winners on the blog. Be sure to check back to see if you've won, so we can get in touch to ship your prize. 

Congrats to Kathy Sperle and Carmen Che!! You've each won one of Jean's pincushions. Please get in touch with your address. 

Dreaming in Color with Jean Wells - Dull vs Bright

Dull vs Bright --- A Form of Contrast

When I say the word “dull,” I find students kind of sit back, take a breath, and relax. The word itself is not very exciting and when you put a dull fabric next to a bright one, the bright one always says “Hey, look at me!” Use this to your advantage when you are choosing fabrics for a quilt, especially in scrap quilts. Dull fabrics create a foundation for the rest of the activity that goes on in the design.

Amafu is a New York Beauty style quilt that I created over fifteen years ago and is still one of my favorites.

 

I would call this a scrap quilt and as you can see, there are traditional fabrics as well as ethnic ones, batiks, hand dyes, and solids. This style of quilt takes a long time to make so there is plenty of opportunity to add fabrics along the way. I really enjoy the process of letting a quilt take on a life of it’s own. When you do, you will look for what the quilt needs and not get stuck on having to use your favorite one.

The blocks for this quilt came from an out of print Karen Stone New York Beauty Book. We do have Radiant New York Beauties by Valori Wells with 14 paper pieced quilt projects. 

Kaffe Fassett is a master when it comes to color usage and I have learned so much from him and his textiles. Many of his fabrics read as bright, intense, or colorful. When you look closely, you will see that there is usually a duller fabric that becomes a platform for the bright ones. Most of the time the color of the dull fabric falls into the category of what I call a “no name color,” because it is not a pure color like you see on the color wheel. It will get a name like stone or ash, because people want to describe it and end up naming it after something. 

Pine is one of my favorite contemporary quilts. When I went to choose the color for the darker image I did not want black, so I choose a variety of darker, duller shades (forest green, charcoal, deep purple, brown). To me, it made for a more interesting image. As a shop owner and teacher for 44 years, I can tell you that dull fabrics are the last to sell in the store. They get lost, but when I can show a customer or student how they make the other fabrics sing, the light goes on. Setting the darker, duller fabrics on the warmer gold tones seemed to create a warmer feeling in the quilt.

In March, we visited about opposite colors on the color wheel, and I recently came across these blocks which are opposites on the color wheel–orange and blue. But, the orange has been pushed into deeper orange tones and the blues into teal colors. I will be working on this in my Intuitive Color and Design workshop in May, and will give you a progress report then.

As you can see from my work, solids play a big role. I have found that solids allow me to explore color relationships without the interference of pattern, and I learn even more about color. Kona Cotton solids are my favorites. 

-Jean Wells

 

 

Alchemy of Fabric - Ombre Surprise

Our April Alchemy fabric selection is Gelato from Maywood Studios. This fabric is a beautiful ombre that transitions from dark to light to dark, from selvage to selvage, with tone on tone lines. Photos can't do it justice. 

The rich colors and visual texture make this fabric the perfect blender, but it can also be the star of the show.

We paired Gelato with Kona Cotton in black and white for this Polanco quilt. This pattern puts the focus on the color and how it transitions. Stunning!

This pattern really shines a light on the ombre effect in the fabric. You can achieve the same effect, with other strip friendly patterns like Birch Bark or Flora.

Patterns like Cranberry Chutney and Preppy Pod, that have large pieces of fabric would also be a good choice to showcase the ombre colors. 

Want to show off the ombre without committing to an entire quilt? Try a fat quarter apron.

You can also fussy cut Gelato to feature the exact color, or blend, you want. Prefect for quilts like Arctic Feathers or Himalyan Pink.

Add some of this months companion fabrics and you'll have a great mix to work with for either quilt.

From top left our fabrics are: Heath in Eggplant, Quantum in 8957-O, sold out, Quantum 8960-E, Heath in Berry, French Press 8888-Y1, All Squared Up in Scout, Grid 50403, French Press 8888-B, and Treasure Hunt

Looking for just the right smaller project to show off your fabric? 

What about a Lisa the Unicorn pillow? That mane would be fantastic in Gelato.

An adorable animal stuffie? Any little one would be thrilled to have one of their own to cuddle.

Try Pincushion Party from Jen Kingwell Collective. The four sizes and 15 appliqué designs are ideal for experimenting with color, or getting a quick sewing fix. Plus they are darn cute!

Whatever you choose to do, don't forget to share it with us. Use #stitchinpost on Instagram or tag stitchinpostor on Facebook. 

Dreaming in Color - Opposites Attract with Jean Wells

 

Putting on my explorer hat in this new calendar year I wanted to challenge myself to work in a color palette that was completely new to me. I chose blue and orange, which are opposite each other on a standard color wheel. I always begin by pulling as many fabrics as I can that “might work” in the composition. Log cabin style blocks are my very favorite and allow the use of a variety of fabrics with a mix of solids and prints.

My first block ended up more blue than orange, and you can certainly see the variety in the different oranges. As I worked it became evident that one of the colors needed to be dominant, there was a bit of a struggle for a time. Because of the strong contrast, each wants to dominate or be most important.

Once I had a few blocks made I wanted to start designing the quilt. Using a piece of foam core board, with the background fabric I had chosen pinned to it, helped me to see how the blocks might play together. I struggled with rearranging for a while, and realized that most of the blues were flat or dull. I looked for a brighter blue that was more intense and it certainly added interest. At the same time, I came across a red orange that I didn't use and added small bits of it, like little brush strokes. I think I am ready to sew it together.

This was a good exercise for me. Below you can see a small piece I made featuring yellow and purple, opposites once again. This was another experiment and I found out how very strong the yellows were that I choose to work with. This is a totem style composition and works well for putting smaller, experimental blocks together.

“Hidden Stone” began as a red quilt. I pushed the color red, to red violet and to red orange. An ancient rock wall was my inspiration for the shapes and once the quilt was finished it looked better on its side. While working on it, it was feeling a bit boring, so I snuck in some acid green and for me it felt more complete.

In "Landscape" you see a mostly green quilt with just a touch of red.

An idea for you is to audition a color palette by making a small log cabin block, or two, experimenting with the fabrics to see how they play together.

To construct the pincushion, I free-cut the strips to fit as I add them around the center unit. I do not use a ruler, but trim and angle shapes as I work. I do plan the end size for the block, and keep adding strips in a variety of widths until I reach that number. I find that I feel more and more creative as I go and start seeing some results.

I like to fill the pin cushions with crushed walnuts. They keep the pins sharp. 

-Jean

Alchemy of Fabric March 2019 - Starburst

March's Alchemy of Fabric collection combines bold colors and geometric patterns. The addition of orange and black freshen up the classic red, yellow, and navy color scheme and give the collection a modern feel. The ten companion fabrics draw from the same colors while introducing more pattern and scale to the mix.

The lovely and skilled Fern will be making all our Alchemy of Fabric projects from now on. This month, she chose to use her fat quarters to make two pillows, focusing on the yellow, white and navy fabrics. 

The first pillow is pillow #6 from Val's pattern Jewels for the Home . The finished pillow is 18" x 18" and features an adorable bird applique. Fern used the Navy Metsa Saihke for the front, Sunshine Herringbone for the bird and half the back, and the white woven for the remainder of the back. The hand-stitched feet on the bird add a lot of character to the pillow.

The second pillow was pieced to use the remaining navy, sunshine, and white fabrics with a black Metsa Saihke back. Fern did a fantastic job fussy cutting the navy to feature the diamond design. She also added interest to this pillow by altering the direction of the herringbone print. 

The pillows look so fresh and springlike, it's hard to imagine that we are still struggling through multiple feet of snow!

Starburst - March 2019 Alchemy of Fabric Collection

In order from top left : Metsa Saihke Black, Flower Market Trellis Orange, Mixology Coordinates Herringbone Grey, Metsa Saihke Navy, Metsa Saihke Red, Mixology Coordinates Woven White, Mixology Coordinates Herringbone Sunshine, Starburst Collection

Starburst - Companion Fabrics

In order from top left : Musings Charcoal, Kona Cotton Tomato, Manchester Royal, Quantum Color C, Heath Red-Yellow, Kona Cotton Duckling, Panache White, Essex Yarn Dyed Navy, Eliana Yellow, Musings Charcoal

 

Project Pattern

Please post your project to Facebook or Instagram with the tag #alchemyoffabric or #stitchinpost, we'd love to see them.

Cheers,

Samantha

Wonky Four Patch - Part 2

In Wonky Four Patch - Part 1 we talked about color mixing and grouping your fabrics. This post will cover block construction, part three will cover completing the quilt top and we will end the series with my attempts to long arm quilt for the first time. 

Let's dive right in...

First, take a look at the completed quilt top. If you look closely you'll see that the top is composed of 35 four patch blocks in a 5 x 7 arrangement. Each block consists of four sections, each from a different fabric, and looks something like the one below.

If you followed along with the first post your 10" squares will already be in nine groups of four. If not, pause here and organize your fabric. Follow all the next steps for each group.

1) Stack one group (all four fabrics), lining up edges as closely as possible.

2) Cut stacked squares once vertically and once horizontally (as shown below). Cuts can be straight or angled in either direction. All cuts should be a minimum of two inches from any corner (to prevent bulk and keep pieces close in size). Vary the position of cuts for each set of four fabrics. 

3) Arrange your fabric so each layer of your stack has one section of each fabric (as shown below). Karla Alexander calls this technique "stack & shuffle". 

Transport your stack to your sewing area. It's finally time to sew!

I like to cut, and then immediately sew, each set of four blocks to limit my chances of confusion. I found chain piecing helped me keep all my sections in order and eliminated a lot of time starting and stopping. 

If you are wondering about the blue tape on my sewing table... I use a ruler, with the needle lightly touching the 1/4 inch mark, to position the tape. Having a long line to position my fabric edge against helps me keep my seams consistent, accurate, and straight. 

Using a quarter inch seam, piece the top two sections of the top block together, then the bottom two sections. Continue sewing the remaining blocks in the same manner. 

You will end up with a string of eight sections (see above). Notice the colored pins in the photo, I add matching pins to both sections of a block as I sew. The pins ensure that I can pair my sections easily after I've clipped my chain apart. 

Press your sections in their block pairs, pressing seams in opposite directions. Most of your sections will not have a clean straight center edge to sew (see below). 

No worries, just trim the center edges of all sections straight. In other words, trim the edge where you will sew the two parts of your block together (see below).

Next, place top and bottom block sections, right sides together, with seams aligned. Your center edge will not line up yet. Measure a quarter inch from the edge to be sewn (center edge) and place a pin straight through both seams (see below).

Gently rotate the top section until center edge is lined up, being careful not to shift seam placement. I like to work on my ironing board so I can push the pin through the fabric and into the board to ensure my seams stay exactly where I want them while I line up the center edges. 

Sew the block sections together. Press (seams can go in either direction). Trim your finished block to 9" square. Repeat until all blocks are completed. 

If you'd like to quilt-a-long with me, or try this project on your own, we have a number of fun 10" square bundles in stock. 

 

From top left - Pirate's Life, Grunge Basics, Woodland Secrets, Marmalade Dreams, Betty's Luncheonette, and Kaffe Fassett Collective Fall 2018 in Night. 

As always, please send me your photos or post them on social media with #stitchinpost if you try this project. 

Cheers,

Samantha