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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. 

There is still time..."Of The Earth" Workshop with Jean Wells in Tucson, Arizona

Of The Earth

I am very excited to be invited to teach for MISA in their Tucson program. I picked my "Of the Earth" workshop as I felt it would fit in with that part of the country. Come see me February 1 - 5, 2016 held at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. 

Registation for the workshop is through MISA at www.madelineartschool.com

Land --- stone --- wood --- water ---plants ---inspiration is anywhere you choose to look. Peaks, valleys, ancient earth, rich colors in a sunset, the possibilities are endless in this exploration of design possibilities. Nature's lines shapes, and colors are unique unto themselves. Let the magic "Of The Earth" be your beginning as you explore design possibilities in an abstract like process of simplifying what you see. Find your own voice through a series of mini assignments and move on to interpret what you feel about the earth. My books Intuitive Color and Design and Journey to Inspired Art Quilting are good references.

Jean Wells Keenan

[email protected]
www.jeanwellsquilts.com

Supply List:

The workshop will begin with some small assignments that will explore techniques that might be used in the following days. Bring pictures that inspire you in terms of line, shape, and color. You will work on a sketch combining ideas from your pictures and proceed to create a quilt. Print out pictures, do not try to work off the IPad.

To help you with you fabric choices try working from a photograph or picture from a magazine with a color palette that interests you. (It is almost easier to work with a palette different than the earth itself or to push an "earthly" palette to make it more interesting.) Objectively look at the color families and values within the photo. Look at the proportions of the colors in relationship to the total. Feel free to bring other pictures to analyze. This will help you in your selection of fabric. It is always good to throw in those zingers that you are not sure about. For a wall hanging 1/4 to 1/2 yd cuts will probably be enough. You will want a total of 4 to 6 yds. Solids, solid like textures, hand dyes all work well. Bring a much as you can. Bring neutral thread for piecing. Bring four or five spools of thread that could be used for top-stitching detail lines on the fabric during piecing.

Sewing machine in good working order, (embroidery foot or free motion quilting foot if you think you will get to the quilting), medium or large size cutting mat, medium size rotary cutter with new blade (no large cutters), 6" x 12" ruler or longer, scissors, box of pins, chalk marking pencils, 1 1/2 yd or more of flannel or quilt batting for a design wall, unlined journal style notebook at least 8” x 10” for notes and pictures, glue stick, mechanical pencil, fine tip sharpie pen, tracing paper. Consider bringing backing, batting, and basting pins if you think you will get to the quilting. Optional: digital camera and colored pencils. Contact me with questions: [email protected]

 

Rates for accommodations at the Ranch can be found here:
https://secure.madelineartschool.com/MISA_West_Accommodations_Rates.cfm

 

"Of The Earth" Workshop with Jean Wells in Tucson, Arizona

Of The Earth

I am very excited to be invited to teach for MISA in their Tucson program. I picked my "Of the Earth" workshop as I felt it would fit in with that part of the country. Come see me February 1 - 5, 2016 held at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. 

Registation for the workshop is through MISA at www.madelineartschool.com

 

Land --- stone --- wood --- water ---plants ---inspiration is anywhere you choose to look. Peaks, valleys, ancient earth, rich colors in a sunset, the possibilities are endless in this exploration of design possibilities. Nature's lines shapes, and colors are unique unto themselves. Let the magic "Of The Earth" be your beginning as you explore design possibilities in an abstract like process of simplifying what you see. Find your own voice through a series of mini assignments and move on to interpret what you feel about the earth. My books Intuitive Color and Design and Journey to Inspired Art Quilting are good references.

 

Jean Wells Keenan

[email protected], www.jeanwellsquilts.com

Supply List:

The workshop will begin with some small assignments that will explore techniques that might be used in the following days. Bring pictures that inspire you in terms of line, shape, and color. You will work on a sketch combining ideas from your pictures and proceed to create a quilt. Print out pictures, do not try to work off the IPad.

To help you with you fabric choices try working from a photograph or picture from a magazine with a color palette that interests you. (It is almost easier to work with a palette different than the earth itself or to push an "earthly" palette to make it more interesting.) Objectively look at the color families and values within the photo. Look at the proportions of the colors in relationship to the total. Feel free to bring other pictures to analyze. This will help you in your selection of fabric. It is always good to throw in those zingers that you are not sure about. For a wall hanging 1/4 to 1/2 yd cuts will probably be enough. You will want a total of 4 to 6 yds. Solids, solid like textures, hand dyes all work well. Bring a much as you can. Bring neutral thread for piecing. Bring four or five spools of thread that could be used for top-stitching detail lines on the fabric during piecing.

Sewing machine in good working order, (embroidery foot or free motion quilting foot if you think you will get to the quilting), medium or large size cutting mat, medium size rotary cutter with new blade (no large cutters), 6" x 12" ruler or longer, scissors, box of pins, chalk marking pencils, 1 1/2 yd or more of flannel or quilt batting for a design wall, unlined journal style notebook at least 8” x 10” for notes and pictures, glue stick, mechanical pencil, fine tip sharpie pen, tracing paper. Consider bringing backing, batting, and basting pins if you think you will get to the quilting. Optional: digital camera and colored pencils. Contact me with questions. [email protected]

 

Rates for accommodations at the Ranch can be found here : https://secure.madelineartschool.com/MISA_West_Accommodations_Rates.cfm

 

Indigo Crossing

If you have not noticed, “blue” (especially the indigo blues) are making a comeback, as colors do. I am seeing them in interiors, fashion and in quilting and crafts. I was fortunate to make a trip to Japan in the fall of 2013, as featured artist at the Yokohama Quilt Festival. Being in Japan for ten days was amazing and I fell in love with indigo. Near the end of the trip, I went to the “Blue and White” store in Tokyo and spent a lot of money.

 Wanting to capture the essence of Japan from my trip, I isolated these tiny treasures I collected and indigo became the foundation color for the piece. The acid type of green was a wonderful companion, as was orange in this piece.

--Jean

 

Valori Wells was captured by the indigo bug, and paired it with some greys and white in this intuitive pieced quilt that she created for Aurafil Threads. It is a free download pattern on the Stitchin' Post website under Free Patterns.

The idea of a traditional log cabin beginning in the center and working out is how Val proceeded. Pay attention to how she distributed the value changes to make the piece interesting.

But, what really topped it off is the Kantha style stitching that she did with Aurafil embroidery thread.

If you would like to purchase fabric to get started on your own Indigo project, check out the Stitchin' Post website for more at www.StitchinPost.com 

 Moda Nocturne Fabric (Indigo Blues, Cream & Gray)

 

 

"Sisters" at St. Matthew's Church Quilt Show

Back at St. Matthew's Church in South Africa, our little town of Sisters has caught the attention of some special people. The "Sisters" of St. Matthew's Church, Hayfields are following in the footsteps of our town of Sisters, Oregon, with their own outdoor exhibition of quilts and quilt making. This marking their 6th annual Show. 

St Matthew’s Church, Hayfields is situated in a beautiful conservancy and the magnificent Paper Bark Acacia’s  provided the backdrop for the display of wonderful quilts by the Sisters of St Matthews.

Quilters were educating visitors on the art of quilt making and there was also a sales table of quilts for sale. And from the looks of it, the quilts looked beautiful! 

Aside from the quilts, the show also had a display of floral arrangements by various floral artists at the church.  

It is so wonderful to see all the different ways the quilting world can come to connect in small wondrous ways like these.

We love seeing and hearing about events like these, so if you have any fun stories to share or would like us to know about please comment or contact us. We quilters gotta stick together! 

Until next time!

 

The Row by Row Experience Begins July 1!

We have joined the 2014 "Row by Row Experience!"

This should be a really fun event, and a great excuse for all of us to visit different quilt shops over the summer. There are 1250 shops participating throughout the US and Canada. You can go to the Row By Row Experience Homepage to see a list of all of the states & chops that are participating.

There is no charge to participate, but you must physically go into each shop to collect their unique row pattern. The patterns are free, and some shops also have kits available for purchase to make their row. Once you've done some visiting, create a quilt using at least 8 different rows and be the first to bring it into a participating shop to win a stack of 25 fat quarters (6-1/4 yards of fabric!). Use that shop’s row in your quilt and win a bonus prize! Combine your rows in any way you wish to create a unique quilt that represents the fun you had traveling throughout the summer.

Exclusive Fabric Plates by Zebra Patterns will be available in shops around the country. Collect a bunch to create fun projects, sewing studio wall art or even a fun backing for your quilt.

Here's what our fabric plate looks like:

Each area also has their own Facebook page.
The Oregon FB page can be found here.

We look forward to seeing everyone's rows as they complete them--please post your row (or finished quilt) on our wall, and on the Oregon FB wall as well.

Here's what our row looks like:

(kits will be available for purchase, while they last)

Just a reminder--
The rules do not allow us to mail out our row pattern, or to send it to you by email--
You have to come in to the shop in person to collect it.

Have a great summer, everyone--and happy hopping!

The Stitchin' Post Staff

 

Kathy Deggendorfer mugs and totes have arrived!

Kathy Deggendorfer's collection of My Sunshine Mugs have arrived~ these make the perfect gift from Sisters, Oregon, or souvenir from the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.  Mugs this cute won't last long, so get yours today!

We also received tote bags with Kathy's design of the Three Sisters Mountains!  These durable totes have webbing handles and a zipper, perfect for transporting projects to and from classes~ be the envy of all your quilty friends!

 

 

 

Have the kids send a letter to...

Idea #3 (for keeping the kids busy!)~

Have the kids keep in touch with far-away loved ones, cousins, or pen pals by sending a good ol' fashioned letter through the mail!  Now, writing a letter can be as much fun as receiving one with these cute notecard sets: