Category: color

September Quilted Block of the Month

It’s Still Saturday! Ha! At least for a little while yet.

So I’ve been thinking about this kaleidoscope quilt, how to quilt it and what colors to use. Before I got there bear with me for a moment.

Shadowing = learning for me. There are things to do. so watch this space for things I’m doing to learn what I gotta learn to do the work of teaching. Yesterday as I sat in the back of the room the gal I was shadowing said something and my brain kicked into high gear. Finger in the air tracing out some thing that made sense. I still think I can do what I want to in the software. There will be some trying going on.

Superior Threads Tiara Silk threa setSo then for the quilt my brain has been thinking split the complement! split the complement. Woot! Woot! I love splitting complementary colors. So splitting the complement it is. I’m going to focus on the orange as it is the background and primary color of the quilt.

Blue complements orange beautifully.
Purple complements yellow.
Green complements red.

I could go on adding colors and sharing the complement of said color, and while this would be an exercise adding color names, shades, tones and lots of words, the point is that each color has a color that is it’s bff, that adds spark, and sizzle and wow. And then there’s the next door neighbors who are kind of, well…I’ll go there another day.

Tomorrow is the travel day so while waiting for planes there will be some messing about in the software.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

Enjoying and Thankful

img_20161113_181828Starting with gratitude this morning. I’m grateful for batiks. (If you follow me on Instagram this, and all the photos in this post, may look familiar.) These one and a half inch strips are being stitched to orange and purple solid to create 9 patches, that may be set on point, though I’m not quite set on that yet.

With the exception of making the quilt for the Yvonne Porcella exhibit, this is the first quilt I’ve made in a really long time. Not quilting has been very hard on this quilter. Not having time and energy to be creative, to do the thing I love the most while promoting quilting and encouraging others…well that part has helped. I love quilting. I love writing about quilting, I love encouraging others to quilt, so my creative energy has had something of an outlet, not quite the one that feeds the quilterly energy and focus.

img_20161114_132939 Each stitch is made with intention. The feel of the fabric in my hands, the sound of the machine running, the stacking of the strips behind the needle. This is an experience that is renewing, refreshing, invigorating. Because of the lack of time to stitch over the last year or so I’ve experienced these moments of complete loss. Wanting very much to go spend some time in my studio but not having any energy to quilt, not knowing what to stitch, not having any clue how to move forward. Part of these moments of complete loss have included the whispers that perhaps I should sell off all of my quilting supplies and leave quilting as “this was once part of my life and is now not part of my life.” Yep. I’ve been there.

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My sweetie has firmly said, “No, you’re not giving up quilting.” The conversation is always way more intense, involving tears, and angst, and anxiety. I’m grateful for his patience as I’ve moved through all of this stuff. Much more than a lack of time contributed to this awfulness. It involved people whom I once respected, people whom I loved, and people whom I love deeply. Several things have sustained me – teaching people how to use their machines, helping quilters choose their own fabrics, new friendships, the moon, and the light at the end of the tunnel. Even now that light is at the end of the tunnel, while I’m not sure how close I am to exiting, I know deep down in my bones that the light is there, that I’m moving towards it and this movement is good.

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I’m reminded as I stitch that a little care goes a long way. Slowing down, being mindful, caring about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. When I race the machine (for me about 3/4 full speed) the strips aren’t as accurately pieced as I prefer. Right now I’m moving forward because of the great joy I’m experiencing while stitching. Sometimes the simpler things bring us back to, closer to a sense wholeness.

As I look at how this quilt is coming together, as I write these words, and get ready to write and post things for Generation Q Magazine I am reminded that the gift of quilting in my life extends far beyond my sewing studio. You are part of my quilting life. If I’m having a difficult time I’m sure some of you are as well. If I’m doing well, then some of you are as well. I’m reminded of how we, as a community sustain each other.

So, I’m off to write and stitch and be the quilter I’m intended to be!

Happy Quilting!

Teri

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Lighting a Candle

 

@genqmag #genqmag

A post shared by Teri Lucas (@terilucas) on

In the current issue of Generation Q Magazine there’s an article on the care and feeding of your sewing machine. I have to admit to getting a little excited sharing this information with people. A little care for our machines goes a really long way. So this evening when my machine started misbehaving I decided maybe, just maybe it needed a little bit of attention.

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Look away. Look away. Nothing to see here. Except lint. a lot of lint. Surprised? Eh, don’t be. A bit of brushing, a bit of oiling, and she sounds beautiful once again. Like her old self. And we went back to happily stitching.

I’ve been working on a tribute quilt for Yvonne Porcella. Its hard doing something that you know that, due to current time constraints, you won’t be able to finish in time to meet the deadline. However I’ve had to keep moving forward. I will finish in the next week or so.  I’m stitching on snow-dyed Radiance, wool batting, and slubby denim. I’m using silk, linen, and poly thread in a variety of weight and color. IMG_20160807_213205_resized

Stitching swirling feathers is fun, and familiar. One the threads is a heavy “quilter’s silk” that has a lot of presence. And that’s giving the opportunity to pop the stitching with a much finer thread, in a different color of course.

When I finish the quilt I’ll share why I’m making it, and why it’s taken on new significance.

So for now. . .

Happy Quilting,

Teri

 

 

Value-able

daiwabo fabricsThe other night my friend and I had a discussion about value. Color value. She is an artist who takes actual classes, paints, quilts, plays viola, you get the drift. Part of the conversation drifted to the new job and one component that I am struggling with, less and less, but still struggling. There is a learning curve with every new thing we take on, this is mine at this moment.
While I don’t have formal training as an artist I get color intuitively, I know the basics: the color wheel, how to use it, how to show others how to use it; I know what works for me and how to help new quilters select fabric and thread for quilts. This is what’s irritating about this particular struggle, I feel like I *should* get this, easily. Surprise! I don’t.
After a bit of conversation over dinner what I’m having a difficult time with is separating out the value. So we have a solution that I’m going to try out soon. The fascinating thing though is that while I’m struggling with this it’s what I’m working on right now for the book. And the funny things is that I get it! So you can see why this makes no sense. Ha!
Aside: we had dinner at The Bayou in Mt. Vernon, such good Cajun food!

I’m off to work for the day at the day job. Have a quilterly day!

Get Inked!

Lynn Krawczyk inkedSeriously.
Get Inked.

Get it?

Get

Inked

Lynn Krawczyk’s new fabric line with Red Rooster. Hopefully soon to be at quilt shops across the nation, no the world. I’m hoping for world fabric domination. Okay not really but I love this line of fabric.

I finally met Lynn at Quilt Market in the fall. She’s adorable, has a smile to beat the band and intense kind eyes and is fun-sized. Some of my very favorite fb posts have to do with Art Brain and paint flinging. Oh and I can’t forget the coffee posts. You know how much I love coffee. My love for coffee pales in comparison. Seriously. And if you hadn’t guessed I’m smitten with Inked. it’s not just that it’s Lynn’s fabric line and that it’s different. The colors speak to my quilterly sensibilities. So when Lynn asked if I’d participate in a blog hop I said yes. A few days later these materialized on my door step.  Okay, they really showed up in the mail. It took me a few days to figure out what I wanted to make for the block. It had to be fun and different.

inked brown

inked lime brown

 

inked oranges

inked writing teal

Inked washers

 

 

 

 

 

my block for Lynn K inked

So here’s the block I made for her quilt. And if I do this right here are the directions for the block: Inked block directions pdf

Over on Lynn’s blog she’s having daily interviews of each of the blog hipsters:

March 2 – Susan Brubaker Knapp

March 3 – me

March 4 – Jessica Darling

March 5  – Debbie Grifka

March 6 –Lynn Carson Harris

March 7 – Jen Osborn

March 8 – Lynn for Susan Atwell

March 9 – Flaun Cline

March 10 – Lynn Krawczyk

March 11 – Cheryl Sleboda

March 12 – Maddie Kertay

March 13 – Lynn Krawczyk

March 14 – Winner!!!

And yes! there is an opportunity to win a bundle of fat quarters at each stop…including this one. Just answer me one question quilterly peeps: what would you make with Inked? A skirt? Shirt? Nifty tote bag? A quilt? On March 14 I’ll have a hot date with the random number generator and select a winner.
So stop by each one of the bloggers, get the directions for their blocks and enter for an opportunity to win their fq bundle. Word has it that Lynn has some extra fun on her blog. Oh and if you head over there you can see the quilt.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

 

And the Random Number Generator selected #6 Charlotte! Congratulations!
Thank you all for commenting. I love reading your comments. Remember Inked will be in quilt shops soon!

My stash

Melissa Thompson Maher, Editor-in-Chief of Generation Q Magazine asked me: “How will your new stash differ from the one you gave user in kits? What draws you now?”
So what went into user kits? Part of this was answered yesterday. A lot of “traditional” type prints these were purchased when I made tote bags; border type prints these for practice and for totes and prints with high contrast, striking shapes – again for practice. Quite a few batiks went into the kits – be shocked, be very shocked. The batiks had either texture that no longer spoke to me or were tone on tone in a high contrasting way that I’m not certain I liked originally but perhaps bought it for a backing??? I don’t remember.
Just note something very important here I have no regrets about the fabric I purchased. At the time it spoke to my heart or made sense for what I was doing. Over time, and this will probably happen again, my tastes change. It happens to all of us. And I like it a lot!
radiance options fixWhat will my stash look like going forward? Well there will be more Radiance. I love this fabric, the texture, the shine the way it shows off stitching.hand dyed fabric 002

Hand dyes are some of my favorites lately. These are just lovely and are rather individual and unique. They dyers out there are just amazing in their uniqueness. cherrywood 12 step color run fun

The depth of color in the Cherrywood just makes me giddy. And I’ve begun building a stash of Clothworks American Made Brand Solids. I like the hand and feel of this fabric.

If you’re sensing a theme here, you’d be right…solids or solid type fabrics that will show off the stitching, ’cause I’m all about the stitching. Where else will I be investing my quilting dollar? In thread. I’ve been building my thread stash over time and am actively working on expanding that. I love thread. I love adding texture and color to create something different and unique.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

Black and White challenge

???????????????????????????????Good morning!
Happy Thanksgiving!
There is a lovely black and white challenge all over facebook. I like photos for a lot of reasons. My dad was an Air Force photographer, his love of photography carried through the rest of his life.
I’ve picked up a touch of his love for photography. One of my sisters has his touch with photos, particularly with food shots. I love that I can take images with my phone or point and shoot, lovin’ those 12 megapixels!

black and white challenge quantum styleOne reason I love taking photos is that it informs my quilting. I love taking photos of wrought iron…that becomes clearly evident in quilting motifs. Swirl! Swirl!
The other reason is I can get a sense of the balance of color by changing the setting to black & white. It’s so fascinating to see what happens. This lets me know, too, if I need to change anything, use a different color of thread. ???????????????????????????????I love it, there is so much great information in the photos.
Say I wanted to take a photo like this and make it into a quilt. The lights, mediums and dark color is clearly evident.???????????????????????????????

I can also get a really good sense of focal points and potential problems with a quilt might be so that I can correcting. It’s really fun to see where the balance is and think through how to correct it.

Another thing this lets me do is see how, get a sense of how thread will play. So say on the “tangle” I can change the weight of the thread to make the swirly bits be more present and knock back the darker areas with a finer thread or let me know what weight of thread to choose to give that area as much importance as it needs.

Tomorrow will be a fab day. A bit of quilting, a bit of cooking and a bit of reading & writing.

And a wee bit of thankfulness right now: Thank YOU for reading my blog. I’m grateful that you stop by.

Happy Quilting!

Teri