Expanding One's Creative Horizons
April 24, 2012 Remember this quilt I designed for Lecien's booth at Quilt Market last October?
Well, I've been asked to design & make another one (... or two) for Quilt Market in Kansas City next month.
(EEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!)
I know. I can't believe it either! I'm still pinching myself.
This set of FQs from their "Quilter's First Collection" arrived in the mail last week.
I opened the package like a kid on Christmas morning.
Check this out ... there's a pleasing combination of teeny dots,
large florals,
medium florals,
checks in my preferred size ... bitty ... ;)
light florals (LOVE those tiny little dots in the background!),
pokey-dotty stripes that remind me of grosgrain ribbon,
small florals on a very subtle diagonal pinstripe that will give texture and movement to any quilt,
and the cutest ever teensy weensy calicos that say "sweet" but not "sacharin" ... (squeal!)
Colorwise, this collection has a versatile & complimentary mix of reds,
blues,
yellows,
browns,
greens,
and even pinks
& a few (dotted) whites.
The funny thing - at least to me - is that they don't necessarily read as a "fabric line". The colors and prints have been selected so cleverly that they look more like a fabulous collection of vintage scraps, like someone raided Grandma's basket of precious leftover bits from shirts and dresses and such.
But then I sorta scratched my head. Hmmm. Wasn't sure what to do! You have to agree that these colors don't exactly look like my stash, right?
If left to my own devices, I'd probably only ever make pink and white quilts. And then I'd get so bored I'd want to shoot myself. Plus I'm often (too) quick to turn up my nose at things that don't fit my narrow-minded taste. When I walk thru a quilt store I take milliseconds to decide if I like something and even less time to decide if I DON'T. Not necessarily a quality that leads to creative satisfaction.
However, if there's one thing I learned sewing samples for a quilt shop for six years is that working with fabrics that fall outside my ... er ... prejudicial preferences ... makes me a better designer, a more satisfied quilter and a girl with broadened horizons. All good things.
So.
My point (and yes, I have one) is that my foolish narrow-mindedness would have prevented me from buying this beautiful fabric that is absolutely FULL of character, texture, subtlety, tradition and dynamic color tension.
That said, when I first laid my hands on them I was totally stumped in terms of what to make. But the creative process always takes me by surprise. I never know what will inspire me or how I will overcome self-imposed mental blocks.
One of my favorite tricks - and you've seen me do this so often with my Farmer's Wife blocks and even with my Embroidery Sampler - is to find an emotional or sentimental connection with the fabric/design. With this fabric I saw "Little House on the Prairie", the dresses worn by Laura & Mary which were made by Mrs Ingalls with calicos bought from that mean old Mrs Oleson.
Another trick of late is to take a stack of fabric to the tv room, spread them all out on the ottoman which sits between the couch and the tv, and then just quietly wait for the fabric to start talking to me ... no pressure ... I'm not staring at them constantly ... I'm just letting them be and waiting for my subconcious to connect with them. Watching my new favorite show "AWAKE" with my husband also seems to help. (LOVE this show! Can't get over that he's Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter!)
This trick worked like a charm because by the 3rd commercial break I found myself wanting to pair up the FQ into dark & light color sets, like this.
Seems my OCD personality craves order.
Sorting these prints into pairs was so much fun for me ...
... it's how I get my jollies.
Admit it ... you've got fabric idiosyncracies too!
Sixteen pairs in total - a very nice number of blocks to work with.
Then I totally got butterflies in my tummy knowing a quilt design was being born.
These few leftovers didn't seem to want to cooperate with the picture growing in my mind ...
so I just set them aside ... for now.
The reveal tomorrow or Thursday ... depending on how fast I can get it done!
Reader Comments (32)
Anxiously waiting for the reveal. I'm positive that it will be wonderful.
Congratulations on getting to design another quilt. I know it will be wonderful! My dream is to sew samples some day too....maybe it will happen :-) Mostly though, I'm just reeling that the guy on Awake is that wicked Lucius from Harry Potter. Had not a clue! How did I miss that? Crazy.
I am sure it will be beautiful!!!
Yay for K!!! Can't wait to see what you dreamed up for this fabric line. It totally looks like a Grandma's scrap pile. So sweet! And I LOVE "Little House"! Caroline Ingalls is one of my heros! :)
SO LOVELY!
I'M SO JEALOUS !
HAVE A GREAT FUN TIME CHOOSING+STITCHING ♥
You are right, looks like you raided someone's collection and made off with the best!
These would be lots of fun to work with during the summer with a glass of iced herbal tea perhaps on a deck or deep porch!
These fabrics are so pretty! I cannot wait to see what you create with them!
It's a beautiful collection although not all fabrics are my style. Isn't it strange how sometimes some fabric speaks to us ... and others don't? My favorite is the white one with the tiny red dots. I would use this as background or border. Love to see what you're up to! Hildy
I really like the antique look of this collection, and you styled it with nice props, too. Can't wait to see what you do with it. I just got a charm pack of "modern" fabric that I just cannot convince myself to like, so I totally know where you're coming from!
Congratulations! What a wonderful opportunity. Can't wait to see what you design - with beautiful fabrics and your creativity, I know that it will be great. Have fun!
Ahhh, such beauty! Can't wait to see. ;p
Oh, what beautiful fabrics. And fabric pairs. Can't wait to see your design!
Wow, I love this. I bet it is going to be beautiful!
Oh, oh, oh, cannot wait! Your comment about Little House on the Prairie has me thinking about a doll dress quilt. Like you, I would have to let the fabric speak to me and these fabrics can have lots of different conversations. Sew on, my dear!
Oh, those tiny dots make my heart beat faster!! I can't wait to see what you make!!
Wow oh wow I had butterflies in my tummy seeing all those beautiful fabrics, they are soooo my taste, I'm head over heels.
You lucky lady, can't wait to see what you do with them.
Lol Karen x
oh K, you're going to have so much fun!! Can't wait to see what you come up with!
Those are some beautiful fabrics! Can't wait to see what you come up with!
Well done on being asked again to make another quilt or maybe even two!!!
I can imagine the fun opening up a package with all those jewels inside, such gorgeous fabrics. :)
Vivienne x
I am really surprised that nobody seems to know Jason Isaacs' work very well...he's actually had an extensive career. Has nobody seen "The Patriot" or "Sweet November" or "Armageddon?" He is also the voice of Siddeley and Leland Turbo in the "Cars" movies.
Absolutely lovely fabrics. Yes, they do not look like a complete line, but oh so yummy together. Can't wait to see what you make. I too wait for the fabric to tell me what to do. I like doing challenges or Bees so I am forced outside my usual comfort zone.
Congratulations! Can't wait to see what you come up with.
Can't wait to see what you come up with! I know it will be beautiful, whatever it is. I love the fabric line. It has tremendous possibilities!
omgosh, love this collection! Cannot wait to find it in my local shop....
but the show Awake....we love it too but never realized that it was Lucius Malfoy...shocked!
your site is a delight, what first caught my attention was the alphabet sampler - simply stunning.
This is too funny, this morning I was wondering about Quilt market and perhaps you doing another quilt! When another one posted the possibility of doll dresses,I squealed!! Little House is my absolute fav also! Actually, you could make many quiltsall with a different flavor. Just a beautiful collection. I know you are up to the challenge. Anxious to see what you do!!
LOVE this fabric!!! Oh. My. Goodness!! Cannot wait to get my hands on it! Also, cannot wait to see what you create with it. Anything with this line will look great.
Overwhelming to receive such a parcel of goodies. Overwhelming to have a quilt ready for next month, You did say that. I like the choices. I am looking forward to the creative progress. Enjoy the experience & be glad we have the machines compared with the Ingall's family. creativity go...
I am drooling over those fabrics! Can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve. I'm also excited to try your envisioning technique. I have beautiful fabrics that I bought just because they were beautiful and maybe I'll lay them in my lap while I'm reading a book and glance at them every once in a while. =)
We are holding our breath! So fun to be able to design something : )
Ya big tease!! I wanna see PICTURES!!! ;p
Reading your blog, I find myself saying...hmmm I really like those colors!! Which I have never found them appealing before. Thanks for opening my eyes to the other colors in the world!!
I could not do that. Just couldn't. You are talented.
I like the dots, except the pink, the yellows and the greens, but from the first set of pictures the very last green was my draw.
I couldn't use all those, they are SO not me.