Quilt Fabrics
In the midst of our Tuesday snowfall, I got in my car and headed over to Quiltology for my second quilting class. This class was about preparing the fabric and using our rotary cutting tools. Because of the snow, there were only three of us there with Colette, and it turned out to be a great opportunity to learn how best to use a rotary cutter and just to talk about the state of modern quilting and sewing in general. Really, if you're into quilting or fabric and live in Chicago you should definitely support Colette. She has a lot of good ideas and a great urban sensibility.
The quilt I am working on is called the "Serenity Quilt" and it's a crib or lap-blanket sized quilt. I could have selected my own fabrics, but I loved the blue and green batiks that Colette had already kitted up. Besides, for this project I really wanted to focus on the mechanics of using the sewing machine and understanding how to assemble a quilt. I'll leave the color theory to another project, especially since these colors suit me perfectly.
In spite of the flash photography, the colors of these fabrics are captured quite well. For the blocks in the Serenity quilt, you basically have to cut out two different sized rectangular shapes -- simple, but it definitely took more time than I expected it to. Even so, I have a better appreciation for rotary cutting tools and the 12" x 12" gridded lucite square that I bought to help me with the cutting process.
Serenity's quilt blocks are very simple -- 4 of the larger rectangles and 8 of the smaller ones. Even though I didn't pick out the fabrics, I'll still get to play with figuring out how I want to put them together. I'm thinking that I'll get out my blocking board and some pins and try out some prototypes over the weekend to see what combinations I like best. The block above was one I put together on the spur of the moment to demonstrate what the blocks looked like.
I'm really looking forward to the next class where I get to be back in front of a sewing machine and we get to hear more about the strategies of putting a quilt top together!
I love those fabrics. Green and blue are my favourite colours!
Thank you for posting about your adventures in sewing. It is something I want to do too but just haven't found the time yet. Those fabrics look great and I think the block you put together for the photo looks really good. Can't wait to see the next step.
The fabric selection is wonderful. I can't wait to see how you put the colors together in the blocks.
Thanks so much for posting about this shop! I can't wait to check it out! Right in my neighborhood, too!
I noticed that the colors of the quilt squares seem to match the colors of the knitted squares for the baby blanket. Is that an artifact of the photography or are the colors very close?
In a burst of optimism last fall I actually researched quilting classes and then school kicked in and that was the end of that! What fun! As soon as I get the chance...
Oh, Girlfriend! Just wait until you get into free motion quilting! I'm a knitter, spinner, and beginning quilter, too. I stick with extremely easy sewing projects, and they provide another way to work with shapes, color, and texture. Have you seen the Buggy Barn patterns? Some of them are pretty easy because you don't have to worry about being precise and matching corners, etc.
Thanks for sharing your adventures in learning to quilt with us. I so enjoyed reading your archives that documented your process of learning spinning, too. You do a great job of highlighting the exciting aspects of the learning process for your readers. :)
Those really are great colors, it should be a pretty quilt. Quilting must be in the air or something lately because I'm working on one too :)
Beautiful colors. They fit perfectly with project Spectrum 2.
Hi Theresa, I was out of town and am late, but wanted to express my condolences to you and John about the passing of his father. Your requiem was beautiful. Take care.
Hi all!
finder free friend lost
G'night
I love how all those blues and greens move together - you have a great eye for that.