Rev It Up

Have you ever finished a quilt top and, though proud, thought something is missing here?  You pieced it carefully; pressed every seam perfectly; and measured and cut to perfection!  Even your fabric choices were well thought out but you didn't get the 'va va voom' you were going for.  What happened you ask yourself?!  The answer might be the intensity of the fabrics you chose.

Intensity?  What's that?  Simple put it's the saturation of color of the fabric.  A high intensity fabric will be filled with bright colors, with an obvious depth of saturation--rich and deep.  A medium intensity is what most quilters select because it's what most fabric producers sell.  It's safe and doesn't need much risk to go with medium intensity choices.  Low intensity, usually tone on tones or muted colors against low saturation colors--such as a light grey design on a cream colored background--are also safe, easy to use fabric choices.

So how do you put the 'va va voom' into a quilt?  How about taking risks and using some high intensity choices in place of some of your medium intensity fabrics.  Add some low intensity fabrics as well for a high contrast of your design.  That "pop" of color here and there will bring a design to a higher wow factor and add interest to your work.  This very interest may grab attention to the beauty of your work and make someone want to gaze longer at your work of art.

This is not a safe way to quilt.  It takes bravery and a desire to move beyond where you have been before.  Many of the modern and contemporary designs use this very technique to distinguish the work from tradition quilts.  It is the depth and dimension that adds interest and makes the quilt more Warm colors will advance an image while cool colors tend to make them recede.  Deep, high intensity colors make images appear close while low intensity colors tend to make things look farther away.

Take a chance and advance your quilt making skills.  Try a little change in intensity to give your next quilt top a big "POW" that makes you smile when you look at it and makes others feel compelled to keep looking.  You might be surprised at what you discover in your own design aesthetic.

Happy quilting!

What is Modern Quilting?

As I move more into the modern age of quilting I've been searching for definitions for our newly formed group within the quilt guild I belong to. Below is probably one of the better explanations I found.

According to the Modern Quilt Guild, "Modern quilts are primarily functional and inspired by modern design. Modern quilters work in different styles and define modern quilting in many ways, but several characteristics often appear which help identify a modern quilt. These include: the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast and graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, expansive negative space, and alternate grid work. 'Modern traditionalism' or the updating of classic quilt designs is also often seen in modern quilting."1

Common quilt designs found in modern quilting blocks include star blocks, string blocks, log cabin variations, circles, triangles, rectangles, hexagons, paper pieced blocks, and improvisational blocks.2

1Sherri McConnell, Modern Quilting Blocks, http://www.craftsy.com/article/modern-quilting-blocks

2 Ibid

http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/?p=4023

Latest Trends in Quilting

I recently spent some time pouring through about a dozen magazines from around the world written all about my favorite subject...quilting.  Judging by what I am seeing then and over the last few months there are definite movements toward a much more clean and easy look to quilts of today.  In a nutshell the world is moving forward into a more modern look for quilts.

At Quilt Guild last night I was asked what is the difference between modern quilts and contemporary quilts.  This is a question that could be pondered and argued for a long time without a total meeting of the minds.  I've made up my own definition that I believe will make things a little more clear.

Contemporary quilts are typically those with components of traditional pattern designs but using more updated fabric patterns and colors.  This is much like what we see in fashion when trends from years gone by are revived but with a fresh look.

Modern quilts, on the other hand, are often linear designs (lots of lines) with a great deal of negative space.  The focus in the negative space is often the quilting.  Modern quilts use a lot of grey or white in their components.

For me personally, my preferred designs are either contemporary or modern but I find myself lately looking for traditional designs and then ways to update them.  In the end, it just matters that it's all about quilting.

Here is a recent quilt of mine called Picasso Lives.

The premise was to use scraps to make a block that could be incorporated into a design.  The overall look is very contemporary to me.

Happy discovery of your own quilt niche.

Quilter's Prayer Revisitied

Originally posted 8/20/2013

Quilter's Prayer

Lord forgive me when I sew
There is so much that I don't know
Gadgets, rulers, and special tools
Sometimes make us feel like fools
When I acheive that special look
Then I will write a nice big book
But for now I continue to grow
My ever changing talents as I sew.


Original poem by Jillian Grant

Fun Time in the City

Two days of sewing.  I learned, I laughed and I loved what I was working on.  It doesn't get much better than that.  Thanks to all my Quilt Guild Sisters in Sewing.

It's time to mark my calendar for new sewing days of fun.  It's great to be back in Springfield where I belong.

She's Back

I truly can't believe I stayed away so long.  Writing this blog is so much fun.  Unfortunately, I've let my other job get in the way of the things that have more meaning.

Since my last post several quilts have been completed.  One actually won an Honorable Mention at the Ozark's Piecemakers Quilt Show in October 2014.  My first show, my first ribbon.  I've already got plans for the 2016 quilt show and much more.

One exciting thing I've discovered is the value of belonging to a Quilt Guild.  In August of 2014 I joined the Ozark Piecemakers Quilt Guild in Springfield, MO...my home town.  I can't explain how much fun it has been.  The members are hands down some of the nicest people around.  Nothing de-stresses me more than to go to Open Sew days and visit with friends, work on projects and just laugh and sew.  It's a great way to relieve the stresses from daily life.

As I get back into the swing of writing my blog I will bring more ideas and thinks learned over the last year to quilters who follow me.  Thank you for being patient for my return.

I'm off to another Open Sew day at the guild...two in a row.  What a way to spend my days off.

Almost There!

Today I hung an extra long curtain rod so that I can hangup quilts I am working on.  This will help me get a better visual as they come together or when I need to photograph them.  Here's a sample of my creation.

Time Flies

Wow, I can't believe I've neglected my post for so long.  It's just that the craziness of tax season got the best of me.  Excuses aside I'm back to posting and taking this blog to a new level of excellence.

While I was gone here's one of my latest creations called Chuyito's Braided Dream.  The quilt has several interpretations.  When I look at it I see the mountains from the middle up, and valleys with meadows below.  The other interpretation is we all start centered and from there our vibes are sent out into the universe.  It could be a quilter's secret calendar...like the Mayans.

Now to be more literal, this is what Chuy wanted--blues and mint green.  I wish the quilting showed up because it was very heavily quilted and took three days on the machine to complete.  This is not my normal modern style but I am proud of what the pattern became as it was my own remodel of a traditional braid.  What it says to me is that "yes, I can do traditional quilts!"

Giveaway Tuesday--Enter to Win

APQS is giving away another longarm machine. 

Giveaway ends June 30, 2014. 

Click here to enter.

Giveaway Tuesday

FaveQuilts is giving away a copy of the new quilting book. 

Giveaway ends February 18, 2014. 

Click here to enter.

Chuyito's Braided Dream

This is the first of the strips for my newest quilt design which is a commission.  It is fondly named Chuyito's Braided Dream for the person I am creating this for.  I think I really, really like this quilt.

Giveaway Tuesday

Sew Cal Gal is giving away a copy of the above book. 

Giveaway ends February 14, 2014

Go here to enter

Essence of Joy

This is the finished quilt top I've been working on.  The quilt pattern is called Essences of Joy.  It is my own original design. When completed it will be quilted with metallic gold thread.  I can hardly wait to see it complete with binding and all.

New Possibilities for a New Quilt

This was a long day of sewing and napping--a great way to spend a day off. I have 10 of the 14 rows joined on my new quilt--Essences of Joy. I'm excited watching this creation come to life. Just a bit more and it will be ready to be pressed and quilted. As a trial run I tried metallic gold thread stitched on scraps of the fabric. It's beautiful. and the thought of bits of sparkle shimmering through my quilt really excites me. I still need to pick out my backing but that should be done in short order. Watch for the finished top to be posted soon and in a few weeks the finished quilt.

Giveaway Tuesday!

Pile O’ Fabric is giving away a $25.00 gift certificate. 

Click here to enter

Giveaway ends January 22, 2014

One Quilt Finished Another On It's Way

Don't Forget About The Baby

Here is my most recent quilt design.  It's nothing fancy but it is made from the quilt scraps from my quilt that was used for the Mercy Covers Raffle.  The quilt is called "Don't Forget About The Baby!"  










Mercy Cover Raffle Quilt.  The design is called "Lily"

Quilt in Process

Joy!

This is 4 rows of 14 to be completed.  All the blocks and strip sets are sewn.  All that is left is putting each row onto the quilt and doing the finishing.  The quilt measures approximately 72" x 84" and is all mine when it's done.  I'm thinking about quilting it with metallic gold thread.  We will see.

Lost in Action...Hopefully Not Forgotten!

Hello blog readers.  I haven't been ignoring everyone, it's just been a very busy start of the new year.  As some of you know, I am a trainer and I had a class start on January 6.  The training was six days a week for two weeks and started at 6:30 am.  It has been a long haul but not things should get back to normal again and there will be more time for sewing and blogging.

I have one quilt recently finished that will be posted soon.  There is another that I've been doing a bit at a time and I just completed all the blocks this morning.  I should have the top pieced together by day's end and will be ready to start showing off the progress.

Until next post...Happy Quilting.  Go create heirlooms and memories.

The Quilt Orchard Charities Work Update

This is the sewing machine was donated by Carolyn Smith of Ponca City, Oklahoma to Mercy Covers for their use. The new machine was put in my hands by Carolyn to ensure it reached Costa Rica so that Colleen Connell Mitchell would be able to present it to the group.

Mercy Covers was worked with local women in Costa Rica teaching them sewing skills and helping them make an income to assist their families by making products they sew then sell.


The fabric is also donated.  Lynnette Grant and myself (Jillian Grant) have donated about 100 pounds of fabric, thread and supplies from our stashes and ensured these are received in Costa Rica.  Colleen Connell Mitchell is a missionary who founded the Mercy Covers group and she has received the supplies and has organized the women in making quilts and products they can sell.  One project was to provide quilts to a safe house and orphanage.

Our recent efforts to help Mercy Covers included the Quilt Raffle where money was raised and given to Mercy Covers to help them fund another project.  The quilt was designed and pieced by myself then quilted by Phyllis Nickens and myself.  Our goal help raise money and awareness for Mercy Covers and to assist them in their upcoming projects which include sewing blankets for the homeless in Costa Rica.





The Quilt Orchard will be involved in other efforts to put fabric and thread into the hands of other organizations in the near future.  Our goal is to support non-profit agencies who work with women locally and abroad with learning the skill of sewing so that they can provide for themselves and others.  We will continue to move donated fabric and sewing machines to these groups.  Look for more to come.

Giveaway Tuesday

FaveCrafts is having a Clean Out the Closet giveaway and the lucky winner will win all that is posted above. Giveaway ends January 14, 2014. Go here to enter.

My Next Quilt Design and Pattern

This is my newest quilt design.  It will be made from Kaffe Fasset fabrics, at least for the flowers.  I don't know that it will be the very next quilt I make but you never know.