How’s this for a bright and bold baby quilt.  A baby art quilt as my good friend described it. This is just a detail…..a full photos below.

My very special niece Alli is having a baby boy very soon and this is for her…..and baby, of course.  There aren’t many people I’d go to the time of creating this improvisational style quilt….but she’s one of them. I hope they’ll all enjoy the little patches and pieces of color and print. Some of them I dug out of the bottom of my stash and others are new and trendy ones!

Here’s the whole quilt.  I made it in 14″ blocks, figuring it out as I went. I    especially like the curves …….I’ve been wanting to try this style  for a while      (hopefully you’ll see more of them to come…….why is it that there’s never enough time for all the things I want to do…whine, whine……I’m sure you’ve felt the same way)

I stitched around each block with a small stitch when it was completed  because with all those little pieces and seams, I didn’t want to be resewing a   gazillion times as I sewed the blocks together. I didn’t square up the blocks….just used the curved technique I used creating the blocks to sew the blocks into rows and the rows together.

A little closer look……I especially liked seeing and using those kids fabrics that I’ve had forever in my stash…..some probably 15 years old. Old friends! You’ll notice a lot of sports fabrics…..we are definitely a sports family and my niece was a fabulous college basketball player so there are plenty of basketballs. I did add footballs and helmets for her husband Nick as he’s a mega-fan!

If you’re interested in a good reference for this type of work, create your own free-form quilts by Rayna Gillman is a great way to learn a few techniques and get started.

Enjoy looking……!

Back by popular demand……POPPIES!  The favorite fabric line I designed for Clothwork Textiles will be on the market again next summer….only with a few tweaks and updates. The main print that you see here will be the same as the original hugely popular version….and in three different colorways. Here’s a sneak peak at the other two….all favorites of mine, of course!

The line will be called SCARLET…. appropriate for red poppies, don’t you think. It’s been several years since the first line made its debut, but I still get emails asking if by chance I have any left. Although I don’t sell fabric through my website ( I leave that to the quilt shops)….I will share a little of my private stash if folks can’t find it anywhere else. I’ve hoarded the last yard or two….don’t ask me why….I guess I just like to look at it…so I’m thrilled there will be a new supply.

As you probably know….one of my mottos when it comes to fabric is Bigger is Better. The other is Go Big or Go Home.  It works for lots of things….including fabric! I love designing and working with big, bold, brave prints and I especially like them with black. If you want a little, or a lot, of drama….you can’t go wrong with red and black.

We’re also bringing back the killer variegated solids…which I LOVE using. You get an added punch when you use a color in various shades and these are fabulous. It’s hard to tell from the photos as you’re seeing just a little slice, but trust me…you’ll love them!

I love designing fabric….or I wouldn’t have stayed with it for over ten years. It’s tough out there in the fabric design world and you really have to like the process and the product to hang in there. Obviously I do.  If you’re a fabric fan, you’ve probably discovered changes in the availability of fabric at your local quilt store. Reorders are pretty much a thing of the past…..It’s a “one and done” kind of game now.  Shops order it when it’s still in the paper artwork form and the orders are placed for the amount that’s pre-sold before the printing. That’s the way the games played with many, or even most, of the fabric companies today. Moral of the story is…..if you see it at the quilt shop and you like it…you’d better buy it then because it may not be there tomorrow. Period. That being said….I still love designing, touching, playing with, creating with, looking at, and studying…..FABRIC.

Here’s a look at a few more of the prints you’ll find in the line. Remember, quilt shops….summer, 2012. Don’t miss it!

Check it out……Pantone has announced its color of the year……Tangerine Tango. A yummy, soft, orange/color color that I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of this year.

Here’s the link to see examples and shades of the new hot, color…

http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/category.aspx?ca=88

You know…..this color….soft tangerine….is part of the orange family, with which I definitely have a history. As an artist and designer there were two colors I simply DID NOT like or use for many years….probably 20 years. That would be brown and orange. Ironically, I use both of them know and even wear brown!! Can’t believe it. Neither can some of my friends….in fact, I remember teaching my darling first grandson (now 12) that I didn’t like brown. I did feel a little sheepish when he told me one day, “We don’t like brown, do we, Grama.”……nothing like passing on your prejudices!

But today I include them both in my pallette. Actually, it’s the shade (amount of dark) in a color, not the color itself that makes the difference for me. The shade of Tangerine Tango is very nice.

Moral or the story……keep an open mind. You never know how your taste will change. Be open to it!

Wow….I can’t believe it’s been a year since I told you about the last color of the year! Nothing like an annual event, as obscure as it may be to many people, to show me how fast time marches by.

But on to the point. Pantone, the folks who create the uniform color chips that have become the language spoken by designers, graphics people etc,  each year announces their pick for Color of the Year for 2009. This year it’s Mimosa….what they describe as a “warm, engaging yellow.”

To see the color, check out their website at

http://www.pantone.com/pages/Pantone/pantone.aspx?pg=20634&ca=10

There are definitely trends in color as well as other things. In the fabric business, they say that the dominant colors we see in home dec and clothing will be seen in actual fabric (as in quilting and home sewing) the next year or two. Interesting, huh.

Since I design fabric, I carefully scrutinize my favorite trendy catalogs  in both those categories. What I’m seeing right now is a lot of orange….but I’m still studying. Maybe that’s a kind of Mimosa……!

I don’t plan to rush out and buy lots of mimosa-colored stuff, but it’s fun to know what’s hot!

If you’re already missing those hot summer colors…..here’s a quick fix for you. Gorgeous, huh.

It’s my Happy Birthday bouqet from my husband………60 flowers for 60 years. I hate to admit it…..but the flowers make it ALMOST worth it. Truthly, I’m thinking it must be someone else turning sixty. It can’t be me…….I’m young!

Aren’t the flowers beautiful, though. They’re gerba daisies……and the colors are bright, clear, and strong. Really a great inspiration for a quilt, don’t you think? Enjoy them!

Here’s something kind of fun…..if you want to see how expert you are when it comes to color, try this little experiment…here’s the link

http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=77

See what you think. I’m always a little dubious of this kind of self-test, but hey, it might be fun. Of course, your computer monitor will have a lot to do with how the colors look.

I guess a low score makes you a color expert. How did I do? I didn’t take it. I just didn’t want to take the time since I have a pile of colors stacked up on my table that I’m trying to work into a quilt!

Once in awhile a project comes along that’s just sooooo much fun. I just completed one of those.

Bernina of America invited twelve designers  to “bling” or embellish one of their sewing machines (which they provided, of course!) We were to embellish and decorate these machines…as long as at least a portion of the glitz was sewing-related.

The completed machines are to be auctioned off at Bernina University (their annual  training and sales meeting for dealers throughout the country) The proceeds of the auction will go to the American Heart Association.

What an opportunity! Actually being INVITED to redecorate a sewing machine with glitz and bling…..and to have the results go to a great cause. Naturally I was thrilled to be included.

Here’s what we started with…..a Bernina activa model. It looks pretty pitifully plain in its original state  compared to what it looked like after I worked it over!

And so I began…. I wanted my Blinged Bernina to resemble my own quilt style if possible. Lots of big flowers and a collage technique was my focus. I used my new fabric line French Flowers as the fabric.

 Remember the old Mod Podge days of maybe the ’70′s. I haven’t used the stuff since way back then….but it was the first thing I thought of for doing a collage effect on the machine.

I throughly enjoyed playing in all this messy stuff. It was a lovely summer day….hot but not too hot…and I took it all outside on my patio to work. It doesn’t get much better than this!

I was lucky enough to have the “assistance” of my very creative seven-year old granddaughter Josie….who was very appreciative of my efforts! She has a very good eye……and I always love having her help.

In the end, I think it does resemble one of my quilts…..I cut out many of the flowers leaves and details for the collaged look.

The focus of this creation is the flower on the front which I cut from the fabric and layered with Timtex between fabric layers. I used metalic threads to freemotion stitch and embellish….then added beads and a few crystals. Voila!  A fantasy flower ready to be glued to the front!

When everything was covered with a floral fantasy, on came the layers of the Magic Mod Podge to give that kind of shiny effect.

And, of course, it wouldn’t really be Bling without a few, or more, crystals here and there. Here’s the finished portrait….

Thanks, Bernina….for a great time and the opportunity to be part of a great benefit .

Here’s a  little color information I just couldn’t resist sharing…..especially since I know many of you are color lovers like me.

 There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with….orange, purple, and silver.

How’s that for totally useless color trivia. Try tossing that out at the next less-than-exciting party you’re at……great to fill in the lulls in conversation.

Sorry….I  couldn’t resist.

I can’t believe it…..I have another work in progress to share. At this point I’m calling it Mosaic but I think I need to work on the title a little. It seems a little uninspired. Sometimes I think naming them is much more challenging than creating them!

It’s about done…..I need to go back into it with more Shiva paint stick to add another layer of glitz on the solid shapes. I love putting a little paint on my quilted pieces, and I’ve found that I usually have to add a couple layers of paint to get the effect I want.

This one is a departure from my Paintbox series….which has been major abstract series for the last several years. Mosaic is a little more “in your face”….not as subtle and blended. I’m not sure yet whether I’ll do another one in this style….but I did enjoy using the gorgeous colors of a collection of hand dyed Cherrywood fabrics I’d purchased several years ago. All the solid shapes are from that collection and what I love about them is that no matter what the color, they always flow so well together. And those muted shades are my absolute favorites.

Here’s a couple more looks….

I bet you didn’t even know there was one, did you? I certainly didn’t….until I read this big news….

Pantone….the people who create the universal color chips that designers and printers use so that they’re all speaking the same color language……has announced its offical color of the year for 2008…..Blue Iris.

You can check it out on the NY Times online..

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/fashion/20COLOR.html?th&emc=th

 A great color…..funny thing about me and blue….I haven’t had a really satisfactory relationship with that color for years. I rarely use it in my work, although I’m crazy about dark blue and white. You know, like in indigo fabrics (which I have a collection of just waiting for me) or my blue calico dishes.

I’m not in the least bit attracted to turquoise…although I wonder if I’m the only one in captivity that feels that way.

I saw in the NY Times article that last year’s color of the year was chili pepper red….now that’s a color I could get used to in any shade. I’ve rarely seen a red I didn’t love!

It’s a good thing there are enough colors to go around so that we can all have our favorites. Once again….different strokes for different folks.

And speaking of colors, check in my Color Stuff category to read about my longterm relationship with that now-luscious-once-drab color brown…..