Composing

When you sing along to the radio do you know the words or make them up as you go along?  I always think I know the words until I get that dramatic, annoyed, frustrated correction from one of the boys..."MOM! You DON'T know the WORDS!"  It's like they want you to know everything, they act like they don't and when you let them down in this loose/loose situation they are disappointed.  Ah, life.  You got the poison, I got the remedy.

Patchwork.  These are the blocks being done in my beginner class.  Oh the melody!

 

They are all doing the beginner sampler in their own fabrics which gives us the opportunity to stop and stare at how the same block and look so different.  Then we added another one...

I am finding this experience to be fascinating as we go over the really important initial layers of patchwork from cutting to pins, blending to contrast,   pressing and points.

It's a constant reminder of how we have gotten where we are.  The irony isn't lost that in the beginning for me it wasn't at all about the technique but only about the end result.  Slowing over time each bit has become more important but not until I was able to manage the variety of factors that make good blocks...quilts.

Don't they all just look fabulous!  What I like the most is being able to assess in a moment all the variety possible in one block.  We can see where value plays a part, colour, movement, style... and then how they venture out and find their own way with the fabrics.  In not time at all they'll be singing their own songs with fabric.  Here is one of the quilts in Brigitte's class.

Great use of fabric has made this a very attractive piece.
Now doesn't that make you want to sing along? 
Hexagons are like making your own fabric.  The results are the combination of random and control working in perfect harmony.

Then there is the pop song version...Surfing...I want to go surfing! This quilt is for a combivan...how perfect are the palm trees and surf boards going to look parked at a beach somewhere!
Then in Stash to Treasure, on one month, Meegan has worked this up.  In this class we are recreating patchwork quilts from scratch with no patterns.   Have you seen the original?  It is one of my favorites so it was with great pleasure that I witnessed this coming together and so beautifully blending the old with the new.  New and old fabrics, new and old styles of tecnique...very exciting process.
What says tradition louder than a log cabin?  So many layout options.  This one will have strips of color.  Lots of piecing so not for the feint hearted but the satisfaction of taking this on is the reward.

In this case, Anne has used her stash for all the Kaffe reds having just finished the Lollypop Trees quilt by Kim McLean.  Stash to treasure...

 

Picking borders for the quilts is always a fascinating process as we see how different combinations accent or affect the quilt...

 

Old favourites are revisited...there is no end to the joy of this pattern from Gwen Marston's book LIberated String Quilts.  We just find so much inspiration there in the pages year after year.

 

Scale is another consideration. Deidre has a big pile of light fabrics and we will see what happens here..

 

 

So this little melody is coming to an end.  You don't have to know the words...just make 'em up and enjoy the song! k

 

Comments

[Linda]

Wow. I am on inspiration overload! Thanks for the post.

[amelia peck]

how do your classes work with respect to fabric? do the participants pay a fee and then have access to cut any fabric they want for their projects? i've always wondered about this.

[Michelle]

this was a nice post, and also the one on March 1st was really a good one, (just having read back a bit), hope this is a great year for you, m

[Judy Murdoch]

Kath,

Your students quilt blocks and quilts confirm my attraction to fabric the variety is endless and stunning, how could you ever be bored making quilts.

[Annabelle]

Brilliant colourful post - amazing students. xx