Book Review: Design Explorations for the Creative Quilter

Design Explorations for the Creative Quilter: Easy-to-Follow Lessons for Dynamic Art QuiltsDesign Explorations for the Creative Quilter: Easy-to-Follow Lessons for Dynamic Art Quilts by Katie Masopust

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This will be one of my go to design books for the future. Starting from the introduction, Masopust includes the reader. The tone is very familiar and in using ‘you’ so much in her writing Katie Masopust involves the reader immediately.

All of the standard design concepts are covered, but with a new twist and a fresh perspective. Katie talks about being creative and then explains the concepts. One thing she says is “creativity is making up exciting rules to follow for a particular design. These rules can change for each quilt,” which is absolutely true. She, then, weaves the design concepts into that principle.

Not only does the author introduce a concept and tell you you should do it, but she tells WHY you should follow the principle. She tells you in a nice and understandable way giving logical and understandable examples. This way of writing makes the whole design process less frustrating and, for some people, less scary.

Ms. Masopust has a whole chapter on tools and supplies. She explains what you need and describes what it is she is asking you to procure. For the visual learner, there are pictures of various tools and supplies.

The composition chapter starts with an excellent definition. She also provides a thoughtful list of compositional layouts. The reader could stop reading right at the compositional layouts and work on variations for years without getting bored.

This section is followed up by a list of other terms related to composition, such as pathways, focal points, space, harmony and scale. Under scale, Katie writes “monotony occurs when everything is the same size.” I thought about this for a long time and realized that one of the things I enjoy about this book is the gems she tucks into almost every section. If the reader took this line and thought about it in relation to his/her quilts, s/he could get a lot out of one line in the book. Of course, by reading the entire book, the quiltmaker will absorb much more.

The words the author uses in the color chapter are wonderful and elegant. They roll off the tongue and make one feel like an artist: monochromatic, achromatic (absence of color), tetrad. She goes beyond value and color and really delves into the concepts behind successful color choices using FABRIC. Pages 15-17 in the color chapter are really useful pages for beginning to advanced quiltmakers as they explain the different types of color combinations.

I love solids. Katie Masopust does not use them in her examples. She uses an interesting range of color choices in, for example, the complementary example. It is also nice to see different types of patterned fabrics used rather than solids. Patterned fabrics are harder to categorize and Masopust does not shy away. This is one of the benefits of this book.

Analysis shows up on page 20. On the page, Masopust writes that “it is important to look at your designs and decide whether they have all the elements needed to make them harmonious.” How often do you look at your quilts and ask yourself whether they are harmonious? I don’t, but perhaps I should. Are you thinking about each decision as you work on your quilt? I do more of that, which may make up for not looking at my quilts after I make them. She also provides a good list of questions about the success of the design. One I like is “is there a focal point or will the focal point be established through color choices?” Thought provoking.

This book is filled with examples of student work, in full color, and a wide variety of exercises. When the reader gets to the making of the pattern, Masopust takes readers through her process of making a pattern, which often involves enlarging the design. She gives some great suggestions for tools to assist in the process. The process described is a step by step process for going from a drawing to a finished piece.

She provides a chapter on each concept and full explores it. The author’s before and after examples are really good, as are the inspiration photos included alongside photos of the finished pieces.

Throughout the book, Katie refers back to the supplies list and concepts in previous chapters. She treats the reader like the reader has a brain and has read other books, which is nice.

The obligatory section on making a quilt is included. Katie Masopust adds to it by offering tips from her own experience. The tips provided also give insight into the kind of teacher she might be. That said, just reading the construction section is a little confusing. I don’t think that is the writing or editing. It would probably make more sense to try it out with a small piece. She mentions setting the machine to “2.” I don’t know if that is a universal number or if I would benefit from a chart or further explanation of what that number means on various machines.

The strength of this book is that it is thought provoking. Little tidbits are tossed out that make the reader stop and think and think some more.

View all my reviews

Denyse Schmidt on FLOR

Continuing Odds and Ends Tuesday, I found this blog post.

Denyse Schmidt has some great things to say about art quilts, classic quilts as well as color in a variety of styles of quilts.

clipped from www.flor.com

Musings - The FLOR blog

Denyse Schmidt: The Modern Quilt

Denyse: “I had been admiring old quilts (late 19th century, but also early 20th century), but found that what I loved about them – simple color palettes, lots of solid fabrics, a spareness and sometimes quirkiness – wasn’t being widely referenced in contemporary quilts. Art quilters were making quilts to be hung that were more conceptual or about making a statement, home quilters were using traditional palettes with way too many prints and colors that were murky, and the commercial world – quilts made overseas for department or specialty stores, were not very exciting. I loved the history and lore of quilting, the community and family feeling of it, and the tactile-ness and collective memory of fabric combined with designs that are very graphic. As a designer, I wanted to get other people to see quilts in the same way that I did, to bring this amazing craft to a wider audience”.
  blog it

Odds and Ends Tuesday

“Be compassionate to yourself” is the message that stuck in my head after listening to Melanie Testa interviewed by Rice Zachary-Freeman on the Voodoo Lounge podcast. You have to listen to this podcast. it is very calming, Rice talks just enough, but not too much and she lets Melanie tell the listeners everything. It is a wonderful.

A few weeks ago, I talked about Christine Barnes. She has replicas of the color wheel I showed in the post on her website for sale. I mentioned it before, but took a look at some of the books and things she has for sale also. it was interesting to see the Interior Design books.

Malka Dubrowsky has a lovely Dresden Plate quilt she calls The Cupcake Quilt up on her site.

Did you see Vicki Welsh’s recent Field Tripping in Fiber? Aside from including my Chocolate Box, she has some other GREAT quilts. One is called the Cupcake quilt by Malka Dubrowski. I am not sure why she calls it a cupcake quilt, because it looks like a Dresden Plate variation to me, but who am I to judge? Cool name, regardless. there is also a pattern for a pleated handbag. I like the idea of pleats on a handbag. I am not sure if I like this particular handbag. I am so happy that she surfs quilt sites and compiles them in this newsletter like post.

Take a look at this orange sewing machine. Isn’t it cool looking? I would love more information, but I wasn’t able to see the name very well. I think it might be the Brother Innovis Quattro 6000d. Cool looking, if nothing else.

Periodically, I listen to a radio program called To the Best of Our Knowledge. I have gotten into discussions about whether the show is actually discussing the best of ‘our’ knowledge and whose knowledge that might be. Regardless of the philosophical meanings behind the name, I enjoy the show, because they discuss different topics with artists, physicists, philosophers, writers, professors and a whole host of other people I would never, otherwise, hear about. I missed the Superheros show a week or so ago, so, for the first time, I went to their website to see if the streaming would work. I was pleased that it opened right up and worked well with the Quicktime player. The Superheros show also included a segment on Wonder Woman’s new fashion look and the controversy surrounding it. The discussion was interesting and it made me, of course, think of the fiber involved. Does that new jacket hamper her flying?

There are a lot of other interesting shows on that site. You should check it out for good listening ideas when the podcasters on hiatus.

I am still thinking of a spiky border for my Zig Zaggy quilt. I saw one on Flickr that I really liked the other day. The problem is that I like the whole quilt as well as the border. I am still not sure if the Spiky border will go with the Zig Zaggy quilt.
The Textile Collection:  http://www.vads.ahds.ac.uk/collections/ST.html
VADS is the Visual Arts Data Service that contains over 100,000 images that can all be used in learning, teaching, and research.  The Textile Collection, from the University for the Creative Arts at Farnham, is one of 46 collections available on the website.  There are two ways for visitors to peruse the 1051 image collection.  There is the “View all images” link below the search box, and the browse method allows visitors to choose from such categories as “Function”, “Maker/Designer”, “Raw Materials”, “Cloth Structure”, and “Process”.  Process includes such categories as batik, knitted, machine woven, and wax resist.  Visitors should check out the “blocks for printing” under the “Function” category, to see many beautiful blocks that were once inked up and pressed onto fabric. These blocks were then deployed to produce patterned fabric for clothing, linens, and other items.
In case you didn’t hear, Bonnie Leman, founder of QNM died last week. I didn’t know she was sick and didn’t see an obituary. She did a lot for the quilt industry and her death is a huge loss to quiltmaking. We are fortunate to be the beneficiaries of the fruits of her labors. Fred Bloebaum also died last week. She was a teacher at a local school called the Sewing Workshop. She was also the creator of the La Fred pattern lines.

Block-a-Long #3: Four Patch Columns

Four Patch Columns
Four Patch Columns

This is a slight variation of last week’s block, Four Patch Rectangle. It should be very quick to make. Four Patch Columns Instructions is suitable for two fabrics, though you would have to be creative. Four fabrics is better.

These are 6″ finished blocks.

The directions tell you simply how many pieces of which fabric to cut. The instructions use the fabrics I selected, so you will have to adjust if you are using two  fabrics.

Enjoy!

Podcast Reviews

Quilting for the Rest of Us

I talked about Sandy’s podcast a little bit back in August, but I wanted to do a real review. Sandy is a relatively new podcaster who started out podcasting like a pro. Her podcast has good sound quality, she is organized and doesn’t say um, uh or like very much. Sandy has a great sense of humor, works hard to make her podcast professional while keeping it human and has a great voice. She has about 20 episodes up as of this writing and I would suggest going back and listening to all of the episodes.

The episodes vary quite a bit, both in length and in content. I think Sandy intended to give a lesson or information with each episode. She doesn’t always get to it, because of listener comments, which is fine with me, because when she talks about listener comments, it seems like a conversation. Sandy’s idea seems to be to create a community, so she honors her listeners by sharing comments. it is nice to hear what others have to say when I don’t have time to read all of the comments on the accompanying blog.

There are other podcasts that provide information and lessons. Sandy does a lot of research into her lessons and seems to do research beyond using the Internet. I particularly liked her color episode. I thought it was thoughtful and provided a couple of points of view that made me think a little differently about color. There was a companion episode on value. Both were really well done and made me want to drag out my Itten color wheel. I appreciate the research she puts into her episodes and appreciate it that she doesn’t perpetuate quiltmaking myths. She often doesn’t take sides, as evidenced in her episode on art vs. craft vs. hobby. I thought the addition of hobby was an interesting twist to this ongoing debate.

Sandy has began to do interviews in about episode 4 and does a really nice job. So far she has interviewed quiltmakers from her guild, a Hawaiian quiltmaker, a longarm quilter and a quilt appraiser. Her interviews are great, because she doesn’t interrupt the interviewee and just lets the artist/quiltmaker talk. Sandy does jump in to keep the conversation going by asking pertinent questions, but never interjects her own experience while interviewing. I really like her style.

I think you will be entertained by the Quilting…for the Rest of Us podcast. Check it out.

Off Kilter Quilt

Frances, of the Off Kilter Quilt, is also nearing 20 episodes. She has some funky numbering going on at the beginning of her episodes, so there isn’t a number 20 yet, but I think Frances has recorded 20 episodes. The funky numbering is an example of the charm of her podcast.

Frances starts out her episodes saying “hello hello, I’m Frances and I’ll be your hostess.” If you don’t listen to anything else (though you should) listen to the beginning of one of her podcasts. The intro is so friendly and welcoming.

Frances is a beginning quiltmaker. Initially I was skeptical about how much I would get out of the content. I was pleasantly surprised. While listeners do get to hear about the idiosyncracies of quiltmaking that puzzle a beginner, Frances also provides thought provoking commentary of various aspects of the quilting world.

In one episodes she talks about Product vs. Process quiltmakers. Frances does not purport to have all of the ansers, but she is a critical thinker and brings up some interesting points on various topics.She uses language really well, has a great sense of humor and sharp insight on the marketing practices of the quilt world. Additionally, her brief comments about her life outside of quiltmaking make the podcast, and Frances, seem real.

Definitely worth a visit!

Creative Prompt #84: Crimson

A kind of red

Crimson Tide (movie)

Java XML parser

King Crimson

Crimson Tide (University of Alabama football)

Harvard Crimson

Definition: a strong, bright, deep red color. It is originally the color of the dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now also used in general as a generic term for those slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose; besides crimson itself, these colors include carmine, raspberry, ruddy, ruby, amaranth, and cerise.

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.

Crimson Dark

Crimson Skies

Crimson Cash

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

Zig Zaggy Progress

I had some fun over the weekend piecing the Zig Zaggy quilt. I felt a great deal of joy in my sewing this weekend. I know that sounds weird. It is a weird word to use for sewing, but I can’t think of another word that expresses how I was feeling. I am in love with piecing and color right now and simply, as I said earlier this week, cannot. get. enough.

Zig Zaggy - 4 Rows
Zig Zaggy - 4 Rows

I decided early in the weekend to try to piece the entire quilt over the weekend. When TFQ and I are together we can get an entire quilt top done. We do large wall quilts or up to single bed sized in a weekend. I got over the idea of finishing the entire quilt top over the weekend, but I made significant progress. Best of all I had fun.

Zig Zaggy Row 1
Zig Zaggy Row 1

The first order of business was to spend some time piecing the first row together. I had to figure out how to do it.This way of putting together the quilt goes completely against what I told Frances not more than a month ago. However, this quilt is not really block based, so it has to go together in rows, I think. I tried a couple of different things, but finally settled on a process for the fourth row.

Piecing the first row together meant that I, first, needed to organize the colors and the fabric designs in such a way that there was variety in the layout. Once I got that task finished, the rest was just  rote sewing. Not completely rote sewing, but enough to force me to keep my mind from wandering too much.

Some mind wandering is always in order and I spent some time thinking about the border. I’d like to do a spiky border a la Gwen Marston. The more I think about it and the more I look at the four finished rows, the more I think I won’t do it. We’ll see.

Inspired Wednesday

Public Art on Mission Street
Public Art on Mission Street

This is an uncropped photos of a piece of public art on Mission Street. The circles moved. I don’t have an SD card in my Blackberry so I couldn’t take a video.

The “evacuate the building immediately” alarm went off, so we all evacuated. Of course, it was a false alarm, so I went to lunch instead of going back into the building. It was late and I hadn’t gone anyway.

I headed up to the SFMOMA bookstore. I am on a mission to find out what books on developing a creative habit are out there.  I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, but I was inspired by being there and walking up and back.

Weekend Diamonds

Diamonds, late August 2010
Diamonds, late August 2010
Diamonds, early September 2010
Diamonds, early September 2010

My design wall is a mess. It is an even bigger mess than when I showed it before.  I have at least four projects on it, which makes it difficult to photograph anything cleanly. As a result, I used the eraser function in Photoshop Elements to erase some of the things surrounding the diamonds in the photo on the left. I wasn’t completely enamoured with the effect, so I left the bits and pieces in the photo on the right. I don’t know how to outline a shape and clear the background completely. I would like to learn that.

I have been intermittently pressing recently washed fabrics and cutting pieces from them, so the diamond accumulation continues. I know I will be needing to cut a lot of the border pieces late in the year, so I want to make sure all the diamonds are cut. I am sure I have said that a thousand times. It is on my mind.

I still haven’t figured out if the Fast2Cut 45 degree half and quarter diamond ruler will work for the side, edge and corner diamonds. I still need to figure that out. I haven’t actually seen it in a store, so it is hard to compare to the Creative Grids ruler that I have. It would be nice if Creative Grids made a ruler to go with their diamond ruler. I did see that they have a Triangles 120 degree ruler. I think it would work for the side pieces, which would be great. It would definitely make an easier time than when I cut the side pieces for the Eye Spy.

I simply do not have enough time to sew. I spent a day and a half over the weekend just sewing. I made a lot of progress on the Zig Zaggy quilt and it was still not enough time. I don’t know how much time would be enough time. I haven’t reached that threshold yet. I simply know that I need more.

Birch Bundles Ideas

I trolled the web for some ideas for the Birch Bundles that I talked about yesterday. All of the photos are linked to their original locations.

Green Couch Designs has a great pattern/idea that I might be able to use:


Here is a detail:

It is simple, but effective. I am not sure if the fabrics from the pink and purple bundle will show up well enough in this design, because of the size of the pieces.

I also like this one from Cherry House:

The thing I like about the above pattern is the black strip (I would use something different depending on the color scheme), but it anchors all the blocks together. I am not sure the effect would be the same with different fabrics used for the blocks. Part of the effectiveness of this quilt is the solid colors. This is from the City Quilts book, which is making me consider buying it….very soon.

Samelia’s Mum has a very cheerful blog. I like the lower right hand corner of the quilt on a recent post.

I think I really like the top quilt, but would make it with slightly larger rectangles. What do you think?

Left to My Own Devices…

Left to my own devices, I will buy fabric.

Stitch 'n Dye Fabric
Stitch 'n Dye Fabric

Above is my CrankyPants fabric. There was a weeklong stretch a couple of weeks ago where I was just cranky. I couldn’t think of a reason, but EVERYTHING annoyed me. The boys were smart and just stayed out of my way, did what I told them and just generally were compliant. For the rest of the world, I stayed away and/or kept my door closed. As a small attempt to make myself feel a bit better, I bought the above three fabrics. It would have been nicer, if annoying people at work had just piled up gorgeous half yards outside my door. I think the middle one will go with my red and aqua quilt. Perhaps, the red and turquoise piece on the left as well. We will see.

Aqua/Red Quilt + Gift Bag
Aqua/Red Quilt + Gift Bag

The ribbon candy fabric is for a Christmas gift bag. No, I don’t need more gift bag fabric, nor do I need more gift bags. Still, this ribbon candy fabric brought back a boatload of memories from my childhood. My grandmother would have covered glass dishes (one was clear and in the shape of Christmas tree) filled with different candies during Christmas. One was filled with these ribbon candies. I didn’t like to eat them, but I loved to look at them and dream about the way they were made. Those curves are so beguiling!

I am still collecting red and aqua fabrics. I couldn’t resist a bit more of Big Plain Jane fabrics, though it isn’t as big as the one I bought before.

I recently found some more of the Martha Negley tossed vegetable fabric on violet. I have been wanting to remake the tote bag I made and then kind of ruined with the front panel. Now I can do it. Now I had better do it.

I bought some more of the taco fabric as well, so I can make something for the Child. Back of a quilt? Not sure yet. Photos to follow!

Post Long Beach Purchases
Post Long Beach Purchases

The print on the top looks just like the print at the top of the second photo. It is, however, a larger scale. That piece as well as the the fabrics in the second row will go into my blue and aqua quilt. I am trying to be ok with having some colors just a bit off from the cherry red and aqua that I am imagining. I may put the grey dot in as well. I kind of like how it looks with the brights.

Birch Red/Black Bundle
Birch Red/Black Bundle

As I have mentioned, Birch Fabrics/Fabricworm puts out bundles periodically. I mentioned them when I reviewed Birch Fabrics last month, after my trip. I am starting to think of them as Birch Bundles. These bundles are like candy. Expensive candy. The reason they are like candy for me is that the fabrics are from different lines and designers, but still go together and I didn’t have to do the work. I like using full lines, as I have mentioned, because it gets me into the sewing faster. Using Birch Bundles expands my visual horizons.

The above pack may have been a purchasing mistake. I haven’t decided yet. I like the various fabrics, but I would not have bought them all. Still, I want to try to use them together. I am still working on thinking up a project for these bundles. I am thinking about doing the same design for my three bundles just to focus on working with the fabric. Perhaps the Diamond Chain design? Or stars?

Childhood Bedroom
Childhood Bedroom

Does every girl have a pink and purple bedroom? I did. My parents and their friends worked hard on that bedroom. My bedroom was different from the colors above, painted much more of a sweet pink and lavender. Still the bundle above reminds me of it. The bundle is one that I love. I LOVE the violet. I also love the scale differences of the motifs.

I probably would not have bought the Tufted Tweets fabrics alone, because of the strong pattern. Still, they fit really well into this group. Those flowers also would not have been first in my basket at the fabric store. Cynthia and her team have helped me imagine a new and different fabric combination. Let’s see how it works when I actually put something together. You can buy one, too and show me what you make.

I resisted the Good Morning Sunshine Birch Bundle. You should definitely buy it! 😉

Creative Prompt #83: Compass

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to  post your responses. I created this spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses.

A compass is a navigational instrument for determining direction relative to the Earth’s magnetic poles. (Wikipedia)

direction

way

Compass Killer – CSI:NY

orienteering

map reading

Compass Rose

Compass points

Compass records

Politcal compass

The Golden Compass (movie)

The Golden Compass (book)

Pocket compass

Jeep Compass