Wednesday, June 27, 2012

BAMQG Shows Up with Force at the San Mateo County Fair!

by Amanda

With a stitch-stitch here and a press-press there, so began the 2012 San Mateo County Fair - or at least the part we BAMQGers were interested in: the Quilt Show! BAMQGers found out about the fair only two months prior to entries being due, and it was a mad sewing dash to the finish - at least for some of us! - to complete what we wanted to enter and turn it in.  As it turned out, our members were very ambitious and prolific in a short period of time, resulting in a fabulous representation for our first foray into the San Mateo County Fair.

Our talented members entered in a variety of areas.  First there was a group of us entering in the Challenge section of the quilt show.  With a requirement of six entries for any challenge showing, we had eight BAMQGers who braved the fair judges and entered our quilts from our 2011 Kona Challenge.  The Kona Challenge was open to any member who wanted to participate.  The quilter received a charm pack of Robert Kaufman’s Kona Bright solids.  With that charm pack you could create any size quilt, but could use only other solids with it.  Here is the Wall of the BAMQG Kona Challenge, Eight Quilts Total:



The BAMQG quilts took first, second, and third place amongst the entire Group Challenge quilts in the fair!  That deserves some close up shots, don’tcha think?  First, some shots of the ribbon winners:
Two Margaritas by Ruth Beeby, First Place ribbon winner

Kona Challenge Quilt by Jaye Lapachet, Second Place ribbon winner

Modern Peel by Adrianne Ove, Third Place ribbon winner

And here are close up shots of the remaining 5 BAMQG Kona Challenge Quilts:




Angela Obeso & Cynthia Marshall

Amanda Materne & Rhonda Ludwico


The BAMQG was also well represented in several other divisions - in fact, we didn’t know how well until several of us went to the fair and found out by looking! Some were even ribbon winners in their different divisions.  We obviously have some modest members in our guild, but their beautiful works will be outed here:

Blocks of Crazy by Michelle Boyd

Echino Challenge quilted bowl by Michelle Boyd

Homeward Bound, Third Place ribbon winner by Michelle Boyd

Night Gallery by Leona McCann
Leona McCann’s First Place ribbon-winning Asian Quilt

Leona McCann’s Honorable Mention ribbon winner “Circle of Life”

Cynthia Marshall’s Second Place ribbon winner “Crazy Eights in Purple”

Christine Crawford’s quilted wall hanging

Christine Crawford’s “Just Peachy”

Christine Crawford’s “Celestial Views”, Third place ribbon winner for Best Use of Color



My Secret Garden
Marci Gore's "My Secret Garden"

And finally, because all you’re seeing is quilts quilts quilts (and who says that’s a bad thing?) we had to end with a great shot of one of our members actually WITH her quilt.  Here is Angela standing with her beautiful Kona Challenge quilt:


We hope we got everyone’s quilts that were in the fair, but if yours slipped through, don’t be shy - let us know!  And send us a photo of it if you snapped one.

Thanks to all who entered the 2012 San Mateo County Fair - it was great to see the BAMQG so well-represented, with so many winning quilts.  Let’s do it again next year!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

BAMQG Block Challenge


Have you designed your block yet? Made it? The deadline is Saturday, July 7, e.g. the meeting date!

We want to see your creations.
Like the QuiltCon Block Design Challenge, we are having a BAMQG Block Design Challenge.

For the local challenge, we are asking you to duplicate your Quiltcon block submission in the Bay Area Modern colors of orange and teal.  If you need to brush up on the QuiltCon challenge guidelines, you can find tons of info here, here, and here.  Solids and prints are both great to use.  If you would like to use solids, we recommend the following shades:

  • Kona:  School Bus, Orange, Jade Green, Bahama Blue, White, Medium Grey, and Coal.
  • Moda Bella:  Turquoise, Orange, and Robin's Egg Blue, White, Slate, and Charcoal (no really good match for light orange)
  • Art Gallery Pure Elements:  Burnt Orange, Fresh Water, and Tile Blue (no really good match for light orange)
  • Free Spirit:  Peach Blush, Caribbean Sea, and Jade (no really good match for dark orange)
Please use whites & greys for your neutrals, rather than creams or tans (just like the QuiltCon block).  See the above banner for a visual of the colors.


You can make up to 3 blocks for this challenge.  Some people have mentioned that their QuiltCon block design doesn't translate well to the reduced number of colors in the local palette.  While it's great to get a 2-for-1 deal, it's also fine to modify your design or create a new one.  Be creative!

We will show our challenge blocks at the July meeting (although if you are running late, we will only heckle you a little if you bring them in August or September).  The submissions will be used for a fantastic (and still to be determined) guild project. 
No blocks will be returned!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

A-B-C Challenge Blocks: S and T

We are nearing the end of the A-B-C Challenge. It isn't to late to join the fun. The challenge is still going strong and in the home stretch! Bring your ABC Blocks for July to the July 7 meeting. These blocks should start with S & T

S blocks:
  • Sarah's Choice 12" (from Quilter's Cache)
  • Sawtooth Star (from Around the Block)
  • Schoenrock Cross 14", paper pieced  (from Quilter's Cache) 
  • Scottie Dog 10" (from Quilter's Cache)
  • Scrappy Star 6" (from Quilter's Cache) 
  • Square on Square (from Around the Block)
  • Snail's Trail (from Around the Block)
  • Spiderweb 6" or 12" block (from Quilter's Cache)
  • Steps to the Altar (from Around the Block)
  • Sugar Bowl (from Around the Block)
  • Summer Winds (from Around the Block)

Some examples of T blocks are:

Below are a few of the many block resources available to inspire you:
  • 1000 Great Quilt Blocks by Maggi McCormick Gordon
  • Around the Block with Judy Hopkins: 200 Rotary Cut Blocks in 6 Sizes by Judy Hopkins
  • Around the Block Again: More Rotary Cut Blocks from Judy Hopkins by Judy Hopkins
  • The Civil War Love Letter Quilt: 121Quilt Blocks Inspired by Love and War by Rosemary Youngs
  • The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt: 55 letters and the 111 Blocks they Inspired by Laurie Hird
  • Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix & Match by Susan Briscoe
  • Judy Martin's Ultimate Book of Quilt Block Patterns by Judy Martin
  • Modern Quilt Blocks: 99 Quilt Blocks from your Favorite Designers by Susanne Woods
  • Once More Around the Block by Judy Hopkins
  • The Quilter's Album of Blocks and Borders by Jinny Beyer (out of print)
  • The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns: 4044 Pieced Blocks for Quilters by Jinny Beyer (2009) - you NEED this book if you don't have it.
  • Quilter's Cache website
So, go forth and make blocks. You can do it. Have fun, use great fabric. Enjoy!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Member Spotlight: Cheryl


Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild Member Spotlight
Please contact Cheryl by leaving a comment below.
  1. Name: Cheryl
  2. Place: Santa Clara
  3. Cheryl's Weblink: http://www.flickr.com/photos/strongcheryl/
  4. Family and important people, pets and how they feel about your quiltmaking: My dog is not impressed. My cat, on the other hand enjoys many aspects of this hobby. He especially enjoys the basting part when he gets to sit in the middle of the quilt in progress and generally make a mess of things. My husband is supportive, although I am certain he thinks I am a bit obsessed even though he hasn’t said that out loud yet. My daughter has been learning to use the sewing machine so now we “get” to share.
  5. How long have you been making quilts? About 3 years.
  6. How and where did you learn to quilt? I learned to sew in a Beginning Girls class in 4-H when I was in fourth grade. Mostly I am a self-taught quilter, but I have taken a few classes to help figure out some of the harder parts.
  7. First quilt: My first quilt started off as a potholder, but I realized that was really just a little quilt so I might as well put 9 potholders together. This was before I had fully embraced the stash idea so I used fabrics on hand. It was very pink so I gave it to my extra-girly niece.
  8. Where do you find inspiration? Architecture, tiled flooring, gates, trees. My daughter rolls her eyes when I say “that makes me think of a quilt” since I say it quite a lot.
  9. Describe your quilting "style"?  I like to think of myself as Modern, but I am really drawn to traditional styles as well.
  10. Do you belong to other guilds besides BAMQG? If so, which ones and why? No. The rest of my allotted sewing time I try to spend sewing.
  11. Favorite quilting blogs?  
  1. What guild job do you hold and why did you volunteer for that position? Sometimes I take the coffee pot home with me and bring it back to the next meeting.
  2. What do you generally do with the quilts you make?  Give away? Keep? Sell? Show? Give away to family, friends, new babies, and charities. I keep a few.
  3. What is your favorite block pattern? I have not made very many blocks. I like log cabins, wonky and otherwise.
  4. In what room of the house do you sew? Tell us about your sewing/quilting/crafting space: The dining room. Everything is stored in a large pantry/closet, sharing space with the blender and rice cooker. I take out the sewing machine, cutting mat, and ironing when required.
  5. Do you create in any other areas of craft? Is quilting your main creative outlet? Do kids crafts count? My daughter loves a craft project- anything with glue, pipe cleaners, and pompoms.
  6. What is your favorite fabric and why? Pretty much anything by Denyse Schmidt, Lotta Jansdotter, Sweetwater.
  7. What is your favorite quilt book? Are there any quilt books you recommend?  I have both Denyse Schmidt books, which I love even if I don’t ever make most of them. Material Obsession and Modern Patchwork also. I get ideas from all of these, even if I don’t really follow patterns very well.
  8. Are there any must have quilting tools?  Sewing machine, rotary cutter, etc. Also, I got these seam rippers for Christmas from my husband that look like small, curved razor blades and work really well.
  9. What are your favorite shops either online or in the neighborhood? I buy fabric mostly on-line: Sew Fresh Fabrics (Etsy), Fat Quarter Shop, and of course Intrepid Thread! I hope Julie opens a neighborhood shop soon. I like fondling the fabric sometimes before I buy it.
  10. Is there an area of quilting you feel you would like to learn more about and why? Paper piecing and free motion quilting.
  11. Is there an area of quilting at which you feel you excel? Do you prefer the process of designing, piecing, or quilting? I don’t feel like I really excel at any of this. But I am pretty good at figuring out how to make something without a pattern. Perhaps because of my science background, I nerdily enjoy figuring out the math. I like to use pencil and notebook since I spend most of my work day on a computer already. I prefer the designing and piecing far more than the quilting.
If you would like to be the subject of the member spotlight, please comment on this post. Thanks!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Charity Sew Day Report

by Deborah

BA Modern Quilt Guild held its first Charity Sew Day on Saturday the 16th at the Los Altos library. Guild members showed up with their machines and sunny dispositions to work on projects for local charitable organizations.  With the promise of klippies, bell ringing and adulation for finished blocks and projects, enthusiastic charity sewers got down to business.  

The activities started somewhat promptly at 10:15am.  With fabric generously donated by Pat Bravo and team at Art Gallery Fabrics, as well as our own Julie Dueck of Intrepid Thread, the Art Gallery Fabric Block Challenge began.  Quilters were given a brief tutorial on how to create Ninepatch Remix blocks, then let loose on stacks of pre-cut 5” charms and scraps.  

Amanda won her choice of a trio of fat eighths for first block completed.  Within an hour there were enough blocks to assemble the first quilt top of the day:



With a second quilt top completed by the end of the day:



With 59 blocks total completed, the Art Gallery Fabric Challenge will yield 5 quilts!  

The next challenge was making cat beds for a no-kill cat shelter in San Mateo.  Again, after a brief tutorial, charity sewers chose from a stack of cat bed kits and went to work.  Once the beds were sewn and turned out, they were stuffed with bits and bobs Amanda had been hoarding from the cutting room floor of fellow guild members.  

The last challenge of the day was the Orphan Block Challenge.  A bin of orphan blocks and a bin of fabric donated by guild members was set on a table.  The challenge- dig through both and come up with a pleasing combination to assemble into crib-size quilts.  The result:  4 completed tops and 3 WIP’s taken home to be finished.

Kits were also provided to make this quarter’s charity block- string blocks, with a total of 35 completed by day’s end.

To close out Charity Sew Day, klippies were tallied to determine the winner of a copy of An Apple A Day (autographed by Julie Dueck, who has a pattern published in the book) and a trio of fat quarters from the Apple of My Eye collection, all by Quilted Fish.  And the winner was... ding! ding! ding! Rhonda.


 
The first BA Modern Quilt Guild Charity Sew Day was a huge success.  The final count at the end of the day: 6 quilt tops, 11 cat beds, and 94 blocks!  Many thanks to all who showed up and sewed their Saturday away!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Charity Pattern for Q2

Just a reminder that the guild's fabulous Charity Coordinators rolled out a new pattern for charity blocks for Q2: String blocks. This post was originally posted on the forum. How many charity blocks have you made?

String blocks are a wonderful way to use up scraps.  We will be making quilts from 2 types of string blocks, paper foundation pieced and quilt-as-you-go. 

There are many paper foundation pieced tutorials to be found in blogland.  We like this one over at Film in the Fridge.  Please note:  we are using an 8.5" paper foundation and 1.5" center white strip for our block.

We’ve put together this tutorial to show you how to make them using the quilt-as-you-go technique, and we have provided specific measurements for the blocks we are making for our charity quilts.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Jennifer or myself.
Thanks!
Deborah

Materials needed:
a piece of batting, cut to 8” square
a strip of solid white fabric, such as Kona Solids, cut to 13” x 1 ½”
6 assorted prints cut to the following measurements:
- 11” x 2 ½” (2)
-  8” x 2 ½”(2)
-  3” x 2 ½” (2)

Note: All seams are ¼”.

Instructions:
1.  Center the 13” x 1 ½” white strip corner to corner on the 8” square piece of batting.



2.  Pin an 11” x 2.5” prints right side down on top of the white strip, aligning raw edges.  Sew.  


3.  Remove pins and press to the side.


4.  Pin an 8” x 2.5” strip on top of the newly sewn 11” print, right sides together with raw edges aligned.  Sew.



5.  Remove pins and press to the side.


6.  Pin a 3” x 2.5” strip on top of the newly sewn 8” print, right sides together with raw edges aligned.  Sew.


7.  Remove pins and press to the side.



8.  Repeat steps 1-7 for opposite side of the block.


Turn the block over and trim, adding a ½” seam allowance.


Block will be 9” square.

Turn over and admire your work!

 

Need help? Contact Jennifer and Deborah!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Charity Sew Day TODAY!

Head on over! RSVP to Diana or to the forum post.

The loose agenda is:
  • 10am-12pm:  Art Gallery Fabrics block challenge
  • 12pm-1pm: lunch
  • 1pm-1:30pm: Cat bed demo
  • 1:30pm- end: string blocks, cat beds, continue making AGF challenge blocks and working on charity WIP's

 Charity sewing will be from 10am-5pm.
Any project (charity or personal) is welcome from 5pm-11pm.

The goal of our Charity Sew Day is to make some quilt tops and complete quilts (from current WIPs) by the end of the day.  We will have 2-3 block challenges, a team challenge, and demos (including Amanda's cat bed demo) scheduled through the day.

A special thank you to Pat Bravo who sent some lovely Art Gallery Fabrics studio scraps for our block challenges!

Location:
Los Altos Library
13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, California, 94022
http://g.co/maps/kvpkt

Shout out if you can bring these items to share:

  • Light/non-messy snacks
  • Design Walls (need 2)
  • Irons (need 3 total) - have 4 - Thanks!
  • Ironing Boards (need 3 total) - have 3 - Thanks!
  • Large Cutting Mats (need 2) - have 2 - Thanks!
Plan to bring your own:
  • Extension cord and/or power strip
  • Sewing machine
  • Cutting tools/mats (you might want a personal one)
  • Charity sewers should bring either white, cream or grey thread, and any white batting they wish to donate (scraps 8" square and larger welcome).
  • Scraps - if you plan to sew a cat bed, please bring bits to stuff inside it.
The Charity Coordinators will bring string block kits, as well as any fabric needed for blocks.

We will be in the Community Room of the Los Altos Library.  It's the large room on the side of the library nearest San Antonio Rd.  There are two sets of double doors on the outside of the library - both lead into a foyer area, and the Community Room door is on the left part of this foyer, the checkout desk is on the right.
If you arrive late (after 6pm when the library closes), knock on the doors closest to the Community Room, and someone should be able to let you inside.

We will need to set up and take down tables and chairs, which are available at the library. Please plan to help with this.  Also please try to keep your floor area clean.
Coffee and other light snacks are available in the foyer of the library.
People often pick up meals from a local restaurant. There are many places - most frequently we visit Rick's for lunch (http://rickscafelosaltos.com/menu) but that may not be the case every time.

As a bonus: From 5-11pm the room will be open for a Sewing evening. Bring your charity or non charity project and join in.

Friday, June 8, 2012

Charity Sew Day

by Diana

We are planning a June 16 Charity Sew Day! RSVP to Diana or to the forum post.

Please RSVP to this post here in the forum if you are coming, so we can get a general head count.

Charity sewing will be from 10am-5pm.
Any project (charity or personal) is welcome from 5pm-11pm.

The goal of our Charity Sew Day is to make some quilt tops and complete quilts (from current WIPs) by the end of the day.  We will have 2-3 block challenges, a team challenge, and demos (including Amanda's cat bed demo) scheduled through the day.

A special thank you to Pat Bravo who sent some lovely Art Gallery Fabrics studio scraps for our block challenges!

Location:
Los Altos Library
13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos, California, 94022
http://g.co/maps/kvpkt

Shout out if you can bring these items to share:

  • Light/non-messy snacks
  • Design Walls (need 2)
  • Irons (need 3 total) - have 4 - Thanks!
  • Ironing Boards (need 3 total) - have 3 - Thanks!
  • Large Cutting Mats (need 2) - have 2 - Thanks!
Plan to bring your own:
  • Extension cord and/or power strip
  • Sewing machine
  • Cutting tools/mats (you might want a personal one)
  • Charity sewers should bring either white, cream or grey thread, and any white batting they wish to donate (scraps 8" square and larger welcome).
  • Scraps - if you plan to sew a cat bed, please bring bits to stuff inside it.
The Charity Coordinators will bring string block kits, as well as any fabric needed for blocks.

We will be in the Community Room of the Los Altos Library.  It's the large room on the side of the library nearest San Antonio Rd.  There are two sets of double doors on the outside of the library - both lead into a foyer area, and the Community Room door is on the left part of this foyer, the checkout desk is on the right.
If you arrive late (after 6pm when the library closes), knock on the doors closest to the Community Room, and someone should be able to let you inside.

We will need to set up and take down tables and chairs, which are available at the library. Please plan to help with this.  Also please try to keep your floor area clean.
Coffee and other light snacks are available in the foyer of the library.
People often pick up meals from a local restaurant. There are many places - most frequently we visit Rick's for lunch (http://rickscafelosaltos.com/menu) but that may not be the case every time.

As a bonus: From 5-11pm the room will be open for a Sewing evening. Bring your charity or non charity project and join in.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

BAMQG Block Challenge: Deadline Near!


Have you designed your block yet? Made it?
Like the QuiltCon Block Design Challenge, we are having a BAMQG Block Design Challenge.

For the local challenge, we are asking you to duplicate your Quiltcon block submission in the Bay Area Modern colors of orange and teal.  If you need to brush up on the QuiltCon challenge guidelines, you can find tons of info here, here, and here.  Solids and prints are both great to use.  If you would like to use solids, we recommend the following shades:

  • Kona:  School Bus, Orange, Jade Green, Bahama Blue, White, Medium Grey, and Coal.
  • Moda Bella:  Turquoise, Orange, and Robin's Egg Blue, White, Slate, and Charcoal (no really good match for light orange)
  • Art Gallery Pure Elements:  Burnt Orange, Fresh Water, and Tile Blue (no really good match for light orange)
  • Free Spirit:  Peach Blush, Caribbean Sea, and Jade (no really good match for dark orange)
Please use whites & greys for your neutrals, rather than creams or tans (just like the QuiltCon block).  See the above banner for a visual of the colors.


You can make up to 3 blocks for this challenge.  Some people have mentioned that their QuiltCon block design doesn't translate well to the reduced number of colors in the local palette.  While it's great to get a 2-for-1 deal, it's also fine to modify your design or create a new one.  Be creative!

We will show our challenge blocks at the July meeting (although if you are running late, we will only heckle you a little if you bring them in August or September).  The submissions will be used for a fantastic (and still to be determined) guild project. 
No blocks will be returned!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Dyeing Workshop

Have you been admiring hand-dyed fabrics and wanted to try your hand or use in your quilt creations?  Now's your chance!  Artist, quilter, author and BAMQG member Joy-Lily is going to show us how!

DATE:  Saturday, July 28th, 2012
TIME:  11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
PLACE:  Sunnyvale Art Gallery and Café
251 W El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 737-8188 
http://sunnyvaleartgallery.com
COST:  $60 (includes everything except fabric and lunch)
CONTACT:  Angela, BAMQG Special Events Coordinator, by commenting on this post.  


Try out several different fabric dyeing techniques on fat quarters of quilt fabric including: painting gradations, shibori style wrapping, binding and clamping, layering colors like a parfait, solid and mottled color baths and painting patterns. Discover how easy it is to create your own batik-look fabrics too. All dyes are colorfast. Go home with a stack of one-of-a-kind fabrics and all the information you need to create more. All materials except fabric included in the $60 cost of this workshop.








For more info on Joy-Lily and her art, quilts, workshops and book, visit her web site at:  http://www.joy-lily.com/
For more info on the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild, visit our web site at: http://bayareamodernquiltguild.blogspot.com

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Design Overview

At the last meeting, we started the Demo Series that Rhonda is organizing.
  • Design (June 2012 meeting)
  • Piecing (August 2012 meeting)
  • Quilting (September 2012 meeting)
  • Binding (November 2012 meeting)
The first demo was more of a lecture. Jaye gave us a Design Overview. She told us why we should care about design principles and elements. Notes below.


Design Class Overview (BAMQG June 2, 2012)

Several months ago, Sandy, of Quilting for the Rest of Us podcast,   asked Jaye if she would considering talking with Sandy and her listeners about design. Jaye said she was reluctant. She doesn't consider herself to be an expert, but Sandy is pretty good at convincing people to do stuff and Jaye said she is good at research. It has taken Jaye some time to find the time, coalesce her thoughts and start to do the research. So, ready to go, back in September, Sandy and Jaye recorded a podcast where they started to talk about design. 

The first podcast we recorded was an overviewof design. Jaye and Sandy discussed the principles and elements of design. They talked about what the principles and elements are in design and some examples of how to use them. Thanks to Rhonda, this is what Jaye talked to BAMQG about on Saturday.

Definitions:
Design is a problem solving activity within all the arts, placing or creating subject matter so it is of visual significance and interesting to the artist. (The Quilter's Book of Design, 2d, pg.xi)

Design is to plan or organize. It is the opposite of change. The result is visual organization (Pentak & Lauer, pg.4)

"Principles of design are the laws of designing anything! In other words, to have a good design, you should consider these principles for the best design possible. Elements of design on the other hand are things that are involved within making a design. The major difference between principles and elements is that principles are rules you have to follow and elements are things that will help you complete those rules for the best project outcome." (http://www.jiskha.com/art/visual_arts/ped.html)

Elements of Design:
Shape
Value
Movement
Size/Scale

The elements form the 'vocabulary' of the design (Wikipedia, design elements and principles).

The elements are components or parts which can be isolated and defined in any visual design or work of art. They are the structure of the work…” (http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/element/element.htm). 

Principles of Design

Emphasis/Focal Point
Contrast
Gradation
Dominance
Movement
The principles constitute the broader structural aspects of the design's composition (Wikipedia, design elements and principles).

The Principles are concepts used to organize or arrange the structural elements of design. (http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/principl/principl.htm)

Again, the way in which these principles are applied affects the expressive content, or the message of the work (http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/principl/principl.htm).

Some more of my thoughts…
In the research I have done, I have found that there is no Design Guru. Everyone has a different take on design and even what the principles and elements are. When working with these concepts, you have to be flexible.

Knowing about design principles and elements helps refine your innate skill. Everyone has innate design skills.

WHY?

Concept: I use patterns why do I need to know about design?
  • Color is an element of design. To make beautiful quilts, you need to know about color. If you buy a kit, there may be one color you do not like and by knowing about design, you will be able to replace it successfully.
  • Balance is a principle of design. If your eye sees an element of the quilt as being unbalanced, then knowing about design will help you adjust it.
  • Borders: the way you add borders to a quilt can make the design of the quilt look finished or chopped off. : does slapping on 4 lengths of fabric work with the design you have chosen or would a bit of piecing enhance your excellent quilt top?
Concept: I am not an art quiltmaker, why do I need to know about design principles and elements?
  • “Some designs lack that indefinable life – or spark – that lifts them out of the mundane, the predictable, the commonplace …. learning about design elements and principles helps you train your vision and refine your subconscious decision making.” (Fearless Design for Every Quilter by Lorraine Torrence, pg.57)
  • Negative space in fabric: “When choosing prints for a patchwork, think about how they’ll look when cut up. Does that small print have so much negative (empty) space that the actual print part won’t show up on half of the pieces? Is that large print so big that the pieces cut from it will look like they’re from entirely different pieces of fabric?
  • Books: when looking at books and evaluating whether you want to spend money on it, you can evaluate the various elements and principles of  design included in the patterns of the book.
Concept: I only use Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes to make my quilts, why do I need to know about design?

·        Jelly Rolls, Layer cakes and the other “Bake Shop items” are great places to start in quiltmaking, but they do not always lead you to the best possible design. Not only do you need to look at the colors in the fabrics, but you also need to look at the scale and variety of the motifs.
o   We buy a lot of medium colored fabrics and fabric companies are in business to sell fabrics, thus many of the layer cakes and jelly rolls have predominantly medium fabrics.
o   We also use a lot of medium scale prints, thus many of the layer cakes and jelly rolls have predominantly medium scale prints.
o   In general, it is a good design practice to remove approximately 20% of the  fabrics in a layer cakes or jelly roll and replace them with other fabrics, so that you get the variety that you need. This practice also makes the quilt your own.

More Thoughts:
"A good design supports or changes how we live" - John E. B. Dubus blog post Sept 23, 2010.

 Many quiltmakers, though not formally trained in art (e.g. an MFA in fine art), have intuitive art sensibilities. (Fearless Design for Every Quilter by Lorraine Torrence, pg.5) If you are a creative person you have intuitive design sensibilities. Knowing about design helps you refine your work and hone those innate sensibilities.

Judy Martin wrote in her May 2012 newsletter " My basic philosophy boils down to this: I try to do what’s right for the quilt, not what’s right for me. It might be easier to slap a plain border on and be done with it, but if the quilt looks better with a pieced border, that’s what I do. It might be easier to make it out of 5 fabrics, but if it looks better in scraps, that’s what I do. If it looks more refined with 1-inch logs rather than 2-inch, that’s what I do. If it looks more interesting as a queen rather than a 36-inch square wall quilt, that’s what I do."

 Conclusion
 This is a pretty high level overview. If you want more information, please follow along with the Design Series on the Quilting…for the Rest of Us podcast. 

Resources
  • Design Basics, 5th, c.1999, David A. Lauer, Stephen Pentak
  • Fearless Design for Every Quilter by Lorraine Torrence
  • A Fiber Artist's Guide to Color and Design by Heather Thomas
  • The Quilter's Book of Design, 2d by Ann Johnston

Questions? 
 Please leave a comment or email Jaye. 

You can find more information at:
Artquiltmaker Blog
Artquiltmaker Design Series
Quilting... for the Rest of Us Podcast