Colour. Calm. And a few stitches..
At the moment I’m taking part in the Instagram QuiltFest 2024 organised by Amy’s Creative Side. With 30 days of prompts, it’s part networking, part inspiration and generally a whole lot of fun. This is my third year taking part and while I’ve found it inspiring, motivating and a great way to virtually meet quilters - I’ve also gained insight into my own creative process and most basically why I do what I do.
A recent prompt is Why do you Quilt? This can be answered in so many ways and I think the reason behind it changes with us as our life changes. I threw myself into quilting way back when to balance a demanding and stressful job. What I take away from it this year and what the process of stitching gives to me now, looks a little different.
So in an attempt to clarify things - these are my thoughts.
Colour
Ok, so I love colour. It’s no secret. I love pulling together a new colour palette for a quilt. It’s my happy place.
This wasn’t the case when I first started quilting 30 years ago. Overwhelmed was probably my first reaction to a quilt shop. I had admired quilts from afar but never really thought much about what went into them nor how much time would be involved in making one. It was the 90’s - so our fabric choices were fairly limited compared to what is available now. Country colours and soft pretty colours are what I remember most.
My first patchwork project was a machine pieced log cabin cushion. At the time I lived in a very small country town in New South Wales - about 6 hours drive from the nearest patchwork shop. Our local craft store tried to cater to most creative endeavours and so only had about 15 bolts of fabric. Consequently our colour palette was predetermined by this.
About a year and a bit later after moving to Sydney I took my first patchwork class. I had in mind a soft Laura Ashley type quilt - it was the 90’s after all. My first quilt was a sampler quilt - mainly pink with some purple - there are a few Liberties in it but again there was a limited LIberty range available in Australia at the time. One Liberty design that stands out and is still available in multiple colour ways is the Liberty Pepper design. Still one of my favourite go-to’s - after Capel that is ;)
My first quilt turned out very different to what I envisioned - but that’s ok, it was a learning experience. It was a scrappy sampler - very forgiving on colour. Often the more fabrics there are - the better it looks. Not even considering a colour wheel, I chose what made me feel good. A little therapy - freeing your mind, choosing what feels good to you at the time. Not that that always works but some amazing colour palettes have started this way for me.
People have been writing about colour therapy for eons - just google it and you can see the extent.
But on a simplistic level - some colours make us feel good. It’s a personal thing.
Fast forward to today and fabric and colour choices are overwhelmingly abundant. I could fill up pages with my thoughts on colour and choosing fabric but my one piece of advice is - go with your gut - after all it has to look good to you. As you progress in your quilting journey, you’ll get to know what you like and what doesn’t work but remember to be brave - it’s ok to step out of your comfort zone.
Calm..
For me this comes not only with stitching but also my colours choices.
My one piece of advice if you want a calm colour palette - choose fabrics that are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel.
They don’t have to be pale to be calm - you can have a very calm or harmonious quilt using bolder or darker fabrics. My midnight blue palette is a great example - paired with midnight blue linen - it’s soothing as the colours slide into the adjacent green tones with a zinger added to mix things up a bit as I jumped across to the opposite side of the colour wheel and grabbed some mustard tones. Choosing something on the opposite side of the colour wheel is a great way to add a harmonious zing but you can also add zingers from adjacent colours - my Liberty Be Green bundle and Ocean blue linen are a perfect example.
And so to stitching..
The ultimate meditation. I’m a hand piecer by choice - the routine I have pinning and piecing my fabric sets me up to unwind.
I think it’s the repetitive motion - time to think while I create something - what’s not to love. Hand quilting even more so. One thread - the texture you get using 12wt thread together with Linen and Liberty Tana Lawn - it’s a tactile thing.
Hand piecing - it’s just a running stitch. Ok, it’s a little more to think about with curved piecing - take a look at my mini tutorials if it’s something you’d like to learn or perfect. But the simple repetitive nature of piecing calms my world.
Take a breath..
If life is challenging - stitch a bit - leave your needle threaded and some pieces pinned ready to go.
Even 5 minutes of stitching can make the difference to your day. 5 minutes a day - that adds up to almost 30 hours of relaxation therapy a year.
Imagine what you can create..
The benefits..
The possibilities..
I promise it will make you smile.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Why you Quilt?
Comment below to continue the discussion.
Until next time,
Mel
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