NOW TOURING: Color, Thread & Free-Motion Quilting by Teri Lucas
jake • July 27, 2020 • 19 Comments

 

By Melissa Thompson Maher

Former Editor’s Note and Disclaimer: We’ve been silent a good long while here at Generation Q, but we’re coming out of retirement on behalf of one of our own. Teri Lucas, our erstwhile community editor, has published her first book: Color, Thread & Free-Motion Quilting: Learn to Stitch With Reckless Abandon (C & T Publishing, July 2020, $27.95 hardcopy, $22.99 e-book). Teri is a trusted colleague and a dear friend, and we love just about everything she does. Ditto for her book. You’ve been told.

We are pleased as can be to lead off the blog tour for Teri’s inspiring book. Having supported her as the book grew from an idea into an outline and finally a draft, we feel a bit like midwives to see its beautiful cover emblazoned with her name.  And it is no bit o’ fluff.  Teri is a Thread Whisperer. She creates amazing free-motion quilting that meanders and marches across fabric, adding a back-story that enhances and uplifts the tale told by the quilt itself. And while she’s an artist, she’s also a technician. (Have you seen how small her quilted bubbles are?)

Happily for the rest of us, Teri is an effective teacher, too,  and her book captures those lessons admirably so we non-FMQers can find our own reckless ways with thread. The book’s tone is encouraging and helpful, and every so often, her quirky sense of humor pops through as a reminder that for most of us, quilting is something we do for fun. If you don’t believe me, check out the Pepperoni Pizza motif she includes in her section on quilting designs.

An Impractical Color Wheel from exercises in Color, Thread & Free-Motion Quilting by Teri Lucas. Image courtesy of C and T Publishing.

Understandably, color is huuuge in Color, Thread & Free-Motion Quilting. Discussions of analogous, complementary, split-complementary and primary schemes can sometimes make your eyes glaze over but Teri makes them lively and simple, with homage to Joen Wolfrom, creator of the Studio Color Wheel. Teri’s Impractical Color Wheel exercise is a revelation, when it comes to really seeing how colors stack up–literally–on different colored backgrounds.

There’s a score of other bloggers lining up to tell you what they think about Teri’s book, so I’ll comment on just one stand-out aspect: an “aha” exercise where different colors of thread are stitched across pieced strips of black, various grays and white. You can almost see the thread color visually change as it travels across the gray-scale stack of fabric. Mind-blowing.

Oh! Almost forgot! We get to give away an e-copy of Teri’s book. To enter the random drawing, leave a comment telling us about your “comfort color,” the color you most often use for quilting. Winner will be chosen on Aug. 7.

Follow Color, Thread & Free-Motion Quilting as it travels across the blogosphere:

7/27 Teri Lucas for C&T Publishing & Facebook Live
7/28 Melissa Thompson Maher, Generation Q Magazine genenerationqmagazine.com
7/30 Jenny K Lyon quiltskipper.com
7/31 Teri Lucas terificreations.com
8/1 Paula Reid battsintheattic.com
8/3 Teresa Coates teresacoates.com
8/4 Scott Hansen bluenickelstudios.com
8/5 Linda Pearl onequiltingcircle.com
                                                                                                                           8/6 Teri wraps it up!   terificreations.com

19 Comments

  • Liz Warnke • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #1

    My comfort color is deep, dark purple. It makes me feel good just looking at it.

  • Susan MacLeod • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #2

    The little bit of hand quilting I’ve done has been with thread that matches the background. I’m trying to get the courage to learn to FMG.

  • Kathy E. • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #3

    My favorite color is purple, every shade of it, but the color I use most when quilting is pink! Pink seems to coordinate with almost every color…at least to me! It also makes me happy and brings out the best in every other fabric.
    duchick at gmail dot com

  • Cindy Stalcup • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #4

    My comfort color is indigo. It adds depth and complexity to any project.

  • Angie Warren Callbeck • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #5

    Although I hate boring colors, I’ve been using 3 shades of grey a LOT over the last year, mostly a medium. They blend well when you don’t want to see it, but are there when you DO.

  • psjacunski • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #6

    My comfort color is anything bright and saturated and it is usually batik…purple, yellow, red, orange.

  • terri • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #7

    I love red but find myself quilting mostly in blue.

  • Meta Bonnell • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #8

    I’m a newbie with FMQ and looking at my machine it looks like a cream is my color of choice. But, I might choose a light grey or white. On my small fusible applique wallhangings, I go with invisible thread.

  • Meta Bonnell • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #9

    On small fusible applique wallhangings, I use invisible thread. On small to medium quilts, I will use cream, light grey or white.

  • Jackie Stevens • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #10

    First I miss ya’ll and your magazine. Second for some reason I love to work with aqua in all its hues, tints, shades and values. Thanks for the giveaway.

  • Laura • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #11

    My comfort color for piecing is green. For quilting it is light gray.

  • Bev Gunn • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #12

    YELLOW is my go to color for backgrounds. Love how it can be soft and soothing or bright and cheerful. White is expected but yellow just pops out like a ray of sunshine.

  • Laura M • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #13

    My comfort colour is turquoise. It adds zip to so many other colours.

  • Beth Talmage • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #14

    I seem to quilt with navy the most, judging by my thread purchases. For a more neutral thread, I go to a khaki green.

    I do want to tell you that my heart lifted when I saw your name in my In Box. Any time Generation Q Magazine arrives it’s a good day. Please stop by any time you like!

  • Linda Webster • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #15

    My comfort colour is a very light pink. I feel good just looking at it!

  • shadesofrandom • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #16

    My comfort color is green, but I like all the colors.

  • goonyburd • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #17

    I have mostly used boring shades of white… I love color, and a getting ready to quilt a COLORFUL quilt for my sister so I really want to get adventurous and come out of my comfort zone!

  • Pam • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #18

    I love anything purple or lavender. But this book would certainly inspire experimentation with the whole rainbow. Thanks for the chance to win, and for this great post!

  • K Yee • 4 years ago
    COMMENT #19

    My comfort color is blue. It makes me think water and sky which I find calming and beautiful

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