A Modern Twist Create Quilts with a Colorful spin by Natalie Barnes with Angela Walters, published by That Patchwork Place ($24.99) is that book we’ve all been waiting for incorporating piecing and quilting in one place. And incorporating both techniques into one book Natalie reminds us of the one concept in quilt making that defines us differently: Community.
Natalie dedicates the book to “the girls”, Grandma Stephanie, her aunt Laura Marie and her mom Normal Rose for helping her see beauty, to say yes and be kind. She carries forward this notion of community in the introduction where she shares the story of quilters who have been there for her, and helped her with the making of quilts for the book. She speaks of her friend Rose Hughes, quilting momma’s Nancy Crow and Gwen Marston who are still leaders in this quilting community, offering us the option of piecing and quilting quilts our way. It is this same sense of encouragement and community that is an eternal part of our lives as quilt makers.
The other day we posted Choosing Fabric a focus on one way to choose colors for fabric. Natalie, who worked in the field of corporate architecture and corporate interior design for 20 plus years, gives a good explanation of color using the color wheel and one further tip for choosing fabric: use the color dots or windows on the selvage of the fabric to help choose color for our quilts this simple and easy tip is often overlooked and it doesn’t get much easier.
Photo Courtesy Martingale; Brent Kane, Photographer
The projects in the book, like the Studio Boxes above, are well presented and easy to make. Small projects like the boxes allow us to explore color and practice our quilting in one project. The boxes will look cute in our sewing studios and make great gifts for all of our quilty friends. Shown in two different colors here we can see how color can change. If you notice on the bottom of both boxes Natalie uses the same fabric: on the blue box it blends in, on the orange box it stands out more as it contrasts.
The Random Landscape place mats, add color and warmth to any table. Natalie encourages quilters to use “ugly” and “magic” fabrics/colors to add a bit of pop and zing. Often it’s that fabric that we hesitate to get or use that makes all the difference in our quilts.
These ugly and magic colors can draw our eye to the focal point of the quilt. Like the red confetti dot here on just off center in Natalie’s Circle Shuffle. The red draws our attention and leads our eye to the navy in the upper right hand corner. The navy then moves our eye to the green on the left side of the quilt. All of this color placement together gives us the opportunity to see the quilt as a whole. We can see how the color plays and rests allowing us to enjoy the parts and the sum.
Of course there’s an opportunity to win a copy of the book! Simply tell us your favorite color or colors to use in your quilts for piecing or for quilting or both. On March 15th we’ll hit that Random Number Generator and choose a winner.
UPDATE: Congratulations Tamie, commenter #19! You’ve won a signed copy of Natlie’s book!
March 1 Natalie Barnes beyond the reef
March 2 Latifah Saafir Latifah Saafir Studios
March 3 Generation Q Magazine
March 4 Julie Herman Jay Bird Quilts
March 5 Jenny Wilding Cardon Martingale
March 6 Rose Hughes
March 7 Amy Smart Diary of a Quilter
March 8 Carolyn Friedlander
March 9 Victoria Findlay Wolfe BumbleBeans
March 10 Amy Ellis Amy’s Creative Side
March 11 Angela Walters Quilting is my Therapy
COMMENT #1
PINK and PINK! so glad my husband of many years is okay with it, sometimes out of respect i throw in aqua/turquoise. pink is my neutral…
COMMENT #2
I’m “newish” to quilting, but I love buttery yellow! It seems to be a tricky one to find though!
COMMENT #3
purple and green are my current favorites
thanks for the giveaway
COMMENT #4
Hmmmm….. I love purple! You can win my heart with anything purple. I usually try to sneak it into most of my projects somehow. Im not sure why, but it just makes me smile every time I see it. 🙂
COMMENT #5
I tend to use a lot of orange and pink but want to explore the zing! fabrics
COMMENT #6
Currently I have been using a lot of turquoises and sour greens, I am making a more modern churn dash quilt!
COMMENT #7
I have always favored green, as I feel it’s a neutral that goes with everything- in quilts and nature.
COMMENT #8
I can’t say I have a go to color. It just all depends on what inspires me that dictates the color pallet. I do have quite a big collection of black, gray, and black and white prints.
COMMENT #9
I love pink and blue for different quilts…
COMMENT #10
I’m really loving a lot of purple in my quilt projects these days!
COMMENT #11
Right now my favorites are red and blue together.
COMMENT #12
Just pick one seems impossible but on further thought I realize that an olivey, light mossy green is a color I have used in almost every quilt, several dozen at this count, that I have made. It must rank as a favorite.
COMMENT #13
Blue is my favorite color but I also like scrappy quilts with many colors. Generally I love all colors
COMMENT #14
Red! Red with anything!
COMMENT #15
Green seems to be my neutral when quilting but I really love to use yellow & pink together in my quilting projects!
COMMENT #16
I know, boring…..my fav is neutrals! But multiple neutrals, as in white or cream or light grey. I can’t have enough of these (never have what I need, must spend more 🙂 and then I splash in color.
COMMENT #17
I love to use lots of color but the one that is almost always in my quilts is orange or some form of it. Pink too!
COMMENT #18
I love working with blues and with polka dots! I am just now learning and would really enjoy the book! Thanks for the give away. Love your blog!
COMMENT #19
Some days I’m a blue and green kind of girl and other days I go for orange. Some days I just mix them all up like a rainbow.
COMMENT #20
I love red ! Always!!!
COMMENT #21
My favorites are orange, purple, and green. Together they sing for me, but separately, I really love them as well – especially orange and purple and chartreuse. I’m making a purple and green quilt now, and one of my favorite quilts ever, is all only orange.
COMMENT #22
blues and violets are my favorites, although I have recently used some lemons, oranges and limes, and find it very pleasing with certains block patterns! thanks for a chance to win the book!
COMMENT #23
I love blues and aquas. And greens. Guess I’m a cool color kind of girl! 🙂
COMMENT #24
Red, pink, and yellow is one of my favourites.
COMMENT #25
I use a lot of aqua and lime green in my piecing and my favorite quilting thread is Limestone King Tut. Lime green goes with more than you would think!
COMMENT #26
my favourites are hot pink and turquoise 🙂
COMMENT #27
Hi. I’m a fan of the darker blues and also of purples. It depends on what I’m creating.
COMMENT #28
I love to use blues and whites.
COMMENT #29
I love grey- in all different shades!
allisonpogany@gmail.com
COMMENT #30
Love teal and purple colors…then again I love fall colors too.
COMMENT #31
Blue for sure!
Those studio boxes and placemats are really nice!
COMMENT #32
Thank you for your giveaway! What a lovely selection of quilted items …so useful to make for gifts. My favorite colors to use in quilts are warm colors, pink hues being my favorite.
COMMENT #33
Reds for sure pared with greys or whites.
COMMENT #34
This favorite color question always stumps me as it seems that I love them all, depending on how they are presented – so, Ive lately been saying “rainbow” in answer to it! I also love black and white prints… so… I think it’s fair to say I don’t have a favorite (and I sure want to make a color wheel piece like the one above!!)
Thanks!
Liz
boltonia55@yahoo.com
COMMENT #35
I love blues and greens
COMMENT #36
My favorite colors are red, black, and white Nancy Hilderbrand
gandn74@ymail.com
COMMENT #37
Aqua is my favorite color, but I use all bright colors in my projects.
COMMENT #38
My favourite colour is purple, but orange is a close second.
COMMENT #39
I’m always switching what my favorite colors are. I like yellow and blue, but always seem drawn to aqua/turquoise with yellow or orange or red! Thanks for the chance!
COMMENT #40
Aqua, turquoise, teal—all those colors that remind me of the beach, the ocean, sea glass!
COMMENT #41
Right now I’m drawn to blues, browns, purple, and gold. Thanks for a chance to win.
COMMENT #42
I always say red. It my stash of blue is out of control
Drhodes9@cox.net
COMMENT #43
My favorite is the family of blue. Book looks good.
COMMENT #44
Right now I am hooked on red. Blue is starting to edge it out though!
COMMENT #45
I am a blue girl through and through!
COMMENT #46
Greens and blues with white
COMMENT #47
I’ve liked using blues, greens and purples. Actually I like many bright colors. Would love to make a number of projects from Natalie’s book!
COMMENT #48
I am in love with aqua, teal, turquoise colors!
COMMENT #49
I love to use blues. They have a nice calming influence on a quilt.
COMMENT #50
I love blues and purples mostly!
COMMENT #51
I love the combination of pink and brown in a quilt
COMMENT #52
I tend to gravitate towards bright purples, pinks, blues and reds. LOVE THEM!!
COMMENT #53
I love blues with a pop of cheddar!
COMMENT #54
My last few quilts have used gray as a neutral and I really like how it makes other colors pop.
COMMENT #55
Right now I am trying to put together aqua,greys, black and white, but need another color to pop.
COMMENT #56
I seem to love each and every color but probably find golden browns in more of my quilts. I love Natalie’s use of colors that stand out. Thank you so much for a chance to win a copy of her book. I would love to win 🙂
COMMENT #57
I enjoy using rose red, greens, and lovely beiges. Thanks!
COMMENT #58
I don’t think I’ve ever met a color I didn’t like, but I am partial to any shade of pink or red. I also love aqua.
COMMENT #59
I love a touch of Orange to make a spark in my quilts. Thanks for the chance to win!
COMMENT #60
I love pastels of every kind but pinks are my favorites.
COMMENT #61
I currently love pinks in my quilts! The book looks very inspirational. Thanks for sharing!
COMMENT #62
my favorite colors to use in quilts are teal, blue and purple
COMMENT #63
I make a lot of children’s quilts so I favor colors like red and sometimes blue.
COMMENT #64
I don’t know about a single color but I tend to choose reproduction fabrics over any others.
COMMENT #65
My favorite color that I like to use in quilts is green. I just love anything with green.
COMMENT #66
Fall colors are my fav
COMMENT #67
Blues are my personal favorites, but I find that I love all the colors in the quilts I make, as they come together.
COMMENT #68
I love navy blue and green.
COMMENT #69
Any bright colour with grey.
COMMENT #70
I notice greens in most of my projects.
COMMENT #71
I like to use bright colors, especially the “jewel tones”. Bright and cheery!
akronne17 (at ) gmail (dot) com
COMMENT #72
My favorite colors to use: blue, yellow, green and black.
COMMENT #73
Right now, my favorite color is navy. I’ve been putting it in almost everything I’ve made recently.
COMMENT #74
My favorite color to use is red.
COMMENT #75
Turquoise and periwinkle!
COMMENT #76
Loooove shades of blues…& greens…use them just about Always! lol
COMMENT #77
My favorite color is blue and I like to add it to as many quilts as I can! Thanks for the chance to win!
COMMENT #78
I love all the colors!!! Lately, my favorites seem to be pinks/oranges/yellows together. Thanks so much for the giveaway – I’d be thrilled to win a copy of this book!
COMMENT #79
My favorite color is turquoise with a shot of hot pink or fushia! Thanks for the opportunity to win a fun book:-)
LauraT
COMMENT #80
Lately I’ve been playing with different colors as my contrast. Gray and navy have been fun. Next is black.
COMMENT #81
I really love red in a quilt.
COMMENT #82
I love using all colors in different combinations, but if the answer is based on what color I have the most in my stash, I think it would be green.
Thanks for the chance to win!
COMMENT #83
I really like to use blues in my quilts. This books looks wonderful!
COMMENT #84
Blue — all shades of blue.
COMMENT #85
I love the latest trend – oranges, lime greens, aqua. Just last night I was noticing I have almost no purple in my stash. I think I need to “break out of my box” and get some purple going!
COMMENT #86
I rarely make a quilt that doesn’t have some orange or yellow in it.
COMMENT #87
These days it is plum. Works in moderns, works in civll war repros, works for me in so many styles and rooms and quilts.
COMMENT #88
Thanks for helping me see how using her color dots help the eye move across the palette in her circle quilt, very helpful. I like all shades of green, but purples and oranges jump in there also, like in nature, Keep up the good work, Kathy in Colo
COMMENT #89
Picking one favorite color is tough. I have a big stash of pinks and blues, so they are predominate now. But I do love teal and browns too 🙂
COMMENT #90
My favorite color has always been blue, but that doesn’t stop me from loving to throw orange in quilts!
COMMENT #91
Blue is My favourite, especially medium to dark
COMMENT #92
Love the color combos of turquoise and lavender.
COMMENT #93
love how the color neon blue makes a quilt ‘pop’. i’m not even a blue person.
COMMENT #94
My favorite colors tend towards blues and greens. They feel so organic and natural to me. Calming.
COMMENT #95
At the moment i am working with black quilting on gold fabric.
COMMENT #96
Red is the color that inspires me right now.
COMMENT #97
I’m on a black and white kick right now. Just finished a small quilt and now I’m working on a sweatshirt jacket. Pops of colour, of course, but black and white all the things!!
COMMENT #98
My favorite color is blue, but I love quilting with black. I would rather have a black background than any other color
COMMENT #99
My favortie color is blue, but my favorite color to quilt with is black
COMMENT #100
I love Oranges and yellows!
COMMENT #101
It seems to be whatever catches my eye at the time or what I have on hand. Majority of colors would be blues and purples.
COMMENT #102
Today my favourite colours are bright (almost shocking) pink with lilac and purples together with white. Tomorrow they’ll probably be completely different.
COMMENT #103
I love purple, in all shades, but really I love all colors, and go through stages, right now I seem to be in a pink/orange mode
COMMENT #104
I really like mixing turquoise and lime green in my projects. Thanks for the giveaway!
COMMENT #105
Recently I have loved putting blues and white together
COMMENT #106
I love the combo of yellow, green, and red.
COMMENT #107
I love a bit of orange in my quilts. Thanks for a great giveaway.