Creativity abounds in these Halloween quilts made by workshops and by pattern customers!
View the variety of background and focus fabrics used in these Halloween quilts.
Creative Cauldrons
First, each quilter chose a focus fabric for their individual cauldrons, auditioning BOTH sides of the fabric.
There are lots of fun Halloween fabrics on the market every year. When choosing one for your cauldron, be sure to audition BOTH sides! You learn how in the Something’s Brewing quilt pattern.
These quilters use BOTH spooky sides to stir up trouble!
While the focus fabric is key, background fabrics play a key role in providing interest and sparkle to the quilts. Secondly, these cauldron creators auditioned their possible background fabrics. Variety of fabric genre adds interest to the background. The accent strips are used to pull your eye through the quilt.
If the value is right, use it in your Halloween quilts!
I encourage students to check their values when auditioning fabrics, but be bold with their choices!
If you like a fabric and the value is right, use it! Don’t worry if it’s a little wild or out of your norm.
Karla
As well as checking the values of the backgrounds fabrics, students watch how those fabrics work with their focus fabric. Notice that the lower half is a lighter value and the cauldron really stand out.
Quilt-makers of these Halloween quilts evaluate the value of their background fabrics as they relate to the front AND back of their focus fabrics using black and white pictures.
Something’s Brewing from Memory Makers class in their quilt show.
Bubble-making is easy when you use Accuquilt or Scan N Cut to make them! Here is the sheet from bubbles made in record time – less than 7 minutes–on the Scan N Cut!
Are these the three best quilting tools EVER, in the whole world? Okay, maybe not. However, if you are making quilts using fusible applique or even broderie perse, THESE ARE THE THREE BEST
Anyone who quilts knows you gotta have tools…and the right tools can really make quilting fun!
I’ve been sharing tips of the trade when it comes to working with value and auditioning fabrics for my latest patterns, which use both sides of one focus fabric. Now I’m going to share the three top tools I’ve found and grew to love while making these patterns.
(drum roll)
Karen Kay Buckley Scissors
They cut like a dream. The edges are serrated which makes them seem to grab and hold on to the fabric as you cut, rather than pushing it away from you. I have made many of these #usebothsides quilts and cut many, many paper-fused appliques with them – and quickly, too. They cut today as well as the first day I bought them. I highly recommend them. They make cutting enjoyable, even under deadlines. I use the blue handled size.
Soft Fuse Premium
A few years ago, I wandered upon Misty Fuse. I liked that it looked almost like a spider-web and, once fused, it felt like it wasn’t even there. It works great for projects where you use rulers or die cutters and you don’t need to trace patterns–because there’s no paper on which to draw.
Enter…Soft Fuse Premium , a paper-backed, but thin, web-like fusible which quilts like a dream. Soft Fuse doesn’t make your applique stiff or hard to manage and it quilts like a dream (kinda like Karen’s scissors cut). I highly recommend it.
Roxanne Glue-Baste-It
Temporary Basting Glue
Last, but not least, Glue-Baste-It with this micro-applicator tip is the bomb–and life-saver when it comes to whipping out quilts! This has saved me many times! It gets into tiny places, dries clear (really, it does, except maybe on Lame – but how often do you applique with that?), and it lasts forever! I still have a teeny, tiny bottle from 15 years ago (from the Sewing Basket) by my machine and it still works great (but doesn’t have this fancy applicator tip). So, why do I need this product? When I’m cutting flowers for Colorful Petals or Colorful Wings, I don’t cover my entire piece of fabric with fusible but I might see a flower I really want in my quilt. Rather than set it aside, I keep it in my pile and put a dot or two of Glue-Baste-It on it when I place it on my quilt. It holds the flower in place just as though it was fused, until I quilting it down. Likewise, if I’m quilting a long the edges of my applique and find a spot not adhered fully, I don’t plug in the iron and wait for it to heat up to reheat the fused fabric -I just dab a dot of this glue and keep on stitching! It really is a great product to have on hand.
Do you NEED these products to make #USEBOTHSIDES quilts?
Colorful Petals Quilt Patterns
Patterns available at etsy.com/shop/CreativeBeeStudios
Nah, but having cool tools is part of the game of quilting, right? If nothing else, put them on your wish list for Christmas!
Speaking of Christmas…the countdown is on and a new pattern is coming SOON! Stay Tuned.
What’s your favorite quilting tool or product? Let me know!
Meet sweet Emily. She is the second pattern in the series called Colorful Petals. Emily is made both beautiful sides of one focus fabric.
This lively sunflower fabric makes a great autumn art quilt.
Like Rose (click here), Emily’s “primitive pottery” vase is made from the reverse side of the floral focus fabric.
Choosing one focus fabric for the vase, bouquet and binding and stitching a scrappy background is a fun way to use up stash while making a fast, easy quilt for decorating or gifting.
It warms my heart to see some of my mother-in-law’s chicken wire fabric (circa 90s) in this quilt.
The four colorful accent strips used in the #usebothsides line of patterns make it a great way to use some bold, maybe even eccentric, fabrics from your stash that might otherwise might be too wild for a calm quilt like this.
Colorful Petals – Rose, Emily, and Kate (more on her next week) – will be taught at The Golden Needle (click here) on November 15th in Cape Girardeau, MO.
Emily uses both sides of one focus fabric i this sunflower bouquet.
These quilt patterns are a lesson in VALUE as you learn to audition your focus fabric (front and back) with a variety of background fabrics and accent strips — and their reverse sides.
Colorful Petals Quilt Patterns
Shout out to my Colorful Wings class – here is the cookie recipe I promised you, compliments of Nancy Kester:
Something’s Brewing, all right, with this Halloween wall hanging!
This Halloween wall hanging is spooky fun to make.
What is this Halloween wall hanging quilt?
First, Something’s Brewing features a bubbling cauldron. The cauldron stands on two honey-buzzard claw feet. There’s even a broomstick to stir the pot! Bubbles and steam boil over the top and edges onto the fun background fabrics!
Most importantly, this quilted Halloween wall hanging is made using both SPOOKY sides of one focus fabric. The cauldron is shown made from the RIGHT sides of a black fabric with white spider webs. However, the bubbles and steam are made from the REVERSE of the same focus fabric. Make the binding with the same fabric, as well.
The pattern comes complete with a full-size paper template.
Secondly, make the quilt using easy and fast fusible applique techniques.
Value is the key to unlock the magic of this Halloween wall hanging.
Discover the nuances of value as you learn how to audition BOTH spooky sides of fabric! Begin with the focus fabric. Once you’ve chosen that, start auditioning both sides of possible background fabric options.
The scrappy background fabrics.
Make your quilt sparkle by choosing a variety of background fabrics. Something’s Brewing is shown here with an eclectic mix:
My favorite fabric in this quilt: text from MacBeth!
See all the Halloween patterns and shop more than 50 designs that use BOTH beautiful sides of fabric HERE!
Finally, I have to share how fun it was to design and make this quilt, especially the honey buzzard claw feet and broomstick. Also, I love to see the creative cauldrons that customers and students make! There are LOTS of fun Halloween fabrics out there (and maybe in your stash) that would make a great cauldron.
Hope you’ll be stirring up something spooky soon!
Enjoy YOUR quilting journey!
Patterns available at etsy.com/shop/CreativeBeeStudios
There’s something really fun about watching eleven ladies take one pattern (Phoebee, Belle, or Lily) and make it their own. The trick to these patterns is auditioning the fabrics – which can actually take more time than putting the top together! They did a fantastic and creative job of fabric selection and color/value placement of all the elements (background pieces, accent strips, and both sides of the focus fabric).
In addition to making these beauties, we had tips, door prizes, a mini-trunk show and lunch.
To not reveal their quilts before completion, I’m just going to give you an “in-progress” peek at the variation in these winged-girl quilts:
Great job, friends!
Now let’s get looking to #usebothsides of your focus fabric to make some beautiful bouquets!
Rose uses the reverse of her focus fabric for the vase and the front for the bouquet and binding.
When you pin fabrics to your design wall, you can step back, get perspective, see how a fabric reads at a distance, and most importantly observe the values.
Granted most quilters don’t audition fabrics for four quilts all at the same time, but in this case, having four new designs waiting to be created made me realize how much more I like auditioning fabric on the wall rather than on the table or floor.
Plus, it’s much easier to take that black and white picture for observing value when the fabrics are in front of you! See The Tricky Traits of Value.
This past week was the kickoff of classes for Colorful Wings (click here for patterns) and I can’t wait to see the eleven finished quilts. In the meantime, my next post will give you sneak peek on how completely unique each of these winged-girls (and boy – yes, we had one boy) are!
A big thanks to all of the eleven students who took the challenge to #usebothsides!
Shop for Phoebee, Belle, and Lily from the Colorful Wings pattern series and Rose from the Colorful Petals series at www.etsy.com/shop/CreativeBeeStudios.
How do you audition your fabrics? Do you use a design wall? Please comment below.
The rose bouquet quilt shown here is appropriately named Rose.
This Rose bouquet quilt was the first made in a series of bouquet quilts. Each quilt was as different and distinct as the focus fabric from which it was made!
Rose is made with both beautiful sides of one focus fabric!
First, the focus fabric for this Rose bouquet quilt is Bed of Roses by Geri Robinson by Red Rooster Fabrics. It is used for the vase (REVERSE), the bouquet, and binding. Unlike other similar quilts, one accent strip in the background is featured in this quilt to demonstrate the contrast between the right and reverse sides.
The scroll work on the focus fabric for the Rose bouquet quilt doesn’t appear on the right side, but it makes a beautiful design on the vase when you use the reverse!
The key to making a Rose bouquet quilt is learning how to audition both sides of fabric. Value is the key! First, you will discover the nuances of value as you learn to audition both sides of focus fabrics. Likewise, once you choose your focus fabric, you’ll apply the same principles (tips) to audition background fabrics. It’s easy to audition fabrics when you know what to look for.
Basically, the Rose bouquet quilt is made using fusible applique and broderie perse techniques. Simply put, you’ll trace and cut the vase from a full-size paper template. Next, you’ll cut flowers and leaves from the motifs on the fabric. It’s as simple as fusing them onto the background fabrics. Finally, the applique can be secured during the quilting process, making this a truly fast project to make.
Phoebee, Belle & Lily
In conclusion, just like the quilts shown above, Rose is a fast, fun wall hanging which makes it a great gift or decoration for your home.
You know you’re a quilt enthusiast when your home decorating is based on the quilts you’ve made…or plan to make.
Write your blog post…write your blog post…write your–wait, I should get my fall quilts out for the front porch–no, write your blog post…well, I need to run downstairs to look up a password anyway, so I might as well just grab that one panel quilt for the swing…THEN I’ll write my blog post…hmmm, that old Thimbleberries baskets quilt would look nice here…I don’t use it in the house anyway and I’ll wash it at end of the season…oh, maybe the pumpkins one could go here…I really need to work on that blog post…its crazy how many quilts I have all over my house…hey, maybe I’m not alone…
So today’s blog post is about decorating with quilts! Do you? Decorate with quilts? And I’m not talking about hanging one quilt on the wall… do you immerse your house with your quilts? Maybe it is just me. It does seem kinda eccentric. Well, for better or worse, here it is–this is how my mind works when it comes to quilts and decorating:
A few years ago, I had a vision, if you will, of an Italian landscape quilt and so…I repainted my kitchen (complete with break-away brick) in preparation for the quilt I was making. (Yeah, kinda backwards, I know.) Click here to see Bella Vista. Turns out Bella Vista inspired a whole line of quilts, wool applique, and punch needle for an Tuscan-themed book proposal. Two of those projects hang from tables right now:
Bella Tablescape features an arched window on either end of the table runner with a landscape scenery.
Bella Tablescape
Bella Piastrella (beautiful tile) is a pieced tile pattern with fused applique. Click here to see the whole quilt in this post about using flange.
Bella Piastrella means “beautiful tile” in Italian.
Now a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt hangs in my kitchen (I adapted the colors and borders).
In my dining room hangs Italian Proverb, which was a row-by-row pattern I designed for promoting said book proposal. I felt quite accomplished cutting the letters for the proverb with my Scan N Cut.
Italian Proverb Row by Row
In our coastal-themed living room there are currently five quilts. Tropical Fun toured the AQS circuit a few years back in an Accuquilt display.
Tropical Fun made the AQS Accuquilt tour a few years ago.
Click here to see the others in my post, Summer Quilting.
Now for that one quilt I had on my mind, the one for my porch swing. A panel. Simple but great for a swing quilt because it wasn’t too involved or expensive (in case it blows away). Then there are the old greats from Thimbleberries club.
So, please tell me below that I’m not that weird and that you decorate with quilts, too! Or you can say whatever you want, but please comment!
In upcoming posts, I’ll show the rest of my Italian designs and introduce some NEW patterns using both sides of one focus fabric (it’s not just for winged-girls anymore!).
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Here are a few items you might want to add to your retreat list:
There are lots of lists out there suggesting what to pack for quilt retreats. Here are a couple of things I add to the basic lists – to update them or accommodate for my projects. Hope this will help you, too, be totally prepared for your next retreat.
Okay, so first, take all the normal sewing/quilting supplies (machine, fabric, thread, needles, scissors, seam ripper, etc.).
Then consider:
Chargers for phone, Ipad and Fitbit
Cords for all machines and laptop
Leather thimble or little stick-on dots for hand-work
Chain-cutter (mine is Barney purple)
Guild directory (for when you can’t remember that one lady’s name)
Pre-cuts guide (for shopping trip)
Pressing board
Silicone Pressing Sheet
Extra light bulb for machine
Basting glue
Pressing Spray
1/4 inch guide
Extra lighting
Water
You might want to throw in some clothes and soap and you’re good to go! Now check out thisOne Sweet Retreat to read about last year’s trip to Jonas Bluffs.
Please share your ideas for retreat lists and comment below.
Choosing fabrics for quilts isn’t hard, but it can be tricky.
Choosing fabrics for quilts involves auditioning the color, size of motif, and value of the fabrics. I have long thought I understood the value of fabric values. Value is what makes, say, a simple, two-color quilt have bold areas of light and dark. Value also makes those cool secondary patterns in your multi-color quilt design appear like magic.
Easy, right? I thought so. However, a few years ago (actually about 20 now), Blended Quilts became popular. I became mesmerized by blended quilts. I bought the books and studied them, reading about fabric choices and how to combine fabric values to work together, while not being too obvious. Turns out, I never did really “get” it. It was too hard for me to look past the floral motifs and colors. Thankfully, our guild had a program presenter who sold blended kits! Problem solved (for the moment).
Turns out, choosing fabrics for quilts based on value can be tricky!
For the record, I love all kinds of quilts.
Karla
My Grandma Emma Wichern’s lavender and white embroidered quilt is precious to me. Simple, clearly defined values. But I also love those wild “crazy-quilts” which practically shout in all dark values. Modern is fun, bright, and happy…or sometimes calming and simple. I have a passion to some degree for all types of quilts. But what really gets me excited about a quilt is when it is successfully splashed with all kinds of rich, colorful and different fabrics…and it works! Value is what makes the magic happen in those quilts.
To truly know the value of fabrics, you have to remove the color.
You can do this numerous ways, but the simplest trick for me is to take a picture of fabric choices or my blocks on my design wall with my phone and change the picture to black and white (mono or noir). Colors and motifs can fool you. For us quilters, fabrics aren’t just fabrics. They evoke emotion (usually happiness). I used to fall in love with a fabric, or line of fabrics, and be determined to use it because of my emotional connection. Consequently, I’ve made some quilts that turned out okay, but had the potential to be brilliant.
When choosing fabrics for quilts, remember that values change depending one their surroundings.
That’s the tricky part! A quilter once said, “My Light looks too dark when I use that light of Medium.” Okay, that was me who said that, but it’s true! And, it can be tricky.
Light. Medium. Dark.
The fact that my neat little piles of lights, mediums, and darks can change their values, depending on what is around, them was a “V8” moment for me!
Let’s look at this dragonfly quilt for an example.
Lilly’s background is made of scrappy, light neutrals with a couple of colorful accent strips. The background is light when compared to the dragonfly focus fabric. The flowers at the top of the quilt are made from the reverse side of focus fabric. The flowers “read” as a medium value. Clearly the dark value of the dragonfly is what you notice first. The flowers are secondary. The various background fabrics catch your eye last and allow your eyes to linger on them.
When you are just working on your background, those strips of color can look quite bold and may seem too dark to be part of the background. But when looking at those same fabrics in black/white WITH the focus fabric laying across them, they all fall into the light category and they work!
Even the colorful accent strips disappear in this black and white photo.
Phoebee is made with both sides of one focus fabric on a scrappy background. Choosing fabrics for this quilt is how I first learned the nuances of value. Using both beautiful sides of fabric taught me that lesson.
Notice that the boldness of Phoebee’s focus fabric allowed for a variety of values in the eclectic background. Phoebee is clearly the “buzz” of this quilt!
Next, lets look at Belle, the butterfly quilt.
Again, the RIGHT side of the butterfly focus fabric has a dark enough value that it can “handle” a lot from any background fabrics, including the accent strips. However, the REVERSE of the flowers made from the same background fabric are medium to light in value. Some of those flowers might have been lost if the value of the background fabrics were too similar.
In conclusion, choosing fabrics for these quilts might be a little out-of-the-box for some quilters, because they call for mixing so many colors of background fabrics. But if you follow this guideline it’s easy: If the value is right and you like the fabric, use it. It’s freeing to combine lots of “styles” of fabrics, like miniature prints, batiks, grunge and more! I encourage you to combine a variety of fabrics in your quilts. Remember, it can be fun choosing fabrics for quilts, when you take the guess work out of it.
It’s the combination of background fabrics that make these quilts sing!
Great job, friends!
Then there are the old greats from Thimbleberries club.
