CHARM ABOUT YOU

Colour has a big impact on us, it can affect our mood and bring us happiness, especially when its in the form of a rainbow 🌈 We currently have three rainbows displayed in our windows for passersby to spot and smile about! I don't usually work in rainbow order (more on that later) and in fact I don't even arrange my fabric stash by colour but I do enjoy playing about with colour and the satisfaction that comes with choosing fabrics for a project.

Today is my stop on the book tour celebrating the launch of 'Modern Rainbow Patchwork Quilts' by Paula Steel. I am thrilled, not only because Paula is a real life friend who I have had the pleasure of spending time with in our little craft group and I am chuffed to bits for her, because she has created such gorgeous projects in this book! It will entice you to create and the projects in the book include quilts, cushions and mini projects, such as the purse I made. She has thorough and really useful guides for colour, tools and techniques, which makes it super accessible for everyone. Paula's writing style is so personable and honest, just as real as getting great advice and tips from a quilty friend that knows her stuff! It would be hard not to feel happy reading it, I found myself nodding a lot and smiling, I was really inspired.

The project I picked out to make is the rainbow star purse, here is Paula's original from the book: 

credits: photography Jesse Wild @wildjesse and stylist Jaine Bevan @jainebevanstylist

Cleverly Paula used waterproof fabric for the lining on hers so it's perfect for a washbag. I didn't have any nice waterproof fabric though so mine is regular quilting cotton. And now for my confession...

A few weeks ago I visited the Whitworth Art Gallery in my home city of Manchester. I was so inspired by the exhibitions that I was going to write a post, life kind of took over and it's been sitting in my drafts. Since we are now on lock down and most of us are staying home, I thought you might like to see a bit of artistic inspiration from the 'Tapestries' and 'Unreformed: Wallpaper and Design Diversity' exhibits, amongst others. 

The colourful mural above was created by Ibukun Baldwin, showing a little about how tapestries are made and reinforcing the skill involved. I also really love the colours in this piece.

From bold and modern to an absolute classic beauty from Morris & Co. ...

Isn't it always fun to start sewing a new pattern or project? When I found out we were working with Paper Pieces for this months Aurifil Artisan challenge, which is English Paper Piecing, I was super happy. They have a huge range of paper shapes and you could spend a day browsing their website looking at all the possibilities, thinking up patterns and imagining blocks. As soon as I found the Joseph's Coat pieces I knew I had found my project. I have never made this traditional block and I enjoy sewing curves, it's also a pretty design that becomes more interesting as it expands. I'm going to show you my layout and how I handle sewing epp curves.

For shapes like these you can't beat the accuracy of machine cut paper pieces and when shapes are curved I really do like to use acrylic templates for cutting. It makes the job so much quicker with a rotary cutter and of course it's super helpful if you want to do fussy cutting, as you can reposition the template and clearly see the area you are cutting. 

This is not just any book about colour, this is The Quilter's Field Guide to Color by Rachel Hauser.  I am not exaggerating when I say that this book is a game changer for me. I have learnt so much from reading it and not only through the practical advice Rachel gives but the actual EXPERIENCE of working through the exercises in the book. It's so much more than just information about colour (although it has got lots of that), it is packed full of genuinely helpful topics around colour. With excellent examples, tips and exercises to get you inspired to work with your fabric and create well thought out colour combinations and palettes. The book even contains a pull out of colour swatches that you can cut up and keep in the handy envelope at the back of the book, allowing you to play about and use them with the exercises Rachel gives. It is the most thought provoking and mobilising quilting book I have encountered.

I started with a print that I like but hadn't yet used in a project, the mustard/yellow/pink floral - Little Honey, Folk Song by Anna Maria Horner. From there I chose similar prints with yellow / gold colour (not the exact same shade), some paler prints, some brighter prints with bits of pink and a couple of  greeny/blue prints. OK so I also auditioned plums, browns, brighter blues and possibly more. After some time spent using the colour swatches and pulling out most of my stash from the cupboard this is what I picked...

*GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED*