Drawing Inspiration from Color Palettes

June 23, 2015

Where does your quilting inspiration come from? There are so many wonderful places to draw creativity from. We can pull from our experiences, travels, nature and our daily life. With so much information on the internet, we are never short of seeing inspiration from others via blogs, instagram, other photo sharing sites, and Pinterest.

But where does the inspiration begin? A photo? A color? A quilt block? The answer may change with each project.

Strawberry Brights from design-seeds.com

I enjoy finding inspiration at color palette websites. Have you tried it? Color palette websites are based on gorgeous photography. The photos are shown with the major corresponding colors pulled out of the photo and listed next to each other in a paint chip-like swatch. I love to peruse palette websites, looking for a series of colors that Wow me and would look good in my next quilt.

Here are a few color palette sites I found:
Design Seeds
Color Palettes
In Color Balance
Akula Kreative

Using a Color Palette Image to Inspire Fabric Choices: Here is an example of how I used a color palette image in a quilt. This Vice Versa quilt was originally designed using greens, yellows and blues. The palette was harsh, but it helped me decide what quilt blocks I wanted to include in the Sampler. After the blocks and layout were decided, I was in need of some color inspiration. I turned to Design Seeds to find the right palette for this quilt. On the left, is the Color Sip image from Design Seeds. I mocked up the quilt using this soft palette of putty, dreamsicle orange, coral, plum and green apple. I liked this look and was able to choose a similar palette of solids to make the actual quilt.

Using a Color Palette Image to Inspire Fabric Choices AND Quilt Design: This color palette image influenced both the quilt design and the color inspiration. I found this Pigmented Palette image again at Design Seeds. The image evokes a strong southwest feel for me. I kept picturing a quilted version of a totem pole in my head. I wanted to use a quilt block that could represent that notion to form the layout for the quilt. This quilt, Moccasin, is based on the X&+ and Sister's Choice quilt blocks. The individual sampler blocks fill the totem pole. The color palette pulled from the image spoke strongly to me, but I decided to change the blue hue from aqua to midnight blue. This makes me think the quilt shows itself against the night sky.

Are these palettes just for Solids? No way! I chose to use solids in the two examples above. That is simply my choice - I love the way the block shapes really stand out when pure colors are used. But don't think you are limited to solids when using palettes as color inspiration sources. Below you can see a bundle of prints that I put together to coordinate with the inspiration photo Color Spice (fabric photo courtesy of Sew Me A Song). Just use the photo and palette as a starting point...

Create your own palette: Say you have your own photo that inspires you. It would make a perfect color palette if only you knew how to do it. No problem! Check out Chip It from Sherwin-Williams. You can instantly turn your photo into a color palette using over 1,500 of Sherwin-Williams paint colors. Pretty clever, huh? Here's a photo from my Instagram feed of Valentine's day pudding that I tested out with Chip It. Wouldn't that make a pretty quilt?

I hope you find some inspiration here and check out some of the color palette sites next time you sit down to make your next quilt.

Patchwork Auditions #4: Economy Block

June 9, 2015

The Patchwork Auditions blocks are so much fun to play with. Today I show you the fourth block in the series. The series looks at some classic blocks and exposes alternate colorings. My goal is to simply think about other ways to color a quilt block I have looked at hundreds of times. So far I've been making 3 of each block - 1 traditional coloring and 2 alternates. It's amazing how different they look! Eventually, I'll put them together into a scrappy quilt. Find all the details here.

Join me on this laid back adventure if you like! Below you'll find a cutting list for the basic blocks in 12" and 16" finished blocks, but not a tutorial. Use the coloring sheet to generate your own ideas. I hope that you'll audition other color arrangements and play as I am. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Economy (Traditional)
This Economy block is surely a classic. It uses the diamond-in-the-square block twice and is a great way to fussy frame some cute motifs. This block gained some popularity in the past 2 years with this tutorial and the #economyblockalong quilt-along on Instagram. There are SO many cute versions of this block! Pictured below is the most common way to make it.

Economy Block Coloring Sheet Download the PDF here.

Block Structure

This block is constructed with (2) diamond-in-the-square units, one inside the other. Traditionally, 3 different fabrics, A, B, and C make up the block.

Cutting List. I have listed cuts for both 12" and 16" blocks.

For 12" blocks.

Cut (1) 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" square. (A)
Cut (1) 7 1/2" x 7 1/2" square. (B)

Cut the square on both diagonals to yield 4 triangles.

Cut (2) 7 1/2" x 7 1/2" squares. (C)

Cut the square along one diagonal to yield 2 triangles. 4 triangles needed total.

The (B) and (C) cuts are oversized to allow for squaring up as you go. Go here for a tutorial on this block.

For 16" blocks.

Cut (1) 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" square. (A)
Cut (1) 9 1/2" x 9 1/2" square. (B)

Cut the square on both diagonals to yield 4 triangles.

Cut (2) 9 1/2" x 9 1/2" squares. (C)

Cut the square along one diagonal to yield 2 triangles. 4 triangles needed total.

The (B) and (C) cuts are oversized to allow for squaring up as you go. Go here for a tutorial on this block.

Alternate Coloring Options

There are a few ways to recolor this block that are outside the traditional coloring. In this exercise, I simply am recoloring the block without changing it's basic construction. These are just a few of the options I found. These options can yield very different looks.

A	B	C
D	E	F
G	H	I

My Sample Blocks

traditional Economy(12" block)

letter G in the table above (16" block)

letter D in the table above (16" block)

Feel free to share any past or present Economy blocks you've made with us to show how you colored it using #patchworkauditions #economyblockalong. Enjoy!

Lacuna Sampler Quilt Pattern

May 15, 2015

Let me introduce to you the Lacuna Sampler Quilt Pattern. I'm very proud to show off this quilt. I've been working on it for its big debut at Quilt Market this weekend with the introduction of the new fabric line Pie Making Day by Brenda Ratliff for RJR Fabrics.

This quilt design came together so easily. There was just something about these fresh cheery colors that played so well as the "wheels" in the Cheyenne block. It was one of those "Ah-ha" moments where I was like "That's IT!!!" and I couldn't wait to begin work on the quilt. I wanted to create an easy sampler inside the wheels.

The Lacuna Sampler Quilt Pattern uses six different blocks as the middle of the wheel. It's a great place to try some new skills. They are basics - the pinwheel, hourglass, star, diamond-in-the-square, cross, framed square. Great classics for everyone to learn!

The sampler wheel blocks surround a gorgeous giant interpretation of the same wheel block. Only this time, the center block is a rainbow of patchwork goodness.

So what does Lacuna mean? Personally, I think Lacuna is a sexy word for something so simple.

Lacuna NOUN

noun: lacuna · plural noun: lacunae · plural noun: lacunas

an unfilled space or interval; a gap:

Lacuna (pl. lacunas or lacunae) may refer to:

Lacuna (manuscripts), a missing section of text
Lacuna (music), an extended silence in a piece of music
Lacuna (linguistics), a lexical gap in a language

(from Oxford Dictionaries and Wikipedia)

In the case of the Lacuna Sampler Quilt here, I've named this quilt Lacuna because of the white space in the exact center of the quilt. There is so much color and activity going on in the rest of the quilt - but it's in the exact center that there is a dead spot. A gap. An unfilled space.

I had my long arm quilter quilt a replica of a flower from the main Pie Making Day print in the quilt's rest space for the eye.

The pattern has an advanced beginner skill level. It's a pattern that comes together quickly, as first, you make the sampler centers, then piece them into wheels. The fun part is picking out what colors you want in which blocks. This would be a great quilt to make scrappy as well.

Lacuna Sampler Quilt Fabric Requirements.

Finished Block Size: 14" x 14" | Finished Quilt Size: 63" x 63"

Assorted Colorful Prints 24 Fat Quarters (18" x 22")

White Solid Background 2 1/2 yards

Backing 4 yards

Binding 1/2 yard

Batting 71" x 71"

**Fat Quarter and Scrap Friendly**

The Lacuna Sampler Quilt Pattern is now available in my shop! It will be on sale all this week for just $8 PDF / $10 Print. After it's debut week, the pattern will bump up to $10 PDF / $12 Print at it's regular price.

The printed pattern is a full color 12-page booklet, professionally printed with color diagrams throughout the instructions.

Enjoy! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask! {annemarie@genxquilters.com}

**Fabric for the sample is Pie Making Day by Brenda Ratliff for RJR Fabrics. In stores July 2015.**