eQuilter Blog

Now is a good time to review your stash and see what hues and values may be missing, before the holidays fly by and the Winter Sewing Season begins!

Someone recently asked me about how to proceed in developing a color palette of fabrics, and I thought it might be useful to offer some ideas.

You probably have plenty of fabrics in your favorite color. If you re-organize your stash once a year, this will become obvious. My favorite color is a rich Amethyst Purple. (A jeweltone) Over the years I have expanded my purple stash to include:

Dark Purple – like Deep Eggplant
Pastel and Midtone Purple – Lilac and Lavender
Desaturated Purple – like Mauve
Cool Purple – like Iris
Warm Purple – like Plum

However we need more than one color so the next step might be to review the analogous colors – the adjacent colors on the color wheel:

Blue and Turquoise
Magenta and Orchid

Then add a pop of a complementary color.
Yellow is opposite Purple on the color wheel, so this is the perfect accent color. Every successful quilt needs a ‘pop’ accent color!

Explore different values and different saturation levels of the complementary color. Lay out your palette of favorite colors, and then audition your potential complementary colors to see which color combinations ‘sing’ to you.

I like to push my accent color just a little bit one way or the other, so I might choose a Marigold or a Citrus/Lime-Yellow.

Eventually you can work your way around the color wheel and develop a collection of darks and lights, warm and cool versions, hot brights and soft de-saturated choices.

Developing a Neutral Palette of Black and White, Gray and Brown, etc. helps you to see the rest of your rainbow color palette as you audition possible color combinations.

Developing a color palette in your stash takes time, and you will find your taste changes over time. You will notice that you have preferences for solids, blender prints, analogous prints, multicolor prints, batiks or hand-dyes. You will become more adventurous in choosing your accent colors. You will discover combinations that had never occurred to you before. That is the fun, and the joy of developing your stash…and how glorious is it one day to think of a new color adventure and everything you dream of is right there at your fingertips!

Well anyway, that’s what I’ve been doing for 30+ years. Have fun preparing for the post-holiday quilting season!


Sharing your love for fabric,
Luana and Paul

Subscribe to my artist blog here. Most recent article – Pro Tips for BERNINA Q 20

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Dec 10 – Canadian Quilt Association – Zoom Lecture – Intl Quilt Trends
Feb 2 – SAQA Europe/Middle East – Zoom Lecture
Feb 18-21 – QuiltCon – Raleigh NC
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception


Visit eQuilter’s Instagram and Pinterest pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Artist Blog, Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

It is Thanksgiving Eve, and I am home from my wonderful trip to Taipei. Many thanks to those who gave me such a warm welcome, and who took care of me during my visit. To all my quilter friends in Taiwan, Japan and Korea….you always inspire me with your grace, beauty and creativity.

As a featured artist and speaker, I was given a gallery space right at the entrance to the Taiwan Quilt Festival. I brought 7 quilts to share, and this one (above) was finished the day before I flew to Taipei. I made this piece special for the Taiwan event. (42″ wide x 52″ high) The background is Evolon, painted with Golden Fluid Acrylics. The dragon and goddess figure were built up with batiks and hand-dyes, using fusibles and raw-edge applique. Then it was quilted on my BERNINA Q 20, which is a sitdown midarm machine. I gave a demo for the Q 20 at the show, and it was a pleasure to share my tips and tricks for the machine.

This textile artwork is a depiction of the Buddhist goddess of Peace and Compassion, and she rides a dragon in a rainbow sky. Her name is Kwan Yin (Quan Yin) and she came to Taiwan as my prayer for peace. The red characters on the left also say “Peace” which is my wish for this free democracy. Having visited China many times, I understand why the people of Taiwan guard their independence so fiercely.

As I mentioned last week, there was an abundance of Taiwanese quilts in Houston this year. Something is cooking in this island nation, and I am sure we will be hearing more from this group of enthusiastic quilters. I am reviewing my thoughts and editing photos over this long holiday weekend, and will be sharing more with you next week.

Also….thank you for all the birthday wishes on my personal Facebook page! You made my day!

Sharing our passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

Subscribe to my artist website and blog!
www.luanarubin.com

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Dec 10 – Canadian Quilt Association – Zoom Lecture – Intl Quilt Trends
Feb 2 – SAQA Europe/Middle East – Zoom Lecture
Feb 18-21 – QuiltCon – Raleigh NC
Apr 26 – May 1 – Alegre Retreat, Gateway CO
May 16 – New England Quilt Museum, Soul Stories Artist Reception

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Today I am writing to you from Taipei, where the Taiwan Quilt Festival will open in 2 days. I am here as a featured artist and speaker.

This year in Houston, Taiwanese quilt artists had a huge presence, so I’d like to start his week by featuring one of those quilts:

Dance of the Silken Weaving
By Hsu Mei Hua
Machine applique, Original design.

Inspired by the blooming iris, the image uses layers of fabric and smooth delicate lines to depict the dancing of flowers in the breeze.

I’ll be returning on Thanksgiving Eve, and bringing you quilt photos and stories from this trip!

Sharing our passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

Subscribe to my artist website and blog!
www.luanarubin.com

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Nov 17-26 – Taiwan Quilt Festival – Taipei – Feature Artist & Speaker
Dec 10 – Canadian Quilt Association – Zoom Lecture – Intl Quilt Trends
Feb 2 – SAQA Europe/Middle East – Zoom Lecture
Feb 18-21 – QuiltCon – Raleigh NC

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.

Last week I attended Art Quilt Tahoe, and then Sacred Threads. Having just come home from the latter, I’d like to share one of the soulful quilts with one of my favorite themes: Trees.

On the left we see a vertical banner quilt made by Patricia Caldwell.

Connections
17″ x 35.5″

Artist Statement:
“If we could stand tall like a tree and listen to the wind blowing through the branches and leaves, maybe we could feel a little peace and joy. If we could be part of the tree’s root system, we might be able to work together with love and unity. We are all connected. If just one of us took the time to step back and promote Joy, Love, Peace and Unity, maybe it would spread. This is my hope and my inspiration.”

To the right of the quilt image, I’ve paired it with our Tree of Life panel. Trees can represent family, wisdom, history, resilience, and the changing seasons of life. When I travel to the Birmingham Festival of Quilts each summer, I always add in a couple days in the English countryside…and I seek out the ancient trees that stand sentinel over battlefields, castles, and village greens. I like to sit under these trees and listen to them speak to my soul. A tree that has seen 500 years of history, has a lot to say, for those who know how to listen.

Like trees, our quilts are likely to go on in our own family trees, after we are gone. When we document our family history today, we are speaking to future descendants. When we document current events, we are speaking to future historians. I continue to encourage all of you to document current events in your quilts, because they too will become part of history.

The tree’s roots represent the past, and the branches that reach to the sun represent the future. I have taken up my mother’s genealogy work on the family tree, and it is a fascinating exploration of our human story. Genealogy and Quilting are 2 hobbies that go together very well!

Sharing our passion for fabric…
Luana & Paul

Subscribe to my artist website and blog!
www.luanarubin.com

Travel/Lecture Dates:
Nov 17-26 – Taiwan Quilt Festival – Taipei – Feature Artist & Speaker
Dec 10 – Canadian Quilt Association – Zoom Lecture – Intl Quilt Trends
Feb 2 – SAQA Europe/Middle East – Zoom Lecture
Feb 18-21 – QuiltCon – Raleigh NC

Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.

See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.

Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.