After I left the fashion industry and found my way to the quilting world in 1990, I spent a few years taking quilt classes to learn some of the more advanced techniques. First I had to learn how to use a Rotary Cutter. Who knew? I had a giant heavy pair of Gingher Shears that could cut silk chiffon with a whisper, but there were quilting terms and toys I had to learn all about. Fat Quarters, needle-turn applique, quarter inch seams, binding, batting, basting, bearding, etc.
When I was ready to buy fabric, I was very disappointed by what was in the stores at that time. There was a lot of beige and dark colors. I was looking for Jewel tones! Pastels! Floral hues! Well, you know the rest is history. I had to start my own business to find those contemporary brilliant fabrics, back in 1999. Back in the Dark Ages.
These days quilters are not afraid of color, and they have become more sophisticated in their color choices. We put together stories based on a variety of color palettes:
Midcentury Modern & Retro Midtones
Ice Cream Pastels
Mineral Earthtones
Metallics like Rose Gold, and Pearlescent Shimmer
Deeply Saturated Midnight Palettes
Natural Plant Hues & Delicate Floral Tints
Analogous and Tertiary Color Groups
This makes me so happy to have witnessed the unfolding of Color Courage in the Quilting Tribe. We can thank Kaffe Fassett for blasting open the barn door years ago, and let me tell you, the horses are out of the barn!
Today I am sharing one of my favorite quilts from the Houston Quilt Festival a few weeks ago. Aren’t those colors absolutely luscious? I just want to eat them with a spoon.
This beautiful quilt is by Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry, and it is a great example of the use of a full spectrum of colors. The colors of the birds form a color wheel with warm colors on the right side and cool colors on the left. She calls this piece “Confabulation”.
One trend that I’ve been watching over the last 10 years is a growing Color Courage for quilters working with more thread colors. The extreme cutting edge of this trend would be a whole-cloth quilt with multiple bright threads forming a mandala on a black background.
Every time I start a new project I add a few new key colors to add to my palette of thread colors, which is part of the excitement of the stitching phase. I have been using Aurifil 50 weight in both my Bernina 790, and Q20, to make my recent larger pieces. I have gotten pretty fast at switching out the colors as I move through the different sections of the quilt. Practice makes perfect!
Long ago when I started taking quilt classes, there were little old lady teachers who insisted that we use ‘neutral’ threads like midtone Gray or Beige…for the whole quilt project. These days, I often will use a midtone gray in the bobbin, but the top of my quilt is a wild Carnival of Color! So I invite you to take advantage of a special pricing on all our Aurifil threads through the end of the year. We will not be restocking until after the New Year, so if you see some colors that make your heart sing…snap them up now!
Sharing your love of fabric…
Luana and Paul
Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.
See Luana’s Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, review our blog, or follow us on Facebook.
Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.
Luana’s Art & Activism lecture is now online.
Travel/Quilt Dates:
Feb 21-24, 2024 – QuiltCon in Raleigh, NC – eQuilter is a GOLD Sponsor.
