Sunday, February 15, 2015

Early Spring

I do hope you each had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  My husband and I usually don't do a whole lot for Valentines Day.  This year was a little different for us.  It was snowing like crazy here and we made an effort to stay in and keep warm.  I spent the better part of the day in my quilting studio preparing for my upcoming retreat.  I asked my husband to join me and help me with my projects which ended up being the perfect way to spend the day.  He was entertaining as well as helpful to me.  He chose fabrics, arranged things, designed some of my Lucy Boston blocks among other little things.  For me, it was the perfect way for him to say, "I Love You".  He was happy not to spend the day grading papers and doing work he had brought home from the office.   I fixed him one of his favorite meals and we topped the day off with a shared movie.  Absolutely wonderful day!

At the end of this week I will get to experience an early taste of Spring.  I'm off to CA to lead my retreat in the Sonora area.  I am excited to thaw out and be warm for a few days.

Have you come up with any ideas about the fabric or color of courage?  Let me know your thoughts please.

What would be the color of the sun?  Is there a fabric out there that would meet that criteria or would you have to create it?

Friday, February 13, 2015

The Color of....



Over the last couple of weeks I have done several classes on color.  It is only moments into the class before the students understand that color is secondary to value.  After all, color is a preference.  This is pretty much true in choosing fabrics for our quilts, or at least I think it is.

On a very different level color is important to us and speaks to us in a very individual way.  One of the students in my class stated that she needed courage to pick out her own fabrics for her quilts.  She has to this point only purchased kits or relied heavily on the employees in the quilt shop.  Since that class I have been wondering, what is the color of "courage"?

Courage is the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.    In looking through my stash to see if I could find a color or fabric that speaks of courage I realized what was easy for me might be courageous for someone else and vice versa.  I also realized that I often need the right mental attitude to choose fabrics for the next project.  I've challenged myself to look closely at the color of things in nature, especially all the varieties, shades and nuances of that particular color and see if I could find the color of courage.  Tree bark, for instance, is not one color but many many colors.  I was amazed.

What is your color for courage and what fabric would you choose to put a little courage into your next quilt?