Be a Thread Picker

It takes imagination to choose the best threads for your quilt. And the more stitching there is, the more important it becomes to give it some thought beforehand. When Sarah Vedeler was at that point in making GO! Be Dazzled, the TQL April Centerfold, she had a plan:
• 2-3 threads to match the dark fabric (one the same, one lighter and/or darker)
• 2-3 threads to match the medium fabric (one the same, one lighter and/or darker)
• 2-3 threads to match the light fabric (on the same, one lighter and/or darker)
• 2-3 threads that will "pop."

GO! Be Dazzled, Too

    


 "When you are using a monochromatic color scheme with your fabric, as I did on GO! Be Dazzled, Too, use the complementary color in a couple of different shades, or a split complementary to give you two colors," says Sarah.

GO! Be Dazzled

"In GO! BE Dazzled, my pop colors were turquoise and chartreuse. The fabric colors all came from the warm side of the color wheel, so the pop colors added some cool tones." She went on to say that working with a color wheel, such as Joen Wolfrom's 3-in-1 Color Tool, is always a good idea!

Be Dazzled Even More Than You Were Before

The TQL April Centerfold, Sarah Vedeler's quilt GO! Be Dazzled, is a knockout. Sarah mentioned that the quilt has a little sister, GO! Be Dazzled Too, which you get to see here. It's a simpler version of the centerfold quilt. It's a fun exercise to open your April magazine to the centerfold, and compare the two.

Simpler though this one may be, it's still stunning. Sarah has advice for choosing fabric and thread for a quilt. "For embroidered applique, I want the fabric to be as plain as possible so that the thread—which is the main source of the design—shows up as much as possible. Solid colors work well, as do tone-on-tone colors." And what fabrics should you avoid? "Any fabric that has a distinct design. The thread just won't show up. And if you've devoted a lot of time and effort to the embroidery, you want it to be noticed!"

But what if you have a piece of fabric that you REALLY want to include in the quilt, but it has a lot of pattern on it? "Consider using it for the sashing and borders, or maybe the setting triangles or any corners in the center of the quilt. In other words, places where there is no applique or detailed quilting."

Great advice, Sarah!

Happy birthday, TQL!

The April issue is now out. It's our second April issue! That means The Quilt Life is celebrating its first birthday. Thanks to our wonderful loyal readers, it looks like we'll be serving up bi-monthly slices of quilt lives for some time to come. Keep those submissions and ideas coming. We love to hear from our readers!
    The Quilt Life will have a booth at the AQS Lancaster show & Contest next week. If you're there, stop by, introduce yourself, and let us know what features you've enjoyed the most. Or what you'd like to see in the future!

The passing of Jean Ray Laury

The loss of Jean on March 2nd was another great loss for the quilt community. She was of one of the "mothers" of the late 20th century quilt revival, there even before the quilt revival got going. I became a fan of her before I became a quilter. Back in 1977, I purchased her book The Creative Woman's Getting-It-All-Together at Home Handbook and it was a life-changer. I still have it and cherish my hardback, black-and-white, dog-eared, and stained copy with the broken spine! Back when women's roles were shifting and we couldn't always count on respect for our voices or in the workplace, Jean showed us how some artists managed their version of "having it all" (creative career and family).
    Years later, after Jean and I met and worked together on various articles, she maintained her persona that I had created for her just from that book and what I knew about her reputation in the quilt world: innovative, warm and supportive, and such a talented lady!

 I send our sincere sympathies on behalf of The Quilt Life to her family. She will be missed by so many.