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Christine's Color Connection

A newsletter for quilters in love with color

February 2012 
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You can now read back issues of my newsletter. Just click on Archived Issues 

  

In This Issue 

This month is about my "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects Retreat" at Tahoe in June.

cover, small, june

The Quilter's Color Club has lots of info on magic fabrics. You can find my book on my  website, at C&T, and in quilt shops and bookstores.

Be sure to check out my schedule; I've added quite a few workshops since my last issue.
Magic Fabrics, Special Effects Retreat

The details of my retreat June 17-20 at South Shore Lake Tahoe are now on the Retreat page of my website, and I'm madly working away on new ideas and samples. If you have my book, be sure to check out "Beyond the Basics" on pages 30-35. If you're new to my newsletter, click on "Archived Issues," at the left, to read more about magic fabrics and transparency.

 

The supply list for the retreat describes the kinds of fabrics that create the special effects of transparency, luminosity, opalescence, and luster. I also refer you to a number of quilts in my book and on my website.  

 

Keep in mind that magic fabrics are best used sparingly. The three blocks below, which are going into a circles quilt I'm working on, show how to mix magic fabrics and "other" fabrics. 

  

The color-shifting fabric in the upper right triangles is the magic fabric here. The Kaffe Fassett prints, the black-and-white dot, and the shot cotton solids are all, in comparison, dense and opaque. It's the gradated fabric that gives the blocks that light-and-airy look and creates a sense of distance and depth. If all the fabrics were "magical" (mottled, luminous, gradated, or shot with light), the blocks would look chaotic. If you come to the retreat, you'll want to bring lots of different fabrics. (There are two quilt shops at South Shore, so you'll plenty of opportunities to add to your collection.)  

 


             


     

 

That's it for this month. Feel free to write if you have questions. For those who sign up, I'll be e-mailing images of more magic fabrics in the next few weeks, to  help you visualize them. I'm excited, and I hope you are too!   

 
Lecture and Workshop Schedule  

 

Note: You can often attend guild meetings and take their workshops if you aren't a member. If you're interested in any of these lectures or classes, let me know, and I'll put you in touch with the guild.

 

February 26, Grass Valley, CA, "Transparent Circles" workshop (new!), Sugar Pine Quilt Shop, (530) 272-5308 

 

March 4, Concord, CA, "Color Camp" workshop, Thimble Creek

 

March 9 & 10, San Luis Obispo, CA, "Color!" lecture, "Color Camp" workshop, San Luis Obispo Quilters Guild

  

March 16 &17, Henderson, NV, "Color Camp" and "Luminosity" workshops, Quiltique quilt shop, (702) 997-1695

 

March 31, Folsom, CA, "Color Camp" workshop, Meissner Sewing Center

 

April 18, Fairfield, CA, "NCQC Meet the Teachers," www.ncqc.net

 

April 22 & 24, Arroyo Grande, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Luminosity" workshop, Central Coast Quilters

 

April 26, Nipomo, CA, "Color!" lecture, Olde Towne Quilters of Nipomo

 

May 14 & 15, Auburn, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Black Opals & Ribbon Candy" workshop, Foothill Quilters Guild

  

May 21 & 22, Merced, CA, "Color!" lecture, "Color Camp" workshop 

 

June 17-20, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects Retreat." Learn to create the special effects of transparency, opalescence, luminosity, luster, and depth in your quilts using fabrics that have light and life, all in a gorgeous Lake Tahoe, CA, setting.  

 

June 23, Oakland, Ca, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, African American Quilt Guild of Oakland  

 

July 9-13, Sisters, OR, "A Quilter's Affair." I'll be teaching "Lotus Leaves Squared" (July 9), "Color Camp" (July 10 & 11), "In & Out" (July 12), and "Collage Vest" (July 13).

 

July 19 & 20, Santa Rosa, CA, lecture and workshop TBD, Santa Rosa Quilt Guild

 

July 21, San Rafael, CA, "Color Camp" workshop, Mt. Tam Quilt Guild

  

July 26, Groveland, CA, "Color Camp" workshop, Pine Needlers Quilt Guild  

 

August 2 & 3, Oakhurst, CA, "Color!" lecture, "Black Opals & Ribbon Candy" workshop, Sierra Mountain Quilters  

 

August 21 & 22, Sacramento, CA, "Buying Fabric with Color in Mind" lecture, "Luminaria" workshop, River City Quilters  

   

August 27 & 28, Santa Clara, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Luminosity" workshop

 

September 9 & 10, Aptos, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Luminosity" workshop, Pajaro Valley Quilt Association  

 

September 15, Lafayette, CA, "Transparency" workshop, The Cotton Patch  

 

September 20 & 212, Benicia, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Lumiosity" workshop, Carquinez Straits Stitchers

 

September 23, Lafayette, "Transparent Circles" workshop, The Cotton Patch 

 

October 6 & 7, Weaverville, CA, reception (Oct. 6) and "Color Camp" workshop (Oct. 7), Main Street Gallery

  

Coming in the Next Issue  

I promise to write about intensity, the third of the "big three" color concepts, and perhaps the most challenging for quilters. But the careful application of this concept can turn a so-so quilt into something spectacular.

 

If you've received this newsletter, you may have attended one of my workshops or bought one of my books, patterns, or color wheels. It's easy to opt out, below, but I hope you'll stick around to see what's in store. It's all about color, using it, enjoying it, and sharing it with other quilters.

   

Thank-you! 

  

Contact Info

Christine Barnes

cebarnes@sbcglobal.net
www.christinebarnes.com