Christine's Color Connection, August

Christine's Color Connection

A newsletter for quilters in love with color

August 2013

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You can read articles on different aspects of color in my Archived Issues.

The Quilter's Color Club has lots of info on every aspect of color. You can find my book on my website .

Nature knows best

I think this has to be a regular feature; it's just so much fun to dig through my photos and find color combinations in nature. I took this in Butchart Gardens in Victoria a few years ago. I'd love to be there now, having tea with friends.

"Transparent Squares"

My latest quilt is an example of layered transparency, where lighter and darker values of see-through color appear to be layered, as if they are floating on different planes. I used Kaffe Fassett shot cottons for the blocks and ran the gray Gelato ombré (available as yardage in my Store) lengthwise, with the lighter sections touching the blocks. I love the simplicity of Sandra Bruce's machine quilting. This quilt measures 52 by 52 inches.

And then I got to thinking. . . . This quilt is a "regular "design; that is, the blocks are identical in structure, although they are rotated and the colors and values are different from block to block. What if I isolated and cropped a small area to make a new, asymmetrical block? Here's the result. As you look at the quilt, this new block is taken from rows two and three.

It makes me think that there is potential for interesting asymmetrical designs based on a grouping of regular blocks.

I'll be teaching this quilt as part of my "Transparency" retreat, November 1-4 at Sugar Pine Quilt Shop in Grass Valley, CA. See my Retreat page for details. The classroom is fabulous, and the fall colors should be beautiful. There are are four spots left.

Featured Workshop

Oh my, I still have a bad case of ombré fever! This new quilt, 36 by 36 inches, is a two-part workshop at Sugar Pine Quilt Shop, August 18 and September 1. In the first session you'll make the shadowed-circle blocks; in the second session you'll add the sashing. You can make this quilt exactly as you see it because the circle, shadow, and gray ombré fabrics are all available at Sugar Pine. I will have the sashing fabric at the first class. Call the shop at (530) 272-5308 to sign up; it's $75 for the two days.

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 events, let me know, and I'll put you in touch with the guild.

2013

August, 10, Lafayette, CA, "Earthscape" workshop, The Cotton Patch, (925) 298-4031

August 18 & September 1, Grass Valley, CA, "Deco Circles" workshop, Sugar Pine Quilt Shop, (530) 272-5308

August, 22 & 23, Citrus Heights, CA, lecture and "Elegant Circles" workshop, Golden Valley Quilt Guild

August 26 & 27, Red Bluff, CA, "Magic Fabrics" lecture, "Lustrous Squares" workshop, Sun Country Quilters

September 21, Folsom, CA, "Color Camp" workshop, Meissner Sewing and Learning Center

September 28, Fair Oaks, CA, "Sassy Circles" workshop, Thistle Dew Quilt Shoppe, (916) 967-5479

October 10 & 11, Oceanside, CA, "Magic Fabrics, Special Effects" lecture, "Luminosity" workshop, El Camino Quilt Guild

November 1-4, Grass Valley, CA, "Transparency: Parent/Child and Layered Strategies" retreat, Sugar Pine Quilt Shop, (530) 272-5308

2014

February 7 & 8, Burlingame, CA, "Transparency" workshop and "Black Opals & Ribbon Candy" workshop, San Francisco Quilters Quiltaway retreat

February 15 & 16, Fresno, CA, "Magic Fabrics" lecture, "Collage" workshop, Fresno Fiberarts Guild

March 21 & 22, Pasco, WA, "Featured Artist," Tri-Cities Quilters' Guild of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland

April 11 & 12, Templeton, CA, "Color!" lecture, "Black Opals & Ribbon Candy" workshop, Almond County Quilt Guild

May 17-19, Long Island, NY, lecture and workshop TBD, Long Island Quilters' Society

October 1, Petaluma, CA, lecture TBD, Petaluma Quilt Guild

October 9-11, Indianapolis, IN, lecture and workshop TBD, Quilters' Guild of Indianapolis

About This Newsletter

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