Clear is a color

My favorite color is clear. What??? you say it's not a color? Oh yes it is. 

When I was a kid I remember being asked a question by an adult. "What's your favorite color?" I thought it was a shallow question. I looked up at a window, noticed I could see though it and said, "My favorite color is clear". Why do we need a favorite color, they are all so wonderful in their own way? Each color has a time and a purpose in our world. Reds warn us of danger. Blues are calming. Yellow pops your eyes open. Well...the idea of clear being a color stuck with me for a long time. Windows are clear, you can see every color of the rainbow through a window. Clear is a color. It comes glossy, frosted, matte or milky. Clear items reflect the color it's most near while still remaining true to it's real identity...that it's clear. 

Here's a sampling of some of my favorite clear jewelry.

I've stumbled upon another favorite clear thing. It's thread!!! A friend of mine, Elizabeth Eastmond of OPQuilt, recommend I use it for a circle wedge quilt. I'm currently using Superior Thread's Mono Poly and..

I'm in LOVE!!!!

Here's a sneak peak at my Urban Lights quilt for Four-in-Art group. The clear thread blends easily with everything and doesn't distract. It allows the color of the fabric to show without creating an interruption. 

Inspiration from a Satellite?

I'm about to say this out loud kids... I joined another quilt group, it's called Four-In-Art (a play on Foreign Art). The quilt group makes four small art quilts a year. The current assignment is Urban Lighting. So where do we get some of our most amazing urban lighting these days?....It come from the satellites circling our planet. My inspiration for our current project is...an image of Southern California at night. 

Just like graphic design but with fabric

I've been working on a quilt by Jaybird Quilts 

called Science Fair.

When I saw this pattern at Road to California I knew I had to try it out because it's 

Just Like Graphic Design, But With Fabric. I've been collecting the black and white prints for a few months and was happy to find a project they could call home. 

Love the hexie edge. 

         
My younger kids like the watermelon pinks and greens together. I've realized that even with my graphic design experience color is still a challenge. For this quilt I originally started out with pink and orange for my solid colors. I loved how the pinks bled into the orange colors in a stack on my worktable, but soon realized the quilt was looking more like Halloween (with the black and orange) than I wanted it to. So a quick color swap of green for orange and the quilt was off the chopping block.

Now the quilt is ready to more artistry. I have some ideas for quilting some fun diagonals on it. Until all the ideas come together the quilt top will sit and wait it's turn on the dream machine. 

On another note, I am pulling out my hair right now! I am used to having TOTAL DESIGN CONTROL when I use Illustrator or InDesign. With this blog I'm operating at about 20%. I just want to click and drag EVERYTHING into it's proper place. We shall see how long this torture lasts before this quiltalicious adventure moves somewhere else!!!!!

 The hexies actually join together!

Yummy Fabric

My good friend, Mayme Baumann, once asked, 

"Want to buy some 

Yummy Fabric?"

I thought..."This friend is either CRAZY, or has something amazing to show me." With a trip to the fabric store my adventure began with a purchase of yummy colored fleece in every color in existence. We made sweatshirts, gloves, scarves & hats to keep our little kiddo's warm in the cold Michigan winters we were enduring. 

Thanks to Mayme I've been sewing strong for 18 years now. I've sewn everything from swimsuits, hats, jackets, prom dresses, aprons, duvet covers, and now I've become a quilter. 

YOU QUILT??? 

That's for Grandmas.

Yes, I said the same thing until I realized that... 

Quilting is just like Graphic design, but with fabric!

Swirling Rainbow

Swirling Rainbow 1976
Simone Gautier