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by Mary Beth Krapil
We love color, especially bright color! Handi Quilter and allpeoplequilt.com have partnered to bring you a free, downloadable booklet, Color Play: Simple Quilts, Spectacular Quilting. This series of nine quilts feature free patterns and quilting designs from quilter and Handi Quilter Educator, Marie Eldredge. Keep an eye out throughout 2018 for videos detailing Marie’s process and how-tos. We hope you enjoy making these quilts as much as Marie enjoyed designing them!
See the quilts, learn more and download your free booklet here.
I was recently at the Capitol Quilter’s Guild bi-annual show in Raleigh, NC. This year’s theme was Quilting From the Heart. I had single color quilts in mind as I looked at the show quilts. Especially since the Best of Show quilt was monochromatic.
Irene Grimes, Best of Show winner, quilts with an Avante with Pro-Stitcher! Congratulations Irene!
I found a few quilts that were created with a single color (with a neutral). If you have ever tried making a one-color quilt, you know, it’s not as easy as it looks. You have to really pay attention to value to get the piecing to create the patterns you intend. Most of them were either blue or red. Here is a sampling. The first group of red quilts were part of the silent auction quilts, so I am unable to credit the makers. (sorry!)
And the yellow family:
And then there’s green.
Some of the primarily one color quilts had some other colors play a minimal part. Such as this one with a bit of turquoise to compliment the red.
Or many colors but in small amounts, with red as the star of the show.
In this quilt I think the black and white are the focus and the red is simply an accent, however, it is a single color.
Sometimes you just have to use the complimentary color.
Then there are those quilters who just cannot help themselves. There are all those great colors in the crayon box; they have to take them all out, and play with them all!
Beautiful!
Have you ever made a monochromatic quilt? What color would you choose if you did?
No, I am not a mono quilter. I love all the colors in the box, and I have a hard time using just solids. My friend and I did a challenge, I failed after the 2nd block. Some of the blocks were really big and needed the movement of a pattern to make them live.
I am enamoured of Edyta Sitar’s blue and white block of the month quilt, and that’s where I would start.
I’m sorry that I missed meeting you at the show. Perhaps another time.
I look forward to it!