Mary's 5000 Member Block

When I teach classes, I often cover the topic of choosing fabrics for a project. Most quilters are timid and unsure in this area of patchwork. Recently I uploaded a new block design for the Carol Doak Yahoo Group. It was in honor of our group reaching 5,000 members. Lots of members have been making the block and uploading pictures. Mary used a white background with red and blue to produce a very patriotic block.

Linda's colorful block made into a small wall quilt.

Linda chose a black background and a variety of bright colors. She also found the perfect multi-color setting fabric. This wall quilt has a contemporary feel.

Kathi in Georgia gets our attention

Blue and orange create a very strong contrast and this one has great attention getting appeal.

Bonitahounds

This block has a graphic appeal and a variety of fabrics and colors to keep our interest.

Cathy in Maryland

Cathy in Maryland chose her colors from the border fabric she used to frame her four blocks. Wonder if Cathy would have chosen the colors without the border fabric? Perhaps yes but perhaps it was the comfort of seeing them work together in the border that inspired her.

Patti's block

When I first saw this block, I noticed that great print fabric used in the rays. It almost gives a lacy appearance to the block.

Carol, Cathy's Mom

Now Carol may be related to Cathy, but she definitely marches to a different drummer. The simplicity of the shades of black and red are wonderfully graphic.

Barb's block

Doesn’t Barb’s block just make you think of early spring with the purple and yellow flowers decorating the earth?

Anita D.'s block was turned into a Trivet

Anita’s colors against the solid black are very graphic. My question is the chicken and the egg…did Anita have the border fabric and choose her colors from it, or did she choose her colors and found the perfect border fabric?

Merilyn from Australia

Most of the fabrics in this block read solid against the white background. Using that very dark maroon for those spikes really make them stand out and give this block a delicate look.

Chris in Oregon

Chris has a graphic block too, but she chose more pastel colors to give it a soft look as well.

Lida in MA

Lida’s block just celebrates color!

Barbara in TX

Many quilters do love the combination of blue and yellow. Barbara did it well with plenty of contrast and interest in the textures of her fabrics.

Pat F

Pat used blue and yellow also, but went for a neutral white background and added an accent of green in the four corners.

Carole D

The batik style fabric that Carole used in her block gives it a tropical personality.

Janice in TN

The floral print Janice used was a great jumping off place to combine the colors she used. I really like the darker red triangles in between because they add a bit of spice to this block.

Suzanne's block

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Suzanne’s Christmas fabrics definitely define the purpose for this graphic block.

Patty C wanted to play

Patty C wanted to play with the possibility of using this block to create a medallion style quilt. She limited her color selection, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be expanded to include more colors later.

As I looked through the blocks that were posted and noted the different approaches members took to make their blocks, it brought home that choosing the perfect colors is simply a matter of choosing the colors that achieve your goal.

All the best,

Carol

Last week I had the pleasure of traveling to New Braunfels, TX to teach at a five-day Seminar for Quilting Adventures. I do love a multi-day format because not only do I get to spend more time getting to know my students, I have the pleasure of seeing the finished project. Each day, the learning builds on the day before and I see the students become comfortable with the process. We began the class with a discussion about color and the students selected their fabrics.

As the blocks were made they were put up on the design wall to audition different fabric choices. 

The students learned to baste their sections to check for a good match. Nancy Ament was thrilled that she was in the basting stage when she opened her block to see she had added two of the same sections…we did have a chuckle over that one. The setting was wonderful and we all bonded as a group throughout the week. Lots of fun, laughs and learning took place. 

As the quilts were completed, I took pictures. I am so proud of all my students and loved seeing the results of their creativity and learning.

A potential table runner

As the sections were being added, this portion was admired as a potential design for a future table runner.

I used the Royal Medallion Quilt from the Mariner’s Compass Stars book as the basis for the skills in the class. Wait until you see what everyone accomplished!

Let the quilt show begin.

Rex and Chris McCaskill

 Rex and Chris Mc Caskill are a husband and wife team who worked on this stunning quilt. Rex was a good sport and let me use his fabrics to describe how to choose fabrics to get the result you want. Rex and Chris had this fabric that had stripes of blue, yellow and green stripes that flowed from one to the other. He liked that fabric, so that was the basis for their quilt. I thought the end result was stunning. It appears the center compass is radiating light.

Martha Zimmerman

Martha began with a wonderful multi-color batik border and I heard her say more than once, “I love red”. So taking her lead, I suggested putting red triangles in the corners of the center. It really made the center pop!

Linda Neal

Linda was one of the quickest students and not only finished her quilt, but began working on a miniature “My Little Town” quilt. The Autumn multi-color inner border fabric was the jumping off place for Linda’s fabric combination. It was so striking.

Linda Kager

 Linda Kager came to the class with her Mom, who is a new quilter. Not only did Linda complete her quilt, but she was always there to lend a hand to her mom. The multi-color check in the center of this quilt gives it a contemporary look and the vivid colors just make you want to study the quilt.

Margaret Sedlak

 Margaret, oh I have a fun story for you all about Margaret’s quilt. Margaret struggled so with the suggestion that she use a batik stripe with the blue batik fabric she had for the center. Then she was struggling with her border choice so we went downstairs to the onsite quilt shop and look what we picked out for the border!!! This gorgeous large floral and bold pink stripe. The cornerstones featured a fussy-cut flower from the border print. The quilt was such a “Wow” quilt. We joked that she was going to call it “Blue Stripe”. I guess you had to be there to appreciate the 180 Margaret took. It was such fun!

Georgia Roth

 Georgia had this wonderful collection of beautiful batik fabrics with different textures that were all tied together with the stunning stripe used in the center border. The playful red border tied it all together, but Georgia wanted a paper-pieced accent in the four outer corners. At first she was going to make quarter blocks and then after finishing the A section, we decided to just use 1/8th of a section. They were placed so they looked like they were swirling around the quilt.

Nancy Lowe

When we discussed color, I suggested that the setting triangles could be a different color for a different look. Nancy took this approach and found just the right fabric that contained all the colors of her quilt to provide a wonderful ground for her center portion.

Beverly Wilson

OK, so Beverly saw her friends go shopping for new fabrics and decided she wasn’t happy with the fabric she brought for her inner and outer borders….so you guessed it…we went shopping. Beverly was very pleased with the final result.

Nancy Ament

Nancy had completed her blocks and decided she wanted a more colorful outer border….off shopping we went. The end result was stunning. The dark ground in the center really made her colors pop.

Marty Becht

The combination of the greens, purples and peach in this quilt was just gorgeous. The bits of yellow against the center ground was like rays of sunlight. Marty was very happy with her finished quilt.

Marge Russo

Marge had come to the seminar with her daughter Linda. At first she was a little timid amount her skills, but boy, her confidence built each day. By the end of the seminar she was confident and thrilled with her first completed quilt.

Dorothy Johnstone

Dorothy chose fall colors for her quilt. The outside border was her jumping off place. Dorothy is going to use this as the basis for a bed side quilt for her grandson. We brainstormed how she could add blocks and borders to make it larger.

Lynda Thompson

Lynda had a gorgeous collection of batik fabrics for her quilt. She was encouraged to use the gold and when she completed the quilt, I think she was thrilled that she did.

Sherry Hughes

 Sherry is not afraid of color and her rainbow colored quilt turned out beautifully. She decided on the light blue outer border, but unfortunately there was none to be had in the store so her quilt will be completed when she gets that fabric. She is smiling because she only has the outer border to add to complete her lovely quilt.

I thoroughly enjoyed my week with my students and hope you enjoyed seeing their gorgeous quilt tops.

All the best,

Carol

A Labor of Love Quilt

I often receive requests from people who would like to make a quilt from one of my patterns and donate it for a good cause. I received such a request from Annie Miksch from Washington State. I am always happy to grant such permission and only ask that the source of the pattern be included on the label and that it is being used with permission.

Annie wanted to use the Spinners pattern from my book, 40 Bright & Bold Paper-Pieced Blocks, to make a quilt to be auctioned of as a benefit for hr Island’s non-profit nursing home/assisted living facility. Annie wrote, “…I specifically chose one of your patterns because I knew it would have widespread appeal and look very precise thereby enabling me to raise far more money for the Care Center than I could otherwise afford to give them.”

A stunning close-up of A Labor of Love

Annie wrote recently to let me know the auction had ended and that her quilt had raised one of the highest dollar amounts.

Label on Annie's quilt

Annie wrote, “It is appropriate that the name of the auction was “A Labor of Love” because it truly was!”

Thank you Annie for sharing your beautiful quilt and love.

All the best,

Carol