The HV Master the Art : Quilting Meet - Mumbai August 04-05 2012

Husqvarna Viking had arranged this wonderful meet and IMQG Members were invited!

And it was awesome!


Here's the journey through photos!

Here's the first day...

On the extreme left is Aditya Gupta from Husqvarna Viking, India. He was the person responsible for the impeccable arrangement! Great job! Then is Daniel Won from SVP (for those who dont know it stand for - Singer Viking Pfaff - a single company that owns 3 brands...) Then is Gabriele Moosa - the wonderful lady who actually conducted most of the workshop... Her work is just fabulous... Then is me! And next to me is Devayanee Kachare - her work is like paintings - only with fabric and yarn! Absolutely stunning and inspiring!  Of course, I dont deserve to sit besides people like Gabriele and Devayanee... Their expertise is wayyyyyyyyyyy above mine... I was there only because I am the President of IMQG (and that too because nobody else is ready to take up the responsibility). It was an honor to share the stage with these great names! I will never forget it...

A few thoughtful moments!!! (dont remember what I was thinking though!)

Gabriele showed off her fabulous work... She taught us Cathedral Windows, Crazy Patchwork, FMQ and Mini Paper piecing! It was awesome... The best part : I really loved the way she was encouraging everyone... She is an expert herself, but she was very generous with encouragement and flattery for even the works of the beginners... :)...

Everyone listened in rapt attention...

It felt like going back to school! But a lot more fun!

Gaby demonstrating Crazy Patchwork...

I worked with my Echino Scraps...

Also spent a lot of time just having a look at everybody's work... That was Neelima with her awesome silks!

It was a busy day... Can you imagine 31 women in one room and yet silence! That was how much busy we were...

Aditya was always seen with a timetable in his hand... Stopping us from being carried away... Super organization skills, this man has! Got to learn a lot from him!

Then was time for Cathedral Windows! Gaby gave a wonderful demonstration and then everyone worked on their pieces...

Here's me working on mine!

Sonalee showed off her Hexies...

Here's Sabina with her own dyed fabric WIP...

Sangeeta with her creation... "Granny's Gifts" is the name of her studio!

Kalindi Hambir with her awesome quilt...

Kausalya with her hand pieced, hand quilted sampler!

Riddhi (the happiest woman in the meet - you'll know why later) with her WIP...

Shanaz with her stunning piece!

Elizabeth with hers...

There's me... I showed off many of my quilts... But here's a a photo of something I haven't shown you... A drawstring bag that I made to carry all my quilting supplies!

Thats Devayanee! See I told you - painting with fabric!

Sulekha - Devayanee's student...

and Swapna... another of her student! Super work! I'm planning to do a workshop with her...

Aditya showed off some super cool work made on a HV machine!


That was the end of Day # 1!

The next day began with me giving a demonstration of the improv style...

I taught them how to do organic curve piecing along with liberated quilting!

Later, Devayanee demonstrated her work... Look at those organized thread spools!

Post lunch Gaby gave us an awesome demo to make those tiny paper pieced blocks!

Some found it intimidating! But it was super awesome!

And then we had a contest!

We gave the girls 3 hours to make a mini quilt... They had to put together a mini quilt not more than 18" x 18" which reflects what they learnt during the 2 day workshop...

I was not allowed to participate... :(
As I was one of the judges...

And what did the winners get?

The third prize was an E10... It was won by Alana Sawant!

Can you believe this was the first time she was actually using a machine other than for mending clothes? Super job girl!

Sonalee's Cathedral windows won her the second prize : An E20

You can see a very happy Sonalee with her beautiful quilt!

The winner was Riddhi Kapoor (told ya she was the happiest girl at the meet!) who put together a fabulous mini quilt which featured all 5 techniques that we demonstrated!

Thats Riddhi with her 100C! The machine is yet not launched in India!

We were a one happy group of ladies' and gentlemen!

But we all had an awesome time!

Thank you, Aditya, Gabriele, Daniel & Devayanee for making this possible... and thank you everyone else for the wonderful memories!!!

F : Fun with Color

Today's post is

Fun with Color : Fabric Selection for Quilts

And this, once again is brought to you by, yours truly...

Shruti

Selecting fabric for a quilt is one of the most crucial decision you'll have to make... It is sometimes as easy as pulling out a bundle and starting work or sometimes it takes days (even weeks...) to decide what you'll be using!!!

If you are so lazy that you dont want to select any fabric... Go buy a bundle! Let someone else do the thinking!

Pre-cut bundles are a great way to start when you are unsure about your skills... These bundles are usually color-co-ordinated and take the stress out of making a quilt! You can get them in a variety of sizes... Commonly sold in FQs, some shops offer larger cuts too! Just check with your shop before you order!

But there are other "interesting" ways of selecting fabric... Some might find them tedious, but I love this process...

Most quilt patterns are created by the contrast between light, medium and dark fabrics. The colors or patterns that you select will affect the overall quilt design. 

image source

Not only will you have to think about the color but the shade, tone and tint of it!

Confused?

Let me guide you to a color wheel... I found one that is simple to understand... Its highly self-explanatory...

It is not difficult to grade one fabric from light to dark, 

but the value will change when you look at it against other colors. 

Fabrics appear lighter when surrounded by darker or deeper shades and darker when surrounded by lighter ones!

You can also use the color wheel to decide on the color scheme of your quilt!

You could select a few adjacent colors to create a harmonious effect.

image source

Or you could go for colors opposite one another for contrast.

image source

Some of the most effective color schemes use three adjacent colors from one side and another from directly opposite for contrast.

image source

The Primary colors create the most vibrant color schemes.

Three or four tertiary colors produce a more subtle effect...

When using printed fabrics, you have to think about the scale of the print along with the shade and value of the fabric! 

Small scale prints tend to look solid from a distance but add interest and create a textured effect when viewed at a close hand.

Medium prints are perhaps the most popular ones. But be careful when you use two of them together. Sometimes the pattern line is blurred and the desired pieced effect is gone!

Large scale prints generally become abstract patterns when the shape is cut. 

Or you can also fussy cut them to suit your purpose.

image source

It is fun to combine large and small scale fabric for your quilt!

Wow! That was quite a post!!! Now let me leave you with some food for thought!

9 things to remember while choosing fabric!

1. Quilts are a good way to use scraps. So shop fabric from your scrap bins before you head out of the door (or to your PC)

2. The wonderful and yummy Fat Quarters are tempting, but it would be foolish to buy them before you have planned your quilt! You do not want to run out on a cold day just 'coz you were a 2" short of fabric for your quilt! Trust me, if that happens, no quilt shop in at least 10 miles radius will have that one in stock and you'll end up paying 10 times to buy it on etsy!

3. Even if you only need a small quantity, it is always better to buy a little bit more than you think you'll need. If you feel you can do with a Fat Eight - go buy a Fat Quarter!

4. Think about using fabric from other sources - clothing for example!

5. Always use good quality fabrics with a similar fiber content for making a quilt!

6. Thin or worn fabrics will not last and batting will work through a loosely woven fabric to produce surface haze.

7. Choose closely woven fabrics, but not so tight a weave that they will be difficult to sew.

8. Visualize and plan the quilt on paper, then try out a single block to make sure the colors work well together (if you have doubts).

9. Have fun! Quilting is all about not just snuggling under the warmth. but enjoying the entire process.. So feel free to leave your inhibitions and my rules behind and just follow your heart! 

Remember, wrapping a quilt around someone is like giving them a hug!

Cheers!!!