Night Into Day; A Negative Space Quilt Using Notan

Last night was the opening of Unoccupied: The Importance of Negative Space, a show of modern quilts made by the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild. It was a lovely evening full of quilty friends and wonderful quilts. The show runs November 15 through January 6, 2020 at the Collective - Community Arts Center in Lafayette, CO. If you're in the Denver area be sure to stop by. I have two quilts in the show. Circling the Square and Night Into Day. Night Into Day even made the cover of the show postcards.

When the show was first announced I knew I wanted to explore something new using negative space.
I started with a lot of different ideas and struggled at first to narrow down the choices. Then, when a couple of guild members gave two separate presentations, the first on negative space in quilting, including the concept of Notan, and the second on improv, I was inspired to try incorporating both into my show quilt.

So what exactly is Notan? Notan is a Japanese concept of using dark and light shapes to create harmonious compositions often thought of as figure/ground reversal. In other words, positive and negative space. Think of the Yin and Yang symbol. Or paper designs that cut away a section and reverse it as a mirror image.

I decided to create black and white shapes using improv techniques to make my quilt blocks. To create the shapes, I paired one black and one white square of fabric and cut the stack into shapes by making straight cuts. The cuts were not planned other than being straight. I chose not to use angles, but they would work just as well. Then I interchanged the cut pieces and sewed them back together. The result was two blocks that were essentially the opposite of each other. Quilters may know this technique as stack and whack which generally involves 3 - 4 pieces of fabric per stack. 

Each pair I made was different and I had no idea how they would come together until they were all done and I could play with arrangements. Both the cutting and the layout was done improvisationally.  

Here's the process I used to make 12 pairs of blocks that finish at 6" x 6" for a total of 24 blocks. 

1.  Cut 12 squares each of black and white fabric approximately 8.5" x 8.5".  Blocks will be trimmed to 6.5" x 6.5" but the larger size is needed to account for seam allowances when the squares are cut into smaller pieces and then re-sewn together. I suggest you cut at least 2" bigger than your intended final size.

2.  Layer one black square with one white square and make one or two cuts horizontally and vertically through both fabrics. Sub-cut some of the larger shapes into smaller pieces similar to what's shown below.

3.  Shuffle the black and white pieces to create new blocks that combine both black and white pieces. This can be done by directly interchanging every other piece to create blocks that are direct opposites. The cuts above made the blocks below.

The pieces can also be arranged so the blocks are mirror images of each other as shown below. These blocks are from a different stack of cut pieces. It's a little hard to recognize the mirror image until you look closely.

Another option is to create blocks where one is predominately light and the other is predominately dark by only exchanging a few pieces. 

4.  Sew the pieces together starting with the smaller pieces and building outward until all pieces are sewn together. It's easiest to sew one block at a time so as not to get confused about what piece goes where. Repeat the same sewing sequence to make the second block. 

5.  Trim both blocks to 6.5" x 6.5".  OPTION: for added interest block pairs can be trimmed differently. This will reduce the matching appearance between the two blocks. For my purpose I wanted to maintain the matching yet opposite appearance so mine were all trimmed the same.

6.  Continue the process, making different cuts for each pair of blocks. Once all your block pairs are done the fun begins.

There are so many different ways my blocks could have been arranged. The lights and darks could have been clustered concentrically from the center out. Or they could have been positioned on the diagonal. In these arrangements you would probably be hard pressed to find the matching pairs.

I chose to go with a rectangular layout by placing the matching pairs side by side in order to emphasize the figure ground aspect of the matching blocks and play with the positive/negative shapes between the block pairs. A few of the simpler matching pairs where then placed along the outer edge and the solid squares were used to fill out the design. My final quilt finishes at 24" x 48".

The images below show 2 pages of a 3 page document I created in case you'd like to try the Notan concept for yourself. It shows block basics, layout options, plus several block variations. You can download it here. If you use this document to explore your own Notan quilts I'd love to see them. Tag me on Instagram @springleafstudios.

My second quilt in the show, Circling the Square is shown below. I think it plays quite well with Laura's red cross and moon phase quilts. The common colors and the contrasting shapes of the three quilts make a striking combination all together.

You can read about the design process for Circling the Square here. In addition to this show, it has been shown at QuiltCon 2019 in Nashville and the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden. It was also featured in the QuiltCon magazine.

I enjoyed the process of making Night Into Day so much I am planning to experiment with another quilt using a bunch of different colored solids. I have already cut one large and one small square from each solid in my stash. I have about 130 squares in each size. I'll use the large ones for another Notan quilt and the smaller ones for something else.

There are so many choices I can make with this all solid idea. I could always pair a warm with a cool colored square. I could pair warm on warm or cool on cool colors. I could use stacks of 3 or 4 fabrics instead of just 2. This would give me the choice to have more than 2 colors in a block. I have no idea what the end result will look like, but that's the challenge and the fun. I won't start this until 2020 and will post here and on my Instagram account so follow along if you'd like to see what happens.

Thanks go out to The Collective Community Art Center in Lafayette for hosting the show and to Laura and Katie (and everyone else) of the BoulderMQG for all your hard work putting the show together.
You did a great job!

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Robins, Chickadees and Triangles

Red Red Robin and Chickadees in the Pines are my most recent finishes for the #bouldermqgufos challenge. Both quilts were pieced a couple of years ago but then nothing. No quilting. No finish. The UFO challenge this year has been really good motivation for me to actually finish several projects and I'm so happy to have both of these quilts totally done.

Both quilts are the result of wanting to try a new tool. Do you ever buy a quilting tool and then never use it? The right tools can be so important for accuracy and good results, but in general I don't tend to buy very many tools. I'd rather buy pretty fabric. : )  Every once in awhile though I give in and buy a new tool and most go unused. Especially rulers. So after owning an equilateral ruler for some time I thought I'd give it a try. My friend Elizabeth just posted today about rulers and the essential ones to own. Check out her post here.

I found it quite easy to use this ruler. There are sooo many design possibilities with equilateral triangles. I definitely foresee more triangle quilts in my future so can safely say this was a worthwhile purchase.

For Chickadees I wanted a modern, clean look to the triangles so I chose mostly solid greens and off whites in a variety of hues. Then I sprinkled in a few fussy cut chickadees from a very old bird print. 

This is my winter family room quilt. I considered throwing in a tiny touch of red for Christmas but decided on a more general winter theme instead. After the holidays are over I strip away the red touches from Christmas and use a simple, white and green palette for a few months. There are even a few chickadees here and there so this quilt fits in quite nicely.

Chickadees was quilted by Karen at The Quilted Moose using an all over tree motif with a few stars and moons in the mix. The motif adds a serene feeling of a quiet walk in the woods under the moonlight. Perfect for a cozy night of reading by the fire on a cold winter evening.

Shortly after piecing Chickadees I started another triangle quilt after buying a fun robin print called Birdland by Alexander Henry. It was an impulse buy. I love birds and the colors just spoke to me. I started with a few fussy cut triangles of the robins and arranged them on top of the pine top. I thought this would help me distribute the robins and also help with color placement. In retrospect I would never do this again because it just meant I had to move all the pieces off the base quilt top. It did help me decide that I wanted a more blurred color placement rather than the green/white contrast of the pine quilt.

I cut the fabric a few triangles at a time by pulling coral/orange/pinkish prints from my stash. Once the robin areas were filled, I cut greens and lighter values to blend out to the edges. By cutting a few at a time I was able to gradually build-out the layout.

Once all the triangles were arranged, I needed to puzzle out the quilt top piecing. Due to the three larger triangles I couldn't piece the whole top in single triangle rows like I did for the pine quilt. First I figured out how to chunk sections so they would come together in wider rows. You can see below how those sections came together. It's not hard. You just need to think it through before you start piecing. Grouping them on the design wall helped me see how they fit together.

Red Red Robin was quilted by Cara at Sew Colorado Quilting using the Trillium motif which is one of my favorite quilting motifs. It features leaves . . . what more can I say.

Red Red Robin is my springtime family room quilt. It's way to hot now to use a quilt inside but it certainly adds a cheery spot of color. I think during the off season I'll keep it in my bedroom where it fits right in with the bird decor.

Have you ever made a quilt with equilateral triangles?
Do you have a favorite specialty quilting ruler you would recommend?
I'd love to hear about them.

Linking up with Kelly at NTT and Wendy at the Peacock Party


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Cherry Blossoms; Finally Finished

Way back in 2014 I started a quilt. Here it is 2019 and I can finally say it's finished.

Cherry Blossoms was one of 4 quilts I made during early explorations and development of a pattern called Interweave. While this was the first quilt I made of the design, it ended up being the last one to get finished. It was quilted at the same time as the others but I just never got around to binding it. Then I simply forgot. Can you relate? A project gets tucked away and you forget about it.

Credit goes to the BoulderMQG UFO challenge for motivating me to finally finish Cherry Blossoms. The guild challenge for 2019 was to list 6 projects and specify what we wanted to accomplish. We were encouraged to have a variety of goals from simple to more involved. This was certainly an easier one and far overdue. But then I guess all UFOs are overdue aren't they? Of course I have far more than 6 UFOs. Way more! But at least I'm making the effort and things are getting done. Done is good!

The colors are spot on for 2019 with Pantone's Color of the Year, Living Coral and Kona's Color of the Year, Splash. I've loved this color scheme for a long time. Most of the fabrics are from older Amy Butler fabric lines like Love, Cameo, and Soul Blossoms. I've been a fan of her fabrics for years and will certainly miss her lines now that she has moved away from fabric design. : (

The colors feel very summery and make me think of swimming pools and flower gardens in the tropics which probably isn't reflected in the quilt name. I chose the name Cherry Blossoms because my favorite fabric in the quilt is of the cherry trees in bloom. I hope to get a good photo in the wild once summer arrives and things are little more colorful outside.

When I design a pattern, choosing which fabrics to feature as the main cover quilt can be one of the hardest decisions in the whole process. Since the pattern is designed to showcase large scale prints, I chose a range of Kaffe Fassett blues for the cover quilt.

Another variation of the pattern features a single Amy Butler fabric for the main horizontal sections.

The last version (and my personal favorite) is this smaller black and white with warm floral accent strips.

One of the best parts of pattern design is exploring all the different versions and looks that can come from the same design. I know some people make something once and then they're done. I find it really fun to make something again and again to explore new looks. What about you? Do you make the same design more than once or is once enough?

I haven't joined a linky party in a long long time so thought I'd join in the fun again. I'm linking up with Cheryl's Favorite Finish Link Up because I finally have a finish. WaHoo! Go check out what some other quilters finished this month.

If you're interested in the Interweave pattern you can learn more about it here.

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Color Theory: Value

I'm joining the BoulderMQG in a year long color theory study. It will be similar to normal block of the month programs but rather than a different quilt block each month we will be given a color theory challenge to apply to our chosen block.

I decided to go literal with my fabric choices by going with all solids that match as closely as I can to the color wheel. It's a departure from my usual prints but I want to explore the color in as pure a form as possible.

My chosen colors are Kona Cotton Solids. Starting with yellow going clockwise the colors are; Citrus, Lime, Clover, Ultra Marine, Pacific, Deep Blue, Tulip, Cerise, Poppy, Tangerine, Orange, and Papaya. It was hard to capture the color differences in the red/orange range but it's there.

As far as blocks go, I've always wanted to do one of those circle-a-day quilts so decided I will use divided circles for my color study quilt blocks. I'm excited about the concept and may even try to work in some quilt-as-you-go techniques from my QAYG presentation last year. You see more about that here.

The challenge for January is value. This can be explored in a number of ways. Value within a single color, referred to as a monochromatic color scheme. Value as it pertains to the entire color wheel. Or value in a gray scale form. I think I will be doing the gray scale as the rest of the quilt will be loaded with color.

The photo below shows my fabrics arranged in color wheel order and how they appear when stripped of color so only the value is evident. As you can see, value order does not coincide with color order.

The order is more apparent in the photo below.

The next photo shows the reordered fabrics based on value. I found the orange and yellow/green were hard to sequence. It appears as though the orange is darker in value than the yellow/green but when I switched them it looked the same. Notice that most of the colors fall in the mid value range.

When I choose fabrics for my quilts, I am often guilty of relying more on color than value. Most of the fabrics in my stash are mid value, pure hue colors. I have built up a fair collection of lighter values in the form of low volume prints but am lacking when it comes to darker values. Darker colors have just never appealed to me as much as the pure hues do. Even the idea for this quilt will be strongly based on pure hue as I want to really see the various color combinations that are possible. Maybe another time I will explore the color/value side of things in more depth.

This isn't the first time I've explored color but it is the first time I've focused specifically on color and fabric together. See my Color Inspiration series for the previous color explorations. I'm thinking about adding new colors to the series this year.

If you'd like to learn more about the BoulderMQG Color Theory Quilt go here. You're welcome to join us even if you aren't a member. Stay up to date by following BoulderMQG on Instagram. If you play along be sure to use #bouldermqgcolorstudy19 so we can see your work.

I'll post each month about the color challenge and my progress on my Instagram as well as progress posts here from time to time.

Hope your 2019 is off to a good start.

Colorado Cadence: BMQG Charity Quilt for QuiltCon 2017

I'd like to introduce Colorado Cadence . . . 
Boulder Modern Quilt Guild's charity challenge quilt for QuiltCon 2017

The Boulder Modern Quilt Guild has made a QuiltCon charity quilt since the challenge first began in 2014. Making charity quilts has always been a large part of the BMQG's mission and I'm thrilled to say we have donated more than 50 quilts over the past three years. For a small guild, averaging around 24 members, I think that's pretty amazing!!!

Today I'd like to share the process we went through to bring Colorado Cadence to fruition.

When the color palette and theme were announced by TheMQG, we talked about possible directions we could use to depict the idea of scale and agreed upon the color palette we wanted to work with. We also chose to use mostly prints rather than working with solids as we have done in previous years. Using the prints allowed us to use scale at the micro level within the design which gave the final quilt even greater variety and depth.

As chairperson, I developed a few ideas to review at our the next meeting. One of those ideas came from our President, Cynthia, who had seen an article about Roberto Burle-Marx, a Brazilian landscape designer. The article included this wonderful mosaic. 

photo by Scott Zona shared via Flickr Creative Commons

At the review meeting, everyone agreed the mosaic offered wonderful opportunities for exploring the use of scale. The next step was to develop the design. Squares and circles, structured through the use of color blocking, was the basis of our concept. The super large areas of color provided an additional level of scale beyond that within each block. 

I started with big blocks of color which provided the larger scale element of the quilt. Then things were broken down into 12" blocks and the basic design elements of squares and circles came into play.

More and more details were added which provided texture and variety. And with each progressive refinement more and more movement and rhythm was introduced to the overall design.

The layout was then broken into sections based on color and packets of fabric were pulled together that included a small amount of a solid plus a few prints. Participating members were asked to sign up for 2 or more blocks of a given color and to supplement with fabrics from their own stash. In this way we added even more variety to the quilt. Sewing assignments were designed to be flexible so those who wanted could add their own twist to their blocks. The main criteria was to stick with the color scheme and basic square and circle elements. This worked well for our group and we ended up with a little of both. Some made their blocks exactly as the diagram showed and others took liberties. 

Over a 2 month period, members worked at home and during our monthly sew days to make their blocks. As the blocks came in, I put them up on my design wall at home to keep tabs on the progress.

All blocks were due in September. Then, during our October sew day, many people pitched in to sew the blocks together. By the end of the day we had not only a finished top but were well on our way to a finished backing made from the leftovers.

Our talented President, Cynthia, took everything home at the end of the day. She completed the backing and then worked her free-motion magic by quilting a variety of different motifs in the various sections of the quilt. We are so lucky to have her skills in the guild. She used her sit down Juki mid-arm machine. Look at all this wonderful texture . . . 

By early January it was ready for the finishing touches. Label. Sleeve. Binding.

The vast majority of our guild participated in one way or another. THANK YOU, THANK YOU quilters for all your time and talents. I am so proud of you and our quilt.  This picture shows many, but not all, of the quilters who helped.

Seeing Colorado Cadence hanging in Savannah with the other charity challenge quilts will be amazing. Many of our members will get to see it in person. While I won't make it to QuiltCon this year, I can certainly vouch for how inspirational it is to see so many quilts, all sharing the same theme and colors, hanging together in one place. AMAZING!!!  And all for charity. Quilters truly are generous people.

The Boulder Modern Quilt Guild is based in Boulder County Colorado. If you live in the area or even if you're visiting, we'd love to have you join us. Evening meetings are the second Thursday of the month and sew days are the usually the third Sat or Sun of the month. We currently meet/sew in Louisville, CO.

Learn more about us by visiting our Facebook page or our website.
Follow us on Instagram too @bouldermqg.

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Kaleidoscope Breeze; Online Charity Drawing Sept 24th

This award winning quilt, Kaleidoscope Breeze, can be yours!

On behalf of the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild I'd like to share what our chairperson Josi of AvocadoQuilts wrote up about this quilt.

Occasionally, an amazing group of women come together and create beauty and goodness out of thin air (and a pile of fabric).  This is the case for the award winning 2015 QuiltCon Charity Quilt, named Kaleidoscope Breeze, which may be yours soon!

This quilt has been generously donated to the Anchor Center for Blind Children by the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild which will be holding an online and physical drawing for the quilt on September 24th at their annual Cherrity Pie Festival.  Click here to purchase drawing tickets for the quilt.  Please pass the word to all the quilt lovers out there, friends and family members alike.  All proceeds benefit the blind children at the Anchor Center, which is dedicated to teaching fundamental life skills to children from birth to kindergarten.  I have been involved with fundraising for this amazing cause for three years now, and am continually so moved and impressed by the impact the school has, and more so on the strength of the children and families who attend.

This quilt was created by a group of skilled Modern Quilters from the Boulder Modern Quilt guild as a challenge quilt for their 2015 QuiltCon entry.   Over 71 quilts were created by guilds worldwide as part of the challenge, and all of them benefited charity organizations in their respective local communities after being on display together in 2015. This particular quilt then went on to win 1st place at the Boulder County Fair in 2015 for the group quilt category.

Anne Deister of SpringLeafStudios.com, created the unique design for this quilt in Adobe Illustrator.  Over 12 guild members then paper pieced the 36 blocks together, requiring them to sew the fabric directly on a paper pattern in order to create crisp lines.  The blocks were then arranged on an alternate grid to fulfill one of the challenges.   The quilt is 68″ x 88″ and made entirely of solid Kona Cotton fabrics.  The professional quilting was done by the guild president Cynthia Morgan, which truly put the finishing touches on this work of art.  The Boulder Modern Quilt Guild is very pleased to donate the 2015 QuiltCon Charity quilt to the Anchor Center for Blind Children as a fundraising item to go home to one fortunate supporter during the 2016 Cherrity Pie Festival!

To see the process of the quilt creation,  please visit Anne’s blog post for the quiltcon charity quilt challenge, and for more information on Modern Quilting, feel free to visit the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild on their Facebook page or website 

The more we can spread the word and sell tickets for this amazing quilt, the more it can raise to help the visually disabled children of the Anchor Center.  Please pass on!  

Much thanks to Josi for all your hard work in getting this organized.
As quilters, we have the pleasure of seeing beautiful colors and fabrics. 
The Anchor Center for Blind Children helps children who cannot see. 
Please consider buying a ticket and supporting a very worthy cause.

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Charity Time

My recent sewing has been primarily quilt bee blocks and charity work.
The September block for the Mid Century Modern Bee was this fantastic paper pieced block. It was made for Mary of Mary on Lake Pulaski. The block is called Starry Sky by SewKylie. and looks fantastic when several blocks come together. Note: I get an error when I try the original link to the block, but the link here will take you to the blog. Not sure what's up with that but it's a great block.

October is my month to be the queen bee for the MCM Bee. Whenever it's my turn I have the hardest time settling on what to have the others make. So many good ideas. So many quilts on my to-do list. In the past I've had them test blocks for my patterns, but this time I'm having the group make striped fabric from these colors.

I've been wanting to work with stripes for a long time and have quite a stash of stripe fabrics so this will give me something to play with. Not sure exactly what the end result will be but that's part of the fun.

My other WIP's have to do with charity work for the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild. Each year we adopt a different charity to support and this year our quilts will be going to a local assisted living facility.

While these quilts don't reflect my typical bright colorful style, I think they are well suited for the charity. Some of the fabrics were generously donated to the guild so I was able to not only piece the tops but also make pieced backs.

The first quilt uses a disappearing 9-patch, a block I've wanted to try for a long time. I think I will work with color placement more next time instead of the random placement used here. Have you ever made a disappearing 9-patch? There are several ways to lay out the blocks that result in entirely different looking quilts. It's a pretty fun design to play with so I'm looking forward to trying it again. I also like the big chunks of fabric for the backing. The back is actually giving me some ideas for a new quilt with large scale prints.

The other charity quilt is this plus block. I shared the top here when it was first made. I finally got around to piecing the back from some of the leftovers fabrics. Do you piece your backs or use a single fabric? I like the look of pieced backs but they do take time to sew together even when you use big chunks. No plan here . . . just piecing until the size was big enough. Not sure I like this one but it's done and I used up quite a bit of my older stash which is a good thing.

Well, that's about it for now. Next on my to-do list is to get the border figured out on my Drunkard's Path QAL quilt. Sorry to any of you who might be waiting for that post. I slipped behind a bit but promise it's coming.

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.
Hop over and see what others are whipping up this week.

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