JWD Publishing Blog

This week the colors of the leaves are getting so beautiful, so I decided we needed to take a breather and celebrate fall with quilts. Some of these quilts are my all-time favorites in autumnal colorings or in theme. They are a wide variation in technique. Some of these quilts were made in the 80s and 90s while others are more recent. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Autumn Praise by Carol Webb

This is one of my all-time fall favorites!  When Carol made this quilt, she lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. However, she now lives in the Bend, Oregon area. She is a most talented quilter, as you can see. I love the way Carol used value in this quilt, allowing some leaves to evaporate into the leaf background while others catch our attention. If you look carefully at this quilt, Carol has used fillers between each leaf block. These fillers allow her extra space to play in the background. It also gives the design breathing room.  Because of the fillers and her value play, this quilt has a very organic feel to it. It’s still one of my favorites after all of these years!

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Buttons, buttons, buttons——Who has the button patterns???  WE DO!   Button Madness is here!

We have three great projects for your customers to make. They are easy, fun, and ever so wonderful.

Have you ever wondered what to do with those wonderful buttons you have in you store? Well, we have the answer: We have three wonderful button projects just for you:  button bracelets, button fashion pins, and button napkin rings.  Below you’ll see a selection of button projects designed by Teresa Fields.

These button patterns are debuting at quilt market this week. If you are heading for Houston, we’re in Booth 333 – 335.

Isn’t this Christmas bracelet super?

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Alex Anderson’s The Grape Escape debuts at Quilt Market this week. If you are going to Quilt Market in Houston, be sure to stop to see this quilt and order patterns for your shop.  Our booth number is 333-335. See you there. For more details about the quilt, see below:

The Grape Escape by Alex Anderson

When Alex showed us this quilt and asked if we would be interested in patterning it, we immediately said, YES! It’s not only beautiful, but after taking a close look at it,  we realized even those of us who are not skillful appliquers could actually make this quilt because the pieces are fused (or glued for those of you who prefer that route) and then everything is machine appliqued. Alex used a small buttonhole stitch to finish off her edges. Now those who prefer hand applique can prepare by adding seam allowances to their pieces.

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We’ve spent the last few months concentrating on  24 of the most popular pure colors—–all of them very beautiful.  As you have probably noticed, these colors are very much like people: they have their own unique personalities. Many of them are emotive; several cause physical reactions in our bodies when in close quarters or surrounded by them. It’s now time to think about the roles they can play in our designs. To be sure, these brilliant, clear, intense colors are the ones most responsible for creating the WOW factor in a design.

In this post,  I would like to present some ideas about the use of pure colors in our designs. In the next week or  two, we’ll expand the discussion twofold: First, we’ll see how  pure colors can play an important role as an accent rather than a focus. Then we’ll move the discussion to interior design—using pure colors in our  homes and businesses—–and perhaps our clothing.

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Welcome to autumn!  The leaves are beginning to turn here in the Pacific Northwest, yet they have quite a ways to go before they are of strong coloring.  We assume you are seeing these same subtle changes taking place in your neck of the woods—-if you’re not living too far south.

Here’s another quick and easy fall quilt that’s perfect for October—–it’s October by sisters Mary Hoover and Barbara Persing from 4th & 6th Designs. They live in the northeast where the leaves turn colors dramatically during the month of October. We like the organic placement of the leaves, as well as the beautiful leaf shapes. You could follow Mary’s and Barb’s pattern or you could make your own subtle changes in leaf amounts and/or placement. That’s what is so fun about patterns such as this—they give you the freedom to play.

As you can see, the background is pieced with a variety of soft neutral fabrics. Once the  quickly-made background is in place, you will cut out the leaves in your most favorite autumn-leaf  fabrics.  Mary and Barb placed these leaves on the background in a very natural manner. Then they machine appliqued the leaves.  As you can see, this quilt is quick, easy, and just like its name, it features those wonderful October leaves that are ever so ravishing.

If you are a shop owner, you can purchase this pattern from your favorite distributor or you can have us send patterns to you.  If you are a quilter, inquire about this pattern at your local quilt shop. If you do not have a local quilt shop, you may purchase this pattern online. For more information about this pattern, see the October pattern page.

Happy October!

MAKING YOUR OWN COLOR WHEEL

An 8” circle works well for a color wheel, but you can make it larger, if you wish. If you want to add more colors, you may want to increase the diameter of your circle. If you do make it larger, make certain it’s not so large that your color-card paint pieces won’t fit.

Your color wheel will feature either 24 or 48 pure colors. It will include an inner concentric circle that shows the three primary colors. Your color wheel will resemble in design the color wheel shown on page 11 of the book Color Play or on page 43 of the book Adventures in Design.

Below are the basic instructions to make your color wheel become a reality:

Number of colors on your color wheel:

Most color wheels are made as a 24-step color wheel, but you can make a 48-step color wheel, if you wish. Here’s what you will need for each of these options:

24 colors  =  7 colors between yellow and turquoise blue/cyan with green as the middle color;

7 colors between turquoise blue/cyan and magenta with violet as the middle color;

7 colors between magenta and yellow with orange as the middle color;

48 colors  =  15 colors between each of the above-stated primary color partners.

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