Category Archives: Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {25}

October 31, 2014 kittywilkin 1 Comment

My hope for all of these color inspiration posts is that someone gets their creativity spark ignited and creates a gorgeous quilt or other work of art based upon one of my palettes. Since I and many of you are quilters or other fiber artists, where better to let inspiration strike than the fabric shop? This week’s color inspiration comes from Alewives, a gorgeous fabric shop in Nobleboro, Maine. Palettes are made using my photographs and Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1.

Enjoy some color inspiration eye candy:

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Steel, Geranium, Rich Red, Crimson, Garnet, Thistle

Wooden spools, assorted ribbons, and a lovely palette of pinks and purples.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Terracotta, Cinnamon, Mahogany, Lipstick, Paprika, Salmon

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2350 – Copper
2245 – Red Orange
5024 – Dark Brown
2215 – Peach
2355 – Rust
2220 – Lt Salmon

One of my favorite spots in Alewives is the collection of fat quarters in the center of the store. Arranged by color in awesome vintage wooden bins, these fabric bits beg to be touched, gazed upon with wonderment, and then (naturally) purchased. Yum!

fabric eye candy — Fabric eye candy; how gorgeous is this fat quarter display!?

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Bark, Med Olive, Med Juniper, Arctic Ice, Peach, Toast

Another gorgeous glimpse of the fat quarter bins. I could see this palette making its way into a lovely gender-neutral baby quilt. Or a soft, autumnal lap quilt or table runner. Or just about anything!

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Bison, Wine, Cinnamon, O.D. Green, Kelly, Spice

I loved the color and fabric choices for this quilt display. Isn’t it wonderful when you walk into a shop and are not only swooning over the fabric, but are also are inspired by the quilts displayed around the shop?! I think the match of Kona Kelly to that darker teal is off, but you get the idea! Aurifil matches it as 2285 – Med Spruce, which looks like a more accurate match along with the 2850 – Med Juniper match for the Kona O.D. Green.

To see a few more glimpses of quilty beauty from the Alewives shop, visit my post Color for Quilters & the Maine Modern Quilt Guild. If you are ever in or near Nobleboro, Maine, I’d definitely recommend stopping in to Rhea’s shop. Tell her Kitty sent you!

Note: I have no affiliation with Alewives Fabrics; I simply think it is a gorgeous, well stocked and kindly owned local fabric shop and I like to spread the love! Plus, It’s kind of awesome that their minimum fabric purchase online is 1/8 of a yard, AND that they will send you a 1/16 swatch if desired! That is hard to find with online shops! Enjoy browsing.

Life, Quilting

Color for Quilters & the Maine Modern Quilt Guild

October 29, 2014 kittywilkin 5 Comments

As I swooned over all of the Quilt Market photos flooding Instagram this past weekend, I also immersed myself in a new pool of quilters. I was fortunate enough to attend my first ever Maine Modern Quilt Guild meeting! This month, the meeting took place at Alewives, an AWESOME modern fabric shop co-owned by Rhea Butler, and one of my favorite “local” (if a 1.5 hour drive each way counts as local) quilt shops. Rhea offered a Color for Quilters class, and the Maine Modern Quilters made it the feature of their meeting. I had such a fun time, both meeting the wonderful Maine MQGers, but also taking in Rhea’s color theory knowledge and insight.

I was so impressed with the Maine MQG and how friendly and welcoming they were. I immediately made new friends and felt comfortable there, admiring other works in progress, being inspired by the sample BOM blocks made by Karen, and just getting to know my fellow Maine modern quilters. I do hope to make it to another meeting of theirs, even if my attendance isn’t regular (they typically meet over 2 hours from my home, which would require over 4 hours of driving to attend a meeting). Here are some fun photos from the day:

betsy from maine modern quilt guild — Betsy leads the meeting, guiding us through the items of discussion for the day.

Karen shows her November BOM block samples.

A color challenge: discussing whether this fabric bundle "works" or does not work, guided by Rhea. — A color challenge: discussing whether this fabric bundle “works” or does not work, guided by Rhea.

Rhea provided a lot of insight into color and its role in planning a quilt. I learned a lot about general color terminology, such as value, shades, tints, and hue, but also confirmed that I am personally drawn to tertiary colors (fuchsia, cornflower, turquoise, lime, cheddar, tangerine) as opposed to primary (red, yellow, blue) or secondary (orange, green, purple).

I discovered that Rhea has a very different quilting style than I do; she likes her quilts to be “delightfully schizophrenic”, while I am still very focused on smooth aesthetic flow and “safe” color choices. Rhea has convinced me to be a bit more adventurous though, and try some improv or unexpected color and fabric combinations. I may even try the Denise Schmidt-inspired method of throwing scraps in a bag and randomly pulling them out and sewing them together (yikes!).

Rheas quilt: delightfully schizophrenic. — Rhea’s quilt: delightfully schizophrenic.

After the color class, I enjoyed browsing Alewives‘ awesome fabric selection, and taking in the eye candy that abounds. Here are a few sneak peeks at the gorgeousness that is Alewives. Stay tuned for some more tomorrow; color inspiration will come from the fabric shop this week!

I loved the sample quilts around the store. Inspiration everywhere!

Design, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {24}

October 23, 2014 kittywilkin 1 Comment

This week’s color inspiration comes again from the bog. There were so many pops of color in that oasis ecosystem that I just had to share more than one week’s worth. Palettes are made using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and my photographs. Enjoy!

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Avocado, Steel, Sable, Old Green, Plum, Pepper

I love how this little pinkish (Kona Plum) leaf just pops right up with burst of color amongst the evergreens. Getting the leaf in perfect focus was a bit tricky with the wind and fading light, but I think it still works. If nothing else, it makes me smile.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Steel, Bison, Brown, Ruby, Wine, Lipstick

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
1246 – Grey
4173 – Dk Olive
5024 – Dark Brown
2230 – Med Peony
2355 – Rust
2265 – Lobster Red

I love this photo. I don’t know if it’s the mirrored red berries all blurred in the background, or the bits of blurred green swirled into the mix, or whether I am just really drawn to the pop of the red berries. Either way, I love the photo and the resulting palette. It makes me *maybe* think I could be ready for snow in a couple months, as long as there are pretty red berries to brighten it up a bit. Maybe.

Design, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {23}

October 16, 2014 kittywilkin 1 Comment

Last week, my kids and I joined some friends for a walk at the Orono Bog Walk. From the Bangor City Forest Report website, “the 4,200-foot long Orono Bog Boardwalk enables visitors to City Forest to see a bog up close and personal without getting their feet wet… The bog itself encompasses 616 acres on the Bangor and Orono town lines and is home to hundreds of species of hardy yet fragile plants and some of Maine’s rarest bird species.” It is a truly magical place; you walk along the boardwalk through the woods for a few hundred feet and you’re suddenly in a completely different world, where the ground is covered in squishy moss floating on water and trees can’t grow taller than my two-year-old.

kids at the bog — My kids and their friend at the Bog Walk.

This week’s color inspiration comes from the bog. Palettes are made using my photographs and Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1. I have included matching Aurifil thread for one of the palettes, but if you want the matches for all of them, let me know and I will start including them, too.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Moss, Ivy, Taupe, Coal, Honey, Mushroom

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2905 Army Green
4173 Dk Olive
2372 Dk Antique Gold
1158 Med Grey
2910 Med Olive
2900 Lt Kakhy Green

This tamarack was glowing in the late afternoon sun. I honestly thought the palette would be more gold-orange heavy, but the dark background colors make a bold appearance. The golden needles in their perfect little swirls entranced me, and perhaps might inspire a quilt design for the future.

tamarack at the bog — Tamarack from afar. The golden yellow swirls of needles called me in!

See how the tamarack, stunted in its bog home, glows in the late afternoon sun?! I also think it’s amazing how a “normal” tree can look so different when you get right up close and personal. Perspective is everything.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Moss, Ivy, Steel, Iron, Peridot, Raffia

A sweet evergreen, bringing us cool and earthy greens and blues.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Wine, Deep Rose, Mahogany, Spice, Bison, Leaf

This pitcher plant blended right in with the bright red peat moss! Pitcher plants are among my favorite plants, and they are ubiquitous in the bog. Their autumnal red and fuzzy trap-mouth make them so gorgeous this time of year! Did you know that pitcher plants are carnivorous? That’s right–they eat meat! Ready for your daily science lesson? Here’s a bit about how pitcher plants work, from Encyclopedia Britannica (it’s still a useful resource!):

Pitcher plants… have unusual tubular leaves that are shaped like urns, trumpets, or small pitchers, with a flap that partly covers the top of the pitcher. Insects are attracted to the mouth of the pitcher by a trail of nectar-secreting glands that extend downward along the lip to the interior of the pitcher. The lip is covered with stiff, downward-pointing hairs that are not easy for an insect to climb upward on once it has partly descended to gather nectar. Just below the lip, in the steepest part of the pitcher’s throat, is a very smooth area without hairs. Like a greased slide, this zone sends the insect tumbling down into the liquid pool at the bottom of the pitcher, where it quickly becomes submersed and drowns. The insect is then digested by an enzyme secreted within the leaf. (from Encyclopedia Britannica online article “pitcher plant”)

How awesome is that!? A hunting plant. Who knew that a carnivorous plant could inspire a quilt? Any other science geek quilters out there? What is the strangest thing that has inspired one of your quilts or craft projects?

Design, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {22}

October 9, 2014 kittywilkin 3 Comments

Honestly, I thought I was ready to move on to autumn. But then we had a stretch of warm, sun-filled days without frosts at night, and my dahlias went wild. Can you ever get enough dahlias? I know I can’t. So here, again, is a color inspiration post thick with dahlia’s. I’ve created color palettes using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and some of my photographs, and I’ve included a few additional palette-less dahlia photos for added inspiration. I truly can’t get enough dahlias!

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Wine, Cocoa, Taupe, Tan, Deep Rose, Black

These first photos were taken on my dining room table, resulting in a rich and shadowy capture of the dark colors within the dahlias. After some photos on the table, I decided to change it up and move to directly in front of a window, with the dahlias on top of a white piece of paper. It’s amazing how much a move of five feet and a different backdrop changes the photo!

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Iron, Smoke, Coal, Green Tea, Artichoke, Herb

The added light brings out the pastels within the dahlias. Gorgeous, soft, gentle.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Bordeaux, Honeysuckle, Corsage, Zucchini, Stone, Moss

Get a little closer, and pop! Here comes some more of that bold and vibrant color. I just love the balance and aesthetic perfection of dahlias. Nature amazes me every. single. day.

While creating these palettes, I made an exciting discovery! The Palette Builder now matches not only Kona cottons, but also Aurifil thread (my favorite!) and Hex values. My computer programming husband informed me that Hex values are for using the colors in a web format.

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
4030 Plum
2479 Med Orchid
2562 Lilac
5015 Gold Yellow
2900 Lt Kakhy Green
5013 Asphalt

I personally love Aurifil, and I am now even more inspired to choose a palette (maybe even this one!?) and order the exact Robert Kaufman Kona cottons and exact Aurifil threads and make a lovely, gorgeous, completely coordinating quilted creation!

What would you make?

Design, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {21}

October 2, 2014 kittywilkin 1 Comment

Although autumn is here, the flowers are still blooming with a gusto, and warm days still peek out here and there. Today’s photos are from our trip to the coast a couple of weeks ago. Palettes are made using my photographs and Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1. Be inspired!

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Charcoal, Coal, Titanium, Black, Shadow, Amethyst

Patterns are found everywhere in nature, and rocks hold some of my favorite designs. There’s something soft and gorgeous about these hard stone lines and grey coldness. Perhaps my love of stone and rock and the patterns that they display has something to do with my love of the color grey in quilts! I may have just had a revelation there!

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Poppy, Carrot, Amber, Papaya, Gold, Paprika

A pop of autumnal color, illuminated by the late summer sun. After a morning rain, these flowers were just begging to be photographed and turned into a nice fall quilt. I can see using this color palette in some autumnal projects, or even just to create a bright and cheery fabric creation. Even the Kona names are cheerful in this palette: poppy, carrot, amber, papaya..! It’s almost musical.

I haven’t gotten into the habit of making seasonal sewn creations yet, maybe because it takes me so long to complete a project that by the time it would be finished, we’d be on to the next season. Or maybe I just haven’t fallen in love with the right project yet. Do you create seasonal quilts?

Design, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {20}

September 25, 2014 kittywilkin 1 Comment

This past weekend we were treated with a surprise, hot, summery day. We took advantage and spent the day in Bar Harbor, enjoying the warm sun, gorgeous late summer flowers, and wading barefoot in tide pools left on the sand bar bridge to Bar Island. Today’s color inspiration palettes are a fleeting last glimpse at summer. I am saving two more for next week, after which the more earthy, subdued tones will appear (or maybe fiery autumn hues!?)

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Steel, Rafia, Coal, Lilac, Pepper, Iron

I love the wavy quilt lines left on the sandbar by the retreating tide. Speckled by bits of shell and stone, the little troughs make for fun exploration for both the eye and little hands and toes.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Purple, Magenta, Pepper, Cerise, Violet, Thistle

I couldn’t resist this last burst of color. Do you ever tire of gorgeously colorful flower photos? I don’t. I sure hope you don’t either!

Here are a few more shots from our sand bar adventure in Bar Harbor:

I am holding onto the last hot days of summer (when the rare treat day above 70 happens), but I do love the crispness of autumn, too. The other day my four year old daughter went outside and said, “I love this season, mom.” I replied, “Oh, you do? Why do you love it?” and she said, “It smells so fresh outside! Do you remember this season, mom? Do you remember?” I do remember, and as much as I love summer, I’m happily anticipating the turning leaves, crisp, fresh air, and earthy-root veggie stew season that’s upon us!

What’s your favorite season?

Life, Quilting

Color Inspiration Thursday {19}

September 18, 2014 kittywilkin 25 Comments

I’m always on the lookout for color inspiration, and last week inspiration struck hard while I was browsing my Instagram feed. The source of color inspiration was new and unexpected: a selfie taken by one of the most colorful quilters I know. Meet Molli Sparkles, star of the very first People Palettes, a special edition of my weekly Color Inspiration Thursday.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Jamaica, Breakers, Oasis, Charcoal, Prussian, Tomato

Go ahead and try to tell me that’s not the most gorgeous color palette you’ve ever seen. The red and teal combination always strikes a chord in me, and this is no exception. Add Molli… and well, how could you resist creating a new color inspiration feature: people palettes, a way to feature the rockstars of the quilting world in a colorful, aesthetically pleasing and ever-inspiring way.

If you aren’t yet familiar with Joshua Helms, known as Molli Sparkles in the glittery quilting world, head on over to his corner of the quiltiverse. Prepare yourself for fabulous color combinations, a deep rooted ability to create gorgeous aesthetic, and entertainingly sassy yet brutally honest blog posts showing off his stuff and stirring up controversy over the hot issues in the quilting world. Molli’s signature drink–Truth Tea–flows deep and hot. And oh, how it glitters! At the very least, you need to check out his platinum post No Value Does Not Equal Free.

molli sparkles kimonos ablaze quilt — Kimonos Ablaze, just one of the gorgeous quilts created by Molli Sparkles

Before I go on a total fangirl tizzy, let’s get back to Molli. I asked him to answer three short questions to help the world get to know the color inspiration rockstar of the week a little more intimately:

Where do you fit into the worldwide family tree of quilting?
Take the irreverence of Madonna, the cray-cray of Mariah, and the sweetness of Kylie, throw in the quilting skills of Grandma Sparkles, and you have quilting pop-star, diva extraordinaire, Molli Sparkles! I’m a self-taught, quilting child of the Internet, and consider all the amazing Glitterati my closest quilting family.

What are the top three most played songs in your iTunes?
1. H.A.T.E.U. (Jump Smokers Remix) – Mariah Carey
2. Aphrodite Megamix – Kylie Minogue
3. Revolver (Tracy Young’s Shoot to Kill Remix) – Madonna

What would you name the autobiography of your life?
Molli Sparkles: Glitterbomb

In our emails exchanged in planning this post, Molli did suggest one edit to the color palette:

I have to say though, that I’d be combining some Kona Snow (referencing my face) into that colour palette, and then it would be spot on! But otherwise, gorgelicious!

So for you, Molli… here’s your Kona Snow included, rockin’ awesome, first-ever people palette. Gorgelicious, indeed!

I know I’m inspired to go pull all of the turquoise left in my stash, a bit of Kona Snow and Charcoal, and of course a splash of red for a new project.

Are you a quilter, fabric designer, or other pillar in the quilting world? Do you like to take colorful selfies? Would you like to be a color inspiration rockstar? If you answered yes to any of these questions, drop me a line or tag me @nightquilter on Instagram with your selfie! People Palettes will pop up every so often in my Color Inspiration posts from now on. Thank you for the inspiration, Molli!

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All color palettes are created using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1.

Life, Quilting, Stash Building

Build Your Stash: LNQC Milestone and Giveaway

September 14, 2014 kittywilkin 2 Comments

Do you remember a few months ago (less than 4, to be exact), when my quilting friends Stephanie and Michelle and I decided to launch a new Facebook community for fellow late night quilters, since we were getting so much out of our own nightly conversations? Late Night Quilters Club (LNQC) was born of necessity by midnight oil-burning moms who sew to maintain sanity, and desperately wanted to connect with others in the same position. We knew that there were many others doing red-eyed stitching as silently as possible while little ones (and maybe hubbies) sleep, as well as those sewing at night out of habit or necessity unrelated to little ones, but we had no idea the community would take off the way it has.

Yesterday, Late Night Quilters Club reached a giant milestone: 1,000 members!! The group has been a wonderfully supportive, drama-free, inspiration-generating group thus far and we are thrilled to be the creators. Since its inception, our club has added Stash Swap Tuesdays and Flaunt it Fridays (when members have a chance to toot their own small-business horns), and administration has grown to include Mandy Leins, who has been a most invaluable addition. We four are excited to see where the next few months or years take us!

To celebrate reaching 1,000 members, we admins are hosting five days of giveaways, starting today! This weekend, Stephanie is giving away 3 yards of the brand new Mint Condition collection by Jackie for Camelot Fabric. Leave a comment on her post on the LNQC Facebook page to be entered.

Here’s a sneak peek at what I will be giving away on Monday:

It’s a fabric bundle including half-yards of Migratory Lace Aquatic and Coordinates Plum from Anna Maria Horner’s Field Study Collection and fat quarters of Cross Square in Red, Bleeding Hearts in Red, and Ladder Dot in Fuschia from Denyse Schmidt’s Chicopee Collection.

Here’s your chance to build your stash. If you aren’t yet a member of Late Night Quilters Club, just click here to request membership. Enter Stephanie’s giveaway, enjoy the inspiration and advice given by the other members, share your projects and questions, and stay tuned for my giveaway on Monday.

Since it’s Sunday and this is a good chance for you to build your stash, I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash. ps. You don’t have to be a momma to join Late Night Quilters Club! You don’t even have to sew at night. Just bring your quilting, stitching, cutting, seam-ripping, sparkling (?) goodness!

Design, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {18}

September 11, 2014 kittywilkin Leave a comment

Today’s color inspiration is noticeably autumnal, as the garden shifts from colorful abundance to the muted tones of the tail end of the growing season. Palettes, as usual, are created using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and my photographs.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Peridot, Pewter, Geranium, Coal, Titanium, Slate

To be honest, this color palette surprised me. It seems so soft and pastel, when I was expecting a more bold, red and green-led palette. I debated playing around with the color dots to change the palette to fit my expectations, but decided to leave it as is. It’s a very gentle, soft palette that would work well in just about any quilt.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Citrus, Wasabi, Palm, Bonsai, Kelly, Yarrow

Here’s another sunny palette created from some lingering flowers. I love the combinations of yellow and green paired with a pop of blue and orange. I’m not sure how accurate the Kelly kona match would be; I think Everglade would match better. It’s fun that the Wasabi kona cotton makes an appearance here, though!

I absolutely love the fact that the Palette Builder 2.1 matches the corresponding kona cottons for each palette. It’s always fun to see where each kona color appears in the photograph. I think the time is nearing for me to choose one of my palettes and create a quilt from it and its kona cottons.

Which color palette (of all of the ones I’ve created since the very beginning) would you choose?