Modern Squares for Flatbread Tablerunner

jill here.... Sometimes color combinations inspire translation.  While shopping with my daughter in Nordstroms, I was exposed to not only styles I've grown out of but new color combinations !  I'm so excited to see a resurgence of navy.  With a pop of color, it's spectacular.

Our pattern "Flatbread"
creates the illusion of transparency.
The medium light citron intersects (or overlaps)
with the medium grey to form a third, darker value navy.
The snow background contrasts for a vary graphic interpretation.

Four colors (and values) are perfect for Flatbread.
From Kona cotton solids I chose :
Zucchini (I will call it citron),
Windsor (I will call it navy),
Medium grey and Snow.

The range of values is good but the light, dark and dull really sets off the citron.  The added bonus for graphic display is that they are all solids.

Another bonus is the solids display the quilting pattern,
which gives a very flat fabric depth and interest.
April added her touch with a pantograph called
"Modern Squares".

At rest in all this heat!

Stay cool.  'Till next Tuesday...

Urbanicity Fabric + Flatbread Pattern = Recipe for new Modern Quilt Relish Sample

 Marny here... a tasty recipe for a new Modern Quilt Relish Flatbread sample.

Begin with our Flatbread Pattern.  Then mix in some well designed fabric in four values.

Benartex Urbancity by Michele D'Amore.  Great fabric.  See the light, medium light, medium and dark.  Stone Texture Cream, Plaid Grey, Big Flower Black, and Scribbles Grey and Black

Look at April's awesome quilting--a great addition to the surface of the quilt.

Here is the completed Flatbread project, quilted and bound and ready to be seen!!

Speaking of binding, you might want to follow along below.  There is a fun tip at the end.

Our newest throw size sample of our pattern Flatbread trimmed and ready to bind.

2 1/2" strips cut for binding.

Strips joined with a diagonal seam.

Yards of strips joined needing trimming.

Timmed using quarter inch marking on ruler.

Press the diagonal seams open gently.

Press right sides together along the length of the binding.

Roll up the binding and put in a resealable bag to keep it under control while stitching it to your quilt top.  

Thank you to all of you that donated to Operation Kivu.  It is all so appreciated.  Hope you won prizes, I know you did good!

Till soon,

Benartex Urbanicity by Michele D'Amore

Rewarding Photos

Marny here...we are always so pleased when we get to see quilts made from Modern Quilt Relish patterns.

We recently received these two photos in our email via April.    

This is a beautiful version of Modern Pickle Relish.
It is a product of Isabelle Originals and Ivy Threads in Dysart, Iowa.
It is stunning in person.  We've seen it but did not have a good picture of our own.
It is intriguing to see a cream background with rich tans and golds as
the squares.  It is so different from our sample on charcoal black.

This is a queen Flatbread created by Delores.  It is going to look great on
some lucky person's bed!  Great job!  Amazing what four values can do!

So please send us photos and we can post them.  Our email is on our Contact Us page. You can also post them yourselves on our Flickr site.

We look forward to anything you are willing to share!  Thank you April!

Till Tuesday...

Modern Quilts....Hot or Cold?

jill here....Since we took a "process" pledge, I have to share a recent dilemma while creating a Flatbread sample.  Usually color is my strength and not my challenge but sometimes, experience is the best teacher (or gets in the way)!

Perhaps only having four colors leaves little room for error.   Value is maybe even more important than color and I had already figured out that puzzle. The pattern calls for four values: light, medium light, medium print and a dark.  I had selected the medium print (green leaf print with some blue on a neutral ground) at the quilt shop, hoping for universal appeal.  The light background worked well and the mottled medium seemed the appropriate value.  The dark was similar to the green in the print only darker, more yellow than blue.

Dark

Medium light

Light

Medium print

Sorry about the color but you can see the discordance.

The problem seemed to me that the medium light and the medium print were "blurry".  There just wasn't enough definition between the two to make it more exciting.  So I had some choices:  change the  color or the texture, trying to keep the value similar.  I went back to the quilt shop and purchased a blue small texture (trying to relate to the blue in the medium print).  Still not right!  The blue was too clear (pastel), too light in value and didn't work with the earthy undertone of the medium print. 

Well now it was too late to shop so I had to find something from the stash.  After unsewing the previous attempts I was discouraged but finally came up with a gold. The value was right, the texture was nearly perfect and the color was still questionable.  I had to remind myself that you don't have to marry every choice of fabric!

So ultimately what I was reminded of is that there is an undertone that affects the color balance.  There was this gold, earthy undertone that keep influencing the direction I should take.  My resistance has a lot to do with avocado green and harvest gold in my previous life.  Surely someone will like it!

'Till next Tuesday....

to market, to market.....

Flatbread

jill here....Post holiday..... the calories, the cleanup, the cold, but most of all, the procrastination.  A lot has been on hold through this holiday season but the good news is that we will be vending at the International Quilt Market in Salt Lake City (May 13-15, 2011).  We have so many ideas we can't keep up with them.  For certain, we will have many new patterns to launch.  It will be our first exhibit to a wholesale market and we are excited!

Business marketing has been a challenge so it will be good to be seen by a larger audience.  We're working on more samples to offer trunk shows.  Like most, our quilts are even better seen and touched!  So stayed tuned for the specifics if you have a favorite shop that might benefit from our new, modern designs.

There was some time this past weekend to sew some samples of "Flatbread".  The runner size makes completion fast and achievable.  It was enjoyable to take a break from design decision making and just sew a well written pattern.  I collect a lot of batiks so it was nice to actually use some stash!  Batik's blendable nature works well for the transparency in this quilt.  Now they're off to the machine quilter and out of my hands for awhile.

Flatbread closeup

So, for the next couple of weeks, we would like to hear from you. Please comment on what you think makes a good pattern?   I could fill your mind with lots of ideas but I won't.  You are the audience that likes individual, original design but you occasionally must buy some patterns and books for certain reasons....

We will offer a free pattern, of your choice, from a random drawing of contributers.  We might even spring for more freebies if there are lots of comments....If you don't want to comment online, you may email us.    here   Let us know what you're thinking!

off to the future....

'till next Tuesday!