TerifiCreations Blog Tour
Hey there, Welcome to this morning! I thought I would wake your day up with this hot pink quilted image from a new book on Color/Thread and how they interact in Quilting by my friend Teri Lucas !
Teri and I go way back! To 2011 or so I think. Which is possibly not that long ago, but there are moments it seems forever ago… Well, with this Covid Crisis and Dad’s Death, May of this year feels like a lifetime ago! I met Teri as she started working with the team on Generation Q Magazine back in their HeyDey! In fact Teri took over my role as Community Editor when I left to concentrate on more pattern writing and teaching etc. I think she did a bang up fantastic job at that position and took it way beyond what we had started with it.
But as things change, and they always do, Teri left the magazine to pursue her own path in the Quilting world. And recently that path has brought her to her first book!
Color, Thread, & Free-Motion Quilting is the title, but dang, I think I like the subtitle even more >> Learn to stitch with Reckless Abandon.
Totally LOVE that!
Do I do my own quilting? No, you know that I usually quilt by checkbook, BUT this book is very encouraging to nudge me to try again.
My Favorite thing that Teri says very early in the book is on Page 10:
Mastery, whether 10,000 hours or the 50/500 principle,
begin with twenty minutes a day at the machine.
Create a simple plan, set a timer, and stitch. When the
time is up, move on to something else. Repeat daily.
I so love this. I told my daughter this ALL of the time when she thought her art wasn’t as good as her slightly older brother’s work. Constantly, we would tell her to keep drawing and practicing, Now both of she and her brother (Son #2) are very good artists and they keep getting better, each with their own distinctive styles. The firstborn child is a Wordsmith who is an avid reader and says the darndest things… Still at 27 years old! 🙂 He has recently started to do some writing of his own, I think he will be terrific, but I am slightly biased.
But Practice. That is Teri’s early word of advice. And sew good! 😉
Then she delves into all of the details, the key being the interplay of color and weight of thread and how quilting with such interacts with the fabric.
I LOVE her Impractical Color Wheel Concept where she talks in depth about the color interactions of the QUILTING and the QUILT.
And Teri’s simply Mad Crazy talent at wordplay slays me throughout each section of the colors:
Here is her ode to Blue:
Oh, blue, you are royalty, seeking to
envelop us in water and sky, adding
depth to our days and nights. You, blue,
surprised me in how you showed off
red, orange, yellow, and green, giving
them a lovely background from which
to dance their dance. The shades and
tones in each color insisted on dancing
across your surface. I suspect, though,
that a lighter blue would have insisted on
some kind of mad orderliness, as though
running a rather large household.
I must express surprise in how you tamed
the deepest orange, as she is your color
complement, and showed off red as
though passionately in love with one
another.
Autumn skies are my favorite blue, richer
and deeper than summer, not as cool as
winter, nor as moody as spring. This whole
color wheel makes me smile as I can see
the joy found in quilting and creating
something that will give these gentle
readers something to do with thread and
to simply play.
===========
All of that Romance for Blue is from Teri. I think she is equally masterful and inspiring on every page.
And the COLOR-PLAY between thread and fabric in this book so much to study and learn and be inspired by.
And well, she goes through a ton of technical stuff that looks good too, but to be honest, I won’t probably read until I feel inspired to actually do my own quilting.
But there is a ton of specific information on thread types, base material, needles, tension, all of that stuff I am terrible at.
Brief but short, there are a few of my thoughts on Teri’s new book: Color, Thread, & Free-Motion Quilting
Be sure to check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour, I am sure they have very good things to say as well. But they will bring their own thoughts for you to ponder.
7/29 Susan Emory
7/30 Jenny K Lyon
7/31 Teri Lucas
8/1 Paula Reid
8/3 Teresa Coates
8/4 Scott Hansen
8/5 Linda Pearl
8/6 Teri Lucas
I get to give away a Electronic version of Teri’s book to one of you! All you need to do is leave a comment about anything I talked about or how you think you might be inspired by Teri’s book.
Keep Sewing, Keep Happy, Keep Safe,
Nancy Thone
Thanks for including the prose on blue – very “artsy” of Teri! I’m definitely looking to get a copy of this book!
Allison in Alabama
Looking forward to reading this book! Anything to improve my free motion quilting is great! I need the push (shove) as I am a procrastinator and possessor of many unquilted tops!
Cindie
This looks like a great book. I am free motion challenged and would love to learn more about it.
terryknott
I think her color wheel is the shove that I need! I do love her writing style and that may be what inspires me the most!
Jean Condon
FMQ does indeed take continuing practice. I’ve not been very good at practicing but see a marked distance when I do.
Laura M
Interplay of colour and weight of thread – I’d really like to read about that concept as understanding could lead to many happy moments at the machine.
Tammy Wolf
I love your inspiration Scott. Given that quilt stores are not fun much anymore because of the restrictions, this is a perfect project for the quilter in all of us. I think you will do crazy great things with this!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
Eileen
Blue is my favorite color. Taking baby steps for free motion quilting. Definitely need some inspiration and encouragement. This book may do the trick.
Juls E
I so look forward to getting this book! Teri’s unique approach to the interaction of fabric and thread makes if a great addition to any quilting library.
Laurie Petersen
I love the advice, practice 20 minutes a day!
goonyburd
I like your emphasis on the subtitle – we all need to learn this!
shadesofrandom
I think this book might give me the incentive to really practice FMQ. I really want to learn, but I tend to give up after a few tries here and there.
Delaine
I love autumn skies the best too! The blue of the sky is so crisp and clean. Autumn is my favorite time of year. Thanks!
Barbara
The idea of devoting twenty minutes a day to improve your free motion quilting is so appealing and makes so much sense. One day at a time.
babiesdocsharon
I bought myself a longer as a retirement present and find books on free motion quilting to be useful as a newbie. this book will be a good addition