Using photos for quilting inspiration by Christine Baker June 6, 2016 written by Christine Baker June 6, 2016 914 Picking fabrics for a quilt When Northcott Fabrics asked me to use three of their lines to create one project, I was very excited but quickly realized that there were A LOT of different fabrics to pick from and the possibilities were a bit overwhelming. The Toscana line itself had 135 colors to chose from! So I decided to do what I usually do when I’m picking fabrics for a quilt – I find one fabric that I LOVE and I go from there. I knew that I LOVED the Artisan Spirit Shimmer striped fabric and definitely wanted to use it, but which one to pick?? I decided to try using photos for quilting inspiration and quickly found a few photos online that I just loved. The possibilities were endless! Click on each of these links below to see the fabrics that I had to choose from. What a selection!! Toscana 100% cotton – looks like suede – feels like silk Toscana captures the subtle tones and elegant textures of an Italian fresco and it looks just like suede! The kaleidoscope of 95 colors provides a comprehensive range in values from rich deep shades to delicate pales ideal for contrast in quilting. Artisan Spirit – Shimmer Shimmer by Northcott Studio encompasses an extensive range of exquisite textures in vibrant colors with metallic accents. Shimmer is the premier collection for Artisan Spirit, the latest Northcott brand designed for the inspired quilter. Artisan Spirit – Sandscapes Artisan Spirit Sandscapes includes a wide range of exquisite marbleized textures in vibrant hues with metallic accents. Twelve palettes ranging in progression of value can be used alone or in combination with other palettes for both traditional and modern quilting. Stepping outside of the box Lately, I’ve been drawn to more “artistic” quilting and I’d like to dabble in it a bit myself. So when I saw the Artisan Spirit Shimmer “striped” fabric, it really jumped off the screen and spoke to me. BUT which colorway to pick?? I was initially drawn to the blues, but Nellie and I have done a lot of blue colorway designs for Northcott lately, so I decided to try to work outside of the box and pick colors that I wouldn’t normally be drawn to. Here is the pattern that Nellie and I designed last year with the Sandscapes fabrics. We used all of the “Atmosphere-Lagoon” colorway fabrics and added in some coral and beige for contrast. These fabrics were just lovely for designing and quilting and I couldn’t wait to get more to play with! Coral Beach pattern by Upper Canada Quiltworks Size: 77″ x 99″ www.uppercanadaquiltworks.com The “Sunglow” and “Autumn” colorways were lovely (as were all of the rest) and something about them made me think of sunflowers. So I looked online for some photos to use as inspiration. Northcott Artisan Spirit Shimmer #20425M-39 Fields of sunflowers These sunflower photos that I found online helped me to narrow down my selection of fabrics to ones that were brown, gold and green. But I still wasn’t sure which striped fabric I wanted to use for the background. Sometimes it’s best to actually see the fabrics in person so that you can audition them with your other fabrics so I decided to ask for both!! Photo 1 of several others that help with fabric selection, perspective, and detail of incorporating a flower in a quilt. Photo 2 of several others that help with fabric selection, perspective, and detail of incorporating a flower in a quilt. Photo 3 of several others that help with fabric selection, perspective, and detail of incorporating a flower in a quilt. I picked 4 Sandscapes fabrics, 5 Toscanas and 11 Shimmer fabrics and emailed my list off to Elaine at Northcott. Before I knew it the box had arrived!! A box of yummy Northcott fabrics Time to play Now that the fabrics have arrived I can’t wait to get started! I’m going to lay them all out to see how they look together. Tomorrow we’ll start using the sunflower photos for quilting inspiration – see you then! This is part 1 of 5 in this series. Go to part 2: Using fusible applique to make an art quilt Print this page or save as a PDF artisan shimmernorthcottnorthcott fabricpicking fabricsquiltquilt designquiltingsandscapes fabricssunflowerstoscana fabrics FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinRedditWhatsappTelegramEmail Christine Baker I have been designing and publishing quilt patterns for the last 16 years under the business name Fairfield Road Designs. My patterns range from fusible applique and piecing to felted wool applique and punchneedle. You can see all of patterns on my website www.fairfieldroaddesigns.com. previous post 4 ways to work quilting into your busy lifestyle next post Using fusible applique to make an art quilt YOU MAY ALSO LIKE... QUILTsocial Giveaway 288: Jungle Rose 12-Fat Quarter Fabric... Get your Banyan Batiks Baralla, we’re making a... QUILTsocial Giveaway 284: Baralla 12-Fat Quarter Fabric Bundle! 5 tips to create the best ever quilt... The secret to modern quilting using the straight... How a short stitch, in quilting, can save... How to choose a quilt design for fabric... Falling in love with Banyan Batiks Kayana autumn... Banyan Batiks Kayana Autumn fabric steals the fall... 5 comments Cindy Plourde June 9, 2016 - 8:13 pm I love sunflowers! Those Northcott Fabrics really make them shimmer, no pun intended. Such a lovely collection of fabrics! Reply Christine Baker June 9, 2016 - 9:00 pm Yes, these Northcott fabrics are amazing. I just loved working with them. Reply Marie June 9, 2016 - 12:30 pm Beautiful fabrics Reply Christine Baker June 9, 2016 - 9:04 pm They sure are! It was awesome working with them! Reply Shari Lund June 9, 2016 - 11:44 am Love the Artisan Spirit – Sandscapes and Love the free motion quilting on the sunflower. Wish I could do it better, need lots more practice! 🙂 Reply Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
