WestSide Modern Welcomes Violet Craft

The WestSide Modern Club meets monthly at The Pine Needle, 

and this month we welcomed fabric designer Violet Craft to our meeting.

Geri started off our meeting by talking about Color.

Color is everywhere!  It's bright and intense.

Gone are the neutral days of beige and black.

Fashion and quilting colors used to be planets apart, 

but now they are very similar.

All you have to do is look around to see how bright colors 

are influencing home decor, fashion, accessories, and even our tennis shoes.  

Don't be afraid to mix and match your brights.

Violet is a Portland girl who is a licensed designer for Michael Miller fabrics. 

 She gave us a sneak peak into how she designs her fabric.  

We love how she incorporates elements from the Northwest and Portland

 into her designs and we love her bright use of color. 

Violet shared some of her collections 

and demonstrated how well these different colors work together.

There's no such thing as a blender fabric for Violet.

All her fabrics can stand on their own.

Love the elephants, the tree, and the fence from SE Portland.

This was the featured fabric in the "Michael Miller Madrona Road" Challenge.

You can see many of the quilts entered here at Flickr.

 Violet gets her inspiration from Portland - check out the weeds and the swifts.

"The Broken Herringbone" is a pattern the Violet designed.

It will be available soon!  

If you want can't wait, you can download it from her website:

Broken Herringbone

or... if you CAN wait.... 

she will be teaching this class at Northwest Quilting Expo in September!

Here's another one of Violet's quilts. 

 Love the grey, the white, the bright, and the open spaces.

Another wonderful Modern Quilt.

Violet says that "Modern Quilting" is not that different from "Traditional Quilting".  

It's about developing your inner creativity.  

Take any traditional pattern, tweak it a little, and make it your own.  

Throw in some fabrics from your stash to mix things up a bit.  

The Modern Quilting movement is about "positivity."  

Bring an open mind and be open to others work.  

Every quilt you see has a person behind it who spent their time and money on it.  Appreciate it for its uniqueness.  

Life is too short to judge whether a quilt is modern or traditional.  

Here is an outstanding video from Robert Kaufman

 which gives us a peak into how fabric is manufactured.

We closed our meeting by exchanging our "What Was I Thinking?" fabric creations.

These fabrics were unclaimed.  Is your fabric here? 
If it is... be sure to come claim it at our next meeting on April 24th and bring your creation.

Come enjoy open studio space at The Pine Needle on April 9th from 10-1 or 1-4.

Keep on quilting.  

Color Watch

Spring is just around the corner, and Color is popping out everywhere!

Color is inspiration for your soul.

The trend this spring is COLOR.  

Color is everywhere... in fashion, home dec, shoes and accessories.

Look for big florals mixed with stripes and dots.

Take a look at any fashion or home dec magazines 

or look at window displays, 

and you will see bright colors.

It's reflected in quilting as well.

No more drab and dreary!

Think oranges, greens, pinks and turquoise!

You can easily update the neutrals in your home with some brights.

Add a splash of color in a table runner, a pillow, a bed covering or wall hanging.

We are seeing lots of brights mixed with greys and whites.

 We are also seeing fun big prints.  

Check out this cute kitchen themed fabric.  

Mix it with turquoise, yellow and white or grey 

and you have a nice fresh look for your table.

Here are some cute birds mixed with dots and chevrons.

Turquoises, yellows and oranges are a popular combination.

Blue is back and bright.  Mix up your patterns and add a splash of lime green.

As the Spring colors bloom all around us,

add some color splashes to you home with our fun new fabrics.

Trend Watch - Ikats

Welcome to "Trend Watch"

The Pine Needle is in tune with the latest and upcoming trends and we are leading the industry into the future. This is no longer just your grandmother's quilting. It is an art form and expression of fashion. We'd like to let you know what's new and upcoming in the quilting and fabric world so you can better understand what you are seeing in stores, magazines and shows and incorporate it into your quilting.

This month, the trend and term we want to introduce you to is ikat.  

Proucounced (ēkät) , it is an Indonesian word meaning to tie or bind.  It is a universal weaving style popular in many cultures from Southeast Asia, South America to the Middle East. You will be seeing a lot of ikat in fashion and home dec.  

It is a traditional decorative technique in which warp and/or weft threads are tie-dyed before weaving.  This design is often characterized by triangular shapes with details similar to brush strokes  to achieve a water color effect.  The colors are usually vibrant and bold. The beauty is in its imperfection.  This bohemian style reflects our global village and brightens any room.

We found lots of examples on the "Architecture of Life" blog.  Take a look at these images to get an idea of what ikat is all about.

Here at the Pine Needle, we have fabrics and quilt patterns that showcase this trend.

Modurne Quilt at The Pine Needle Quilt Shop

Keep an eye out for ikats!

Retreat Quilt - Chopsticks

In June, The Pine Needle hosted a retreat on the Olympic Peninsula.

We worked on a "Mystery Quilt" and the pattern that was unveiled is called "Chopsticks."

The quilters arrived with their fabrics chosen and then the fun began.

Most everyone competed most of the top of their quilt.  Here are the works in progress.

As you can see.... no two quilts are the same!

It wasn't all work - we also had a White Elephant Gift Exchange 

and laughed our way through the evening.

We gathered in November at The Pine Needle for a potluck 

and to show off our finished projects.

All we can say is Wow!

No two quilts are alike!

We can't wait for the 2013 Retreat!