Charcoal... I think is my favorite piece of Blueprint Basics. Black and white photography is my first love. When I am desiging either a quilt or fabric design I use a gray scale to see what my color values are up to...
Once in a while turn your camera to black and white and see what the world looks like.
XO
Valori
Around the World Blog Tour...
Sue Spargo invited me to play in the tour.... Sue is a very talented lady and someone I admire.
This is Sue's recent class on Craftsy....Embroidery Texture and Dimension by Hand
Her embroidery and applique inspire me to be free when I create. Taking risks with mixing mediums and techniques.... Which fits right into what I am creating in my studio.
The studio is very busy and very messy....I wish I had a cleaning fairy! Fabric is exploding in here as I received all my Ashton Road fabric. I am thinking that I need to cut some off and give it away....wink, wink!
My new collection of fabric for Robert Kaufman - In The Bloom - will release at the end of the month. I am working hard in the studio with my sample yardage, creating quilts and projects to photograph and create a look book for the release of the fabric....
I can only give you sneak peak.....I promise to share more once the fabric is released. I am so, so, so excited about this collection.
I spent the weekend in Seattle with my girls and my mom. I was teaching at a shop - The Quilting Loft - in Seattle. It was so fun to be with Olivia and Violette experiencing all of the new things a city can offer...staying at a hotel in downtown, the American Girl Doll store, the Spaceneedle, Chihuly glass garden and of course Pike Street Market...I loved every second.
Teaching Silk Screening out of my new book....My Life in Fabric
Pictures from my class on Saturday. We had so much fun printing and playing with color.
My new work fills me with so much joy....teaching the silk screening class reminds me to do what I love and my work will show it.
My desire to work is as much about me as it is about my family.....they inspire me to be better at everything I do and everything I am....
Traveling this weekend with these two filled me with so much love and happiness I know I can do anything...they are my world.
My wish for you is inspiration and love.....to enjoy every moment!
XO
Valori
Moss
Deep in the forest under the canopy of trees you will find moss...It has a luxurious quality within the texture and color.
Have a great day!!
XO
Valori
I am running late on Color of the Week this week.... Jet lag has taken over my life the past two days... But my adventure to Morocco was a trip of a lifetime and I would do it again tomorrow.
Coastal Fog reminds me of a overexposed, old black and white photograph...I am excited to share a few images that I took in Morocco that make me think of Coastal fog...as far as a fabric goes this subtle beauty is a great neutral.
When you accidently push a button on your phone and take a photo... love a happy accident!
I am editing my photos from Morocco and can't wait to share this beautiful place and people with you.
Have a great day!
Xo
Valori
Apple of my eye! This green is a granny smith apple...the best apple pie and a fresh, crisp color...
Have a great day....
XO
Valori
Bamboo
I truly have come to LOVE this color... Yellow has come a long way from "sunshine" and "lemon"....a nice bold gold with a hint of green...the new yellow!
I am off to Morocco today for an Artist Retreat. My stomach is filled with butterflies of excitment and nerves.... it will be a trip of a life time for me.
Have a great week!!!
XO
Valori
Ashton Road was released the end of July....for my collections to release complete I like to do a "look book" for the salesmen and women to show to shop owners when they show the fabric for the first time. The look book is full of inspirational photographs and projects. Some of the projects are free pattern downloads and others are recreated Sewing Cards. I try to come up with a theme for the photo-shoot that reflects what the fabric means to me. To get the look book to Robert Kaufman in time I receive sample yardage about 4 to 6 weeks before my deadline. That being said I try to be really prepared for the projects that need to be made and the photo-shoot. I received Ashton Road in the beginning of June. In the images below you will see all the work that goes into getting ready for a release. I have some of the most wonderful staff at the Stitchin' Post and friends that help me with all the sewing and pattern writing as well as the photo-shoots. I could not do it without them!
For Ashton Road the photos-hoot had to be with the kids....it had to be outside on a summer day. The colors in the fabric remind me of candy so we created a "candy picnic" for the kiddos. Two of my good friends helped me with the shoot. We each had cameras - perfect for three kids! It was the best day and one of the funnest photo-shoots I have ever done. The images are priceless and really express the happiness and love that created Ashton Road.
The Round-table...
My Tent...
Playtime Treehouse Quilt (free download).... made out of the flannel.
Vivi loves her Cruzin' Everyday Skirt....(new sewing card)
The Everyday Skirt pattern will be released at Fall Quilt Market.
Playtime Bikes.... out of the cotton sheeting. (free pattern download)
Urban Baby Quilt... (free pattern download) Flannel...
Three Times Around... (free pattern download) Cotton Sheeting...
This quilt is adapted from one of my patterns - The Zoey Throw.
That was our day.... lots of laughing... lots of sugar and LOTS of great photos!!!
This is my other new pattern coming out at Quilt Market, Diamond Lane.
I am doing the final touches for Quilt Market next weekend....My booth will be featuring Ashton Road... Photos to come....
Hope you have a great day!!!
Enjoy those little things in your life.... like laughing kids with lolipops!!!
XOXO
Valori
PS We are working on getting all of the Ashton Road free patterns up for download by the end of Ocotber.
Happy Monday!!!
With International Quilt Market just around the corner I thought I would share my newest collection of fabric with Robert Kaufman, Ashton Road.
This collection was inspired by these three lovlies.....
We love drawing together... even Teague with his 5 year old attention span. I wanted to do a kids collection that also had prints that didn't scream juvenile..... Out of their love and creativity came this colleciton Ashton Road....(Ashton is Teague's middle name)
The Neighborhood is repeated the length of the fabric and there are 4 panels of Treehouses in the width of the fabric.
There you go.... Ashton Road the Collection.... these beauties come in cotton sheeting and cotton flannel!
Tomorrow I will share the fun photo shoot and projects that I did to support Ashton Road.
Have a great day!
XO
Valori
Honeysuckle...
pink...on the orange side but not quite salmon pink....
rich in color.
Have a Beautiful Day!!!
XOXO
Valori
PS... I will be emailing winners of Summer Blueprint Basics Friday!
Some days it is hard for me to come up with just the right words to describe a color... or words at all. It is one of those days, I'm a little burnt out and on overload....
so I found this great poem....
A blue jay's feathered back holds spots of white clouds
And soft, glistening blue.
Upon its wings is painted days of sapphires
And snowy flurries, too.
I peeked out beyond the open curtain
At the big, flowering rhododendron.
There a bright, silent blue jay landed suddenly.
Amoung our pink fairy blossoms it stopped by me,
Jewelled with patches of rich blue - perhaps a gift
From the azure sky.
We might even think some of pure heaven
Is in flight when blue jays fly.
This dappled blue jay then soon quietly moved from branch to branch
In the green blooming shrubbery outside my window.
By boughs of cool leaves like sheaths
All at once it paused for a moment
And surprisingly looked up at me from below."
This is the last instalment of Blueprint Summer... Next week starts Autumn.....
Tell me your favorite summer color to be entered to win some Summer Blueprint Basics.
Have a great day!
XOXO
Valori
Sundance is one of those funky neutrals that can really make colors pop. It is a yellow, cream, & beige mixed together in different per-portions. It is kind of a dirty color, kind of tea-dyed, but sometimes you need something not quite pretty but useful.
I like how the "sundance" in this photo really makes the green in the background stand out.
You can't have Sundance without the sun dancing through the trees showing us a new side of a leaf... even though it isn't exactly the color...
Next week is the close of Summer Blueprint Basics and we are heading into Autumn...
I have some yummy Summer bundles to give away to say good-bye to summer.
Tell me your favorite color of summer to be entered to win (it doens't have to be Blueprint Basics just your favorite summertime color).
Have a great day!
XO
Valori
I love all versions of Aqua.... from emerald to turquoise, my favorite of all colors. I felt like I didn't have any images of this color...but ended up with some unique photos.
This is a detail of a Off The Wall Quilt by my mom - Jean Wells and fellow artist - Judy Hoiness.
In my new book - out in October, My Life in Fabric - one of the projects is a color journal. This is a detail of the AQUA page.
Have a great day!
XO
Valori
I love this color!!! Its so bold...it can make a quilt have a pop or play well with other strong colors. Sometimes I think about colors being people what would they be like... I think Fuchsia would wear her emotions like a badge of honor, with confidence and grace....(I strive to be more like Fuchsia)
I knew when I was looking for this color I would find lots and lots of flowers so my goal was to find a few images that were not just flowers....
Of course the Summer Bluepring Quilt is in the non flower bunch... mostly because the fabric on the right is Fuchsia Stacked Books!
and now for the flowers...
Have a Great Day!!!
XO
Valori
Its funny as I was looking for images in the Lilac color I really only found Lilac Flowers... I don't seem to photograph this color very much. Maybe that is why it is so beautiful...a light blueish purple...
I did snap a photo of Sophie cuddling next to my purple bakers twine...
Have a great Summer Day!!
XO
Valori
Refreshing...Cool...Calming...
Bubbles... Balloons... Blue Skies....and Babies...
Yep... Babies and Bubbles.... Couldn't resist!
Have a great day!!
XO
Valori
I love cinnamon in my Americano first thing in the morning....so very yummy! Besides the lovely flavor there is the smell of cinnamon and the color.....I find brown and brownish fabrics are hard to find...especially ones with a variety of shades in one print. I wanted my Cinnamon to have the depth of the spice in color...
We have been so busy around here with our Quilter's Affair Classes and the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on Saturday...lots of fun and lots of work but worth every second to get to be with all of these wonderful people - men and women, mothers and daughters...and grandmothers, best friends, old friends... it is such a special event and since I was a year and a half when all of this started I can't imagine my life without it! THANK YOU to everyone who has ever come to our classes or the show or even just put a quilt in the show you have touched my life in ways I can't describe!
XOXOXO
Valori
Salsa.... makes me smile and want to do a little dance. OR eat! HAHA! We have been getting the shop ready for next weeks classes and quilt show and I am already feeling a little punchy. But it is going so good, the shop looks great our staff is amazing they work together so well and I love the energy right now.... But I am here to talk to you about SALSA... yummy red, cherry tomatoes,and gerber daisies... just a few of the possible Salsa images. This red falls on the orange side of the color wheel....This is one of those punchy colors that a little goes a long way. It also reminds me of Freddy Moran... she uses red as a neutral in her quilts....
What do you use red for? I realize that I don't use a lot of red in my quilts...I might have to push myself and try Freddy's approach to making Salsa a neutral!
Happy 4th of July to all of you...I will be working but we might get a little fun in the afternoon!
XO
Valori
PS...Next week starts the Summer Blueprint fabrics... So excited! Good-bye spring HELLO SUMMER!!!!
Soft, subtle, warming blue.... It is not quite turquoise and not quite sky blue, Robin Egg falls in the middle.
I think it is a perfect summer blue. I am feeling summer fever around here. Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show is just around the corner as well as our Quilter's Affair classes....although it does feel like June has just slipped by...time... it goes too fast. Taking time to look at what is around us is so important, looking at color, design and the beauty in the everyday.
Have an inspirational day!!
XO
Valori
Green... Nature's Neutral as my mom always says. This time of year everything in my yard is green, even the cheat grass. Leapfrog makes me think of growth, fresh starts and long summer days.
What does Leapfrog make you think of?
