Let go of your ruler! Play with the pattern! Quilt with freedom! Our newest book, Applique Outside the Lines, is all about growing as a quilt artist and having fun while you do it.
What we’ve found is that it’s not easy to let go of directions and tools but the reward is the confidence you will gain once you do just that. Oops – you cut a block too short! That doesn’t matter – just sew on more fabric. If it’s too big, cut it down. If you want to change the shape or placement of your applique, why not just do it!
When you look at the quilts in the book, you may not notice at first just how important the backgrounds are to these quilts. The background is the negative space that supports and enhances the positive space occupied by the applique. These backgrounds are pieced with a flip and sew technique, without a ruler, softening the seam lines. The background fabrics are similar in color and value – but they are still interesting.
We know (because we’ve been there) that putting aside the ruler and working more intuitively can be a little scary at first but we encourage you to “just do it!” You’ll be so glad you did.
See Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins’ blog
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2 Comments
Applique Outside the Lines is a delightful book that helps you create artistic quilts that are absolutely lovely. It is well written, with easy to follow instructions and a lot of great tips & photos. This book also makes a great Christmas gift, but I highly recommend all quilters, and anyone interested in learning to quilt, buy copy. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
SewCalGal
http://www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
Letting go of what you learned is the hardest thing to do. Most quilters are trying to be exact and get those points just right. I am looking forward to looking at the book to get mosre ideas on getting my creativity flowing. Yes, put it on your Santa list.