Scrap Quilting ABC's: Authenticity--Part 3 of 3

Okay, one more post in this series and then I'll shut up and go back to my regular posting! This is the part about scrap quilting that is very difficult for me to put into words. Most people will tell you that color usage and value are the most important components in scrap quilts. I'm convinced that there's a third equally important component: authenticity. All I can say for sure is this: we recognize it when we see it. It's the part of your quilt that shines forth as genuinely YOU.

Let me give you some examples. All of these quilters have a distinct style and most of it has to do with how they put the details of fabric and color together. When you see their quilts anywhere on the web, you think, 'oh, that's so and so's quilt'. Go have a look at: Molly Flanders, nifty quilts, Quilts By Cheri, blue elephant stitches, and Humble Quilts just to name a few. They have learned to be authentic!

Even from the beginning I realized that there were fabrics that appealed to me more than others, such as plaids. For me, they sort of exemplify the utility and a certain timelessness apparent in antique make-do quilts {my favorite style above all else}. After reading Roberta Hortons 'Plaids and Stripes' book, I rushed to add to my plaid collection. After gathering enough fabrics, I was able to make the quilt below--90 sawtooth star blocks made completely out of plaid fabrics! What an exhilarating finish! And then I realized that making quilts completely from plaid fabrics wasn't really 'me'. It was fun, really interesting and I learned a lot about working with directionals. It just wasn't the whole picture of who I wanted to be as a quilt maker.

My Plaid Stars quilt. LOVE the plaids but
there's too many of them together in one place!

The specifics of the fabrics you use in every single quilt are telling a story, hopefully your story! Take a moment to consider what 'feeling' you want to convey with your scrap quilting. Are you brash and bold? Subtle and blendy? Sweet and heartfelt? Sneaky and unexpected? Whimsical? Adventurous? Playful? 

These are all things that can be communicated through the total package of how you put your quilts together. In part one, I addressed color placement and color families. Think about how colors such as pinks and reds can convey sweetness, passion, power or even rage. Unexpected color combinations can be whimsical, unexpected, or perhaps make your quilt appear vintage . In part two I talked about how value changes can help in creating light spots, energy, motion, even sparkle in your quilts. Learn to let your discriminating eye take advantage of value to say something in your quilts. Does your quilt reflect happiness? Rigid formality? Does it make you want to go on a picnic or curl up with a book?

In this quilt, I chose to use a light colored plaid in the background because
it reminds me of a well worn shirt. I wanted the quilt to feel comfortable and
well loved. I used browns to ensure that the quilt isn't pretentious even though
it has a more complicated pattern.The reds have a bit of 'cherry' in them so
they won't have that contemporary look that often feels reserved.
The warmer red brings it down to earth, making it more inviting and cozy. 

Letting your unique self be on display through scrap quilting may seem kind of crazy at first. Think about it this way. Nobody will ever be able to put fabric and color together quite like you do! Why not celebrate that? Take that fabric 'love' that is compelling you to be a quilter and enjoy the freedom of expressing yourself in a totally unique and genuine way!

A really easy way to further develop your personal style in a quilt is through the details of the fabric print itself. Have you ever purposely made a quilt for a man and thought about how to make it more masculine? Made sure not to use any flower prints? There are ways to combine prints that emphasize personality.

All the light colored fabrics in this quilt were chosen because they have a
very soft look. I wanted the prints to be very sweet, light and almost
romantic when paired with the reds. Not cheesy romantic, but like a quilt
you would want to curl up with in at a vacation home somewhere off by
yourself, maybe have a bit of a cry and have everything feel better.

If you're not already, start making a conscious effort to buy small pieces of fabric you love or that pull on your heartstrings. Bring them home and mix them into your stash. Whenever you're in the mood to make a scrap quilt, go to your stash first and start pulling a large selection of fabric. Don't immediately run down to the quilt store to buy more of a certain color. There's probably something in your stash that could work if you only put your mind to it. The fabric in your stash is more YOU at the moment than a brand new piece from the store. I'm not sure why that is, but trust me, your fabrics often need to come home and live with the rest of the family for awhile before they settle in properly!

These fabrics are mostly reproduction style prints or plaids that reminded of
those gorgeous mums we see in the fall. All the lovely summer color
 is dying back and then there's these beautiful pops of color, saying
'look at me!' Color doesn't have to be extravagant to be beautiful. The
creamy white remind me of those pretty, frosty fall mornings.

After you pull some fabrics that look and feel good together, fold them into neat stacks of color families and value. Stack them up and let them simmer for awhile. Then drag them back out for another play. This gives your subconscious, your instincts and that wonderfully artistic eye of yours time to decide what's missing, what needs to be emphasized, the color that could best be the sparkle, or if a certain color will look better in a different style print or hue.

In the geese block, I kept coming back to the idea that some of the fabrics
needed to be more 'aggressive' than others, whether in color or in print.
Finally I just quit fighting the idea and went with it. If the geese want to
squabble a little for dominance, who am I to argue?

For some of us, this time to simmer or marinate is an important fine-tuning step that helps everything gel or 'click' into place. It make us take the time to ensure that color, fabric, and print combination feel comfortable and right. I've heard some people call it 'curating', but for me, it's more about giving the fabrics time to talk. Are the fabrics squabbling like little kids or are they high fiving each other wanting to move on to the good stuff? Only you have the answer to that question! Don't rush through the process every single time. Some quilts take longer than others to germinate, much less to bloom.

These fabrics were pulled out of my scrap bin, but I dug deep
in order to get the feel that I wanted: cheerful, friendly and
somewhat whimsical. This basket ended up feeling very fun and
playful to me, mostly because of the combination of prints and color.

Remember, not all of our quilts are going to the be exact same colors or evoke the same response. For one thing, we are moody creatures. I'm not always in the mood to make a cheerful quilt and I doubt you are either! And too, I rarely ever actually put a name to the feelings I'm trying to convey at the start of building the fabrics and quilt ideas. There is just a feeling in my gut that says, 'No, not that fabric' or 'Yes! That fabric is perfect.' And then, after all the fabric is pulled together and I'm cutting it or sewing it, {sometimes hand quilting it if I'm slow to understand}, the actual 'feeling' of the quilt starts sinking in and I'm delighted by the story it's telling me.

Every time I work on these log cabin blocks, I feel so much emotion. The fabrics
are very soft in color, but the prints have a lot of energy. That contradiction
is extremely compelling to me and I'm so eager to see where this quilt is taking me,
what story of mine it wants to tell!

Be aware that our friends and family are not always completely comfortable with the story we are {sometimes inadvertently} telling through our quilt making. They get accustomed to a certain distinctive style that we have developed and perhaps it feels easy and happy to them. Then we change, grow, stretch ourselves a bit and suddenly we are making a quilt that makes them feel uncomfortable for some unfathomable reason! Perhaps it's darker and moodier or maybe it's not that at all. It could be a bright, graphic and modern look that is making them squirm. Don't worry about what others think! If you're making what feels good and right to you, they will quickly catch up and realize that the new style is just another side of you. In fact, it's probably been there all along and you're just finally getting around to giving it a proper voice.

These fabrics were put together in a formulaic way for a QAL
I did with some friends--same quilt, different outcome sort of thing.
It feels like a quilt that would be taken to the lake when it's 100 degrees
outside. The only problem is, I would be the girl hugging the shade, applying
my fourth application of sunscreen and whining about the heat. It's
entirely too cheerful and shallow in depth to feel like a proper ME quilt!

Because of the open and free-sharing ways of the internet especially, we can all be guilty of getting caught up in trying to put fabrics and colors together in a way that isn't truly us, not down deep where it matters. Quilting to please or impress is a no-win situation because we will eventually lose our joy in the process and feel a disconnect to what we are making. The very fact that scrap quilting involves using lots of different pieces of fabrics, gives us the ability to have a greater amount of detail, layers, depth, plus authenticity in our quilts.

Don't ever be afraid to 'be genuine' no matter how awkward it might feel initially. The quilts that we get the most pleasure out of {even if they end up being given away}, are the ones that have us embedded in every little part of them. And too, interest is interest! I'd rather have five people standing in front of my quilt at the local quilt show discussing why they don't like it, than one hundred people file past with just one quick, little disinterested glance. If there is something so very compelling about my quilt that actually people stop and look at it, then I've got to be doing something right!