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:: February 20, 2006 Go Underdogs Go!
About two years ago I went to The Quilt Store in Austin to cobble together a starter kit for my mom, who was just getting interested in quilting. I picked a bundle of solids and a fat quarter pack with some nice prints. A store employee surveyed my choices and I explained my mission. She looked at me piteously and explained how solids are boring and any quilter worth their salt poo-poos them. I bought them anyway, thinking that my mom and I weren't salt-worthy yet anyway so what does it matter. The only quilts I could conceive of making at that point were nine-patches with alternating squares of prints and solids, so a good palette of solids seemed like a necessity. The Denyse Schmidt book and The Modern Quilt Workshop book have changed my thinking completely. Solids are not starter fabrics, and they are absolutely not boring. In introducing the Plain Spoken pattern in TMQW, Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle write, "Solid fabrics are the underdogs of the fabric world. They sit alone in forgotten corners of quilt shops, losing out in the competition for your attention to shelves of flamboyant prints and trendy batiks. We designed Plain Spoken as a reminder of the power and beauty of solids." And thankfully it seems like Denyse Schmidt never heard about real quilters and salt or any of that -- she writes "Try to maintain a ratio of about 70 percent solids to 30 percent prints. Though certainly not written in stone, this approach tends to yield balanced designs that are both pleasing and surprising." I ordered many Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton* solids for my Plain Spoken semi-blindly, only seeing the colors by looking on the web and in the Hancock's of Paducah print catalog. I only went for this brand at first because of the selection, but I've said it before and I'll say it again, once you go RKKC you'll never go back to $1.49/yard Joann's brand. Anyway, the result of my ordering-from-afar meant that many of my choices were either not-Paletas-by-any-stretch or truly barfilicious**. I had been too excited to wait for a sampler card to come in the mail. When I realized that the Denyse Schmidt Way may be my calling for the forseeable future, I ponied up for one. So here it is. It just makes me so happy, like a pile of paint chips or a new box of crayons or a new pad of construction paper. If you are bored by solids, your inner child is dead. * No, I am not getting any throwbacks for product placement, but I wouldn't mind payment in yardage, if any RK folk are listening in. posted by in Fabric Friday
Comments Wonderful,informative post. Thankyou. Posted by Becky on February 20, 2006 7:16 PM man, am I jealous! where'd you get it? that would have been very helpful when I tried to order the right brown over and over and one more time from equilter. Posted by hillary on February 20, 2006 7:44 PM Fads are so interesting, and frustrating. My mom went to a local, non-chain, fabric store to get some solid red fabric around Christmastime and was told they didn't carry any solids--she was then referred to another store in the next town over. Amazing. Posted by michelle on February 20, 2006 8:07 PM Ooooh, I'd like to have one of those just to look at, whether I had a project coming up or not (not that that ever happens)! Posted by rose on February 20, 2006 8:13 PM Some comments like that you remember forever! Once a quilter commented on a friendship runner I had made for my mom "It's very yellow" meaning I had used too much. When it was done I began collecting yellow and golds to make a yellow charm quilt, just to spite her. Love reading your blog! Posted by Lara on February 20, 2006 8:24 PM love this post - so very thoughtful and interesting Posted by kathreen on February 20, 2006 11:50 PM I finally know what a fat quarter is! Thanks for the illumination. I prefer solids overall, and your Paletas quilt is a perfect example of why. Just gorgeous. Posted by Susan on February 21, 2006 9:42 AM I have been reading your blog for a while and just love it. I just wanted to add here about the long tradition of Amish quilters using solid fabric, seems like it would be hard for the quilt store employee to be unaware of that tradition. In fact, many of the Modern Quilt Workshop and D. Schmidt quilts take inspiration directly from Amish quilts. Posted by shelly on February 21, 2006 12:34 PM LOVE the palette. I too have had problems getting true solids. The people at Honeybee Quilt Store gave me the same answer - nobody uses them. Probably cause nobody carries them! Glad to know that you were pretty successful in ordering colors online though. I am trying to get up courage to join your quilt along but I've been digging through my stash and my fabrics just don't lend themselves to their style of quilts. Posted by Amy on February 21, 2006 4:42 PM Man, I want to find the part in the book that says 30% prints and highlight in the copy I gave to my mom. I'd say 99% of her quilts (which number well over 100) have been 99% prints. The only mostly-solid quilts she's made have been for me... and on those she's either snuck in some weird prints or chose crazy flannel backing (I'm talking neon pink and turquoise teddy bears with guitars here)! She just can't help herself. Don't get me wrong, I love a good print. I think I'm just scarred from a childhood overdose. So bring on the solids! Posted by gina on February 21, 2006 5:24 PM Wow, you have inspired me to get back into quilting. I cought the knitting bug, started spinning my own fibers, then dying them, and now I can't stop! This style quilting catches me more than the traditional sort of quilts. Love your blog, and photos. Thanks!!!! Posted by Mary-Kay on February 22, 2006 8:03 AM LIFE IS TOO SHORT...BE BOLD USE BOLD FABRICS IN YOUR QUILT...MAKES FOR INTERESTING CONVERSATION AND GREAT HIGHLIGHTS ON ANTIQUE ROADSHOW Posted by barbara on February 22, 2006 3:37 PM I admit, I used to work in a typical small quilt shop, and we carried no solids. They didn't sell well as "typical" quilters wanted nothing to do with them. Plus, the only customers who seemed to want them were folks who were new to quilting and were afraid of "matching"- everything had to be just so, and solids were less scary to them. No one was coming into our store with the intent of making contemporary quilts... I'm thrilled that all these awesome recent books have made a market for solids again, and have shown they can be special on their own. Posted by Samantha on February 23, 2006 8:22 AM yay for solids! and yay for a great post. Posted by susan on February 23, 2006 4:16 PM hmmm. i was thinking about making a post about this same topic today because i got the denyse schmidt book finally. i have a hang-up about mixing solids and prints, which has actually been the sticking point in my modern quiltalong quilt as well (i haven't found a suitable print for the background but somehow can't bring myself to use a solid). i need to get over it. i don't mind when i see the quilts like that in the books, but when i lay out fabrics, my brain rebels. and it's sprung from my brain on its own, as nobody's told me the right or wrong way to quilt. we have a kona swatch set because we use kona for linings on our bags and things, but i think we need to replace it because yours looks snazzier and bigger than ours! Posted by jordana on February 27, 2006 10:19 PM Huzzah, huzzah for solids. I have only made three quilts and they were all done in solids. An amish (shadow blocks or roman stripe depending on who you ask)done in black, tangerine, blue, light blue, pink, camel. A seminole strip quilt done in polished cotton: black, lavender, turquoise, royal blue and grass green with a pieced back ala Denise schmidt: chartreuse, rust, black, sage and small insets of vintage print of red/brown. USing RKKC, its the best. And now a fulled wool nine block out of thrift store sweaters...greys, teal and greens. I find solid colors are easier to live with over time (my Amish quilt I made 20 years ago and I still like/use it) whereas print quilts I was gifted or inherited sit in the closet. Solids really jive with the midcentruy modern aesthetic so popular these days....but I just like solids! Posted by Claire on February 28, 2006 9:12 AM |
