Watercolor Quilts Can be Easy !

"Rachel's Flower Garden " - Block #4: Lily Easy Watercolor Quilt Kits by Whims

From: Penny Halgren

Date:

Dear Friend,

I've always been intrigued by watercolor quilts, but haven't ever had the courage to make one.

They just look so complicated. There are a gazillion different little pieces, and how do you know where to put each square?

The idea is that the value of each square is the critical factor, so you take a bunch of little fabric squares, separate them into stacks by color value and then place them on a grid of some sort and create this "flow" of dark to light fabrics.

And magically it all works out and looks great.

I think watercolor quilts always look great when they are someone else's.

The thing is that the "someone else" always says "They are so easy and fun!"

But, I still think they look like they will take a lot of time and after it is all put together, I am afraid that I will look at it and throw it away because it looks really crummy.

I've looked at a bunch of books about watercolor quilts. Passed up a lot of classes and workshops about watercolor quilts. I even said "no" when a friend offered to walk me through making one.

They just plain looked hard and I figured with my skills (or lack thereof), I would get discouraged.

But, recently at the San Diego Quilt Show, I passed a booth where a man was peddling these watercolor quilt kits.

Really - a man. Oh, I figured it was just some guy trying to make money off of quilters and he wasn't really connected with quiltmaking at all.

But, the concept interested me, so I stopped and watched as he explained the idea behind the kits.

Turns out he knew what he was talking about, and he is connected to a quilter - his wife!

After his short explanation, I was pretty excited. It looked so easy. And the fabric was even in the kit.

What could be better than that? I was pretty excited, and no longer intimidated by putting together a watercolor quilt.

With a kit in hand, I toured the rest of the Quilt Show and headed home.

Not long after that, I decided to pull all of the materials out of the package and see what I could do with all of these little squares of fabric and the pattern.

Wow! I couldn't have been happier. All of the instructions were there and relatively easy to follow.

But the best thing was that the kit included a stack of fabric plus a grid showing where to place each of the values of fabric.

Now, it helps to understand somewhat the color value of fabric. So, the kit includes information to help you through the process of placing your fabric squares on the grid.

And speaking of grids, one of the most helpful hints was using their special interfacing that is marked with squares for each fabric, and following the diagram that is provided in the kit that tells you where to place the dark, medium dark, medium, etc. fabrics to get the effect of the watercolor quilt you want.

It was a busy day for me, and I was inspired by the simplicity of sewing this block together. I had exactly 2 hours to pull out everything I needed and get it sewn together.

And - to my amazement, I was successful! And I didn't even feel rushed.

I started by hanging the fusible interfacing up on my flannel wall and marking the columns and rows of the grid, like they suggest. (I almost didn't do that because I thought I wouldn't need that - I could just figure it out myself. There were several times I was glad I marked the grid.)

Once I trimmed off the excess interfacing, I pinned the diagram on the wall next to the interfacing and began putting fabric in the squares.

At first I was afraid it would all fall down, but it just stuck with the friction of the fabric and the interfacing - no glue, no pins! Nice.

You can see below the steps I took and the results of each. The bottom line is that with just following the diagram provided in the kit, I came pretty close to placing the fabric in the "right" places.

I did take the extra step of removing the "color" from the fabrics and check the values. But there were only a few of the squares that I moved after looking at the grayscale. And. who knows - maybe it would have been better if I had left them alone.

The thing is that using this kit, making a watercolor quilt is really easy!

(Yes, I still have the Lilies to machine applique onto the block, but as far as I'm concerned, the hard part is done.)

And now for the exciting part -

Even before I took one square of fabric out of the package, I was excited about the possibility of finally making a watercolor quilt without frustration.

And I wanted to talk to the gal who created the kits that enable quilters to make these beautiful quilts so easily. I figured you would want to talk to her, too.

So, I gave her a call, and she has agreed to talk with us for our Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation on October 21.

This should be truly a fabulous call, because we will hear everything about these gorgeous quilts and blocks straight from the expert.

The fun begins on Wednesday evening, October 21 at:

5pm Pacific Time
6pm Mountain Time
7pm Central Time
8pm Eastern Time

The interview lasts for about an hour, and when we are finished, you get to ask your question. It's all very fun and informal.

As always, you can Eavesdrop on the Telephone call for FREE, except for any long distance telephone charges that may apply for you. And, you can ask your question for free as well. You will want to register for the call by completing the form below so you can get the dial in information and receive the Telephone Worksheet.

Not to worry, there's no homework involved! You will get a list of all of the questions I will ask plus spaces for you to jot down notes from the Conversation as well as questions you want to ask.

Because, after my portion of the interview, Sue has agreed to answer questions from You!

Everyone who has participated in these calls agrees that they are extremely valuable and a fabulous opportunity to talk with quilting experts and get in on their secret techniques.

Mark your calendar - Wednesday, October 21

If you aren't already a member of the Eavesdropping Quilters Club, now is the time to order a CD recording of this telephone call while you can still get it at the Early Bird investment of $24.97.

This promises to be a great call, with some excellent information. Sue will talk about:

Here is what some quilters have to say about our Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversations:

Remember, this is a free call (except for any long distance charges from your phone company), and this is a telephone-only call.

The call will be recorded, so if you miss it or want to be sure you get every word of the call, you can get a CD recording of the call.

If you are anything like I am, when you are on a telephone call for any length of time, there are distractions - husband, dog, cat, kids, dinner, many things - and sometimes the distractions cause me to miss part of the Conversation.

With a CD recording of the call, you can listen in whenever and wherever you want. If you invest in one of Sue's kits, you'll have a personal guide to walk you through making your watercolor quilt or block!

You can add this call to your collection of Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversations at the Early Bird rate of $24.97. After the call, the price goes up! Get in on this deal today.

Yes, please Send me a recording of the interview with Sue from Whims Watercolor Quilts and sign me up for the Conversation, for the special price of just $24.97, plus a tiny charge for shipping and handling.

No, thanks. Just sign me up for the call so I can Eavesdrop on the Telephone Conversation with Sue from Whims Watercolor Quilts:

This is the process I used to "design" and sew together the Whims Watercolor Quilt Kit. This particular kit is from a Block of the Month. Whims also has patterns for full size quilts.

I hung up the fusible interfacing, labeled the rows and columns and then began adding fabric squares according to the diagram provided showing placement of each value.	I continued to add the fabric squares. At this point the block included dark and medium dark fabrics.
Oce the fabric squares were all in place, it was time to step back and take a look at the placement of the squares.	Although I used a Ruby Beholder, I find it easier to tell the value of each fabric by taking a photo and changing the coloration to grayscale. After I looked at this picture, I decided to move some of the squares that showed up as lighter than I wanted in any given space.
This is the quilt after I moved several of the fabric squares.	This is the grayscale photo of the quilt after the fabric squares were moved.
Once the fabric squares are in place, iron them, securing them to the interfacing.	The next step is to sew the pieces together. Fold a row (or column) over so right sides are facing together, and stitch your 1/4 inch seam allowance. Hint: If you are using interfacing that has squares marked on it, cut your fabric so each fabric square fits inside the lines.
Once all of the rows (or columns) are sewn together, press the seam allowances so they face the same direction. Then fold the columns (or rows) down one at a time to sew the squares together in the other direction.	Once the rows and columns are sewn together, iron the seam allowances in the same direction. If you have sewn carefully all of the first seam allowances will stay facing the same direction, and your finishe block will have flat seams.
Once all of the pieces are sewn on, trim the interfacing away from around the outside of the block. Place your ruler along the side of the fabric and cut off the interfacing with your rotary cutter.	The block is now ready to add the applique lilies.

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren

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