"Ricky Tims and His Quilts Share the Same Appeal: They're Colorful, Bold and Unexpected"
Last night Quiltmaker and Musician Ricky Tims talked about his Rhapsody quilts. Listen below while he tells all about the design and the process.
From: Penny Halgren Date:
Dear Friend, How familiar is this? Ricky Tims made his first quilt on a sewing machine he inherited from his Granny. He made his first fabric-buying trip by himself with little understanding of how to make a quilt or what the future held for him.
With help from other shoppers, Ricky chose the fabric for his quilt, and enthusiastically carried it home, ready for his new adventure. At the store, he was also told about a local quilt guild and invited to attend a meeting. Naturally, the ladies at the guild welcomed him with open arms - - and a new quilter was created. That seems to be the story of many quilters - famous or not. Most quilters begin making quilts because a friend or family member suggests that making a quilt would be fun and rewarding. And we continue making quilts because we enjoy the craft and the creative expression. Many quilters use traditional patchwork block patterns with beautiful and inspiring traditional colors all of their quilting career. Other quilters explore other creative paths, making traditional blocks with unique features - sometimes varying the shape of the block, the setting, or many other design features. It takes years for some of us (including me) to break with tradition and make something really bold and different. It took Ricky only a few years to progress from his first sampler block to the unique and creative quilts he makes today. A look at some of his quilts below shows that his path is sprinkled with the same traditional patterns that many quilters make, made with his creative flair.
How did he make the transition? We all have that creative talent within, but how do we discover it and begin to create unique quilts that will stand out from the crowd? You will be able to hear how Ricky Tims did it on October 16, when Ricky is our guest on Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation. Just reading Ricky's list of activities makes me tired. He speaks and teaches all around the world, hosts week-long LaVeta Quilt Retreats, presents two-and-a-half day Ricky Tims Super Quilt Seminars around the country, co-hosts TheQuiltShow for an online community of quilters, and writes and performs music. We are grateful that Ricky has taken time out of his incredible schedule to be with us and let us pick his brain about his quilting journey and how he has made the transition from traditional patchwork to designing and making contemporary quilts. In addition, Ricky will share some of the techniques you will need to make some of his original design quilts. Some of this quilts look complicated, yet when he shares the secrets of making them, you will immediately know that you can make them, too. And some are easier to make than even traditional patchwork quilts. Join us on October 16, beginning at 5pm Pacific Time, 6pm Mountain Time, 7pm Central Time and 8pm Eastern Time when you will hear straight from Ricky and you will have an opportunity to ask him your question - any question you want. Here is a flavor of some of Ricky's resources:
In Ricky’s book, Convergence Quilts: Mysterious, Magical, Easy and Fun, you’ll have a wealth of first-hand information right at your fingertips, and pictures of some beautiful quilts made in this style to inspire you. Convergence quilts feature two or more fabrics cut into strips, sewn together, then cut and pieced again. Nothing could be simpler - or more magical! Ricky offers lots of creative guidelines but no hard-and-fast rules, so every Convergence quilt is a unique work of art. One of the variations, Divide and Conquer, is my kind of quilt. This quilt is improvisational as well as unorthodox. Plan? Nope, not too much! Layer two fabrics together, cut gentle curves, re-arrange the resulting pieces and sew them together to create two new blocks. It couldn't be easier! And to quote Ricky: "..it is more enjoyable and rewarding to let the design unfold with each step." With an Edge Gradation design, you simply cut a fabric or design into strips. As you cut, each strip gets wider as you move toward the opposite side of the fabric. Spread the strips apart, and fill the spaces with strips of equal width. The filler spaces can be simple fabric, or designs of their own - like the picture on the cover of the book. With Ricky Timss' Convergence Quilts, you get:
Ricky's brand new resource, Rhapsody Quilts: Inspiring, Amazing - Create your Own. A Rhapsody quilt is a medallion-style quilt with a graceful curved design. Like a musical rhapsody, the form is flexible and lets you express an endless variety of themes and motifs. Ricky shows you exactly how to work with your quilt's basic skeleton, then enhance your design schemes with original applique or lush quilting. Click on the Flash image below to hear how Ricky developed the design for these quilts and how really easy they
With Ricky Tims' Rhapsody Quilts, you will:
This was an inspiring and fun call. In addition to his quilting and musical talent, Ricky is relaxed and easy to chat with. The above clip from the call is just a tidbit of the treasures Ricky shared. He also gave us some tips for successful machine quilting that knocked our socks off! You can order a CD recording of the call at the Early Bird Price. Happy Quilting!
www.How-to-Quilt.com www.TheQuiltingCoach.com www.Fabric-Postcards.com
*Sharon Darling's Quilter's Review
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