Teri Lucas - Color, Thread & Free-Motion Quilting: Learn to Stitch with Reckless Abandon

Publisher: Amy Barrett-Daffin

Creative Director: Gailen Runge

Acquisitions Editor: Roxane Cerda

Managing Editor: Liz Aneloski

Editor: Katie Van Amburg

Technical Editor: Helen Frost

Cover/Book Designer: April Mostek

Production Coordinator: Zinnia Heinzmann

Production Editor: Alice Mace Nakanishi

Illustrator: Valyrie Gillum

Photo Assistants: Gregory Ligman and Kaeley Hammond

Photography by Estefany Gonzalez of C&T Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted

Published by C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549

Thread Rules, Dogs Drool

Give a cat a spool of thread and watch the world unwind Dont stress the thread, just stitch it out oh yeah, you cant stitch that out or maybe you can (I leave this here for your amusement.)

Quilters

Paston whose shoulders we stand, Presentwho continue creating, Futurewho we will inspire, Near and farwho encourage, support.

Dedication

With deepest gratitude to Bob, my sweetie, who loves me without reservation, encourages when needed, and calls me out at all the appropriate moments. In loving memory of Bea Harris and Joy Lucas.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to:

Alex Anderson

Jinny Beyer

Pauline Biron

Pokey Bolton

Debby Brown

Bonnie Browning

Carol Brubaker

Lisa Calle

Donna Chambers

Mary Anne Ciccotelli

Joe Cunningham

Jeannine Delpit

Keith Dommer

Nana Durrell

Dawn-Marie Fahey

Jake Finch

Renee Fleuranges-Valdes

Anne Frascarelli

Stevii Graves

Scott Hansen

Karen Harris

Cathy Johnston

Melissa Kleinholz

Jean Ray Laury

Beverly Mabry

Diane & Bruce Magidson

Melissa Thompson Maher

Giovanna Mantovanni

Karen McTavish

Tracy Mooney

The Pelham Quilters

Kate Perri

Linda M. Poole

Yvonne Porcella

Paula Reid

Sherry Reynolds

Kelly Ann Richardson

Nancy Rosenberg

Elizabeth Rosenberger

Neen Scott

Lorraine Smith

Karen Stone

Melissa St. Onge

Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero

Melanie Testa

Ricky Tims

Vicki Tymczyszyn

Linzi Upton

Sarah Vedeler

Laura Wasilowski

Jean Wells

Valori Wells-Kennedy

Joen Wolfrom

It is with great certainty that where the names of quilters are missing, you are in my heart, on my mind, each with deepest gratitude for your influence in the work of quilting.

Thank you to Amy Marson, Gailen Runge, Roxane Cerda, Liz Aneloski, Katie Van Amburg, Helen Frost, and the entire C&T team for believing in this work.

Thanks also to the following:

Michael Miller Fabrics, for providing the solid fabrics used throughout the book.

Benartex Fabrics, for providing the Fossil Fern prints.

Aurifil, for providing some of the cotton and polyester thread used in the color wheel quilts.

Bob and Heather Purcell of Superior Threads, for great thread and providing great education.

Pickle Pie Designs for the scissors.

Paula Reid for the Batt Scooters.

Foreword

by Alex Anderson

We quilters love color and pattern; they are quite the seductive combination. When I start a new quilt, two fundamental components come into play: which pattern or idea to choose, coupled with which fabric to select. To me and many other quilters, those are the two decisions that make or break each project. The quilting that follows always thrills me with how it breathes life into my piece, adding texture and bringing it alive.

When Teri told me her idea for this book, I was completely intrigued with her thought process. Thread! Yes, the thread adds yet another dimension to the finished product. So many threads are available for our stitching pleasure. Why had I not considered before how essential they can be? What happens when you stitch a yellow thread on yellow cloth or a yellow thread on purple cloth? The results are completely different, and the choices can greatly transform the resulting work.

In addition to Teris love affair and wizardry with thread, she is a master machine quilter. This book contains valuable information that will boost your machine quilting experience and output, no matter your skill or comfort level.

Perhaps what amazes me the most is how she continually sprinkles in tips and tricks that make so much basic sense, yet had not occurred to me before. I imagine she has a twinkle in her eye each time she adds a new one for us to try.

This book is a creative delight that will spark new possibilities for even the seasoned quilter. It will be my go-to bible for myriad nuggets of wisdom and inspiration.

Job well done, Teri! Quilters, start your engines!

Introduction

Way back in the day, Joen Wolfrom, a guest on Simply Quilts, Alex Andersons cable-TV quilt show, explained how to use a color wheel and her Ultimate 3-in-1 Ultimate Color Tool in quilting (see Tools of the Trade). Armed with this new-to-me color info, I grabbed 30 fat quarters, choosing colors and their split-complementary colors. I looked for and found a quilt block that used three colors and started piecing, resulting in Split Complimenterity.

Split Complimenterity, 100 100

Note the variegated rayon thread on the black fabric.

For the quilting, I chose a variegated thread that held great potential for adding to the overall look of the quilt; however, my inexperience and a strong desire to quickly finish got in the way of doing more quilting. Every quilt we make gives us valuable insight for the next quilt.

Usually when we speak of color in quilting, we think about the color of the fabric. This is, of course, an important part of making a quilt, and there are many tools within this book that will help with overall color selection for a quilt. In this book, were going to particularly focus on thread color and weight, and how these affect the overall look of quilts. Youll also see how technical stuff influences machine quiltingtension, speed, needle and thread pairing, personal tension. These provide the framework to make our everyday quilting so much better and help us find our path to artistry. Youll find 36 free-motion quilting designs you can use! Its helpful to think about quiltmaking using the elements explored in this book: color, thread, and quilting designs.

Twilight in the Bronx, 40 40, designed and quilted in 2009

Sometimes We Need

Sometimes we just need to give ourselves permission to explore, fail, and try again.

We need the quilters in our lives to say, That looks great! without qualifying their enthusiasm. We need someone to ask questions to help us sort out our thoughts and make decisions. We need someone to offer either/or suggestions that allow us to make all the choices in our quilts. We need someone who is open to our personal choices, who listens for what were saying when were not sure of what were saying. Sometimes we need permission.