Gail Garber - Flying Colors: Design Quilts with Freeform Shapes & Flying Geese

Text copyright 2010 by Gail Garber

Artwork copyright 2010 by C&T Publishing, Inc.

Publisher: Amy Marson

Creative Director: Gailen Runge

Acquisitions Editor: Susanne Woods

Editor: Liz Aneloski

Technical Editors: Sandy Peterson and Janice Wray

Copyeditor/Proofreader: Wordfirm Inc.

Cover Designer: Kristen Yenche

Book Designer: Kristy Zacharias

Production Coordinator: Zinnia Heinzmann

Production Editor: Alice Mace Nakanishi

Illustrator: Tim Manibusan

Photography by Christina Carty-Francis and Diane Pedersen of C&T Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted

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

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be used in any form or reproduced by any meansgraphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systemswithout written permission from the publisher. The copyrights on individual artworks are retained by the artists as noted in Flying Colors. These designs may be used to make items only for personal use or donation to nonprofit groups for sale. Each piece of finished merchandise for sale must carry a conspicuous label with the following information: Designs copyright 2010 by Gail Garber from the book Flying Colors from C&T Publishing, Inc.

Attention Copy Shops: Please note the following exceptionpublisher and author give permission to photocopy and pattern pullout pages P1P4 for personal use only.

Attention Teachers: C&T Publishing, Inc., encourages you to use this book as a text for teaching. Contact us at 800-284-1114 or www.ctpub.com for lesson plans and information about the C&T Creative Troupe.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Garber, Gail.

Flying colors : design quilts with freeform shapes & flying geese : 5 paper-pieced projects, full-size foundations / by Gail Garber.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-57120-818-7 (soft cover)

1. Patchwork--Patterns. 2. Quilting. I. Title.

TT835.G33165 2010

746.46041--dc22

2009051480

Printed in China

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my students:

Their work inspires me with its creativity and originality. It is from them that I continue to learn new, improved methods and techniques to add to my repertoire, as well as gain an ever-increasing community of quilting friends.

I thank Donna Barnitz, my incredible assistant and friend of twenty years. Many of the quilts in this book were a collaboration of our team of two. In addition to patiently editing and formatting text and critiquing designs, color choices, and fabrics, sometimes vociferously, Donna makes the quilts sing with her beautiful and creative machine quilting. I appreciate her honesty when she lets me know in no uncertain terms that my choices for a particular design are less than wonderful or otherwise not to her liking. Our working stylethat of longtime friends unafraid to disagreeis the best possible environment to inspire creativity.

My quilting group of fifteen years, Designing Women, is an integral part of this book, and many of the members quilts appear on the pages of this book: Mary Chappelle, Cathy Combs, Patricia Drennan, Michele Hymel, Anita McSorley, and Lisa Stewart. Through our monthly meetings, we continued to explore new designs and techniques that became the body of work for this book.

If it werent for Ann Silva, of Ann Silvas Bernina Sewing Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I may not have followed this creative path. It was Ann who strongly encouraged my early teaching efforts and introduced me to the wonderful world of Bernina. I also thank Bernina of America for the ongoing support and for including me in the Bernina Artisans program.

I thank my editor, Liz Aneloski, for her patience and guidance through this process, and C&T Publishing for having confidence in this book.

Finally, I thank my daughter, Christi Garber, and my sister, Ann Rhodes, who believe in me and encourage me to always strive for greater heights. I love you.

When circumstances plunked me down smack-dab in the middle of New Mexico in 1973, I had little idea of the wonders that were to come. My home state, the Land of Enchantment, is just thata magical place: 121,593 forgotten square miles between Texas and Arizona; sense of humor required for occupancy. Our nations fifth largest state boasts officially designated specialties: turquoise, the bolo tie, the roadrunner, the chile, and the bizcochito, our state cookie! It is simply enchanting, from the grandeur of the landscape to the peculiar antics of the folks that call it home. Quirkiness counts here; differences are celebrated and not constrained. It was here, surrounded by the unconventional, that quilting called my name.

I learned to quilt in 1980. Our fabrics were calicoes in pale hues, with white, off-white, beige, or muslin backgrounds. There were rules too: a quilt wasnt authentic unless hand stitched, yellow would kill a quilt, and the backing should show off your beautiful stitches. But my stitches werent so lovely. I tried to join a quilting bee, but the ladies didnt like the way this left-handed novice plied the fabric with her needle. Maybe it was an act of kindness, although it smarted at the time. As I look back now, almost 30 years later, I marvel that quilting held such a strong appeal, one that still has me firmly enthralled.

Those early quilts were the foundation for assimilating techniques learned from many classes over the years. I loved art quilts and was inspired by Katie Pasquinis work. In her mandala class, while experimenting with free-form design, I learned to make fearless color choices. Although I didnt know it then, I was improving the skills that would become an invaluable part of my quilters toolbox.

Big Bang by Gail Garber, 1997, 70 78

In 1997, I made my epiphany quilt, Big Bang. In this quilt, I was finally able to integrate the skills learned over seventeen years. It also represents the first time I successfully wove the three basic elements of a quilt topforeground, background, and bordersinto one homogeneous design. The foreground boldly asserts its prominence, while the background provides subtle motion and the border blinks in and out. Ive never looked at a design with the same eyes since then.