Quilt Local and a Give-Away

Welcome to my little spot of the Internet, home to today's review of Heather Jones' new book, "Quilt Local." Heather is a dear friend of mine and I couldn't be more proud of her and the fantastic new body of work shown in her book!

Have you ever been friends with someone for a bit and the first time you go to their house you think "Ah... this looks just like her!"? That's how I feel about Heather and Quilt Local. I've had the privilege of seeing many of the projects come together as Heather was writing this book but seeing everything together in one place is amazing! The entire book- from cover to acknowledgements- just feels like Heather. To know Heather is to know her love of family and friends, design, fine art, her hometown of Cincinnati and the need for imagination. Quilt Local is all of those parts of Heather, bound in book form for all of us to enjoy and gain inspiration from.

When asked to pick a favorite project to share from this book, I immediately said yes! When the task came of finding that one favorite project... well, that proved to be impossible for me. Would you indulge me by allowing me to share three of my favorites?

"Springfield" is a fantastic project full of curves and a bit of trickery for the eye. This project was inspired by a metal grate that Heather found at an antique fair that she went to with her friend Amy, me and our spouses.

What I love about this pattern is that she took inspiration from something that all of us- and many others- passed that day, but Heather looked at it in a way that our eyes didn't. I didn't see a creative project forming out of that old grate but I'm really glad that Heather did; the result is beautiful.

"Central Parkway" is a quilt inspired by the Erich Kunzel Center for Arts and Education at Cincinnati's School for Creative and Performing Arts. This is a building that I pass often as I drive through downtown Cincinnati but have never seen in the way that Heather did- until seeing this quilt.

 

"Central Parkway" is just stunning and, depending on the fabrics used, could either look traditional or very bold and geometric.

Finally, I'd like to share with you "Shellshock." This pattern was inspired by a work of Heather's husband, Jeffrey Cortland Jones. Jeff is a crazy talented artist and I'm so excited that one of her projects that was encouraged by him made it to "Quilt Local."

I love the bold, crisp lines of this quilt and how, depending on the colors and fabrics you use, this particular pattern can either look ombre and fluid or very defined and rigid.

 

 

 

A wonderer by nature, I am constantly making things from what I see- whether that's a question, poem, story or sketch. I've designed quilt blocks based on the shapes of walls and turrets seen out of windows at meetings and even one from a tie my boss wears. While at a park with my nieces and nephew this fall, I noticed two very tall walls parallel to each other just off of the baseball field.

The walls were striking for many reasons- because of their size and the attention that drew and also because of how the fall light seemed to bounce off of them and the trees that surrounded the area. My first thought when I saw these walls was that their simple lines could translate nicely into a pattern for a scrappy quilt without being too busy.

To this end, I'm going to gather scraps of the same color family and just cut the heck out of them and then sew them together improvisationally. I'll add texture with some great Robert Kaufman Essex Yard Dyed Linen for the top half as well as the line between the two bottom, scrappy bits.

I think this will be a really fun quilt! And, as Heather showed throughout her book, depending on the fabrics I use, the end products could be very different from each other.

Thanks so much, Heather, for asking me to be a part of the blog tour for your new book! If you would like a chance to win a copy of "Quilt Local," please leave a comment below, making sure to note your email address. This contest will end at 10:00pm EST on November 4 and the winner will be announced here on Thursday, the 5th, so make sure to drop back by to see if you've won. This contest is open only to readers within the US and Canada.

Have a great weekend and a happy Halloween tomorrow!