Color Weave in action: The Frequency Quilt

Today's quilt was featured in Modern Patchwork magazine. Designed by Lisa Swenson Ruble, it uses the Color Weave collection from Contempo Studio. We think the name, "Frequency," perfectly describes the look of the quilt!

"Frequency" by Lisa Swenson Ruble;
featured in Modern Patchwork Spring 2016

We asked Lisa to share some of the inspiration behind the quilt: 

What attracted you to the Color Weave collection?

I loved that each color in the line came in three shades. It seemed perfect for playing with designs that depended on some sort of gradation for the pattern. The pattern in the fabric is a subtle crosshatch--enough to create interest and texture up close, but also have the illusion of a solid from a distance. 

How did you come up with the design? 

I had designed the table runner below for Benartex's Fat Quarterly newsletter. I started out by trying to expand that design into a full quilt, but it wasn't working. I started experimenting with other ways of playing the shades of color of each other and ended up with this design. 

Why do the Color Weave fabrics work so well in this design? 

The variety of shading! Having three coordinating shades--light, medium and dark--of each color gave me plenty of options to work with. Ultimately I only used the light and dark shades of the colors because it created the most contrast. 

How did you choose which colors to use? 

It was hard to choose! I love the palette of Color Weave--it's not your traditional red, blue, green, etc., but rather a more modern version of each color. I tried several color combinations in the design but ultimately stuck with cool colors, which tend to be my favorite anyway. 

Tell us about the quilting. 

I straight line quilted this quilt on my home machine. I think it adds texture without taking away from the impact of the design, and it enhance the modern appeal of the quilt. 

Tell us about the backing. 
I chose a backing fabric from Cherry Guidry's Soul Blossom collection. I loved the little squares, and it was like this fabric was designed for the colors I chose for my quilt--they are all represented on the back! A total coincidence, but fun. 

What do you like best about the quilt? 

I like how each vertical row is spaced differently. I think it really adds to the design, and it was fun to experiment with how changing the appearance of each row changed how the quilt looked. 

Click here to see the entire Color Weave collection. 
Click here to learn more about our Fat Quarterly newsletter.
Click here to learn more about Lisa Swenson Ruble's work. 
Click here to find Modern Patchwork magazine. 

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One fabric does it all

When you consider making a quilt like Shady Directions, shown below, your first thought might be to wonder how many different blues and reds you'll need. The answer? Just one of each! Lisa Swenson Ruble designed the Shady Directions quilt, featured in the Winter 2016 issue of Modern Patchwork magazine, using our Essential Gradations fabrics, so just one fabric goes from dark to light and back to dark again! 

Tell us about your quilt design.
I actually had designed this quilt without a specific fabric line in mind, and briefly considered making it from my stash, using scraps from light to dark. When I came across the Essential Gradations fabric, I knew I'd found a much better solution! 

What attracted you to the Essential Gradations fabric?
I love the value changes in the fabric. By carefully cutting the rectangles from dark, medium, and light sections of the fabric, I was able to create a sense of movement in the quilt. There are a bunch of different color options in the fabric line--it was hard to choose which to use!

Any tips for making Shady Directions?
Definitely do all of the cutting first, and start by cutting the lightest and darkest rectangles, since there's a bit more flexibility in the medium values. Keep your rectangles laid out and stacked in value order so you can see what pieces you still need. Note: Here's a digital representation of what the fabric looks like, selvedge to selvedge and in detail:

What do you like best about the quilt?
I love the movement that the directional arrows and the changing shades create. I also really like the subtle shading in the colored rectangles--at first glance, it's easy to think that the quilt was made using solids, but the shading adds richness to the design. 

Tell us about the quilting.
I wanted the quilting to enhance the angles of the patchwork design, so I chose to do diagonal lines. I don't like to mark quilts, so I marked only the first line and then used my walking foot as a guide for each additional stitch line.  

Click here to see the Essential Gradations collection.
Click here to see more of Lisa's work. 
Click here to find the Winter 2016 issue of Modern Patchwork.

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