Looking at Paula Nadelstern's fabrics is like looking at works of art. And that's before you even use them in a quilt! Quilters everywhere will be thrilled with her new book from C&T Publishing called "Fabricadabra." It's tagline: Simple Quilts, Complex Fabric. Yes!
Shortly before leaving for Market, Paula shared a bit about her newest work:
What inspired your book, Fabricadabra?
This book is
the result of one of my internalized eurekas. I realized I could, in a word
(rare for me), simplify. Take the complex quilts I’ve made and pare them down
to their essential bones. Take traditional quilts and gift wrap their simple
shapes with intricate fabric.
Why does your
fabric, including the similarly named Fabracadabra collection, work so well for this
concept?
Along with
design strategies and unique piecing techniques, the book is about exploring
the possibilities offered by intricate, charismatic textiles.
What is your
favorite thing about the book?
One of my
favorite things about this book is the Introduction titled: Me, Myself and My
Process.
It's not
until you write about something that you understand it really well. Breaking
down your own creative act, first by identifying your personal strategies
and then by dividing them into so-called concepts, forces you to reflect on
what things aren't as well as what they are. This exploration steers you in
lots of valuable directions. In particular, it leads you to the vocabulary
needed to articulate your private visual language.
Favorite quilt in the book?
One of my favorite quilts is An Agreement of
Butterflies.
I was waiting to give my lecture to the Prairie Quilt
Guild in Wichita, Kansas, when a traditional Butterfly quilt held up during
show-and-tell captured my attention. In a flash, I recognized a kindred pattern
capable of showcasing a gazillion symmetrical prints all at once. Choosing the
fabrics bewitched me into a flow state—my name for those glorious moments when
you’re so energized by the task at hand that time seems immaterial. I made many
more 5˝ × 5˝ squares than needed.
The collective nouns for various groups of animals and
birds amuse me. A shrewdness of apes. A murder of crows. I assumed there’d be
one for butterflies, but when I could not find it I made one up. Assembled from
49 different fabrics (plus a common butterfly belly and black background, for a
total of 51) from my first thirteen fabric collections for Benartex, these
diverse colors and prints seem to be in accord. So color me speechless when I
recently searched again, six months after the initial rummage through the
Internet, and finally found labels for a multitude of butterflies: a rabble of
butterflies, a flutter of butterflies, or (an equally appealing quilt title) a
rainbow of butterflies. But the perfect coincidence, the goose bump– laden
karmic moment was the phrase “a kaleidoscope of butterflies.” It must be true;
I found it on Google!
Click here to order Paula's book or ask for it at your local quilt shop.
Click here to read more of what Paula has to say about the book.
Click here to see more of Paula's work.
Click here to read a recent article about Paula's work.
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Congratulations to our winners from last week's Mug Rug Blog Hop:
Day 1
Sewing Room bundle
Wordy Girl
Day 2
Wings bundle
Cheri S.
Day 3
Nature's Pearl bundle
Lori S.
Day 4
Kitchen Love bundle
Margaret
We'll be contacting you for your mailing addresses!
