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Submitted by Dianne McD. As of today, my husband and I have been travelling for three weeks.  We own a travel-trailer, which I call our Second Home On Wheels.  On this trip, we have traveled down I-5 to Southern California where we spent several days.  Today, we have arrived in Arizona. When we travel, I keep my eyes open for quilt shops.  I’m sure all of you do the same.  It’s not that I need any more fabric.  But I really love to discover the personality of the shops, because each one is different.  If you spend some time in observation mode, you can oftenRead More →

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Submitted by Dianne McD. What is a quilt?  I define a quilt as “a hug you can wrap around yourself”. But what I’m really asking here is, “What qualifies as a quilt?”  It’s a question that many people have tried to answer for a long time.  When I first started quilting, I understood a quilt to be three layers:  top, batting, and backing. My small group would discuss this sometimes.  Some of us were subscribed to the Quilting Arts magazine; and when they put out a challenge and a call for quilts, they would usually stipulate that the finished product needed to be three layers. Read More →

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Submitted by Naomi M. Having recently focused on the history of several unique Japanese fabrics, and several Japanese fabric dyeing techniques, I thought you would enjoy reading this NY Time’s article about the true ingenuity of Japanese women to deal with a social crisis. (You’ll be taken to the New York Times site.  Be sure and scroll through all their advertising to get the whole story.)Read More →

Pantone Classic Blue

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Submitted by Liz M. Each year, many companies select a “color” to promote in fabrics and design. I have followed a couple of them for the last few years and been interested in the choices. There does not seem to be any pattern; lights, darks and brights all show up. These colors are forecasting interior design, fashion and, ultimately, our fabric choices. I have been interested in Pantone as it is an industry standard for graphic design. Marketing consultants use the palette and stipulate the colors to promote consistency in a company’s brand and logo. Pantone (click here for website) has chosen Classic Blue forRead More →

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Submitted by Dianne McD. At our Guild meeting this last January, Momoko Kanaoka spoke to us about Japanese textiles.  Momo is the Product Designer and Production Manager at the Kiriko shop which is located in Portland’s Chinatown. You can visit the shop’s website here. During her presentation, she showed us many interesting and beautiful Japanese fabrics and clothing.  One amazing textile was dyed using a Shirbori method, and Momo had planned to show us a video on that technique.  But we couldn’t connect to the internet in a timely fashion and had to move on. All is not lost, however.  Momo kindly sent me theRead More →