Daily Courage

You have to know courage to recognize it. In today’s case, creative courage knows no age.

I knew I had met courage square in the face when I rang the bell and Freddy Moran opened her front door. There she stood with her white hair pulled back, and brighter-than-ruby-red glasses crowning her face. In spite of white hair, and at that time a borderline portly figure, she seemed much younger than I was at the time. (Quick note: she decided to “lose some weight” and lost about half of herself which you see in this shot. That pretty much says it without words.) If we’d have swapped driver’s licenses to check ages, I think we’d have discovered about a 28 year divide. But her demeanor, enthusiasm, and whole ‘tude’ made me feel stale and kind of stuck. Entering her house, you are blasted with color.  :)  The inside is painted about 47 1/2 different vibrant hues. (She loves telling you that hers is a perfect marriage, her husband, Neil, is colorblind.)

 She read my energy – or lack thereof. I was there to direct a magazine cover shoot. We quickly raced through the niceties, and were seated in Neil’s office (bright orange and teal, but he doesn’t know the difference). She pinned me emotionally, and called me on being at a creative crossroads. She recommended some reading that I have referred to in previous posts – “The Artist’s Way”. When Frederica speaks, you to listen. She told me she didn’t start quilting until she was past 60 years old. “I had said, I don’t do threads,” she proclaims. Her daughter-in-law invited her to take a quilting class.

The rest is history in Technicolor. Freddy has broken many rules along the way, and while doing so, she teaches us that its better to ignore conventionality and to follow your muse than to conform. In her case its about vibrant color and pattern and not worrying about all the points coming together in perfect symmetry. The best part is that she a world class quilter, author and teacher. And she had not even thought of it until she passed her 60th birthday. 

We give Freddy the Kiss of Courage!

Myrah Brown Green is a multi-faceted woman with some very impressive credentials. She is formally addressed as Dr. Myrah Brown Green. In addition to her teaching credentials, Myrah is an accomplished quilter. She brings a love of cultural anthropology to her quilt designs. The cover proof of Myrah’s upcoming book “Pieced Symbols: Quilt Blocks From the Global Village” arrived today from the printer in Hong Kong. Your mother may have told you not to judge a book by its cover, but we can’t help it. We do. And we love this one!

Myrah has gathered cultural symbols from all the world’s continents, shared their meaning and translated them into quilt block patterns. She teaches readers how to use the symbols to tell their own cultural stories in quilt design. This book explores global consciousness, and inspires readers to learn about a variety of cultures and the symbols that express different beliefs and emotions, many of which are common to all people no matter what their background or demographic may be.

As promised here is a little peek inside the newest book from Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston. If they ever decide to take a show on the road, their agent is going to have a hard time trying to decide whether to book them as a quilt act or standup comedians. These two play off each other so hard you won’t need to do sit ups for days because your stomach muscles get such a workout. You can see for yourself at The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in July in Sisters, Oregon. They will be appearing with some of the Gee’s Bend Quilters. This is big, big, big. Maybe someone should warn the ladies from Gee’s Bend who they are sharing the limelight with!

The UPS man dropped off a box today with copies of Freddy & Gwen Collaborate Again, or as we call it Collaborative Quilting 2. Whoooo Hoooo! It’s a beauty. Darra Williamson, quilt book editor extraordinaire edited this one. Photographer Gregory Case, who we consider the best fabric photographer ever, and Elena Morera did a fabulous job capturing the colors and patterns that Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston so fabulously combine.

We’ll post an short excerpt from the book over the weekend, in the meantime, enjoy “Pyramid.” The large French tulip border is just the best finishing touch, don’t you think? Very few designers would have the courage to combine all this color excitement. But it sure works.

You’ll learn how easy it is to do these projects when you make the parts ahead of time. You’ll enjoy making these either with a friend or alone, whatever suits your style.

We still use some traditional publishing terms around here, “shipping a book” is one of them. It means the files are proofed, proofed, and reproofed and ready to go to press. We are just about to ship a wonderful book by Malka Dubrawsky titled Color Your Cloth. Malka designs and dyes all her own fabric. She doesn’t stop there, she is a wonderful seamstress and quilter too. Malka’s star is on the rise. She has been featured in numerous quilting publications of late, and we know why. She is a talent unsurpassed. She shows readers how to start from scratch and any dye their own fabrics. You will learn and how to Color Your Cloth. Stay tuned for some great projects from Malka.

We have long been fans of author Kaari Meng and her wonderful store and product line – French General. Kaari and her husband Jon are a dynamic team and have a very rare gift for creating and expressing an aesthetic that few can match. Kaari will be at Remnants of the Past on April 25th in the central California coast town of Nipomo. She’ll be signing her wonderful books that also includes her wonderful new sewing book with Chronicle. 

It’s sure to be a fabulous spring day, and is a great opportunity to escape from the worries of world and wander among treasures gathered and offered by some of the most interesting dealers you will ever find. 

Shutting down the national news and getting out into the fresh air in a beautiful setting needs to be part of each of our personal stimulus package. Nourishing the creative spirit is part of survival these days. It’s off a long country road in a darling barn and pasture surrounded be rolling hills. Hope to see you there!

Artist Anna Corba showed her array of work at Remnants of the Past last spring.

A basket full of treasure.

We are delighted to share with you that the advance copies of several new books have arrived. If you love quilting and enjoy working in other mediums too, you are going to love Creative Paper Quilts by Terri Stegmiller. It’s filled with wonderful projects that include embroidery, applique, and other techniques. Contributing artists include: Sue Bleiweiss, Zana Clark, Cathy Collier, Colleen Kong-Savage, and Carol White. Here are the links to the author and contributing authors: http://stegart.blogspot.com, www.suebleisweiss.com, www.stampzia.com, www.phantomcrimes.etsy.com, www.kongsavage.com, www.artbycarolwhite.com

We also have a wonderful new book. Hand-Appliqued Quilts by quilter Tonye Belinda Phillips. Tonye lives in Camp Sherman, Oregon and is part of the wonderful staff at The Stitchin Post that produces The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. Tonye has developed a lovely style of hand applique that she carefully explains and presents in delightful, cheerful quilt projects. 

I was talking to an author yesterday who lives in another part of the country. We discussed how we know when the season is about to change. Since moving to California many years ago, I have had to learn to look for subtle changes to announce the new season. When living in Upstate New York and New England, the signs were obvious, and often welcome. But here in the west, we have to be keen and alert. Yesterday was the first day the light seemed different. Fall is around the corner.  

I don’t know anyone who loves each season like April Cornell. She cherishes each one and shares its unique color palettes and images in the fabrics she designs. 

I have had the opportunity to enjoy fall with her on a lake in Quebec, summer in Oregon, and spring in Vermont. I think it counts as winter that we were together in New Delhi in November! I see her innate color sense and artist eye take in every detail around her so that it can be translated into the lovely linens, clothing and accessories she designs.

Her fabric line for Moda is very popular and its easy to see why. Quilters love her color palettes and  her gift for bringing colors together in unexpected combinations. Today I got a peek at her new line of home linens for Danica, and it’s made me commit to having a few more lovely dinners outdoors before we bid farewell to summer.

Oh, and I am happy to share that her quilting book in underway! It’s going to be a beauty.

Months since the last post…It seems ditzy, but I cannot tell a lie… I lost the username and password to the blog and couldn’t get any help from Wordpress, so I just let it go. Nearly five months to be exact. After some digging and determination, I found it all by myself. Hurray for dyed blondes! In the meantime, the book with Freddy and Gwen is coming along wonderfully.

We are just finishing up design comps, and have spent weeks tossing around the title. Here is the winner:  Freddy &  Gwen Collaborate Again: Freewheeling Takes on Traditional Quilt Designs

They have lots in store! Here is a quilt they call Spider Web. 

We are just about to go into production on another wonderful quilt book by Myrah Brown Green. http://www.myrahbrowngreen.com  Myrah is a scholar of cultural symbols and fabric as well as an avid quilter. She shares how to make pieced blocks of cultural symbols from around the world. Here is one of the finished quilts that will be in the book and below it is one of the instructional spreads showing the Ankh symbol. She’ll teach readers the meaning and origin of the symbol, and provide patterns and precise instructions on how to make the blocks. It will give quilters their very own take on going global! 

Many creative souls are fans of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I was introduced to the book and the author’s philosophy in 2002 by one of the most colorful people to inhabit the wonderful world of quilting.  Freddy Moran lives in Technicolor and has as vivid a personality as you will ever meet.  

We were photographing Freddy’s home for a feature story, and I was there to be sure the cover shot was just right. Freddy, sensing I had a little creative conflict going on, suggested I read the book. I did, and it gave me the courage to make some changes in my life. That change became Red Lips 4 Courage Communications, Inc.

Out of that first meeting, with a little help from The Artist’s Way, came Collaborative Quilting by Freddy and Gwen Marston. Gwen is a quilting guru of great reknown. The quilts were photographed by Gregory Case, who has emerged as great talent in getting the color just right. He took the candids I am sharing here.

The book has been a hit.

Freddy and Gwen play off each other so well because their styles are so different. If they ever decide to stop quilting, they can tour the world as comedians. They can work a crowd better than any professional performers I have ever seen. 

Don’t these two look like fun, fun, fun?! 

I am delighted that we are working on a second book with Freddy and Gwen. It is going to be filled with design tips and strategies for making wonderful quilts guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of even the most color. There will be over 70 quilts featured, and its going to pop and sizzle in blazing color! Along the way, I learned to have courage, creative courage…the kind that gives you the strength to take a leap of faith and go for it. Thank you Freddy. And thank you to both Freddy and Gwen for working with us and keeping us in literal stitches. Toodles