Color Party: How to Chase the Winter Blues Away

Hello. Helllllllooooo. Hi.

It's been a while, hasn't it?

The cleanse of the new year has wiped away the dust left from last year's atom bomb and things seem to be on a beautiful upswing.

Things got a little weird this winter- I caught a bad case of the Winter Blues. I missed the quilt shop. It didn't hit me until after the stress of moving out of the shop and into the new house, designing and publishing the new patterns, and Market was over.

Then Long Island and I broke up a few weeks after Market.

The rush of summer and the transitions we were going thru made it the perfect summer romance for us both; but in the long run, a peacock and a hummingbird are birds of a different feather. Although it was a decision that we came to together, it demolished me when we broke it off. Our dynamic was so....dynamic. He brought light to my life in a time that had previously been casted with dark shadows, and I didn't want that to go away.
peacock sighting in Southern California, captured on my iPhone post-Spring Market



Long Island taught me to play more and to enjoy simple amusements.
He made me laugh more often than not. Looking back, that's what I really needed out of our time together. He had a challenging energy and motivated me to do a lot of things, like start running.


6.66 mile run mapped out on iPhone app Map My Run- an essential for street runners!

I started with a mile and a half, around the track at the college. I felt so empowered when I finished! It had been at least five years since I had run a mile. That simple victory encouraged me to keep running. I settled into a comfortable route close to the UT campus and increased my mileage slowly over the course of the past ten weeks. The longest to date I have run non-stop is eight miles! This is my Urban Victory. Since doing this, it seems like I've been more creative and thoughtful.

Victory pose after the first time I broke 5 miles!


I think about quilting a lot when I'm running. The street art downtown gives me design ideas and the colors of the buildings, signs and other city scenery are so inspiring. I have a renewed love for Austin from hitting the streets. Running has also been a driving force in chasing the Winter Blues away. It's a healthy break from the world that lets me become lost in my head.


seen on Duval- I've also been seeing this seahorse graffiti tag in other places in Hyde Park. 



seen on a steel panel on a wall on Guadalupe


 Quilt Mama came to visit this Christmas and sparked my creative fire. She has this wonderful invigorating energy about her that seemed to dust Winter Blues and sweep them out. Moms do that, right? Open up the curtains in your room and let the sunlight in so you can start your day. I love it.

I've been quilting more than I've been documenting, which is why my New Years Resolution was to share more of my quilting with you, my friends! This is a charity quilt that I free-motion quilted for the Austin Modern Quilt Guild.


fun and vibrant charity quilt made by members of Austin Modern Quilt Guild

This is a candid photo of a fun vintage house quilt that I also free motion quilted for a fun client for a Christmas gift- this photo shows the quilt in-progress while it was loaded on the machine.

little houses on the hillside, little houses made of ticky-tacky...


The most inspiring event to happen as of late was the improvisational color lecture and workshop I had the pleasure of doing for Houston Modern Quilt Guild. They have a large invigorating group of quilters that really know how to put on a party! I had the pleasure of teaching my new color and composition method. I become inspired by my daily life and snap photos constantly of colorful images, especially when I'm running or out with friends. Or falling in love. I've compiled Pinterest boards that are color-specific to inspire you to build your inspiration palette! You can follow my boards here. 

Here's a few shots from the Color Party workshop:




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I'm a firm believer that there is beauty everywhere. The decay of winter brings such a beautiful neutral color palette that makes the pop of spring colors that much more luxurious and rich in comparison. The Winter Blues introduced a whole new color palette to my life.  Once the new year began, the pain in my heart I felt seemed to melt away like winter snow dripping in the sun. I decided to stop worrying about the past or the future. All I have is the present and what is around me right now. 

I am writing this on the eve of the one-year anniversary of my birth mother's passing. I have been in need to reach all of you and talk to you, but the Winter Blues took away my voice. I find it bittersweetly strong and satisfying that I finally feel ready to share with you on this day. 

I feel like I've lived a lifetime since this day last year. 

She is with me, and she is fiercely proud of the woman I'm becoming. 

And you know what else? 

I am, too. 

Thank you for letting me share my life with you. I feel such a tremendous connection to you, as an individual and as a reader of this blog and a follower of my craft and my life.  I used to just be a wayward girl who lacked connection and now I feel like all of you are my family.I often wonder if you are feeling the same things I am feeling or going thru a similar trial or life lesson as I am. I encourage you to create a dialogue between us about anything- quilting of course is probably our common thread, but as I weave the fibers of my career, I want you to know who I am authentically, and I want to know you, too. 

If you want to talk hip hop, however, you'll be immediately moved to the top of my Awesome list, because I have so very few with which to share that passion and also the passion of stitching!

You can reach me by emailing remnantsfiberculture at gmail dot com, or by simply commenting on this blog post. 

Lastly, I pledge to be more visual and to share with you the inspiration that I'm seeing thru my eyes. Now that the Blues are gone I feel this tremendous responsibility to show you the artist that I am becoming and all of the things I'm oozing creatively. It won't all be boyfriends and the Wu Tang Clan. 

And lastly lastly, Grandma Pam, if you're reading this, I want you to know that I thought of you today when I was looking at my latest quilt samples. You taught me to have a passion for color and to play with it- to not be afraid of it, to live it. I'm so grateful for your presence in my life, and when I come home next week, I can't wait to give you the biggest hug and tell you how much I love you!







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