If you look at ancient Celtic manuscripts, you see quite a wide variety of colors being used. In some cases, a given knotwork design is colored in uniformly with the same pigment; in other cases, several colors may be used within the same design. Sometimes the color changes serve to highlight a particular repeating portion of a knotwork design or interlacing border, while other times the color changes seem to have been made at the whim of the scribe. So--there really are no set rules about what colors you can use in a Celtic quilt.

Pick what you like best, or pick a combination that is meaningful to you. Feel free to make choices that please yourself!

I would make sure, however, that there is enough contrast between the color(s) you use for the knotwork and the color you use for the background to allow the knotwork to show up clearly. (Try overlapping your fabrics and then looking at them from the other side of the room--do the fabrics "moosh" together, or can you still clearly see which is which?) I would also recommend sticking to 100% cotton fabrics. They tend to be easy to handle and hold a nice crease when pressed. Wash them before using them--but don't use fabric softener if you plan on using any kind of glue or fusible adhesive to hold the bias tubes in place before sewing them down. The chemicals in some fabric finishes or fabric softeners may impede bonding.

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In general terms, Celtic art and design is used to celebrate ethnic identity, sometimes coinciding with national political aspirations. It is also often used for the glorification and worship of God, continuing the tradition of the magnificent gospel manuscripts, standing crosses, reliquaries, and liturgical vessels of over a thousand years ago, or to connect with pre-Christian traditions of spirituality.

In specific terms, Celtic knotwork designs are often assumed to have symbolic significance, a sort of code, as it were, that could be understood if only one had the key. This somewhat romantic viewpoint does not seem to be borne out in reality. However, there is still a great deal of controversy surrounding this question.

Modern suggestions/speculations include the following:

The intricately intertwining unbroken lines in Celtic knotwork symbolize both the pagan cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, and Christian concepts such as the unending qualities of God’s love and mercy towards us and the eternal nature of the soul. The "endless knot" symbolically ties our souls to the world, or paradoxically, to God.

Certain types of crosses, whether overt or hidden within knotwork designs, have pagan antecedents in the world-axis and solar (whether circular or spiral) symbolism prevalent in pre-Christian Europe. Others developed from the later Latin cross, or the earlier Chi-Rho symbol, a monogram for the name of Christ consisting of the first two letters of the name of Christ in Greek, overlaid onto each other to resemble a wheeled cross.

A sense of motion, or the turning of the cosmic wheel, is a characteristic of much of Celtic art.

Numbers are thought to have possible significance in the context of specific Celtic knotwork designs.

For example:

• three - the most sacred number. Powerful goddesses often came in three guises (such as maiden, mother, crone); so does the Christian Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Past, Present, Future and Faith, Hope, Love can also be associated with the number three.
• four - the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west), four elements (earth, air, fire, water), four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), or four arms of the cross
• five - a symbol of totality, with the center representing a fifth direction of space; may also refer to the number of Christ’s wounds
• seven - cosmic and spiritual order, or completion of a natural cycle; in Biblical terms, it is regarded as the number of perfection

In summary, a few knots do seem to have specific names and/or meanings attached to them (at least in the present time), but generally speaking, most of them do not. And even those that are generally recognized today by a given name (such as the True Lover’s Knot) seem to vary in appearance and usage over time.

 

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No, I am not aware of any Celtic knotwork or interlace design being associated more with one Celtic people group than with any other. I'll try to spare everyone a long history lesson, but here is a short version:

If you go back far enough, Celtic peoples actually stretched all the way from Spain and Portugal to Asia Minor. Over the millennia, invasions & migrations eventually forced them into what is now known as the "Celtic Fringe" countries of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Cornwall in England, Brittany in France, and Galicia in Spain. Knotwork and interlace do not appear in the earliest known art/culture of peoples identified as "Celtic." What is now recognized as Celtic-style knotwork and interlace arose centuries later through a combination of early Celtic design, Germanic animal interlace, and Mediterranean influences brought by Christianity. From about the 5th or 6th century C.E. onward (peaking between 700 and 900 C.E.); we begin to find fabulous examples of Celtic design (including knotwork and interlace) ornamenting gospel manuscripts, carved into stone slabs or crosses, and in ornate metalwork such as jewelry, book covers, and reliquaries. Through both trading ventures and missionary activity, many of these artefacts (and associated design vocabulary) found their way not only throughout Celtic territories, and but also throughout much of the known world.

By the 8th century, knotwork and interlace had become a defining characteristic of Celtic art, and continues to be to this day.

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Much of the inspiration for my artwork comes from my own experiences and interests such as music, art, and travel. My color palettes are often suggested by my appreciation for nature. What fascinates me, though, is that grass and trees are often not green, the sky is not always blue, and so on. Every color imaginable seems to make its appearance--changing with shifting patterns of light and shadow.

Ancient illuminated manuscripts, glittering Byzantine mosaics, rich Asian and Middle Eastern rugs and kilims, and embroidered and embellished textiles from around the world also find their way into the mix; my quilts often grow out of an attempt to capture, explore, and remember a specific moment of interplay of color, light, and line.

Nevertheless, I do find that some times it is not the product itself that is of primary value. Rather, it may be the process itself--whether I am creating a piece based on a historical artifact, or working an "original" design. The thoughts, the emotions, the physical processes involved can be both healing and enriching to my soul and spirit in ways that can't easily be measured.

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I am fortunate to come from a long line of quiltmakers, (at least 4 generations, probably many more), but I did not begin quilting until after my youngest daughter was born. I had been very ill for an extended period of time, and my long-term prognosis was very uncertain. I was afraid that my daughters would not remember me. I take great comfort from the quilts made by my grandmother, great-aunts, and other family members, so the first quilts I made were for Caryl and Connor.

Next to my husband, John, I did have one other very important person, Thelma Baldwin, (a multi-media artist herself,) who actively encouraged me by bringing over supplies, and constantly monitoring my progress--and pushed me to follow my own path, approaching my quiltmaking as artmaking. She was instrumental in my decision early on to turn it into a career.

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I prefer high quality 100% cotton fabrics. I use mercerized cotton thread for piecing, and for some quilting. I see the quilting as an additional design element, so depending on the piece in question, I may also use size .004 nylon monofilament, rayon, or metallic thread.

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The short answer is both. I almost always use a sewing machine to piece and/or applique my quilt tops, both for speed and for durability. When adding the quilting, (the stitching that holds the quilt top, batting, and backing layers of a quilt together), I most often use a technique that might be compared to "hand quilting with an electric needle." I drop the feed dogs, decrease the pressure on the presser foot, and set the stitch length and width to 0. This means that all the sewing machine does is make the needle go up and down. Stitch length and direction are controlled entirely by the way that I physically move the quilt with my hands. I rarely mark my quilting patterns, they are developed "free-hand," or made up as I go along. All "finishing" of the quilt, such as securing the binding, is done by hand.

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• a nice straight stitch (check the stitching on some scrap fabric - some machines do not produce a very "straight" straight stitch.)
• a straight-stitch throat plate (optional but extremely helpful when piecing)
• an adjustable zig-sag stitch (the zig-zag throat plate is usually standard in most machines)
• a throat plate and bobbin case that is easy to remove and replace for cleaning.(Note: Quilters should take these out and clean them at least every 6-8 hours of continuous sewing. Dust, lint, bits of thread, etc. can build up in these areas and throw off your tension settings. You should also replace your needle this often. Don't wait for it to break!)
• an upper thread tension that you can easily change (some machines now have an automatic upper thread tension that is not easily overridden - you might need to do this when using monofilament thread)
• feed dogs that can be dropped (try not to get the kind that have to be covered with a plate--the free motion/darning foot gets hung up on the plate and usually doesn't function properly)
• a needle-down feature is wonderful, but optional (it sometimes costs a lot more)
• speed controls are also great, but optional

  Recommended presser feet for quiltmaking:

• walking foot (also called even-feed foot)
• darning foot (also called free-motion foot)
• open-toe applique foot (similar to a zig-zag foot, but there is more open space at the front, so you have much better visibility)
• quarter-inch foot (this is optional, but many people feel that it makes their quarter-inch seams much more consistent and accurate)

  General Observations:

• If possible, buy from a place where you can get good service if you have any questions or problems. Many stores offer free classes when you buy a new machine. Take advantage of this!
• Always ask to sit down and try out any machines that you are considering. (This is a normal thing to do, particularly in a sewing store. There are almost always demo models available.)
• Try to avoid getting a machine that rattles the table when you use it. (Some machines vibrate a lot more than others, and the noise level varies, too!)

 

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1. Use low-loft cotton or cotton-blend batting. The low-loft has less bulk, and the cotton in the batting sticks to the cotton in the quilt top and backing, making it less likely to shift than a polyester batt.

2. Baste, baste, baste! But NOT with thread. Thread basting generally doesn’t hold the layers securely enough to avoid tucks or slipping of the layers. When using safety pins to hold the layers together, tape or clamp the backing down on all edges (so that it is slightly taut, with no wrinkles or fold lines) and then smooth the batting and top in place. Place pins no more than 2-3" apart. I also really like the new Hobbs fusible Heirloom 80/20 cotton batt -- no pins needed at all!

3. Try not to have any more than ½ of the quilt under the machine at any given time. In other words, if you are quilting straight lines across the quilt (such as stitching in the ditch along block or sashing seams), don't start at one end and simply work your way across the quilt. Instead, work from one direction for half of the quilt, then rotate it and work from the other direction for the remaining lines of stitching.

4. In order to isolate an area of the quilt for stitching, fold the edges in loosely and secure the fold with 3-4 safety pins. (Rolling the quilt tends to create a very stiff, awkward tube, and I find that bicycle clips and other tools meant to secure the roll tend to get hung up on each other or hung up on the needle bar as I try to move the quilt through the machine.)

5. With a walking foot, quilt along long straight lines that go either all the way through the quilt or almost all the way through FIRST (between blocks, across major piecing lines, along sashing or borders, etc.). This stabilizes the quilt sandwich, and makes it easier to do any additional "fancy" quilting without causing the layers to shift. Exception: you usually do not quilt stabilizing lines on a quilt that will be free-motion quilted in an all-over pattern.

6. Particularly on a bed-size quilt, any designs (whether fancy motifs or stitching in the ditch around complicated pieced blocks such as stars) that involve multiple changes in direction are usually better done with a darning (or free-motion) foot. Any time you are rotating a large quilt while it is in your machine you are risking layers sliding or bunching, especially right around the needle.

7. Work with your machine either in a cabinet or with an add-on table around it so that you have a flat working surface with plenty of room to support the quilt on either side of the machine. It is important that the weight of the quilt doesn't create drag (or stretch the quilt top) as it feeds through the machine toward the needle or past the needle.

8. I swear by my cotton quilting gloves; they allow me to use the whole of my hand to control the fabric (instead of just fingers) and also keep my hands from slipping or skidding on the fabric when I am trying to move it. I find that they greatly reduce the amount of strength it takes to control the quilt, which in turn reduces strain and fatigue. The gloves also allow me to apply a gentle tension on the quilt, making it easier to flatten out any excess fullness in the area as I am quilting. Some kinds of garden gloves, bell ringer gloves, etc., are good alternatives. Rubber office fingers can also help control the quilt (especially if your hands get too hot in the gloves).

9. Clean your machine out and replace your needle at least at the beginning of each new project. I change my needle and clean out under the throat plate, around the bobbin, the bobbin case, etc. every 6-8 hours of continuous sewing, or at least every other time I change my bobbin.

Speaking of needles: I think Schmetz Quilting needles, size 75 are one of the best general choices for machine quilting. They have a reinforced shaft and a very fine, tapered point that allows them to pierce cleanly without snagging, pulling or having the needle "punch" through the quilt sandwich. Schmetz Microtex Sharps, Embroidery, or Topstitch needles may also be helpful when working with various types of thread. Generally speaking, you should use the smallest size needle that will do the job.

10. If your bobbin thread is visible on the top side of your work, then your upper thread tension is too high and should usually be turned to a lower number. If your top thread is visible on the backside of your work, and/or the bobbin thread feels very loose, then the upper thread tension is too low and should usually be turned to a higher number. However, if you adjust your upper thread tension and your stitch does not improve, the issue is more likely that the machine should be unthreaded and rethreaded, and/or cleaned throughly (See #9). Winding your bobbin too quickly or at an uneven speed can also contribute to problems with thread tension.

11. Whatever style of quilting you do, remember to distribute the quilting evenly across the quilt; if one area is heavily quilted and another is not, it is unlikely that your finished quilt will lie flat.

12. Unless you are starting at the outermost edge of the quilt, always bring up the bobbin thread through ALL the layers at the beginning of each line of stitching. Hold tightly to both the top and bobbin threads until after the stitching has been secured by using a locking stitch or by 1/4" or so of very tiny stitches. (Secure the stitches at the end of a line of stitching in the same manner.)

13. When trimming the threads at the end of a line of stitching, first clip the top thread as close as you can to the surface of the quilt; then turn the quilt over and tug on the bobbing thread to pull the whisker of top thread into the batting. Hold the bobbin thread taut and clip it as close to the back of the quilt as possible. When the thread relaxes, it too will be drawn back into the batting.

14. As you stitch, remember to look ahead to where you are going next, not at the needle. (This may take some practice to build confidence in your hand-eye coordination, but consider how far you’d get driving a car if you spent the whole time staring at your hood ornament!)

15. BREATHE! And take LOTS of breaks -- your arms, neck & shoulders can get VERY sore, and the going gets really tough when you're in pain... Remember, this is supposed to be FUN!

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