In October of this year--if Covid's under control and if people are beginning to travel for fun--I'll be teaching a week-long class at the John C. Campbell Folk School. The dates are October 10-16, 2021. For anyone who doesn't know, John C. Campbell Folk School is a national treasure. Snuggled into the slope of the Appalachian Mountains in the western-most tip of the state of North Carolina, Folk School has been bringing non-competitive learning of numerous folk arts and crafts to interested people since 1925. Here's a link that will give you more information about the history of the school https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Campbell_Folk_School .
This will be my fourth time to teach at Folk School and the timing couldn't be better. It will be the middle of October with warm days and cool nights. The leaves will be turning colors. There'll be fog in the hollers in the early morning. Roadside stands will be selling all varieties of apples, hand-pressed cider and pumpkins.
The class I'll be teaching is called Plaid is the New Black and is designed, basically, to teach people to be more creative in their fabric and pattern choices when making quilts.
You know the old saying that fashion advisors used to quote when they wanted to promote a color? They'd say, "Red is the new black-" or "Olive is the new black-" and the hype was all about getting people to look at the new colors and to not be so conservative in their clothing choices.
I'm hoping that aspiring quiltmakers who've been intimidated about what color and pattern goes with what in their work will realize that patchwork is simply about a joyful clash of pattern and color and you can do what pleases you. Period. To that end, we'll especially focus on plaids, those horizontal/vertical woven patterns that are homegrown in our state. Of course all sorts of other fabrics are welcome to play with the plaids!
When Carolina was first being settled, thousands of Scots-Irish immigrated from the British Isles, landing first at the port of Wilmington and then pushing further west into the state. The territory wasn't even a proper state yet--not yet divided into North and South Carolina--since this immigration pre-dates the American revolution. Yes, the historic basis of Outlander is true, although no guarantees about finding a Frazier these days.
The Scots-Irish brought the tradition of woven tartans with them. In following times, the memory of those plaids was still strong and weaving mills specializing in plaids sprang up in the Carolinas and the textile industry lasted into the 1990s. North Carolinians have plaid in their DNA!
This blog will concentrate on quilts and patchwork that use plaids and many other fabrics. If you're interested in learning about or registering to take my class, please contact the Folk School at their website. Here's a link to all the classes the same week that I teach. Tip: the class size is limited to 12 people. https://classes.folkschool.org/Browse.aspx
Welcome to the Plaid is the New Black blog, where you'll sometimes find the perfect plaid is in your own closet.
