Valori Wells

Peacock Pavilions...... oh my....

Hello...

I have been working on my newest collection of fabric for fall...the designing phase and got so caught up yesterday that I forgot to post... good grief. At least it was because I was on a really good roll....Anyhow....

One of the things I loved about the way that Maryam  from Peacock Pavilions decorated was her ability to put all of us (12) at a table and it felt seamless...she layered her table cloths. Love the idea. (I am sure that for some of you this is old news :-) ) I don't have one long enough tablecloth for our table when the entire family is over so now I just layer three different cloths. I took two - 2 yard pieces of Mystic and stitched them around the edges like you would a pillow. Turned them right side out and pressed. Whipped stitched the opening and took my walking foot and ran some stitching to secure the two pieces of fabric. So easy... they wash well and they are two sided! Bonus!

Part of why I want to share this place with you is for the design that is incorporated into every aspect of this place....

The dining tent...

The stenciling on the tent... amazing.... the floor is covered in soft Berber rugs (no shoes allowed).

This is the main living area of the house we stayed in. There are two houses apart from the main house. These two houses are were the guest stay. The main house is the families living quarters, the kitchen and the main living communal area...

 

Artifacts from all over Africa adorn the houses....as well as kitties!

 

 

view from the roof top...

 The main house....

The property they own has a olive grove on it...the small batches of olive oil produced from their grove is really yummy.

And yes they do have peacocks....they used to roam free but they found that they had no disregard for interiors....and that is hard to get out of a Berber rug!!

Scout the resident lab!

The pool....

 

 The path from my house through the olive grove to the main house. They are called meditation paths because the stones are either a little too close together or a little too far apart in turn making you conscious of each and every step. I loved starting my morning walking this path being in the moment noticing the small delicate details of the ground cover and the olive trees.

Our crew....

Mystic Blue blog winner is Sarah M. (you have been emailed).... Thank you all for you wonderful comments.....I am so in love with blue, glad to know I am not alone!

This trip through the inspiration of Mystic is winding down... The last post will be on Monday.... I have some bundles of the entire collection to give away... Three to be exact! Leave a comment....See you then!

xo

Valori

Mystic Blue

Happy Friday!!!

It is a beautiful blue sky day here in Sisters...perfect day to share with you my Mystic Blue quilt that is made out of the blue palette in the Mystic collection and Kona Cottons.

This quilt is a mixture of design elements seen in the rugs and the variety of blues you experience while visiting Morocco.

I already love blue... and now I am completely enamored by blue....

I really enjoyed quilting this quilt... embracing the solid areas for Moroccan elements of design.

Mystic Blue will be a Sewing Card available late January.

And now for Moroccan blue inspiration....

The Riad Idra in Marrakesh.

The doors...

Amy and I....

Jardins Majorelle - this garden was incredible with the marjorelle blue everywhere.

How could you not fall in love with blue!??

The winner of the last blog post is Ann (you have been emailed)...

A bundle of blue Mystic up for a giveaway... Just leave a comment and the winner will be picked on Tuesday....

XOXO

Valori

A little embroidery...

Hello Friends....

I love embroidery. Over the years I have embroidered bits and pieces of my fabric designs. Adding stitching to quilts, bags, and pillows whatever I can think of that will add a little more texture and color to a project. My flora design in Mystic is perfect for embroidery.

I like to make something for my mom at Christmas and this year at the last minute I decided to embroidery on the grey canvas Flora to make into a pillow for her. It is perfect colors for her house. This is the modern canvas from Robert Kaufman so it is light weight compared to traditional canvas. It is perfect for pillows and bags...

I added some gold piping which worked really well at accenting the gold in the embroidery. The great thing about taking a printed fabric and adding embroidery is that you don't have to embroider the entire pillow. Just add to the design of the fabric. My mom loved it...

She has now started one for a friend of hers.... it is in progress so I thought I would show you how easy it is to embroider a little fabric and make something...

Here we go in progress. I use three strands of the Aurifil embroidery floss. Tie a knot in one end and use the design printed on the fabric as your guide.

It is that simple.... I like to use a couple of colors in the flower. But it is up to you... maybe an variegated thread. There are so many great fabrics out there that would be perfect for this technique.

I have to share a few photos of Morocco that inspired this new design Flora, from Mystic. It is not a specific flower but the essence of the flora in Morocco...created into a stencil like design....something simple but dramatic.

The roses at Peacock Pavilions were amazing...

The stenciled door in our house at Peacock Pavilions....

And a little henna to round it out.....

The winner of the Gypsum blog bundle giveaway is..... Robin (you have been emailed).

I have more fabric to give away... and with this bundle I am going to include some of the canvas.. just leave a comment to be entered to win. Winner announced on the next blog post this Friday....

Have a great day!!!

xoxox

Valori

 

Just in case you would like to come to Morocco and do a little creating and exploring... YA SALAM

 Amy Butler’s Ya Salam Exotic Getaway! Marrakesh Morocco
November 5 - 12 2016

Join Amy and David Butler and creative guru Val Wells for an exciting inspiration expedition exploring Marrakesh and all of it’s exotic inspirations!
Our week together will be filled with creative workshops mixed with day trips that take us to fascinating, colorful locals! We’ll scour the souks, visit
historic sites in Marrakesh and have a full day in the Atlas Mountains taking in the natural beauty and tour the rural Berber villages. Our home base
is the gorgeous Peacock Pavilions.  Many of our meals and events will take place at the Pavilions including our creative
workshop sessions. You are in for a treat!

 

Gypsum

Happy Friday!!!

I wanted to share with you my Gypsum Quilt made out of the black and white palette of Mystic, for Robert Kaufman.

Gypsum was inspired by the Berber Rugs in Morocco and the gep carvings throughout the architecture in Marrakesh. Geps are the carved plasterwork used for upper wall, ceilings, tops of pillars, arches, or peaks... they can be ribbons framing windows and doors. I first saw geps in the Riad Idra in Marrakesh.

I love the Berber rugs... and what is surprising to me is how few photos I have of them. They are very simple and usually geometric, two color designs. The rug designs mixed with the stenciling at the Peacock Pavilions, I was bound to be inspired to do a black and white color way of Mystic and a quilt.

My room at Peacock Pavilions was even neutral....

Once this quilt was done I decided to quilt the Hand of Fatima mixed with designs reminiscent of the geps.

Mayram has an amazing collection of Hands of Fatima at Peacock Pavilions.

I love how the quilting turned out....

So does Ollie....

I have to share a few more images from Morocco that inspired the black and white palette in Mystic.

I hope you enjoyed the inspirational journey of Gypsum. The pattern for Gypsum will be available through The Stitchin' Post this month. I will keep you updated.

The winner from the Kantha Stitching blog post is... Solange (you have been emailed).

As with each quilt and project I share of Mystic there will be a bundle of fabric to win. Leave a comment to be entered... I will announce winner on Tuesday.

Hope you have an Awesome weekend....

XOXO

Valori

OH... One more really important thing. My good friend Amy has her newest Blossom Magazine Live... If you want to be inspired...find some love....some meaning... go check it out. Our trip to Morocco is in there and the exciting announcement that there is a new Morocco Artist Retreat in November 2016... and I am going to be teaching with Amy.....

 

Kantha Stitching

Today is one of those winter days I am not  fond of... it's cold, raining and the roads are icy. A good day to be in the studio.

A good day to sit by the fire with a nice cup of tea and do some Kantha Stitching. I have also heard this stitching called, Big Stitch or Running Stitch.... My friend from South Africa taught me...

All you need is two pieces of fabric - fat 1/4's are a great way to start and then you can turn it into a cute pillow. Embroidery thread or pearl cotton for stitching, and a needle. (I personally need a needle threader sometimes) and some scissors. Thread and needle for a quick basting.

This is one of my in progress pieces... I am going to turn this into a pillow once the stitching is all done. One of the great things about this technique you can put it down and pick it up months later without worrying about a pattern...(my current problem with knitting projects)

If you are working on something bigger than a cocktail napkin you are going to want to baste the two layers together. You can use a few safety pins or needle and thread. Using a needle and thread stitch the two layers together with large stitches, you don't need a ton of basting just to keep the two layers from slipping while you get the first few rows of Kantha stitching done.

Cut a 12" ish length of thread. Knot the end and either nest it between the two layers or through both layers so the knot is on the back. Your first row you will want to be straight. I fold my piece and finger press a line to follow when I am stitching. Very scientific!

It is this simple....

Now for all the fun things I am making or have made....

I think this will be a table runner when its all stitched...

Little cocktail napkins!! These remind me of Morocco and the cool napkins they have at Peacock Pavilions.

Pillows...Out of Mystic canvas and Mystic cotton.

Hope this finds its way into your tool box of techniques that you use when you create.

XOXO

Valori

 

The winner of the Mystic bundle is..... Barb in MI (you have been e-mailed)

AND because I really love giving things I am going to do another give away from this blog post....

Just leave a comment and I will announce the winner on Fridays blog....

 

Flying Carpet

Happy Saturday....

This is Flying Carpet, one of the four quilts made out of Mystic Fabric, for Robert Kaufman.

Flying Carpet was inspired by the rugs and carpets in Morocco.

The variety of styles and colors were amazing....each style representing a tribe or area in Morocco.

 

No rug was exactly the same because they were usually made by one woman - their skills passed down from generation to generation and no pattern is used just their knowledge. I loved that you could see two rugs from the same village with similar patterns still be very different.

I had to include this cute little guy. Kitties are well revered in Morocco... they take care of the rodents since most of the markets and homes are open air. You will find them everywhere.... I was in heaven.

In honor of Flying Carpet I am giving away a fat 1/4 bundle of the "extract" palette....just leave a comment below and the winner will be chosen on Monday. My manor of choosing winners is not scientific, I collect the number of comments (say 35) and write them on little pieces of paper and let one of the kids draw. So it really is quite random. Don't worry this isn't your only chance to win....I will be giving away a bundle of fabric with each quilt.

Hope you have a great weekend!

xoxo

Valori

The flying carpet pattern will be available mid January from The Stitchin' Post.

Morocco & Mystic Fabric

I am so excited to share with you my newest collection of fabric with Robert Kaufman, Mystic. The collection was inspired by my trip to Morocco in November 2014. This trip changed my life, as adventures to a foreign land should. Traveling for 12 days, a couple of them on my own in Marrakesh, on an Artist retreat with my good friend Amy Butler. We spent most of our time at this amazing "hotel" Peacock Pavilions just outside of Marrakesh in a small village.

As you can imagine I took A LOT of photos... how could you not - the color - the people - the textures - the architecture - the color! Of course out of this amazing adventure there has come some designs.... Before I show you Mystic I want to share a little of the beauty of Morocco.

The Medina... the center of the city.

I arrived a day early from the rest of the group and stayed at this beautiful hotel, Riad Idra, in the city.

This little hotel was such a welcoming place to be after 27 hours of travel....the people were friendly and so gracious. I felt as though I was staying in their home and I was an old friend.

 

The Souks... the marketplace in the Medina of Marrakesh.

This is just a small taste of the beauty that surrounded me in Morocco.

Now, I want to introduce you to the fabric....

This is Mystic....

This is the focal print Mosaic.... it comes in 5 colors....

This is Flora....

The Beads...

The Tile....

Grid....

The last design is actually from my collection In the Bloom, the Leaf. This pattern works so well with Mystic I had to re-color it.

This collection is so close to my heart as was the trip to Morocco. Stay tuned because for the month of January I will be sharing the quilts and projects designed out of Mystic along with their inspiration, more photos from Morocco....and of course some fabric to give away....

I hope you have a great day!!!

XO

Valori

Mystic fabric is now available at The Stitchin' Post.... AND the first 50 people to order more than $25.00 in Mystic fabric will receive a Mystic pin cushion made by the amazing staff at The Stitchin' Post. XOXO

One more parting photo....

 

 

Inspiration and 2015...

Happy New Year!

I have been thinking a lot about what I am doing with my work, my life, pondering my existence. I am not trying to be dramatic or am thinking I have a horrible life. More along the lines of, what am I giving back? Is this a thing that happens when your 40+, you completely over analyze your life…. My family is first, of course, I am here to take care of them but there is more…. I want to inspire more than I do now. But inspire what? I don’t know the answer… maybe that is part of the discovery. I am on a search with my work finding my place…I am scared to lose my career by not staying relevant, to not be able to support my family. But there is a time when it is important to push your creativity and your work to a new level. The fear is unhealthy…. Focusing on being scared to make a change makes you unable to move forward. Turning that fear into curiosity is giving me the courage to make changes and take chances. This has sparked these thoughts of what my work is meant to be. Yes, I love it and it fuels my soul but I need more from it. I need it to fuel others.…I want to inspire… even if it is just to look at your day a little different. Maybe its just a photo that inspires a smile…. Or a fabric that inspires the need to create a quilt…. Or a quilt that fills you with the desire to sew…. In all of this I want to spread Love. I want to find Love…. Let go of the Fear. My goal is to let go of my own fears, insecurities and pure bullshit that I have convinced myself is true. My bad habits of self doubt can snowball into my daily tasks. I am ready to change my habits and theories and to grow, embracing it all. Part of this journey in my life is to inspire others. Now I just have to figure out what that looks like…

I am learning to look at myself with a loving eye and should revel in sharing with you my photography that speaks a lot better than I write, if that can be a true statement – images verse writing. I should show you what I see…and in what I see, I find Love… I photograph what I love. And Love is so many things…it’s a feeling, a object, a person, a memory, a smell, a sight, a sound, a taste…. couldn’t we make love anything and everything……and if we did wouldn’t the world revolve around love rather than fear?

So, I share with you my Love… 12 images, one from each month of 2015 that inspire me, that remind me of the love in my life, and how blessed I am.

Experimenting with screen printing onto appliqued circles. I love experimenting and taking chances when I am in the studio. The success and the mistakes are all part of being an artist and I am constantly striving to be a better at what I create.

Morocco filled my head in February as I designed Mystic, my most recent collection of fabric from Robert Kaufman. Filtering through all of the images that I shot in Morocco filled my head with so many ideas that there are more than one Moroccan inspired fabric collection in the works.

Photography....it is such a love of mine...and when it all comes together you click the shutter at just the right time and you capture magic. This photograph of Olivia is magic...she is so full of love and it comes through in this image. I take thousands of photos a year and I strive to capture something special every time.

My sketchbook goes everywhere with me.....along with this little tin of watercolors that I made in Morocco. The tin is the perfect size for travel and filled with huge memories that inspire me every time I pull it out. I think of what I learned about myself on my trip and how I learned from those I traveled with, they started as strangers and left as friends you hold close to your heart.

It may sound odd but I remind myself everyday that I am love...I am open to love and I love fiercely. Try it sometime you'll be amazed at how good it makes you feel!!!

These little kittens that have turned our house upside down.... in the best way ever. They are my constant companions in the studio and the kids best friends... they have even made Ross, the so-so cat person, fall in love with them....They remind me to be in the moment...and they are just so FUZZY!

Mother Nature at her best...nothing but inspirational.

We travel to the Oregon Coast at least twice a year and usually go to the same beach, Manzanita. I am always amazed that I can find something new to see... take photos, sketch and be inspired by. It could be the time of year mixed with where I am in my life... what am I open to seeing.

The spring of 2015 the kids and I planted 300 sunflower seeds.... there were several casualties due to rodents but we got most of them to bloom. Our yard was such a happy place surrounded by sunflowers of all different sizes and colors garden beds filled with veggies and flowers....AHHH summer!

I fell in love with Indigo dying...I mean how couldn't you...The color.... the endless possibilities! Part of the joy of Indigo dying was learning the process with my mom, one of her friends and my daughter Olivia.  Three generations of women creating beautiful fabric together.

Block printing has become a huge part of my work. It has been a love of mine since college and I am finding it to be a new inspiration for design.... to see what happens when designs are repeated, mixed together and layered. 

 This crew is my biggest inspiration and love...their love and patience with me is unwavering. I hate to admit it but I am  kind of a moody artist and these four people love me anyway.

I wish you a wonderful 2016 inspired by the unpredictable and familiar, seen in a new light.... inspired by your time with those you love and the quiet space in which you can reflect.....

Be grateful and live your life out of Love!

xoxo

Valori