Quilts that Diana and
Laura use often hang
on thick plastic
hangers in the stash
room. Samples used
for trunk shows are
stored in suitcases.
Design Tips from the Pros
AUDITION FABRICS by pinning them to design
boards and stepping back. “If you are looking at the
whole bolt, that’s not what’s in your quilt,” Laura
Nownes says. “We buy and cut fabric at close
distance,” Diana McClun says, “so if you never put
the fabric on the wall and view it, you can be
disappointed.”
USE A REDUCING GLASS to look at fabrics and
potential blocks. Colors become diluted as they
decrease in size, so it’s important to see fabrics in
the scale of the finished quilt.
WAI T TO BU Y BORDER FABRIC until the quilt
center is done. “Let the quilt help decide the
borders,” Laura says. “We might try 10, 12, 15
fabrics before we find the right one.”
View a slideshow of photos and get
more of Diana and Laura’s tips online at
AllPeopleQuilt.com/180.
values scale by taking a whole stack out and rolling it by
the design wall,” Diana says.
Designing Women
The two women are constantly thinking about new quilts,
and get as giddy over new fabrics and designs as any
newcomer to the magic of quilting. Sometimes it does
indeed seem like magic, as Laura explains the genesis
behind one of their designs, Through the Window (see
“Ideas From Anywhere” on page 20).
Laura, who lives in the nearby town of Pleasant Hill,
was driving over to Diana’s when she noticed a trellis in
front of a house. “As I drove by, I thought, I’d like to do
something with a gridlike framework,“ she says.
When Laura arrived at the studio, Diana handed her a
catalog where she had marked a page that had something
that interested her. The page showed a model in front of
a trellis that was identical to the one Laura had just seen.
“That’s inspiration from above!” Diana says.
The two take fabric selection seriously. Their stash is
organized by color, stripes, batiks, conversational/kids,
Christmas, polka dots, large florals, and designers with
defined looks, such as Jane Sassaman and Ka e Fasse .
When they audition fabrics for a design, they start
with focus fabrics or a group of fabrics, and try di erent
combinations endlessly. “We don’t make anything unless
we both say ‘that’s great,’” Diana says.
Ask for secrets of successful fabric arrangements, and
you’ll get a tag-team performance.
“I like to add a li le ‘mud’ to the designs,” Diana says.
“Mud just means that it’s grayed,” Laura says. “It lets
the other colors come out.”
“And there needs to be a light source,” Diana says.
“It makes a design sparkle.”
“A light source will make sure the design doesn’t go flat,”
Laura says. “Value and contrast are so important.”
Diana nods and gives her design partner a compliment.
“The wonderful thing about Laura is that when we are
auditioning, she’ll always say ‘what if?’” Diana says.
Laura smiles. “We are inspired by each other, always.” K
Contact From Me to You at 70 Bradley Ave., Walnut Creek, CA 94596;
925/944-6428; dianaandlaura.com. For more information on Empty
Spools Seminars, visit emptyspoolsseminars.com.
