Quilting Daily

Quilting Books in my “to read” pile and the Fabric Winner

lindsey.murray — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:03:00 GMT

First off, congratulations to mrsracer, you won the fabric giveaway from last week! Please email me at lmurray@interweave.com with your mailing information so I can send the bundle to you.

I often see a quilting book and KNOW that I am going to be sitting down at some point with a nice cup of tea and going through the book. Actually finding the time to do this is hard, so I usually have a whole pile of books waiting to be looked at. Here is my current list of books that I can't wait to go through!

Make it Sew Modern: Gather, Twist, Pleat, Texture

By Vanessa Christenson of V and Co
Martingale & Company

(ok – I have to confess that I have already read through this book once, and it is still in the pile while I decide which project to start with. LOVE this book).

Quilting Line + Color: Techniques and Designs for Abstract Quilts

By Yoshiko Jinzenji
Interweave

Destination Creativity: The Life-Altering Journey of the Art Retreat

By Rice Freeman-Zachery
North Light Books

Sunday Morning Quilts: Sort, Store, and Use Every Last Bit of Your Treasured Fabrics

By Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison
Stash Books

(I am excited about their idea of a scrap rug. Yup – a rug made from your fabric scraps. AWESOME).

Little Bits Quilting Bee: 20 Quilts Using Charm Squares, Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, and Fat Quarters

By Kathereen Ricketson, founder of WhipUp.net
Chronicle Books

What's on your list?

- Lindsey

Use Your Scraps Fast with Our New Small Quilting Projects eBook

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:14:00 GMT

Who doesn't love an easy and quick quilting project?

In this e-Book, 7 Small Quilting Projects: Free Designs for a Quilt in a Day, Small Quilts, and Other Quick Quilted Projects, some of our favorite fiber artists present artful and quick quilting projects and sewing patterns you can quilt in a day or weekend.

The first small quilt project is a mixed-media pillow cover by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer made scrap-quilt style with fabrics that have been painted and stamped over. Redecorate in a day!

Lindsey Murray designed a scrap quilt that is easy to cut and assemble in a weekend. This small quilt project will cover your lap comfortably and can easily be made as a baby quilt with the appropriate fabrics.

Mixed-media scrap quilt pillow
covers by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.

Another of our small quilt projects is Terri Harlan's Sunglasses Case made from fat eighths of coordinating prints and linen.

Julie Herman's Gift Card Wallets are a gift within a gift: a pretty place for storing gift cards. This small quilt pattern is just eight steps long.

In Jen Eskridge's Cold Weather Kit you'll find a 3-in-1 quick quilting pattern to keep the chill away. Sew the scarf, headband and glove-saver straps from scrap quilt leftovers.

Carol Fletcher shares her "Little Treasures" quick quilt pattern for creating an embellished and colorful fabric container to house a small gift. A word of warning: they are addictive!

Lindsey Murray's scrap quilt.

And lastly, want to impress your business associates (or fellow quilters)? Normajean Brevik has cleverly engineered a card case and mini wallet that dispenses a business card with the slight tug of a ribbon. These are a great way to show off your expertise in small quilting projects and use up scraps, too.

You'll have fun stitching and get the satisfaction of completing many of these quilt-in-a-day projects with 7 Small Quilting Projects: Free Designs for a Quilt in a Day, Small Quilts, and Other Quick Quilted Projects. This free eBook is ready for downloading now.

P.S. Do you have friends who like small quilting projects? Forward this link to them so they can download their own free copy of 7 Small Quilting Projects: Free Designs for a Quilt in a Day, Small Quilts, and Other Quick Quilted Projects.

A Quick Trick for Piecing Patchwork Quilts

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:35:00 GMT

One reason why many quilt artists prefer to fuse rather than piece their quilts is because piecing can be time-consuming.

But with the rise of the modern patchwork quilt (and the availability of pre-cut, coordinated fabric packs like jelly rolls), hand and machine piecing are making a comeback among contemporary quilters.

There are ways to speed up the process, though. In her book Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design, and Inspiration, contemporary patchwork quilter and fiber artist Malka Dubrawsky explains several techniques for making quick—or quicker—work of putting the pieces of your patchwork quilt together.

The method you use will often depend on the shape of the fabric to be pieced. Chain piecing is a perfect way to piece together a series of same-size squares.

"I liken chain piecing to having an electric garage door opener—it's not essential, but it's so amazingly handy," writes Malka. "Chain piecing allows you to machine sew multiples of the same shape without cutting your thread."

How to Chain Piece

1. Place 2 squares right sides together.

2. Beginning with the first pair, machine stitch the squares together, maintaining a ¼" seam allowance.

3. Once the first pair of squares has passed underneath the presser foot, sew a couple of extra stitches while gently holding the seamed squares. This creates a small chain of stitches separating the first pair of squares from the next. Do not cut the thread.

4. Position a second pair of squares under the presser foot and stitch. As in the first pair, continue stitching past the edge of the fabric. Repeat this process until all the squares are stitched into pairs.

5. Use thread snippets or scissors to snip the pairs apart, as shown.

There's another way to piece together one of Malka's quilts: The Fresh Quilting Puzzle, inspired by the fun, contemporary patchwork baby quilt pictured above, from her book.

"I like to make puzzles and have since I was a kid," says Malka. Judging by the feedback she's received on her quilt puzzle, she says that quilters and crafters in general seem to like puzzles.

I know I do—must be the sign of a creative mind. I think The Fresh Quilting Puzzle would make a great gift for all the quilt piecers and puzzle lovers I know.

P.S. Do puzzles and quilting go hand in hand (or piece by piece)? Are you a puzzle lover? Let me know in the comments section below.

Happy Valentine's Day! (Want to Win Some Fabric?)

lindsey.murray — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:44:00 GMT

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I am a huge fan of this holiday. Any excuse to celebrate love is good in my book. My wonderful Fiancé somehow slipped a bouquet of roses and a frog stuffed animal (I ADORE frogs) into my bedroom this morning. Talk about a great way to wake up! I am planning on making a nice steak and potato dinner (his favorite) tonight, and hope that it turns out well!

As many of you probably know, one of my great loves is fabric. There is absolutely nothing better than getting new fabric to add to my stash. Today, I would love to give one lucky reader a bundle of fabric all their own. Nothing says romantic to me more than some pretty floral patterns, so I have chosen to give away the pretty Cabbage and Roses fabric from Moda.

Leave me a note telling me your plans for Valentine’s Day and I will pick a winner next Wednesday!

Have a wonderful day,

- Lindsey

PS. Look what we made at the office today!

http://youtu.be/cbjervlqs4k

How to Sort Fabric Art Scraps - Or Not

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:59:00 GMT

The other day someone asked me how I sorted all the scraps I use for my fabric collages. I laughed ruefully and said, "I sort them by color in drawers."

Why the rueful laugh? Because, in reality my scraps are in a big pile on my studio floor.

And why is that, you ask? Here's the main reason: Laziness!

When I sew at my machine, I snip and automatically let whatever is in my way fall to the floor. I didn't realize how hard it was to break myself of this habit until I was on the set of "Quilting Arts TV" last year and found myself doing it on camera . . . embarrassing, but true!

I do clean up the small threads and scraps (saving some of them for my collaged nests and other scrappy projects), but I often wait until I am done with the current project to do so.

When I'm not in the throes of a project, I store my scraps for collaging (usually small, less than 6" square) by color in clear shoe totes and wooden clementine boxes. I can easily rearrange them on shelves or in the cabinet drawers in my studio.

My most precious scraps are arranged by type of fabric and stored with the yardage pieces. Antique kimono bits sit right next to larger pieces so I can easily find them. Felted wool, no matter the size, is all together as well, as is my collection of plaid. (Yes, I have a plaid collection. Don't you?)

These methods work well for me (except on a TV studio set), but I'm always curious to see how other fiber artists store their quilting fabric and collage bits. I was especially excited to open up the Spring 2012 issue of Studios magazine and see a fresh crop of creative spaces, including that of Jane LaFazio and Annabelle Ozanne.

It was interesting to see that Jane works in a similar drawer-and-worktable kind of arrangement as I do. Annabelle's studio is dreamy, and beautifully tidy like mine is--in my dreams.

Because my studio floor is so often covered in fabric and thread snippets, I don't pay that much attention to it. But the next time I sweep up I'm going to give it some careful consideration. The Spring 2012 issue of Studios offers many ideas on how to create decorative and functional floors, many on a DIY budget.

P.S How do you sort and store your fabric pieces, especially scraps and snippets? Share your success, or failures, in the space below.

Hand Quilting: Do You Pass it On?

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:07:00 GMT

Recently a coworker brought in a treasure she'd acquired while visiting a friend in the Midwest: six vintage handmade quilt squares. Each one had been carefully pieced using the tiniest of hand stitches.

My inherited handmade quilts.

Everyone in the office gathered around and oohed and ahhed at the handiwork. These pieces were from an era when women passed down the knowledge of how to hand quilt from mother to daughter, grandmother to grandchild. A slower time, indeed.

We started sharing stories of handmade quilts we'd had in our lives; ones we'd made, received, and given away. For me, those quilt squares reminded me of the homemade quilts passed down to me from my grandmother.

One, a log cabin quilt featuring blues and peachy pinks, was made when hand quilting was the only kind of quilting and your fabric stash came from your wardrobe of outgrown and worn-out clothing. This one is made from clothing worn by my great-grandmother and her sister. I brought them in the next day for show and tell, and the reminiscing started all over again.

I don't know many people hand piece their handmade quilts today, but I do see resurgence in embellishing quilts with careful hand quilting and stitching. Handwork is one of my favorite parts of fiber art. It invites the viewer to closely inspect the piece, and reflects the maker's artistry and craftsmanship.

Hand quilting and stitchin adds texture in this
Jane LaFazio piece,
from Quilting Arts, April/May 2011.

Contemporary fiber artists use hand quilting to achieve several different goals:

1. To hold the fabric sandwich together, when needed.

2. To add texture to the surface.

3. To highlight an area and give it contrast or interest.

4. To add a design element, such as pattern or line.

5. To give the piece that handmade quilt look, showing the hand of the artist.

I do it for all those reasons, and because I just love to hand stitch.

Hand quilting and stitching helps Mary Hettmansperger highlight the metal embellishment in this quilt seen in
Quilting Arts, April/May 2011.

I find it inspirational to look through back issues of Quilting Arts to see examples of how other artists add hand stitching to their handmade quilts. I always discover ideas I can use and interpret in my own way.

How about you? Do you hand quilt or even hand piece your fiber art projects?

And have you or do you plan to pass this skill on to a child or other young person in your life? Tell me about it in the comments section below.

Want Advice on How to Save Your UFO?

lindsey.murray — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:58:00 GMT

Right now we are gearing up for the next season of Quilting Arts TV. Per usual we are planning on featuring a few UFOs of our readers. Your host, Pokey Bolton, will help you solve the conundrum of how to finish that project that has you scratching your head.

Do you want you quilt to get the star treatment and be on Quilting Arts TV? For a chance to have your quilt on TV, please email me (at lmurray@interweave.com) a photo of your UFO along with a brief description of the project, and what problems you are having with it. If chosen, I will be asking you to send me your quilt early next week and will have it until the end of March (so make sure you are willing to part from your UFO for about a month!).

Let you UFO be a star!!

Lindsey

Trouble-shooting Tips for Machine Quilting and Embroidery

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:32:00 GMT

I admire quilt artists who paint pictures with thread. The best ones remind me of Georges Seurat's pointillist paintings with their ability to make variations of little stitches in different colors come together to create a whole image full of light and texture through free-motion machine quilting and embroidery.

Window depicted in thread via free-motion machine embroidery, by Carol Shinn.

Like any other technique, "painting" with machine embroidery takes practice to get the result you want. And there are many technical variables that come into play, such as tension, choice of feet, the warp and weft of the fabric, and type of machine quilting thread used.

And still, even if you're experienced and have gathered all the appropriate equipment, problems crop up. Don't they always? That's when it's good to have experts you can turn to for troubleshooting advice.

One of those experts is Carol Shinn, who literally wrote the book on the subject. In Freestyle Machine Embroidery: Techniques and Inspiration for Fiber Art, Carol gives detailed advice and examples of how to achieve the effects you're after with machine embroidery, and what to do when things go awry.

Here are just three examples of her trouble-shooting advice:

Changing a color
If a color isn't working, change it. If a color isn't dark enough, brush on a darker shade of paint. Thinned acrylic paint may dull the surface, but fabric paint is more transparent and may not cover the mistake as well. In either case, stitch over the painted surface to make it blends with the rest of the piece. If the original color is too dark, it is better to rip out the problem and re-stitch the area.

In this detail, you can see how the machine stitching creates the colors and textures of the window.

Defining a straight edge
If you have trouble defining the straight edge on a shape, temporarily lay a strip of masking tape along the edge, then carefully stitch right up to the edge of the tape. The tape provides a visual guide that is cleaner than a drawn line because a drawn line will bump over the threads, get messy, and be hard to cover. This technique works best on a surface that already has some stitching—masking tape placed directly on a heat transfer may remove part of the transfer when it is pulled off.

Ripping Out
If an isolated area looks over-labored and clumsy, you have two choices: rip the stitches and rework the area or cut out the area altogether and replace it with a patch of new stitching. Ripping out and re-stitching is the first choice. I use magnifying headgear when I use a ripping tool so that I can see what I'm doing. The aim is to get the threads out without ripping out bits of the base fabric as well. I find that a strong T-pin pulls out small stitches more easily than a conventional ripping tool does. Tweezers are useful for pulling out loose bits of thread.

These are such practical, no-nonsense tips—nothing esoteric or complicated. And you can apply them to just about any style of machine quilting or embroidery.

Freestyle Machine Embroidery is an indispensible resource for quilt artists. It's now available as a convenient downloadable eBook, too.

P.S. What's your best method for ripping out stitches? Do you have any other tips? Share them below.

Fabric Painting Without A Brush

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:44:00 GMT

Last week, I asked for advice on exploring surface design techniques. A lot of you said I should just relax, have fun, and play with different materials and techniques for designing fabrics.

I agree!

Lisa Kerpoe's prayer flags designed with fabric
paints and dyes. From "QATV" Series 800.

While looking through past issues of Quilting Arts Magazine and past episodes of "Quilting Arts TV" for ideas, one easy method of surface design caught my eye. It was Lisa Kerpoe's tutorial on using a brayer to print on fabric that she later turned into prayer flags.

Now, as you may know, love to make prayer flags. I usually make my flags as fiber collages using little bits of this and that which I've collected.

But one of the things about this format I love is that you can make a prayer flag any way you want to, from all kinds of materials.

So here is Lisa's basic technique for fabric painting and printing with a brayer, followed by my basic tutorial for making a flag.

Materials

Fabric of your choice for printing
Variety of brayers and paint rollers: hard rubber, soft rubber, firm foam, soft foam, and napped rollers
Plexiglas® plate, 8"-10" long and at least the width of your brayer
Textile paint (Any of the brands designed for screen printing or stamping work well, such as Pebeo Setacolor fabric paint, PROfab® textile paint, or Versatex Printing Ink.)
Aluminum foil
Iron and ironing board
Pins

Lisa uses different brayers, rollers, and found objects to make surface design patterns on the fabric.

Lisa's basic technique

1. Iron your fabric, keeping in mind that any wrinkles in the fabric will become part of your design. Pin the fabric to your work surface.

2. Ink the brayer by placing a small amount of textile paint onto the Plexiglas plate. Use the brayer to spread the paint evenly over the plate.

TIP: Don't let yourself be fooled by the idea that more is better; too much paint will only create a mess. The amount of paint needed varies greatly depending on the type of brayer you are using and the viscosity of your paint. A dollop the size of a quarter is about right for a firm foam brayer. You may need less for a rubber brayer, or more for a soft foam or napped roller. Aim for a thin, even coating of paint.

3. Lightly roll the brayer over the fabric.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the entire surface of the cloth is patterned. Use multiple colors to create a rich, layered effect. Try this with both foam and rubber brayers; each brayer will create a different pattern. You can also experiment with some of the various napped and faux texture paint rollers available in home improvement stores.

5. Textile paints require heat setting to ensure permanence. Following the manufacturer's instructions, iron the fabric to heat set the paint.

TIP: It's helpful to place a piece of aluminum foil on the ironing board, then place the item to be heat set face-down on the foil. The foil gives an extra heat boost that can be helpful for paints that require a longer heat-setting time.

How to turn your fabrics into prayer flags (the Vivika version)

Start with a piece of fabric approximately 5" x 11".

1. Create a place to thread a string by folding one short end over to the back by 3" and press, making a rectangle approximately 5" x 8".

2. Choose a theme for your prayer, and embellish your flag with paper, painting, stitch, embroidery, buttons, etc. You are only limited by your imagination and your stash.

3. Add words or journaling to your flag using free motion stitching, hand stitching or simply by writing in a permanent marker.

4. Sign and date your flag.

5. Hang it outside!

You don't have to stay with the 5" x 8" format, or even stick with rectangles. You can personalize your prayer flags anyway you want. As with surface design techniques, you should relax, have fun, and play.

Lisa demonstrates her techniques for fabric painting with brayers on "Quilting Arts TV" series 800 (coincidentally, I have three guest segments in that series). What a fun way to make your own fabric designs.

P.S. Have you made prayer flags? Tell me about your experience in the comments section below, and be sure to include a link to images, if you have them.

A Quilt for My Mom (and the Fabric Giveaway Winner)

lindsey.murray — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:31:00 GMT

First off - Congratulations to quiltnc, you won the Moda fabric bundle! Please send me an email at lmurray@interweave.com with your mailing information so I can send the fabric out to you!

In my last post, I had very high hopes about how much I was going to be getting done last weekend. Although I didn’t get everything on my list accomplished, I did finish my main project – a quilt for my mom. I used Kate Spain “Terrain” fabric, which is a favorite of mine, (as well as some Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton in Copen) and wanted to showcase the fabric. The colors really jump out when surrounded by white, and this was a very simple quilt to make. I love simple patchwork projects that show off great fabric. If you are looking for inspiration to do something similar, check out our special magazine called 101 Patchwork Projects (there are a couple of pillows in there that I am going to be making soon… stay tuned!).

This year I am trying to use what I have. With this in mind, I finally took out all that scrap batting I have been holding on to and sewed it together to make a piece large enough to use in this project. Once quilted it was nearly impossible to tell where the batting seams were. This is a great way to save some money this year – especially since batting can be so expensive!

I told my mom that she had to pose with the quilt in order to keep it, and she reluctantly let me snap a few pictures of her with the quilt. I got Fergal involved too and had them hold it up so I could share a few additional pictures -- Thanks you two! (Sorry they are a bit blurry - the camera on my phone is a little lacking!)

- Lindsey

Unplug with Japanese Sashiko Hand Sewing Projects

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:53:00 GMT

Hand stitching is one of my favorite ways to enjoy some unplugged studio time, and Japanese sashiko is one of my favorite hand sewing techniques. Sashiko is a Japanese quilting technique using a heavy thread and evenly spaced, slightly modified running stitches to form geometric patterns.

Sashiko-style coasters by Rachel Hauser.

I've made several quilts which featured sashiko stitching in my quilting life. The first was in celebration of my sister's 40^th birthday, and it still hangs in a place of honor in her living room.

What I love about Japanese stitching is the same thing I cherish about all Japanese design: it is simple and clean. The sparse white stitch against an indigo cloth is a soothing and mesmerizing combination.

So when I see sashiko designs in the Spring 2012 issue of Stitch magazine that update the subject matter by merely reversing the color combinations (white background and blue thread) it really gets my imagination going. I'd love to try all of those patterns.

Maybe my sister will receive a stack of sashiko coasters on her next birthday to go with her quilt.

Spring Stitch has an entire section of projects for "unplugged" hand sewing (including some adorable bird patterns). My favorite pattern in the issue, however, has to be the awesome little coin purses with hand stitching and metal closures. Oh, how I want to make a dozen of these gorgeous gems and have a different one for every occasion! They remind me of a collection of Whiting and Davis mesh bags from the late 1800s - mid-1900s I inherited several years ago. Along with some fancy dress versions, I have two gorgeous petit point bags and another tiny piece that could have been a model for this collection in Stitch by Rachel Hauser (who also designed the coasters).

Hand stitching personalizes these coin purses by Rachel Hauser.

If you're not familiar the embroidery stitches you might need for some of these unplugged projects, the magazine includes a little tutorial for the backstitch, French knot, split stitch, and more. Plus, Rachel has these tips on sashiko stitching.

Sashiko Stitching Tips by Rachel Hauser
From Stitch magazine, Spring 2012

Some quilt and needlework stores stock heavy thread and needles specifically made for sashiko, but you can also use a large embroidery needle with pearl cotton thread.
On the right side of the work, aim for stitches that are longer than the gaps between them (in other words, the stitches on the wrong side of the work will be shorter than those on the right side). Keep your stitch length consistent.
Where pattern lines cross, avoid letting the stitches cross or meet each other-there should instead be a gap at the pattern intersection. Before starting on your actual project, you may want to sew a sample of the stitching pattern to determine how many stitches you can comfortably fit in each line to prevent crossed stitches, then maintain this number consistently throughout the work.
For straight-line stitching patterns, you can work faster by loading several stitches onto the needle using a rocking motion, again being sure to keep the stitch length consistent.
When stitching diagonal lines, first sew all lines angled in one direction. (You can return in the opposite direction of travel on parallel lines.) Next, sew all lines on the opposite diagonal (lines that are at a 45-degree angle to those already stitched) in the same way. Because woven fabrics stretch on the diagonal (bias), diagonal lines are more difficult to stitch. After every few stitches, pause to ease the stitches by pushing the fabric with your thumbnail away from the direction of travel, dragging your thumb right over the stitches just completed. After finishing a line, gently pull the fabric to ease any tension in the stitches. When stitching lines with sharp turns, be extra careful to ease the stitches this way to prevent puckering.
To hide knots, leave a tail when starting and ending a thread, then sew the tail in over the pattern stitches. However, knots are visible on the wrong side of some traditional Japanese sashiko work, and knotting thread ends may be an easier approach for projects that hide the wrong side of the work.

Have you tried sashiko hand stitching? If so, tell me about your experience in the comments section below. And be sure to get your issue of Stitch, Spring 2012 for tips, projects, and other hand sewing ideas.

Spend some time unplugged!

What Are You Up to This Weekend?

lindsey.murray — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:48:00 GMT

My fiancé, Fergal, is working on Saturday so I am going to “work” too. We are closing on our first house in a little less than 2 weeks (!!!!!) and there are a few things that I want to make before we move in.

My mom was the recipient of the first quilt that I made, one that I am a bit embarrassed about now. I have been meaning to make her a new and improved quilt for some time. I am finally getting around to it, and will be sewing up a lap quilt for her (and maybe a matching one for my new house!). I am making it with Kate Spain's Terrain line. I got started on it this week, and am really pleased with how it is turning out! I will be sure to share the finished quilt(s) with you next week.

After that project is done, I might start making a few pillows to go on the living room couch. I love the pillows that I have now, but am thinking that it might be nice to try some new color schemes. I am having SOOO much fun with this new house already!

What are you doing this weekend? Leave a comment letting me know and I will send one lucky reader a Jelly roll of Moda's Little Apples by Aneela Hoey.

Happy Sewing!!

- Lindsey

I'm New to Surface Design - Got Any Advice?

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:34:00 GMT

One of the things I'm looking most forward to as editor of Quilting Arts Magazine is learning more about surface design.

Surface design fabrics by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.

Techniques like fabric painting, dyeing, printing on fabric, and foiling are all familiar to me and I admire other artists' use of them. But I haven't explored surface design techniques much myself.

I love the idea of being able to create fabric that is uniquely mine. As fabric collage is one of my favorite styles of fiber art, I thought I would start by looking for surface design inspiration from artists who mix their media. There are so many to choose from: Judy Coates Perez, Kerr Grabowski, Jane Dunnewold, Melanie Testa, just to name a few, and I'm planning on learning from all of them. I'd also like advice from you.

In the meantime, because I'm just beginning to branch out, I thought I'd take some tips from mixed-media collage artist Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. Her free-wheeling, no-rules/no special equipment approach appeals to a relative newcomer like me.

Painted collage quilt by
Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.

Julie likes to work with watercolor and acrylic paints, gesso, stencils, and "tools" like paper towel rolls, plastic forks, masking tape, and bubble wrap to make designs.

On an episode of "Quilting Arts TV," Julie created a quilts from scraps of painted, stenciled, and stamped fabric. She then lightly painted over a piece of fabric with gesso and used watercolor paints on top to create a face and a message as the focal point.

Her anyone-can-do-it style of teaching really appeals to my sense of adventure. Julie's first Cloth Paper Scissors Workshop^TM video, "Collage Fast and Furious," gave me some great ideas for painting, stenciling, and stamping. And her new video, "All About Faces: How to Draw, Paint, Stencil, and Collage Faces in Mixed-Media Art," focuses on ways to create a pleasing face and incorporate it in paper and fabric art.

I can't wait to start exploring!

P.S. Do you have any tips for learning surface design techniques? What is your favorite surface design medium? Please give me some guidance in the comments section below.

How to Make Flower Quilt Designs That Pop

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:33:00 GMT

Flowers are one of the most popular motifs in art, and quilting designs are no different. From antique quilts to the most contemporary quilt design, the flower often takes center stage.

Flowers by Barb Forrister.

There are as many ways to make a flower quilt as there are flowers: piecing geometric quilt designs into flower shapes, fussy cutting commercial fabric motifs and fusing them to a quilt base, free-motion stitching a flower pattern, painting, or hand embroidering—and that's just the beginning.

I like to see really dimensional flowers on a quilt, and was intrigued when I saw Barb Forrister's demonstration of how to make a flower quilt using a many of these techniques together.

Here is how Barb creates fabric flowers that pop out of her quilts like crocuses on the first warm day of spring.

To make the flowers:

1. Begin assembling a sandwich starting with a layer of sheer fabric, a layer of Mistyfuse and a layer of white cotton.

2. Drizzle thread and fiber snippets over the white cotton to create a textured surface for your flower.

3. Place another layer of Mistyfuse followed by a top layer of sheer fabric and fuse the layers together. This side will be the top portion of the flower petals.

Free-motion quilting the petals.

4. Flip the sandwich over and continue layering with Mistyfuse and an additional layer of sheer fabric. Fuse layers together. This will be the underside of the petal.

5. Transfer the pattern for the petal onto a piece of cardboard and cut out the template. Lay the cardboard template on the side that has snippets of fibers showing.

6. Transfer the petal shapes to the fabric using a disappearing ink pen. Each flower has 5 petals.

Stitching the petals together.

7. Free-motion quilt the outline of petals and their pattern as shown on the template. For this step, the feed dogs must be in the down position and the bobbin thread should match the back of the petal. For the top thread, choose a color that shows up against the sheer fabric.

8. Finish quilting the petals by outline stitching once more. Cut out all of the petals and rinse them in cold water to remove any marks from the disappearing ink pen. Let dry.

9. Using white fabric paint, add the white design to each petal, referring to the template. Add texture by painting small dots of three-dimensional acrylic paint along the inside edge of the white design. Follow up with an additional outline of dots just outside the white area, as shown.

The finished quilt.

10. Edges may be finished in one of several ways. They may be satin stitched either by machine or by hand using embroidery floss. Another alternative is to paint the edges using a 1:1 mixture of matching fabric paint to clear gel medium.

Barb demonstrates her technique for her quilt designs, making the flowers, attaching them to the quilt, and putting it all together on the Quilting Arts interactive eMag In Stitches, Vol. 5.

Like Barb's flower creations, In Stitches gives you a three-dimensional look at quilt designs and techniques through video, slide shows, PDF printouts, and more. You can download it now—no reason to wait for spring.

So, are you thinking spring yet? What quilt design motifs remind you of spring? Leave a comment below.

Hand Sewing

Vivika_Blog — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:12:00 GMT


"Work Quilt" by Victoria Gertenbach

Quilters and embroiders alike share a common passion for cloth, stitch, and color! For centuries, people around the world have used hand sewing not just to stitch two pieces of fabric together, but to add interest to their projects.

Placements of stitches are dictated by the shapes on your quilt top. Start with easy stitches you know, such as cross stitch or whipstitch, and use them separately or in combination with other stitches. Ladder stitch is perfect for couching unusual materials or to fill long, narrow spaces. Back stitches or stem stitches outline and define fabric shapes. Or use cross stitch to add texture to your designs. Add French knots for dynamic hints of color and texture that attract the eye and are often mistaken for beads. With a balance of mastering the running stitch and picking gorgeous colors to work with, you will have a breathtaking masterpiece before you know it!

7 Tips on Combining Hand and Machine Stitching


Artwork by Natalya Aikens

Shop Hand
Sewing Products

Mixed-Media Art Quilts DVD

Sew Wild Book

Quilting Arts in Stitches Vol. 5 eMag

2008 Quilting Arts Collection CD

Quilting Arts December 2011/January 2012 Magazine

1. If you have identified your design lines with bold machine strokes, don't take away from them by adding contrasting-thread hand stitches. Try a coordinating color or a soft variegated color thread to achieve the needed texture without excess boldness.

2. If sections of your piece have puckered and gathered between the machine-stitched sections, 'smooth' them out with your hand stitches. The beauty of hand stitching is that you can pull and gather your fabric with your stitches as you see fit. Gathering a puckering section into a smooth but textured plane is one useful technique.

3. To avoid gathering and puckering during machine stitching, use tear-away stabilizer, especially with sheers. Just don't forget to tear it away before adding hand stitching. Instead of using tear-away stabilizer, you can use an embroidery hoop.

4. When adding hand stitching to large areas that you want to make sure don't pucker, work on a flat surface, such as a foam core board or a stretched canvas. They are lightweight and portable, and you can pin your work to them.

5. Don't be afraid to overlap stitches, whether created by hand or machine. Lots of overlapped stitches add great texture and boldness.

6. When hand stitching, don't cut the thread longer than the length from your fingertips to your elbow. You may have to thread your needle more often than if you use a longer thread, but you'll spend less time untangling thread and feeling frustrated.

7. If you're working your hand stitches in a straight path, consider using a long needle. It will make life easier for your fingers because you can get more stitches on it in one swoop.

Source: Quilting Arts In Stitches, Vol. 3, by Natalya Aikens, Interweave, 2011

Stitch As Mark


Sea urchin texture emulated with hand sewing, by Victoria Gertenbach.

There are literally hundreds of different stitches at your disposal, yet mastering just a few may be all you need to successfully portray your image on fabric with hand sewing. I tend to use mostly straight stitch and its variations, as well as couching. These basic stitches can easily emulate the drawn line and can also be used to draw directly onto cloth and paper, with anything from the finest of threads to simple raffia and string. In these examples I worked out of a frame, with fabric in my hand, to feel how the stitch moves the cloth.

Spotty dotty marks: The surface of the sea urchin is rough with a fine gritty texture and protuberances in high relief. While the straight stitches give shading and tonal changes, it is French knots, padding, and appliqué that give the physically raised forms that reflect the surface and its marks.

Dyed linen upon muslin formed the ground, which was then textured and shaded with lines of thread in simple straight stitch. The stitches were worked in a manner similar to how I use cross-hatching with a pencil on paper.

Circles (with holes like donuts) were cut in three different sizes, from an old blanket covered in gauze, and stitched on with a blanket stitch. Circles of fine cotton were stuffed with batting and drawn up to form balls. These were then fitted into the "donut holes" and sewn from the reverse. Additional small raised dots of blanket were applied with cross stitches, and even smaller dots were formed with French knots.

Source: Drawn to Stitch: Line, Drawing, and Mark-Making in Textile Art by Gwen Headley, Interweave, 2010

The Multi-purpose French Knot


Artwork by Jane LaFazio.

Why do we love the hand sewing with the French Knot? Let us count the ways.

First, the French knot gives you a lot of textural bang for your buck. French knots literally rise above the other basic embroidery stitches, popping right off the fabric.

Second, you've heard the term "connect the dots"? Well, you can make a series of French knots close together to form a line or map out a shape, like a constellation.

Third, French knots stitched close together will fill in a shape and provide shading, especially if you vary the thread colors.

Fourth, French knots are very organic. Depending on the color, size, and placement, this embroidery stitch can serve as a lone blossom, a scattered field of flowers, or the honeycombed center of sunflower.

Fifth, they're just so much fun to make. Winding the fiber around the needle, piercing the fabric, and then pulling the thread through to create that perfect little knot is so relaxing and satisfying.

Here are some tips for making a French knot.

1. The general rule is, don't wind the thread or fiber around the needle more than twice. If you want a bigger knot, use a thicker thread.

2. After wrapping the thread, place the point of the needle right next to the place it came up from, rather than back in the same hole. That way, the knot will stay anchored on top and not slip right through to the back of the fabric.

3. To add dimension to your French knots, use a variegated thread.

Source: Quilting Arts Magazine, October/November 2009, artwork by Jane LaFazio, Interweave

Featured Product:

Alabama Stitch Book

Alabama Stitch Book is a collection of projects and stories from Alabama Chanin, a clothing and lifestyle company known for the cutting-edge couture twist it puts on tried-and-true hand-sewing, quilting, and embroidery techniques, mostly worked on humble cotton jersey cloth (much of it recycled). Included is a step-by-step guide to the techniques used in the projects, including deconstructing cotton T-shirts so the cloth can be reworked, as well as hand-quilting, stenciling, appliqué, reverse appliqué, embroidery, and beading worked the Alabama Chanin way. Order your copy today and get to hand sewing!

The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos blog tour

lindsey.murray — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:21:00 GMT

THE CRAFTER’S GUIDE TO TAKING GREAT PHOTOS BLOG TOUR

We’re kicking off a fun new blog tour today to celebrate the international launch of Heidi Adnum’s book, The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos, which is now available in North America from Interweave, in the UK from Search Press, and in Australia from Murdoch Books. Throughout the tour you’ll learn the keys to taking great photos of your work, hear from some of the successful designer-photographers featured in the book, see some before-and-after photos from bloggers who have read the book and used Heidi’s advice, and hear a lot from Heidi herself! Oh yes, and there will be prize drawings at some of the stops! Follow along, and enjoy the tour!

1/23 Crescendoh - Jenny's Blog

1/24 papernstitch

1/25 Mark Lipinski’s Creative Mojo Podcast

live interview with Heidi at 3:50 pm EST

1/26 Rena Tom

1/27 CraftBuds

1/28 SweatShopofLove

co-creator of @HandmadeRyanGosling

1/30 Artist Success with Lesley Riley

2/1 Jenny N Design – featured designer in the book

2/2 Rifle Paper Co. – featured designer in the book

2/3 See How We Sew

2/4 Imagination Kids Toys - featured designer in the book

2/6 Canadian Living Crafts’ Blog

2/7 Feeling Stitchy

2/8 UK Handmade

AUSTRALIA

2/9 WhipUp.net

More tba… stay tuned!

Get Our New free eBook with Easy Resist Fabric Dyeing Techniques

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:55:00 GMT

Batik is one of the oldest methods of dyeing fabrics for surface design. Using hot liquid wax as a resist for dye, batik yields beautiful patterns and rich colors. But traditional batik is time-consuming and labor intensive.

But what if you could learn how to batik without the hassles? In this free eBook, Easy Resist Fabric Dyeing Techniques for Batik-Style Dyeing and Surface Design, you will learn surface design and resist techniques using soy wax, kitchen cupboard staples, glue gel, and simple batik tools.

Cynthia St. Charles shows how to create a colorful batik design using glue gel as a resist for textile paints in "Color Therapy."

In "Batik with Soy Wax: Easy and Effective Techniques for Original Fabric Design," Melanie Testa uses this food grade, environmentally safe alternative to paraffin for resist dyeing with textile paints.

Jane Dunnewold uses the non-toxic flour paste resist on fabric, drawing designs into the paste and then letting it dry. After painting the fabric and rinsing out the paste, you get a surface design with the crackly background that is the hallmark of batik.

Glue gel resist dyeing (detail)
by Cynthia St. Charles.

Finally, Lisa Kerpoe applies corn syrup as an economical and easy-to-find alternative to sodium alginate, a thickener used as a resist with fabric dyeing techniques. You'll love this kitchen-shelf method of tile dyeing.

Once you download this free eBook, Easy Resist Fabric Dyeing Techniques for Batik-Style Dyeing and Surface Design from Quilting Daily, you'll be creating easy batik fabric in no time.

P.S. Do you have friends who like to create surface design with resist techniques? Forward this link to them so they can download their own free copy of Easy Resist Fabric Dyeing Techniques for Batik-Style Dyeing and Surface Design.

Making a Journal Cover... and the Winners of Last Weeks post

lindsey.murray — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:25:00 GMT

First off, congratulations to Cheryl Goyer and hollywolly for winning the Riley Blake fabric giveaway from last week! Ladies, please email me your mailing information at lmurray@interweave.com by February 1^st so that I can mail the fabric bundles out to you!

Making a Journal Cover

One of my favorite parts about a new year is that I start a new journal. There is simply nothing better than opening a journal, full of blank pages just waiting to be written on. I love to carry a journal around so that I can write any ideas that pop into my head, observations made while people watching, or just notions that I might have at any given time.

My journal of choice is the Moleskine® brand, the ones that have black covers and off white paper. The company boasts they are the “heir” of the notebooks used by famous people of the past including Earnest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso. I think that is very cool, and feel like I am in good, inspirational company when I purchase my Moleskine notebooks (I never claimed not to be a victim of advertising).

But the truth is I am bored of the plain black cover. I once found it charming and minimalist. I thought that it was professional looking. Now when I see the notebook I see boring. Not willing to give up my perfectly sized, 1/4" college ruled, easy to write on notebook, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I searched around the Quilting Daily site, looking for a good notebook cover pattern. There is, to say the least, a LOT of notebook covers to choose from. But ultimately I found this Free eBook and decided that this project by Lucie Summers was just perfect for my purposes. I would recommend using it next time you want to make a notebook cover – it is easy, fast, and the results are great! (you can also check out our entire selection of free eBooks here.)

I used some of my coveted Ink & Spindle fabric (you can read more about them in Quilt Scene). This fabric it is all screened by hand in Australia, and can be a bit tricky to find in the US. I have been waiting for that perfect project to come along, one that lets me showcase this fabric, and decided this was the one.

Now I have an inspiring, unique, and fun notebook to start writing in!

- Lindsey

4 Steps to Printing Your Own Quilt Fabric Designs

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:05:00 GMT

I love the idea of being able to repurpose some of my designs that I have painstakingly created in appliqué or collage, and printing them on fabric. It would be a wonderful way to quickly and easily make a whole coordinated line of fabrics that I could then use to make lovely fabric art gifts or home décor.

Fabric art made from custom-printed fabric. From Cloth Paper Scissors Jan./Feb. 2012.

At one point on my personal blog I was experimenting (rather playfully) with scanning my bird collages and then printing them on cardstock. I cut out the birds, made "balloon" captions for them, and stuck them all over the house for my children to find. I called them "chore birds": the birds told the kids what to do, like "Shovel the driveway" and "Wash the dishes".

I'd like to say the kids had as much fun finding the birds and doing the chores as I did making them, but that would be stretching the truth!

This kind of repurposing your already created work is very similar to the concept of custom printing your designs on fabric: make your art once, and use it repeatedly.

Our sister publication Cloth Paper Scissors® took a look at three different companies that provide that service: fabricondemand.com, karmakraft.com, and spoonflower.com. The editors sent in three pieces of artwork for printing, made some fabric art with the resulting yardage, and reported on the results with an overview of each service.

Here is the basic process of getting your art on fabric through one of these services.

1. Decide how you want to use the printed fabric. If you want to use it as yardage for sewing or quilting fabrics, then you'll probably want to create a smaller image to use for a repeat. If you want to make multiple prints of a piece of artwork that you can mount on stretcher bars as fiber art or incorporate into a series of small quilts or wall hangings, you will need to make a very good quality scan or copy of your original artwork.

Scanned images of a gel print collage and a tag,
lower right, with the resulting fabric behind it.

2. Choose a website. Each of the three websites Cloth Paper Scissors researched has a slightly different selection of fabrics, user interface, and process. Choose the one that works best for you.

3. Choose a fabric type. Do you want cotton, silk, or a blend? Quilting fabric weight or voile? Consider trying a couple of different fabrics or, if you have time, request a sample before you place your final order.

4. Upload your art and complete your order. Each of the websites researched has a different ordering process, but the staff people behind the screen are more than willing to help creative people like you get up and running.

I imagine that once you got your hands on your very own designed and printed fabric, it would be very exciting. I'm going to have to give it a try.

Cloth Paper Scissors is always looking into new ways of using fabric and stitch with mixed media. Make sure you don't miss out on the fiber art fun by getting your own subscription in print or as a digital download.

P.S. Have you used a similar fabric-printing service? What advice do you have for those of us who are new to it? Leave your comment below.

How to Organize Quilting Supplies

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:58:00 GMT

I love fabric and quilting supplies, and I try to keep them contained. But sometimes I look around my studio and think, who let the hurricane in?

Many of my quilting supplies are
stored in this cupboard.

That’s when I set aside time to restore order. Although on the messy days it may not seem like it, I do have a system.

I use baskets and jars to store small items; one jar doubles as a scrap jar for materials for my nests and a pin cushion. I keep my scissors in a utensil carrier made for picnicking.

Frequently used fabrics are stacked in baskets on my shelves and hidden in the drawers of a dresser. There isn’t room for all my fabric: I have 15 – 20 bins of yardage stored remotely in the basement, organized by color.

Of course, no matter what the state of my studio, there is always room for my pug, Elvis. He’s my studio mate!

Elvis is in the building!

These strategies work for me, but everyone is different, and I don’t think there is one right way to organize quilting supplies.

I like to peek into other people’s studios to see what techniques they have for keeping their supplies accessible and the creative work flowing.

I was looking through Inside the Creative Studio: Inspirations and Ideas for Your Art and Craft Space by Cate Coulacos Prato, and I picked up lots of quilt supply storage ideas for my next studio re-organization.

Here’s just a sampling from the book:

Vintage and contemporary fabric storage:

Stacked on shelves by color or randomly
Folded and stacked in wire rolling bins
Scraps mixed in open bins like laundry baskets
Folded and piled in enamel or ceramic vintage bowls and basins
Rolled and put into cubbies

Mary Hettsmanberger uses shelves and cubbies
to house her jewelry and quilting supplies.
From Inside the Creative Studio.

Quilting thread storage:

Hung on wall pegs
Contained in glass jars
Held in printer or cutlery trays
Stacked on spice racks
Sorted in see-through bins or specially made drawers

Quilting tools storage:

Scissors laid in segmented drawers, stored in vintage flower pots, and hung on pegboards
Paintbrushes stashed in recycled cans, vintage pails, and flower frogs
Stamps and stencils laid in flat baskets and blueprint drawers
Dyes and paints held in colorful dishpans, plastic cutlery totes, and on shallow picture shelves

There are plenty more ideas for arranging and organizing your quilting supplies in Inside the Creative Studio. It was a lot of fun to page through and see how creative fellow artists can be when it comes to their workspaces.

Do you have some innovative, creative, or just plain efficient ways of organizing your quilting tools, fabrics, and other supplies? Share with me and the other readers in the comments section below.

Get Inspired to Keep Your Crafting Resolution (and a fabric giveaway to get the new year started off right!)

lindsey.murray — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:12:00 GMT

This is going to be a big year for me, and although I am not one to wish my life away, I cannot wait for the exciting stuff to get here! I am meeting my fiancés family (in Ireland) for the first time over Easter, buying a home with said (amazing) fiancé, and tying the knot in August. Needless to say there are a lot of things to be focusing on in my spare time. Over the holidays, I found that I didn’t have time to craft (wedding planning, visiting with family, Christmas shopping, and all of that got in the way!) like I thought I would, and I made a resolution to get back into the habit of making something at least once a month. Creating is a very calming, almost meditative activity for me, and who doesn’t need a little Zen in their life?

That resolution is a wonderful one, but I was looking for that perfect project to get back into the swing of things. I have a few UFOs, but they simply were not doing the trick in the inspiring department. When the book Sew up a Home MAKEOVER by Lexi Barnes (ISBN: 978-1-60342-797-5) made its way to my desk, I knew that I had found my inspiration. I usually stick to quilts when crafting, but something about knowing that Fergal and I will be moving into our own home soon has me wanting to try my hand at home décor.

The book, as its title implies, focuses on how to update your house using fabric. The ideas are cute and simple, well within reach for the beginner sewist (but still creative enough to entice the more experienced crowd). I particularly like the Roman shade project, I have always wanted to make curtains, and this looks like the perfect starting point. The headboard project also has hit my fancy, and I plan to make one just as soon as we move into a new place.

I am sure some of you have a New Year resolution similar to mine, and want to clock more hours in the studio. In order to help you along your way, I will be sending two lucky readers A Riley Blake fabric bundle. In order to qualify as one of the winners, please leave a comment at the end of the post with a craft related New Year resolution that you plan to keep this year! Make sure to check my blog next Wednesday to see if you won!

- Lindsey

Sewing Patterns for the Patchwork & Vintage Textile Lover

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:29:00 GMT

Calendar Patchwork tote
by Susan Wasinger.

I collect vintage textiles and I like to incorporate them in my artwork. I have been using many of my more fragile pieces in my Prayer Flag Project, stitched to sturdier pieces of muslin or linen.

But I also like to repurpose vintage textiles in functional ways. So I'm always looking for sewing patterns that I can adapt to include my vintage fabric and trims.

When I saw this sewing pattern from the Winter 2008 issue of Stitch magazine, I thought, "What better way to cart my groceries or bring along my yoga equipment than in an environmentally friendly and stylish tote like this one?"

The construction and materials are so simple; you need only basic sewing skills to put this tote together. It's a great way to incorporate some vintage fabric (that can be a little worn and delicate) with new, more durable fabric so it will hold up to use.

The bag was designed by Susan Wasinger, who has been sewing since she was 4! I modified the directions a bit to reflect how I would assemble the pieces.

Calendar Patchwork Tote

Materials

¾ yard of cottan canvas or duck
2-3, or more, cotton or linen vintage towels
Basic sewing supplies

Directions

1. Cut out the fabrics:

For the top band: 2 pieces of 19" x 4 ½ cotton canvas or duck
For the central 2 patchwork bands, (1 for each side of the bag): piece together interesting parts of the calendar towels and trim to make 2 bands each measuring 19" x 8½"
For the bottom of the bag, cut a 19" x 19" square of cotton canvas or duck
For the 2 straps: 4 pieces of fabric each 2" x 23"

(Use 3/8" seam allowances, unless otherwise noted.)

2. With right sides together, sew one of the top bands to one of the patchwork bands. Repeat with the other set of bands.

3. With right sides together, sew the patchwork edges of the bands to the opposite sides of the 19" square.

4. Fold this large fabric piece in half, right sides together, making sure the bands of patchwork match up along the sides. Machine stitch the side seams and finish by zigzagging the seam allowances together.

5. Turn the bag right side out and fold down the top edge of the bag, toward the wrong side ½ inch, then fold over again 1". Pin and topstitch around the perimeter of the bag, about ¾" - 7/8" in from the edge.

6. To give the bag structure, create a bottom gusset: Turn the bag inside out and lay it flat in front of you so the bottom corner is pointing up and the side seam is running directly down the center. Measure in from the corner about 3 ¼" and mark a line across the width (from edge to edge). This line will be about 6" long. Machine stitch through both layers along the line. Repeat on the other side at the opposite corner of the bag. It makes a stronger bottom if you leave the excess fabric in place instead of trimming the seam. When you turn the bag right side out, you will have a flat bottom created by the seams.

My version. I made it in an hour!

7. To make the straps, pin 2 of the strap pieces together with the right sides facing. Machine stitch ¼" seams along the long sides and one of the short ends. Trim the corners and turn right side out. Tuck in the raw edges on the open end and hand- or machine stitch closed. Repeat this entire step with the remaining strap pieces.

8. Mark the positions for the 4 places the straps will attach to the bag along the top edge. Each should be about 5½" from the side seams.

9. Tuck the strap end about 1½" into the bag's interior and pin in place. Topstitch horizontally across the top and bottom of the 1½" of handle that is inside the bag, with the bottom stitching laying right over the topstitching that is already in place. Backstitch repeatedly to reinforce the connection. Repeat with the other ends of the straps in the same fashion.

That's all there is to it!

You can find this and many other downloadable sewing patterns where you can use patchwork techniques and vintage textiles in the Quilting Daily shop.

P.S. Do you use vintage textiles in your fiber art? In what ways do you incorporate them? Leave a comment below and include a link to a photo, if you have one.

Announcing the Time Flies Reader Challenge Finalists

ellen seeburger — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:58:00 GMT

If you've ever listened to Frank Sinatra's "It Was a Very Good Year" and felt a little nostalgic for the good old days or perhaps have a favorite memory or moment in time that makes you smile whenever you think of it, then you know how quickly time can fly by. Quilting Arts is pleased to celebrate these cherished moments and memories with our "Time Flies" Reader challenge.

We received approximately 60 entries, and were thrilled by the innovative ways that Quilting Arts readers shared their memories and translated them to stitch. We ask the following challenge finalists to mail their entry to us so that we can better determine if we can find a place for their piece in Quilting Arts Magazine.

Congratulations to:

Donna Anderson

Cynthia Frenette

Barbara Huck

Sandra Kohler

Kim Krier

Carol Lang

Roger Lucas

Patricia MacDonald

Michelle McLean

Elizabeth Penttinen

The details

If you are a finalist your artwork must be in our offices no later than Wednesday, January 18, 2012, along with a flat shipping and handling fee of $15 (U.S. and Canada) or $25 (all other international). This fee, which must be paid in U.S. dollars, covers the shipping costs, packing materials, and handling for the return of your entry. The entire piece and all of its packaging must weigh less than 5 lbs. and fit into a standard shipping/mailing box (no larger than 12" x 4" x 14") or padded envelope.

Finalists should mail their entries to:

Quilting Arts Magazine/INTERWEAVE 

Attn: Time Flies Reader Challenge 

490 Boston Post Road  Suite 15

Sudbury, MA

01776

Thanks to all for participating!

New Life for Your UFOs with Re-imagined Quilt Designs

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:40:00 GMT

It's a new year: have you made any fiber art-related resolutions?

One of my goals for 2012 is to complete—or repurpose—at least one UFO (unfinished object) in my stash, and I'll bet that might be on your list, too.

Can you find the peppers in this chameleon
by Jane Haworth?

We all have projects that have been abandoned for one reason or another. Maybe you took up crazy quilting years ago and then found you were more interested in contemporary geometric quilt designs. Or perhaps you started a large machine-stitched cotton quilt and then discovered you preferred making small wall hangings with silk and hand-quilting designs.

Often—and this is true for me—you just get stuck in the quilt design stage. The colors aren't working, or the quilt motifs no longer interest you, or your carefully planned flower quilt now looks like floating amoebas. And you have no idea how to fix it.

So you guiltily stash the offending object in a drawer, a bag, or at the bottom of the project pile—promising you'll come back and finishing it . . . someday.

It would be much easier to follow through on that promise if you had a fiber fairy godmother to come by, look at your unfinished project with new eyes, and magically transform it into a quilt design that works well, wouldn't it?

Well, that's sort of what happened to some lucky, and brave, "Quilting Arts TV" viewers who sent in their UFOs to be reimagined and completed by another viewer.

The results of some of these transformations are revealed in the "Save My UFO!" segments in Series 900 of "QATV." And, I must say, the makeovers are amazing.

The original unfinished pepper quilt design by Rebecca Segura.

For example, Rebecca Lily Segura sent in her unfinished piece featuring peppers as the central quilt motif. She placed the grouping off-center in anticipation of adding more to the design, but once she had the peppers in place she didn't know quite what to do next.

Rebecca offered up her UFO for experimentation, giving the next quilter carte blanche in reimagining the design.

Jane H. Haworth took Rebecca at her word. She repurposed the peppers as the head of a chameleon, using fabric she had recently hand dyed to finish the design with raw-edge collage appliqué. Jane completed the quilt with a border that brought in the colors of the lizard with fabric and thread.

What a transformation!

I'm looking forward to taking out some of my own UFOs this year and looking at them with new eyes to see how I might rethink the quilt designs. I could reimagine the images, apply surface design techniques to refocus the quilt design, or even cut up the UFO and piece it back together in a new way.

There are lots of ideas for rescuing UFOs in "QATV" Series 900, now available on DVD. And if you'd like to get advice on your own UFO, upload a picture of it to our Save My UFO! gallery.

P.S. When you have a quilt design that needs help, what tricks do you use to see it with "new eyes"? Tell me your tips in the comments section below.

A Gift of Nature in Fabric and Embroidery

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:54:00 GMT

Hello!

I am so enjoying my new role as Quilting Arts Magazine editor and am excited to be joining the Quilting Daily team. There are so many tips, tricks, and techniques I'm looking forward to sharing with you, and I hope you'll share back on my blog.

I thought I'd start off today with a technique that's one of my favorites: capturing birds in fabric and free-motion machine embroidery.

Although we've been experiencing a rather mild winter so far here in New England, I know the snow and cold are coming.

Quilted and free-motion stitched bird portraits, featured in Quilting Arts Gifts 2009/10.

Gray skies and bare branches can look bleak, but fortunately in these parts songbirds are plentiful in every season, and I frequently get to experience the thrill of spotting a bright red cardinal perched on a snowy branch or a chickadee flitting by the window.

The more closely I watch these beautiful birds, the more fascinated I have become with trying to capture their colors and textures using fabric and thread.

I have developed a technique to "capture the moment" in cloth and free-motion machine embroidery.

I wrote up my technique for the 2009/2010 issue of Quilting Arts Gifts and I also demonstrated it on Episode 801 of "Quilting Arts TV."

Here is the basic overview.

1. Use the pattern provided in the tutorial or a simple drawing (I like to use ones found in coloring books) and trace it onto tracing paper.

2. Trace each individual piece of the cardinal separately onto the dull side of freezer paper.

3. Roughly cut out your pattern pieces and iron them onto the right side of your chosen fabrics.

4. Cut out each pattern piece on the marked line.

5. Carefully peel the pattern pieces from the fabrics. Place each fabric piece onto the traced pattern.

6. Glue the bird together, beginning with the body and wing.

7. While the bird is drying, make your background; cut, glue, and stitch it in place.

8. Place the bird on the background exactly where you want it. Attach with a bit of glue and iron. Then machine stitch. Free-motion machine embroidery adds depth and detail to your bird. You could also add details with hand embroidery. I sometimes use hand embroidery techniques to sketch in the bird's features and add texture to branches and feathers.

9. Embellish with beads, etc., as desired.

Plaid fabric and machine embroidery add interest and depth.

Fabric Selection Tips

There are many considerations in choosing fabrics for small compositions. Keep the following in mind:

Loosely-woven fabrics are more likely to fray and should be avoided.

Textures and geometric designs in fabrics often add interest and suggest movement when used appropriately.

Your composition will be examined closely-give the viewer something interesting and unexpected.

Scraps are your friends. Look at large- and small-scale fabric prints for transitions of color, shading, and feather pattern.

You can find the full directions and the pattern for this project on the Quilting Daily community under 'QATV' Patterns, Projects and Tips.

But did you also know you can download the entire Quilting Arts Gifts issue to your computer? Most of our back issues, Workshop^TM videos, and special issues are available for download, so you can get instructions and get creating-quick as a bird.

Happy bird watching!

Vivika

P.S. Do you use bird motifs in your fiber art? What's your favorite avian subject? Leave a comment below.

Quilting Daily

Quilting Books in my “to read” pile and the Fabric Winner

Use Your Scraps Fast with Our New Small Quilting Projects eBook

A Quick Trick for Piecing Patchwork Quilts

Happy Valentine's Day! (Want to Win Some Fabric?)

How to Sort Fabric Art Scraps - Or Not

Hand Quilting: Do You Pass it On?

Want Advice on How to Save Your UFO?

Trouble-shooting Tips for Machine Quilting and Embroidery

Fabric Painting Without A Brush

A Quilt for My Mom (and the Fabric Giveaway Winner)

Unplug with Japanese Sashiko Hand Sewing Projects

What Are You Up to This Weekend?

I'm New to Surface Design - Got Any Advice?

How to Make Flower Quilt Designs That Pop

Hand Sewing

7 Tips on Combining Hand and Machine Stitching

Shop Hand Sewing Products

Stitch As Mark

The Multi-purpose French Knot

Featured Product:

The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos blog tour

Get Our New free eBook with Easy Resist Fabric Dyeing Techniques

Making a Journal Cover... and the Winners of Last Weeks post

4 Steps to Printing Your Own Quilt Fabric Designs

How to Organize Quilting Supplies

Get Inspired to Keep Your Crafting Resolution (and a fabric giveaway to get the new year started off right!)

Sewing Patterns for the Patchwork & Vintage Textile Lover

Announcing the Time Flies Reader Challenge Finalists

New Life for Your UFOs with Re-imagined Quilt Designs

A Gift of Nature in Fabric and Embroidery

Shop Hand
Sewing Products