Quilting Daily

Finish Fused Art Quilts the Easy Way

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:41:00 GMT

How many quilts have you slaved over, only to leave them in a guilty pile because you haven't gotten around to finishing them? I don't even want to think about mine.

A quilt that is going to be used and washed needs a proper binding to keep it together. But with quilt art that hangs on a wall (such as mini-quilts) or is meant for other artistic purposes (such as artist trading cards, inchies, etc.), your options are wide open.

Fused quilt art, like that of Frieda Anderson and Laura Wasilowski, lends itself to easy finishing especially well.

On their Quilting Arts Workshop^TM video Improvisational Fused Quilt Art: Create Beautiful Art Quilts the Easy Way, these experienced, award-winning quilt artists show several options for finishing their quilts.

Here is a very simple technique that Frieda demonstrates.

1. Create a frame by fusing fabric to both sides of a piece of Timtex® interfacing. Timtex is a good choice because it is firm without being bulky and you can stitch and cut through it easily, says Frieda.

2. Fuse a label to the center back of the sandwich and stitch it in place. Add a loop of ribbon for hanging.

3. Stitch your fused quilt top to the Timtex sandwich. Note: Before fusing, you can finish the edges of the mini quilt by trimming the edges with a rotary cutter and decorative blade, satin-stitching the edges, or using the pillowcase technique.

4. Trim the edges of the frame with a decorative blade. Or, add more free-motion stitching to the frame to complement the stitching on the art quilt. Then trim the edges. Frieda always steam sets the finished quilt. This activates the fusible and glues any cut threads in place so they won't ravel.

That's it! Frieda and Laura show you several other ways to finish your fused quilt art on their video. You get double the advice and techniques because they comment on each other's work, adding tips and hints.

If you have any questions about fused art quilting, from fusing basics to finishing, Laura and Frieda are sure to answer them in Fused Quilt Art: Create Beautiful Art Quilts the Easy Way.

Free Tutorials for DIY Screen Printing, Monoprinting and More

Vivika_Blog — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:38:00 GMT

Printing on fabric is one of the easiest ways to create your own unique textiles. In our free eBook, Techniques For Printing on Fabric: Free Tutorials for DIY Screen Printing, Monoprinting and More, you'll learn how to make a silk screen, how to screen print, gelatin and collograph monoprinting techniques, and more.

Learning how to screen print may seem intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. In Super Simple Silk Screening: Surface Design with Everyday Supplies, Enid Gjelten Weichselbaum shows you everything from how to make a silk screen, to how to make a design, to printing on fabric. You'll be silk screening at home in no time.

Thermofax screen printing techniques are also easy, as Lynn Krawczyk demonstrates in Thermofax Printing: Easy Methods for Unconventional Surface Design. She shows how to screen print with paint and how to use screen printing screens with discharge paste, thickened dyes, and Xpandaprint.

In Flight of Fancy: A Gelatin Monoprint Process, Frances Holliday Alford takes you through the gelatin printmaking process, from how to make gelatin plates from scratch through constructing an art quilt from the monoprints.

Collagraph monoprint and stitch by
Heidi Miracle McMahill.

Cynthia St. Charles turns monoprinting techniques into Child's Play with finger painting on fabric. She uses a glass plate technique and a gelatin printing technique to get her results, which are free and fanciful.

Collagraph printing (also known as collograph printing), is an easy, low-tech monoprint process. In Collagraphs: Monoprinting with Texture Plates, Heidi Miracle-McMahill offers tips on how to create a plate, printing, paint choice, color selection, and more.

Lynn Krawczyk demonstrates
Thermofax Screen Printing.

DIY screen printing and monoprinting is fast, fun, and creative. With Techniques For Printing on Fabric: Free Tutorials for DIY Screen Printing, Monoprinting and More, you'll have no excuse not to print on fabric anymore.

P.S. Do you have friends who like to print on fabric? Forward this link to them so they can download their own copy of Techniques For Printing on Fabric: Free Tutorials for DIY Screen Printing, Monoprinting and More.

Learn to Use Sheer Materials in Fabric Collage - New Webinar

Vivika_Blog — Sat, 18 May 2013 01:58:00 GMT

Do you know the difference between tulle and mesh? Organza and chiffon? Sheer fabrics can be a sheer delight in your fiber art. But there are special tricks and tips to selcting and stitching sheer materials in fabric collage.

Fiber artist Deborah Boschert will introduce various sheer fabrics and talk about the different features of each in her Quilting Arts webinar, Using Sheer Materials in Fabric Collage.

She'll discuss how these different features might affect design decisions, offer tips for designing with sheers and enhancing transparency with layering and stitching, and walk you through the collage process.

Join us May 22, 2013, from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET.

In this webinar, Deborah will also talk about:

How to distinguish between sheers
How to create a reference cloth for easy identification
How to layer sheers for maximum impact
How to print images on sheers
And much more!

Everyone who registers for Using Sheer Materials in Fabric Collage will receive a link to the webinar recording to access after the event, plus a discount on Deborah's Interweave products. In fact, you don't have to attend the webinar: just register before and then wait for your email with the discount code and recording that you can watch at your leisure.

An example of using sheer materials in fabric collage,
by Deborah Boschert.

More about Deborah: Deborah Boschert is a fiber artist, list maker, and brownie baker. Her art quilts and fabric collages have been exhibited all over the world and in many books and magazines. She is a co-author of Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge. She hosts the Quilting Arts Workshop^TM video Contemporary Fabric Collage: Design, Stitch, and Finish. Deborah has lived in ten different states and currently lives in Maryland with her husband and two kids. Read more about her life and art on her blog.

Don't miss this chance to learn about the art of using sheer materials in fabric collage. Register now.

Get Expert Quilting Instruction On Demand

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:44:00 GMT

I've always found quilters to be a generous bunch, always ready to share a technique or some fabric from their stash.

Quilting instruction, surface design techniques, or even spinning
or mixed media: the choice is yours on Craft Daily.

But, I'd hesitate to call any but my best quilting buddies in the middle of the night if I had a sudden, sleepless urge to learn soy wax batik or needed instructions for a last-minute gift project.

Of course I have my Quilting Arts back issues and my Workshop^TM DVDs, but even my quilting library doesn't cover the complete gamut of techniques--not to mention craft techniques and projects outside the realm of fiber art and surface design.

But now I--and you--can have access to 100+ (and counting) full length craft video workshops from your Mac, PC, iOS & most Android devices like Kindle and Kindle Fire any time you like, as often as you like, with our new website, CraftDaily.com.

Craft Daily is simply the best source for art and craft video workshops and tutorials that you'll find.

With a subscription to the online Quilting library, you can access everything from full episodes of "Quilting Arts TV" to hour-long videos on fabric painting, machine stitching, digital design, and more. Plus, by subscribing to the full Craft Daily library, you can learn about beading, crochet, mixed media, spinning, knitting, and more, wherever and whenever you want.

A subscription to Craft Daily is like having open admission to your favorite artists' studios or having the best instructors in the world on call. Whatever art instruction you're craving, you can have it with Craft Daily.

P.S. What art or craft other than quilting would you most like to learn about?

Deadline Extended for Modern Patchwork--Submit Today!

Kristine Lundblad — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:39:00 GMT

Good news, we have extended our submissions deadline for Modern Patchwork to May 31 and we'd love to hear from you!

Modern Patchwork is our semiannual special issue focused on fresh and contemporary projects in the latest fabrics. We are looking for original designs with modern-day appeal. This issue will hit newsstands in November so we urge you to keep that in mind when considering your design and fabric choices. Our spring issue of Modern Patchwork is out now--we are so excited about it!--and a peek at that will give you a taste of what we're after.

Modern Patchwork is packed with projects for today's quilters and sewists. This issue features quilting techniques and patchwork projects of every kind, including home décor, accessories, and wearables. From large bed quilts to patchwork scarves, totes, pillows, and more, we welcome submissions of a wide array from innovative sewists. The contemporary and fresh aesthetic of these projects pays tribute to the modern revival of patchwork, integrating traditional and innovative techniques to create items that are tasteful and unique.

We've recently freshened our guidelines for submitting projects to this special publication--check out the details here. Submit your ideas today!

Kristine

Embellish Your Art Quilts with Laminated Imagery

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:08:00 GMT

Of all the embellishment techniques you've used in your quilting, have you ever tried laminated imagery? I know I haven't. But when Stella Belikiewicz submitted her tutorial for using lamination to embellish her art quilts, we were captivated by the results.

Stella Belikiewicz's quilt shows six ways to attach
laminated quilting embellishments.

Writes Stella: "I love to use unusual materials in my work, and after experimenting with a laminator at the print shop where I worked, I discovered I could add texture and dimension by stitching laminated images directly onto the surface of my art quilts.

"The laminated images are durable and shiny, and the colors pop in the most beautiful way. I have developed several techniques for working with these images that can be used alone or combined in limitless ways."

Stella attaches these quilting embellishments in different ways, sometimes sewing embellishments on the quilt and sometimes using jump rings or pouches.

Her quilt "How Nature Embraces Imperfect Specimens (#1)" is a sampler, of sorts, of the six methods she likes to work with. Clockwise from top left, they are:

Machine Stitching: If your sewing machine has a strong motor, it should be able to pierce the laminate. Use tape to hold the image in place and stitch slowly. I recommend an 80/12 universal needle and a slightly longer stitch length than the 2.5mm standard. Use a high quality cotton or polyester thread.

Tacking: Pierce the laminate with a needle to make a few strategic holes and hand stitch.

All-Around Hand Stitching: Make many regularly spaced holes around the image and hand stitch.

Sheer Fabric Pouch: Do not punch any holes in the laminated item. Cover the image with sheer fabric and stitch around the outside by hand or machine.

Swinging Freely: Punch a 1/16" hole at the top of your image, slip on a metal jump ring, and stitch the jump ring to your quilt.

Decorative Thread Stitching: Hand stitch using decorative fibers such as novelty yarns or thick decorative threads.

Stella says you can laminate almost anything that is flat, such as photographs, original drawings, text, glitter, collages, and hole-punch discards. She even makes her own laminated signature labels that she stitches to the backs of her quilts.

If you're looking for new embellishment techniques to try, laminated images might just be the thing that makes your art quilts pop. Read the entire article in an upcoming issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.

We have many more ideas for quilt and fabric embellishment coming up in the next few issues of Quilting Arts. Subscribe now so you don't miss out.

P.S. What is the most unusual item you've ever used as an embellishment? Leave a comment below.

The Joy of Fabric Art Pet Portraits

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 09 May 2013 09:35:00 GMT

A note from Vivika: While I'm on medical leave, my dog, Elvis, has been keeping me company. His presence--and frequent antics--lift my spirits. Pets are so important in our lives--and often in our fabric art--so today I thought I'd share this Q&A with Quilting Daily Community member Martha Tabis from 2010. Martha creates cheerful 12" x 14" portrayals of cats and dogs that are full of character and reveal a fondness for her four-legged companions. Here, she discusses the animals--and the techniques--behind her pet portraits.

Martha Tabis

QD: Please tell us about the subjects of your textile art.

MT: Wiley and Ivy, Boston terriers, were my family's first pets, so they have a special place in my heart.

QD: Each of the backgrounds has a very different, very distinct color palette. How did you decide upon these?

MT: The backgrounds reflect each dog's character. Wiley (on the orange background) was a four-legged wild man: energetic, rambunctious, playful. Ivy (on the hot pink background) could bounce like a spring and found mischief everywhere, but could also morph into a little lady.

QD: Please briefly describe the process/processes used to create these portraits.

Ivy (top) and Wiley (above), rendered in fabric art
by Martha Tabis.

MT: For all of these pieces, the backgrounds were created by overlapping raw-edge cottons, synthetics, satin, tulle and organza. I used cotton flannel for batting to minimize bulk. I used minimal free-motion stitching to set the background fabric in place before adding the figures.

I used a photograph as the pattern, printed on tear-away stabilizer and also plain paper. I laid the printed stabilizer over my pieced background and stitched outlines of the animal's shape and major features. I used the plain paper print to cut out pattern pieces from stabilized fabrics, then fused the pieces to the background. I chose true-to-life fabrics for Wiley and more whimsical prints for Ivy, such as a dot print for the white areas of her face and a floral print for her black areas. The fun part began as I thread-painted each pet's features and shaded areas.

I made the fabric sandwich, then quilted the background, and outlined the figure one more time with stitching to add dimension. To finish front-view portraits, I bound the edges in the traditional way and mounted them to fabric-covered frames. For back-view portraits, I zigzagged the quilt edges and added decorative yarn.

QD: Do you have plans for future portraits?

MT: Friends and mentors liked the portraits and encouraged me to sell them, so I started a business this year doing custom work. I'm drawn to making these portraits by the appeal of interpreting a beloved pet in fabric. It's a joyous process for me.

There are many ways to make your pet the focus of your fiber art. In the new Quilting Arts Workshop Fabric Postcard Pets: Three Easy Ways to Make Mini Pet Portraits, Pauline Salzman shows you fast, fun techniques using fabric scraps and images of your pet. Watch a preview and pre-order your copy now.

P.S. Do you make pet portraits? Tell me about them!

How to Bind a Quilt with a Whipstitch Binding

Cate Prato — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:40:00 GMT

When you make a quilt, at some point you will have to consider the quilt binding. You may opt for an elaborate binding that makes an impact on the overall design, a simple and subtle binding, or no binding at all.

When binding a small quilt, such as a postcard, it's usually best to keep it simple. Two of the easiest quilt binding techniques for small quilts are the satin stitch and the whipstitch bindings.

Postcard with a simple quilt binding by Melanie Testa.

Fiber artist Melanie Testa demonstrated the whipstich quilt binding on an episode of Quilting Arts TV. Here are her directions:

Preparing the edges of small works in preparation for a whipstitch binding helps contain loose threads and batting, and inserting gimp into the edging helps create a sturdy, substantial finish.

Gimp is a coarse, thick thread that sometimes has a piece of wire in its core. Almost anything can be used as gimp--string or yarn--as long as it has body and will hold the edge of the quilt firmly in place.

To create very square corners, you will want to sew off the edge of the work.

Turn 90 degrees, creating a small thread loop on each of the four corners. For best results, use this technique for both a straight stitch and a zigzag stitch.

To prepare the edge

Straight stitch a 1/8th" (3 mm) seam allowance on all four sides.

1. Satin stitch over the gimp, concealing both the gimp and the straight-stitched line at a 2.5-stitch width.

2. Trim the gimp.

3. Do an additional satin stitch at a 3.5 stitch width. Now you are ready to whipstitch the binding.

To whipstitch the binding:

1. Starting from the front of the work, thread the strand from front to back. The knot will be at the front of the work.

2. Hold the knot and tail aside and whipstitch to conceal.

3. An occasional length of buttonhole stitch is an appealing addition.

4. There is no need to knot off when you come to the end of the strand. Turn the work to the wrong side, bury at least a 2" (5 cm) strand in the previous stitches, and then trim.

5. Continue to whipstitch around all four sides until finished.

Melanie is particularly adept at combining innovative surface design techniques with stitching and finishing. In her book Inspired to Quilt: Creative Experiments in Art Quilt Imagery, she shows you, step by step, how to transform a concept into a finished art quilt using new and innovative ideas. Whether you make large quilts or small, you'll definitely be inspired.

P.S. How do you bind small pieces of fiber art? Or do you? Comment below.

New Deadline for Quilt Scene--Submit Your Project!

Kristine Lundblad — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:06:00 GMT

Good news, we have extended our submissions deadline for International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene to May 20 and we'd love to hear from you!

International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene is our annual issue of fresh ideas for today's quilter, including patterns and projects, galleries of beautiful quilts from the International Quilt Festival in Houston, interviews, tips, and more. We'd love to see your quilted projects and patterns as well as your quilting techniques and tips.

The focus of Quilt Scene is not art quilting, rather, it celebrates the traditional--but with a lively, contemporary spin. We are looking for articles geared toward both the traditional and the intermediate/advanced quilter.

We've recently freshened our guidelines for submitting projects to this special publication and Modern Patchwork Winter 2013--check out the details here. Submit your ideas today!

Kristine

Make a Quilt Supplies Wish List and You Could Win

Cate Prato — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:23:00 GMT

Treat your mom (yourself, or a friend) this Mother's Day!

What quilting supplies do you wish for?

Fill out her crafting WISH LIST with up to $50 worth of product from the Quilting Daily Shop. We'll pick one lucky winner to receive everything on their list! Winner selected May 7.

Choose from items like QATV DVDs, Workshop^TM videos, quilt and surface design books, and more.

Get the rules and all the other details now. And hurry: May 7 and Mother's Day are approaching fast!

Good luck!

Host Your Own Outdoor Dyeing Party

Kristine Lundblad — Thu, 02 May 2013 09:46:00 GMT

Last year about this time, I was inspired by a group dyeing adventure at the Interweave offices to host my own dyeing party at home.

An invitation to dye.

Ranging in age from 13 to 70-something, our band of seven women--most of whom had never tried textile dyeing before--dyed silk and rayon scarves and other textiles using several techniques including shibori, low-water immersion, and ice parfait dyeing.

The whole experience was a blast! There was a lot of planning and organization, I must admit--plus, I made them lunch and snacks--but it was all worth it! And the experience resulted in a stash of many of the supplies needed to safely dye more fabric.

As the weather warms up here in New England and across the U.S., I thought it would be a good time to share some of the tips I learned from my fabric dying party experience.

Know your guests and plan accordingly. If most are inexperienced dyers, start with a small project such as a hemmed silk scarf that has been prepared for dyeing (PFD).
Have clean-up cloths available on each table. If you use PFD fabric, these cloths--which are sometimes the best dyed pieces of the day--can have a life after the party.
Using alphabet beads, string your guests' initials onto a large safety pin and have them ready to attach to the fabric. After the pieces come out of the dye bath, you'll know whose is whose.
Provide take-away bags filled with a small amount of synthrapol, an extra set of gloves, and written instructions on rinsing, washing, and drying the hand-dyed fabric.
Supply plastic bags or containers for safely transporting the freshly dyed fabric home.
Be sure to dispose of dyes responsibly at the end of the day.

Textiles from the fabric dyeing party.

The article I wrote about my dye party experience, including more how-tos and a practical advice, is included in the new eBook from Quilting Arts, Dye Your Own Fabric.

Dye Your Own Fabric includes 10 tutorials on how to dye fabric, including ice dyeing, ice-parfait dyeing, flat dyeing, snow dyeing, techniques using thickened dyes, and shibori techniques. With dyeing season approaching, this eBook is essential for a colorful, hand-dyed season.

Kristine

P.S. Have you ever hosted or been to a dye party? Add your tips to mine in the comments section below.

Let Your Sewing Techniques Take Wing

Kristine Lundblad — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:46:00 GMT

While Vivika is on leave, guest bloggers are filling in, and we're also revisiting some of our readers' favorite posts. This one, Vivika's first as editor of Quilting Arts, looks at how she makes her bird quilts look so realistic through fabric choice and sewing techniques. ~Kristine Lundblad, Quilting Arts assistant editor

Detail of on of my robins captured in fabric and stitchery.

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

I have developed a design and sewing technique for "capturing the moment" in cloth and quilting stitches.

Here is the basic overview of how to sew a quilt that will "take wing.":

You will need:

A copyright-free pattern of a bird or a simple drawing (I like to use ones found in coloring books)
Tracing paper
Freezer paper
Fabric glue
A selection of fabrics to match your bird (and branches, flowers, etc., if desired)
Iron
Background fabrics or papers
Sewing machine and thread
Optional: Embellishments and hand-stitching supples

1. Trace the drawing onto tracing paper.

2. Trace each individual piece of the bird 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.

My 'Robin and Apple Blossoms' quiltlet.

6. Glue the bird together, beginning with the body and wing. (Gluing is easier than sewing appliques. However, you could stitch them or iron the pieces onto fusible web and press them in place before stitching.)

7. While the bird is drying, make your background; cut, glue (or fuse), 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. Machine quilting stitches add 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.

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.

A new book I want to get my hands on is Mollie Makes Feathered Friends: Creating 18 Handmade Projects for the Home. In it, Mollie shows how to make bird-themed art and craft projects with sewing, quilting, applique, and crochet techniques. My creative imagination is already soaring.

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

Challenge: Quilted Gifts Deserve Handmade Holiday Tags

Kristine Lundblad — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:55:00 GMT

Nothing finishes off a beautifully wrapped present like an artful gift tag.

A unique tag can express your creativity and show your affection for the gift's recipient. A gift tag even makes a clever ornament after it serves its first purpose.

We invite you to make a fiber art gift tag for this year's Quilting Arts Gifts^TM challenge!

Using our fresh and fun color palette, create a tag with fabrics, papers, threads, and trims. Use your favorite surface design techniques or try something new.

Incorporate traditional holiday motifs or invent your own.

Here's the perfect opportunity to think literally outside the box-the gift box, that is!

The deadline for this challenge is May 31, 2013. Find out all the rules and download a PDF with the color palette on our Reader Challenge page.

Kristine

New Webinar: Using Unexpected Materials in Fabric Collage

Cate Prato — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:20:00 GMT

Fiber artist Deborah Boschert loves to include unexpected and surprising materials in her fabric collages-window screening, telephone cording, paint chips-it's all fodder for her fabric art.

Register now!

In her Quilting Arts webinar Using Unexpected Materials in Fabric Collage, Deborah will share some of her favorite materials and give you the inside scoop on where to find them. Join us Tuesday, April 30, 2013 1-2 p.m. Eastern Time to learn her secrets.

In this webinar, Deborah will also talk about:

How to attach unique materials using various techniques
Ways to design a fiber collage to highlight the unexpected
How to include items like magazine clippings, paint chips, silk flowers, and more when you create your fabric art.
Considerations for stitching through and around found objects

Everyone who registers for Using Unexpected Materials in Fabric Collage will receive a link to the webinar recording to access after the event, plus a discount on Deborah's Interweave products.

More about Deborah: Deborah Boschert is a fiber artist, list maker, and brownie baker. Her art quilts and fabric collages have been exhibited all over the world and in many books and magazines. She is a co-author of Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge. She hosts the Quilting Arts Workshop^TM video Contemporary Fabric Collage: Design, Stitch, and Finish. Deborah has lived in ten different states and currently lives in Maryland with her husband and two kids. Read more about her life and art on her blog.

Don't miss this chance to learn how to find and use unusual objects in fabric collage art. Register now.

P.S. Save the date: To learn more about fabric collages with Deborah, tune in to her second webinar, Using Sheer Materials in Fabric Collage on May 22, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. EST. Registration details coming soon. See you there!

Thread Sketching and Thread Painting - New Free eBook

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:12:00 GMT

The sewing needle is the fiber artist's pencil: you're simply drawing with thread. When you hand stitch, you can guide the direction of the thread to make a design. And when you lower the feed dogs on your sewing machine, you can stitch in any direction, too.

In The Art of Thread Sketching: Free Thread Drawing and Thread Painting Techniques, five quilt artists show you how to turn machine stitching into drawings with thread. Depending on the style and density of the stitching, thread sketching and thread painting can stand on its own or be combined with other techniques to give your quilt motifs dimension and life.

Art quilt expert Susan Brubaker Knapp shows how drawing with thread can make your quilt designs look positively touchable in Thread Sketching 101 Focus on Texture. Susan also gives advice on needle and thread basics for successful thread art.

In Nostalgia Series: Stitched Sketches and Ephemera in Art Quilts, Jane LaFazio shows how to interpret drawings with threadwork, ephemera, fabric scraps, and mixed-media techniques to create lovely fabric art.

Thread sketching and thread painting can create touchable texture, as on this quilt by Susan Brubaker Knapp.

Fiber artist Karen Fricke shows you step-by-step how a heavy-duty stabilizer can make thread sketching easier In Thread Sketching on Stabilizer. You can print your design right onto it, then stitch your thread sketches over the image.

In her article Sketchbook Quilts, JJ Foley demonstrates two techniques for turning sketches into stitched designs: digital and direct draw. Her easy thread sketching techniques will inspire you to draw more--and stitch more!

Thread painting example by Carol Watkins.

Carol Watkins' thread-painting tutorial will show you how to turn a photograph into thread art with machine stitching. She describes her technique in Thread Painting: From Photo to Stitched Artwork, and also offers tips on choosing machine embroidery thread.

With The Art of Thread Sketching: Free Thread Drawing and Thread Painting Techniques, you will look at imagery, machine stitching, and your fiber art in a whole new way.

P.S. Do you have friends who are interested in drawing with thread? Forward this link to them so they can get their own copy of The Art of Thread Sketching: Free Thread Drawing and Thread Painting Techniques.

Speed Thrills: Machine Stitching on the BERNINA 7 Series

Vivika_Blog — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:43:00 GMT

My husband bought me a cute little Italian car as a present recently. It's fun, efficient, and I can really buzz around in that thing (while still obeying all the traffic laws, of course). I look for the same qualities in a sewing machine. (OK, it doesn't have to be cute, but that wouldn't hurt!)

A bigger bobbin means more
time stitching, less time
reloading.

So imagine my excitement when I read about the BERNINA 7 Series. With innovative new features and a sleek design, the 7 Series machines allow you to sew longer and faster with fewer interruptions.

Here's what Bernina has to say: "With the launch of the 7 Series, BERNINA presents a world's first: the BERNINA 9 Hook (B 9 Hook). The B 9 Hook sews high-precision stitches up to 9 mm in width with speeds up to a 1,000 stitches per minute. And the bobbin has 80 percent more thread capacity than our standard bobbins, allowing you to sew longer without interruption."

The BERNINA 7 Series

For me, the 9mm width of stitching also translates to more variety in stitch width and creative sewing. I can see using the wide zigzag stitch as a finishing technique as well as being able to couch over chunkier threads. I could also use the wider decorative stitches on my machine.

But as much as I like the idea of the bigger bobbin and stitch width, the thing I am really most intrigued with is the speed . . . up to 1,000 stitches a minute? I love the concept of having a machine that could sew precisely and evenly at any speed and can't wait to try my hand at controlling the 1,000/minute BERNINA.

In the meantime, I'll hit the road with my new Italian friend.

Surface Design Tips: How to Make a Padded Surface for Fabric Stamping

Cate Prato — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:17:00 GMT

Whenever a new batch of commercial fabric samples arrives in our offices, everyone gathers around to ooh, aah, and dream about how they would use this or that pattern to make a quilt, bag, accessory, or baby item. I'm always first in line to see what's new, hungrily eyeing every stack of new fat quarters as if I've never seen one before. And like I didn't have a bunch already sitting in my studio waiting for some attention.

Hand-dyed fabric by Marcia Derse.

But I'm an equal-opportunity fabric monger: I drool just as much over hand surface-designed fabrics. I gobble up every new technique and have even tried some fabric stamping, ice dyeing, resist dyeing, and fabric painting. I love it.

So I can honestly say I stood open-mouthed at the beautiful stamped and hand-dyed fabrics created by Marcia Derse when they came in for photographing last summer for the October/November 2012 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine. Fabric stamping is one of the ways you can make your own unique textiles for very little money, especially if you make your own stamps. In her article, Marcia showed many ways to dye fabric using water-based resist dyeing techniques.

Like Quilting Arts Editor VIvika Hansen DeNegre, I was particularly attracted to Marcia's tips on how to make your own stamps and how to make a padded surface for printing. Marcia uses the stamps to apply the resist in patterns on the fabric before over-dyeing.

Marcia Derse and her hand-dyed fabrics.

A padded surface, Marcia explains, allows for the tools to push the designs into the fibers of the fabric. She makes her padded surface with leftover plywood and studio scraps.

How to make a padded printing surface

1. Cover a piece of plywood that is slightly larger than the fabric you will print with 2-4 layers of batting. (For example, if you mostly print fat quarters, a 30"-square board will work well.)

2. Cover the batting with sturdy fabric like cotton duck and staple the fabric to the back of the board.

Note: You can use this padded surface for Thermofax® screen printing and monoprinting, as well as for fabric stamping.

To print with a stamp, place the fabric on your padded work surface and apply the resist. After the fabric has been printed, dry it flat on a layer of newspapers (if you hang the fabric to dry, the resist could run). Allow the resist to dry overnight or until it is not tacky.

Marcia has many tips and techniques for fabric painting, printing and dyeing in her Quilting Arts October/November 2012 article and in her guest spot on Quilting Arts TV Episode 1007 (Paint and Dye). Anyone who loves fabric (and really, who doesn't?) and surface design will appreciate and learn from her tutorials.

P.S. Do you prefer commercial fabrics or hand-dyes? A combination? Leave your comment below.

Your Quilt Could Be Here!

Kristine Lundblad — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:38:00 GMT

What's the best way to see your quilt or project in the pages of Modern Patchwork or International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene? Submit your work to us!

Modern Patchwork is packed with projects for today's quilters and sewists. This issue features patchwork projects of every kind, including home décor, accessories, and wearables. From large bed quilts to patchwork scarves, totes, pillows, and more, we welcome submissions of a wide array from innovative sewists. The contemporary and fresh aesthetic of these projects pays tribute to the modern revival of patchwork, integrating traditional and innovative techniques to create items that are tasteful and unique.

We've recently freshened our guidelines for submitting projects to these two special publications and you can check out the details here. Submit your ideas today!

Kristine

Modern Patchwork Fabric Giveaway

Kristine Lundblad — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:42:00 GMT

Oh my! We got so busy with our publications and videos we almost forgot about the giveaway. Here are the winners: jane.grau and AnnC@24.

Congratulations! Contact us and we will send you your fabric.

* * *

One of the most fun aspects of working on Modern Patchwork magazine is poring over all the contemporary fabric collections we review. Collections are released throughout the year, but spring is an especially inspiring time to shop for new fabrics.

"Shelburne Falls" designed by
Denyse Schmidt for Free Spirit

This spring, we noticed a preponderance of orange-and-blue combinations. In prints, the 1950s-'60s kitchen has inspired many fabric designers, with starburst clocks, angular coffee makers, and abstract shapes reminscent of hand stamping used as motifs.

Chickens are still popular, but llamas have also come on the scene. Typography, numerals, and graphic elements with letters and numbers on them (like tickets and labels) make prints interesting to look at.

Most of these fabrics could stand on their own as frame-able art. But they are meant to be cut and stitched into modern quilts and patchwork projects like the ones in the pages of Modern Patchwork Spring 2013.

"Modern Home" from Monaluna

To get you started, we're giving away two packages of fabric we reviewed in Modern Patchwork: A roll of "Shelburne Falls" designed by Denyse Schmidt for Free Spirit and a stack of "Modern Home" from Monaluna.

Just leave a comment saying what you might do with these fabrics and we'll randomly choose two winners on Monday, April 22, 2013.

Also, be sure to submit your original project ideas for Modern Patchwork Winter 2013. The deadline is May 13! Get all the details on our Submissions page.

Kristine

Improvisational Fused Quilt Art: No Patience Required

Cate Prato — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:45:00 GMT

My mother used to say to me, "Patience is a virtue." And I used to respond, "Why?"

Fused quilt art by Frieda Anderson.

I am not a naturally patient person, and while I now understand the value of this virtue, I still like to skip to the fun parts whenever possible.

Which is why I was so happy to learn about fusing art quilts when I came to Quilting Arts. In fusing, you don't sew pieces of fabric, together, you prefuse the fabric, cut it into shapes, and then arrange the shapes on the background fabric and fuse in place.

Improvisational fused quilt art is the perfect technique for people like me who want to spend more time arranging the colors and patterns of fabric and less time stitching pieces of fabric together (especially when you impatiently stitch them and then find you have to rip out the stitching because you no longer like how the pieces go together).

By virtue of hanging out with expert art quilters and editing hundreds of Quilting Arts articles, I've learned a lot about the art of quilting with improvisational fusing over the years. And I'm still learning.

But if you're impatient and want to learn pretty much everything there is to know about creative quilting with fusible in about an hour, look no further than Frieda Anderson and Laura Wasilowski's Quilting Arts Workshop^TM video Improvisational Fused Quilt Art: Create Beautiful Art Quilts the Easy Way.

Frieda Anderson shows the different shapes you can
make for an art quilt by using a decorative rotary cutter.

In addition to teaching all the basics of fusing and art quilt design, there are so many little tips and tricks these faculty members of their Chicago School of Fusing provide in this video.

Here are just a few nuggets I picked up:

Clean cuts with unfrayed edges are crucial to successful fused art quilting. Therefore, Frieda and Laura only use rotary cutters or very sharp scissors.
Undulating decorative rotary cutter blades can scuff your cutting mat, so flip your mat over to the back side when you use these blades.
If you already have scuffs on the "good" side of your mat, cut your fabric with the fusible side facing up so you don't nick and fray the fabric.
Also cut fusible side up if the weather is humid. Otherwise the fusible can become tacky and stick to the mat, fraying the fabric when you pick it up.
When cutting with a decorative blade, stand up and put your weight behind it.

Then, as Laura puts it, "You just fuse [the pieces] all up on release paper, let it cool, peel off the release paper, and drop it onto the quilt."

Fast and fusible. Now those are virtues I can get behind.

Improvisational Fused Quilt Art is available on DVD or, for the impatient, you can download the video to your computer right now.

Cate Prato, Online Editor, Quilting Daily and Cloth Paper Scissors Today

P.S. Do you have tips for fused art quilting? Leave your favorite one below.

Luke Haynes: A Different Perspective on How to Make a Quilt

jane davila — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:22:00 GMT

At its essence, making a quilt is simple: create a quilt sandwich with top fabric, backing fabric, and batting between them and stitch it all together.

'[Man Stuff #1] Hammer" by Luke Haynes.
Photo by David Papas

But as we know, there are infinite varieties on the theme of how to make a quilt. One textile artist who caught our attention for his unique approach is Luke Haynes. Working with recycled textiles, Luke challenges perceptions of self-expression and redesigns environs. With cloth as his medium, he creates images that examine function, craft, and art.

Luke talks about his unique approach to quilt making in Quilting Arts in Stitches, vol. 10. Here is an excerpt of our interview.

JD: Much of your work incorporates recycled textiles. What led you to these materials? Is there meaning behind them?

LH: There are several layers of meaning behind them. I want my work to allude to a quilting past, when quilts were used as functional blankets and pieced out of available fabrics. This speaks to the human element in the medium's history. I also like the usage of recycled materials because they give pieces a rich texture that would be hard to replicate, and they give viewers an entry point into the work. If you see a seam on a pair of jeans within the quilt, that can call to mind the jeans you wear every day or the jeans your father used to wear to work. So it lets the viewer understand the materials in a different way--giving an entry point through nostalgia and experience rather than just through concept and aesthetics.

JD: What is your design process? For example, do you start with a sketch?

LH: I start with a concept. I find something I want to explain or understand, and I set parameters for myself around that. Then I start to work. Each project is different, but I will often have a photo shoot and get the images I want to use before creating a design template from which to work. Then I will construct the quilt to those specifications. Lately I have been incorporating quilt patterns into the background to reinforce the quilt-like qualities.

In his 'Mad House' installation, Luke Haynes 'quilted' an entire house with found textiles. Photo by Howard Tu.

JD: What is your favorite part of the process? What is your least favorite part?

LH: My favorite part of making a quilt has to be seeing if my design is successful as I sew on the last row and can look at the completed top. My least favorite parts are the binding and making the hanging sleeve! I feel so done by that point; I don't want to have to be working on it for the time it takes to do those seemingly small parts.

As you can tell by that last answer, Luke may have an unusual perspective on how to make a quilt, but he has a lot in common with most quilters!

We have more of this interview, plus stitching techniques, design tips, and quilt-making ideas in the interactive eMag Quilting Arts in Stitches, vol. 10 for PC and MAC or for iPad. I hope you'll check it out!

Jane Davila
Editor, Quilting Arts in Stitches

P.S. Do you think you have enough fabric in your stash to 'quilt' an entire house? More than one? Share your thoughts below.

Spring Clean Studio Blog Hop

Cate Prato — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Live vicariously through this spring cleaning blog tour, hosted by Cheryl Sleboda.

Our friendly Quilting Daily moderator Muppin (aka Cheryl Sleboda) recently came home from taping some episodes of "Quilting Arts TV" to find her studio was . . . in disarray, shall we say. No, it wasn't a break-in. Apparently, in the whirlwind of preparation for the show, she left behind a mess:

Although Cheryl doesn't mind making a mess while creating, she wanted to clean up before starting the next project. Here is the "after":

Cheryl shares many more pictures of her studio before and after on her blog. What is the state of your studio or workspace right now? Join the rest of the Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop by checking out these bloggers below!

Amy Wright Weaver http://theweavershand.blogspot.com/
Judi Hurwitt http://approachable-art.blogspot.com
Jim Parrillo http://thinkjimcreative.tumblr.com
Lisa Chin http://somethingcleveraboutnothing.blogspot.com/
Barb Forrister http://www.barbforrister.com/category/blog
Frieda Anderson http://www.friestyle.com/
Lynn Krawczyk http://fibraartysta.blogspot.com/
Cheryl Sleboda http://muppin.com/wordpress/index.php/blog/

~ Cate

Bring Flowers to Life with Machine Embroidery and Paint

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:27:00 GMT

While Vivika is on medical leave, we're revisiting some of her most popular posts and guest bloggers are pitching in, too. Today, we're featuring this post on how Barb Forrister creates lifelike flowers with machine embroidery techniques. ~The Quilting Daily Team

Flowers created with machine embroidery
designs and paint by Barb Forrister.

Dimensional flowers lend beauty and texture to a piece of fiber art, but they are not easily accomplished. When I saw Barb Forrister's demonstration of how to make realistic looking flowers with a combination of machine embroidery and surface design techniques, however, I was intrigued and wanted to share the process with you.

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. Assemble 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 embroidery adds life
to 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.

Stitch the petals with simple
sewing or hand embroidery.

7. Use free-motion machine embroidery to stitch the outline of petals and their pattern. 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. Add the white design to each petal with white fabric paint, referring to the template. Add texture by painting small dots of three-dimensional acrylic paint along the inside edge of the white design. Add an additional outline of dots just outside the white area.

The finished quilt.

10. Edges may be finished with satin stitch machine embroidery or hand embroidery. You could also paint the edges using a 1:1 mixture of matching fabric paint to clear gel medium.

I hope this tutorial sparked your imagination and encouraged you to try combining embroidery designs with surface design to make flowers. Last year, we explored many other ways of creating flowers (and other motifs) in fiber art in the pages of Quilting Arts Magazine. All six issues are now available together in our convenient Quilting Arts 2012 Collection CD. There are so many inspirational techniques to try!

P.S. Do you make fabric flowers with machine embroidery and surface design? What tips and tricks do you use? Leave a comment below.

Sketch, Stitch, and Embellish: Create Designs for Mini Fabric Art

Cate Prato — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 03:58:00 GMT

Vivika Hansen DeNegre is on medical leave. During her absence, several guest bloggers will be sharing their favorite tips, tricks, and techniques with you on Quilting Daily. Today's guest blogger is Cate Prato, Editor of Cloth Paper Scissors Today and online editor for Quilting Daily.

Jane LaFazio designed her own embroidery motifs,
and embellished them, then turned her fabric art into
a drawstring pouch.

Here's a little exercise that gives you a chance to flex your mixed-media stitch muscles and produce a little piece of fabric art.

The tutorial is from one of my favorite mixed-media fiber artists, Jane LaFazio, and one of my favorite magazines, Cloth Paper Scissors (March/April 2013).

"When I was 16, I started stitching: crewel work, cross-stitch, needlepoint, and counted cross-stitch, but I always worked from kits, using someone else's designs. For years, it didn't occur to me that I could quite easily create my own original designs to embellish with color and thread," writes Jane.

She did, and here are the directions, adapted from tutorial for sketching, stitching, and embellishing her own designs with stitchery.

1. Create some doodles or drawings (or use copyright-free images) and draw or transfer your drawing or doodle onto cloth such as muslin or t-shirt material. It's easy to trace it with a permanent pen. Just place the image under the fabric and trace.

2. Add color to your design as desired. I like to use water-soluble crayons and a small brush. I wet the paintbrush and touch it to the crayon to get color, and use different colors to blend new colors. You could also use acrylic paint or fabric paint to add color to the cloth.

3. Iron the fabric to set the color. I recommend using a pressing cloth to protect the design as well as the iron.

4. Add a border. I add a border to my designs because it adds a nice finish and unifies the design. I suggest using a chain stitch or running stitch for this. You don't want to detract from the focal point, so keep the border simple.

Detail of Jane's stitched and embellished
mixed-media fiber art.

5. Once the color is dry, embellish the image with embroidery. I use a few basic stitches: running, chain, and cross stitch.

6. Embellish as desired. Depending on the intended use of the piece, you could add buttons, beads, or sequins, or other.

These little stitched masterpieces would be great for sachets, ATCs (artist trading cards), or attached to the front of a note card. You could also scan the image and make multiple note cards. Make gift bags, wine bags, a tote bag decoration, pillow fronts, small fabric cases, shirt pockets . . . or even a wall hanging.

Many artists who write for Quilting Arts Magazine also contribute to Cloth Paper Scissors. Fiber artists who like to mix their fabric and stitch with paint, gel medium, and other art supplies should subscribe to Cloth Paper Scissors, so you won't miss out on any textile art tutorials like this one from Jane.

P.S. Have you designed your own motifs to embroider? Or do you prefer to go with pre-printed designs? Leave a comment below.

Use Surface Design Technique to Explore the Emerald City

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 04:10:00 GMT

Last year when Pantone announced its Color of the Year—Tangerine Tango—I was a fan. I like cheerful, sunny colors, and this one hit the spot for me. I could see using it in different modes, from fabric to embroidery to surface design techniques.

The blues and golds of the batik fabric created by Ginny Eckley mingle to create different shades, including green.

This year, emerald is Pantone's Color of the Year. At first, my heart sank a little. Dark green? Not my favorite. When this color becomes ubiquitous, as tangerine did last year, how will I cope with the flood of emerald on everything from fabric to tableware?

But then I thought back to the advice Luana Rubin, co-founder and president of eQuilter.com and a member of the Color Marketing Group (CMG, an international color and trend forecasting group), gave last year in reference to Tangerine Tango.

"When Pantone announced the 2012 Color of the Year . . . they knew it would spawn a wide range of orange hues," Luana wrote on her Color Inspirations blog. "This happy and vivacious color has been reinterpreted in floral, fruit, and butterfly shades that are absolutely dripping with personality!"

Her point was that you can interpret a color many ways, with a variety of shades and tints. And you don't need to let it take over: a little can go a long way enhance the other colors with it, especially when you're talking about quilting and surface design.

Studying the color wheel can help you figure out what combinations you like best. But sometimes, you just have to practice and play. For example:

If you have some emerald in your stash, pull out the fabric and pair it with different colors. Try not to pre-judge: try emerald green with pink, spring green, taupe, or gold. Better yet, toss a few scraps on your floor or worktable and see let the combinations surprise you.

If you don't have emerald in your stash, use a paint chip sample. Hold it up to different fabrics to see how the hue works with colors and patterns.

Another way to try out a new color is through fabric painting. Start with a plain white piece of fabric and stamp or paint other colors along with the new color to explore different combinations.

Try fabric dyeing techniques like ice or snow dyeing using a dark green dye, complementary or analogous colors, and a fat quarter of plain white fabric. See what develops as the colors melt and combine.

Actually, "practice and play" is good advice for any aspect of fiber art: don't close your mind to a color (or an idea, pattern, or fabric) because you think you don't like it. Try it out in different ways, and you might find a new favorite. Surface design is an easy way to do that, because you can practice on a small amount of fabric.

In her Quilting Arts Workshop^TM Surface Design with Silk Screens Soy Wax Resist & Fabric Manipulation, fiber artist Ginny Eckley demonstrates surface design techniques including screen printing, dyeing, and shibori-style fabric manipulation that can help you explore the range of one hue as well as how colors can enhance each other in patterns. Watch a preview of Surface Design with Silk Screens Soy Wax Resist & Fabric Manipulation to see how easy and fun it can be.

P.S. What do you think of emerald? Are you thrilled? Lukewarm? Or do you stick with the colors you love regardless of trends? Leave a comment below.