Handmade Quilt Art : How to Quilt

Sandy Quilting Update

Michelle Jibson — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:05:00 GMT

Though Hurricane Sandy wreaked its havoc nearly three months ago, those most affected by the storm are still working to put their homes--and their lives--back together. The rest of the country has moved on, but relief efforts still continue in parts of New York and New Jersey, where the damage was most devastating.

Along with those who are laboring to clean up and rebuild damaged homes are the volunteers who have donated their time and talents to make beautiful handmade quilts for the hurricane victims. One such volunteer is quilter Kim Story. After winning Quilting Daily's fabric giveaway in November, Kim quickly labored to make a quilt with her collection of fat quarters from Dear Stella.

"What a fun collection of prints and stripes!" Kim said of the fabric. "I'm going to take a day or two to ponder, then dive in and get started. I'm thinking about what I can do with the stripes to really show them off."

Kim eventually decided to make the Double Slice Layer Cake pattern by Missouri Star Quilting Company, saving the fabrics with stripes and dots for sashing. After working up some possible quilt designs and asking the readers of her blog to vote, Kim created a quilt she named Sandy Britches. It was finished on Christmas Eve, just in time for Kim's 17-year-old daughter to take it with her to New Jersey the day after Christmas.

So Sandy Britches took an 18-hour road trip to New Jersey, where Kim's daughter and her church group spent their Christmas vacation gutting houses for Sandy victims. There Kim's homemade quilt was given to someone who needed it, which was exactly what she wanted. After all, she knows from personal experience what these people are going through.

"Our family was affected by the 2011 spring tornadoes, which tore across Alabama," Kim told me when she received the fabric. "We found a rental house while ours was being repaired. During those five months, we all learned a lot about needs and luxury, thankfulness, trusting God's promises, and having a sense of humor. I hope my daughter can share her journey with others who are facing this now."

Thanks to Kim and her daughter for their service to someone in need, and thanks to all of you who have made your own donations!

Sandy quit relief efforts are still in progress; it's not too late to join the cause and make the most of your time and talents. To see how you can help, visit eQuilter.com's Quilt Relief page. To see the extent of their efforts, check out the photos on their Flickr page. Here's a sneak peek:

Fall Art Quilts

Michelle Jibson — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

I just love the Fall. If I had my way, it would always be Fall. Perhaps I'm so enamored because I grew up in San Diego, where Fall is more a designation of time than an actual season, and now the beauty of the New England Fall has enchanted me. Maybe it's because I love the feel of the cool, crisp air on my face or the sound of crunching leaves beneath my feet as I walk. Honestly, it could be as simple as the fact that my favorite colors are orange and red.

Whatever the reason, Fall inspires me. It signals that the year is drawing to a close, and in response I instinctively find myself reflecting on the past. Though we here at Quilting Arts are always looking to the future for the newest techniques and the most talented up-and-coming art quilters, I thought it would be a fun ode to Fall to take another look at some of the autumn-inspired art quilts from past Fall issues of Quilting Arts Magazine. So put on a light sweater, grab some hot chocolate, and enjoy!

Let's start with the appropriately named "Septober," Nancy Simonelli's piece from the October/November 2010 issue. I love the Fall leaves!

Nancy actually pounded maple, oak, and birch leaves into PFD fabric and used cloth markers and free-motion quilting to enhance their effect. She then attached silk leaves and three-dimensional fabric leaves, many of which she hand beaded to add a little sparkle.

This next image comes from the August/September 2007 issue. Entitled "A Fruitful Harvest," this work by Kirsten Chursinoff makes me think of Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday.

To create this scene, Kirsten used cutout cardstock stencils that she traced onto different fabrics using a fabric-marking pen. She then appliquéd the shapes onto her backing fabric and free-motion stitched contrasting colors for the leaves' veins and other details. Lastly, she used free-motion machine embroidery on water-soluble materials to create "skeletal leaves."

This quilt, "Leelanua Autumn," is a much more subtle tribute to Fall. Artist Desiree Vaughn created this work as part of a collaboration with fellow quilters Kathie Briggs and Peg Keeney. The article in the Fall 2006 issue of Quilting Arts, in which this piece is featured, describes how these three artists shared space and tools, offered suggestions and feedback, and inspired each other to branch out. This particular quilt is an example of Desiree's minimalist approach and use of bold graphics.

Finally, we have Linda Turner's "Rivanna Memories" from the August/September 2009 issue. Though it is more an ode to a particular place, I can't help but get an autumn vibe from this piece. After printing sepia-tone photos onto batik fabric, Linda pieced the photo images with colored fabric scraps and free-motion stitched the entire thing. She then used fabric paints and permanent pens to blur the boundaries and added the finishing touches—yarn for grass, three-dimensional flowers and leaves, and pebble beads.

I hope you enjoyed this homage to Fall. Now it's your turn! Tell me your favorite thing about Fall, or share your ideas for a seasonally appropriate quilting project. Ready, go!

In With the Old, In With the New

Kristine Lundblad — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:30:00 GMT

We quilters are fortunate to have so many wonderful tools and materials available these days. I for one could not create my quilt projects without my 'holy trinity': rotary cutters, self-healing mats, and acrylic rulers. I can't imagine tracing cardboard template shapes on the back of the flimsy cottons of years ago.


	With pin basting alone, this pepper block is rippled and will poses problems for machine quilting.

But as advanced as our tools have become, there is no substitute to learning and using good sewing know-how.

I grew up in a time when Home Economics—Home Ec., for short—was still taught in public schools. I made some nifty aprons, pillows, and pot holders ... and then promptly forgot all the rudiments I was taught. Pity. That knowledge would have been an excellent foundation to build on.

When I took up quilting 25 years ago, I plowed in and remembered enough rudiments of sewing to get by for many years. My skills even improved. I embraced or at least experimented with many gadgets, tools, and techniques. Many of my teachers were writing books and designing new tools, and there was always something new to try. But what about the 'old,' the basics, the classic techniques? Sometimes you bump into a problem that can't be solved by the latest gadget or new fad.


After hand basting the block, the ripples really calmed down.

Recently, I ran into a little trouble with a paper-pieced vegetable quilt I am trying to finish. After making the blocks and sashing them, I figured they were stable enough to remove the annoying paper from the back. I tried to be careful but then I handled the quilt top, ironed it, and handled it some more. Well, guess what? All those bias seams that were no longer stabilized by the paper foundation began to wiggle woggle. As I sandwiched the quilt, I discovered pin basting was not helping the rippling. It was too late for spray baste. What to do?

Lucky for me, my co-workers at Quilting Arts and our sister publications, Stitch and Cloth Paper Scissors, are excellent seamstresses and quilters and they are happy to help in times of fabric emergency. I sought out Stitch technical editor Mary Walter, who is also an award-winning quilter and designer. Mary suggested I thread baste the blocks, by hand, in a grid pattern. Gulp. Ah yes, memories of seventh-grade Home Ec. class came flooding back! At first I resisted the thought—wasn't there a faster, more modern approach, I asked myself? But a wiser part of my brain asked that cranky girl to please be quiet and she acquiesced. I hope she went and bought herself a how-to book on sewing basics!


	If you look closely, you'll see my machine quilting success. Also pinned on the block is my tissue paper "template" for writing with free-motion machine stitching.

So, the other night I sat down with my hand-sewing tools, my quilt, and a nice TV program. I basted a 2" grid across each puffy vegetable block—and I sewed an even narrower grid on one block that was really troublesome—and all of the wonkiness disappeared. The stability of the grid evened it out and calmed my nerves, too.

As an unexpected bonus, I was reminded of how much I enjoy hand work! After that, machine quilting the blocks was so enjoyable that I even went the extra mile and decided to add some writing on the quilt, labeling all of the blocks with the name of each vegetable. Did I mention this is a quilt for a child? The words might be teaching tools someday.

So the long and short of it is this: Don't forget the tried-and-true techniques even while you're working with the latest tools. They complement each other. If you don't know them, look for resources at your local library, quilt shop, or bookstore.

And to my lovely and patient Home Ec. teachers, wherever you are, thank you for giving me my start in sewing!

Kristine

P.S. Who gave you your start in sewing? Did you learn in Home Ec.? Leave a comment below.

Endings, Beginnings, and a Fabric Giveaway!

Michelle Jibson — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 06:32:00 GMT

This summer was one of the more eventful ones of my life. I graduated with my master’s degree from Boston University, got married, became an official resident of Massachusetts, started a new job with Interweave, and mourned the loss of my maternal grandmother—a woman who lived with my family as I grew up and who essentially acted as a second mother to me.

My grandma was quite the woman. She grew up during the Depression in a poor family with 13 children. She survived—and got out of—an abusive marital relationship. She got remarried (to my grandfather) and raised six children. She operated her own real estate brokerage for many years. She was a three-term assemblyman for the Nevada State Legislature in the 1970s.

But I never knew my grandma that way. Though she was still a spunky, strong-willed firecracker of a woman—and though she often told amazing stories from her past—I knew her when she was older. I knew her when she was more, well, grandmotherly. She played with me, comforted me, and took care of me.

She also sewed. And while that isn’t an inherently grandmotherly thing to do (as any reader of Quilting Arts could tell you!), I can’t help but associate sewing with my grandma. Like her mother before her, she was an amazing seamstress. She always repaired my clothes when they tore. She even made an Alice in Wonderland costume for me—one of my favorite Halloween costumes to date.

While my mother is an amazing woman herself, she would be the first to tell you that she did not inherit the sewing gene from my grandma. But since I did inherit my grandma’s sewing machine when she passed away, I wonder if I might just have inherited some of her craftiness, too. In an attempt to find out, and to honor her memory, I have decided to try my hand at the craft she loved so much. Only I don’t really want to sew clothing; I want to learn how to make quilts! There’s something so beautiful, comforting, and homey about them, and with winter approaching I could definitely use one or two!

So now I need your help! Give me some suggestions—handy quilting tips, helpful websites, easy beginner’s projects, affordable fabric stores, etc.—and I’ll give away some of this Moda fabric!

Simply respond in the Comments section for a chance to win! We'll post the winners on Monday, September 24th.