Handmade Quilt Art : Quilt Patterns

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:

Life Mimics Art Quilts?

Kristine Lundblad — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:45:00 GMT

Have you ever dressed to match your quilt? Accidentally or on purpose?


My quilt and I match!

Here at Interweave, the teams of Quilting Arts, Stitch, and Cloth Paper Scissors magazines take a few moments out each week to gather together for Show and Tell. We show projects we've finished or started, we reveal the results of challenges we've held amongst ourselves, and we even show off other accomplishments and milestones like a completed kitchen reno or a new pet. (Photos substitute for the real things, of course.)

At this week's Show and Tell, I revealed a cute little baby quilt I created for our spring edition of Modern Patchwork magazine (which will be coming out around April). I used fabrics designed by Lotta Jansdotter, whose aesthetic I adore. Her fabrics appeal to my Scandinavian heart and her colors are fresh and fun.


	Don't you love the orange shoes?

So I'm standing there, holding my quilt in front of me and talking about it. My coworkers are smiling, some are giggling a little. "Hmm," I say to myself. "Is my fly down? Do I have spinach in my teeth?"

And then someone says, "Look, you're wearing the same colors that are in your quilt!"

Well, what do you know, I was! My teal sweater and orange shoes matched pretty darn close to the teal and orange in my quilt. And, although I used white fabric in the quilt, my khaki pants were pretty close in the neutral department. I had to laugh!

It's funny how you're sometimes drawn to the same colors over and over again. I love a pop of orange in my wardrobe as well as my quilts. I guess you work with what you love, right?

Kristine

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.

We're Throwing a Quilting Modern Blog Party!

Vivika_Blog — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 03:04:00 GMT

Some things in life are worth celebrating, like the launch Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts. This new book is a huge milestone for quilt artists Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen, two pioneers in the modern quilting movement!

We're thrilled to announce we'll be reveling all weekend long with our first-ever book tour blog celebration weekend!

If you love looking at modern quilts, grab a cup of tea or some vino, and get up close and personal with Jacquie and Katie's new book. This blog celebration weekend is like one big trunk show without ever having to leave home.

Katie Pedersen and Jacquie Gering

Some of the bloggers will be giving away free copies of the book, so be sure to click through all the stops and leave comments. We hope you'll discover some favorite new blogs to read and bookmark along the way!

First stop: say hi to authors Katie Pedersen and Jacquie Gering and get a tour of their sewing spaces and fabric stashes!

Then join us for the Quilting Modern blog celebration weekend with:

Top row: Tipsy City Quilt, Fractured Quilt
Bottom row: Blue Ice Quilt, Shattered Quilt

A Stitch in Dye - Malka Dubrawsky

Fat Quarterly blog - Tacha Bruecher

Film in the Fridge - Ashley Newcomb

Generation Q - Jake Finch

Handmade by Alissa - Alissa Haight Carlton

Happy Zombie - Monica Solorio-Snow

iheartlinen - Rashida Coleman-Hale

OhFransson - Elizabeth Hartman

One Shabby Chick - Amber Carrillo

Pink Chalk Studio - Kathy Mack

Quilting is my Therapy - Angela Waters

Red Pepper Quilts - Rita Hodge

Sew Mama Sew

Sew Take a Hike - Penny Layman

West Coast Crafty - Susan Beal

Whip Up - Kathreen Ricketson

Wise Craft - Blair Stocker

Finally, don't miss their FLICKR page for quilters inspired by Quilting Modern to share images of their creations. There are already a few ambitious (never-get-any-sleep?) quilters who have finished quilts using the book's projects. We love their dedication!

For more information about Quilting Modern, visit the book's page at InterweaveStore.com.

Have fun!

The Quilting Daily Team