Quilting Daily : Memory Quilts

Memory Quilts Made Easier with TAP

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 04:20:00 GMT

Recently, I was looking through pictures of bird art I've made over the years. After the winter we've had, just seeing this bird building its nest on the flowering apple branch makes me happy! Spring has arrived (by the calendar, at least), and that means that even if it snows again, the wintry remains will soon melt away.

My 'Robin with Apple Blossoms' quilt.

I made this little Robin with Apple Blossoms piece a couple of years ago. I scanned the image and printed it out onto Transfer Artist Paper ^TM or TAP for a client who was making a custom quilt for a new baby in the family. She wanted to use the image, but it had to be washable.

The transfer came out great. I'd not used the product before, but could tell that it is much easier than any other method I have used for transferring images. In the past, when you wanted to make a photo quilt or a memory quilt with images, you could use iron-on t-shirt transfers, but they made the fabric stiff and didn't always hold up to washing.

Another popular way to make transfers on fabric is with gel medium and an inkjet printout. But the success of the transfer often relied on serendipity and they were only suitable for art quilts—you couldn't wash them.

TAP is different. It's an iron-on transfer paper, but the inks combine with the polymer coating on the paper. When heated, the inks fuse into the fabric and become part of it, rendering the image permanent and washable.

'Easter Bonnet' by Lesley Riley. Lesley used TAP and paints to
create this charming vignette, perfect for a photo memory quilt.

TAP works on all types of fabric plus paper, leather, and more. And, you can draw and paint on TAP using inks and acrylics, markers, and pencil. In the April/May 2009 issue of Quilting Arts, TAP developer and fiber artist Lesley Riley explained how to use TAP with other supplies to enhance your custom quilts and other fiber art.

For example, in the "Easter Bonnet" sample shown here, she painted a sheet of TAP with Golden® fluid acrylic and used Portfolio Series® oil pastels to create the lawn area. On a separate sheet of TAP, she printed a photo and some bird ephemera. After trimming the excess white areas around the images, Lesley used a glue stick to tack the images in place over the painted background, flipped it over, and ironed the composition onto fabric.

When you want to turn treasured photos and drawings into memory quilts, or just want to transfer an image onto fabric to use as a focal point or tell a story, I definitely recommend TAP.

In upcoming issues of Quilting Arts, we have articles on how to transfer your paintings onto fabric with fusible web and gallery quilts using photo transfers. You won't want to miss anything, so be sure your subscription is up to date!

P.S. How do you prefer to make photo transfers? Leave your tips below.

How to Choose Photos for Compelling Photo Quilts

Vivika_Blog — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 05:45:00 GMT

Happy New Year! I hope all of you got a chance during the holidays to spend some time with family and friends. I did, and I loved it.

In the coming year, I hope to spend more time focused on the things I am most passionate about, and my family and my creative pursuits top the list. Maybe I'll even combine the two, making a photo quilt!

'Friendship Mosaic,' 38" x 27", by Joan Sowada.
Fused and machine quilted photo quilt.

There are so many resources today that make it easier than ever to create a photo quilt or a photo-inspired quilt. Phone cameras and photo-editing software make it a cinch to create picture quilts with digital imagery. You can also scan old photos into your computer and print them onto treated fabric, using image transfer techniques to make a family photo quilt or an art quilt inspired by photos.

Choosing the right image is key, however. Joan Sowada, who is renowned for her photo-based art quilts, offered the following tips for selecting an inspiration photo in the June/July 2011 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.

Find a photo that speaks to you. Photos that speak to us will have most of the following attributes: good composition, value contrast (all the way from white to black), unusual perspective, something unexpected, natural light, and they tell a story.

Look at the photo upside down and squint. When you see a photo right side up and you think it is good, turn it upside down to be sure. Most likely you will notice lines that lead the eye, a repetition of shapes, and a pleasing balance.

Ask questions. If the photo is lacking in strong composition or value contrast, can it be fixed with artistic license? Can design elements be added or subtracted from the photo? Can the contrast be exaggerated? Can you compensate for lack of value contrast by using a stronger color? If you can answer yes to these questions, proceed.

Art quilter Susan Brubaker Knapp also uses photography in quilt design, using paint and stitching to enhance the image. She offers the following advice on how to choose a photo for quilt design on her Quilting Arts Workshop^TM video Dynamic Quilt Design: Paint Meets Stitch.

Susan Brubaker Knapp turned a photo of a plate of
cherries into a picture quilt with paint and stitch.

Work with your own photos. By using photos you took yourself, you avoid copyright infringement and can feel free to alter the images at will.

Avoid too much detail. Images with a busy background or too much going on in the foreground will be more difficult to turn into a dynamic photo quilt design.

Make sure there's a focal point. If the photo doesn't have a natural focal point, use photo-editing software to crop the image in a way that creates one.

I'll bet you have a lot of photos from the past year you could use as inspiration for a picture quilt, a photo quilt, or a photo-inspired art quilt. In her Workshop, Susan shows you step by step how to take your images from photo to art quilt. Download your copy of Dynamic Quilt Design today and learn how to create quilts that will keep your family, friends, and memories closer this year.

P.S. Do you have a favorite image you'd like to turn into a photo quilt? Describe it below, or better yet, include a link to the image.

Handmade Quilt Art - A Sisterhood Connected By Thread

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 03:04:00 GMT

Every Tuesday, the teams from Quilting Arts, Cloth Paper Scissors, and Stitch magazines gather in the common area of our office space for show and tell. Each week, we ooh and aah over projects big and small—from handmade quilts to encaustic experiments to toss pillow covers.

Handmade quilt by Mary Walter, 50" x 50".

Last week, Stitch technical editor Mary Walter brought in her latest quilt. Mary is a longtime quilt artist who also dyes her own fabric. The colors and design of this handmade quilt intrigued me. But I have to say that what really caught my eye was the hand quilting.

Mary explained her design, and why she used hand stitching, this way:

"This quilt was inspired by traditional Welsh Quilts. The leaf motif, the wool batting, and the heavier stitching thread are common Welsh elements used in their quilts. I loved the patina of the Welsh quilts and their unique quilting designs that seemed to be 'drawn' and then stitched.

"The freedom of this kind of stitching captures the intuitive joy of putting thread to fabric and letting the design evolve. I used commercial cotton and African fabrics, my stitch-resist dyed leaf fabric, wool batting, and size 8 perle cotton thread to portray the essence of the Welsh quilts that appeal to me."

Leaf and hand quilting detail.

Mary's hand quilting is not only beautiful, but it traces the thread back to the generations of our sisters (and some brothers) who taught each other how to quilt by hand. And, even though our weekly show and tell sessions at the office are brief, they echo the connection that all artists—particularly fiber artists—share.

Last summer I wrote about another kind of sharing among women: the support we give each other when one in our family or circle of friends is diagnosed with breast cancer. My sister, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, best friend, and many others in my near-and-dear circle have all battled breast cancer. And at some point, haven't we all wished we could do something about it?

This week, there is. To recognize National Breast Cancer Awareness month, I'm pleased to let you know that this week (through 11:59 PM MST on 10/5/12), 30% of all Quilting Daily Shop proceeds go to benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

I hope you'll take advantage of this opportunity to shop our wonderful array of products and help support the fight against breast cancer at the same time.

P.S. Help spread the word! We are providing free Facebook cover and Twitter header art for you to download and use. Get the art and the details here.

Make a Memory, Quilt for Hope and Support

Vivika_Blog — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:11:00 GMT

Sometimes fiber art is for art's sake: the joy of creating with color and texture. Sometimes, though, we imbue our artwork with meaning: memory quilts to honor a loved one's passing, journal quilts that recall special—and ordinary—days, story quilts that tell the world how you feel about an issue.

Prayer flag for my
friend Barb.

I have made several memory quilts over the years. But the tale of the prayer flag I made about a year ago for my Sisters in Cloth friend, Barb, who had just been diagnosed with breast cancer, is more uplifting.

Prayer flag detail.

I wanted this flag to reflect Barb, who demonstrated strength, positive energy, and thankfulness that her diagnosis was swift, her tumor was tiny and contained, and that her treatment would be bearable. Her resilience in the face of adversity has been admirable, and a lesson to all around her.

Don't we all have Sisters, though, who have been diagnosed with this terrible disease? My mother-in-law, sister-in-law, best friend, blood sister, and many others in my near-and-dear circle have all battled breast cancer. And at some point, haven't we all wished we could do something about it?

I was reminded of this particular prayer flag when I got a sneak peek of the September/October 2012 issue of our sister publication, Cloth Paper Scissors magazine.

Not only is this issue packed with fantastic examples of assemblage made from lightbulbs, found objects, and even store-bought vintage-esque items, the magazine is also supporting, remembering, and celebrating National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Artists Give Back artwork by (clockwise from top
left): Grace Mahoney, Kim Henkel, Paula Guhin,
and Nikki Smith.

In this very special issue, the Cloth Paper Scissors team is helping to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.® (NBCF). More than 30 artists—2012 contributors to Cloth Paper Scissors and Cloth Paper Scissors Studios magazines along with instructors from our 2012 CREATE Art Retreats—have donated works of art to help the cause.

Beginning later this month, you can join the fight against breast cancer by purchasing one of these original works of art from Cloth Paper Scissors's special Etsy store "Artists Give Back" at etsy.com/shop/CPSmagazine.

To learn more about this collaboration (and mixed-media art techniques), be sure to get this special issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. Now would be a perfect time to subscribe!

By the way, my friend Barb is doing fine. A sure sign, to me, that prayer flags work.

P.S. How have you used fiber art to support or memorialize a loved one? Leave your comment below, and include a link to an image of the artwork, if you have one.

How to Make a Quilt in Three Lessons

Quilting Daily — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:59:00 GMT

If I had to create a basic lesson plan for how to make a quilt it would be broken down into these three basic steps:

Step 1: Design.

Step 2: Stitch.

Step 3: Finish.

Of course a lot more goes on within those essential steps. But if you're new to art quilting or want to know more about these topics from the pros, I have an easy way for you to learn some tips and tricks. Quilting Daily has three free eBooks that you can download right now.

How to Quilt: 4 Free Projects to Learn How to Make a Quilt contains information from quilt artists Peggy Holt, Yvonne Porcella, Elin Waterston, Jane Davila, and Patricia Gaignat.

You'll learn how to make a quilt using a variety of materials, from unusual selections such as silk flowers and chiffon, to matching fabric and scraps from your stash.

You will even get quilting lessons on using paint and gesso in your quilt making. Plus at the same time, you'll receive basic quilting lessons for making a quilt binding, machine quilting, and fabric fusing.

In Free Motion Stitching: How to Make a Quilt, 67 Machine Stitching Tips and Motifs, renowned experts Frieda Anderson and Robbi Joy Eklow offer their best advice, including quilting tips for beginners (Quilting 101), machine quilting, stippling quilting, as well as patterns for success.

We've also included motifs that invite a closer look, using variegated threads for machine quilting, tips for filling in borders, and how to combine free motion quilting patterns.

Whether you're new to machine quilting or you're eager to make custom quilts, you'll find loads of useful advice in this free downloadable eBook.

Finally, put it all together with How to Bind a Quilt: 12 New Quilt Binding and Finishing Methods for Your Art Quilts. In this free downloadable eBook, experts Sarah Ann Smith, Sherrie Spangler, Terry Grant, and Lyric Kinard offer quilting instructions that will lead you through the process of binding a quilt with beautifully creative results.

From framing your handmade quilts to quilting instructions for bias bindings and satin stitching, to raw wraps, double-fold bias quilt binding and gallery wrapped canvas techniques, this eBook has it all!

P.S. Do you have friends who would benefit from these expert quilting lessons? Forward these links to them so they can download their own free eBooks from Quilting Daily.

Learn How to Quilt with Four Free Projects

Quilting Daily — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 09:14:00 GMT

Quilt making doesn't have to be complex, with hours of cutting, piecing, and sewing tiny seams.

In this free eBook, How to Quilt: 4 Free Projects to Learn How to Make a Quilt, you'll learn how to quilt using fabric scraps, craft-store flowers, a fish, and canvas and paint.

At the same time, you'll receive basic quilting lessons for making a quilt binding, machine quilting, and fabric fusing.

You'll even learn how to make a quilt in two different ways using the same theme and dimensions.

In "Transformation: From Crafty Silk Flower to Sheer Sensation," Peggy Holt shows how to make a quilt using sheer fabrics and flowers, from choosing the materials to designing, quilting, and binding.

Yvonne Porcella gives a lesson in how to make a quilt that reflects you and your personality in "Creative Self-Portraits." You'll learn about fused appliqué, making a quilt sandwich, and binding.


Learn how to make a self-portrait quilt from award-winning artist Yvonne Porcella.

Friends and frequent collaborators Jane Dávila and Elin Waterston show how, armed with the same parameters for making a quilt, two people can come up with completely different designs in "Take 2: Two Quilt Artists Share Their Unique Approaches to a Fishy Subject."

And in "Stitched Layers," Patricia Gaignat shows how to make a mixed-media journal quilt using canvas, paint, machine stitching, hand stitching, and embellishments.

How to Quilt: 4 Free Projects to Learn How to Make a Quilt, is filled with quilting tips from expert art quilters.

You'll be able to use these quilt projects to learn how to make a quilt that is a unique work of art, as individual as you are.

Enjoy!

P.S. Do you have friends who like to make quilts? Forward this link to them so they can download their own copy of How to Quilt: 4 Free Projects to Learn How to Make a Quilt, right now.

5 Ways to Create Your Own Handmade Quilts

Quilting Daily — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:09:00 GMT

To anyone who loves fabric and thread, making a handmade quilt is often the ultimate creative experience. The contemplative act of hand quilting--needle moving rhythmically over and under fabric--is a pleasure even for those who primarily rely on machine quilting enjoy.

But you don't have to know how to quilt by hand to create a handmade, quilted piece. Many contemporary art quilters add hand quilting and embroidery to their fabric art. The hand stitching lends a personal touch to a handcrafted quilt.

In our free eBook, Create Your Own Handmade Quilts: 5 Hand Quilting Techniques from Quilting Daily, we give you five different takes on making handmade quilts.

In Art Quilting Made Easy, Lesley Riley shows how you can make a simple yet beautiful homemade quilt with a few simple tools. Lesley also describes how to hand quilt your piece in different ways to add dimension and interest.

If you enjoy a lot of hand stitching, you'll love Ellen Scott's technique for using stitching, scraps, and small embellishments to make a colorful narrative homemade quilt. In Painting with Thread, Stitching a Story, Ellen shows how this kind of quilt's handmade appearance gives it a homespun, heartfelt quality.

Sylvia Naylor's homemade quilts are literally that: quilts depicting homes through fabric collage. The unique design method she describes in Home Free begins with paper collage is easy to follow, especially if you think you "can't draw."

Another easy way to begin making handcrafted quilts is by starting small and using materials you have on hand, like Natalya Aikens does in Go Green: Eco-friendly Journal Quilting Techniques. Using her guidelines for making small, weekly handmade quilts with recycled materials will give you the freedom to have fun and experiment.

If you'd rather skip a lot of the functional sewing and focus on hand quilting the details, or simply don't have that much time to sew, Laura Wasilowski offers a step-by-step guide to fusing quilts in Fusing 101. Her lesson includes a project for you to use your newfound fusing skills to make your own handcrafted quilt.

So you can see, no matter what your interest, downloading Create Your Own Handmade Quilts: 5 Hand Quilting Techniques from Quilting Daily will give you the tools and inspiration you need to create your own handmade quilts.

P.S. Do you have friends who like to make handmade quilts? Forward this link to them so they can download their own free copy of Create Your Own Handmade Quilts: 5 Hand Quilting Techniques from Quilting Daily.

Download 5 Innovative Techniques for Making Memory Quilts -- Free!

Quilting Daily — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:08:00 GMT

Quilts have long been associated with special moments and memories--even the nontraditional, custom quilts made by art quilters. At Quilting Arts, we're known for our innovative approach to quilting, so of course we wanted to think of how we could enliven the concept of a memory quilt and let you in on the creative fun.

In this free eBook, Making Memory Quilts And Personalized Quilts: 5 memory quilt ideas from Quilting Arts, we've assembled some of our favorite articles from past issues of Quilting Arts Magazine that incorporate personal images, writings, and mementos in artful and unusual ways.

First, Margaret Applin takes a playful approach to personalized quilts by using fabric collage to create vibrant, colorful journal quilts. Next Wen Redmond shows how to create holographic effects with depth by layering your personal images on fabric in an interesting and purposeful fashion.

If you are a budding art quilter wanting to create a small memory quilt and have a stash of buttons, bits of lace, jewelry parts, or old photos laying around, be sure to read Judy Murrah's directions for creating small memory narratives to cherish for years to come.

Alisa Burke, formally trained as a painter, takes her fine art skills to the sewing machine to create thread-sketched and graffiti-style canvas books that are perfect for adapting to a personalized quilt full of family photos.

Lastly, if you're interested in blending mixed media with stitch to make a memory quilt, you'll definitely want to check out Patricia Gaignat's stitched layers with canvas, gesso, and fabric!

So, grab your photos, collage supplies, and sewing machine, download your free copy of Making Memory Quilts And Personalized Quilts: 5 memory quilt ideas from Quilting Arts, and discover how to make a quilt with your cherished memories.

P.S. Do you know other artists who enjoy making memory quilts? Forward this link to them so they can download their own free copy of Making Memory Quilts And Personalized Quilts: 5 memory quilt ideas from Quilting Arts today!

Art Books I Can't Live Without

Quilting Daily — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:22:00 GMT

I love to read: fiction, non-fiction, romance, instruction--you name it. And I love it when other hardcore readers suggest books they love and think I would enjoy, too.

So today, I thought I'd give you a list of some of my favorite books of the art and craft variety, the ones I have on my studio shelf and a few I don't have yet but plan to get for future enjoyment.

Many of them I'm sure you've heard of, but I'm bringing them to your attention today because I don't want you to miss out on a great opportunity to get these must-have books at a terrific discount during Interweave's annual Hurt Book Sale.

These books are just a little bit injured--a bent cover here, a dusty page there there--but they are deeply discounted, some as much as 75% of the list price.

		The Surface Designer's Handbook: Dyeing, Printing, Painting, and Creating Resists on Fabric, by Holly Brackmann. This is truly is the bible of dyeing and surface design for artists of all levels.Holly tells you everything you need to know about dyes, dyeing, and printing techniques, and how to apply them to different fabrics for unique results.
		Creative Quilting: The Journal Quilt Project, edited by Karey Patterson Bresenhan. Every time I look at these 400 quilts culled from the Journal Quilt Project--and I've looked at them a lot--I see techniques, ideas, and stories I never noticed before. If you need a new approach to a quilt design or want to see how another art quilter expressed herself through art, this is the go-to book.
		Bags With Paper And Stitch: Innovative Surface Techniques for Embellishing Bags by Isobel Hall. This book really expands the creative mind! Isobel explores so many unusual materials for making stitchable paper, including silk cocoon strippings, linen, flax, merino, and paper clay. Then she embellishes those papers with found objects, embossing enamels, and metals, plus embroidery techniques.
		Mixed Media Explorations: Blending Paper, Fabric and Embellishment to Create Inspired Designs by Beryl Taylor. I return to Beryl's techniques for turning the mundane into the extraordinary again and again. This book is a must-have for anyone who wants to explore the possibilities of combining quilting, creative embroidery, and paper art.

As I was going through the list of books available during the Hurt Book sale, a couple caught my eye that I would love to have for that date, sometime in the future, when I have time to branch out into the world of yarn. I've been intrigued by the crocheted handiwork of Quilting Arts Assistant Editor Pippa Eccles, so I wouldn't mind having Getting Started Crochet on my shelf. I'm curious to see how I might use my stash of novelty yarns and ribbons to make a crocheted scarf or even an interesting edging.

And, if anything was going to prompt me to learn to knit, it would have to be Dogs in Knits: 17 Projects for Our Best Friends by Judith L. Swartz. My ever-shivering Italian Greyhound, Maggie, would love a wardrobe of sweaters, I'm sure.

What are the art instruction books you can't live without? Leave a comment below.

Download Now: 6 Image Transfer Techniques for your Art Quilts

Quilting Daily — Thu, 27 May 2010 09:33:00 GMT

Digital technology has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for designing art quilts. Whether you want to apply image transfer techniques to make a photo memory quilt, use digital imagery to make abstract designs, or a combination, we'll show you how to make a quilt with photos when you download our FREE eBook: How to Make Photo Quilts with Quilting Arts: 6 Image Transfer Techniques for your Art Quilts.

In this downloadable eBook from Quilting Arts, you'll discover a number of creative techniques and tips for artfully incorporating images into your quilts. Are you planning a memory quilt and want to give your photographs or images a vintage look? Try Lesley Riley's easy and fun technique for transferring images to fabric. Or maybe you'd like to design and create your very own colorful fabrics but don't want to invest in the cost of painting or dyeing supplies. Diane Doran shows that it's a cinch to digitally alter images to create colorful cloth by simply using your home computer and printer.

Or perhaps you'd like to make an abstract photo quilt depicting an urban or countryside scene, but don't know where to begin. In How to Make Photo Quilts with Quilting Arts: 6 Image Transfer Techniques for your Art Quilts, Marie Roper shares her methods for creating unique, embellished landscape pieces. Plus, Pamela Price Klebaum illustrates a playful approach to enhancing your digital fabrics with stamps to create unique quilted imagery while Mary Anne Tipple explores how to make a photo quilt incorporating large-scale photographs. Finally, Ginny Eckley gives tips on several surface design techniques to make photo quilts, including inkjet printing on pretreated fabric to achieve sharp, crisp images.

It's so satisfying to turn your photos into quilted imagery. So download How to Make Photo Quilts with Quilting Arts: 6 Image Transfer Techniques for your Art Quilts now for free and get ready to play!

P.S. Perhaps you have friends who are eager to use digital imagery in their quilts. Send them this link so they can download their own free copy of How to Make Photo Quilts with Quilting Arts: 6 Image Transfer Techniques for your Art Quilts today!

Get 12 Free Quilt Binding and Finishing Methods

Quilting Daily — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:11:00 GMT

Is your studio harboring a heap of unfinished art quilts, just begging to be completed so they can be released and appreciated by the greater world? Not to worry, How to Bind a Quilt: 12 NEW Quilt Binding and Finishing Methods for Your Art Quilts has come to the rescue! Inside this free, downloadable book you'll find 12 creative-yet easy-techniques for finishing and binding a quilt.

This free eBook from Quilting Arts contains quilting ideas from experts on how to bind a quilt or finish it with stitching, mounting, or framing that you can use whether you are just learning how to make quilts or have been creating custom quilts for years. With detailed, color pictures and the expertise of seasoned art quilters, you will learn how to make a quilt look professional and gallery-ready.

Sarah Ann Smith shows a few finishing techniques, including how simple it is to create a perfect quilt binding for tops with curved edges. Sherrie Spangler cleverly demonstrates a nontraditional method for framing a quilt top simply by stitching it on top of a backing fabric with raw edges.

Terry Grant has come up with a smart (and simple) way to finish those small handmade quilts and have their corners stay clean and neat. And Lyric Kinard lends her art and design expertise and offers several methods for presenting and mounting your quilt projects so that they shine.

Whether quilt making is a hobby you share with friends or you aspire to win awards in quilt shows, you will love being able to refer to your free download of 12 NEW Quilt Binding and Finishing Methods for Your Art Quilts again and again.

P.S. Do you have friends who are looking for quilting instructions and inspiration for finishing and binding? Forward this link to them now so they can download their own copies of 12 NEW Quilt Binding and Finishing Methods for Your Art Quilts.

Especially for You: Six Issues of Quilting Arts on CD

Quilting Daily — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:24:00 GMT

I have an uncanny (some on my staff would say freaky) ability to remember exactly what artist's article appeared in which issue of Quilting Arts, going back to the very first issue nearly 10 years ago. And up until recently, I've been able to put my hand on the printed page more quickly than anyone else can look it up on their computer.

But now, with the debut of our first Quilting Arts Magazine Collection on CD, anyone with a computer can access all six back issues from 2008 and find exactly the article they need in no time.

Think of it: You can skip from poring over Hollis Chatelain's intensely thread-painted quilts in the December/January issue to learning how to apply the principles of digital design to your quilting in the June/July and August/September issues with just a few clicks.

You could zoom in on Margaret Applin's experiments with fabric, paper, paint, and collage journaling techniques in "Scrap Wisdom, Collage Journal Quilting" in the October/ November issue and then click over to a technique for combining needle felting with mixed-media techniques. Learn to carve your own stamps in the April/May issue and then zip over to the August/September issue and discover from Rayna Gillman how deconstructed screenprinting is a no-worry way to work with dyes.

The issues you see on the Quilting Arts Magazine Collection 2008 CD are exactly as they were printed in 2008, from cover to cover. They're electronic versions with easy-to-navigate tabs that let you find what you're looking for quickly and jump around within the magazine or between issues. You can scroll down to see the issue from beginning to end if you prefer, and even zoom in on the page to get a closer look at the stitching, surface design, and text.

The Quilting Arts Magazine Collection 2008 CD takes up less space than six printed issues, and it's an economical way to purchase back issues.

The only downside I can see is that I won't be the only one who can find past articles with lightning speed. But I can handle it.

Improve Your Machine Stitching Skills Now with Free Tips

Quilting Daily — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:16:00 GMT

When quilts come into our offices for photographing or I visit a quilt show or gallery, I always study the stitching. The patterns, the variation of the motifs, the intricacy of the stitching always fascinates me. Observing the work of expert stitchers fills me with admiration and also sends me flying to my sewing machine so I can practice new motifs and stitching rhythms.

Makers of custom quilts and people who want to learn how to make a quilt, here is an invaluable resource on free-motion stitching: Free-Motion Machine Quilting - How to Make a Quilt: 67 Machine Stitching Tips and Motifs.

In this FREE eBook, we've gathered 67 exercises, quilt tips, techniques, and motifs to make free-motion quilting fun and enjoyable for you.

The instruction here is like a Quilting 101 course on how to make a quilt for beginners; experienced quilters will appreciate all the tips and tricks for improving their free-motion quilting skills.

In this handy reference guide, two highly respected quilt artists, Frieda Anderson and Robbi Joy Eklow, share their knowledge and expertise for successful free-motion quilting. This eBook is jam-packed with quilt making advice, including quilting tips for beginners, machine quilting, stippling quilting, as well as patterns for success, motifs that invite a closer look, tips for filling in borders, how to combine patterns, and quilting ideas for using variegated threads for machine quilting.

Whether you're new to machine quilting or you're eager to make a custom quilt, you'll find tons of useful advice in this booklet.

Here's what some of our QA Community members are saying about Free-Motion Machine Quilting - How to Make a Quilt: 67 Machine Stitching Tips and Motifs:

"Thank you so much [for this free eBook]! I just took a free-motion class a couple of weeks ago, and this is the perfect follow-up to keep me practising and perfecting my quilting!" -- SomethingLisa

"Thank you! Many good basics explained with clear picture examples." -- Prarierose8

"Thank you for this eBook full of great tips!" -- geni

Why wait to improve your free-motion quilting skills? Download Quilting Arts presents Free-Motion Quilting-How to Make a Quilt: 67 Machine Stitching Tips and Motifs now.

Do you have friends who stitch? Forward this link to them now so they may download their own copy of Free-Motion Quilting-How to Make a Quilt: 67 Machine Stitching Tips and Motifs eBook, absolutely free.

Top Quilting Techniques Are Rewarded

Pokey — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:41:00 GMT

Maria Elkins couldn’t wait to tell us the news, and no wonder. A few weeks ago, the International Quilt Association (IQA) notified her that two of her most recent quilts each won a category award in the fall Judged Show of the International Quilt Association’s, “Quilts: A World of Beauty.”

Well, guess what? She won second place in the Art-People, Portraits, and Figures category for "Broken Dishes" and honorable mention in the Art-Miniature category sponsored by Quilting Arts for "The Violinist." Great news, Maria!

Maria, along with other quilters who entered this year’s IQA judged show, found out what they’d won at the annual “Winner’s Circle” awards ceremony that took place Tuesday, October 13, just before the International Quilt Festival opened at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.

Maria is famous for her portrait quilts, including a series of page-sized quilts she has made for the Journal Quilt Project over the years. I had the pleasure of watching Maria at work when she taped an episode of "Quilting Arts TV" in Season 4, and also a Quilting Arts Workshop DVD, "Making Faces." It's fascinating to see how she turns a photo into a portrait design with fused appliqué, then applies machine stitching to enhance the curves of the face and body. Maria is truly a master of the form.

"I made ‘Violinist’ as a sample for my Quilting Arts Workshop DVD ‘Making Faces’ and used a variation on that same technique for ‘Broken Dishes,’ so thank you for inviting me to tape that Workshop,” Maria says.

"I was originally drawn into quilting by the strong geometric patterns and the fanciful quilt names. Many times I would look at a traditional quilt block and try to figure out why it got its name. The 'Broken Dishes' quilt block is one of those blocks I would let my mind ramble over, and I always imagined a loving, tender moment of forgiveness and acceptance between mother and daughter.

"The image has easily been in my mind for 10 years, and I'm so glad I finally had the opportunity to make it. This quilt is entirely fused appliqué, even the 'pieced' blocks in the background. The large circle is stenciled over the top, and silk organza circles are fused on top. The figures are also fused appliqué using a modified version of the beginner's technique described in my 'Making Faces' Workshop.

"'Violinist' is an interpretation of my oldest daughter, Lydia, who has been playing violin for about 15 years. She loves improvisation, letting the music go where it wills. I love watching the dreamy expression on her face when she's playing. Absolute bliss!"

To see more of Maria’s style of quilting, check out her QA Workshop, “Making Faces: Beginning and Advanced Portraits."

Of course, Maria wasn't the only winner here in Houston. Just being accepted into IQA's Judged Show is an honor, and all the quilts are amazing. But the top eight prize winners in the "Quilts: A World of Beauty" exhibit blew everyone away. If you're not at the show, you can see those quilts in our special new magazine International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene. This special issue from Quilting Arts Magazine and International Quilt Festival captures the energy, beauty, and community of today's quilt scene, and commemorates the 35th anniversary of International Quilt Festival/Houston. We are so thrilled to be a part of it! If you're reading this and you're coming to the show, be sure to stop by our booth, #1244, for a special Quilt Scene Photo Op. Get the details and times here.

Speaking of which, I'm wanted on the show floor. I'll be reporting more of the festivities on Facebook, Twitter, and my Editor's blog, so stay tuned!

Pokey