Back to Quilting

Posted on September 14, 2013 by edges

: Transparency Quilt

I started this quilt for my great-nephew weeks and weeks ago. But, of course, life gets in the way. Thankfully, he won’t arrive until sometime early November. But this week, I got it pin-basted and quilted. I am really liking the look of this quilt as it is very simple, yet sophisticated.

The baby’s room is grey, and the parents are not really into “baby-cutesy”, so I think this will work.

The quilting is very simple , with an overall pattern of horizontal stippling. While I really love some of the very intensive, complicated quilting that is really popular these days, I also think there’s a time and a place for simplicity….and this quilt needed simplicity.

Getting started with machine quilting.

Have to say, I love Machingers for machine quilting. I’ll never go back to any other type of gloves for control and gripping. They also keep my hands very cool, which can be a big deal. No one wants to work up a sweat while machine quilting.

Also big on my list is the Bernina Stitch Regulator. Whatever your quilting skill level, this adds an ease that I have just come to appreciate. I can go at any speed and have the stitches be consistent every time. Now, I have done enough machine quilting that I don’t necessarily need the stitch regulator, but I have found that it makes the job so much easier on me. My shoulders don’t hunch quite as much. And I go way faster because the size of the stitch is not a struggle.

Quilting is finished. Pattern by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr from their new book, “Transparency Quilts”.

Finally, I used a bias binding, as I want this quilt for my great-nephew to last a long time. Bias binding has more fibers running along the edge of the quilt, so it will handle more washings, more rubbing, more overall use. I always stitch the back of the binding by hand. I’m not one to use the machine for this final touch. I’m not even sure why, except that I love the feel of hand-binding, I love the look, and I think it adds a touch of hand-sewn love to every quilt.

All that’s left at this point is a quilt label for my great-nephew.

Well that’s a lot of black and white for one blog post, even though I am a big fan of black and white.

So here’s a finished pic of the fall placemats. They are colorful, completed and set up on the table.

Happy Stitching!

Singer Featherweight in the House

Posted on September 8, 2013 by edges

Oops I did it again.

I bought a sewing machine.

But this one is cute.

1934 Singer Featherweight

This one has a beautiful straight stitch, comes with its own case and accessories, and similar machines are owned by millions of people.

But this one is from 1934. That’s one year after they started making them in 1933. These crazy little reliable sewing machines were made in virtually the same design from 1933 to sometime in the sixties. They can be looked up by date by checking their serial number on the bottom. Older Singer Featherweights are worth a little more, but a lot depends on the condition. This one has some wear and tear from use, but I would guess that’s to be expected. I have some wear and tear from use and I was not born in 1934.

Featherweights really still hold charm in the eyes of many sewists. Without any gimmicks or heavy duty electronics, these little machines just keep going. And going. Parts for them are readily available on the market. Resale value still holds. Collectors are all still interested. Some things just never appear to lose their value.

More Paintings

Posted on September 2, 2013 by edges

I painted both of these…probably 20 years apart. One was from a place I had actually visited, and the other from a postcard.

Can you tell which is which?

Maybe it’s obvious to you. It is to me.

I worked hard on both of them. One is a study in nature, the other…a study in nature. If you’ve ever painted, you know that when you are in the middle of a painting, you are in that location. You have to be. Whether it is coming from your imagination, or from a picture, or whether it was your experience in real life, at the moment that you are painting, you are there.

It would explain why I love to paint landscapes, scenes of tranquility or astounding beauty. Whether I am in that location or not, I have most certainly traveled there in my mind.

But a painting done from life experience almost always has more courage. It is more expressive, and usually more emotional. It may not be the best at capturing details but it captures a moment. And, on a good day, lets the viewer in on the wonder.

Ready for the answer? I gave enough hints. I’m sure you know by now.

The top one was from our honeymoon in Hawaii. I dragged my not-a-morning-person newlywed husband out over a bluff along the shore in Kauai. We sat together in the dark, listened to the relentless surge of the ocean and watched the sun come up. It turned out to be a stunning display, becoming more brilliant with every passing moment.

The other is a painting I did a few years after high school, from a lovely postcard. I don’t really even know the exact location. Wyoming, maybe? But I do love the mountains and so painting it was joyful.

Which is the better painting?

Well. I leave that up to you.

Chicago Botanic Garden

Posted on August 19, 2013 by edges

This week I went to Chicago Botanic Gardens. It was on my list of things to do this summer and I’m just squeezing it in under the wire before school starts. I went alone.

And what a joy.

Can you see the hummingbird?

How did I live here all my life and not spend time in these gardens? Actually, I was here once before about 20 years ago. I was managing a photo shoot and was overwhelmed by the work. Were the models on time? Was the photographer happy? (Because there’s nothing like a photo shoot with an unhappy, temperamental, egocentric photographer.) Was the merchandise correctly displayed? Were we on time and on budget? Would the weather hold? I can barely remember the scenery.

But this time was a different story. I strolled. I took pictures. I contemplated. I noticed.

It was lovely.

A few pictures to share.

Gaining Perspective

Posted on August 11, 2013 by edges

My husband is an astrophotographer. This photo of Andromeda was taken August 11 in the early morning hours.

Taking pictures of extraterrestial objects is far more difficult than it looks. Timed exposures of the sky have to account for the crazy, spinning, wobbling rotation of the earth. And the more I learn about that, the more grateful I am for gravity which keeps us all from being thrown wildly off into space. So you have to program a camera to turn at the exact same speed as the rotation of the earth or your pics are fuzzy. Micrometers matter. Milliseconds matter.

They do make telescope mounts that can be programmed, but let me tell you…they are not cheap or easy to use. It helps to have some technical background and the persistence to experiment , fail, and try again. And again. And again.

Andromeda is 2.5 million light years away. Reminder: One light year, for those of us who need a refresher in middle school science, is the distance light travels in one year. The speed of light is 186,000 miles a second.

Yeah.

The numbers are mind-blowing and therefore add some perspective to our pitiful existence. We are minutiae in the universe. A petri dish in the back of God’s refrigerator.

And let’s not even get into the idea of quantum physics–in which case, our viewing of Andromeda may cause it to change properties.

So, once in awhile I step back and contemplate the universe. My problems look so small. And yet, I’m here to look. I’m here to observe, to draw conclusions and to appreciate what I see. I don’t ever expect to understand the mystery of all this. But the older I get, the more comfortable I am with mystery.

I don’t know. You don’t know. No one knows.

And I guess that puts us all on even footing–on one small planet at the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy.

O the Weather Outside is Frightful

Posted on August 7, 2013 by edges

Table runner with text on a path, applique, free standing lace and an embroidery from the new collection Urban Doodles: Lilies with Spheres.

Not really. The weather outside is not frightful at all. In fact it’s quite delightful.

However, in the world of quilting and embroidery, we’re already thinking ahead to fall and winter and gearing up for the holidays. If I waited to start my fall quilting projects until it’s really fall, I’d never get them finished on time. So, we quilters and embroiderers start getting excited about new holiday fabric right about now.

This particular project involved embroidery text set on a path. This month in the August Software Sampler, Amanda Whitlatch will cover all of this in detail and much more, so be sure to visit Sew Generously or your local Bernina dealer to attend or find out more.

Using V6 embroidery software, go into Art Canvas and set up a vector shape for the text to follow. See below. You don’t have to use a spiral, you can create a freehand line, or use a rectangle or another shape. I just had some fun with the spiral.

Next, click the text icon on the left, then go to the text menu and click “Fit Text to Path” . Type in your text. Select all. Then click the icon on the left that says “Convert text to embroidery.” This will open embroidery canvas, and your text will be converted.

Be sure to check your text to make sure it is large enough to stitch out properly. You can always increase the size, but at this point it will be treated as a graphic and not as text.

I want to create a couple of mug rugs to match the table runner using this text below.

Have a little fun with this, and be sure to visit your local quilt shops soon.

The Northern Illinois Quilt Shop Hop is still on until the end of August.

You can still enter drawings, get 15% off your purchases, and best of all, most of the shops now have the newest holiday fabrics in store! So start planning your projects– because as soon as the kids are back in school and that first North Wind begins to blow, we both know you’ll be itching to get behind that sewing machine!

Pour It On

Posted on August 2, 2013 by edges

We had a garage session yesterday. And when we were done we had art.

Here’s all it takes. Some unstretched canvas. We got ours at the Art Box in Geneva.

Side note: The owner is very talented. I love the direction his art is taking lately. His shop is both a studio and art supply store. I believe he also teaches. Ironically, his shop is right across from the Egg Harbor Cafe. So many good things are located near an Egg Harbor Cafe!!

Anyway, you’ll need unstretched canvas and Golden liquid acrylics (which can be purchased at Blick’s in Wheaton.)

That’s it. And water.

I want to give a shout out to Alyce from Fine Line Creative in St. Charles. I took a class with her and learned this technique and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning to do poured paintings. She is a lovely woman, and has the patience of a saint.

As you can see, kids love this technique. It’s very freeing. Here’s the dialogue running through my son’s head: “Oh that is so cool. I see an angel, with people all around. Wow, look at that, now I see a witch and spooky clouds. This is so COOL!”

Adults, here’s the dialogue that runs through our head: “That is so cool. Oh but we’re wasting a lot of canvas, and look that expensive paint is just running down and we’ll have to throw it out, and oh maybe I shouldn’t put that here and what if I ruin it? Maybe the purple is too dark and where do I start and what if I just make a mess.”

I remember a woman in the class who was paralyzed by the blank sheet. She stood holding her paint over it for what seemed like hours, trying to talk herself into letting go. She didn’t know where to begin.

The beauty of this process is that the artist is not entirely responsible for what is created. The paint plays a role which you absolutely cannot control or predict.

That takes a huge burden off of us. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I don’t have to be perfect. Paint does what it does. I can’t control it, I don’t want to control it. If it’s beautiful, then, look what happened? If it’s ugly, then, eew, look what happened.

I love this technique and invite you to try it sometime. No pressure. Just art.

The View from the Second Balcony

Posted on July 30, 2013 by edges

As I have been working on a quilt for my great-nephew, I can’t help but think about my own great aunts — whatever few of them I have known.

They were bit players. In fact, if I am on the stage of my own life, my great aunts were not in orchestra seats. Not even Main Floor or Mezzanine. They were in the Second Balcony. I could barely see them.

But they were up there applauding.

Aunt Julie, my maternal Grandma’s youngest sister was possibly the sweetest woman I’d ever known. I can’t picture her face without a lovely smile. I never saw her when she wasn’t smiling — at least at me. Her daughter died of a heart attack at the age of 27, leaving behind a young daughter of her own. I couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 at the time.

I also had a Great Great Aunt. My paternal great-grandmother’s sister. Very Polish. She lived near 26th and California and if you know anything about Chicago, you know that even 40 years ago that neighborhood was very old. Every time we climbed that long wooden staircase above the sidewalk up to the front door, I feared it might collapse.

When she saw me, she smiled and dug into her weathered coin purse to slip me a few coins.

“You get ice cream,” she said in her heavy accent, smiling as she pressed the money into my hand.

I have tried many times to explain to my son that there are many people in this world who love him, whose names he doesn’t even know. They include extended family and friends, neighbors, my husband’s father’s wife’s family (it sounds more complicated than it is), our parents’ friends, and on and on.

Now it’s time for me to be the Great Aunt, separated by a couple of generations. Second Balcony, here I come.

And I’ll be applauding so wildly I just might fall off.

Color scheme for the baby’s room is grey. This pattern comes from a new book by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr, “Transparency Quilts”.

I Should Be Quilting

Posted on July 21, 2013 by edges

Yes. I should be quilting. I should be quilting because my nephew and his wife are going to have a baby that’s due in November and I am making them a quilt to match the baby’s room. (I’ll be posting that as soon as I actually begin.)

But the midwestern harvest is coming in and I spent the morning gathering radishes, onions, shallots, zucchini, and cabbage. The local farm tells me tomatoes are still 2 weeks away here. I am excited because for the first year in a long time, my tomatoes (knock on wood) are looking good. Last year I had thousands of cherry tomatoes, but not much luck with heirlooms and plum tomatoes. This year, all seem to be thriving– God willing, the critters stay away and the creek don’t rise.

So instead of quilting I have been sucked into a cookbook by Ina Garten that I got at Costco.

The book is called “Fooproof.”

Now, let’s be honest, we’re all friends here. This woman, with her “traditional build,” as Alexander McCall Smith would call it, has got to be a good cook.

I bought a box of her brownie mix once and I remember the instructions (and I’m paraphrasing/recalling):

Take the brownies out of the oven when I tell you. Do not wait until they appear to be done. By then it’s too late. Just DO WHAT I TELL YOU.

I like her.

Needless to say, they were about the best brownies out of a box that I ever tasted. Ever.

So I went ahead and made the crostini which you can see on the cover of her book.

Here’s what’s left by the time I got my camera. My husband is a big fan of bruschetta, but this was more of an elegant appetizer…and between the two of us we polished it off quick.

I was using tomatoes from the French Market in Geneva and some golden cherry tomatoes from HPM Farm in St. Charles. Picked some shallots from my garden with fresh basil and a few other local ingredients. Can’t say this was the easiest appetizer I ever made, but hands down one of the tastiest.

Please don’t nag. I know I should be sewing. But it’s mid-July and the veggies are so fresh, and the eating is so good. And thunderstorms at night mean it’s not a good idea to plug in the sewing machine.

Hey-there’s a sewing tip for the day! Unplug your machine when you’re not using it. You will save yourself a whole lot of heartache if you have a power surge or brown out. In fact, even when you are using it, you should have it at least plugged into a surge protector, or even better, an uninterruptable power supply. Either one will sacrifice itself to save your machine.

Think I’ll go bring in my onions which are out drying in the sun. And prune the roses. Weed the garden. Fill the bird feeders and go for a little walk.

I KNOW. I’ll get to the sewing room soon.

I promise.

Introducing Local Artisans

Posted on July 15, 2013 by edges

I love craftsmanship. I love everything about the details of beautiful work that is not manufactured by some mindless, soulless company. I admire craftspeople because of their dedication to their craft, and their inability to produce something that is beneath their standards for excellence.

In this country, we see far too little of it, and we are always so anxious to purchase something cheap and fast. And when it breaks, or simply stops working, we are fine with throwing it away, tossing it into a landfill and forgetting we ever spent our hard-earned money on it.

The older I get, the more I appreciate slow. Slow food, slow information, slow, thoughtful work. And by slow, of course, I mean, the things that take a little time to create. I mean the things that take our hands, hearts, minds and skills.

The following are three local artisans we recently showcased at Sew Generously. Please take a look at their work and consider purchasing something they have made with their minds, hands and hearts. I’ve met each of them in person (well, I met Bill’s wife) and they are all lovely people with a dedication to quality.

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Robert and Paula Briick – www.bbbriick.com

They make innovative organizers for quilters, including quilt racks and ruler holders, and their design is so simple and clean, I ask myself, why didn’t I think of that? And of course, that’s what makes them special.

Robert and Paula Briick. I bought one of their quilt ruler holders for the wall.

Email them at builtbybriick@bbbriick.com

or call 1-877-858-5859

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Bill Williams works in exotic woods, and hand turns handles for seam rippers, pens and other tools. His work is shown here by his wife, Susan.

Susan Williams, wife of Bill Williams, Wood Craftsman.

A close-up of these hand-turned seam rippers. The exotic woods are gorgeous. I bought the one on the left. It was made of the same type of wood that was put into the dashboards of the original Rolls Royce.

These can be made to order. For more info call Bill or Susan Williams 630-377-9351.

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Gretchen Friel is an author who wrote the book, “Coffee Break for Quilters: A Patchwork of Original Poems.” She is just a lovely person. A mom and breast cancer survivor, her poems are inspirational, spiritual, insightful and will resonate in the heart of anyone who sews or works with fabric.

Gretchen Friel, author, “Coffee Break for Quilters: A Patchwork of Original Poems”

Contact Gretchen at treedeckpublishing.com, or you can purchase the book at Sew Generously in St. Charles or on amazon.com.

Edgestitch

Sewing is life. Life is art.

Category Archives: Creativity