Art and Art Only

Posted on March 27, 2015 by edges

“Art and art only can cause violence to be set aside.” –Leo Tolstoy

For anyone with a child in the school system within the last 15 years, you know what STEM stands for: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math.

Experts (MANY experts) tell us that’s what all our children must be trained in, in order to move the country forward, in order to get jobs, in order to be successful.

Do you agree?

As for me, I have mixed feelings. No doubt, STEM provides key strengths for our kids to make a living in the future. No doubt, we all need these skills to build infrastructure, cure diseases, and solve problems. No doubt.

Where, then, in society, do we learn more subtle skills? Things like anger management, empathy, caring for one another, caring for the planet and the rest of the world around us? Or even less subtle skills like critical thinking, decision-making, morality, justice and local and global citizenship?

In the last election, only 12% of 18-30 year-olds even bothered to vote. I wonder what percentage of them own a smart phone. My guess is somewhat more than 12%.

“Art and art only can cause violence to be set aside.”

Tolstoy had a wide vision of art: literature, paintings, music, poetry, drama. Soft skills to say the least. Don’t get me wrong. I love doctors, scientists and engineers…(I’m married to one). But STEM is only useful when it is accompanied and partnered with creative thinking, creative expression, beauty, appreciation, and acceptance of our common humanity.

My embroidered tablecloth and fabric tulip vase. I ‘ll teach it at a Software Inspirations class.

What Have You Done With Machine Embroidery Lately?

Posted on March 13, 2015 by edges

I ask myself that all the time.

My latest project is one I’m doing for work, which will be for a class in April. It’s a part of Bernina’s Software Sampler presentation. I am stitching out a ring of 8 designs to be used (ultimately) on a tablecloth for a round table.

It’s far from complete, but I promise to show you when it’s done.

But what’s new in the home embroidery industry? Well, that’s where this gets interesting.

I have a few favorite sites that I visit, but I’ve noticed some trends and thought I’d share some of the best with you.

Urban Threads, always on the cutting edge (no pun intended) of embroidery, has a new Look Book out. You have to take a minute to browse…very fun stuff.

You’ll notice that lettering, in many forms, has re-emerged as one of the most popular uses for embroidery. I see this trend at work very often as well. Everyone wants an item that is personalized, whether that is for a wedding, or just a simple monogram, the birth of a baby, you name it.

Bernina has just released new, inexpensive software that lets you add lettering to any embroidery design or just create your own lettering in any true type font that you have loaded on your computer.

This is a big deal. In recent years, Bernina’s software with lettering had an entry price of over $1000. The new software, called Customizer, saves to any machine format and is available for under $250 at any local Bernina dealer. But, as I say, anyone with any type of embroidery machine can use this software. Find out more about it here.

And all you techies looking for something new and fun for your machine embroidery?

I found just the thing.

Janome has introduced an app for ipad or android that is called AcuDesign. It’s a $49.99 app. But before you get nervous about the price, you have to see all that it does:

–Comes with 500 designs.

–Allows you to see animated stitch-outs.

–Edit your designs.

–Resize them.

–Send them directly to your email when you want to stitch.

–Save in any format, work in any machine’s hoop.

Might be hard to see on my ipad in this picture, but the way you scroll through the various designs is so easy, and the work screen is intuitive.

And if you ever need more info, Janome has created a webinar, over an hour long, that goes over all the features. (Love these gals in the webinar, they sound like people I should know!)

Finally, I am seeing a bump in interest in crazy quilting. The website mollymine.com has a lovely collection of crazy quilt designs, from quilt blocks to holiday-themed. And our friends at Designs in Machine Embroidery have featured crazy quilting on the front cover of their April issue, with a free crazy quilt design available.

Soooooooo…..what have you done with machine embroidery lately?

We have a world of opportunities in front of us. And we haven’t even looked at Pinterest yet.

(Yet.)

Polka Dot Finale

Posted on January 13, 2015 by edges

I am crossing the finish line.

Still sewing the binding, but the quilt label is done, the sleeve for hanging is complete and all I have left is the last bit of hand stitching to pull it all together.

The red background is twill, the tree is wool and the rest is cotton, with a wide variety of thread weights for applique.

For everyone who participated in the Polka Dot Fabric Exchange, I THANK YOU! Your fabric is lovely, especially when it’s pieced together with everyone else’s!

I really enjoyed challenging myself with this project, as it was a meaningful way of bringing together quilters from around the world.

For fun, I thought you might like to see the creative journey, step by step in images. Dedicated to quilters everywhere…we’re all on the same family tree!

Scribbling a thought at the breakfast table.

The fabric begins to come in from all across the US and the world.

I am moved by the notes attached to every fabric square, so I saved them.

Testing for applique.

Getting an idea of how the tree will look.

Transferring the drawing of the tree.

Cut out and fused down.

Leaves have been cut out and placed for position.

All appliqued, embroidered, quilted, just about done.

Hugs to my polka dot friends!

When Your Quilt Needs a Time-Out

Posted on December 26, 2014 by edges

If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you know I participated in a polka dot fabric exchange last year. I received 60 – 10 x 10 in. squares of polka dot fabric from all around the world.

I resolved to include them all in a quilt somehow, and managed to cobble together a tree with the fabric as leaves.

But then I had to put the quilt in a “time-out”, as a friend of mine likes to say. Quilts need it, you know. They become unruly, arrogant, resistant. Or sometimes they just become passive or apathetic. Either way, when a quilt reaches that stage of behavior, it’s time to put it in time-out. It makes absolutely no sense to argue or to fight your way through. The quilt needs time to find its way.

So I put it in the guest bedroom where it could have some time alone to ponder its future.

I checked on it occasionally, offering ideas and solutions, a way out. But the quilt obstinately refused. “OK for you,” I would think. And walk away again, to work on another, more cooperative project.

For months it sat, sulking, pouting, depressed even.

Then one day, shortly before Christmas, when I walked in to check on it, the quilt looked eager. Just a hint of it, you understand, but there it was: a small little whisper of earnestness. It had formed an idea about its future.

So I listened.

And I let the ideas float around for awhile with no pressure or desire for any of them to be successful. Tentatively, we tried something. And then another thing, after that.

And now, the polka dot quilt and I are moving forward together, both listening, both asserting, both with renewed vigor.

I’ll let you know how it all works out.

Slow But Steady…Maybe Just Slow

Posted on August 29, 2014 by edges

Finally, between all the end-of-summer commotion and back to school and bus rides and new schedules and coordination, I found a few moments to sew.

I wanted to get back to the Polka Dot Tree project, which has been sitting on my machine for, I don’t know, months now.

I continued outlining the branches, using the triple blanket stitch. This is such a common stitch but is a little trickier to use than a simple blanket stitch. However, for my purposes, it stands out on the tree and branches so much better and has the look of hand stitching.

Throughout the project, I had the dual feed engaged and used a number 20 foot so that I could see exactly where I was going.

With the branches done, it looks a little more like a Halloween project than I was hoping.

However, after positioning some of the leaves, I got a better feel for the direction this project is headed. I guess that’s the beauty of designing and creating my own projects.

I have no idea how something is going to turn out til after it’s done.

With the polka dot leaves laid out, I am liking the patchwork/scrappy thing that’s happening. I am planning (at least at this point) to do some hand embroidery and hand stitching on the leaves, adding in some wools for dimension. You can just get a hint of some of the fabulous wools in the upper left-hand corner of the shot.

I won’t be able to start quilting til after all of that is complete.

Since the fabric on this quilt came from 60 different people around the world in a polka dot fabric exchange, the idea of being united is important to me. I am toying with the concept of adding a machine embroidery quote along the bottom. We’ll see. Ideas are easy. Implementation takes a little time.

Multi-hooping Challenge, Part 2

Posted on July 31, 2014 by edges

The hardest part is done.

It’s not perfect, I realize that. I would do many things differently if I were to do this project over again.

I still want to add a couple more borders and then quilt it. I want it to be ready by the time I teach a multi-hooping class Aug 23.

Some tips on multi-hooping in machine embroidery:

–Start small. 2 hoopings would be great.

–Use light airy designs.

–The fewer colors the easier it is to follow.

–If you have a machine that has “perfect positioning,” rely heavily on that.

–Grid your fabric before starting so you know what is absolute horizontal and vertical.

–Practice, practice, practice!

I always tell my students that if you’re not making any mistakes, you’re probably not learning anything new. Mistakes, errors, booboo’s and unstitching are the hallmark of a learning curve. Ask me how I know.

Rare is the person who sits down and implements something new perfectly. And if they did, they probably didn’t try something challenging enough.

So get out there and push the envelope! Waste a little thread and a little fabric and a little time! (We both know it’s not really wasted, right?)

Who knows what you’ll be able to create once you move past the fear.

In Over My Head…As Usual

Posted on July 20, 2014 by edges

Silly me.

I thought I would try multi-hooping in machine embroidery.

But I didn’t start with a simple design that might require 2 hoopings. No. Not me.

I didn’t even start with a design (as recommended by Amanda from Bernina) with 3 hoopings. Nope.

My design requires 14 separate hoopings. What could go wrong?

The truth is, it’s a pretty nice design. I used some of the Sepia Petals collection, resized them, wreathed, mirrored and aligned them.

The effect is lovely. But the design is upwards of 157,000 stitches and measures about 2 ft. by 2 1/2 ft.

I used the hoop canvas in Embroidery Software 7. When I went to save, it asked me this question: Would you like the export to split the files-one file for every hooping–SHOW ME first.

The SHOW ME turned out to be the most critical part of the design. It displays a map of every hooping, in relation to every other hooping.

I am only 7 hoopings into this.

Needless to say, after about 2 hoopings I was about to abandon the whole project. The registration marks were pulling out. Nothing was lining up properly. But after about the third hooping I began to get better at facing the challenge.

I relied more on the precise positioning on the machine to help me line things up.

I got good at keeping the software open and showing the view of the hooping that I was stitching (was this number 6 or number 7??) Anyway, at this point I managed to get the second half of the tree stitched…not yet shown in the pic below, and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This pic is obviously a work in progress and I don’t have a final to show you yet. I am planning on adding some coordinating fabric and quilting before I am finished. But at least you can see where it’s headed.

Remember, its about a 2 ft. x 2 1/2 ft. design when completed. It hasn’t been pressed in about 3 hoopings. But I think I can make it work. What a learning opportunity this has been!

Stay calm and keep stitching. Amen to that.

I’ll share when it’s done.

Bernina University 2014

Posted on July 15, 2014 by edges

I just got back from Bernina’s annual conference with dealers across the nation. I’d like to share with you some of the experience, as it was held at Nashville’s Opryland resort…a tropical paradise in the south!

A few highlights:

–New 97 and 97D foot for 1/4 in. piecing on 9mm machines (that would be the 7series and 8 series, 560, 580). Allows the foot to ride over both feed dogs giving us more control and a more precise seam. This is available RIGHT NOW! So get your orders in to your dealers. If you are a quilter, this sounds like the foot for you!

–New Sterling Edition 880 that comes with DesignWorks and a GORGEOUS quilt design from Sarah Vedeler.

–New Swiss Edition 530 (hint:it’s red)

–New pink Bernettes that give a portion of proceeds to Breast Cancer research.

–The long-awaited 24 in and 20 in. longarms are here. These machines are fantastic, but the rollout will be staggered starting in Q4 in limited markets. They are manufactured in Switzerland 1 person, 1machine….means that one man (or woman) will assemble the entire longarm sewing machine before moving on to the next. No assembly line production!! And let me tell you–these machines are awesome! Stitch regulator is included, takes all Bernina feet, bobbin winder up front and accessible, as well as your threads….I was really impressed by these machines. The 24″ comes with a frame, the 20″ can be tabletop or frame.

So much more from Brewer and OESD coming up this fall as well.

Here’s a link to a fabulous youtube video from Heirloom Creations that does a great job of displaying the new machines from BU 2014.

The view from some of my classes and wanderings:

Fresh Projects and Fresh Strawberries

Posted on June 16, 2014 by edges

This is a project I worked on at work and at home for the June Bernina Software Sampler, which I teach. The project involved learning techniques for machine embroidery applique. The bud of the flower is part of the tutorial, but I went ahead and incorporated other elements as well, adding the stems, leaves etc. to create a simple but “summery” table runner. Once again, I was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest.

No pattern available, but for those of you with embroidery machines and Bernina Embroidery Software 7, it’s a piece of cake….well, once you work out the dimensions. The flower panels are 8 x 8 inches finished, and everything else falls into place after that.

(How many pairs of glasses does one sewist need? Hint: At one point I used them both.)

One of my favorite times of the year is when the strawberries are harvested at the local farm. Here’s a shout out to friends at Norton Farm. They are an important part of our summer! We’ll be waiting for the tomatoes, broccoli and finally the fabulous corn! I’m growing a few tomatoes and cukes out back, but the weather has been a little cool, so they are taking their time developing.

Here’s to the sweetness of summer! May we always appreciate the bounty!

Rediscovering Our Hands

Posted on May 2, 2014 by edges

Everything old is new again. Almost. I’ll never be ready to turn in my sewing machine (like, when they pry it from my cold dead hands), but this trend toward more work being done by hand is therapeutic, charming and totally exciting.

I recently ran across Jane Austen’s book “Emma” from Penguin Publishers, and they have released it with hand stitching illustrations on the front and back covers. It’s actually a photo of the stitching, but the work is so lively and fresh, it’s alone worth the purchase. The commissioned embroidery is done by Jillian Tamaki.

Front cover.

Front cover detail

Inside back cover.

One of the big trend setters and players in the new hand embroidery movement is folk artist Sue Spargo. Her work is colorful and, well, just interesting to look at. I think we’re reaching a point where we actually want to appreciate details again.

Sue Spargo bird

I think the re-emergence of wool applique and some of the new hand-dyed colors in wool is another inspiration. Wooly Lady keeps it fresh with their designs.

Wooly Lady

Just for fun I dug out the first and last hand embroidery I ever did. I think it took me months and was from a very simple pattern. I had it stuffed in a drawer, and I think the best part is the bag. Venture stores has been out of business entirely since 1998. The one where this bag came from was one that had originally been a TurnStyle store. Oh, c’mon all you midwestern oldies but goodies, you know what I’m talking about! Retail at it’s finest…hand embroidery from Venture. I’m such a time machine.

Edgestitch

Sewing is life. Life is art.

Category Archives: embroidery