Keepin’ It Together

Posted on August 31, 2016 by edges

So I finally got around to making one of these Sew Together bags. Have you seen them?

Here’s your convenient link to purchase the pattern. Or ask your local quilt store to get it in for you. It’s from a designer named Sew Demented. That should give you a hint.

One blogger noted that everyone wants to receive one as a gift….because no one wants to actually make one.

Here’s the thing. It’s not a difficult bag to make. It’s extremely functional. It just takes a little time and patience and the more varieties of fabric the better.

And all the cool kids are making it.

Take a peek at Pinterest.

I had never heard of this pattern until I made the sample for our Bernina Software Inspirations class. Turns out the “software” part was the easiest thing to do. (And the embroidery software is optional…you can quilt or just leave the front of your bag plain).

The idea behind this bag, is that you can carry all your sewing supplies in it and keep things organized. You will see in the pictures that the bag has 3 zipper pouches with pockets in between. If you have a fear of zippers, you will overcome it completely with this bag. In my humble opinion, the hardest part of any bag project is getting everything cut ahead of time. And with this bag, you’ll want to use as many different types of fabric as possible. The fun part is how scrappy and colorful and interesting each one can be.

Grab a fabric line you love and get a bunch of fatquarters from that line. The brighter the better, and a fun binding doesn’t hurt either.

At this point, I highly recommend using this tutorial to assist in your assembly. Read the directions in the pattern, then read this tutorial. They are very helpful.

The pattern calls for you to lay your fabrics in order and you install the zippers assembly-line style.

After the zippers, you attach the sides, then the exterior of the bag is attached and binding added all the way around, including the zipper which holds the bag closed. It’s pretty ingenious. Between the instructions and the tutorial, you should have no problems.

I started at 9:30 in the morning, and stopped to shop, get lunch, talk to my son after school, eat dinner….and I finished by 7 pm. The next one would go even faster because I now understand the construction, and wouldn’t have to spend as much time reading.

So go ahead! Step out of your quilting comfort zone and try one of these fun bags.

The Splendid Sampler — The Beauty of Sewing With Others

Posted on February 28, 2016 by edges

I am loving the Splendid Sampler. If you’re not on board, jump in at any point, the water’s fine. So are the people–from all over the world. And everyone’s blocks are all so different! I was afraid we’d all end up with the same quilt, but everyone’s personality is shining through.

Here’s your link to jump in.

Here’s the Splendid Sampler Facebook page.

Because of recent happenings in my life, I got started a little late, and many people haven’t started at all. Some are just enjoying looking at others’ blocks.

I’ll share with you where I am so far.

I am missing one of the blocks which I haven’t had time yet to go back to, but another block came in today that I think will be fun to add. The fourth block, the vase and flowers (kudos to Jen Kingwell) probably inspired some of the most creativity so far. The blocks have been stunning and all different.

I created mine in Bernina Embroidery Software, but many others stitched theirs out by hand or did machine applique.

Like others, I am keeping a file of all the blocks and their instructions.

While I am in love with the color story of “Black Tie Affair” which I have been using, I am also adding some little touches from my own stash. As Bonnie Hunter reminded folks, a quilt is always more interesting when all the fabric doesn’t come from one collection. I agree.

In fact, I also did the little vase block in a whole other color story, just to see how I’d like it. It’s a little more ‘folksy” as I free motioned it, and I think it has it’s own charm. So maybe I’ll run some parallel blocks with these brighter colors too!

Truth is, anything can happen this year! I intend to do as much as I can, when I can.

A few things I’ve learned:

Don’t try to keep up with everyone else.
6 inch blocks sound easy. They’re not. They take more time than many 12 inch blocks.
Slow down and enjoy the process.
Enjoy everyone else’s blocks: get inspired, be challenged, but do your own thing.
Try new techniques.
Purchase the designer’s books. (Pat Sloan has 2 great books — one on applique and one on triangles)
SHARE! We really do want to see what you’re up to! On Facebook, Twitter, Instagram #thesplendidsampler

My Obsession with Trees

Posted on February 3, 2016 by edges

I didn’t realize it until I tried to describe some of my projects to someone, and all the ones that reflected my own art and not just a pattern designed by someone else, usually included trees.

And if not trees, then at least something that grows in the ground. I can’t tell you what it means, except that I have a deep longing to connect to the earth.

I recently pre-ordered a book that has apparently been wildly popular in Europe: “The Hidden Life of Trees — What They Feel, How They Communicate — Discoveries from a Secret World, ” by Peter Wohlleben.

An article from the NYTimes profiles the German forest ranger’s book.

I’ve always known that the natural world — birds, animals, trees, gardens — have more to teach us than we ever give them credit for. In the woods, I learned to listen, and look…much more than I ever do in my daily busy-ness.

Art is a struggle. We are reaching, reaching, always striving to capture the thing beyond ourselves. I do believe that trees (as well as the rest of nature) try to teach us something. When I break through the barrrier and discover the lesson, I will let you know.

Until then, like most of us, I continue to be a student.

Multi-hoop project is quilted, bound and finished.

photosnap-carol

Participating in The Splendid Sampler

Posted on January 27, 2016 by edges

Why am I participating in this project?

Partly, I think, because I like the designers who are contributing, partly because it sounds like a great way to slowly put together a quilt and share ideas with others.

6 1/2 inch blocks sound doable to me. Even 2 a week. But if you were to tell me I need to create 100 blocks and do this sort of “surprise” mystery quilt, I might not have signed on. But 2 blocks a week sounds like a doable discipline. Care to join me?

Here are the details for anyone who wants to participate.

Also, here’s a link to the blog.

The project begins Feb 14, so you have plenty of time to get ready. Although all you really need in order to start is a decent stash of fabric.

I am going back and forth about which color scheme to use.

Black Tie Affair by Basic Grey for Moda

I love the neutrals. They would make an elegant and timeless quilt. But another part of me wants to use more colorful fabric and go with more of a “farmgirl” theme.

Morningside Farm by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman

Here I would use the scenic fabric as a border with all the other fabric as the piecing in the middle.

What do you think? They are both so different. I will probably wait til the block patterns start coming in to make a decision.

Dust off your sewing machine, and get ready to join in this creative collaboration. The project will have a Facebook page too, The Splendid Sampler, moderated by Pat Sloan.

I’m sure you’ll have access to plenty of online show and tell, so why not be a part of it? All the patterns will be available throughout all of 2016 for free, but then they will be put into a book in 2017.

Even if you never sew a stitch, it’s fun to watch the process. What are you waiting for?

Know When to Hold ‘Em, Know When to Fold ‘Em

Posted on January 21, 2016 by edges

Quilting is like gambling. No, really. Stay with me on this one.

If you’re a typical quilter, as I am, you purchase fabric…maybe you even attend shop hops. When you’re on vacation, you locate the nearest quilt shop and stop in for ideas and inspiration. And fabric.

But when you lay down your money, you are placing a bet. You’re betting that you’re going to have the time, energy and inspiration — in this lifetime — to use that fabric. And the odds are good. You, like me, have a history of completed projects, gifts you’ve made, accents around the house, finished, quilted, bound…complete.

You play the odds. I do too.

But this week, I had to face the fabric. I found a number of blocks I had started eight years ago (maybe longer). I have all the fabric to make this into a queen size quilt. I caressed the blocks. I lovingly examined the fabric…already cut, by the way, ready for piecing. I inhaled.

I recently took a yoga class for the first time in twelve years. (A lot has changed in my body. For one, it’s not that easy now for me to get up and down off the floor.) But the instructor had a calming voice and at one point she said, “Inhale….exhale…you know CEO’s and other high-powered executives have a hard time with exhale. They can take long deep breaths in, but have the hardest time releasing, letting go, exhaling.”

And I realized something. I’m no high-powered executive, but ALL my focus is always on the inhale. The exhale is something I ignore. The letting go, the release, is not something I ever think about. My focus quickly moves to the next inhale.

So this week, I’m honoring the exhale.

It’s not easy. It is very difficult, EXTREMELY difficult, to admit to myself that I’m never ever going to finish that project I started eight years ago. I gave myself this much wiggle room: I will make the completed blocks into a lovely table runner. Assembled, they will be functional, just not grandiose. I will take it out in the springtime to celebrate their bright colors. But I will let it go at that.

And then I will exhale.

And fold ’em. And let ’em go.

Something Old (Hand Quilting) and Something New (Kraft-Tex)

Posted on January 10, 2016 by edges

I have been working on hand quilting this queen sized quilt for, oh, two years now. My initial intention was to work on it a little every day and have it done in a year.

Ha.

Months go by between times when I sit down to work on it. Other days, I get a flurry of hand work done. But my prediction at this point is another two years. Seriously. I am easily distracted by other more urgent/exciting/interesting/challenging/fresh/you-name-it projects. Still, I come back to this one when I can. I would say at this point I am 60% complete. I have hauled this quilt into the bedroom, the family room, the sewing room and back again dozens of times.

hand quilting 1

hand quilting 2 The center is basically quilted. The outside two rows of blocks are still undone all the way around. And then there’s the border. And then I’ll need to add the binding. Progress is slow, but I AM making progress. Those hand stitches are so cozy-looking up close. Everyone needs a long-term project. If nothing else, it teaches me patience and perseverance. It reminds me that work done by hand is still precious, still relevant and still worthwhile.

It’s no longer just a quilt. It’s a commitment.

Below is the type of project that distracts me..and yet still needs to get done!

I really love the Kraft-Tex product, which is a fiber for crafters and sewists and artists, which does not tear. You cut it up like fabric, it sews and wears like leather. The more I play with it, the more I like it. I’ve been told that it’s the same fiber as the Levi jeans logo..you can wash it and dry it and it will just get softer!

I needed a new checkbook holder — nothing fancy, just practical. (Yes, I may be the last person on earth who still writes checks, but there you have it.)

checkbook1 I selected a decorative stitch and added it to the edge, and finished everything off with a triple stitch. Because it doesn’t fray, you don’t have to finish the edges.

checkbook2 The only caution I would offer is to be careful about the decorative stitching you choose. Because Kraft-Tex behaves like leather, the stitching causes perforations, and you don’t want to use a very heavy satin stitch as it will separate along the holes. You want the project to hold together well, so the lighter the stitching, the better.

In this case, I used King Tut variegated thread which adds a little interest. King Tut, however, calls for a 90/14 topstitch needle. I used an 80/12 topstitch for fear of making the holes too large. Test all your stitches out on a scrap.

Here’s a link to another project I did using Kraft-Tex.

Something old..and ongoing. Something new..and done. Please don’t make me choose.

Have Your Sewing Machine Cleaned!

Posted on January 5, 2016 by edges

It’s a little frightening, I know.

As I sit here, there’s a giant hole on my sewing table where my machine should be. However, I finally got it together and decided to do the right thing. Every sewing machine needs to be professionally cleaned and maintained on a regular basis…which means at least once a year.

No matter how good you are at caring for your machine (and I am VERY good at caring for my machine), you still need to get it in front of a professional. You will never be able to get the dust, fiber and general build-up out of the inside of that machine by yourself. Don’t try.

Don’t use canned air. It will only force dust into places it doesn’t belong. When you bring the machine in to your dealer, be sure to include your standard foot and stitch plate, so the tech can check both a straight stitch and a zigzag and usually some decorative stitches.

Bring your foot pedal and cord.

And bring anything else you are having a problem with (buttonhole foot, stitch regulator, walking foot.) No problem with those? Don’t bring them. Your dealer does not want to be responsible for any more loose parts than necessary.

Have you purchased a machine in the last 5 years? They get updated. If you aren’t doing it yourself, make sure the tech updates your machine to the current firmware.

I made the decision to bring it in this week, when my family is back at school and work. I also took the week off…which is a little weird because now I cannot sew. I did it deliberately as a way to force myself to clean out the basement. Like many of you, if the sewing machine is in the house, I will come up with a reason to sew.

(Yes, I know I have another smaller machine and a serger just waiting to be used, but with the main machine at the shop, I am more likely to find something else to do.)

That said, while cleaning out the basement, I came across something I picked up at Quilt Market in October.

threads

It’s an inkjet printable cotton poplin fabric. It also comes in cotton twill. For grins, I tested it out with a couple of my photos.

flowersonfabric1 flowersonfabric2 I’ll admit the quality is better than I expected, and captured quite a bit of detail. The fabric then lifts away from the paper backing and can then be used as any other fabric. The poplin is very thin and I would certainly use a woven fusible interfacing on the back.

But if you are in the market for a memory quilt or just want to document your garden, as I do, this is an excellent alternative to products I’ve seen out there.

Happy 2016, Happy Stitching, Happy Clean Machine, and Happy Emptying-Out-Your Basement!

Ugly or Interesting? Read about it before you decide.

Posted on December 20, 2015 by edges

foodquilt4 I’ve been working on this quilt for my teenage son.

I’m racing against the clock to get it done for Christmas. All I have left is hand sewing the binding and then I’ll need to make a quilt label (Don’t forget the quilt label!!)

It certainly was not my choice of fabric. The pattern however, is the disappearing hourglass that I discovered in one of the recent Block magazines from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

The fabric has been the choice of my son, over the course of, oh, 13 years. If you quilt and have a child, you know what I mean.

For years, basically his whole childhood, I would drag him to quilt shops. He would slouch into a chair in a corner and wait for me to finish. Usually. However, on a number of occasions, he would approach me with a bolt of fabric. Not a lovely bolt of fabric.

It was usually a bolt of french fries, or pizza, or chocolate chip cookies. Was this child always hungry? And because I wanted to encourage him (and also felt a little guilty for dragging him around), I would purchase a half yard here, a half yard there.

Well over the years, we had assembled quite a collection of food fabric.

And this year, because he’s old enough now, not to be shuffled from quilt shop to quilt shop, I made him a quilt of all the fabric he had selected over the years.

Don’t judge me. This is not what he eats every day…but apparently what he thinks about while in quilt shops.

foodquilt1 I guess what I’m enjoying about the quilt is that up close, you can see the details of the food, but you have to step back a bit to notice the quilt pattern.

foodquilt3 foodquilts2 foodquilt6 It was larger than I expected, hanging over the top of a full size bed, so quilting was a bit of a challenge.

border The border is chocolate chips. My son picked out the binding fabric which I thought was quite hideous against the chocolate chips.

So I added a small flat piping to separate the two fabrics…and miraculously, it looks pretty great. I would never have selected any of these fabrics, but the random surprises of letting someone else choose turned out to be the best part.

back Finally, I pieced the backing from other fabrics he had selected along the way: maps, pheasants and computer gear.

Want to know what floats around in your kid’s head? Bring him (or her) to quilt shops and let them wander and select a few things.

You may or may not be surprised. But I guarantee it will be interesting.

Going to Market (Part 2)

Posted on October 29, 2015 by edges

As you know, I had the chance to go to Quilt Market in Houston this year, and so I’m sharing some of the things I saw.

Fig Tree and Co at her booth.

Rennaissance ribbon ideas.

Another cute idea from Rennaissance ribbons. That’s Kaffe Fassett ribbon. Rennaissance has a new idea book featuring his ribbon.

Angela Walters with her new line. A real departure for her. This quilt was made with 3 half-yard panels–2 seams. The binding is made with leftovers from the panel.

Another color way from Angela Walter’s line. Really loving this pattern.

Bonnie and Camille’s booth, featuring their new line Vintage Picnic.

Sweet Amy Ellis with her new line. Loving the corals and greys.

Isn't this a great idea for a kid's room? Same idea as the corded bowls we've made but just lays flat with fabric wrapped around the cording. At the Ella Blue booth.

Isn’t this a great idea for a kid’s room? Same process as the corded bowls we’ve made but just lays flat. Wrap fabric around the cording. At the Ella Blue booth.

Kate Spain at her booth. Another sweet, sweet lady!

Jen Kingwell’s new line.

Jen Kingwell’s fabulous booth.

Isn’t that gorgeous? Another angle of Jen Kingwell’s booth.

Your local store needs these, don’t you agree? In the hoop pin cushions from Smith Street Designs. Yum.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour through market. You’ll find MUCH more if you go to instagram or twitter #quiltmarket and #houstonquiltmarket. Right now, Quilt Festival is going on in Houston, and of course, that’s open to the public. #quiltfestival #houstonquiltfestival #showmethemoda #fatquartershop

Going in Circles

Posted on October 18, 2015 by edges

Whipped up a little tabletop quilt with inspiration from Sylvain Bergeron, Bernina educator. One of his Software Inspirations tutorials included a couple of fun embroidery designs in circles. It was part of a much larger presentation, but I wanted to stitch the circle designs out for my students to see.

In this overview photo, it’s hard to see the detail inside the circles, but the effect of stitching them on vibrant colors offset by simple background fabric is striking.

The background fabric is 4 or 5 variations of Modern Background Paper by Zen Chic, one of my new favorite lines. I want to use this background fabric on everything….and I do. It’s so versatile, it looks great everywhere. Anyway, on this quilt, I just crazy pieced some variations together and cut them to fill the “on point” circles.

Sylvain called this one “Dragon Scales” and I guess if you think about it, that’s what it looks like.

The green one is called “Snake skin” for obvious reasons.

If you work in Bernina embroidery Software at all, these are very simple. You just digitize a circle and morph the fill. Of course, you’ll have to play with the settings of fill spacing and morphing, but that’s basically the way these are created. You’ll have to attend Software Sampler at your local dealer to get all the details.

I added another circle to the quilt, using the ripple fill.

All are mesmerizing to look at when you get close enough to notice the detail.

Up next, the first block for a disappearing hour glass quilt for my 13 year old son, who has requested it be made entirely of junk food fabric. Hoping to finish as a Christmas gift. Also hoping not to gain any weight while working on it.

Edgestitch

Sewing is life. Life is art.

Category Archives: quilting