Are you new to machine quilting? You may have made tied quilts for a while and now want to explore machine quilting. I’ve seen a lot of advice given for how to machine quilt but I think mos…
Get these echo quilt clips tips and learn what an amazing tool they are for echo quilting.
Help me decide on a case for my new phone. See the choices right here. Last night, I went to bed ready to push the panic button about everything I have to do today. I need to make lunch to celebrate Erik's birthday on Saturday, which consists of two salads, pulled chicken filling for sandwiches, and baking a cake. Also, my monthly pedicure was rescheduled for today, and I have to go to physical therapy. I need to leave this morning at about 11:15 and I won't get home again until around 3:30. I was tallying up the hours I need against the hours I have (which is never a good idea), and I found myself feeling a little overwhelmed. But now, it's 8:30 a.m. as I sit down to write this. My chicken filling is in the crockpot. I'll deal with that when I get home this afternoon. My potato salad is finished and in the refrigerator. I fried bacon and hard boiled some eggs for my 7-Layer Salad that I'll finish this afternoon, and I still have all morning tomorrow to bake the cake. (Polishes fingernails on shirt.) So now I'm feeling pretty darned spunky and ready to face the next two days with a big smile. (Heaves heavy sigh of relief.) All of that to say that I haven't had any time to sew, and I probably won't have any time before Sunday. That's okay though because I got a megadose of quilting at the MQX Quilt show yesterday, and I have some pictures for you. I'll start by saying that I'm pretty exasperated with my camera. I left home with a full charge on the battery, but it went dead after taking about 20 pictures. That was pretty disappointing, not to mention disconcerting. Mike thinks the battery may have a short and that it is discharging just sitting in the camera. Fortunately, I have other batteries, but I didn't have any spares with me yesterday. That means I was taking pictures with my iPhone, and I really dislike the quality of the images. In any case, I'll show you what I have. These were a few of my favorite quilts. I don't have a lot to say about them, but I'll add in little comments if I just can't keep my mouth shut. This first quilt won best of show, and it's easy to see why. The quilting was amazing. For most of these I'll put the card before the quilt so you can read what the quilter had to say about it. Before I go on, I just want to say that the quilting in this show was over-represented with feathering, in my humble opinion. So many of the quilts were in traditional designs and quilted with lots of feathers. While the quilting and the piecing was fabulous, I found myself feeling as if I was seeing the same quilt over and over again. After a while, I was on the lookout for quilts that were unique and different. I think you'll see that reflected in these images. Pay attention to the red tie in this quilt. It ties itself as it moves from left to right. I liked this next quilt because it was different, but also because I was interested in how she had handled the reflection in the sunglasses. She printed the image on what I'm assuming is something like Printed Treasures. This next image is the next door I want to make for my Doors of Ireland quilt. If you look in the window to the right, you can see my reflection in the glass. I've been considering how to capture that when I make the quilt block, and the quilt above gave me an idea how to do it. What I don't know now is how to make it the right size without wasting lots and lots of those fabric sheets. I thought the next quilt was just too cute. I love how this quilter quilted the wrinkles in the elephant's skin. This next one is truly unique. It's all thread painted. How many miles of thread do you think it took to do this? The gears were actual gears from watches. The next quilt was quited by an 11-year-old! (Gasp!) I'd love to see what she's doing 30-40 years from now. This gave me some ideas for how to quilt my Vintage Miniature Sewing Machines quilt. I forgot to take a picture of the card associated with this next quilt, but I loved the details. It was inspired by bears in Yellowstone National Park. I love how she quilted Ursa Major into the sky. Very clever. These next several images are of quilting designs I liked. The pictures of the whole quilt were simply too poor to bother posting, but you can enjoy the quilting anyway. I included this one because I have this quilt on my to-do list, and I liked how it was quilted. I'm working up the nerve to quilt the white trees quilt next week. I wanted to quilt some snowflakes, and I had in mind a way to do it, but then I saw this, and I really liked it. I might incorporate a similar design. I liked this "hounds tooth" pattern. Another idea for my white trees quilt. And that's all I have from the quilt show. And now...I'm continuing on with my NP4 protest, which I really hope will be coming to a close soon. It seems those nuts in Washington were cracking yesterday evening. Something about opinion polls that were the worst in history. Not a bit surprising. Anyway...this image is from the Painted Hills unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in my home state of Oregon. And with that, I'm off to get on with the rest of my busy day. Enjoy your Friday!
As it turns out I am not very motivated to clean my studio. I headed out there this weekend with all good intentions of getting my space clean and I honestly cleaned (or more accurately, contemplated cleaning) for a total of five minutes before I found myself distracted by a drawing I had started at Quiltcon in my Compositional Quilting/DRAWING class. I have to admit that after returning home from Quiltcon I have felt a little panicked. Panicked that I taught everything I had and that I was going to be out of ideas. I began looking through some of the pictures I had taken while teaching (admittedly way too few) and that beautiful quote by Leonard Nimoy came back to me again. "The Miracle is this, the more we share, the more we have." Some Brilliant student work Wow. Wow. Wow. and WOW. It was either the threat of cleaning or all of the energy and openness that I absorbed from my students that inspired me again....or maybe a little bit of both. I wasn't really out of ideas after all. Phew. I put away any thoughts about cleaning (which wasn't hard) and started drawing and then quilting something I am pretty sure will be a sample for another class. As a rule I don't generally mark on quilts. A whole cloth type quilt is obviously an exception to this rule. In my Compositional Quilting/DRAWING class we spend the class marking on mylar and then marking on a whole cloth. Many years ago I took a whole cloth design class from Karen McTavish. It was a full day spent designing a whole cloth quilt that we took home to quilt. If you ever find yourself with an opportunity to take a class with her or see her lecture, DO IT, I'm not kidding. Whole cloth quilts are traditional by nature and are generally designed using beautiful floral or feathered motifs, stencils and if you have the patience the quilting usually involves some trapunto. This was my finished Wholecloth quilt from Karens class. From class to quilt. In my Compositional Drawing-(expanded version) class it is my hope to merge the traditional with a more modern aesthetic. I don't know that a whole cloth will ever be considered "modern" but I do believe in my heart of hearts that there is a place for this type of quilting and design somewhere. This is the fundamental basis for Compositional Quilting Filling in the blanks I had to get rid of my free motion drawn swirls, I found I could not follow my own drawings. I managed to quilt in the areas of feathers I should have left unquilted Some new moon ideas This is as far as I got, not bad for a weekend. As you can see, cleaning is overrated and I am not out of ideas yet. I am hoping to be teaching this class and many others in the near future. I will keep you posted on the details here. For those of you who feel inspired by this post, awesome. For those of you who enjoyed this post but feel less inspired and more discouraged by this post this last picture is for you. While I openly admit I have skills, I know that those skills didn't come without a lot of failures, practice and flat out shitty quilting. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt, be ok with shit quilting, move on, take classes, learn as much as you can from yourself and others. You will never quilt exactly like me, just as I will never quilt exactly like Karen McTavish. And thank goodness for that, lord knows theres only room for one of her, and me and you. Be ok with that. You be You.
For all of us machine quilters who are looking for some new ideas for quilting designs, this is a wonderful new book by Cindy Seitz-Krug, an award winning quilter and teacher who uses her home machine for quilting, published by AQS. What is great about this book and a bit different is how effortlessly the "workbook" idea leads you through all kinds of lovely designs, shows you how to break them down into simple do-able elements that are controlled by a marked grid. Sometimes in the end you see the grid, others times only curvy lines and designs that make the viewer ask "how in the world was that done???" Below, details of Cindy's quilting: The designs are great, but all the options she shows us with size, color of thread, scale of design, where and how to use them really help when trying to figure out what design to use where in a quilt. There are tons of illustrations, diagrams, quilted samples to help you achieve these designs. The workbook idea insures you will be able to start at the beginning, follow along, and get a quilted design by yourself! One of the first grid designs I tried years ago when I was looking for a simpler method for a design of overlapping circles was one I called "Diane-shiko" (below) as it was a new way to mark and quilt an old Sashiko design. When the marked lines are removed the circles emerge so it looks as if you quilted circles. This is the basic idea Cindy uses to create all sorts of designs with the grid to guide you. Above you can see the 1/2" marked grid, and the stitching around the lines to form this timeless design. Below, the design used in one of my quilts, "Shadows of Umbria," which Cindy also has featured in her new book. A grid design will showcase curvy designs with its formality and regularity. These designs look difficult but many are absolutely beginner level and with some practice you'll be adding many of Cindy's designs, methods, ideas to your own quilts. Visit Cindy at her website and blog to find out more: www.quintessentialquilting.com Below, one more peek at her quilting: If you were in some of my last classes I taught a design called "Ginkgo." In Cindy's quilt above she uses it as fill around larger scale designs. Below is one of my samples of this lovely design, and Cindy includes a much easier way to mark and quilt it called "Twisted Ginkgo" in this new book. It's one of my favorite designs ever in the way it looks, and how much fun it is to quilt. I experimented and tried Cindy's method to quilt this design, and it worked perfectly. I'm thrilled she could explain it so well, and the diagrams and photos are exactly what you need so you too can add this design to your skills. Congratulations to Cindy on a great book and for her recent award at Road to California for Excellence in Machine Quilting for her wholecloth quilt "Blush." Hope winter is giving you lots of time to quilt, and to play with ideas on your sewing machine. Keep quilting! Your work gets better every day! Diane
May is here and finally is is nice to be outside. Our weather has gone from 40's to 70's in a matter of 2 weeks. It's pretty nice out there. But, I am stuck inside for a few more weeks, at least mos
'Modern Curves' by Anita Shackelford - Tumbler Quilt Sometimes I find a new digital quilting pattern which becomes flavour of the month here at Fabadashery Long Arm quilting. This time around it is 'Modern Curves' by Anita Shackelford. 'Modern Curves' quilting pattern by Anita Shackelford There are plenty of patterns out there with flowers, feathers and fancy swirls, but like this simple square quilt, sometimes a quilt top needs to be quilted, but doesn't necessarily need an all over pattern which is going to alter it character significantly. The simple undulating lines of 'Modern Curves' seems to achieve this. 'Modern Curves' by Anita Shackelford - Tumbler Quilt After completing the Allietare Mystery quilt, I decided to use the scrap leftovers to make a small green tumbler quilt. It was quick to come together and once on the APQS quilting frame quick to quilt. It didn't really have a planned destination, but is just so happens that is co-ordinates nicely with this IKEA stool, so I think it has found a home. Joining up with Crazy Mom Quilts
I'm teaching a Free Motion Quilting class starting in April at my LQS, Heartstrings and Heirlooms. I finished up the class sample over the weekend. In the class the students will do larger samples, but I needed a small book of designs to advertise the class. As you can see in the above end view, I used three different types of batting for my sample book - Quilter's Dream 100% Cotton, Hobbs 80/20 (80% cotton and 20% polyester), and a 100% wool. I used a tutorial from a recent Quilting Arts Magazine issue (the February/March 2014 issue) to make my little book. The instructions involved drawing some lines on a piece of fabric, then sewing on the lines with a walking foot to make a larger sheet and baste the layers together. Then you quilt your designs and cut the "pages" apart. The tutorial in the magazine was very good. If you are interested in making a book like mine, I suggest you get a copy of the magazine. Below is a collage of designs I plan to cover in the class. Along the top of each page I wrote the name of the design, the batting type and page number from the book I will be using for the class. In case you are interested, I'm using the book Free Motion Quilting with Angela Waters. It has become my go-to book for quilting ideas as of late.
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I LOVE Austin TX. I just returned from teaching at Quiltcon 2015 and I really don't think I can do a blog post without at least mentio...
Experiment with ‘wavy’ rulers to add movement, dimension to quilts...
Here is a new design I've stitched. People seem drawn to it. It's very simple and gives a nice organic effect. So you start wi...
I am FINALLY able to post a progress report on my newest star quilt. I work best on a tight deadline and I desperately want this piece done before my engagement at Quilting in the Desert in less than two weeks. I also want it to accompany me to Dubai next month. I'm actually going to make that deadline! I was working on it for a couple hours this morning, took a break and came back to my room and was captivated by how pretty it looked sitting in my machine so I took photos from my point of view. I love the little circles. I put in some baby clamshells and have beaded them with little gold beads. There are four of these corners and I am filling them with tight echoing and baby feathers. I am just starting a round feather wreath that will go around the entire outside of the piece tucking underneath the linen corners. This is being done with a very heavy silk thread. Obviously this piece is still in it's awkward "puberty stage" but I am VERY happy with how she is turning out. When I was going thru the photo folder I came across these beginning pictures and wanted to share. This is when I was just getting The Ultimate Stencil project going and learning what it could do. I laid the stencil down in the middle of my piece.. marked the lines that I needed and drafted the center star pattern... and quilted the main outline. Very cool! By the way, the huge star going around is actually a commercially cut stencil thru Quilting Creations...It's NH131 and NH132. When I originally designed this large stencil medallion a few years ago, I used the very same grid system on my drafting table that has since become The Ultimate Stencil. Funny how things come around. And now you know why I've named this quilt "The Ultimate Star". Hugs, Cindy :)
In an unprecedented act of blogging fanciness I decided to make a video documenting how I create the woodgrain texture (so thoroughly photographed in my last post) with free-motion quilting. Warning:
Hey everyone -- I'm here in St. Louis, Missouri at International Quilt Market -- I hope you're tuning into the amazing quilts and creations I've been sharing on my Instagram and Facebook pages. Today I'm going to be chatting with the Aurifil team on Facebook Live -- we'll discuss and I'll demo A Quilter's Doodles -- free motion creations stitched on a home machine using Aurifil 28Wt thread. Watch the video here: A Quilter's Doodles Quilt -- Details! This sweet piece was prepared on Moda Grunge fabric with a layer each of Dream Wool and Dream Blend (Thank you Moda Fabrics and Quilters Dream Batting). I also used my favorite needle, the Superior Top Stitch needle. Be sure to tune into the Aurifil Facebook page at 11:30am Central to ask questions or just get a quick laugh as I work my way through the experience. Watch the video here: A Quilter's Doodles Quilt -- Details! Happy Quilting! Karen
I've been home 24 hours and what a whirlwind it has been! I am completely exhausted and to my friends overseas I have some incredible news to share - but that will be in "Part Two"! The Australasian Quilt Convention has been sensational for a number of reasons, not least of all that this year the event celebrated 10 fabulous years! Judy and Gary from Expertise Events have contributed enormously to quilting in Australia bringing overseas tutors 'down under' to share in their skills. We arrived Wednesday morning to deliver our quilts and then after a brief tutor meeting we discovered our lovely accommodation…… For copyright reasons I can't share many quilts as I haven't asked permission from the quilt makers. I do want to share these though as I am sure these friends will be okay with that! Each year a prestigious award is handed out - the Rajah Award (which you will hear more about in Part Two!!)…….anyway last year's recipient was the talented Jenny Bowker and a display of her incredible quilts was on display and sadly due to illness she was unable to be there.…… Amongst the many other displays were quilts from some of the tutors. There were 14 tutors from around the world with many and varied talents….. Again I have only shown images of those that I am able…….Gloria Loughman A very special friend and first time teacher at AQC Faye Packham…….. Julie Haddrick…….and the self portrait is incredibly lifelike!……. And yours truly!………. Between classes I popped down to see more including the "Best of the Best" quilts from each state of Australia and and I was glad to find one very proud quilter Michele (also spelt with one "L"!), from the Northern Territory. She was thrilled to bits that her quilt was selected and she informed me her beautiful quilt was made entirely of silk………..thanks Michele….. I also came across this quilt from my first book and beautifully made by Patricia also from NT……. One of our talented girls from home, Helen Campbell…….love it Helen……... Elizabeth Camping is also from home and creates very original and innovative pieces………. And South Australia shines again with Ming's intricately quilted work………... There is also the Best of Show winning quilts on display and this was the one from Janet Treen of New South Wales who eventually won Best of Australia. Well done Janet…your quilt is stunning…….. I met a very excited Pamela Brockwell with her "Best of Show" entry from Victoria…. Jenny Bowker was the winner from the Australian Capital Territory……. Jocelyn Leath represented Western Australia…..a clever portrait done in manipulated cheesecloth…... Pam Hill from Queensland and her entry……... I have been very lucky to represent South Australia on four occasions and my quilt was glad to be unfolded and off the shelf! It will travel until the end of the year so farewell my friend…… and for some reason I seem to be missing Tasmania and Northern Territory but you can see them here on the Bernina Australia site. Every year Expertise Events sets a challenge to quilters with a set criteria and size. This year the theme was TEN in recognition of the 10th year of AQC. Some of them can be seen here on the AQC website but I did take the liberty of photographing one of our very own quilters from home as her piece is just stunning. Ming's work is impeccable and there are 10 hidden cats in this whole cloth quilt made from a recycled tablecloth…….. The venue never disappoints …. it is the World Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building and has a stunning interior…... Faye was so excited to be teaching for the very first time and her skill is in piecing especially encouraging beginners…………... and this is one of her shining stars who happened to turn sweet 16 on day three of four days with Faye! Well down Faye on nurturing another future quilter…….and to Skye and your beautiful Mum…it was so lovely to meet you both. We all hope this is the beginning of a long journey of quilt making (and thanks for my beautiful scarf too xxx). Skye managed to produce these two…yes TWO quilts tops at this one event - WOW!….. Well I didn't take too many photos in class but I did have to take this one of Anne……she read her instructions well as it told her to have everything labelled with her name….but glasses as well Anne??? Loved having you and everyone else……bless you all xxx So I will try to remain calm and gather my thoughts as I am about to type one of the the most incredible things that has ever happened to me in Part Two……...
Customer Quilts Quilt by Noelle Powers Quilt by Noelle Powers Quilt by Heather Bostic Quilt by Jenny Redwig Quilt by Jenny Redwig Quilt by Julianna Gasiorowska Quilt by Julianna Gasiorowska Quilt by Michelle @Ilikeorangetoo Quilt by Penny Layman Quilt by Cindy Wiens Quilt by Cindy Wiens Customer Quilt Quilt by Angela Pingel Quilt by Katie Pedersen Quilt by Katie Pedersen Quilt by Krista Fleckenstein Quilt by Krista Fleckenstein Quilt by Sonja Callaghan Quilt by Sonja Callaghan Quilt by Jenny Redwig Quilt by Krista Fleckensten Quilt by Alison Robins Amanda's Value Quilt Personal Quilts
Here are a few more designs... Some are a year old and others fairly new. It's always FUN to see what is in the Sketch Book! Maybe they will inspire you to stitch one of them into your next machine quilting project: I like to draw out wavy lines... then draw different textures in each wavy section. The designs can be used as background fillers or stitched into most any place on your quilt. Sometimes a simple design.....is the most effective. Falling Leaves Wandering Vine Vines are always a favorite of mine! Another great background filler. Swirls 'n Flames This can be done any any scale... from very tiny to very large. This fills an area very quickly! Textures String Beads When stitching this out... Draw straight chalk lines parallel to one another. Then stitch along the chalk line adding circles as you go. Then add designs between the lines of circles. When you see 55mph on my sketch book pages, it means I was drawing as we drove along in the car. When inspiration strikes....you just gotta draw it out! CLICK HERE to view my online sketch book CLICK HERE to view my free motion quilting CLICK HERE: to see My Quilts May Your Bobbin Always Be Full, LuAnn Kessi
Am Anfang ist immer eine Idee oder eine Person der man was aus Dankbarkeit schenken möchte oder eine Kombination aus beidem... Bei diesem Quilt war es die Dankbarkeit für die Hilfbereitschaft meines Schwiegerpapa's. Ohne ihn würden unser Auto und auch meine Maschinen in meiner Buchbinderei nicht mehr funktionieren. Daher war es eigentlich schon lange an der Zeit für ihn einen Quilt zu nähen. Die Farben waren schnell klar. Blau und Grün... Das passt auch zu dem Quilt, den die Schwiegermama schon einige Jahre zuvor bekommen hat. Die frischen Farben aus der Blueberry Park Serie von Karen Lewis fand ich sehr passend, auch wenn auf einzelnen Stoffe weisse Blumen drauf sind. Die Schwiegermama liebt Blumen und hat auch überall in der Wohnung immer frische Blumen stehen. Daher finde ich geht dies auch für einen Männer-Quilt... In diesem Fall jedenfalls... *zwinker* Mit Hilfe des Super Side Kick Rulers von Jaybird Quilts habe ich Dreiecke zugeschnitten und nach dem Muster des Boomerang-Quilts zusammengenäht. Ich habe das Muster etwas abgeändert und noch weisse Streifen zwischen die einzelnen Rauten plaziert, damit der Quilt es luftiger wird als die Vorlage... An meiner Design-Wand habe ich alle Dreiecke aufgehängt und mal ein Foto gemacht. Das Foto hilft mir zu sehen, ob irgendwo ein Block oder in diesem Fall eine Raute umplaziert werden muss oder ob es stimmig ist... Bei zusammen nähen habe ich dann bemerkt, dass der Quilt, so wie ich ihn auf dem oberen Bild zusammengestellt hatte, zu breit wurde. So habe ich dann noch ein paar Rauten weggelassen... Mit Hilfe einer Plexiglasplatte hatte ich mir verschiedene Quiltmuster aufgezeichnet und wieder verworfen. Dies war dann das Muster, von dem ich dachte, das wäre es jetzt... Doch nachdem ich zwei Rauten gequiltet hatte, fand ich es gar nicht toll. Es war iritierend, da das Muster auf dem Stoff der Raute folgte und ich dies mit diesen Linie durchbrach. Das war mir zu unruhig und daher trennte ich alles wieder auf... Die Blasenkette rund um die Rauten durfte bleiben, doch innerhalb der Raute musste es ruhiger werden und daher quiltete ich bloss noch gerade Linien im Abstand von 1 inch... Hier hat sich wieder mal gezeigt, weniger ist mehr... Und damit ihr auch mal ein bewegtes Bild von mir seht, habe ich mich bei der letzten Reihe mit dem Zeitraffer gefilmt *lach* Viel Spass bei schauen...! Die letzte Reihe komplett gequiltet... Ich hoffe, ich konnte euch einen kleinen Einblick geben, wie bei mir ein Quilt entsteht... Bilder des fixfertigen Quilts werden in einem weiteren Post folgen... Bis dahin, machts gut iva verlinkt: creadienstag , modern patch monday & handmade on tuesday
Want to give your quilting some added texture and depth? Try machine quilting with 12 wt. thread! It's not difficult, but there are 5 secrets you must know.
Baseball quilt - posted in Quilt Pictures, Patterns & Inspiration...: Just finished making a baseball quilt for my daughter. She is hosting a ball reunion this fall so I made a baseball quilt to raffle off to off set some costs. This was a fun project that I did mostly on the long arm sashed a plain fabric and marked the stitching line with a frixion pen then put on my Maxine my Millie and applied the chenille strips now for the secret to fluffing it up.......Take your shop vac and vac...
Hi fellow quilters... thanks for stopping by! Before we announce the winner of the Aurifil thread (so exciting) I wanted to share ...