Jackie's Art Quilts

Lots of News

2012-02-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

I have so much to share with you! First I received this lovely email:

I just wanted you to know that the fabric I won from your giveaway was used to make a beautiful quilt that will be donated to a lady who has MS and is in a nursing facility. She wanted a quilt with birds and crosses, so several ladies from our group stitched the squares and our quilter finished it into a beautiful quilt.

Here is a picture of the quilt they made:

They are a fantastic generous group of ladies, please go and check out their blog World of Charity Stitching. It is so great to see where my fabric ends up, and I couldn't be happier. Thanks Peggy!

I am almost finished a really big project for Pellon. Here is a sneak peek:

Trust me when I tell you not to even try and guess. I will tell you by the end of February though.

Lastly, here is my completely finished Rhythm and Blues

It is all my own hand dyed fabric except for the flowers. I stamped the background as well. The little circles on the right hand side are fabric covered buttons using the same fabric in the quilt. The flowers are of course 3D. Here is a side shot, so you can see how much they protrude from the quilt.

I have some more super fab news, but will share in my next post=)

Thanks for stopping by, I do appreciate all of you that take the time to read it!

Introducing.... Seams Time for Patience

2012-02-08T08:21:00.000-08:00

This is my new wearable quilt art. The pattern is Koos Van Den Akker, Vogue 1277.

The title is so fitting. For the first time I used silk dupioni and thai silk. I discovered they have their own personality, and it doesn't always get along with mine. I used that red lace looking ribbon as well. That resulted in four hours spent hanging out with my seam ripper.

When it came time to name my piece, all I could think about was ripping that ribbon out and resewing pieces back together. I seriously contemplated cutting my losses and rolling it up and throwing it in the back closet of my studio three times. Upon reflection, I realized that I used utmost patience for me, as I don't have alot when it comes to sewing mistakes. Hence the title incorporated my time with the seam ripper and how to be patient.

The button in the centre is made with the lace wrapped around and glued together. In the big green button is a piece of thai silk made into a fabric button nestled in the green one.

A Ripple in Time

2012-02-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

I have been busy, but some of the stuff is tutorials for Riley Blake and Pellon, so I can't show them to you yet. But at the end of February I can=)

Ripple in Time is the name of my latest art quilt. It describes the past summer where I would work away on my quilt wherever the kids were playing. I would haul it outside on the deck as they played in the dirt, in the car on road trips, and up to camp on those rainy days. I always find summers just seem to disappear in the blink of an eye. The time just vanishes, hence the name, 'A Ripple in Time'.

This is the centre of my quilt.

Do you like the name?

Wearable Art Quilt

2012-01-30T18:21:00.000-08:00

Introducing..... ok, I don't have a name yet... but technically I am not done as I don't have the pin on the jacket. I always name my quilts before they are finished. The last two were right at the end.
Here is the back of my jacket.

These shots are not great. I plan on taking good photos of my quilts this weekend to enter into the juried show coming up. Then I will show them all to you. I do realize that I haven't shown you full shots of the two art quilts I completed.

Back to my jacket, I chose to have a pin as a closure, as this jacket just had a button in the pattern. I felt it needed something a bit bigger, so I made a nice brooch. I wrapped the lace into a flower shape and nestled a large green flower button into it. Then I took my handy button maker and used a piece of the silk with the circles in it and made another smaller button for the centre of my brooch.

The brooch is very heavy, so I need a strong and large pin to put on the back of it. It is not attached here, just laying on top of the jacket. Now to find a good pin and name!

Oh How I Detest My Seam Ripper!

2012-01-26T04:44:00.000-08:00

That little gadget and I spent over 4 hours together yesterday. Why, you ask? Well, my wearable quilt art and I were having an argument over the red ribbon and I was losing. I had to remove yards and yards of it, straighten out some major puckers, and cut and cut and cut the ribbon to bend the way I wanted it to.

We seem to be having a better time together today.

My Koos jacket is coming along now. I have the jacket all together, the lining sewn and now have to attach the two to make them one. This will definitely take a bit of time to do.

Last year when I made a wearable jacket, I made it all out of cotton. I had a judge tell me that perhaps I should use other fabric. This is Serenity:

For my Koos jacket, (which has no name yet) I used silk dupioni, thai silk and a braided ribbon.

Hope to finish in the next two days, wish me luck!

Scrap 'n' Slash Flower

2012-01-20T09:54:00.000-08:00

Want to learn how to make this flower?

Hop on over to my friend Jacque's blog and check out the tutorial I did for her blog.

I use these quite a bit in my 3D art quilts. They are fun to make as the possibilities are endless. You can also turn them into a nice pin or head band too.

By the way, next post I will show you my latest art quilt - finished! And it even has a name.

Having Fun at a Guild Meeting

2012-01-17T19:55:00.000-08:00

I continue to write humourous columns in our national quilt magazine, the Canadian Quilting Association. I had a lot of fun writing this one.

A Typical Guild Meeting

Most of us belong to a quilters’ guild. Some of us have actually been there at the ground floor, while others join in after its existence became known to them, and still others are simply curious in checking out what a guild is all about.

I joined my guild five years after it was founded, so the operation of it was already pretty smooth. Until I arrived, anyway. I am one of the youngest members of our guild, excluding the 7-year-old, the fashion model quilter and the girl who makes rainbows look pale in comparison to her quilts. After these youthful show -offs, I am the youngest.

I have run into some pretty funny things in my guild and others. So, of course, I feel the need to enlighten you. (Note, if you belong to my guild, it may be in the best interest of our friendship for you to stop reading now. If you didn’t really like me before, things are not going to improve throughout this article.)

Let’s be upfront and honest here. Why is it when two or more women get together it involves food? And trust me when I say it is never carrot and celery sticks, with a low fat dressing for dip. I have never heard of a guild meeting where there wasn’t a break so the women could have coffee and a ‘light snack’. And by light snack you know I mean heap-your-plate-full-of-as-much-dessert-as-you-can-possibly-balance, so that it looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa by the time you get back to your chair.

The funniest guild newsletter I ever read had a tear off and return section of the newsletter where members had to vote over the dessert break. You could either vote for fewer desserts, meaning less members had to bake, or more desserts, which meant more members needed to volunteer to bring in desserts. I still laugh my head off when I think of that guild. I guess eating definitely took priority over quilting.

Regarding those newsletters, the amount of work the editors put into them is phenomenal. It should almost be a paid position. But you know, dear editors , it is very frustrating for a new member to read; “If interested in the workshop, please call Pat.” Well, who the heck is Pat? Sure, if you were alive when the guild started you may know that Pat is the little grey haired lady in the corner of the room, but then again, that could be 80% of the members.

And what about those name tags? How many of you actually wear them? How many of you actually own one? Please don’t tell my guild, but I don’t even have one. Why? Mostly because I am too lazy to make one. I know, you are supposed to wear them so the new members can get to know you. Blah blah blah. Really, if a new member needs to speak to me, is she going to come right up to me and then suddenly veer off when she sees I don’t have a name tag on? And not talk to me? Or is she going to be a grownup and ask the important question of, “Can you please tell me where the dessert table is?”

Please don’t take pity on me, I certainly don’t want 3,000 name tags showing up in my mailbox.

I can’t imagine being a new member at a guild. It seems like everyone knows everyone else and we all hang out in our little cliques. There is the appliqué gang, the piecing grannies and the hand quilting group. I was never allowed into that one. And don’t forget the artsy peeps. How the heck do you meet anyone new?

I remember once mentioning I would like to learn to hand quilt to someone. Well, they said, “You should go and see ‘Myra’, she is the best one in the guild.” Yes, that is what I want to do; go and show the best hand quilter my large basting stitches that I am trying to pass off as hand quilting. I quickly found some new friends over at the ‘anything goes in quilting’ clique, and practiced hand quilting there.

Does your guild lack volunteers? Is your executive made up of the same people year after year, except they all switch positions to try and keep it interesting? Every year in the spring, the president states how easy it is to do a job, how “many hands make light work”, and if no one volunteers, we can’t have a program. All the members are thinking is, “Wouldn’t it be nice if the meeting just consisted of showing up, seeing some quilts and eating desserts?”

The actual running of the meeting never changes, does it? The president and secretary perch at the front, usually taking them 10 minutes to get everyone to be quiet and sit down. I always wonder why they don’t serve dessert at this point. If everyone’s mouths are full, they can’t talk and then the president has the floor. It would also save that mad ‘cattle call’ to the dessert table at break that happens each meeting.

Most guilds run from September to June. Some months are so predictable. For example, there is always a big dinner in December, because we all aren’t already getting one on the 25^th and need an excuse to eat another huge dinner. June is always the end of the year wrap up… of course, another opportunity to eat. What about every September; do we have to have an ice breaker game to meet new members? Honestly, I have my quota of friends at the guild. If I feel I need more, I will go and get some. But some game where I have to partner up, stand on my head and name five quilt blocks that start with the letter ‘B’ is not the way to do it.

Lastly is show and tell. Is it not the favourite part of the meeting? Second only to coffee break of course. Does every guild not have that one member that gets up there and has to tell a story that is so long that you don’t even look at the quilt for fear of encouraging her further? Here is what I do. The moment she unfurls that quilt, I start clapping. The more she tries to tell her story, the louder I clap. While some may think it rude, I believe it is saving my sanity.

In conclusion, if anyone has a membership form they want to send me so I can join their guild, it would be most appreciated. I am quite confident my guild will be revoking mine.

This article was published in the Winter 2012 CQA/ACC issue. Please don't copy without written permission. Thanks so much!

Art Quilt Needs a Name

2012-01-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

I quilted my fingers off for 2 days straight and got my big flower quilt all quilted. I used all these bobbins up plus 4 more. Alot of colour on this quilt and I love it so much! I took so much time and care in pinning it, and may I add pain. The majority of the top is not cotton but canvas. Let me tell you how hard that was to pin. It took two solid hours and I had a massive blister that broke by the time I was done, but it was soo worth it.

This is just a small section of the back of the quilt. I have to finish the centre and attach it. Don't you love my hand dyed fabric I am using?

I think the task I have the hardest time with is squaring it up. I can get the sides cut in a straight line, but boy do I ever have a heck of a time getting it to square up evenly.

I went ahead and got all my binding ready. I am using my hand dyed fabric to match the centre and cut a bunch of colourful strips and sewed them together, ready to go.

The name. When entering quilts in shows, the first thing you have to record is the name of the quilt. I don't know how other art quilters come up with their names. For me, somewhere along the process of making the quilt, the name just comes to me.

For this quilt, it was going to be a peacock tail until I went to applique it to the background, and then it turned into a flower. So there went all my ideas regarding peacocks. I am trying not to panic as I am very, very near the end and nothing is popping into my head. Probably because it has only been a flower for 4 days, but I ALWAYS have a name by the end of the quilt. I am so not freaking out! (translates to: I am totally freaking out)

Let's hope in the next day or two I have a mind blowing name experience=)

3D Embellishing Tutorial - Ribbon

2012-01-11T18:11:00.000-08:00

As you know I am ~~somewhat~~ completely obsessed with embellishing. By that I mean 3D embellishing on art quilts, clothing, kids quilts or accessories.

Riley Blake fabrics has this great website called Cutting Corners where they post tutorials on quilts, apparel, accessories and home decor. It is great for ideas and free instructions to make things.

I have made a couple of quilts for Cutting Corners. I was chatting with one of the girls at Riley Blake and mentioned my obsession over embellishments. From that conversation, I am now posting once a month on Cutting Corners showcasing a different embellishment and how to use it!

For this month, I chose ribbon. It is one of the most versatile embellishments ever and very under used. I want to get quilters/crafters using this fabulous product.

I show you how to make cute ribbon flowers and how to weave the ribbon into fantastic ideas.

Go and check out my tutorial. (Feel free to leave a comment too=)

Bring on 2012!

2012-01-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

Let's get 2012 started! What a year this is going to be. I have set my goals in the side bar and am ready to dive into a fresh new year.

January is jam packed with crazy quilting. I have two entries I want to get ready for the Canadian Juried show and one entry still has the fabric neatly folded in a bag with the design on top. Yikes, magic better happen soon!

I finished two tutorials this week. They will be up tomorrow and next week. I might add they are both on embellishing. How fun is that? Riley Blake loves embellishments so much that I am posting once a month on how you can use them in quilts, sewing projects and crafts!

More tomorrow on that delicious bit of news.

I am getting close to the quilting stage of my art quilt currently in the studio. I always jot down steps when I am unsure how to proceed to ensure that things go smoothly. They never do. I had a heck of a time getting this giant piece appliqued onto the background. I finally had to baste a large section of it. Don't think I didn't consider fusing the whole thing down!

Trust me when I say, it is big. I have cut away all the white pieces and have attached it to a black piece of fabric. I had gotten away from using black as a background. I tried a mottled grey, but nothing seemed to work except the black.

Now I have to figure out how to quilt this one without detracting from all the colours. There have been a few quilts that by the time I got finished quilting them, I thought they looked better unquilted. I really don't want to say that about this one. Way too much time sunk into it already. And I have a deadline!

Giveaway Winner and My New Art Quilt

2012-01-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Posts are going to be a little short till school starts next week. Hard to concentrate=)

I have a winner of my FQ bundle:

Deb said...

Follower! Lovely postcards!

As far as other projects go, I finished my Rhythm and Blues quilt. I am tackling another art quilt that I started way back in the summer. I have never done coloring on a quilt before. It was a great project to take with me when I went outside with the kids or travelling. I finally finished all the coloring last night. Now I have to figure out a background and how to quilt it. I am only showing you a quarter of it as I don't have it all laid out yet.

When I do, I will take more pics.

I am also contemplating doing this pattern as wearable art. It is by Koos van den Akker.

All this has to be done by the end of January to enter into the Canadian Juried show. This may not happen, but I am going to give it a try!

Giveaway and Postcard Tutorial

2011-12-27T06:08:00.000-08:00

I am doing a guest post on how to make fabric postcards over on Love Affair With My Brother. Go and check me out and see how to make these fun postcards:

Then come back and you can enter my giveaway for these luscious hand dyed fat quarters! All you have to do is tell me you follow=)

I will make a draw in a week!

2nd and 3rd Flower Done

2011-12-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

My R & B art quilt is almost done. It has 9 buttons to be sewn on, and then maybe more on the binding. But the good news is I finished all three of my 3D flowers. The second and third ones were all done and just had to be sewn on. When I laid them out, I didn't like the look, so back to the sketch pad. I made 2 more just like the first one and I like the flow much better.

As you may remember, this quilt was supposed to be done for December 1st, and another one finished by January 1st. There is a chance I will tackle that second one with great guns over the holidays. But I also have a few deadlines that I have to meet. We shall see, I may just buy a pound of chocolate covered coffee beans and go crazy=)

I probably won't post now till after Christmas, so I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. You have no idea how much I appreciate you signing up to follow. So very much! Thank you.

Art Quilt Embellishing

2011-12-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

I think time goes on double speed as soon as December approaches. My art quilt that has to get done very soon, has had little attention to it.
I did get one of the 3D flowers done, and even attached. I love it. It was my first time combining two techniques in the flower and I am pleased with the effect.

You can see by some of the pictures that it is quite three dimensional.

Here is my question to you? Do you have any quilted items still left to finish up before Christmas Day?

Giveaway Winner

2011-12-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

It's Friday and we have a winner for my hand dyed fabrics!

Congratulations go to:

Peggy said...

I am a follower. Thanks for a chance to win some beautiful fabric.
Thanks,
Peggy

I think we may sneak in one more giveaway before Christmas. I will be back next week to show you the progress of my art quilt. For now, here are some stockings I hand dyed with Kool Aid. They are made out of Pellon batting. As soon as they post the tutorial on their website, I will let you know.

A Quick Table Runner

2011-12-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

A friend mentioned she really wanted a Christmas table runner. I have a policy that I don't make Christmas gifts in November or December. It is too rushed and those months just get too crazy.

I broke my rule. She sent me the measurements of her table. The runner was to be 84" in length! That is not just a table runner, that is a table that ran off!

I found a fabulous idea and tips from my friend Linda on her blog and drafted up a pattern and set to work. It is all HST's.

Fabric Giveaway!

2011-12-01T19:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming and I am so thankful for so many things, and one of them is YOU!

To show you how much I appreciate all of you, here is a bundle of my hand dyed fabric for one of you to win. This is my Pastel Petal collection. A light spring like group of 5 fat quarters.

All you have to do is tell me you follow. I will draw on Friday December 9th, 2011.

Quilting Done!

2011-11-29T20:17:00.000-08:00

I have spent almost a week quilting and I finally finished it. There are still threads to be buried, binding to be put on, and my 3D embellishments to be attached. But I think the end is in sight.

I always get stuck on what pattern to use where and what colours to use. Often I try and squeeze in as many FMQ patterns as room allows and use as many colours as the quilt possesses. This time I didn't.

I decided to just go with my gut instinct and hope to heck the jury panel agrees=) I chose 2 colours, red and blue. Okay, the blue is a gorgeous variegated blue.

I used feathers in all the blue strips and circles and wandering flowers everywhere else.

The deadline I had given myself is December 1st as there are some other projects with pressing deadlines looming. I will probably go over by a day or two, but hopefully not much more.

Dyed Batting

2011-11-26T05:15:00.000-08:00

I have finished a cute fast little project for Pellon. I dyed batting with Kool Aid! It is easy and turned out really cute. Check out the tutorial here.

I also got a little carried away with the dyed batting....

This is a cute little pouch, used my Baby GO! for the circles. A tutorial will be available soon!

A second brooch, GO! again at work.

Another pouch.

What else could you do with dyed batting?

Good Stuff and What I Am Up To

2011-11-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

First let me tell you that I am realizing that you don't have to physically meet a person in order to call them 'friend'. I have some friends that I consider some of my closest yet I have never met them. They know who they are and are very near and dear to my heart. With that lovely introduction, let me show you what came in the mail today.

Photo by Linda C. Teufel

This absolutely gorgeous sewing caddy by Linda C. Teufel. The fabric is Jane Sassaman! You have heard of Linda C. Teufel, you just don't know it. She is the force behind Dragon Threads Publishing, and to quote from her blog:
Dragon Threads has strived to bring the most innovative techniques in the quilting and sewing worlds to the market. She has a knack for recognizing the exceptional talent in our impressive list of authors: Noriko Endo, Judith Baker Montano, Philippa Naylor, Lorna Moffat, M. Joan Lintault, Vikki Pignatelli, and Barbara Olson.

I was thrilled just to be able to converse with such a talented woman. She always has interesting posts with fabulous quilters and keeps you up to date on what is going on in the quilt world. A truly remarkable woman. Thank you Linda!

On another blog related topic, I met Cheryl from Muppin.com about two years ago. I haven't 'met' her but we have chatted to each other on a regular basis for a long time now. She is now rocking the quilt art scene with her quilts that light up. Literally. So much so, that 'Quilting Arts' magazine has published her work and she is now friends with the infamous Pokey Bolton.

If you are just now following my blog, you know that I would love to meet Ms. Bolton. She finds quilt artists and exposes their talents, showcases them and is a genuinely nice person.
Back to my story, Cheryl, sent me this in the mail today:

Would I sound like a schmuck if I told you that when I opened it up and read it, my face went so pale and my hand started shaking that my husband rushed over to ask what was wrong! Heaven forbid I actually meet her someday=)

I have been working on my latest art quilt. I got it all pinned today. I really detest that part of quilting. My back just kills me from taping it to the floor, putting the three layers on and pinning the whole thing together. I even started quilting it. Here it is all pinned.

E Magazine

2011-11-22T02:39:00.000-08:00

Our fearless Design Team leader has put together an e magazine for you to look at featuring her newest line Delighted.

It is all based on Kitchen beauty. The best part is that there are tutorials on every one of them. Go to the last page to link up to the tutes. I loved Jana's table runner so much, that when she gave the team a sneak preview, I had to find out how she made it immediately!

Open publication - Free publishing - More crafting

Please check back later this week for some art quilting progress.

Traditional versus Contemporary Quilting

2011-11-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

I have mentioned that I write for our Canadian Quilting Association magazine. On the top of my blog is a tab 'My Articles', and there are more of my articles here.

Traditional versus Contemporary Quilting

If this isn’t the hot topic in quilting these days, I don’t know what is.

Have you ever overheard members trying to book a guest speaker? “ I want a trunk show of traditional quilts! I want a speaker who is knowledgeable on all the new art quilting techniques.”

I figured there had to be at least a few of you who were as confused as I was in determining what is an art quilt, and what is a traditional one. And furthermore, to distinguish what clarifies a contemporary quilter versus a traditional quilter.

I made a list of top 10 features to be able to tell each one apart. Carry this with you and when the topic comes up, whip out your list and you can set everyone straight.

How to pick out a traditional quilter:

1. Their hair colour, not sure of the proper term these days, but grey, white, and silver should give you the idea.

2. They only shop in quilt stores, and most only go to the same one they have gone to since they started quilting.

3. Their machine is the same one they had when they left home and got married.

4. They have made at least one whole cloth quilt.

5. They can talk for hours on thimbles, recipes and grandchildren.

6. They are experts at putting a quilt in a frame and marking it.

7. They may not have the newest tools, but they have the most dependable ones.

8. They have mastered the techniques they use and don’t feel the need to learn new ones.

9. They still attend ‘quilting bees’.

10. They are the greatest group of quilters and need to be remembered as the founders of this amazing activity.

How to pick out a contemporary quilter:

1. They ‘look’ like they are under the age of 60.

2. They own a long arm machine and know how to use it.

3. They have blogs, websites, Facebook and Twitter, and do most shopping online.

4. Their sewing machines cost more than their cars, and they have at least two.

5. They have a stash that makes up 60% of their household contents.

6. They have gallery showings of their work, and enter into many juried shows.

7. They have a closet full of embellishments, most of which they have never used.

8. Their husbands think the freezer downstairs is full of food. It isn’t.

9. They are outgoing, friendly and know how to have a good time.

10. They want to promote quilting as an art and are doggedly determined to do so.

How to tell a traditional quilt:

1. Colors are subdued.

2. There are no prints in the quilt.

3. It has to be 100% cotton.

4. It is going to be so large, that you probably have to stand at the other end of the room to see the whole thing.

5. It is only hand quilted.

6. The artist’s statement is short and only talks about why the quilter made it. Usually an anniversary, wedding or birth are the reasons.

7. There is no fusible or machine appliqué, only the real hand method of this technique.

8. It takes over a year to make this quilt.

9. There are well over 1,000 small pieces of fabric in it.

10. There is usually a red ribbon hanging off of it.

How to tell an art quilt:

1. It has no less than 1,000 pieces of embellishment on it, that do not necessarily make the quilt look better.

2. It comes in any size, shape or form.

3. There are various types of material in it, some may not yet be discovered by man.

4. Good chance there is something you just threw out in your garbage attached to the quilt.

5. It is all machine quilted, you will see NO hand work on this quilt.

6. The fabric will be ‘altered’ in some way.

7. The artist’s statement will have a list of techniques, most of which you probably haven’t heard of. This includes stencilling, discharging, batiking, waxing, shaving, batching, mod podge, gluing, stamping, slicing, brewing, firing, bonding, cracking, chewing, molding, shampooing, and conditioning.

8. The name of the quilt will in no way have any relation to the sight of it. It probably has a number behind it, as it is in a ‘series’.

9. A pattern is never used to make this type of quilt, mostly because no one in their right mind would buy the pattern.

10. It makes no sense to you, has no flow, no rhythm, no theme, and that is what makes it art.

This article was published in the Spring 2011 CQA/ACC issue. Please don't copy without written permission. Thanks so much!

Tutorial

2011-11-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

As promised, if you want to learn how to make this cute Christmas wall hanging, click on this spot.

GO! Giveaway Winner

2011-11-14T17:48:00.000-08:00

I am sure you are all waiting to hear who won the giveaway.

Here is your answer:

Mhairi said...

I would love to win one of these Go Baby cutters. The dies I would love are: critters, hexagons and ricrac.
I am a follower of your site too.
Thanks for hosting the giveaway.

I have sent her an email, hopefully she responds soon=)

Thank you all for participating and signing up to follow.

I made this cute wallhanging for Julie and the tutorial will be up tomorrow, so check back if you want to find out how to make it. The fabric is Delighted by Amanda Herring at Riley Blake fabrics.

Surprises and Feedback

2011-11-11T19:02:00.000-08:00

Let's start off with the frustration first. I have been working away on my R & B quilt. Yesterday, I decided that the blue streaks in it needed to tie in with something, not just go off the quilt. I felt the eye was left stranded. I cut the same wavy pattern on the perimeter and added blue borders.

Now I don't know if I like it or not.

Keep in mind that it is looking quite square, but the outer edges of the blue borders are going to be shaped into the wavy pattern as well, and not so thick. What do y'all think?

Before Border

After Border

On a much happier note, look what arrived in the mail today? That is all embellishment goodies. It was a big bag of zipper tape, ribbons, buttons, pompoms, and ric rac. Totally fantastic. My dear friends at Riley Blake Fabrics are letting me do something totally wild and crazy. More on that later.

Do you see the packet of 2" squares? My BFF Brooke sent these to me! She knew I was so sad that I didn't get to market with several of the design team (probably cause I whined about it every day), so she mailed me these scrumptious squares. Yes that little paper does say Good Fortune by Kate Spain! How super cool is that? Love that girl!

You only have 2 more days to enter the giveaway for a Baby GO!

Stained Glass Quilt

2011-11-07T18:22:00.000-08:00

Remember I gave you a glance of this:

Here is the rest of it:

It is finally up on the Pellon site and my whole tutorial is there. It is an original design and let me tell you, I had a real tricky time designing this template. I must have had over 15 different designs on my sketch pad, before I found one that worked and looked good.

I used all my hand dyed fabrics for it, and love how the colours have different shades in them, just like light peaking in behind. If you want to make one, click here for the tutorial. It is not a difficult procedure and it is fun picking out the fabrics that will go in each little section. One could get really carried away and make several, just to see how different they all look.

If you haven't entered the GO! giveaway, click here.

A Preview

2011-11-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

Hi Folks!

If you are a new follower, thanks for joining. Here are a few things about me you should probably know.

1. I love making art quilts.
2. I love making my art quilts 3D.
3. Creating non art quilts is something I do alot of too, and I really like that. When I make those,
there is always a tutorial written for you.
4. If you check out the page at the top titled 'My Articles', you will laugh... if you don't, you should
seek medical attention.
5. There is a small touch of sarcastic humour about me that I rarely share=)

I am working on an art quilt and am now at the stage of getting ready to quilt it. I have done a bit of thread painting prior to the quilting of it.

Remember it started out looking like this:

I have done a whole lot more with it. I have used my GO! and added a pile of circles to it,and some lovely swirls in the middle. Once I get it pinned, I will take another progress picture to show you. All but the light blue linen in the middle of the bright blue stripes is my own hand dyed fabric. The pink to red is made up of 6 gradations.

I don't have a name for it yet. On most occasions the name of my quilts usually comes at the quilting stage or as I am putting the binding on it. For now, I refer to it as my R & B quilt. (Red and Blue)

If by some rare chance you haven't entered my Baby GO! giveaway, click here to enter.

Baby GO! Giveaway x 2 Now Closed

2011-11-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

You heard it here! I am giving away a Baby GO! and so is my friend Julie over at The Intrepid Thread.
Accuquilt is letting me give away one of their fabulous Baby GO!'s and 3 dies for it!

I will tell you, there are few products out there that do exactly what they say they will do. Accuquilt GO! is one of them. These machines are truly remarkable. I have used mine way more than I thought I would. They not only cut fabric, but flannel and felt just like slicing through butter. I had a guy email me to tell me after seeing my tutorial on Pattern Review, he was getting one to do felt Christmas ornaments. How cool is that?

You can also get 22 free patterns when you sign up to get their emails.

Onto the giveaway, all you have to do is be a follower and tell me which 3 dies you would choose. To keep you as a follower, I will be holding giveaways on a very regular basis=)

For a second chance to win a Baby GO!, go and see Julie over at her blog to enter. While you are there, you would be crazy not to check out her etsy store, her prices will make your jaw drop.

I will announce a winner on Monday November 14, 2011. Good luck!

Giveaway Winner and the Best Picture

2011-10-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

The results are in... this one was so funny. I do the random number generator and then I start counting. I loved the results this time, it was #1. How easy is that?

Lynn said...

I love a good mystery! I'm a follower.

October 23, 2011 6:46 PM

Okay, you better sit down for this one. My dream is to go to Quilt Market and Festival in Houston. If you are not quite as obsessive as I am about Quilt Market, this is where all the fabric companies, book publishers, and anyone in the business related to quilting go and showcase their products.

It is closed to the public. Quilt shop owners and the like go and see what is new, order the hottest fabric lines etc. It is the be all and end all of the quilt world. Literally. Some of Amanda's design team went this year. Namely Candice, Brooke, Sally and Julie.

These girls were super friends before they went, but they have broken the 'amazing meter' by what they did while they were there. This is where I should mention that a while ago, I was teasing them when they were making plans for market. I told them if they ran into Pokey Bolton, the grand puba of 'Quilting Arts' magazine and so many other things, tell her I said hi.

Tonight when I opened my email, there was one from Sally with the subject line stating, 'Special for Jackie', upon opening the email was this picture:

That is Pokey on the left and Sally on the right and Julie taking the picture!!! They went right up and met her and asked if they could have her picture for me! Do I not have the best friends in the world?
I have no idea when I will get sleep again. That is just so freakin' cool. I could go on and on about this, but at some point you may get a little bored. Feel free to email me privately if you would like me to continue gushing about the coolness of this event.

Do check back later this week.... just sayin.......

Having Fun with my GO!

2011-10-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

I have been playing with my Baby GO! I didn't think I would use it as much as I have. I wonder if there is such a thing as a GO! addiction. I may have it, if there is. I think the treatment is probably to buy more dyes for it=)

When my kids were younger, I made them felt boards and literally spent hours cutting out shapes for them. Last week I used my GO! to cut out shapes the board, in 3 minutes flat! Now why wasn't the GO! around back then?

Now take a look at this sneak peak of what I have been working on:

This is what I have been creating for Pellon. Trust me when I say you have no idea what I have made this out of.

You see that I have mentioned the GO! quite a bit, you may want to check back next week. Just sayin'...

How To Improve the Juried Process

2011-10-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

I mentioned before that I write for the national quilting publication here in Canada. I have my own column, it is a humorous approach to quilting.

To date, this is my all time favourite article I have ever written. I think because I do enter juried shows, and I do often get rejected from them. And I really want to get accepted. I did well in 2011, but still have yet to get into Houston or Quilt National. With Houston Quilt Festival just around the corner, I thought this would be an appropriate time to post it. Without further ado, here is my article.

How To Improve The Juried Process

Have you heard the term, ‘fat envelope’ and skinny envelope’? If you have, then you are definitely my group of people. If you haven’t, read on and I will enlighten you.

Let me first explain how to enter a juried show. You usually are required to submit photos of your quilt, provide an artist’s statement that describes the message the quilt conveys, the size of it, and a fee. This information has to arrive by a specific date, and a jury looks at all the quilts and decides who gets accepted. There is also a date that they will let you know whether your quilt got in or not. Typically acceptance letters are sent first, rejection ones second.

After you enter a juried show, you sit and wait to see if you are going to get a skinny envelope, meaning it is just the rejection letter inside. Or a ‘fat envelope’ meaning you got in, and all the instructions to get your quilt to the show are included.

I must tell you a story that happened to me over the years of trying to enter juried shows.

It started when I received an acceptance email regarding my entry. I skimmed quickly over it… ‘Dear… Ms. White, your quilt… got in.’ Yahoo, elation! Now I better read it over more carefully. ‘Dear Ms. Joyce White’, hmm, that is not my name, oh must be a simple mistake… continuing, ‘your quilt ‘Around the Lake’, hmm, that is not the name of my quilt either.

Oh dear, what exactly does this mean, I better email the jury coordinator. Looks like I got this Joyce White’s acceptance email and she got mine.

Later that afternoon I received an email from the jury coordinator, ‘So sorry for the mix-up, but as a courtesy I am attaching your rejection letter even though you will soon receive it in the mail.’ Well, that was thoughtful, now I will have the pleasure of feeling like a loser twice. When I opened up the attached letter it said, ‘Thank you for applying, we only accepted excellent quilts this year.’ That does make me feel better!

They say you are to study the jurors and the quilts they make, so you know how to get your quilt accepted. Why would I do that? I am not making them a quilt. It’s not their birthday. They are not supposed to be picking quilts that they like for themselves. If that was the case, they should have their own solo show.

Then there is this entry fee thing. Can you just charge the ones that got in? I realize it is to cover costs, but mine didn’t get in, so it’s not like you are paying to ship it back.

Quilting is so subjective. I am also a competitive swimmer so my ability in this area, is determined by my time. If I go fast, I win. Perhaps quilting can take on this attitude. Instead of asking for the dimensions of the quilt, just ask how long it took to make. And why not remove the best workmanship award and put in a speed award. What? You finished your quilt in four days? Red ribbon to you!

Who cares if it looks like it should adorn the window on your outhouse. You won!

I also think there should be a B division like in hockey. If you don’t get into the big juried show, why not let those rejected quilts get accepted into the B show?

And many shows often send the comments of the jurors along with the rejection letter. I know this is the juror’s way of absolving themselves of guilt as to why they didn’t pick my quilt. Here is an example of a juror’s comments I received, ‘Your quilt does not display symmetry.’ Okay, if I didn’t get in, chances are I don’t know what symmetry is. Why not just say, ‘your quilt sucks’.

And another thing, these artist’s statements, how much importance is given to that, versus the actual quilt? I think if you can write a good story, it doesn’t matter what your quilt looks like. I wonder if the jurors are so intimidated by the terminology of some of these quilters, that they just select them. Figuring their quilt must be really deep and wonderful, and they would be missing something if they didn’t let them into the show. Jurors, here is a tip… we just make that stuff up to get in.

Let me give you an example. Picture a big piece of black cloth with a red strip running through it. Here is the attached artist’s statement: ‘This quilt is a reflection of when I rescued a dog swimming in the ocean with only one leg. It made me realize that we as humans are but a small particle on this planet. How we come to struggle and survive without destroying the balance and harmony of this universe is a quest unknown.’

And you know what? That quilt would get in. I have no idea what it means, but neither would anyone else.

I have tried to explain how I feel about the jury process. Now I would like to offer some suggestions to the jurors.

If we actually manage to get in one year, can we please get a pass to get in for the next year? It probably took us 10 years to get in and if we have to wait that long again, we may not be around the next time. We are an aging bunch.

Instead of advising us to study the quilts made by the jury, why not publish their likes and dislikes so bribes can be sent in? That is something a little more realistic and helpful.

Don’t mail the rejection letter, email it to us, we want to be able to delete it right away and pretend it didn’t happen. Who needs a paper copy to remind us we are a failure?

How about a free pass? After 5 rejections, you get a coupon to get into the next juried show.

Why not mix it up a bit and have an ‘opposite juried show’? All the ones that got rejected get to be hung in the show, and those that were good enough to get accepted, mail them the rejection letters. Now wouldn’t that be a nice switch.

Can you just find a venue that can host all the entries? Why do you always have to say, ‘We loved all the quilts, but we could only choose 4 of the 5,000 due to limited space.’ Find a bigger area. That would be smarter. Then when you cash all those entry fee cheques, you don’t need to feel guilty that half of them totally wasted their money applying.

Lastly, can you please post on You Tube the jurors doing the jury selection? I just want to see that they are not drawing names out of a hat.

Now I must go and check my mail for a fat envelope… one can always hope.

This article was published in the Winter 2010 CQA/ACC issue. Please don't copy without written permission. Thanks so much!

Book Review and Giveaway

2011-10-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

I was recently contacted by Plume Publishing to do a book review of a quilting mystery novel that was being released this October. I jumped at the chance to read a book that had quilting in it! Who wouldn't?

Now, I know you are thinking I am going to give it a good review because I got a free book and that is what is expected of me. My friends would laugh at that. If it was bad I would just contact the publisher and tell them what I thought and not do the review. In this case, my opinion of 'The Devil's Puzzle' was this: TOTALLY FANTASTIC!

The first paragraph got me. Clare O'Donohue has a sense of people and insight into them that she shares throughout the novel. It just makes you really think. The novel has quilting in it. The author talks about quilting in such a personal way and sees an overall view that we as quilters, don't step back and take a look at. The mystery is good. I did not know until I was told, who committed the murder.
Here is the synopsis of the book:

Witchcraft in a small New England town typically harkens Salem, Massachusetts. However, amateur sleuth Nell Fitzgerald finds the upcoming anniversary of Archers Rest, New York drawing out the town’s own dark history of witchcraft, as well as that of its residents in THE DEVIL’S PUZZLE. Nell is thrilled when her grandmother Eleanor’s boyfriend plans a double surprise—restoring the rose garden of her old Victorian house, and a marriage proposal. However, Oliver’s plans are put on hold when a skeleton is unearthed in Eleanor’s backyard. Police Chief Jesse Dewalt launches an investigation, and for once, Nell vows to stay out of his way, instead focusing on organizing a historic quilt show as part of the town’s upcoming anniversary festivities. When clues lead to questions about Eleanor’s past, Nell is forced to uncover the truth. As the anniversary approaches, a chilling wave of vandalism strikes town hot spots, raising fears that witchcraft has returned, and revealing secrets that could change life in Archer’s Rest forever.

I was so intrigued by Ms. O'Donohue that I asked the publisher if I could do a Q&A with her, and she consented.

Your book starts right off being insightful of people in general and continues throughout the book. Where did you develop this instinct about people?

I suppose like all writers, I watch people a lot. I try not to be judgemental, and not bring my own biases into things, but just observe. People reveal a lot of themselves and as long as you stay neutral, listen and watch, you can learn a lot.

You have a real handle on art quilters vs traditional quilters and explain it in a refreshing complimentary way to both parties, please tell us about this?

I’m a big fan of both traditional pieces and art pieces. They both lean on a long history of using cloth for creative expression, and both are a way for the maker to showcase skills, ideas, and talents. I don’t really understand why there is a divide, but I’ve seen it. I think we all learn from each other.

I guess I should have started with this one. Do you quilt ? If so for how long and what type of quilting do you enjoy?

I’ve been quilting for about 15 years, maybe longer. I generally make traditional quilts. I love the log cabin, which is both very traditional and very modern, depending on the fabrics you choose. I’m hand piecing a grandmother’s flower garden at the moment. It’s been a while since I’ve hand-pieced, and I find it’s very relaxing. Though I generally piece quilts and sometimes machine applique, I’m doing more hand appliqué as well. Once in a while I’ll do an “art” quilt – but I’m usually following the pattern or influence of someone like Ricky Tims or Velda Newman.

Do you belong to a guild?

I don’t, though I’d certainly like to. I travel quite a lot for my day job as a TV producer, and I’m pretty active in the mystery writing community, so there’s not a lot of spare time. These days I mainly quilt on Sundays, and take my hand piecing with me on the road. But perhaps when (if) things quiet down, I’ll join a guild.

Are all your books mysteries?

Yes, so far. I really like writing mysteries because I think a dead body on the floor gives an immediacy to the events. You can’t talk about it tomorrow. You have to deal with it now. That sets things in motion. Plus, I think it’s always interesting to put characters into a crisis and see how they handle it.

My favourite line in the whole book is this, “You can hide who you are from much of the world, but when you quilt, I realized, your personality finds its way into the finished product.” How did you come to believe this?

That’s true, isn’t it? I think when you quilt you forget yourself, you focus on the work and in doing that, you are also focusing on what’s most interesting to you, what matters. So if you see tiny, even stitches, you can bet that person cares about precision. And not just when she quilts. If you see bold, bright choices, it’s likely a quilt made by someone who isn’t afraid of standing out from the crowd. I don’t tend to make the same quilt twice, because I really like to keep challenging myself. And my quilts have lots of little mistakes in them, which is a clear indication that I’m not a perfectionist.

What made you want to become a writer and why quilt mysteries?

I’ve always written. As a little kid I changed the endings to fairy tales to suit me, as a teenager I wrote short stories and a novella. After college, I began working as a newspaper reporter and later a columnist, in a small weekly paper in Illinois. Then I started working in TV, writing and producing documentaries and other programs. So I’ve always written. When I decided to try writing a novel, I suppose I took that old advice and wrote about what I knew, which was quilting. My other mystery series, The Kate Conway Mysteries, focuses on TV producing because that’s something else I know about.

The Someday Quilts series includes The Lover’s Knot, A Drunkard’s Path, The Double Cross and The Devil’s Puzzle (Oct. 2011), and her Kate Conway series recently made its debut with Missing Persons. O’Donohue lives in Chicago, IL. Visit her website at clareodonohue.com and the Someday Quilts fan page on Facebook.

When I googled Devil's Puzzle quilt block, I found that it is a variation of the Drunkard's Path Block and could look like this:

Now I am lucky enough to give away this book to one lucky follower. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me you follow and I will pick a winner next Monday October 31st.

Giveaway Winner and Other News

2011-10-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

What a fantastic week! First thank you to all who entered the giveaway. A special thank you for all who are joining my blog. Welcome! And thank you to those who continue to follow. It is appreciated.

The giveaway winner is:

Kirsten said...

Congratulations on 500 posts!

I have to admit, and I'm still sometimes embarrassed by this, that my favourite colour is pink. It used to red... does that mean I've faded???

October 18, 2011 8:23 AM

I received a lovely email from the Editor-in-Chief of American Quilter magazine yesterday:

Hi Jackie,
Thank you for sharing your quilt story. I just posted it on the American Quilter magazine blog at www.QuiltViews.com. Your grandmother must have been a very special lady indeed!

I was so excited when I read this and went right to the website. My quilt 'Bye Gram, I Love You' had just returned home earlier this week and was finally hanging back in it's rightful place. It had been travelling to 3 juried shows since May. So when I got this email, I just looked at my quilt and smiled with a tear in my eye. My Gram would have been so shocked to think that all this could have happened. Honestly, when I sat sitting on my grandmother's stool sewing on all those hundreds of buttons, I never imagined that this quilt would generate so much interest. I am truly speechless.

As you know, this week, our team launched Amanda's new fabric line Delighted. I did a talk at my guild and had almost 50 in attendance. We made the little pin cushions.

Here are a couple of them working away at them.

One of the ladies, Judy, came and showed me her block she is doing for the Tinners club at our guild. I was so astounded with it, that she let me take a pic of it. I believe she said there were over 150 3/4" strips in it. That is 1/4" finished strip, in case you were wondering how big each of those little pieces were.

Isn't it just the cutest block?

Stay tuned next week, I am doing a fun review and a giveaway.

Delighted Launch Party!

2011-10-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Today is the launch party of Delighted fabric line by Amanda Herring. The design team is launching online parties and offline parties. I am doing my launch at my guild tonight, but will be back later with follow up to that.

At our meeting tonight, we are making these little cuties.

(All photos courtesy of Peas in a Pod and Silly Mama blogs)

If you want to get in on some awesome giveaways, then check out my fellow team mates blogs and their launch parties.

Sally

Julie

Stephanie

Candice

Jana

Amanda, the girl behind it all, fabric designer extraordinaire

Johanna

And don't forget to enter my giveaway.

Baby GO! Tutorial

2011-10-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

I have been using my Baby GO! non stop. I love it. A.L.O.T. And when I am not using it, I am looking on their website to see what dies I simply must have. Okay, it is all of them. But who's counting?

As you have heard me say a zillion times, I love circles. One of the dies I bought was the 2", 3", and 5" circles. Did you also know you can sign up to receive their newsletter and you will get 22 free patterns. You don't even have to have a GO! to use them.

Cute? This was made using my Baby GO! It was so fast and so much fun. The best part is that I can put a little star on the top, throw some little presents underneath and it becomes a Christmas wall hanging. Or I added a few little flowers on it. I left it plain, as my kids are going to decorate it for me. That is another great thing about the GO!, you can cut out shapes and have your kids decorate wall hangings for each season!

Here is how to make one.

Supplies:

2 fat eighths of green fabric

6" square of red fabric

3" x 6" rectangle for tree trunk

23" x 21" for background and backing

material for binding

batting

Accuquilt Baby GO!

Rose of Sharon by Sharon Pederson, #55045 Die

GO! Circle 2", 3", and 5", #55012 Die

Fusing

Sewing machine

Cutting Tools

Iron

I used fabric from the Delighted collection from Riley Blake fabrics for the greens in the tree, the red balls and the binding.

I fused Wonder Under to the back of two 8" x 6" pieces of the green fabrics.

I used my Circle Die and cut out 9 - 3" circles and 9 -2" circles from the two different green fabrics.

Fuse Wonder Under to the back of the red fabric. Using the Roses of Sharon die, place the red fabric on the 1/2", 3/4" and 1" circles. You will need about 20 circles. You will see I also used a bit of the binding fabric for my circles as well.

Fuse Wonder Under to the back of the fabric for the tree trunk. Cut out a trunk shape. I just free handed it. Place this on your background fabric and begin layering the tree. You will start with the biggest circles at the bottom.

Continue layering the tree, alternating fabric, until you use up all your green circles.

Add the red balls on top and fuse in place with a hot iron following manufacturer's instructions.

If you want the flowers at the bottom, then use the Rose of Sharon die, and cut out some flowers and leaves.

The red balls can either look like apples, or if it is near Christmas, like holiday balls. If it is going to be for Christmas, add a yellow star at the top and some cute presents at the bottom.

Square up your background. Quilt and bind. I did circle quilting on the tree and trunk. And a large stippling in the background.

The GO! really makes things go smooth and easy. What are the highlights of the Baby GO! that I enjoy? It cuts circles out perfectly. And it does it quickly. It is so easy to use and small to store. It is a definite time saver and makes my quilts look more precise.

Don't forget to enter my fabric giveaway, it ends on Friday.

500th Post and a Giveaway! Now Closed

2011-10-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

This is my 500th post!

I can't believe it. I had no idea I would ever get this far and have so much fun doing it. I have so many upcoming things to share with you that I am bursting at the seams!

A giveaway is definitely in order. To celebrate I am giving away 4 fat quarters of my hand dyed fabric.

All you have to do is be a follower of mine and tell me your favourite color. So when I pick the winner, you will get colors that you like.

I will draw a winner next Friday October 21, 2011

Baby GO!

2011-10-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Guess what I have been keeping a secret? Accuquilt has asked me to be one of their Official Accuquilt Bloggers!

They sent me a Baby GO!

I chose these 3 dies:

Roses of Sharon, Circles and Feathers.

I am working on the cutest little tutorial as we speak. Of course I had the GO! working within an hour of it entering my house.
I do have to say, it is so easy it is ridiculous! We all know my slight obsession with circles, so it is no surprise that I have over 50 circles cut with my GO! already.

Stay tuned for more GO! excitement.

Laminated Cotton

2011-10-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

Remember when the first fabric company took the plunge and put some of their quilting cottons into a laminate? And the masses went wild? Now you are hard pressed to find a company that doesn't put a few fabrics from each line into laminated cotton.

Compared to the laminates a few decades ago, these ones are a dream. Soft, supple, easy to work with, can iron one side, pliable and oh so comfy.

The downside being you can't really pin as it leaves a hole, patching is tricky as it is thicker than cotton and without a teflon foot for your machine, you will be ready to pitch it into a corner.

Having said all of that, I had some gorgeous laminate from Amanda's second line of fabric 'Sugar and Spice'. I finally got to work and made a rain poncho, complete with lined hood and trim around the bottom and a front pocket.

And please don't comment that I am not 'model material', I already know that=)

On the quilting front, I have two on the go. Next week, we better have a giveaway to celebrate 500 posts. Two more to go till the big 500th one!

To all my fellow Canadians, Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you put on your fat pants for all that turkey to be consumed.

Lost on the Block

2011-10-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

My quilt is up on the Riley Blake website.

I used the 'Lost and Found' fabric by My Mind's Eye. This block I designed is so easy, yet the options are limitless. Check it out and feel free to leave a comment here or on their site.

In order to see the tutorial, when you get to the Riley Blake blog, just click on the 'Cutting Corners College' tab at the top and you can see the full instructions there.

I think this is my favourite quilt I have designed for them. I know that my mom is going to use it when she does quilts for charity, as it is easy, fast and has a fun pattern when assembled.

A New Art Quilt

2011-10-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

I am working on a new art quilt. This one had me stumped for over two months. This is what hung on my design wall during that time.

I knew it needed more, so I took it back down, mixed up some thickened dye and created this.

I put red circles all over it. Then it hung for another six weeks. I stared at it every day, thinking it needed something else, and not knowing how to put my focal point on it in a pleasing manner. I knew what I wanted on there, and have that part made up (3D), but did not know how to get the quilt to flow together and look good.

Last week, after flipping through books for inspiration, it came to me. I was a little nervous because I have never cut up the background of a quilt before. I also knew this had to be improved. I took a deep breath, grabbed my cutter and closed my eyes. Kidding! I did not shut my eyes!

Here is what I came up with.

I am happy with it now. The darker blue is my hand dyed fabric and the lighter blue is a linen I had in my stash. I learned quickly that linen can really fray... fast!

I now have a strong design in my sketch pad, did some work in my Paint program and got some photocopying done. I am ready for the next step... this consists of circles and ovals. I do have a thing for them right now.

Will keep you posted as I progress to the next step. I think I am only a few posts off till I hit 500, so will plan a giveaway for that celebration! One more thing, I started a Facebook page, if you feel inclined, can you give it a 'like'.

Creatopia Giveaway

2011-10-02T04:38:00.000-07:00

Hey Peeps!

Just got word Amanda of The Quilted Fish is giving away a Creatopia! Go to her blog..... (there aren't that many entries right now=)

And a tip.... this isn't even the super awesome giveaway that I was talking about on my blog=)) That is still coming.

Giveaway Winner and Other Stuff

2011-09-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

Let's cut right to the winner of the charm pack of 'Hoo's in the Forest'. The random generator picked #83. I have emailed them.

Anonymous said...

From YOUR shop I love the pink and purple overdyed fabric. Or maybe the blue dyed fabric. Oh...wait...maybe.

Now onto some other stuff, I have some super duper exciting news.... that will benefit my followers too! But I can't share just yet... in about 2 weeks I think.

I am at 495 posts. Okay, I think this one will probably be 496. When I reach 500 I am doing a good giveaway.

I will put my thinking cap on and think of something really really juicy, or rather textile-y. That may not be a word though. But you get my drift.

In the meantime, I have 2 projects on the go. One is my art quilt. I sliced it in half and then half again. I will take some pics of that over the weekend and show you.

Here is a sneak peak of a project I have done for Pellon.

It is so pretty. Well, you will probably have to trust me on that one, seeing as I didn't show you the whole picture. I used my hand dyed fabrics. As soon as Pellon posts it, I will reveal the whole quilt. And you will be able to go to their website and make one for yourself.

Delighted is Here!

2011-09-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

Guess what came in the mail yesterday? My package of Delighted by the sweet Amanda Herring of The Quilted Fish. Riley Blake fabrics is the distributor of Delighted. I just have to say that Amanda and Riley Blake are the most super amazing people ever! Really!

She sent the whole collection in Fat Quarters! You don't have to tell me how lucky I am, I know. And our design team is cooking up some real sweet stuff in the very near future.

The last picture is banner fabric! You know how banners are all the rage these days. How easy is this, buy a panel and throw some batting behind it, back it or not, use some pinking shears or a wavy rotary cutter and you are done. And it looks like you spent hours on it. I'll get mine made up very soon to show you.

In the meantime, I am working on an art quilt that I hope to enter into a juried show. I had a breakthrough this morning and can't wait to show you.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway. It closes this Friday.

What else is new? I am coming up to my 500th post and I am definitely having a giveaway to celebrate that!

Fabric Giveaway

2011-09-25T23:52:00.000-07:00

To celebrate my opening of my etsy store, I am having a giveaway!

I have a cute charm pack of 'Hoo's in the Forest' by Riley Blake fabrics. It is so sweet and so adorable. I love charm packs. It isn't too much fabric that it intimidates you or makes you think you should save it, but not so little that you can't do anything with it. And it is all pre-cut perfectly. That is definitely the best part!

Details to enter the giveaway:

1. Leave me a comment telling me what you buy on etsy.

2. Blog about it, and get 2 more entries.

3. If you are a new follower, leave a comment telling me.

4. For that bonus comment, tell me your favourite item on my etsy site.

I will make a draw this Friday. Good Luck!!

My Etsy Shop

2011-09-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

After a year of thinking about it, I took the plunge. I opened up an etsy shop. I am quite nervous about the whole venture, but will take a chance and see how I do. I just received two bolts of PFD fabric today, so I can begin dyeing more to put in my shop.

I have some more items that I have from the recent quilt show still to put in, and hope to do so over the weekend.

Please feel free to take a look and soon I will be offering coupons for my readers for discounts in my etsy store.

I think this should be celebrated with a giveaway, so check back on Monday!

Sarah Vee

2011-09-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

Imagine my delight when I got to meet my first ever blogger friend! It happened this past weekend at our local quilt show. I met Sarah Vee. She just did the sweetest post about meeting me, and really made me sound great.

Don't tell her, but I had to borrow her pic of us, as the one on my camera did not make me look good. My eyes were half shut, I think I gained some weight prior to the photo, my face was bloated, my shoes were undone, and my scarf was tied around my head. You didn't believe all that did you? Just trust me when I say I did not look pretty. I still think the camera added ten pounds. That or I am slightly delusional about what I actually look like=)

Anyway, I digress. I got to meet my first ever blogger buddy! How exciting was that? I am not the most outgoing individual, but Sarah was so easy to talk to and so very sweet.

I have been following her blog for quite some time now. She really is a girl who lives on the adventurous side of quilting. She is always trying something new, and I mean always. And she joins all these quilty things and actually finishes them!

So how cool is this magazine?

Guess who is in it? Yes, my friend Sarah! Can you say wreaking talent galore?

And when you go to her blog, scroll down the side bar, she is featured on the Selvage Blog and is a pattern designer for The Quilt Pattern magazine.

Right now, my favourite quilt on her blog is this one. Of course there are circles galore in it... but the pattern is actually a bow tie block. How cool is that?

Go and see what Sarah is up to, and tell her you dropped by.

Table Runner Tutorial

2011-09-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

Check out my new table runner up at Pellon's website. I used Lola's Posies from Riley Blake fabrics.

The instructions give you all the measurements and fabric needed to make a twin, double or queen sized quilt using this pattern. It is done with two blocks and three different fabrics, and looks great the bigger you get.

I have some exciting news to share very soon, and with that will come a fun give away... so stay tuned!

Quilt Show (very photo heavy)

2011-09-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

I have been MIA for a week. It was for good reason. There were 4 of us commandeering a quilt show. We had a new venue for it, a brand new committee and we were waiting for Ground Zero quilt to come to Canada. This was our feature quilt, made by Lois Jarvis, in remembrance of 9/11. It had 4 days to get from Wisconsin to my very little and remote town in Canada.

I didn't sleep for a week. Literally. 7 days and no sleep. The quilt came. I slept.

Then our quilt show took place. And it came with such success, it was surreal. People came from everywhere. They were waiting for the show to open. They flooded the place on the first day. There was not one negative comment. Not one.

And you know what? I had fun. The guild I belong to is incredible. These women work. You asked them to do something, and it was done. That's it. I have realized that my generation can really learn from the older one. We don't give our word like these people do, we don't start and more importantly finish a task that is assigned to us. We don't know how to work like that generation. I admire them.

I better get to the pictures before I tick any young people off=) Here is the deal. I do know who made these quilts. We allow photos at our show, so I have no problem putting them on my blog. But, I am careful about putting names on my blog, and I did not ask any of them if I could put their names on, so please know I am not purposely not giving credit to those whose quilts I show, but rather just being respectful. Whew, after that big blurb, if you are still with me, here are the photos of our quilt show.

This quilt was my all time favourite. Okay, there wasn't really alot of art quilts there. But I just loved this one. And I didn't even tell the maker of it.

And this was our feature quilt. Ground Zero by Lois Jarvis. It had over 600 faces of the victims who were killed in 9/11. We had a guest book at the table in front as well as Ms. Jarvis' story of why she made the quilt. Very few walked away without being choked up.

My Writing

2011-09-12T07:12:00.000-07:00

My little secret. I mentioned before that I did some writing. Here is the scoop. I write for our national quilting publication here in Canada. I have my own column. It is a humorous approach to quilting. Occasionally the editor feels the need to put in a little sidebar stating that my humour does not reflect the views of the magazine. I guess there is a need to warn the readers that this chick is very sarcastic. Such is life. I mean no harm to anyone, and I usually laugh my head off while I write them.

The editor, a dear sweet super talented woman, has given me permission to allow my articles to be put on my blog. So just to follow copyright procedures, this one is from the Summer 2010 CQA/ACC magazine.

My disclaimer is this, it is not one of my funniest. But it was my first one, so I think it deserves to be showcased too. As an aside, I do have an all time favourite article, and it will get published here. I still can't read it without laughing, and trust me when I say I have read it over 50 times.

I even have a name I write under, I call myself the 'Creative Cousin'. Anyway, have a read, and I hope you have one chuckle.

The Fabric Phenomenon

There is one thing that every quilter needs in order to create a quilt. I am not referring to chocolate, although that is an important tool in quilting, I am talking about fabric.

We need fabric to make our works of art. But it is more than that. We need it to sustain us. Every quilter has some experience in this area. I have met hundreds of quilters, and each is different in their fabric needs and wants. After careful research, I have come up with several types of quilters.

I will start with those quilters that buy fabric at the onset of every quilt. They must purchase new material as they start a new quilt. I call this group the Methodical Quilters. They have the same practiced method each time they begin a new quilt. They find a pattern, decide on the size of quilt, jot down the amount of fabric needed, and immediately drive to their favourite quilt shop. After a set amount of time looking at material, they purchase it, drive home and begin cutting it up. These quilters I admire. They set goals, work at it, and finish the quilt in a timely manner. They are a very rare breed. I don’t qualify for this group, chances are you don’t either.

I love the ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I just found a quilt shop’ Quilters. The members of this group boast extreme politeness and thoughtfulness. Upon stumbling onto a new quilt store, (that they had secretly spent hours researching , then acting completely surprised when they find it), they go in and feel it is only courteous to buy something from this business to show their support and thankfulness that there was a store in the area they were shopping in. Guaranteed you know someone who fits into this group, as you probably always offer to go with them when they say they are going shopping.

There are some that take the scientific approach to quilting. I call this group the Fabric Scientists. These are the quilters that will pull several pieces of fabric out of their stash and look at them together, then separately, make notes, move them around in another manner, mix them up again, take more notes, and finally come up with a synopsis that they simply must purchase more fabric in order for this experiment ( quilt) to work.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Scholarly Quilters. These women study the many topics of quilting. For example, one area is colour. In theory the colour wheel is discussed along with values, hues and intensity. When it comes to doing the practical, you are forced to go into your stash and create different examples showing the hues and values of several colours. At this point, the Scholarly

Quilter realizes that in order to achieve a better mark, it is imperative that they purchase more fabric. I sometimes take a course just to provide a more innovative excuse to my husband as to why I need more fabric, usually ending with the comment, “You don’t want me to fail the course, do you?”

The new trend is the Enviro Quilter. This person is the one that knows how important it is to recycle and reuse fabric. This is becoming very popular. You will find this quilter in second hand stores, rummage sales and even looking through your garbage. They produce fantastic quilts and save a lot of money. And what a great way to increase your stash.

Then there are the quilters that I envy. They are the ones that have worked hard their whole lives, raised their children, looked after their husbands and now it is their time to enjoy life. I call these ladies the Golden Quilters. They are the ones that go into a quilt store and buy whatever they want, whenever they want. These quilters deserve it, and I applaud them for getting to this point in their lives where they can enjoy themselves.

I think the most fun one to watch is the Impulsive Quilter. This one goes to every quilt show with the motive that they are not going to buy any fabric. They are simply there to take in the beauty of the quilts, and enjoy the company of other quilters. Nonetheless this quilter ends up in the vendors’ market every time with her wallet open. You can always zero in on the Impulsive Quilter by the comments made. “Oh, I really shouldn’t get this, I already have so much fabric.” Or “I don’t even know what I am going to use this for, but I simply must have it.”

My favourite line is when they get into the car with their friends and are doing a little show and share and the impulsive quilter exclaims, “I had no idea I bought so much!”

Hand Dyed Fabric

2011-09-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

I spent yesterday ironing, and tagging my hand dyed fabric. I have it all ready to go to our quilt show next weekend. It is going to be on sale at our guild boutique. This will be the first time I have ever sold, or should I say tried to sell it.

I also have done some hand dyed 100% silk scarves.

Here are my pics.
These are my fat quarter bundles, packs of 4.

Here are some 1 yard cuts, with my silk scarves on top.

Look at the silk scarf on top, it has white dots on it! Love that one so much.

A Little Humor

2011-09-08T04:31:00.000-07:00

The secret is out. If you live in Canada and belong to the Canadian Quilting Association, then you already know. Most likely you don't though.

I write a humorous column for their magazine. I have been doing this for over a year now. I should clarify, when I say ' humorous', I mean total sarcastic funniness.

The other day a few of the gals on the design team were having a rough day, so I sent them one of my articles. They laughed. ALOT. Well, they told me that anyway.

The next day Amanda, our leader, asked me to write a little article for her blog about our team. I did. Check it out here.

Then come back and tell me what you think of it. Stay tuned for a giveaway. I have been dyeing a ton of fabric and feel like downloading some to my peeps=)

Thread Painting and Hand Dyed Fabrics

2011-09-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

My mom had this beautiful panel that she wanted to put in our upcoming quilt show. I offered to thread paint it for her. I used a similar dark yellow shade for the centre and just carried the lines out further. For the petals, I went with a brighter hue of pink instead of the burgundy. I wanted the quilting to stand out a bit more rather than recede into the quilt. The batting used is a high loft, so you can really see the areas that stand out.

I have a great respect for thread painting, even though it just looks like you get in and fill up areas with thread, you don't. You have to try and figure out where to start, how to get from one place to another and where to end. Otherwise you have stray lines all over the place, no need to ask me how I know this!

Our quilt show is in 13 days and this is my first time volunteering to be on the quilt show committee for our guild. (Well, it is the first time I have volunteered at a quilt show, but we don't need to mention that to my guild.) We decided to keep the committee small and do most meetings via email. So far it has worked.

Our big catch, is that we are bringing the Ground Zero quilt to our little town. This quilt made by Lois Jarvis was made in memory of 9/11 and has over 700 faces of the deceased victims on it.

It will be coming on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and it is the first time this quilt will enter Canada. It has been to 123 places so far.

We are very thrilled to be able to receive such a meaningful tribute to 9/11 for our quilt show. I would love to invite all of you, but most of you live very very far from me=)

We always have a guild boutique where guild members can sell their quilted items etc. This year I got super brave and am going to sell my hand dyed fabric. Well try to anyway. Here is a shot of some fat quarters I have ready to be bundled.

When I get everything packaged and labelled, I will take another picture. Each piece of fabric is not a solid shade, I manipulate it so it has alot of texture in it. So my question to all my dear followers, would you buy any?

Embellishing with Stamps and Buttons

2011-08-31T08:11:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that every art quilt I make has embellishing on it. My preference is 3D embellishing, but I do like using stamps and different techniques.

I bought a really cool circle stamp yesterday ( I am also currently obsessed with circles).
It is going to be for my current art quilt, to be used on the background, to give some variety to it.

I tried out several different ways to apply it. Here are the results:

This one I put the stamp under the fabric and brushed Shiva Paintstik on the fabric.

I used the same method as above, but with a marker.

I used a brayer and put paint on the stamp, then stamped it onto the fabric.

I love buttons. I use them on many of my quilts. Okay, I use them on all my quilts. But I wanted more from the buttons. I didn't like that I was limited to whatever colours the buttons were and I had no say in the creation of them. So I ordered a little button making kit. Now I can use my own fabric to make buttons. This is Riley Blake fabric, but I am also going to use my hand dyed fabric too.

How cool is this?

I am definitely using both on my quilt in progress.

Fat Quarter Bundle Giveaway

2011-08-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

A Chance to Win a Fat Quarter Bundle of Delighted!

Amanda Herring just told her Design Team that she picked up her new Delighted fabric today! It is sooo awesome. She is giving you a chance to WIN a fat quarter bundle of it before you can even buy it in stores if you go to her Facebook page and "Like" it.

Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/QuiltedFish?ref=ts

I do have some fun stuff to show you, but have to unpack some cool things and then will reveal what I have been up to=)

Fat Quarter Bundle Giveaway

2011-08-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! My friend Jana on the design team is hosting a superb fat quarter giveaway. We have a fabulous team, but I can tell you Jana is by far the funniest one on it, and it comes through on her blog.

This fantastic fabric is from Julie's shop. The same one I had the giveaway from last week, so you know it is amazing fabric. And a little tip, she is having a super sale again in her etsy store this week.

Hop on over and try and win this beautiful fat quarter bundle by Promenade in blue!

Giveaway Winner

2011-08-26T04:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, thanks to everyone for posting on the giveaway!

The winner was:

Allison C said...

I follow Intrepid Thread!

August 19, 2011 4:39 PM

Allison, I emailed you.

For those that didn't win, I will be hosting another giveaway soon as I am nearing 500 posts and that is a cause for celebration.

Thank you to all my faithful followers, and thank you to all the new ones that signed on.

I have a few things to show you that I have been working on - embellishing ideas and progress on my new art quilt, so stay tuned!

Delighted

2011-08-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

Look at this new line of fabric that Amanda of The Quilted Fish has designed. It is called 'Delighted' and should be in stores September.

You only have a day left to enter Julie's giveaway that I am hosting for her. Click here to leave a comment on this post.

Dyeing and a Sneak Peek

2011-08-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

It had been a few weeks since I dyed some fabric, and I was missing seeing it hang on my clothesline. This is what I did, the one on the right is an overdyed piece of cotton.

This is a sneak peek of an art quilt I am working on. I am using markers to colour it and the piece is about 35" square. It is taking a long time to do, but I can bring it anywhere and it is fun planning what colours go where.

If you haven't entered the fabulous giveaway, scroll down to the post below this one and enter!

Hostess' Half Dozen Giveaway from The Intrepid Thread

2011-08-19T04:54:00.000-07:00

How lucky am I that I can call Julie from The Intrepid Thread a friend? She has asked me to be her hostess in her giveaway this week.

This woman is multi talented. Look what lovely piece of artwork I received in the mail yesterday from her.

I absolutely adore it!

Julie is part of our design team and recently has opened up an etsy store.

She literally has the newest fabric coming in around the clock. Her prices are exceptionally good, and she always has a sale on something. You must go and check it out.

I follow her blog and it is there I get to see the newest lines, the cool tutorials in her newsletter and all the fun projects she has going. Plus her weekly giveaways!

As her giveaway hostess, I picked out 6 FQ's from the new collection Taza by Dena Fishbein for Free Spirit.
One lucky person will win them all!

How to win:

1. If you are not a follower of The Intrepid Thread, sign up to be one and come back and leave me a comment on this post telling me you did.

2. If you are not a follower of mine, sign up to be one and leave a comment telling me so.

3. Post about it on your blog and leave a comment stating you did.

4. If you already follow both of us, let me know.

I will draw a winner on August 26th. Good Luck!

Giveaway Winners

2011-08-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

As promised, the 2 winners from the Glamp Summer Camp giveaway are:

Mimi said...

I am already a follower. Thanks for the chance!!

Sallie said...

I voted. Thanks for the giveaway!

Please check back tomorrow, for another fantastic fabric giveaway!

Giveaway Ends on Thursday

2011-08-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that the giveaway ends this Thursday, August 18, 2011. Read the post below for information.

Anyone ever colour on fabric before? With either markers or pencil crayons? Leave a comment if you know anything about this! Thanks.

Summer Camp Glamps and Giveaway!

2011-08-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

Today is the big day! The end of Glamp Summer Camp. The design team, along with 9 other followers of The Quilted Fish blog have submitted photos of their Glamps. I have had a few sneak peeks and from what I have seen, they are simply stunning.

The team is not competing, but do go over and you will see that several of us have participated and have giveaways.

I also have a giveaway. In the rare case you didn't know which one was mine.... here it is. Of course, it has circles and 3D flowers!

Now onto the giveaway. Amanda of The Quilted Fish, is generously letting me give away some of her fabric she designed. You will see 3 FQ bundles. I will pick 2 winners and they will get a surprise of a bundle mailed to them.

What do you have to do to win? Well, go over and vote on The Quilted Fish blog. Come back and tell me you did. That is 1 entry. On a purely selfish note, I want to get to 300 followers. So if you blog about it, you get 2 votes=)

Now go and enter the giveaway on my fellow team members blogs too:

Stephanie

Sally

Brooke

Julie

Candice

Summer Camp Glamp is Done

2011-08-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

I was up at the crack of dawn, literally. I had two projects that were due by the end of the week, and I always stress that leaving it to the last minute may not work out. So I got them both done today.

One of them was the Glamp. Here are Amanda's Glamps, and you can get the pattern and the hardware in a handy little kit here.

Now for Summer Camp the design team was sent kits, and asked to make a Glamp. We could do whatever we wanted. ( I may have went slightly overboard on this part). Amanda also has 20 followers from her blog doing the same thing. So that is alot of Glamps for Summer Camp to be shown. I believe that the unveiling takes place this Thursday.

Now I am pretty sure you are going to know which one is mine. I can't reveal until our fearless leader gives the go ahead, but I can tell you there will be a giveaway involved!

To bait you, here is a tiny peek of my Glamp.

Are you loving it? Or fearful that I went over the edge?

A Win

2011-08-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

I was asked to have two of my art quilts hang in a museum in a neighbouring town. I have never been asked to have my work hung anywhere nearby. Naturally I was thrilled and accepted. It wasn't too difficult to choose as I had 3 new pieces, but two of them were heading out to Des Moines Iowa to be in the AQS juried show, so I brought in a new one and a slightly older one.

Last Thursday night, I attended the awards ceremony and imagine my delight when 'Let The Vines Shine Thru' won Best of Textiles. This one was also juried into the Canadian Quilt Show in May.

This quilt is called 'The First Flower'. It was juried in 2009 to the Canadian Quilt Show. It will always have a special place in my heart because it was this quilt that I accidentally stumbled and then developed my unique 3D method for flowers.

I am currently working on two projects both with deadlines this week. Both not near done... please don't tell!

Friday Tutorial with Laminates

2011-08-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

It is that time again. The design team has another Friday tutorial up on our fearless leader's site, fabric designer extraordinaire Amanda who designed this funky laminate.

Sally, who is totally brave created this super fab art smock. She has no fear of using her laminates and shows us how easy it is to do.

Laminates are the new thing in fabric these days. They are so much different from the 'olden days' laminate. These ones are soft and supple like butter. They can be ironed gently on the wrong side. They come in some totally funky designs. And they can be used for so many more things than a table cloth.

Our design team is going to showcase just a few of the ways you can use laminates.

Stay tuned!

Glamp Summer Camp

2011-08-04T05:10:00.000-07:00

My Glamp kit arrived yesterday! I have until August 11th to get it finished and then we are all posting them here and over at Amanda's site. This is her pattern and she has a ton of prizes and giveaways for those making Glamps and those of us on her design team to give out to our followers. Yay Amanda!

When I first opened it and saw the hardware, I got a little freaked out. I do not have a technical mind whatsoever. When the kids hit a wrong button on the tv, I have no idea how to get the picture back. I decided that I should at least read the pattern before having a complete meltdown. I am so glad I did, it is super easy to assemble! I couldn't believe it. I don't think I am even going to ask my DH to help!

I have my fabric picked out and a rough sketch of my design. All I need now is some time to get it done.

One more thing, if any of you are having a burning desire to have your own fabric line, check out the contest here.

Friday Tutorial and your help is needed!

2011-07-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

The design team is at it again! Jana is up with her uber fab tutorial.

I have to tell you, Jana has to be one of the funniest people I have ever met. I mean hilarious. Go and read a few posts on her blog, and I know you will agree. This quilt is fast, cute and oh so cuddly. Read about it here.

Now I am going to need your help... Amanda, our fearless leader of the design team has us in Summer Camp. She has us making a Glamp! See awesome photo:

Now I admit, this is pretty cool. She sent me all the hardware and the kit. When I say 'sent', I mean she mailed the team their Glamp packages. The rest of the team got theirs. The Glamp is due August 11th. Guess what lonely Canadian doesn't have her Glamp package yet? (I'll give you a hint, I am Canadian) Did I mention it was due August 11th?

Amanda is having prizes, so if you want to participate you can order a Glamp kit here.

Don't worry if you can't participate, dear sweet Amanda is giving us prizes to give out.

In the meantime, if you have any crazy ideas how I can totally make my Glamp beautiful via many, many embellishments, please leave a comment. It would be so appreciated as I only have till August 11th, and don't even have my kit yet. Have I mentioned that yet?

I guess that would be really embellishing if I had to actually make the whole Glamp including hardware?

Do you think the team would notice if I mod podged fabric around a balloon and stuck a flashlight up the hole? I would call it the 'Glampalloon'. I just know my faithful followers would vote best all around Glamp, wouldn't they? Well, I bet you would if I promised you fabric=)

There is also the option of just rolling fabric around a candle till it gets really thick and lighting the 'Glampandle'. Now I may have to just light this in the tub or on a lake.

I could potentially glue squares on the front of my microwave and when I reheat my mashed potatoes, the 'Glamprowave' will light up.

What about quilting some covers over the headlights on my car and calling it the 'Glampmobile'?

I guess we all better hope I get my package soon, before things get really ridiculous around here.

Quilting Arts Challenge

2011-07-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

My friend Cheryl over at the Quilting Arts forum is having a challenge called 'Earth, Water, Fire and Air'. It is pretty open ended and you just have to make a quilt.

I had this really wild piece of fabric I had dyed and just didn't know what to do with until this challenge came along. I decided to thread paint my version of fire. The fabric reminded me of all the forest fires that happen each summer here in Canada. They literally devastate huge areas of land. The fires are certainly not pretty little campfires, but huge and massive and angry and destructive. The fabric reminded me of that.

I didn't draw out a shape, but let my hand and machine do the drawing. Please feel free to comment.

New Fabric and Creating Fabric

2011-07-24T04:34:00.000-07:00

As promised, I have a whole whack of new fabric to show you. First off is the stuff I bought from Ikea. Up until a month ago, I didn't even know they sold fabric there. By chance, I had to go to the closest city that has an Ikea store last week. I might add that it is a mere 6 hour drive each way. I planned my route so that the first stop would be Ikea, you know in case the family started getting restless, I had my priorities right.

Onto the fabric, there are so many things I love about this fabric. It is not a quilters cotton, but a heavy cotton, like a jean type fabric. I bought it for purses and bags and maybe a secret juried quilt! I must confess, I also bought it so I could keep the selvage where it says 'made in Sweden'. Come on, how many of us have something that says that on it? Not me anyway.

This next picture should really have a lifesaving device on it. I had started a rather large art quilt using all my hand dyed fabric for the background and alot of Amanda's Sugar and Spice for the 3D embellishing to go on the front. As I didn't have a complete sketch drawn out, just bits and pieces, I had no plans for borders and binding and more embellishing. Then panic hit.... I wasn't going to have enough fabric! Trying to remain calm, I quickly buzzed an email to fellow Design Team member Julie of the Intrepid Thread and begged her if she had any scraps left from her new etsy store. Might I add, she always has fabric on sale, and the new stuff, not the old odds and ends. I personally wonder if she may be just have sniffed one too many bolts of fabric... but the deals are the best!

I am digressing, if you know Julie, she will turn the world upside down to get what you want. Within an hour, and several emails, she had a bundle all packaged up and in the mail for me. Not only that, look at the card that you get! It is hand made and she wrote a lovely note inside. What you didn't see is that the fabric was all wrapped in white tissue and neatly tied with purple ribbon. There was no picture, because I was just about to explode when I got the fabric I was so excited.

A few days later, I received a package from Megan as I had won some fabric over at Quiltstory. This blog totally rocks. It is upbeat, fun and oh so full of creativity and imagination. I am sending back a cute little zippered pouch that I made, but don't tell=)

After all that excitement, I thought I better do some creating on my own.

I had recently purchased some Setacolor paints. These are the ones where you are supposed to be able to paint the fabric, lay objects on it and let dry in the sun. I tried a small piece, didn't want to waste a whole yard of PFD fabric if it didn't work. I was very skeptical and my only instructions were mix 1 part paint, 2 parts water, brush on, place objects on, and let dry in sun. Seems a little too easy right?

Well, keep your pants on, look at what happened! It turned out exactly as it was supposed to. I used some large washers I had in my studio and I painted on a textured piece of sidewalk. I love the outcome. Better get out the scissors and start cutting my PFD fabric in yards!

A few days ago, I happen to stumble across this site. By using Sharpie markers and rubbing alcohol, I made this new fabric.

Can you totally see me using this in an art quilt?
I think I am all talked out about fabric, so better sign off. (Correction: I am never tired of talking about fabric, but I better get stitching with it=)

Meet A Pellon Artist

2011-07-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

This has been a very good summer. I have some more news.

I am sure you have all heard of Pellon Inc. They are the folks that make the superb batting we put in our quilts, the interfacing we sew with, the fusible webs we can't live without, and so much more.

I have been using their products for decades and adore them, like so many fellow quilters and seamstresses.

Now I have the pleasure of being one of their Project Artists. I have done my teacup tutorial for them, as well as a fast and easy coaster tutorial.

I am currently working on a more advanced quilt project, and will let you know when I get that up.

I did promise you fabric pictures, and they are coming. The mailman came today with two more lovely little packages, so I am working on a big post showing it all! Stay tuned....

Lola's Posies Broken Egg Quilt

2011-07-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

It is hot! What better way to celebrate the heat by looking at a totally fun summer quilt I made for Riley Blake Fabrics. I used Lola's Posies and created this little masterpiece. It was very fun and oh so cute.

For complete instructions, you can find it on Cutting Corners on the Riley Blake website. Each egg is broken into 8 different pieces, and there are eggs in the top and bottom corners. Go and check it out and feel free to leave a comment there=)

I have more exciting news to share, but a certain website is experiencing a glitch, so that will have to wait.

So let's smoosh some yucky news right in here. Houston sent me a skinny email. (translates to I didn't get into the biggest juried quilt show in the world..... again) Realistically, I wasn't expecting to, and can't have too many good things happen at once, otherwise what would I strive for? Insert a big LOL here.

The best thing about hearing from Houston, is that they send their rejection letters by email. So I hit 'delete' and pretended it never happened=) Gotta love that 'delete' button.

Onto more good news, I read from one of my uber cool design team members that you can buy fabric at Ikea. Coincidentally, I was in the neighbourhood of an Ikea store a few days ago. The fabric was amazing. Now it is not a quilter's cotton, but more of a heavyweight cotton. For bags or coats or table cloths. And very inexpensive. I will post pics of that later this week, but had to end on a good note. Buying fabric is always a positive way to end a post!

Skirt Tutorial and News

2011-07-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

It's Friday and that means that Johanna from our Design team has created a fantastic tutorial of how to make your own skirt. How cool is that? You create a pattern that fits you, not the 7 skinny models the store patterns were made for.

When you are done reading how to make the skirt at The Quilted Fish, check out Johanna's blog. She has really funky quilts on it.

On other good news, my quilt 'Bye Gram, I Love You' that was in the Sacred Threads exhibit is now on it's way home. The show has ended and they have posted 34 of the 173 quilts on their website. Can you guess where this is leading? Yep, mine was chosen as one of the quilts to highlight this year's juried show. It is the 10th one down on the page.

I will tell you, when I sat in my grandmother's chair stitching those 500 buttons onto the quilt, I never imagined that it would have such an adventurous life. I am both thrilled and amazed that it has struck such a cord with so many people in the quilting community.

My Studio and Some Tips

2011-07-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

I have had several people email me and ask to see what my studio looks like. Therefore this post is dedicated to my studio. Let me first put in a disclaimer, I did not clean it. I am working on a couple of projects and did not want to put stuff away, only to have to haul it back out a few hours later when I resumed work on it. Plus, if your studios are always neat, then really, well REALLY?

I also thought I would suggest some tips or things that work for me. These are just my ideas, nothing out of a book, no surfing for the perfect studio, but what works best for moi.

1. Figure out if you use all sides of your cutting table... I used to have mine in the middle of my room, then realized I never used the other side of it, so I backed it against the window.

2. Don't clutter your cutting table on the sides, this is so you have room to drape fabric over the sides for cutting. Please do not use my cutting table as an example=)

3. Always keep a sketch pad nearby to jot down ideas or notes as you never know when they crop up.

4. Use the space under your sewing table and cutting table for storage, it is just wasted space otherwise. And come on, we all have excess fabric to store. I get those clear plastic stacking drawers that are on wheels. Just make sure they will fit under it. Don't ask me how I know this.

5. Keep scissors near your cutting table, not just fabric ones, but paper ones too. When you need them, and you will, they are available. I have a little stand I keep my pencils/pens, all my scissors, scotch tape, tape measure and sticky notes on.

6. Get a design wall. Seriously, you have no idea what a great perspective it is when you are in your studio, walking by it, or walking in it, to see your work on it. Mine costs under $20. It is 1" thick white styrofoam I purchased at my home building store. I would highly recommend covering it with batting. I used the cheapest white batting out there. I have tried the super expensive sticky quilt wall, as well as the backs of table cloths and flannel. The batting is great, most of my blocks stick, and when the quilt top gets too heavy I have some white pins on the side of the wall that I stick in to hold up the top.

7. In my closets, okay I have two, I keep fabric that I don't use often or don't need to see constantly. For example, my flannel is in there, fabric I use for backings, and my non cotton fabrics. I have them categorized in there, so I know which shelf they are on. In the second closet, is my ongoing stash of embellishments. My yarns, fabrics for kids' costumes, and embroidery thread. A girl can never have too many embellishments... especially a gal who has to 3D embellish every quilt.

8. A while ago, I got some old shelving that was once used to store embroidery floss, a store was closing and getting rid of their stash. I keep my needles, extra rotary cutters, blades and spare note pads in there. I also keep my paints and shiva paintstiks and polymer clay on top of the shelves. (Yep, more embellishing stuff)

9. On my large fabric shelving unit, I keep my cottons. They are arranged by colour. I did this a few years ago and love it. Okay, now I have on 2 shelves, other fabric in front of the colours, but the colours are back there and I know they are there. Those fabrics in the forefront are the latest lines and fabrics that I simply must do something with. Okay, and you probably see the pieces of Tuck tape hanging off the outer edge of one of the shelves and the roll beside it? Yes, I am thrifty. (go ahead and think cheap too) I use this stuff when I put down my backing on the floor. This tape is the best I can find for letting me pull the backing super tight and not moving while I lay down the batting and then pin the top to it. I reuse it for a couple of times and when it is too covered in thread, throw it out. If you have never used it before, go to the hardware store and get some, it is amazing!

10. Over by the window, I keep a table with my serger and old sewing machine on it. Confession, I only had 2 sewing machines up until 2 months ago. I know many that have 3 or more. I didn't. I had a 14 year old Janome that works great and my 12 year old serger. The only reason I bought the Janome Horizon is because I wanted more space under the machine when I free motion quilted. And honestly, so far the new machine has lots of little quirks that my old machine doesn't have. Don't get me wrong, I do love it and haven't tried the zillion stitches or different threads through it, and it does do fmq beautifully, but it isn't perfect.

11. I have my new Janome on the table that it came with and another table behind it so my quilts will lay out and not pull when quilting them. I am getting leg extensions so that second table is the same level as the table the machine sits on. I am also going to get a small table on wheels that I can put to the left of where I sit, so the quilt can hang over that too.

12. I have 2 old dressers, and in one I keep my serger thread, glue gun, glue, zippers, etc. In the other I keep my sketch pads, entry forms, rejection letters (that drawer is full=) and samples.

That is my studio! Feel free to tell me what you think, except to comment on the messiness=)

Adorable 9 patch

2011-07-09T03:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Peeps!

Our design team is back with another tutorial. This time Sally is up with a sweet 9 patch quilt. Simple, yet very effective with the gorgeous white background, emphasizing the new 'modern' quilt era. This is one of those quilts that you get a 'oohhh, I like that' from. Yet only you know how easy it was to assemble.

Go and check it out here. Okay, you have to go and check out Sally's blog... tell me those birds are not the cutest things ever? The ones hanging on the string. I could put them up in my living room, or give them away as a housewarming gift, or ...... okay, enough... just go and check it out.

A Little Good News

2011-07-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

My quilt 'Bye Gram, I Love You' is on it's way back from Virginia after being in the Sacred Threads juried show. Today I received a lovely 'thick' envelope from AQS (American Quilter's Society) telling me that my Gram quilt and Whimsical Wonder were juried into the Des Moines Iowa quilt show in late September.

I had earmarked these two quilts to show in a museum here for the month of August and then at our local quilt show, but I guess they wanted to travel a bit more. Both were also in London in May for the Canadian Quilt Show. I do have another two that can go to the museum for that art show.

Here are the two quilts going to Des Moines.

That's enough excitement for one day=)

Dyeing Fabric

2011-07-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

Warm weather means dyeing fabric. I love to dye my fabric for my quilts. It is so much fun experimenting with colours, techniques and fabrics.

In order for me to enjoy the process, I don't keep any notes. I realize that I most likely will be unable to create an exact colour. I also know if I had to stop and write down measurements, cut samples and maintain some type of ledger, it would exhaust the fun right out of it.

Each time is a new adventure for me, and I love that. These pieces are done by adding colour at each end of the dye bath container and seeing how they interact or meet in the middle. The blue/pink is the last of my PFD cotton (desparately waiting for next shipment) and the yellow/red was an old pale yellow tablecloth that I dyed.

I am going to do some more using this process, but I also have ordered some fun Setacolor paints that use the sun to show shapes placed on them during the dye process.

Next up, my studio. I have had several requests to show you that, so stay tuned.

Happy Canada Day! and a Tutorial

2011-07-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!

What a great day we had in Canada today. Celebrations at our local beach, the future King and Queen in our country.... and an awesome tutorial from Julie!

Look at this table runner she has made for my fellow Americans who will have their own celebration on July 4th.

It is quick and easy and oh so cute! Go and check it out.

Okay, I just have to tell you a little about Julie. She started out with a blog... then she decided to open up an etsy store. And oh my goodness, if you like the newest fabric out there and want it fast at extremely good prices,,, run to her etsy store. Seriously, the girl is always having a sale... and on tons of stuff. It really is crazy, but let's not tell her=)

And be sure to check out her 'Coming Soon' section of the store. Trust me when I say, this girl has fantastic taste in getting the hottest fabric lines in for you to buy.

In the meantime, if you read her blog, she is always offering some coupon to get her fabrics even cheaper. She also just released a newsletter and it had 3 free projects in them! I know, she is a little extreme in the generosity department. But we won't tell her about that either, let's just get what we can out of her in the meantime=)

On a personal quilting note, I had some good, no make that super duper news this week, but it is too early to tell. As soon as I can, I will=)

My latest art quilt

2011-06-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

I am busy working away at my latest art quilt and wanted to show you the early stages of progress. It is 3D of course, and here is one of the flowers that is to be part of the quilt. It is the size of my hand. Very big!

For the background, I am using a selection of my hand dyed fabrics. The fabric on the left is one of the focal fabrics in my flowers. I love how the colours of my dyed fabrics all blend and match with the commercial fabric.

I am doing my own version of strip piecing them together. I will show you the background when I have a little more done on it.

I am contemplating selling my hand dyed fabric on etsy and would love your feedback on this.

Now to make some progress on that background before my kids are out of school for the summer.

Magnetic Calendar Tutorial

2011-06-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

It's Friday and that means one of our awesome girls from Amanda's design team has posted a tutorial.
Candice created this great functional calendar for our viewing pleasure.

This one would be so much fun for kids. Go check it out here.

Now I must take a minute and tell you about Candice. This girl is a real mover and shaker. You simply must check out her etsy store. No, she did not ask me to promote her, but you have to see her coffee bag totes, and now she has created patterns for them. Is it just me, or is that not the most original idea ever? If my non quilting friends are reading this, please skip over this next part.... I totally plan to make some for them. I already have the pattern....sssshhhh.

I think it is just the coolest thing ever, and nothing would be more durable. If they hold 130 lbs of coffee beans, I am sure they can hold our girl stuff! She currently doesn't have any in her etsy store as she has all her inventory at a local quilt shop for the weekend, but I know she would sell you one if you asked!

I am busy in my studio making some very large 3D flowers. I can't wait to show them to you. I also had a brain wave for two future quilts, 3D of course, and need to get those designs on paper.

Chat later!

Cross Quilt

2011-06-22T04:54:00.000-07:00

It's done! And might I say, it was fun. Another original design by moi. I used Amanda's funky fabric Sugar and Spice for this little quilt.

The border took the longest, 40 minutes for each side. Yep, that is over 2 1/2 hours just on that little cross border. But I really think it adds to the quilt, don't you?

I stippled in the large cross blocks, leaving the white cross free of quilting so it kind of pops out. It is so hard to see white thread on white fabric. The sashing is done in lines and where they intersect, it looks a bit like a checkerboard.

Quilting Arts Challenge

2011-06-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

I just finished a top using my fun Sugar and Spice fabric. My goal is to get it quilted before I show it to you. And let me say, the borders took forever! No just slapping strips on each coast, (well not this quilt anyway=)

Instead, I will show you my little art quilt I entered into the Quilting Arts challenge. I didn't get picked, but I do like the quilt. The theme was text. It was only to be 8.5" x 11".
I did some piecing, fmq, sharpie pen, shiva, and wool roving.

Magnetic Board Tutorial

2011-06-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

This tutorial is so amazing! My friend Stephanie, put together the most amazing, non-sewing, kid friendly, functional, colourful magnetic board ever! Check it out here.

I have read these instructions and they are so clear and precise. I plan to do this with my kids this summer. Stephanie had her daughter do one with her as well, it is that easy!

Go check it out and be sure to leave a comment. If you do make one, buzz me a pic and I will post it.

Now I do have to tell you that at our year end guild dinner last night, I finally won Judge's Choice award for the President's Challenge. Remember we had to make something nice out of some really ugly fabric? I designed a miniature Dresden plate pattern and used that.

Off to get working on my next quilt of Sugar and Spice. I am doing a border that is taking more time than the quilt top. I can't wait to show you!

Riley Blake Tutorial Done

2011-06-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

The tutorial actually doesn't air on the Riley Blake blog till July 19th, but my kids will be off school then. Summer is in full swing, the pool is wet, the sun is hot and my kids need some summer lovin'.

I got it done early. And I do love it. I chose Lola's Posies as my fabric collection to work with. Click on the link and check out these fabrics! Are they not just sooo much fun?

I adore this collection by Lila Tueller. She named this last line after her daughter Lola, how sweet is that?

I can't show you the finished quilt until it gets posted on the Riley Blake Cutting Corners site. I think it is okay if I show you a little peak...shhh

I must also tell you that I spent part of the day assembling my design wall and I love it. I even had blocks up on it. I have almost got the top done for a newly designed quilt using Amanda's Sugar and Spice line. This I am allowed to show you pictures of, but I don't have any loaded on my camera. I thought of taking some while the blocks were on the design wall, but then I just got stitching and the borders went on,the blocks went together, and before you know it, I was almost done the top. I will try and show you a peak tomorrow.

Janome Horizon 7700

2011-06-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

Do you see this beautiful machine?

Remember I mentioned I made 2 purchases while I was away at the National Juried Show? The Electric Quilt 7 software was one...... and this baby was the second! The Janome Horizon 7700.

This is my first purchase of a brand new machine ever. Yes, I really did go all out, top of the line, the big shebang. My most recent machine was a Janome and was 14 years old. It still works like a top, but boy was it a pain to get a quilt under it to do free motion quilting. But I love Janome. I know, everyone has their own preference, and that is great. Mine just happens to be the big J.

I just finished putting my latest quilt for Riley Blake fabrics under it and quilting it. There was so much room, it was ridiculous. And this machine runs amazing. Of course, I haven't gotten through the whole manual yet, nor tried out all the feet that come with it. I wanted this machine for the space and free motion quilting and I am not disappointed, more like over the moon elated!

It has the 'start/stop' button instead of the foot pedal. It has that too, along with a knee controller, but I like the start/stop button for now. And it has the wonderful needle down/up position. I get to pick how my needle will stop when I finish. Trust me when I say, I have had many a loose stitch while free motion quilting because my old machine always had the needle come up.
This baby even has a tie and cut the thread button! Yep, that is pretty cool. I won't be using that when I am doing my art quilts for show, but for just quilting up some quick ones, it is a great feature.

I also got the table that the machine sits into. And that is very nice. It is covered with a super slippery surface so my quilts glide on it. I put my other big super slippery table behind it and things are working well.

I think I better do up a post of my studio soon, so you can see just how I create.

One last thing, I am reading that everyone names their machines. Anyone have a great name for me? There might be a little surprise for whomever comes up with the best name!

Cup o' Tea

2011-06-10T05:06:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Today is my day to post my tutorial featuring Amanda's new line of fabric 'Sugar and Spice'.

This fabric is so much fun and the line is so varied and unique. Please go and check me out on The Quilted Fish.
This is my original teacup and saucer. I provide all the instructions and the templates. Trust me when I tell you the template took a few tries before I got it just right.

These are awesome little gifts. And you can make them functional by using the teacup to keep your spare bobbins, or seam ripper in.

I sent Amanda one for Salt Lake City Quilt Market and she loved it so much she kept it! ( I did tell her that was okay=)

Okay, go check me out and let me know what you think, either there or here.

EQ7

2011-06-06T04:26:00.000-07:00

I purposefully didn't tell you about 2 of my purchases while I was away on my little quilting trip. I wanted to get them working first. I am getting a handle on one of them, so thought I would share.

I purchased Electric Quilt 7 software! In case you are one of the few who haven't heard of this fantastic software, I will tell you a bit about it. EQ7 is a computer software program that allows you to design blocks and quilts on your computer. It lets you scan in your fabric as well as your photos.

EQ7 has 5000 blocks and 5000 fabric choices already loaded into the program. It has solid colours too.

Here are a couple of my samples. They are all from the log cabin pattern. Which one do you like the best?

Very soon, I will show you my next purchase....it is just amazing.

Mug Rug Tutorial

2011-06-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! The design team for The Quilted Fish is doing their tutorials every Friday. We are starting with Brooke... please go and check out the tute and how to make these cute mug rugs.

I am up next Friday and you will love what I am going to show you how to make!

Hallowe'en in June

2011-06-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

My friend Jana is having a Hallowe'en in June party over on her blog. She finds that come October, with school, fall, and other stuff she doesn't have time to stitch up Hallowe'en projects. That's why she decided to do it in June.

Jana is absolutely hilarious, and she is part of our design team for The Quilted Fish.

If you want to have some fun, join in. I am definitely going to.

National Juried Show in Canada

2011-05-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

Imagine my excitement that after 6 years of waiting, I was finally able to attend my very first National Juried Show. And to top it off I got to see four of my quilts in the show.

Even better, I was able to meet up with internet friends, old friends and new friends. Needless to say, I had a total blast. The competition was incredible. There are some wonderfully talented quilters here in Canada.
The show was held at my alma mater, the University of Western Ontario.

And here is the sign I have been waiting to see for a very long, long time:

I was able to attend the awards ceremony with my dear friend Elaine Quehl. Elaine had a gorgeous quilt in the Juried Show and another one in the Invitational Show. She was also teaching a workshop there as well. She is a super talented quilter from Ottawa.

CQA was celebrating it's 30th anniversary, so there was a huge cake there.

In a juried show, pictures are not allowed to be taken of the quilts. But the exhibitors were granted a 30 minute time to enter with their photographer before the show opened. I took advantage of this, and chose to stand beside 'Bye Gram, I Love You' for my picture.

I went through the vendors market and was in love with all the fabric and thread. I met so many fantastic people. It was just great being with quilters who share the same passion I do and can relate to all the things we deal with in quilt competitions. I met the judges, and soon will get my critiques in the mail. I learned a ton just seeing the other quilts close up and meeting the other quilters in the show.

It was a weekend I will never forget.

Miniature Quilt

2011-05-24T04:07:00.000-07:00

Our guild had it's President's Challenge last week. The challenge was to take a piece of fabric that you now say, 'Why did I ever buy this?' and use it in a quilted item. Here is the fabric I used.

I found a piece that fit the bill perfectly and then tried to decide what I could turn it into. I have never done a miniature quilt before, so thought this would be the perfect time to give it a try. A miniature quilt is basically a real quilt pattern scaled down to a very small size, usually less than 24" in diameter. After combing the internet for a while for tips, and not finding much, I forged ahead.

I also have never done the Dresden plate before. The only problem is there is no pattern for the Dresden plate in a miniature. So after several attempts with paper, I had a pattern I believe would work.

I did figure out quite quickly that I must sew with a 1/8" seam instead of the usual 1/4". It is amazing what the iron can do to make your blocks look good.

I made four blocks and put them on a white background. You end up with a hole in the centre, so I put a white circle in the middle, with a cute button in the centre of each.

Now just to be really crazy, I wondered how small I could make my prairie points. I used 1 1/2" squares for them. Let me just say this was fiddly work to stitch down.

I'd love to hear your opinion on my newest quilt!

And this is the last day to vote for me, please click on the bright flower on the top right hand side bar and vote. Thanks!

Modern 3D Art Quilt Finished

2011-05-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

I put the embellishments on my modern art quilt today and it is now hanging in our dining room, welcoming spring.

The quilt was made using scraps of fabric and a large piece of white cotton. It is machine quilted using the free motion stippling technique. I purposely only quilted in the large white sections so the coloured strips would pop out a bit from the background, and they do. Although hard to see in the pictures.

I think I am in love with jumbo ric rac! It is used in all three stems. You will notice that I brought the stems right over the binding, I wanted to see what look it would create. The two flowers on the outside are made from zippers with an adorable pull tab in the centre. The middle flower is made using my scrap 'n' slash technique. Of course that is what gives the quilt it's 3D appearance.

I have shown a before I added the embellishment shot. As I know some people would like it just like that.

Here are the pictures of the finished quilt. I have also included some close ups of the flowers, which I adore in every way possible!

And please don't forget to give me a vote, by clicking on the bright flower at the top of the right hand side bar, only 5 more days left to vote. Thanks!

Experimenting and a Glimpse of a Modern Quilt

2011-05-18T03:38:00.000-07:00

Loving quilting these days! Well, truth be told, I am loving it every day. But the current trends are fun. Lately every fabric designer is throwing in a clean, fresh white with their new collections. If you look at any quilt these days that is considered 'modern', it has a good bit of white in it. Some are mostly white with just dashes of colour throughout, while others have a lot of colour, but broken up by white sashing.

I like that, it is very springlike. For a while I used to use black as my background. At the time I enjoyed it, now I don't think I could even work on a quilt surrounded by darkness. I am going to give you a little sneak peek of my latest 'modern' art quilt. Right now it just looks like a modern quilt as I haven't added the art onto it yet. And by art, yes, I do mean 3D embellishments. It should be finished in the next day or two.

Prior to this, I received a lovely package in the mail from my dear blogging friend Sarah over at Sew Joy. She sent me some 2 1/2" strips of fabrics in blues. They were beautiful, and they had circles in them. Remember how my last mug rug had a run in with silly putty? I thought this was the best way to use my fun blues. And when you are making something small, it is the perfect time to just go a little crazy. I stitched the blue strips together, then slashed, then stitched, slashed and so on.

I ended up with three. My mom got one as a gift because she had just spent two hours helping me make a costume and her kitchen are these exact shades of blue. One is now sitting on my coffee table, and I am keeping the other one.... just in case silly putty shows up!

Thanks Sarah!

Can you give me a vote today? Click on my flower quilt on the top of my right side bar. There are only 7 days left to vote, so if you think of it, can you toss me a vote for the next week?
Thanks!