Tracy is a self-employed embroiderer, specialising mainly in traditional embroidery including crewelwork, silk shading, and gold work.
A scrap of fabric that I was practicing a new transfer technique on. I think it's gonna work.
On Saturday I attended a workshop at Midsomer Quilting in Chilcompton. The session was run by Bini Mistri and the object of the day was to produce samples using different fabric manipulation techn…
If you're a quilter , you know the pain of having a huge fabric scrap pile and nothing to do
Spend an evening using some simple stitches to embellish a swatch of vintage fabric, or a piece of modern printed fabric. The possibilities are endless for doodling with needle and thread to creat…
Tying a quilt is an easy and quick way to finish a quilt. Tying a quilt means using thread or yarn to attach all three layers of a quilt together. This is a great option for beginner quilters as well as more advanced quilters! To add some extra interest, ties and quilting can be used...
This tutorial will get you started with unlined pojagi by hand. The seams are completely enclosed, so there is no right or wrong side to the end product.
See an easy t-shirt embroidery DIY with a free simple cat embroidery to print. Video tutorial for how to embroider on t-shirts.
In an unprecedented act of blogging fanciness I decided to make a video documenting how I create the woodgrain texture (so thoroughly photographed in my last post) with free-motion quilting. Warning:
demonstrating the growth of a biomaterial using nothing other tan sugary tea and bacteria, suzanne lee's 'eco-textile' is grown in flat sheets which are then cut to shape, sewn together or moulded over 3D forms.
A cat lovers dream, Cats on Cats is a beginner friendly look at simple quilt techniques and chain piecing. Featuring fabric from Kitty Garden and Jenny's Basics by Jenny Ronen.
In this tutorial I'll show you a new size upgrade option for my Dragon Dreams pattern: add a flower banner to make a beautiful throw quilt!
Couching is the process of using embroidery stitches to stitch a cord (or yarn or decorative thread) to the surface of your fabric. It's a fun way to add some nice dimension to your work and it can give you a really unique effect. Give it a try! If you want to couch using your
I don't know if I've told you before, but I learned how to quilt while I lived in Japan in 2002. Japanese housewife culture, including their approach to quilting, has always fascenated me. I should have been an anthropologist and studied that more intensely, I know, but I got caught up in trying to communicate and became an ESL teacher instead. Anyway.. I discovered flickr in 2006 and the quilts I saw there lead me to start blogging about quilting. Tonight I want to share a handful of my favorite quilt photos from the Tokyo International Quilt festivals held each year in January. One year I'll make it there myself, but until then, I will live vicariously through Jennifer and Jan. Be*mused Tokyo Quilt Fest 2011 Set Be*mused Tokyo Quilt Fest 2010 Set Be*mused Tokyo Quilt Fest 2009 Set Movinghands Tokyo Quilt Fest 2008 Set Movinghands Tokyo Quilt Fest 2007 Set Movinghands Tokyo Quilt Fest 2006 Set (one of my all-time favorites is the 9th quilt in the set-- the blue one) All photos in this post were taken by Jan of Be*mused, used with permission. (*I hate to post quilt photos without information about the makers, but sadly most of these pics don't include any. Apparently the quilter info is only printed in Japanese at the show. If you have any information for any of these quilts, please comment and I will give them proper credit.)
Japanese embroidery ideas and techniques to try something a little different and learn about a different culture.
I told myself I'd never make another puff quilt. Yet, here I am.....sharing about my second puff quilt. (haha!) Don't get me wrong, I loved the process of making my first puff quilt, which you can read about here, but I honestly thought that we'd never have the need for another one. Well, over the last year, I slowly forgot how much work they are (haha) and I started getting the itch to do the process all over again! Peter uses my original puff quilt alllllll the time. He loves the weight of it, but his only complaint was that it wasn't long enough. I made the
Kantha quilts are made by stitching together flattened layers of old saris or old discarded clothes together. They look kaleidoscopic with a collection of vivid colors and designs that make …
Also known as: bullion stitch, caterpillar stitch, coil stitch, knot stitch, post stitch, worm stitch, Puerto Rico rose, grub knot This is an interesting stitch used to make simple motifs. I would say that this is an ‘elongated’ knot which can be...
Download the FREE Ombre Puff Quilt Pattern here! If you've been around for any amount of time, you might've seen my Puff Quilt that my grandmother made for me. I love this thing SO much. She used various scrap fabrics and clothing to create this very dense, yet very snuggly quilt. . . . When I look at this quilt, I see something new each time. Recycled tablecloths from the 80s, pieces of my grandfathers button-down shirts, left-over fabrics from previous quilt projects. The list goes on. Some fabrics are used multiple times within the quilt, while other fabrics are only represented once. I love looking over all of the puffs and finding all of the similarities and differences between the squares. . . . My Granny made this for me when I was 7 years old. I absolutely LOVE that she created a tag for this quilt. I also love that she referred to the quilt as a
Detailed instructions to stitch the stunning Indian embroidery - Kantha work. Step by step instructions with designs and illustrations.
Learning how to tie a quilt is a great way to give some hand quilted charm to your projects. Continue reading for 6 fun ways to try it out!
Chapter Eight requires that five paper relief surfaces made for Chapter 3 are each translated into two different ways in fabric . For an ...
Here is how I turned a photo into a pattern: Pick a photo of your choice. School photos work very well as the lighting is good and the face is usually without shadows Use any photo editing software of your choice. There are lots of free software available online. I use Picnik. Use the posterize function to get this effect. Play around with the colours until you are happy. I settled on 10 colours. Save the posterized picture and go to the Pencil Sketch function. Without any further editing I got this result. Play around until you are happy with the amount of lines and the clarity of the picture. You can use the picture as is, or further simplify it by hand. I printed the previous picture and traced it against the window (you can use a light table if you are more sophisticated than me!). Here you can make it as simple or as complicated as you wish. I scanned this version into my computer and printed it on to a wash-away stabilizer. And Voila! A perfect embroidery pattern. A friendly request: This is a picture of my son. I used it to demonstrate the process. Please feel free to link to this tutorial, but please do not re-post this whole post with pictures to your blog. If you need one picture to illustrate the post, use one of the sketches. Thank you.
Two layers of Embrace Double Gauze from Shannon Fabrics with Pellon Wool Batting in the middle makes for a super soft and cuddly quilt. The wool is lighter and fluffier than cotton batting — the only difference in care is that it can't go in the dryer. It's just returned...
Some tips on how to get started with free motion embroidery
Artist Catherine Rosselle created an amazing series of creepy embroidered insects called Insectomanie.
Sunday morning I played around with new stones thinking they were going to be grey but perhaps because it is the bleak mid-winter the stones turned a warmer colour. This piece is inspired by Mark's paintings of stones disappearing under water. He is brilliant at that. For both of us scenes like this bring up whisperings of summers spent on beautiful Georgean Bay. For those of you in Toronto don't forget The Artist Project at the Better Living Centre February 21-14, 2019 Mark Berens will be at Booth 506. Strips of plant dyed fabrics soon to become rocks. By Sunday evening I was happily couching away. I have based the background onto an old blanket and it is like stitching butter. The one thing about this kind of stitching is it allows for mind wandering and as I stitched these delicious rusts and browns my mind whispered memories of my beautiful Rusty Pups They are dearly missed As are their antics and adventures. And then as I prepared this post A photo demanded to be noticed So much like my new stones. I have a teacher who always says the piece you start next should always be informed by the last piece you did. Perhaps this means my next piece will have to be seaweed in the colours of my Georgean Bay stones. But I already have soooo many new beginnings just started! But my mind is flowing with ideas on how to go about a seaweed piece. It is so easy to have many ideas isn't it The days just aren't long enough for their execution! I hope you have a day rich in creative ideas.
Learn unique techniques that will enhance your next quilt! These vintage sewing techniques will raise the surface of your quilt and truly impress. We’ll learn heirloom smocking techniques, t…
Check out these picture quilt patterns and projects from the Bluprint community to inspire you to plan your first picture quilt.
I'm teaching a Free Motion Quilting class starting in April at my LQS, Heartstrings and Heirlooms. I finished up the class sample over the weekend. In the class the students will do larger samples, but I needed a small book of designs to advertise the class. As you can see in the above end view, I used three different types of batting for my sample book - Quilter's Dream 100% Cotton, Hobbs 80/20 (80% cotton and 20% polyester), and a 100% wool. I used a tutorial from a recent Quilting Arts Magazine issue (the February/March 2014 issue) to make my little book. The instructions involved drawing some lines on a piece of fabric, then sewing on the lines with a walking foot to make a larger sheet and baste the layers together. Then you quilt your designs and cut the "pages" apart. The tutorial in the magazine was very good. If you are interested in making a book like mine, I suggest you get a copy of the magazine. Below is a collage of designs I plan to cover in the class. Along the top of each page I wrote the name of the design, the batting type and page number from the book I will be using for the class. In case you are interested, I'm using the book Free Motion Quilting with Angela Waters. It has become my go-to book for quilting ideas as of late.
I’ve gotten to spend the past two weekends doing one of my favorite things: dressing up and demonstrating needlework at Locust Grove! For these demos I was doing tambour embroidery, which was…
I promised to show you this, my crewel embroidery piece 'Tree of Life' started and completed in the mid 1970's. I recall it took me perhaps a couple of years, picking it up now and then between family and work commitments when we lived in Massachusetts. I bought it as a kit - complete with the skeins of wools in beautiful colors, printed Belgian linen, and stitch instructions - offered by one of the most admired American stitchery women ever, the late Elsa Williams. After a lengthy search I've managed to find this article on her which I found so interesting. Some of her kits, now classified as 'vintage', are still available online. I didn't have my crewel piece framed until later when we moved here to North Carolina in 1977, choosing framing and hanging on the wall over a pillow or chair seat cover thinking it would last longer with less wear and tear. I'm amazed that the colors have not faded at all, however admit I've never displayed it on a wall with bright light or direct sun. Jacobean embroidery refers to styles that flourished in the reign of King James I of England in the first quarter of the 17th century. This is one of many depictions in the pattern of the Jacobean motif named 'Tree of Life.' It was popular for curtains and bed hangings - remember those? They draped four poster beds to keep out the winter drafts in those cold British castles and country mansions. Ms. Williams' designs for this motif were unsurpassed. The term Jacobean is used today to describe this design for furnishing and is characterized by fanciful plant and animal shapes, stylized forests, and exotic plants arising from a landscape or terra firma, worked in a variety of stitches with two-ply wool yarn on linen. A chart of crewel embroidery stitches and techniques via the Internet. I doubt I will ever do another intricate and somewhat complicated embroidery such as this, my eyesight is not what it used to be for close-up stitching. I do love it though, recall how I enjoyed creating it, and am proud that I did produce this special piece of handwork when I was in my thirties. I hope it will be considered an 'heirloom' of sorts, and will be kept and admired by a family member some day in the future.
Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission from the sale if you click through and purchase. Are you scared of sewing with curves? Have no fear! Today I am sharing a few tips and tricks that have been helpful for me. Give this post a read and try out the Sunroom Quilt Pattern. The quilt pattern above is The Natural Harmony Quilt Pattern . 1. Sew slow. It's tempting to put the pedal to the metal when you're comfortable sewing, but with curves it's all about slow sewing. You want to take your time and ease that curve slowly through the machine. 2. Needle Down. I set my machine in the needle down position when I sew. That means every time I lift my foot off the pedal the machine stops with the needle down. This helps to hold all the layers in place so that I can lift the presser foot and adjust around the curve. This will help you make that curve nice and smooth. Every few stitches, I raise the foot and turn the fabric slightly around the curve. 3. Pin, Pin, Pin!! Don't be stingy with those pins. As you pin your curved pieces together make sure you pin all the way around that curve to the very end. I also find it most helpful to start in the middle, work my way to one end, back to the middle and to the other end. 4. Steam Iron. I personally find that using steam is helpful. First of all it helps work out all those wrinkles from the pins so you can see if there are any puckers. Second, I think it helps ease out any accidental puckers if there are any. This is simply personal preference. I know there are mixed opinions on using a steam iron while quilting. I make sure not to pull or stretch the fabric too much since the steam will cause that to happen on it's own a little. 5. Tailor's Clapper! Alright this might be a new tool you haven't heard of before. I use this handmade clapper from Lamb and Loom. It makes such a difference to me! When I'm ready to press I open the seam, press and then quickly place the clapper over the seam and let it sit while I move on to the next piece. Then I repeat that process. The clapper helps to hold the heat on the seam and really make it crisp! I'm hooked on my clapper. The pattern above makes great practice - The Natural Harmony Quilt Pattern. If you feel like you can conquer the curves try out the Sunroom Quilt Pattern. This pattern was my first attempt at sewing curves. You can do this! You have all the skills you need now. Good luck! Here are some additional blog posts you might enjoy: Sewing with Triangles Quilting Curves Making Half-Square Triangles The quilt pattern above is The Natural Harmony Quilt Pattern.
I spent most of the weekend with a needle in my hand, finishing up three pieces. I love stitching. Stitching gets me up in the morning. I look forward to spending that quiet time with my self. A time of un-thought. The gentle hand motions often lead me into an inner wisdom. Or a decision On Thursday a friend and I attended an opening. Two floors of huge autobiographical photo transfer and oil paintings faced us, most done in the last year. The artist stood and told the crowd that she had just spent one week with a master printer, and made 63 mono prints, about half of which were in the show. Yet I hold on to this extremely slow and domestically tinged way of making marks. Which one of us is the lazy artist? The answer of course is neither. To paint abstractly or realistically is an activity that demands full attention - all the time - to every brush slant, colour tint, or compositional decision. It's an intense and urgent activity. Exhausting. Stitching is almost the opposite. After design decisions have been made, it's all about the time. Breathing rather than birthing.
I've had the chance to review the book Free Motion Quilting for Beginners (and those who think they can't), by Molly Hanson. I love that title! I'm a big proponent of quilting your own quilts, as you know, and I've read a lot of books about free motion quilting. I like how everyone presents the information in their own personal way....there is always more to learn! This book presents all the practical information you need to get started. More importantly, it gives you the confidence to jump in and give free motion quilting a try. There are 15 projects in the book that encourage you to start small and increase your comfort level with free motion quilting before you tackle something larger, like a quilt. What I love most about this book is Molly's tone of encouragement throughout the text and the projects. She is great at guiding you though the entire process! I've done a lot of free motion quilting and I love how relaxing it can be. I also know how easy it can be to get in a rut. I challenged myself to get out of my box, so to speak and try some new-to-me, designs. I gave this squared off stippling pattern a try and it went pretty well! I had to slow down and think about where I was going from time to time, but it was fun! I could see doing this all over a whole quilt. I also quilted a few swatches of different designs and I turned them into a set of coasters. Binding them was a little fiddly, but totally worth it! (I can say that now that they are done. Ha!) These are great because I not only used scraps of fabric, but scraps of batting as well. Hurray! I'm happy to count these as scrap project #94/101. If you would like the chance to win an e-book copy of Free Motion Quilting for Beginners, please leave me a comment in this post. In your comment, I'd love to hear what your favorite go-to FMQ pattern is. Or, if you are new to FMQ, I'd like to hear what pattern you would like to master. I will pick winner in a few days!
Imagine my excitement when I learned Renee Nanneman (fabric designer for Andover and publisher for Need'lLove) chose my Cotton Daisies pattern to create this beautiful quilt using her new fabric line, Beehive. And...it's hanging in the Andover booth at Quilt Festival in Houston! Cotton Daisies quilt pattern can be found on my website: Laughyourselfintostitches.com Digital Downloads and Mailed Patterns Renee was so gracious to take a couple photos for me and i asked her to make sure she was in each picture!! She is the kindest person! Renee added a gold flange to her Cotton Daisies quilt, which adds such a nice touch! The quilting is gorgeous too! I can't take any credit for it...but whoever quilted this for Renee...it's wonderful! Here is my Cotton Daisies quilt. I literally pulled fabrics from my stash to make this and when i saw Renee's quilt, oh my gosh!! I loooove the softness of her Beehive fabrics! And the pattern cover...showing an alternative colorway...i think this quilt has soooo many color options! Looking for the pattern? I have it available in instant pdf's or mailed copies. Find them in My Etsy Shop And if you wait a bit, (Renee is at market right now) I bet she'll be offering some Cotton Daisies kits using her Beehive fabrics/pattern included! Thanks for stopping by! Learn, Share, Quilt! ~karen
