10 tips for quilting with batik fabric. Batiks are great for quilting, but not everyone is familiar with them. Find out more about these beautiful fabrics.
forgiveness
The last 2 years we’ve made two projects together, a mystery quilt and a mini blocks quilt. This year, as Michael Miller brand Ambassador I’m participating in a QAL to make “Peek Into Batiks&…
Quilting is a craft that has been around since, according to Emporia State University, 3400 B.C. Known for sure to have been used by the Egyptian Pharaohs, quilting eventually spread from the Middle East to Europe. For sure, bed quilts were used in..
Personalize your modern fat quarter quilting with these inspired techniques through color, patterns and asymmetrical design elements.
the creation of a Convergence Quilt, based on the book by Ricky Tims
Janice’s batik rail fence – Digital design – Oscillating Ovals from Crystal Smithe – Omni thread in Steel Gray and Hobbs batt
I get so excited about my local guild’s show-it’s always fabulous! Enjoy a peek at this year’s Folsom Quilt and Fiber Guild show: Best of Show, Inger Blood: “A Taste of Tie&…
Low volume quilting is a fun & easy way to try some new fabrics. These low volume quilting tips will add lots of diversity and interest to your next quilt.
I made this church banner for a friend to gift to her church in 2015. It is approximately 69" x 93" and is all batik fabrics. I used Hobbs Thermore batting in it to keep it lightweight. Click here to see a photo of it hanging in the church. 21" finished colorwash. I used 2" squares to make it in 2015. 28" colorwash made with 2.5" squares. I made the top before 2007 and used it as a class sample for years. Then in 2015 I finally quilted and finished it. This little 19" colorwash is a mix of regular quilting cottons and batiks and was made in 2015. All batik rectanges 2.5" x 4.5". I made it in June, 2007. It is 45" x 63.5". It is in the Julie and Larry Sefton Collection and was featured in the October 2014 issue of "Quilt Life". Bright Colorwash 1 - 43" x 56" Finished in 2012 Bright Colorwash 2 39.5" x 50.5" Finished in 2013 Bright colorwash made with rectangles 2" x 4" finished in 2015. Sold as a quilt top in 2015. Batik Colorwash 50.5" x 38.5". Finished in 2012 Batik Colorwash 2 - 38.5" x 38.5". Finished in 2012 Batik colorwash made in 2015 with rectangles that finish at 2" x 4". It is approximately 44" x 68". African Colorwash - 20" x 23.75". Finished in 2013 I made this piece in Feb. 2008. It is 19" x 23.5" I had the quilt top on my design wall for about 8 years. I finally finished it in Feb. 2008. It is 20" square. Colorwash bars, designed and pieced in 1995 and quilted many years later. My first colorwash pieces were made with calico type fabrics and from there I went to multicolor busy floral prints of a little larger size. This is one of my earliest pieces made with 1.5" squares that finish at 1". It is 12.75" square. This is another early piece, also with squares finishing at 1". It is 16.5" square. I sold this piece so I can't measure it but i think it is about 25" square. If you go back to this post you will see how I store the squares for working on this type of quilt. I challenged myself to go one step farther with this colorwash and add applique to it. I liked it before I added the triangles and I like it afterwards so I'm not sure what I learned there. This piece is 36" x 37". This piece was one of the first colorwash pieces that I made. I believe it was in January of 1991. It was accepted in the AQS show in 1992. It is 49" square. I entered this quilt in the local county fair quite a few years ago and it won the Best Quilt purple ribbon. It is a Colorwash Trip Around the World. This heart colorwash quilt was made with a strip pieced method of constructing 13 stratas to create the 13 rows in the hearts and then sliced to make 24 identical blocks. I gave this quilt to one of my nieces.
When Richard and I saw a bright rainbow a few days ago, I realized that I've not considered rainbows as inspiration yet. We can't have something so beautiful left out, now can we? Here we go...a bevy of rainbows for inspiration! And a dozen inspiring rainbow quilts... You can find these rainbows, and a few more, on my "rainbow, colors" Pinterest board. If you'd like to help find even more rainbows to add to the board, I'll gladly add you to the (soon-to-be) group. Let me know by leaving a comment or email me at [email protected]!
More storms and tornado warnings a couple miles south last night so I had the machine unplugged again for awhile. 8/10 of an inch of rain and lots of wind. I finished sewing this together by 11p.m. and then pressed it and did a row of stay-stitching around the edge. When it is sewn together I can really tell if it is successful. When it is just pieces on the design wall I have my doubts. I'll call this one a success! It is 44" x 64". I will be posting a couple collages of the progress as I worked on this one.
And some of the subjects felt poignantly Japanese, and I was susprised when the artist wasn’t. (“Garden Nasturtium” by Jungsun Jung)
Making your own fabric designs is a lot of fun. Learn how to make batik fabric with washable glue. Included are two free patterns to get you started!
I was lucky enough to take a class from the famous artist/quilter, Freddy Moran, Saturday in Sacramento. I invited my friend Natalie to go with me, and that made the day even better :) This is the house that Freddy built :) She doesn't measure, at least hardly ever, and she doesn't consider herself a sewer either. Here's my freehand house on the left, along with one of my trees on the right. Freddy says that if something doesn't fit, add some more fabric to make it fit, and the extra fabric also adds some interest. Freddy and me:) Freddy has a degree in Fine Arts, raised a family of 5 boys (6 if you count her husband), and she says she was very successful at that because they are all grown up and all have jobs, lol! Freddy started her career with textile arts when she was 60, she's 80 something now. Here's my little house and a wonky star and a tree that I made in class Saturday. This is one of my favorite quilts of Freddy's. The buildings come off the sides, and it isn't bound. Freddy creates a background, often from flannel, because fabric sticks really well to it. She then creates her masterpiece by laying fabric on top and gluing them on with a purple glue stick that dries clear. She takes the finished quilt to the quilter (that hasn't been sewn or appliqued) and she tells Carol, "if any piece falls off, just stick it back on where you think it looks good!" This is a close up of one of her small quilts. The background is sewn together, and she cuts fabric or images on fabric (flowers) and glues them onto the background. Freddy loves the living dead too, hence the skulls. Freddy said that she has never bought a piece of muslin and never will. She takes great care in producing pretty backs for her quilts. Alexander Henry fabrics are very beautiful and interesting, and Berkeley, California, has a Crate and Barrel outlet where they sell Marimekko fabric for $5.95 / yard. Freddy buys a lot of her backs there. Another favorite of mine is this cow quilt! Freddy has lots of "parts". That's fabric that she she has cut into shapes, she has them in containers separated by color. She grabs those "parts" and places them until she likes the arrangement, then glues them down and lets her Carol, her quilter, machine quilt them in place. Did you notice that the cow's tail is three dimensional? This is the bag of the cow quilt. This is a close up of the machine quilting, where you can imagine the pieces being attached to the flannel background, by machine quilting. During the day, we had our sewing class, and in the evening, we had a talk and trunk show by Freddy. It was great! Notice the stack of quilts? I didn't count, but there were 30 or more. Freddy said that she collaborates with her friend Gwen Marston. Together, they make about 30 quilts a year, not including the machine quilting. Freddy and Gwen can make a quilt a day, with their combined creative genius!!! Freddy's "parts department" also includes little blocks that have been put together, otherwise known as orphan blocks. She uses the parts for her quilts. Another favorite quilt of mine that she made is called "Parts Department". It's a kaleidoscope quilt with lots of little girls holding hands, pinwheels and much much more. It's really cute! (I couldn't find a photo of it) Freddy told us that she takes all her fabric out and refolds it every 3 months, so that she knows what she has. What a great idea!!! Here are my little blocks that I sped through! The wonkier the better, it adds a lot of interest. You don't trim until you figure out if you want your quilt to have horizontal or vertical rows, or if you are going to make a kaleidoscope quilt. Freddy loved this background fabric! I think this block is too matchy matchy, but if I put it with crazy, wonky blocks, it will add interest. Isn't this the cutest photo? I took it off the internet, it looks like a self portrait. Freddy's vests that she often wears are made by an artist in Berkeley, and are made from quilts. The biggest thing I learned from Freddy, is don't be hard on yourself, or critical about your work. Never show anyone your quilting mistakes, they will never notice them anyway. Be crazy and try new things in quilting. You don't have to follow everyone else's rules, make your own. I am still talking about quilting, lol! This quilt is called "Little House in the Big Woods". Do you see the little house in there? This is the quilt that Freddy built, and I am going to make my own version of it.....someday..... Freddy signed my book, and do you know what she wrote? "Red is a neutral."
In this easy tutorial, I show you how to make a gorgeous piece of batik art using a glue stick and home-made fabric paint.
Kawandi is a style of quilt created by the Siddi people of India, traditionally done by hand. It is truly scrappy and improvisational. While I like doing hand work, I was also intrigued by faster machine methods. I've listed some resources at the end of this tutorial if you are interested in creating Kawandi by hand, want to see another machine tutorial, want to see some footage of Siddi creating Kawandi by hand, and a discussion of creating Kawandi in your own style. This tutorial describes a new way of creating Kawandi by machine. These are NOT traditional Kawandi, but inspired by the joy and movement of Kawandi-style. I started with a background piece of fabric approximately 8x10", a piece of batting of the same size, and many scraps of batiks or quilting cottons. 1) Place the background over the batting, right side up (this is a quilt as you go technique, so the batting is incorporated from the beginning. 2) Place 4 scraps in the corners, right side DOWN - NOTE I'm using batiks in these examples, so its hard to tell that these pieces are upside down. In this image, you are looking at what will be the WRONG side of those scrap corners. 3) Begin UNDERLAPPING adjoining scraps into the corners. Fold approximately 1/4 inch on the side that will go UNDER the corner. Again, the scraps are placed upside down. Pin the piece in place along the edge. This will be machine sewn. 4) When you get to the next corner, fold the 1/4 inch on both sides of the scrap because it will go under 2 pieces of fabric. 5) Continue folding and underlapping scraps, pinning along the outer edge until you get the entire edge filled. Notice that it doesn't matter if you use short scraps, or long scraps. And again, its impossible to tell from this image because I'm using batiks, but you are looking at the right side of the background, and the WRONG side of the colorful scraps. 6) Sew 1/4 in seam all the way around the edge, removing pins as you come to them. 7) Clip the 4 corners close to the seam, being careful not to cut the thread. 8) Turn right side out by flipping each scrap over the seam. Use a tool to poke out or pull out the corners. There should be no raw edges of fabric along the edge of the piece because they are either in the seam OR they are folded under. 9) Carefully press the outer edge - taking care not to press the batting, as it might melt depending on fiber content. 10) The result is a piece with finished edges like this: 11) Top stitch close to the edge, This will secure all the folded under edges of each scrap. 12) When you are on the 4th side, approaching the beginning of your stitch line, turn the corner about 1/4" or 3/8" before you get there, to start the 'spiral' of stitching. The next steps are done just like Kawandi by hand, but you continue sewing on the machine. 13) To place the next piece, fold under 2 edges. Finger press or iron as necessary. Overlap the unfinished edges of previous scraps. 14) to place a color into a long strip, fold under 3 edges, staying aware of where you will place another scrap to overlap. 15) To keep a small scrap straight as you sew over the edge, it may be necessary to use long tweezers or stiletto. 16) Continue placing scraps and sewing in concentric rectangles, into the center. Note: this picture is from another project than the ones above. 17) Prepare the final scrap by folding under all 4 sides, and sewing the ever smaller rectangles/squares of stitching. 18) For the piece made of batiks, I decided the center "squares" looked better on the diagonal. Although not traditional at all, I've already broken so many 'rules', that I just decided to make this mine. Also, I'm aware that traditional Kawandi have 'folded flowers' in the 4 corners. Include them if you wish. Make it yours! Paula RESOURCES: How to make a Kawandi by hand by Kieren Dutcher https://youtu.be/yFd0xEfKeto How to make a Kawandi by machine (with binding) by Mel Beach https://pieceloveandhappiness.blogspot.com/2019/03/modern-kawandi-making.html Margaret Fabrizio travels to India to learn Kawandi from Siddi quilters: https://youtu.be/WqdIswL96q4 Margaret Fabrizio shows her own Kawandi quilts, and talks about making them in her own style. https://youtu.be/4NRxqOqp_UA
Low volume quilting is a fun & easy way to try some new fabrics. These low volume quilting tips will add lots of diversity and interest to your next quilt.
I finished this lovely art quilt — it’s Exhausted Octopus‘s Sea Glass quilt method! I did an online workshop on the technique and this was my first result!
I made a Colorwash of exclusively Kaffe Fassett fabrics many of which are early and out of print. It is not the Kaffe Collective which includes fabric by Brandon Mably and Philip Jacobs. It is exclusively Kaffe. This wallhanging is made from the kit of 2.5" squares that will be offered to students of Colorwash 360. I used one of the larger prints on the back and I thought the black Fern print was perfect for the binding. Are you interested in making a Colorwash wallhanging too? If you haven't heard, I have an Online Course launching on October 1, 2018 called 'COLORWASH 360'. You'll learn gradation from light to dark (value) as well as gradation from one color another...And, how to select fabrics that work best. 'COLORWASH 360' opens for pre-sale on September 1. Subscribers will receive 24 hours early access to sign up for the course and purchase the limited edition kits of pre-cut squares or larger blocks to cut multiple squares yourself. Both Batik and Kaffe Fassett Fabric kits will be available in limited quantities to students of COLORWASH 360 only. If you aren't an Exuberant Color subscriber for the mailing list....click here to subscribe.
I feel like this post should alternatively be called OMG, I finished this freaking beast, let's have a party! Better yet, a fiesta. (Beca...
Shattered quilted by Pamela Checketts and Sue's Quilts Shop Stained Glass quilt from hand batik fabrics. Just look at those colors glow inside the dark sashing.
Making your own fabric designs is a lot of fun. Learn how to make batik fabric with washable glue. Included are two free patterns to get you started!
Free jelly roll quilt patterns using batik fabric. From jelly roll bundles, to fabric collections, batik jelly rolls, long strips, scrappy strips of fabric, even wide strips you'll be able to sew them up into beautiful quilt patterns.
When I found this project, I immediately went on a search around my home for a plain white anything I could try this with! Such a fun project to do with the family or even with a larger group of ki…
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Hooray! I finally got my quilt back from the publisher of Modern Quilts Unlimited magazine. Well, okay, I actually got it back a little ov...
Love textiles, fibre art and contemporary portraiture? Here is our list of 10 Textile Portrait Artists You HAVE to follow.
This is Ulrike’s stunning New York Beauty quilt and she said it took her 10 years to complete this top! It is made with all batik fabrics and batik backing. The blocks and border were all paper pieced and I love the blocks put on an angle creating stars in the sashing. The whole quilt is stitched in the ditch which took the most work and then I rolled it back and added the quilting designs. I did the same feather in the outer curve in all the blocks, added pebbles to some of the arcs and loops to others. It took me a while to figure out what to quilt in the sashing but finally came up with the petal curl design the fit in the space nicely. I have lots of pictures to share! The batting is Quilters Dream Blend and the threads are So Fine. When I posted a picture of the quilt top last week I had a lot of questions about stitch in the ditch and what threads so here is what I used. So Fine #456 is the magic gray green that I used on all the blocks, it blended very well with all the colors. I matched thread with the two purples in the sashing for that design element as I wanted the thread to blend in on the sashing. I also used a light beige for SID around the outer border spikes. When I stitch in the ditch I don’t always stitch in the ditch side. Depending on the thread I’m using and the final look I’m going for I sometimes will stitch on the high side of the ditch to keep the thread in the same color fabric as the thread. I did this in the outer border in the light beige fabrics as I wanted the colour spikes to really pop! But in the blocks themselves I just stitched on the low side of the ditch as I was quilting across so many colors it didn’t matter what color of fabric I was stitching in. Here is a better look at the thread I used. There were a few spots on the blocks where I switched to the light beige thread as the blocks had a very light background. And in these blocks I stitch on the high and low side so I stayed in the light fabric like I did in the outer border. So for me there is no hard fast rule about stitching in the ditch, I do what looks right to my eye. Also in this next picture you can see where I strayed from the side I was on and stitched in the darker colour, this happens and I don’t panic about it because when you look at the quilt as a whole you never see that! There were only a few times on this quilt where I was not happy with my stitching and picked out a line or two. So don’t stress too much when your stitching in the ditch, just take your time and don’t be over critical of it.
Free heart quilt patterns to create with love and care or for that special valentine.
UPDATE!!! I got an amazing comment from Phyl...if you are going to do this, you might try these tweaks to my lesson that was left in the co...
How to hand quilt in 3 easy steps! In this blog and video tutorial I'll list out all of the supplies you need and show you how simple hand quilting is!
Get this Free Fat Quarter Quilt Pattern and give Low Volume a try. Make this Modern Fat Quarter Quilting Low Volume Batik Fabrics.
In January, our guild had an “Out with the old” challenge, where we were to use up some of the oldest fabric in our stash. Back when I first started quilting (I think around 2006), I bought four packages of 100 floral 4″ charm squares on eBay. The person selling them was putting them up […]
