Many of you who are doing the Dreamcatcher Round the Year Block of the Month Quilt got your fabric a bit late and there are still others who are beginners to paper piecing. I thought it would be a …
The Posh Penelope Quilt Pattern from Sew Kind of Wonderful is created with the Quick Curve Ruler (sold separately). This timeless scrappy quilt combines a love for curves with on-point sashing and cornerstones, making it a modern and traditional creation. The pattern makes a finished quilt size of 69" by 80". The Posh Penelope Quilt Pattern has detailed instructions and a suggested list of materials.
The kitchen is almost finished and the flu has gone so back to normal with more info about my clas in Nantes. A boutis is one of these invaluable treasures that we inherited from the Provence region of France. It is a type of embroidery made up of two layers of cotton, white according to tradition, but modern demands mean that now accessoires can be done in a variety of colours, Those two layers are stitched together by hand, with tiny stitches, following a previously drawn pattern which can be incredibly complex, it depends what the designer is hoping to create. Once the entire stitch work is completed we gently separate the material fibres with a small and sharp wooden stick to enable us to introduce a little portion of cotton wool into the cavity created , which gives the final stuffed appearance Afterwards, using the point of a fine needle, we push into place the fibres, to hide all trace of the work that has been done. This is to obtain a work absolutely identical on both face and riverside of the work of art. This involves of course and extremely long, painstaking and refined work demanding a high level of skill. These days the word "boutis" is often employed incorrectly to name, for example bed cover designs which are simply quilted, composed of three layers, the face, the underside and the wadding, sandwiched in between. These three elements can be quilted elaborately of simply, depending on the design.. Real "boutis" is immediately recognisable. If held up to the light, the transparency between the patterns is evident and the unstuffed pieces in between are translucent, which creates a play between the shadow and light. (source http://www.neiges-dantan.com/en/boutis.html) When I was in Nantes I did a boutis class. Here is the gorgeous work that my teacher made. And here is the tiny piece that I made that day.... If you want to try it yourself, this pattern is available here.
We Quilt is about quilting, longarming, guilds, our machine and tools and Quilts of Valor. If you follow our journey...many thanks.
Are you overwhelmed with the simple elegance of a wholecloth quilt but are clueless on how make one yourself? Read for 5 tips on how to wholecloth quilt:
Everything in the world is not in pinterest...... And I've made a few quilts as coverlets.... yep... tooooooo short to cover the bed....
I pieced this quilt right after I had made The Birthday Quilt. The Civil War Reproduction fabrics I'd pulled were still singing for me, and it didn't seem
Take on this popular 12
I have become obsessed with Flying Geese! No, not the ones currently flying south for the winter. With the quilt pattern Flying Geese. It’s a quick and easy (my favorite!) quilt pattern, and it looks great in all sorts of colors! Here is the first Flying Geese quilt I made. Outer Space Astronaut Flying Geese. And a Christmas Goose. Using the 4 at a time method makes these geese quick and easy, while also making sure that all of the points line up just perfectly like they are meant to. I’ve made flying geese before, and even wrote a quick tutorial on how to make them, but as star points, rather than as flying geese. What’s the difference, you ask? The finished product is different based on how you turn your flying geese units, and other background squares, but the construction is the same. So why, you ask, am I writing another tutorial so soon after the first? You have a lot of questions! I wanted my finished geese to be larger this time. And I couldn’t remember the measurements for cutting my fabric to make a different size. As a writer of the tutorial, I shouldn’t have to go online to look up measurements. I should have that resource available at hand at all times. Flying Geese can be made in any size, the finished size is always like this, each individual goose is twice as wide as it is long. Math, I know, it’s hard! Just a warning, more math is coming! I know, I try not to inundate you with too much math, but this time around it’s necessary. Let’s say you want your finished goose to be 3” by 6”, this will make each pair of geese into a 6” square. Why 3” by 6”? That’s the size I used most recently, so it’s fresh in my mind! So, now that I’ve looked it up, I’ve created a cheat sheet chart of many different sizes, to keep for handy use. The 4 at a time Flying Geese method uses one big square (this fabric is the goose body) and 4 small squares (this fabric is the sky). You should keep it handy too, you can pin it for later and never have to go looking for these measurements again. Now that you’ve got the list of what size little squares go with what size big squares, how ‘bout a quick tutorial on what do with them once you’ve cut them? Flying Geese Tutorial- The 4 at a Time Way To make Flying Geese this way, the large square is your width dimension (6”) plus 1¼”, for a total of 7¼”. The smaller squares are your height dimension (3”) plus 7/8”, for a total of 3 7/8”. This added fabric accounts for the seam allowances (that’s the bit that gets sewn into the seam). I wanted my finished piece (remember, finished means once it’s sewn into the quilt and no edges are left unsewn) to by 3” by 6”. To make this set of 4 geese, you’ll need: 1 Navy Square: 7¼” 4 Teal Squares: 3 7/8” Draw a line with a pencil from corner to corner across the diagonal of your 4 teal squares. Take your 7¼” Navy Square and 2 of your 3 7/8” teal squares, and place the teal squares corner to corner across the diagonal of the navy square. The corners of the teal squares will overlap in the center of the navy square, and the pencil lines will match up, to continue all the way from one corner across to the other. Pin in place Sew ¼ of an inch to the right of the pencil line. Turn the fabric pieces 180* and repeat, to sew down the other side of the pencil line. Because you’ve turned it, you will still be sewing to the right of the line. Cut along the pencil line. Iron the seam, pressing towards the smaller teal pieces. It makes sort of a heart shape. Pin your 3rd and 4th small teal squares, to the remaining navy corner of each of your heart shaped pieces. The pencil line will go from the navy corner, and should go right through the V of the heart. Sew ¼ inch from the pencil line, turn and sew ¼ inch from the pencil line on the other side. Cut along the pencil line, and press, again towards the teal. Now you have 4 Flying Geese! Here they are finished and sewn into a quilt. You can do lots of things with your 4 Flying Geese (even turn them into a star!) but here is the quilt I made with the navy and teal geese used in this tutorial. If you are wanting to making this same quilt, the original pattern (not my creation!) can be found here! My version is made with 40 different fabric combos. At 4 geese per combo, that’s 160 geese total. And, one more time, in case you scrolled by it above without memorizing it, here is the chart of square sizes again. Save it. Pin it. Use it again. And again. Happy goose flying! I love, love, love the binding I chose to go with this quilt! There’s a little bit of it in the quilt top too, but I just love it as binding.
Quilting has an acronym language all its own. If you have ever wondered what a UFO or a WOMBAT is, this article will explain it all. There is also a view of The Usual Suspects!
Civil War reproduction quilts are incredibly popular and offer history lessons wrapped around sewing and piecing. The best of both worlds!
A quick and easy boxy pouch tutorial. By the end of this blog post, you will be able to sew your own box zipper pouch!
One thing I love about the quilting community is that we love to “talk shop”. When I’m at my booth at craft fairs, I always have at least a couple of quilters come up.…
Welcome to Week 2 of the Modern Fans Quilt Sew-Along! If you're popping in late, no need to feel left-out or stressed, we are keeping a slow pace with this sew-along so everyone can have a chance to gather any extra supplies or take that extra time to practice sewing curves.If you need a quickContinue Reading...
Ok, I messed up my previous post and since so many people read my posts through email I wanted to make sure this info was clear and get it into people’s email boxes. So here we go… agai…
Modern Quilting Tips, Tricks and Tutorials! - Everything you need to know to make quilting easy and fun so you can do what it is you love to do and create a beautiful joy filled life!
Learn about some bad quilting habits that Superior Threads recommends that you quit.
I was so worried after sending back my first Quilt of Valor. Would it be good enough? Would they want me to quilt a second one? This was the first time I had quilted for someone other than myself o…
Sleeve designs can be a little bit intimidating. Drafting them is kind of a science on its own, and it’s hard to imagine what shape you need to start with if
Does batting have a right and wrong side? The answer is yes! Check out this photo guide to help you find the right batting for your next quilt.
Carrie’s Quilt – Ooh La la! Carrie Nelson, who is the genius behind Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co and well known for her Schnibbles and Little Bites patterns and products, is my guest blogger today presenting her Nested Churn Dash quilt. As you will read from Carrie’s post, we shared a spot in the APQ QAL earlier…
So this is my very 1st quilt! I made it about 10 years ago. It is funny to look at it now, because I never would pair these fabrics together today, but I love the look of them. I literally just gra…
It’s no secret that I’m a cheerleader for the quilting industry. One of my favorite things is being an ambassador for companies whose products I love. Full disclosure: I’m not pai…
In my last post, I shared some suggestions for categorizing your UFO’s and deciding what to keep. I offered a little bit of “tough love,” and gave you permission to let some stuff GO. Get rid of it. Make room in your life for things that are new and fresh (both literally and figuratively.) Sometimes, […]
The Snail’s Trail is one of my favorite quilt blocks. Here are some layout options as well as the dies needed to cut it with the new BOB die or with the alternate individual dies.
Learn how to combine techniques that you already know and sew new and unique pouches.
Learn to sew the classic quilting block, Birds in the Air. Make TWO at a time with this tutorial.
Top US quilting blog, Diary of a Quilter, shares their No-Waste method fo make Flying Geese Block and 8 point Sawtooth Star Quilt Block. Click here now!
I found this poem on Pinterest and believe it was first published in 1932. Many of its sentiments ring true with me, I do hope my descendants are interested in keeping my quilts. READ MORE » This is the latest post over at my new blog Melody Matilda. Please pop on over to read the rest of the post. Love Melody
Pre-cut - What Size Quilt Does it Make? - Blog & More Tutorials & Guides Pre-cut - What Size Quilt Does it Make?
Make Flying Geese the No Waste Way In the previous block, Belle, we added some seams, but in this block we definitely recommend reducing the number of seams. By replacing eight A-6 triangles with four A-4 triangles, we can make classic Flying Geese units and eliminate the extra bulk created where seam allowances would meet. Most of the Flying Geese Units in this quilt will be made with size-specific templates as in this block. (Please read the information following the link to the conversion chart about our Multi-size Flying Geese Ruler.) My personal grainline goals for any quilt are: Straight grain on the outside of the sub-units whenever possible Straight grain on the outside of the block whenever possible Definitely straight grain on the outside edges of the quilt Why? To prevent rippled edges and stretching. Straight grain can be either lengthwise or crosswise. Obviously, you can't have lengthwise grain on all 4 sides. Having said all that -- Design overrides grain! The only reason I can think of where you "need" a bias edges on the outside of a unit or a block, is when you want to make a statement with a directional fabric such as a stripe. The A-4 triangles in the Coral block will be cut with the hypotenuse (long side) on the lengthwise grain, which is parallel to the selvage, for the firmest edges. Measure the strip width "the Marti Way" using square template A-5. Here's my Coral Block Click the link to download the Template Conversion Chart for this block: From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #6 for Block #24, Coral In addition to our template conversion PDF download, you will want to read Gnome Angel's tutorials for these blocks. Speaking of Making Flying Geese Units We make a specialty Flying Geese Ruler with which you can use to cut both the small and large triangles needed for five popular finished Flying Geese sizes, from 2-1/2 x 5 inches to 4-1/2 x 9 inches. This ruler will also cut the triangles needed for the zig-zag layout Laurie has selected for this quilt, starting on page 260 in the book. Cut strips the perfect width, then use the same ruler to cut the small triangles… …and the large triangles! Making Flying Geese units couldn't be easier or more accurate. For smaller sizes of Flying Geese units, we recommend using the size-specific templates, as in this block. In fact, if you own our book, More Bang for the Buck, you will see on page 29 a chart with 26 additional sizes of Flying Geese, cut with right triangle templates in various Perfect Patchwork Template Sets.
Updated Here! There is a little meme going around FB right now with the title: Why Do Quilts Cost So Much. I'm not sure who created it or when, but the
Get these echo quilt clips tips and learn what an amazing tool they are for echo quilting.
Choose Two Compatible Fabrics for Your Unique Version! This decorative fabric bowl is woven in such a way that a 12-point star is created on the bottom, both inside and out. Embellish the rim with buttons for a beautiful finish. This is a very simple project you’ll have finished up quickly. Start with squares of …
Do NOT miss this detailed tutorial on how to make bias binding. Step-by-step instructions. Save this post in a safe place for future reference! Free Double Wedding Ring pattern
These stays are certainly the most complex cording project I've done, so I wanted to share how I've been going about it! First off, I'm using a totally different cording method than the ones shown in my Making a Corded Petticoat post. In both methods shown in that tutorial, the cord was put in place first and its channel was sewn around it. Those methods work just fine for a corded petticoat, but won't work very well for these stays. Instead, I'm sewing channels into the fabric first, then inserting the cording afterwards. As a reminder, this is the pattern I'm working with: Fabric Prep Since the criss-cross cording is the most difficult part of these stays, that's what we'll focus on. Each of the squares that make up the criss-cross pattern are only 0.25" wide, so they're very small and difficult to sew accurately. The space between each square forms the channel that the cord threads through. I'm using a green shot cotton as the pretty outer fashion layer of the stays, with two layers of thin but tightly woven white cotton as the strength layers. My stitches will go through all three layers of fabric, but the cording will be run between the two white layers of cotton. The first challenge was figuring out how to mark the stitching guidelines on the fabric. I could have made all the markings on the back of each piece, but I find that the top side of my stitching often looks a bit more precise than the back, so I needed a way to mark the green fabric so that I could stitch accurately, but not have the markings visible later. Squares marked with water soluble pen, with a penny for scale. At first I tried using a water soluble fabric marker that had a relatively fine tip. It showed up very well on the fabric, but since it is a marker and the fabric wicked the ink out a bit, the line it left was fairly thick. The thicker line made it very hard to see where exactly to stitch. Some of my test squares were more parallelogram than square, and the width of the squares varied between 5/16" and 3/16" wide. It may seem like I'm being overly picky, but that is a difference of 1/8", which means I was off in some areas by the width of half of a square! When working at such a small scale, even a little bit of deviation becomes extremely obvious. Wibbly wobbly stitching due to wide fabric marker guidelines. I considered using a fine mechanical pencil to draw more precise, accurate lines, but there were two potential issues. One, I was worried it wouldn't wash off well, leaving me with pencil lines all over my stays. Two, it's actually pretty hard to draw an accurate line on this fabric with a mechanical pencil, as the pressure of the lead warps and distorts the fabric as you're trying to draw. Can't draw a straight line b/c the pressure of the lead warps the fabric. Luckily, I was able to solve both issues at once with my favorite secret weapon: Mah super-sekrit weapon. Shh, don't tell! Starch has saved my butt on many a sewing project. Here, it serves two purposes. First, it stiffens the fabric so that it is almost paper-like, so now I can easily draw on it using the mechanical pencil without the fabric distorting. Now I can get perfectly straight, thin, highly accurate stitching lines! With starched fabric, no distortion! Comparison of marker lines vs mechanical pencil lines. Second, thanks to Lifeofglamour's various experiments with tinting starch for use on ruffs, I know that very often, pigments and dirt that are mixed in with or sitting on top of starch wash out without staining the fabric. When I tested this theory on my fabric, washing the starch out washed the pencil marks down the drain too! You can buy spray on starch or the liquid kind you dip your fabric into from the store, but thanks to Frolicking Frocks (dude, check out those petticoats!) I'm a convert to making my own out of cornstarch. My test stitching proves much more straight and accurate with the pencil guidelines, and after washing all evidence of the pencil lead is gone! Now that I've got that settled, the last step before stitching is to use a lightbox to trace my design onto the fabric. Stitching My original plan was to hand-stitch the stays, but I came to my senses after attempting a sample. I tried using my modern sewing machine, but it's very hard to stitch a line precisely 0.25" and stop in exactly the right place using the pedal control, so I pulled out the little Singer 99 hand crank machine I refurbished a few years ago instead. Remember this one? Isn't she pretty? With a hand crank, it's really easy to stop right at the exact number of stitches you want. A lot of fiddling and several tests later, I settled on a stitch length calibrated to precisely 1/16 of an inch, giving me squares that were 4 stitches wide on each side. Getting the correct stitch size is no mean feat on these old machines, since you set the length by screwing an unlabeled knob in or out as needed. That knob is the stitch length regulator. Notice the distinct lack of numbers or any useful markings of any sort? Now that I've got the length set, sewing each square is now as easy as starting the needle in the right place, sewing 4 stitches, sinking the needle on the 4th stitch, raising the presser foot, turning the fabric, putting the foot down again, sewing 4 more stitches, etc, all the way around the square. This leaves a bunch of thread tails all over the place. Of course I can't just trim them because the stitching would come out, so the loose threads are pulled to the back and tied off. Since I'm a bit paranoid about the knots coming undone, I put a dot of Fray-Check on each to prevent unraveling. Remember to test the Fray-Check on an inconspicuous spot first! My layers are thin, and on the first few knots I used too much and it soaked through to the front. Threads pulled to the back for tying. At first I was tying the threads after each square, but it's more efficient to sew several squares, then flip to the back and start pulling through/tying off. The problem with doing it that way is that those loose tails get in the way of stitching, and if you sew through the tail of a square a few rows down it's a mess to untangle. Luckily, I'm owned by two exceedingly furry felines, and thus have a clothing de-furring brush that doubles as a way to clear all my loose threads off to one side with a single swipe. Guess the fuzzbeasts are good for something. There's something like 200 tiny squares on just ONE front panel, plus more on each side panel, so you can see why this has been taking me a while! Cording After washing the starch out, drying, and pressing each piece, it's FINALLY time to stuff some cord in there. I'm using the same Sugar n' Cream cotton cord that I used in my corded petticoat. You'll want a cord of a width that fits fairly snugly in your channels, so choose accordingly, or stitch your channels to accommodate the cord you wish to use. I'm using a thick, blunt needle with a wide eye. Tapestry needles are perfect. The eye should be large enough that the cord just fits through it, but not so big that the needle won't fit through your channels with the now doubled cord in tow. I also have a pair needle nose pliers, because despite my best efforts, the eye of my needle still gets stuck in the fabric sometimes. When I made my last pair of corded stays, I broke the only good needle I had and swapped to one that was nearly the same, only sharp instead of blunt. It sorta worked, but the sharp tip kept shredding the fabric on both sides, and those scrapes later unraveled into larger holes, allowing the cord to poke out. I wouldn't have minded if they were all on the inside, but most of them were on the pretty outside! If all you can get is a sharp needle, grind the tip down. Holes in channels caused by sharp needle shredding fabric. Sadly, these are on the front, so they show when I wear it. On the backside of the stays, I poke the needle through just one layer of fabric right at the start of a channel. Since the needle is blunt, with some fabrics an awl is needed to start the hole. It takes a bit of practice to get the tip to go through just one layer of fabric, but practice makes perfect, right? Using an awl to start the hole. Threading the needle into the channel. Once inside, the needle is pushed down the length of the channel, dragging the cord behind it. It's tight, and I have to moosh (super technical term) and manipulate the fabric around the needle to move it along. Sometimes the pliers are necessary to pull the needle through the channel too. The eye is stuck at the entry to the channel, so I use pliers to help it along. At the opposite end, I poke the tip of the needle back out through the back fabric and pull it out, taking care to not pull all the cording out with it! The pliers are also super useful here, as the eye of the needle generally gets stuck on the way out. All the pushing and pulling on the needle is pretty rough on my fingers; using the pliers instead solves that problem. The downside is that I'm more likely to break a needle when pulling on it with the pliers. It's easier on my fingers to just use the pliers to pull the needle out. I don't trim the cord close to the fabric just yet; instead I cut it so there's about 1" still hanging out, then move on to the other channels. The places where the cords cross are a bit tricky to get through, but it's doable. Eventually I end up with a small forest of cord ends growing out of the back of the stays. Well that's a right mess. Once I've got a whole section done, I start trimming the stray tails. I cut the cord pretty close to the fabric, but not right flush with it. There are till some tiny tails hanging out. Trimmed close, with just a little bit hanging out. Then, without holding onto the cord, I tug on both ends of the channel, stretching the fabric slightly. Most of the tails pop back into their holes and disappear. A few are still sticking out a bit, but this is the inside of the garment, so I don't care overmuch. Gently stretching each channel. There are still holes at the start and end of each channel, but again, it's the inside, and they close up a little with time anyways. No more tails! Wow, that got lengthy! If any part of this tutorial isn't clear, let me know and I'll try to unmuddy it a bit. If you've got a cool cording project you're working on, show us in the comments! I've still got a few panels to go, so I'm off to the sewing table again for another late night.
Make a difference in the world by sharing your talents - a list of charities in need of sewing and quilting and fabric donations.
