The Kentucky Quilt Project featured me in a Q&A about why quilts matter. We talked about having "off-beat" quilts and questions like:
Gwen Marston was the deciding factor for me attending QuiltCon this year. I've read her books for years and love her work. I decided that if I got into her class, I would go. And I did. Well, my husband is the real hero of this story. See, I had a meeting at the time that registration for workshops opened for QuiltCon last year so I wasn't going to be able to register myself. My husband was going to be home that day though so I sat him down the night before, made him watch the "How to register for QuiltCon" video that the Modern Quilt Guild released and gave him my wish list of classes. We went over what order to try registering. Yes, I even had plan B and Cs for him, but I threw out plans D, E and F (you're welcome, honey). My top choices were classes with Gwen Marston and Melissa Averinos. He was such a good sport about it; mostly he found it so bizarre and amusing. I think. The next morning as I left for work, I told him, "there's no pressure and I'll be happy with whatever options you can get for me." I don't think he really believed me. At 10:07, he sent me a text that I got my top choices. Eeeek! It took all of my self-control not to jump up and down at work when I got that text, but there may have been an impassioned "yes" accompanied by a fist pump. I am a professional, you know. ;) So now I was going to QuiltCon and I was going to take classes with Gwen and Melissa. Woo hoo! I'll do another post for the class with Melissa, but today, I'll share some photos about the class with Gwen Marston. It did not disappoint! Gwen's small studies: One of my favourites of Gwen's small studies: Another favourite: Gwen demonstrating some of the techniques she taught us: Trying to get out of my comfort zone with this colour palette: A little better: Some progress on the different units: Cute, eh? Playing with placement: Starting to come together: Gwen and me! Eeek! Some of my classmates work -- I can't remember who did what, but aren't they fabulous? Loved seeing the variety of work. If you ever get a chance to take a class with Gwen Marston, take it. You will not regret it!
I decided to take my love of the Fibonacci sequence and my love of solids and challenge myself to see what I could do with it using my scraps. I made these Fibonacci blocks several years ago and it sa
Happy Friday, everyone! No idea where this week went, but here we are. I'm a little punchy this morning because I stayed up ridiculously late last night to finish this top. And son #3 is fighting a stomach bug this morning so we are cuddling on the couch watching his favourite show "Super Why" in between bouts of vomiting. Poor bug! As riveting as Super Why is and as much as I enjoy the cuddling time, I know that if I don't do something right now, I'll fall asleep so here's my homage to the Hudson's Bay Company point blanket. For those who've been following along for some time, I posted this EQ design a couple of months ago. I was pleasantly surprised at the response; clearly I'm not the only one with a love for those blankets! Yesterday, the design went from this: To this: To this: As a number of you mentioned that you'd like to do one of these too sometime, I thought I'd share my measurements to save you some time. This quilt will be 90" square (I like my queen-sized bed quilts big). Fabric for the top (NB: These are generous fabric requirements. I did not want a seam in the stripes and I knew I'd be using the colour stripes on the back too so I bought the stripe fabric for the width of the quilt): 2 - 2.5 meters (3 yards) of off-white cotton making 5 meters (6 yards total) 2.5 meters (3 yards) indigo cotton 2.5 meters (3 yards) yellow cotton 2.5 meters (3 yards) red cotton 2.5 meters (3 yards) green cotton Cutting Directions: 1. Fold all of your fabric so you will be cutting along the length of the fabric instead of the width. 2. From the off-white fabric, cut: 22.5" wide by 92" 2 - 6.5" wide by 92" 6 - 4.5" wide by 92" 3. From each of the indigo, yellow, green and red, cut: 2 - 4.5" wide by 92" Layout Directions: 1. Layout your stripes according to the design above, with your 6.5" off-white strips on the ends and the 22.5" piece as your centre, and sew them together. 2. You can square it up to 90" square now or wait until you've quilted it (I'd wait until you quilt it). And voilà, you have your own HBC top. If you do make one, I'd love to see it and know if these directions are clear and easy to follow. Being the rebel that I am, I'll be doing this "Party in the back" design for my backing. I'll share the measurements when I finish it. If you wanted to make this look like a true HBC blanket, you could make this top again for the back. I'm linking up with Allison and the other TGIFF! participants at Dreaming in Patchwork. She's got a fun Dorothy picnic quilt to share today. That's where I'm headed next! Hope you have a great weekend!
Greetings Aurifil followers. I’m Karen L. Miller ~ Redbird Quilt Co., Master Educator and Program Coordinator for Aurifilosophy, here again to celebrate our 6th year of Thread Matters – The Aurifil…
It's one of my favourite times of year -- the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by the amazing Amy Ellis. I'm entering my October Sky quilt into the art quilt category. There are a number of gorgeous q
Needing something quick and simple to work on, I designed and made this quilt top yesterday afternoon. I love quilting therapy. :) This uses the Fibonacci sequence up to 13. The lines are actually straight; the top isn't lying fully flat on the design wall. I like the bold red and white and the simplicity of the design, with each colour flowing into the other. But...I'm kind of wondering if it's too simple so I'm toying with the idea of some contrasting 'code - type' appliqué. Thoughts? Measures 42" by 64" so far. I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network and to W.i.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. I'm also linking up with Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts!
Um, how is it Q4 already? I think I linked up to the Finish-Along with Adrienne at On the Windy Side at the beginning of the year and then well, life happened. Since I'm just about caught up on my 'mu
Welcome to TGIFF! I'm definitely doing the Carlton Happy dance with my finish this week. It's why I've been so quiet on the blog; besides our vacation, every spare moment was spent working on this quilt since early July. I shared the finished We The North Since 1867 top last month. I actually designed this quilt last year, but then struggled with the motivation to start it. Fear is such a little bugger. Once I got started though, the obsession took over. Tea and Buffy the Vampire Slayer kept me company on many a late night. I made We the North Since 1867 to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary next year. Yeah, I know I'm a little early to be doing a sesquicentennial quilt, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I love to travel and experience other countries and cultures, but I love coming home too. I feel pretty lucky to be born in this cool country so I wanted to make something to celebrate it. Don't let the simple design fool you; it has a lot of meaning behind it (at least for me). It has 13 values of red (mostly Konas) for the 10 provinces and three territories. When we typically talk about Canadian culture, we often use the term 'mosaic' to describe all the nationalities that now call this place home. I wanted the central maple leaf to convey that idea as well, but I wanted more of a glass-like feel to it to remind us that it is fragile if we are not careful. I machine appliquéd 1867, the year of Confederation, to the lower right of the maple leaf. For the quilting, I used two colours of Aurifil thread (Red 50 wt. 2260 and Charcoal 50 wt. 2630), representing our two official languages. The quilting is the walking foot technique that I learned from Heather Lair. The spacing is 5/8" between the lines. Done on my Bernina domestic machine, the quilting alone took about 30 hours. Yes, totally crazy, but worth it. I outlined the central maple leaf with some hand stitching and included some hand stitched partial maple leaf 'watermarks' in the background. I also hand stitched one small red maple leaf in the upper right to represent our 'little' country in 1867 (only 4 provinces and 3.4 million people at the time). We the North Since 1867 is done and it turned out just as I had hoped. Bliss. For those who like to see under the covers, here's the back (it's really hard to photograph red): Size: 34.5" x 44" I know I say this a lot, but this is now my favourite quilt. Sorry, Happy Canada Day, Eh! I still adore you too though. An InLinkz Link-up
Welcome to TGIFF! I'm definitely doing the Carlton Happy dance with my finish this week. It's why I've been so quiet on the blog; besides our vacation, every spare moment was spent working on this quilt since early July. I shared the finished We The North Since 1867 top last month. I actually designed this quilt last year, but then struggled with the motivation to start it. Fear is such a little bugger. Once I got started though, the obsession took over. Tea and Buffy the Vampire Slayer kept me company on many a late night. I made We the North Since 1867 to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary next year. Yeah, I know I'm a little early to be doing a sesquicentennial quilt, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I love to travel and experience other countries and cultures, but I love coming home too. I feel pretty lucky to be born in this cool country so I wanted to make something to celebrate it. Don't let the simple design fool you; it has a lot of meaning behind it (at least for me). It has 13 values of red (mostly Konas) for the 10 provinces and three territories. When we typically talk about Canadian culture, we often use the term 'mosaic' to describe all the nationalities that now call this place home. I wanted the central maple leaf to convey that idea as well, but I wanted more of a glass-like feel to it to remind us that it is fragile if we are not careful. I machine appliquéd 1867, the year of Confederation, to the lower right of the maple leaf. For the quilting, I used two colours of Aurifil thread (Red 50 wt. 2260 and Charcoal 50 wt. 2630), representing our two official languages. The quilting is the walking foot technique that I learned from Heather Lair. The spacing is 5/8" between the lines. Done on my Bernina domestic machine, the quilting alone took about 30 hours. Yes, totally crazy, but worth it. I outlined the central maple leaf with some hand stitching and included some hand stitched partial maple leaf 'watermarks' in the background. I also hand stitched one small red maple leaf in the upper right to represent our 'little' country in 1867 (only 4 provinces and 3.4 million people at the time). We the North Since 1867 is done and it turned out just as I had hoped. Bliss. For those who like to see under the covers, here's the back (it's really hard to photograph red): Size: 34.5" x 44" I know I say this a lot, but this is now my favourite quilt. Sorry, Happy Canada Day, Eh! I still adore you too though. An InLinkz Link-up
While making Innocence Lost, Courage Found, I kept thinking that the Fibonacci sequence (related to the Golden Ratio) depicted in tile formation could be a cool quilt design. Wouldn't using the Golden Ratio as the founding design principle for a quilt almost automatically assure success? I wasn't interested in the spiral or conch shell look so much, but the graphic look of the square tiles. I also thought it might be neat to play with complementary contrast and colour ratio (i.e. 1:3 yellow to purple, etc). I made two blocks using the Fibonacci sequence up to 13 again and rotated one of them to get this: Hmm, it has potential, but it needs more and I'm not sure quite what yet. Something to balance the colour ratios? Using the Golden Ratio is not so easy. LOL! Thoughts?
Greetings Aurifil family! As Master Educator and Aurifilosophy Program Coordinator I’m thrilled to introduce fellow Aurifilosopher Amy Friend of During Quiet Time. Amy, a former museum curator…
Well, I'm clearly on a red and grey kick right now. I designed this quilt last year in honour of Canada's sesquicentennial celebration, which will be next year, and I've been sitting on the design eve
To see most current post at Kelly Girl Quilts, click HERE! Good Friday morning, look at all the nice Nevada sunshine today! I ran out to take these pictures before work... I forgot yesterday morning. I'll take some more quilting pictures when I have a kinder afternoon sun and you can see the texture a bit better. I thought about a gold binding, but decided to stay with blue. and... the back is a panel of the solar system, the stars glow in the dark. I usually go with a pieced back, but fell in love with this panel! Yay, a finish! and it's Friday! To see most current post at Kelly Girl Quilts, click HERE!
Ontdek de betoverende Arte Metal X Patina Quilt 60142, een meesterwerk van ambachtelijk vakmanschap en hedendaagse esthetiek. Deze prachtige quilt straalt een tijdloze charme uit met zijn unieke combinatie van metalen elementen en verfijnde patina-afwerking. Elk stuk vertelt zijn eigen verhaal, met subtiele nuances en levendige texturen die de zintuigen prikkelen. Of het nu dient als een opvallend accent in uw interieur of als een kunstzinnig statement in een galerij, deze quilt voegt een vleugje verfijning toe aan elke ruimte. Met Arte Metal X Patina Quilt 60142 haalt u niet alleen een decoratief pronkstuk in huis, maar ook een kunstwerk dat generaties lang bewondering zal oogsten. Laat uw ruimte tot leven komen met dit meesterwerk van Nederlandse designinnovatie. Quilt Collection: Tijdloze luxe voor geavanceerde rebels: Elke ontwerp uit de Metal X Patina-collectie is op metaalfolie gedrukt om een creatieve verweerde gipslook op de muren te creëren. De patronen zijn afgeleid van traditionele schilderstechnieken of ambachten. We hebben geavanceerde printtechnieken gebruikt om een matte look met lichtgevende highlights te creëren om levendigheid en een natuurlijk patina toe te voegen. Quilt Design: natuurlijk, structuur, Grafisch Color: Grijs/Zilver
The precision of your pieced quilt pattern depends on the accuracy of your quarter-inch seams! Get accurate seams with these tips and tricks.
Find the perfect quote or saying for your next quilt label. 60+ sayings and quotes for all occasions from NewQuilters.com #quiltingideas #sayingsandquotes
The snowball pattern is one of the best-known of all Amish quilt blocks. From a distance, a snowball block looks like a round circle, but it...
Greetings Aurifil family! As Master Educator and Aurifilosophy Program Coordinator I’m thrilled to introduce fellow Aurifilosopher Amy Friend of During Quiet Time. Amy, a former museum curator…
A fabric collage quilt doesn't need to be scary!
So you want to make a fabric collage quilt. Great! After choosing an image to work from, the next step in creating a fabric collage quilt is making a simple pattern. This is a critical step, one th…
These 25 Fast and Free Quilt Patterns are perfect for quick quilting for beginners, featured by top US quilting blog, Flamingo Toes. Click here now!!
So, you bought a fancy sewing machine with all of the bells and whistles, and you’re determined to learn how to quilt with it. If you’ve never learned how to quilt on a sewing machine before, there’s no need to panic because the process is really much easier than you think. Quilting on a sewing […] Read more...
Luke Haynes Quilts are unlike typical quilts, ranging from men's tools to food and modern art, they stand apart from the rest.
Together with our friends at OLFA, Aurifil is please to present a fabulous monthly series that will answer all sorts of questions about OLFA tools & Aurifil threads. Whether you’re just getting…
Pingjum The Netherlands, 2019 Projects Proximale stimilus / distale stimilus Ina Meijer’s works look simple: clear shapes form a sharp contrast against a bright background. She explores the way in which a two-dimensional work can render a three-dimensional object and whether a spatial form can be a representation of a flat surface. Because they lack…
This morning I was woken up by the sound of hammering on the trees outside my windows - it was a Crested Barbet. So small and so noisy.....The sounds of Spring.... wonderful! The Weaver birds are out in full swing now, and you can hear them fighting and chatting in the branches. One is building a nest in the bottlebrush tree. Shame, I hope the wife likes it - I've seen what happens if she feels its not up to scratch. My theme on Beautiful Birds is coming along nicely - it's up to 6 birds - or 7 if you count the Pelican as well. Now I just need to finish writing each of their instructions for their patterns. These beauties will be 10" (25cm) and are on the Intermediate level. I even turned the Weaver bird into a postcard that I mailed to a friend. That's Tuesday! https://www.facebook.com/QuiltArtDesigns
This was my second trip to Mackinac Island, MI, to teach at the Grand Hotel’s Annual Needle Art Seminar, and I’m happy to report that this time the ferry didn’t have to dodge iceb…
Greetings Aurifil family! As Master Educator and Aurifilosophy Program Coordinator I’m thrilled to introduce the original Quilting Rockstar, HollyAnne Knight of String & Story to Thread M…
Greetings Aurifil family! As Master Educator and Aurifilosophy Program Coordinator I’m thrilled to introduce fellow Aurifilosopher Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill of Whole Circle Studio. Aurifil has had the …
Choosing the right quilting color schemes can make or break your quilts. Learn how to create color schemes for quilts that are bound to impress.
Enter to win a free set of 12 sheep quilt blocks. To enter, just leave a comment on this blog post. Giveaway ends 7/9/2017.
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Deciding whether to add backing fabric to art quilts and thread paintings is a dilemma faced by many textile artists. In this article, we explore some of the reasons for and against backing art quilts and thread paintings. Sometimes I get asked for tips for backing art quilts and thread paintings, especially when you don’t
Designer: Tessellate TextilesCollection: Whistle Stop Quilt ExtensionMaterial: 100% Cotton | Sprout Wovens by Fablesim Supply Co.Measurements: Fabric Width is 44/45" Description:Sometimes we see a design that stops us in our tracks and we remember it forever. This design. These fabrics. This bundle has our heart forever. Bundle includes fabric for a throw-size quilt top. Pattern is NOT included. PDF patterns can be purchased directly from Tessellate Textiles right here. Bundle features all Sprout Wovens from Fableism Supply Co.
I've been home 24 hours and what a whirlwind it has been! I am completely exhausted and to my friends overseas I have some incredible news to share - but that will be in "Part Two"! The Australasian Quilt Convention has been sensational for a number of reasons, not least of all that this year the event celebrated 10 fabulous years! Judy and Gary from Expertise Events have contributed enormously to quilting in Australia bringing overseas tutors 'down under' to share in their skills. We arrived Wednesday morning to deliver our quilts and then after a brief tutor meeting we discovered our lovely accommodation…… For copyright reasons I can't share many quilts as I haven't asked permission from the quilt makers. I do want to share these though as I am sure these friends will be okay with that! Each year a prestigious award is handed out - the Rajah Award (which you will hear more about in Part Two!!)…….anyway last year's recipient was the talented Jenny Bowker and a display of her incredible quilts was on display and sadly due to illness she was unable to be there.…… Amongst the many other displays were quilts from some of the tutors. There were 14 tutors from around the world with many and varied talents….. Again I have only shown images of those that I am able…….Gloria Loughman A very special friend and first time teacher at AQC Faye Packham…….. Julie Haddrick…….and the self portrait is incredibly lifelike!……. And yours truly!………. Between classes I popped down to see more including the "Best of the Best" quilts from each state of Australia and and I was glad to find one very proud quilter Michele (also spelt with one "L"!), from the Northern Territory. She was thrilled to bits that her quilt was selected and she informed me her beautiful quilt was made entirely of silk………..thanks Michele….. I also came across this quilt from my first book and beautifully made by Patricia also from NT……. One of our talented girls from home, Helen Campbell…….love it Helen……... Elizabeth Camping is also from home and creates very original and innovative pieces………. And South Australia shines again with Ming's intricately quilted work………... There is also the Best of Show winning quilts on display and this was the one from Janet Treen of New South Wales who eventually won Best of Australia. Well done Janet…your quilt is stunning…….. I met a very excited Pamela Brockwell with her "Best of Show" entry from Victoria…. Jenny Bowker was the winner from the Australian Capital Territory……. Jocelyn Leath represented Western Australia…..a clever portrait done in manipulated cheesecloth…... Pam Hill from Queensland and her entry……... I have been very lucky to represent South Australia on four occasions and my quilt was glad to be unfolded and off the shelf! It will travel until the end of the year so farewell my friend…… and for some reason I seem to be missing Tasmania and Northern Territory but you can see them here on the Bernina Australia site. Every year Expertise Events sets a challenge to quilters with a set criteria and size. This year the theme was TEN in recognition of the 10th year of AQC. Some of them can be seen here on the AQC website but I did take the liberty of photographing one of our very own quilters from home as her piece is just stunning. Ming's work is impeccable and there are 10 hidden cats in this whole cloth quilt made from a recycled tablecloth…….. The venue never disappoints …. it is the World Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building and has a stunning interior…... Faye was so excited to be teaching for the very first time and her skill is in piecing especially encouraging beginners…………... and this is one of her shining stars who happened to turn sweet 16 on day three of four days with Faye! Well down Faye on nurturing another future quilter…….and to Skye and your beautiful Mum…it was so lovely to meet you both. We all hope this is the beginning of a long journey of quilt making (and thanks for my beautiful scarf too xxx). Skye managed to produce these two…yes TWO quilts tops at this one event - WOW!….. Well I didn't take too many photos in class but I did have to take this one of Anne……she read her instructions well as it told her to have everything labelled with her name….but glasses as well Anne??? Loved having you and everyone else……bless you all xxx So I will try to remain calm and gather my thoughts as I am about to type one of the the most incredible things that has ever happened to me in Part Two……...
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