Guest Artist: No Fear of Stitching

Judy R's quilt made in my Garden of Eden class

 My friend Judy attended 2 of my classes at the Knoxville show and to her surprise  did some hand stitching!

Judy R's quilt from my Stitch After Fusing class

Judy declared early on in the Stitch After Fusing Class that she hadn't done any hand stitchery for a long long time and wasn't sure if it was for her. As you can see, she was wrong.

Judy declares she is now "hooked!" Hand embroidery is for everyone! Didn't she do a wonderful job?

Thanks Judy for taking the class and for taking a chance on the old fashioned needle and thread method of embellishing art quilts. If you'd like to join Judy in her liberated state please attend one of my classes. We'll have fun!

Prepare Yourself!

Fabric cut with an Accuquilt fabric cutter. Ooooooooh!

Here's a heads up!
On Monday the lovely people at Accuquilt will be giving away stuff on my blog. It has something to do with fabric die cutters. So be prepared!

How to make stuff with die cut fabrics. Oooooooh!

I'll also show you how make a quilt with the Accuquilt die cutter. So be prepared!

You know who's really prepared? Ellen of www.ellengetscrafty.blogspot.com. She's our winner of the Free on Friday's give away and the lucky winner of some Fused Frankenquit Fabrics. Congratulations Ellen!

Free on Fridays: Are You a Frankenquilter?

My House #8

Have you made one of these? This little quilt is a Frankenquilt. A Frankenquilt is made from parts of other quilts, fused scraps that are salvaged and saved in mounds on your work table. By using the discarded quilt parts, a new quilt is born! We have life!

Red Rain

The Frankenquilt can be a little scary. Here you see a very large vase next to a very small house. What was I thinking?

Would you like to be a Frankenquilter? Then please leave a comment on my blog today and you may be the lucky winner of a bag of fused Frankenquilt scraps so you can make your own scary art work.

And here's a little secret: beginning Monday we have a whole slew of give aways from Accuquilt!

What a Differnce a Stitch Makes!

Flying Home (sans thread)

Here you see my little bird in flight without her stitching. (Please excuse her nakedness.) Measuring only 12" x 12", the quilt needs a little more impact to draw you, the view, closer. What to do?

Flying Home with her stitching on.

Add some stitching! Embellish those little wings. Texture those rolling hills. Outline that blazing sun. Add some stitching.

Hand embroidery stitches bring the quilt to life. They add all those details you can't make with fabric. Stitching takes your quilt (or bird) from flat to fabulous.
Have you stitched something today?

How To Tuesday: How to Get Your Husband to Iron Fabric

You too can con your husband into ironing fabric for you. Use these simple steps and you'll experience a feeling of accomplishment and a sense of well being. Not to mention getting your fabric ironed too!

How To Get Your Husband to Iron Fabric

1. Dye some fabric in various containers. Notice how your back and feet are aching? Good. You'll need that memory in the future.

2. Wash the fabric and stack it conspicuously on a shelf. Sign loudly.

3. Complain about how tired your feet are. You've been on your dogs dyeing for days!
Sigh louder.

4. Heat up your trusty, shiny, new steam iron. Point out its features like how it glides across fabric and is a pleasure to steam with.

5. Find something on TV for him to watch. Cartoons work best. Or maybe an old war movie. But do not put on a political debate or the iron won't be the only thing steaming! You want to keep his attention so he doesn't wander out of the room.

6. Park him in front of the TV, the iron, and see the results!

7. Be grateful and give him a big kiss as a reward. (Image deleted by censors.) In extreme cases offer to make dinner and rub his feet. Rub his feet after dinner.

I hope you have found this helpful. It may also work with children and unsuspecting house guests.

Have Quilted Your Dog Today?

 In a recent bout of gardening I attempted to plant a dogwood tree. This is the result.

See Spot Stand

I am very fond of other peoples dogs. They are cute and friendly and have distinct personalities. They are also fodder for fun quilt designs.

Curious George

It takes very little to inspire a quilt. Even a dog can do it. Have you quilted your dog lately?

Guest Artist: Look for the Spirit of the Celts

Frieda Anderson and Morven in our booth at the UK festival.

A long time ago, when I was a wee lass, I taught classes in Scotland and one of my lovely hostesses in Sterling was Morven. Since then Morven and I have managed to see each other at the Quilt Festival in Birmingham England.

Out on the town with the Scottish quilters.

 Alas, this year Frieda and I will not be attending the show. We shall miss you Morven!

The Dupplin Cross by Morven

Look for Morven's quilt, The Dupplin Cross, at the Birmingham Show this year.  She is part of a group exhibit with the theme of the Spirit of the Celts. Each country, Scotland, Wales and Ireland,  made quilts based upon their own Celtic heritage. Having see their other exhibits there is no doubt that this collection will be wonderful. I hope you get to see them!

Want a Free Education?

Chicago School of Fusing Rowenta Sports Arena

Would you like a free education? Then check out the C&T Digital Lounge for lots of great info on the latest in surface design, quilting, and mix media. You can watch a past show on silk screening by Ryna Gillman or tools of the trade with Jan Krentz and Peggy Martin.

Frieda giving me a hard time.

 And guess who will be on August 3? The famous Frieda Anderson will be the guest. As Dean of Technology at the Chicago School of Fusing she is a wealth of information. Tune in and hear her pearls of wisdom live. You can ask her questions and give her a hard time. It'll be fun!

And now for our Free on Fridays winner. The lucky lint winner is Gabriela Rocco Gaudet from Ohio! Congratulations Gabriela!

Free on Friday: For Some Crazy Person

Today on Free on Fridays I'm giving away the lint of your dreams! Yes, this is all genuine hand-dyed dryer lint from my recent bout of dyeing.

Now what you use this lint for is up to you. Artists use all sorts of weird materials (And frankly it concerns me that people have uses for lint but we all know someone with strange ideas.) So if you leave a comment on my blog today you may be the lucky lint winner!

Anyone know what actor said this in what movie, "Yuck! It tastes like lint!" ?

The Tragic, Yet Sweet, Account of a Cupcake

 And now. A true story.

Once upon a time there was a kitchen. And in that kitchen there were many ingredients. One day the ingredients got together and said, "Let's make something really wonderful.
Let's make....... cupcakes!"

The bowl and spoon generously offered to help. "We'll mix you all up!" said the spoon. So the ingredients jumped into the bowl and got swirled and swirled by the spoon. Soon they were turned into a sweet cupcake batter like none had ever seen before!

After the cupcake batter was baked in the oven, even more kitchen ingredients were added. This time they made frosting (also know as icing in some parts of the country).

"Let's have a party!" said the kitchen, "And share our good taste!"

So they threw a party and gobbled down every last cupcake and the cupcakes were loved by everyone!

And the cupcakes were never seen again.
The end.

Here's Where to Wear Your Sparkly Dress

All the glitterati  will be at the premier of my new class at Pennsylvania National on September 9. It's a major event so don your sparkly party dress and make an appearance. No doubt the paparazzi will be everywhere!

 This is the first time that my new class, Tools of the Trade, will be taught in the US. It's for all those sewing nuts (you know who you are) that worship the tools that they work with. You'll make a spool of thread, thimble, pincushion, or even a pair of scissors.

 You can make one little quilt for your sewing room or combine sewing tools and make a big quilt for your big sewing room.

Or, in my case, make a tribute quilt to yet another iron I killed the other day. Sigh.

So come see me in at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA  in September! Party dress is optional.

How to Tuesday: The Wrapped Binding

Small World #12

My favorite method of finishing my little fused art quilts is with the Wrapped Binding. With a Wrapped Binding you can have wavy edges on your quilt, the quilt hangs flat on the wall, and you don't have to make that stupid rod pocket to hang the quilt. All you need is a little loop on the back of your beautiful creation to hang it on a nail on the wall.

What's the secret to all that curvy, flat, loopy goodness?

Timtex!

Timtex holds the quilt and batting flat and allows you to cut curvy or even circular shaped quilts. There is one thing you have to keep in mind with this method of binding your quilts. You lose about 1" of design space around the edge of your quilt because each edge is wrapped around to the back of the quilt onto the Timtex.

Here's how to make a Wrapped Binding:

1. Cut your Timtex and batting about 1/2" smaller than each edge of your quilt top. 
2. Stack the Timtex and batting on the cutting mat and trim each edge in a wavy motion. Cut curves in and out that measure about 1/4" – 1/2" deep with a rotary cutter.   
3. Remove the release paper from your fused quilt top. 

4. Center the batting onto the back of the quilt top. Flip the batting and quilt top over holding everything in place and place on release paper.  
5. Steam set the quilt top to the batting for about 10 seconds in each spot. After it cools, remove it from the release paper.

6. Add hand embroidery stitches with size 8 or 12 pearl cotton thread and an embroidery needle just through the batting and top layer of the quilt.



7. Place the quilt top right-side down on the ironing surface. Match the Timtex shape to the batting and put in place. (Let's pretend the Timtex has wavy edges rather than straight edges.)
8. At a corner, fold the quilt top fabric onto the Timtex to form a right angle. Leave a little ease at the tip of the corner to get a sharp point. Fuse-tack the fabric just at the corner.


9. Repeat Step 8 at each corner of the quilt.
10. At a corner, fold one side of the quilt top fabric onto the Timtex. Slowly pull, wrap, and fuse-tack the quilt top to the back following the edge of the Timtex. Stop about mid-way down the edge. 
 11. At that same corner, fold the other side of the quilt top fabric onto the Timtex making a sharp point at the corner. Slowly pull, wrap, and fuse-tack the quilt top to the back following the edge of the Timtex. Stop about mid-way down the edge.


 12. Repeat Steps 10 - 11 around the perimeter of the quilt.


13. Add random acts of fusing to fill in the back of the quilt.
14. Steam set the back of the quilt for 10 seconds in each spot.
15. Machine stitch the quilt if you want.



16. Add a hanging loop to the back of the quilt. This is a little thread loop made with a chain stitch.

You are now an official graduate of the Wrapped Binding Class! Time to celebrate you new knowledge!

It's a Stitch on the Road

Now here's an unusual sight. It's a quiet morning on the way to Concourse C at O'Hare airport. The colorful lights and music will be very familiar by mid-August as I visit TN, WA, OH, CO, and MI. Put them all together and they spell Tnwaohcomi.

There's a lot of packing and re-packing and discovering dirty laundry you forgot to unpack from packing. As a traveling quilt teacher, packing a suitcase has become an art form for me. Like a kinetic sculpture, the contents of my suitcase expands, contracts, revolves on carousels, and at times feels lead weights suspended from my arms.

Thread on a bed.

One thing that always travels with me is a little quilt to embroider and the thread and tools for the embroidery. Here they are making themselves at home in my TN hotel room at the AQS Knoxville show. Wonder how many needles they found in that bed?

Is Your Work a Pleasure?

There's nothing like a day in the country to air out your little brain. A little fresh air and stroll through a farm pasture and suddenly you have a whole new take on life.

And it's not just the fresh air that will get your brain moving. Try loading a wagon full of wood. Or, in my case, just admire the color and texture of a rusty wagon full of wood.

Maybe you put up some fencing. Or maybe you enjoy a still life composition of objects found in the tall grass and leave the fencing for another day.

Its a great day to admire the patterning on the surface of the corn bin and the shadows cast by the sun.

This is my kind of farming. Enjoying the scenery without the work!

Barn

It's like making a quilt for pleasure rather than warmth. Hope your day is full of pleasure and warmth!