Working Smart

I'm still working on the baby quilt for Natalie. Bottomline, I bought too much fabric (awwww, too bad; right?!). So I am using the opportunity to try a fun technique that Nicole showed us at our Sew In last fall. Now I know she found it on the web somewhere, but I'm not sure who the sly sewist is that figured this out,but I think you'll agree it's slick.

It's all about half square triangles...Take your two fabrics and place them right side together. Then there's a little math: the size of the block x2+1. So, my blocks for Natalie's quilt are 6.5" squares, here's the calculation (don't squirm if you're math-a- phobic; it's not that hard): 6.5x2=13  13+1=14. That means I cut 14" squares. 

So, draw the "X" like usual and stitch 1/4" on either side of the lines.  Now here's the cool part: you get EIGHT half square triangles with this method.

Next (and this is the Ah Ha! moment) cut on the line like usual and in between:

This is what you end up with (told you it was pretty cool):

With a very minimal amount of trimming, here's the finished product:

Now as you may recall, I mentioned that I bought too much fabric. With this particular block ( blue stripe and white), I only needed one. But the new technique is so fun that I have 7 extra blocks. What to do with them, you ask? My husband has a client who is an going to be a new dad in May, so...I can use them on that baby quilt too. Some things just happen for a reason, don't you think?

Importance of Functional Design

This week I was invited to speak at the Westerville Quilt Guild.  The topic was Sewing Space Savvy...an extension of an article I wrote for NQA's The Quilting Quarterly on ergonomics.

I had the opportunity to share information that I had found, but not able to put in a two page article. Some of the information I picked up apply to office spaces as well as sewing rooms. Here are some of the tips I found out while doing research for the article:

• Cutting table surface should be six inches down from your elbow. If you find that your cutting table isn't high enough, there are a number of ways to raise it to a better height including bricks, wood blocks, and bed risers. Here are some bed risers that have a power strip built in. How cool is that?!

• Good lighting is important at any workspace. The Bendable Bright Light attaches to the side of your machine and can shine a bright beam right down onto the foot and stitches. And since the light is on a bendable goose neck, if you need to do some hand stitching or (gasp!) rip out, you can move the light so it's shining right down on your work.

Posture is so important when you sew. It can mean the difference between an enjoyable experience and an uncomfortable one. Ideally, your elbows and knees should be bent at 90 degree angles. 

If the chair you're using doesn't allow you to sit properly, there are a few products on the market that can help. First is the Gypsy Sit Upon. It can help you sit erect and raise your seat a few inches:

There is also a portable attachment you can purchase for better lumbar support. It attaches to your chair via an elastic strap that clips in the back. You can find these attachments in office supply stores. There are many other options on the market as well. This one I know from experience is great!

One last point I'd like to share is how important it is to take a break when you sew. Using the Pomodoro Technique, you sew for 25 minutes uninterrupted and then take a 5 minute micro-break. It's important for a number of reasons: it keeps your mind fresh and focused as well as the opportunity to stretch your legs and get the blood pumping. Sitting for extended periods of time can lead to carpal tunnel and cardio vascular disease - even if you work out on a daily basis!

These are some products that can help keep your sewing space comfortable because quilting doesn't have to be a pain in the neck!

The Quest Continues

This year I am going to continue on my journey to improve the precision of my sewing. And it is a journey; not just a short trip. I'm showing progress so I know I am trainable (just ask my dogs; they got me whipped into shape in no time!), but I need to keep working at it. As Mad Eye Moody said in the Harry Potter books: 'be constantly vigilant'. 

There are the very apparent tips like keep the blades in the rotary cutters sharp and use Machingers by Quilters Touch when working on a larger piece (really helped reduce the tension in my arms and shoulders). Oh, and here's one of my favorites: if I make a mistake, fix it. Chances are if I think no one will notice I'll be in the home stretch when I realize that that decision was so very wrong. And (speaking from experience), then I get very discouraged and sometimes don't want to finish the piece.

I've invested several tools too. This post is about a few things I've picked up along the way that have worked for me...

1. Listen to Susan S. Cleveland. Her website is Pieces be With You. She is an engineer turned quilter and precision is her thing. Take one look at the name of one of her books to see this is true. It's a great reference book that every quilter should own.

One of the things I found very interesting is what she wrote about regarding the feed dogs and presser foot. On most machines, when the presser foot is down, you don't get the entire use of the feed dogs which, may I remind you, are there to move the fabric under the needle. The center position is the one she uses the least on her machines (interesting, don't you think?).

2. "Scant Quarter Inch". Does this mean a smidge under .25"? Or just a 'thread or two under a quarter inch'. Here's what Susan has to say about it: When seam allowances are pressed to one side, one fabric folds back on itself and up over the thread. The amount of fabric taken up in the fold is the "turn of the cloth". If strips are cut perfectly, then a perfect 1/4" seam allowance would yield a result too small because some fabric is taken up in the turn of the cloth. So the seam allowance must be a scant 1/4"."

So what I did was get  the Prep-Tool by Guidelines 4 Quilting. It has a guide that I placed under my presser foot and then there is a reusable adhesive seam guide that attached to my machine. Then removed the plastic guide and I was good to go. I have only had it a couple days, but so far so good.

My favorite tool is my TrueCut ruler and rotary cutter by The Grace Company. 

The ruler has a couple helpful features: every inch, there is a vertical opening in the ruler that lets me line up with my cutting mat and/or fabric design to keep the ruler straight.  There is also a lip on either side. This raised part of the ruler allows the TruCut rotary cutter to hook onto it. Now every time I cut, it's a true straight line. No more veering over to the right or left. And this keeps the ruler from slipping because my entire focus is on pressing down on the blade rather than over to the edge of the ruler.

As I continue on my journey I'll pick up more tips along the way. I'm sure there are other travelers on this road, so I'll be sure to share what I learn from them as well!

Name Tag Design

When you wake up early in the morning and the house is quiet because it's too early for anyone to get up, what crosses your mind? Well, for me this morning it was my quilt guild name tag. Weird, eh? I don't know why I thought of that but the point is that I did.

I had a really cute name tag at one point.  I had made it out of fabric in yellow and black. But for the life of me I can't find it. I've looked high. I've looked low. No luck. So I need a new one. 

The next place my mind started to go was to a class I'd just taken on needle felting. I've written a post on felting before, but finally I had the opportunity to take a class and learn some new ideas.

One of the things we did was use wool roving. These fibers are used to make actual wool felt. Here's  what it looks like:

All you need to do is unwind a little and then gently pull it apart.

 Next, layer it three or four times; vertical, horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Now it's ready to felt. I alternated blue and green.

The needles of the felting tool are barbed so it pulls actual bits of the wool up and down through the piece. That's what causes it to become sturdy and felt. You can also felt without a machine. You just need a felting punch tool which contains the needles and a punch mat. It can provide the same end product as the machine punch tool, but it will take quite a bit longer to complete a project.

In class we learned to use a wooden skewer to direct the loose bits on the edges up under the needles. Not only does it keep fingers away from the nasty needles, but if the skewer get's  nicked, you're less likely to break a needle than you would be if a metal tool was used. 

So the needles go up and down; condensing the fibers. Then flip it over, felt it some more. Flip, felt, flip, felt etc. etc. etc.

  Here's the final piece:

Next I cut it into a shape, embellish a bit, add my name, and voila! a new name tag. The process doesn't really take a lot of time and it's really a fun break from sewing with thread.

Sure hope I don't lose this one!

Computerized Design

Natalie is having her second baby in June. For most people their initial thoughts are around 'oh, isn't that nice' or 'congratulations!'. However I'm a quilter. My first thought was 'the baby will need a quilt; an excuse to make something!' then it was 'congratulations!'.

Once Natalie found out she was having a girl, I very subtly asked about whether she had decided on the colors for the nursery (since she's a planner like me, I knew she had made a decision). Pale aqua and pink was the answer. Cool! Now I can buy fabric! Any excuse is appreciated, and a new baby is a really good one.

I picked out a cute simple pattern for the quilt. It is Big Love; a tutorial can be found on Modern Handcraft.  It's comprised of half square triangles and a handful of squares. 

Then with an estimation of the amount of fabric I'd need, I headed out to the local quilt shop that was having a 20% off sale. Kismet! Here's what I selected:

  
I bought EQ7 a few months ago and haven't used it much. But I thought that this is such a simple pattern, that it might be a good one to try with the software. It has some videos you can watch to learn certain functions (so of course I watched them all!).

The quilt is 7x6 blocks. Since I have so many  half square triangles, I was able to use this template. I just had to click on it and then paste in the appropriate square.

Here's what the final pattern looks like:

One of the things that drew me to EQ7 is the ability to actually scan my fabric to use in the designs. How cool is that! So that's what I did.  Here's the screen that shows my fabric:

I rearranged some of the darks and lights. I'd like to repeat the fabric colors in a given block at least twice so that I could do some speed piecing.

 
Once I get the squares put together, this should help me arrange them. EQ also helped me get the balance of the colors that I wanted. I think I'll find it saved me time and fabric because I won't have to resew any squares because I didn't make enough of a given combination. (At least that's my theory and I'm sticking to it!)

Now I get to start cutting the fabric!  Woo hoo! Hopefully I'll have another post in the near future with my quilt top. So stay tuned.

Zip It Up

Birthdays are fun and my Magpie friends are always up for a celebration! We go out to dinner and exchange gifts this time for Karen and Kathy F.

I can't just buy something to buy it, so I looked at all of the local quilt shops, but nothing seemed to be just right. And to paraphrase the Grinch...'I puzzled and puzzled till my puzzler was sore.Then I thought of something I hadn't before.'  I'll make something for them; something they'll love...a zippered pouch it will be like a dream from above.

As all of the Magpie's know; Karen's favorite color is orange and boy do I have some awesome orange fabric in my stash. Been waiting for a good reason to use it (it's the kind of fabric you gotta have but really don't want to cut it...oh come on, admit it...you know what I mean).

So I pulled out the fabric  and decided to embroider her name on it:

I didn't want it to be plain on the back, so I inserted a fabric like the one I'd used on the front.

Now I had to quilt it before I assembled the bag. But what color thread?  hmmmm. I know (after I puzzed again)...my metallic copper thread! Cool look with orange fabric.  So I changed my needle and loosened the tension. And followed a tip I'd gotten from a fellow quilter, don't rush; stitch slowly. Otherwise friction could build up; that's why metallic thread can seem to break so easily.

Well, that was fun! What now...Oh, decorative stitches! Yes and with the same metallic thread:

Next decision was for the inside of the bag. Something similar but contrasting. hhhmmm. Ah, purple! Quite the color combination! Add a zipper and it's almost ready to wrap.

Karen collects pieces of costume jewelry and uses them in her compositions. She actually brought some to a Magpie meeting  and let us each select a piece. Then she challenged each of us to find a way to integrate into a project. I love the look and I'm happy to say Karen did too!

QuiltCon Class with Bill Kerr

On the third day were in Austin, I was able to take a 3 hour class with Bill Kerr. Not only does Bill design with his wife Weeks Ringle at Modern Quilt Studio, but he also teaches Graphic Design and is Chairman of the Art Department at Dominican University.  The class I had the opportunity to take was The Role of Color in Your Quilts.

Bill talked a lot about the saturation of color, much as Weeks had. Desaturation can be moving light or darker than the most intense version of a hue.  Think about Red and Yellow. Saturated red is much darker than saturated yellow. Actually what is the darkest form of Yellow? It's brown!

As soon as you put boundaries on your art you limit yourself

Interesting concept isn't it? It aligns with Weeks' comment the day before: Rather than choosing the first fabric then selecting from your stash, consider everything as an option, then edit out what doesn't work. It gives so many more fabrics the opportunity to be selected. There could be hidden gems in your stash you didn't think would work.

The first exercise we did in class was based on a painting by an old master. Bill passed out copies of the paintings to everyone in the class. Here's the one I got stuck with  was given, it's "Icebergs and Wreck in Sunset" by Frederic Edwin Church:

OMG was my initial thought. I really don't like to use pastels in my work; especially the dreaded m-a-u-v-e. (So glad I'm not opinionated.) Bill even told me he chose that painting for me because I was wearing an emerald green sweater and he thought it would be a good excersie for me.

Okay, let me step off the mauve soapbox so I can tell you what we had to do. First we were given a color wheel and had to place dots on the wheel that indicated the saturation of color we saw in the painting.  Then we wrote down percentages of those colors that we saw in our painting.

Next we were to select fabric from our stash that represented the colors we saw. We weren't to try to recreate the painting, but trim the fabric to different sizes to reflect the proportion of the colors found in the painting. Here's my end result:

(For the record, I want to say that the pinky-mauvey color you see above was a piece of fabric I was given when my number was chosen in a raffle at a guild meeting...and I've used it to applique flower petals...the color looked great...Gasp! Perhaps I've been a little hard on pinky-mauvey. Maybe it does have its place.)

After about 20 minutes, we all shared our interpretation of the color with the rest of the class.

We talked about each painting and the fabric swatches. It was interesting to see how certain hues were used to evoke a particular message or feeling. I think that by using the peaches and pinks in the sky, Church was able to evoke more of a feeling of anguish for the ship wreck than if the sky had been steel blue or dove grey. After all, pale pink is the lightest saturation of blood red.

It was a great exercise. Another one Bill mentioned was to hand out photos of paintings and ask everyone in your guild to sew a log cabin block with colors that mimic the painting. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it?

QuiltCon Class with Weeks Ringle

I took two classes at QuiltCon. The first one was Rediscovering Your Stash with Weeks Ringle. On Pat Sloan's podcast I had heard them talk about Weeks' magic when she works with hard to match fabrics in someone's stash  so I knew it would be an interesting class.

At the beginning of the session, we talked about color and its importance. Rather than thinking in terms of light/medium/dark fabric, Weeks encouraged us to realize the importance of contrast. When deciding on a background fabric, the hue shouldn't be found in any of the other fabrics selected for the quilt top. The same value in a different saturation makes the fabrics pop. Also, when determining what fabrics go together, think in terms on commonality i.e., not matching.

Here's a photo of a quilt that will be in the next issue of Modern Quilts Illustrated. You can see each of the colors very vividly.

And here's a close up of another quilt using Liberty of London fabrics. Weeks says every quilt needs contrast. As you can see, the drab makes the bright triangles pop with the contrast.

After we talked about color, we each selected one fabric from our stash that either we really didn't like or we didn't know what to do with it. We put them on a table and Weeks teamed us up with the owner of another fabric on the table.My fabric is the bold huge print on the right - I love it but I'm not sure how to use it. My partner had the alligator print (okay, maybe it's really a crocodile - I'm not sure!).

At this point, we were to use our stash and select 8-10 fabrics that would allow the huge print and the alligators to be used in a single quilt top. Weeks taught us to consider everything in our stash as an option, then whittle it down. How to do that?  Look for commonalities - not matchy matchy. We chose the roundness of the berries and the long curved line of the stems and alligators' tails.

It's a very interesting process that certainly has taught me to look at fabric differently. For more information on the exercise, check out issue 7 of Modern Quilts Illustrated. It makes for a fascinating read!

QuiltCon was Great!

After months and months (and months) of planning, QuiltCon has come and gone. A fine time was had by all. We made it out of dodge right before the 'snowapalooza' hit Columbus and out of Austin before the temperature dropped. The Quilting Goddess was definitely smiling on the modern quilting community.

As soon as we got downtown, we headed for the registration desk. Much to my surprise, I spent enough to get the goody bag. And what a goody bag it was! Not only did I get the tote bag but fabric, books, patterns, magazines, thread, discounts at certain booths, and notions. It was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! First thing I thought when I saw it was 'how am I going to get all of this home?!' My suitcase was already bursting at the seams with everything I took for my classes.(But trust me...I wasn't complaining!)

We enjoyed the show much more this year than two years ago. There was more variety and more quasi-art quilts which both Kathy and I love. MQG doesn't have any photos out on the web site yet, but hopefully they will soon.You can check out #quiltcon on Instagram to see some of the entries.

As soon as Kathy and I got into the show area, there was a Kona booth with a fabric challenge. They had boards with swatches of Kona solids. Each participant was given a bag with names of the colors and you had to attach the name of the color to the right swatch. Then you got your "Kona IQ". There were about 25-30 colors on the board. I got 6 right. What can I say. Kathy on the other had got 16 right, I think. She's an over achiever.

Of course no one can go home a loser, so regardless of your IQ, you got to spin a wheel and it told what prize you won. I got a fat quarter. Kathy got a Kona totebag with some of their color swatches on the front. Very cute.

There were definitely more vendors at the show this year. We got to meet Alyssa from PileO'Fabric and Susan K. Cleveland was there (are you a "Piping Hottie"?...I am). Quite a few people had book signings. I wore my Fit Bit every day and I can tell you we walked over 12,000 steps that Thursday!

At dinner Thursday night we met Linda from Martha's Vineyard MQG. Needless to say with the weather as it has been in New England, Linda was very happy she made it! We were able to talk about our guilds, share some interesting ideas, and talk about why we like the modern aesthetic. This is why attending events like this can be so valuable; making contacts and sharing ideas.Kathy and I ran into Linda several times over the next few days and I'm sure we'll stay in touch with our new friend.(Linda, if you're reading this,thanks for telling us about the Albers Color app. I spent half of my morning today pouring over it. Thanks!)

Friday I had a class with Weeks Ringle and on Saturday with Bill Kerr and attended a lecture given by Victoria Findlay Wolfe. See that's another thing about QuiltCon...you can take classes with the people you follow on the internet, books and magazine articles.  Kathy had a class with Carolyn Friedlander and the two of them talked about a project of Kathy's. I don't know another event where you can get personal time with such a wide variety of  great names in the business.

Last but certainly not least I have to say we attended the key note speaker's event which was Gee's Bend. Four women from Gee's Bend talked about how they grew up and learned to quilt. They sang gospel  for the audience and answered a multitude of questions. Afterward we decided to treat ourselves to dessert and a glass of wine before packing for our 6:30 AM flight. (Since we walked so much over the four days, we certainly deserved it!) As we were getting ready to leave Kathy realized her purse was gone; she had left it at the convention center where we listened to the Gee's Bend presentation. After talking to a security guard and staff from QuiltCon, Kathy's purse was found...someone had turned it in. Once again the Quilting Goddess was shining down on us keeping any eye out for two modern quilters.

Peer Pressure

I've been following everyone's preparations for QuiltCon on Instagram. It's getting me  psyched for the show! People are sharing photos of things they're making for the event. Everything from tote bags to dresses to lanyards.

While I did think about making a tote bag (hey, I even went so far as to buy a zipper!), I decided to make a lanyard for myself and my travel and quilting friend Kathy F. She's been keeping me supplied in selvages and since she's so into Kaffe Fassette, I pulled out all of the selvages from his fabric for Kathy's lanyard.

Okay, so now that the fabric selection is taken care of, I have to find a pattern. So I Googled "fabric lanyard" and lo and behold there was a link to a pattern Anne Marie Chaney has posted on her genXquilters site. Looks easy peasy. Picked up the hardware for both lanyards at a big box store for $1.87 and I already have the plastic holder for our QuiltCon IDs so I'm ready to go.

Because I'm using scraps, first step was to sew the strips together to about a length of 45". Since my scraps are narrow, I sewed two long strips together.

 Fold in half and press and then fold in the raw edges and press (Ann Marie has this all explained very nicely on her site) then stitch.

Next I simply folded the raw edge up  and stitched to keep in place. I made my lanyard first and learned that because I pieced my strips, I have extra bulk. I put in a heavy duty needle and I took it slow and I'm happy to say my needle didn't break! Now add the hardware and fold up again and stitch.
 

Voila! A fabric lanyard!

Now I'm officially ready for QuiltCon!

iPad Case

I like to sew and sometimes I like to make something that can be completed pretty fast. You know what I mean; instant gratification!

My husband got me an iPad for Christmas. Shortly after opening the box I knew I wanted to make my own case. I went onto Etsy and found a very cool cover in Katie's Modern Nest shop. Not only was it designed so the iPad could be propped up, but it also had a couple on fun little pockets.

I downloaded the pdf of the pattern and read it over to see if there was anything tricky involved. I'm happy to say there wasn't and I was able to see that the sewing part of it would be pretty darned easy.
 

To tell the truth, what took the longest amount of time was selecting the fabric! Because so little is needed, I was able to use my stash. Yeah! I didn't want to be matchy matchy so I kept pulling out fabrics that coordinated and then finally had such a stack, I had to eliminate some.

I purchased two sets of the inserts that help the case prop up so now I can make another!

Getting Ready for QuiltCon

I'm all about color. It energizes me. Gives me a positive attitude. Scheduled for a tough meeting at work one day? I'll be there in fuchsia or electric blue. Wear black on a Monday? Oh no, not me. No way to start the week. I'll be in something bright and peppy. My mood is influenced by the color around me. I share this psychological babble because I'm excited that color will be in the forefront of the classes with Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr at QuiltCon.

 QuiltCon is right around the corner. And this year I'm excited to be registered in a couple classes. One is with Weeks Ringle, and the other with her husband, Bill Kerr. They do fabulous work and were some of the first "modern quilters".

For Bill's class I need to take small pieces of fabric from my stash. Same for Weeks' class, but the class description mentions along with fabric scraps, we can bring a project. So I figure if I am going to have some one on one time with Weeks, why not have a project.

At the Columbus Modern Quilters meeting last week, one of the women had a quilt she had worked on that was really quite interesting. And even better; she explained how to make it and it's a pretty simple concept. Win win!

So I went to my stash chanting ROYGBIV...you know...red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. I thought I'd try to put my squares together based on the color wheel.

Here's my Green selection before it was pressed:

Next I trimmed it into a square and then cut corner to corner:

Now just a little switcheroo of a couple of the triangles and Voila! A very cool block:

Here are a few of the squares on my design wall. I threw in the black and white because I just love the feel it gives with the other intense colors, don't you?

Hope the color speaks to you too. Now go to your stash and design something energizing!