quilting – Page 9 – the long thread

July 26, 2013July 25, 2013

Fabric Choices

One of the things that I often find overwhelming about quilting is the infinite number of choices. Choices in fabric, design, layout. A simple reconfiguration of blocks can create an entirely new quilt. Sometimes I get hung up on this, so I end up spending a lot of time thinking about things before I even cut into fabric.

I made a couple of blocks for my Folk Modern Table Runner Sew-Along using different fabrics so that you can see the difference made just by fabric selection. I used monochromatic colors on the left and on the right I used Carolyn Friedlander’s topographical fabric for all of the larger squares, then assorted bright solids for the outer triangles.

Then I took the images of those blocks to see how they might look in a completed table runner:

Next week I’m going to talk about how making slight changes to the block layout can make great differences in the overall design.

July 25, 2013July 25, 2013

1, 2, 3 Quilt

Last week I got a few advanced copies of 1, 2, 3 Quilt. The official release date is September 10, but I’m guessing that it will start shipping from amazon sometime in August. You can pre-order it now!

The book has 24 projects, divided into eight chapters of three projects each. Each chapter focuses on a different shape and the projects progress in difficulty, to build on your skills as you work through the book. There are patchwork and quilted projects including pillows, an apron, skirt, tote bag, etc. Then each chapter culminates with a quilt, for a total of eight quilt patterns. So, if you’re new to quilting, you can learn skills gradually while making some useful projects. And if you’re an advanced quilter, you might pick up on some sewing projects that you haven’t tried yet.

Projects range from basic to advanced, from a lopsided log cabin to cathedral windows. Throughout the book, you will learn various quilting techniques in the How-To sections. Here’s the Table of Contents below so you can see the full list of projects and techniques.

contents

The photos taken by Laura Malek turned out beautifully. The quilting on the Randoms Rectangles quilt on the cover was done by Tia Curtis. As I show more projects, I’ll talk about all of the people who helped out with the quilting and binding for these projects.

May 19, 2013

Quilty Magazine

Quilty Magazine Cover

Look! My Stamped quilt is in the May/June issue of Quilty magazine. I made this quilt for market last fall, using fabrics from my Stamped collection. It looks like there are some really nice quilts in this issue, especially love this Tree Everlasting quilt. The quilt shown above on the cover was designed by Brigitte Heitland.

Quilty Magazine

I made the quilt in an improvisational way, changing quite a bit from my initial sketches as I went along. But it’s an easy quilt to make with strip piecing and half-square triangles. I think it would be interesting to see it in solids. Oh, and that’s my Rings print in yellow from Folk Modern under the magazine here in these photos. The collection was shown at Portland Quilt Market and should be shipping to fabric shops soon!

May 16, 2013May 13, 2013

Folk Modern Quilt

Folk Modern Quilt Small2

I made this small quilt from my Folk Modern collection to send to Quilt Market this weekend. It’s a variation of a quilt from my upcoming book, 1, 2, 3 Quilt. Triangles! In the book I made the quilt with all solids, but this one has a crazy amount of pattern in it. I used five of the six prints from the collection in each of the three colorways (15 fabrics total), plus a chambray linen blend. Shops can order the collection from Seven Islands now or at Quilt Market and I think it will be shipping soon!

A couple of detail shots:

May 15, 2013May 13, 2013

Folk Modern Table Runner

Here’s another sample that I sent to Quilt Market. A simple table runner. I was thinking of writing up a quick tutorial on this block if anyone is interested. Very easy and I think it would make a nice full-sized quilt.