The Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sew Along Epidemic!

I admit it! I get very excited about patchwork and quilting. Sometimes I even finish some of the projects I begin with this unbridled enthusiasm.

My current passion is THE FARMER’S WIFE 1930’s SEW-ALONG. There is a ‘one stop page’ for all the information curated by GNOME ANGEL. (gnomeangel.com).

My book arrived last week and I am busily preparing my patterns and choosing my fabrics for the September 28th start date.

The Farmer’s Wife 1930s Book and Fabrics

I know I have promised some unique results from the 200g of scrap swap….

Scraps Become a ‘new’ fabric

Half Square Triangles created with these great papers from Quilters Barn

…and I will finish that project…
BUT, this is a SEW-ALONG and I have never done a SEW-ALONG like this before. The group has its own Facebook page and there are already over 2500 members. Can you picture the diversity and cleverness of all these Patchworkers sewing along? It quickens the pulse.
My bobbins are full and my needles are new.

Fabrics, Bobbin and Needles

Come on and join the world wide project that has developed a life of its own! You know you want to…think of it as using up lots of fabric you already have to make room for new fabric that hasn’t even been designed yet…..ooooo aaahhhhh.

Tuesday Treats- Zentangle Quilting

Remember when we all used to speak on our telephones and doodle on a pad of paper? We were tethered to the wall by the curly phone cord. Some of my best spontaneous designs were created this way. Mobile phones have changed all that, however I have discovered that ‘doodling’ lives on!

My latest book purchase is by Suzanne McNeill CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher).

                                                                                      Suzanne McNeill Zen-sational

Using Suzanne’s book as inspiration, I wanted to experiment with her technique AND practice my free motion quilting. I traced a wine bottle onto some cotton; layered wadding and backing for my quilt ‘sandwich’, and began to stitch.

I used Aurifil Cotton Mako 28wt in my machine. I used a size 90 Jeans needle and Aurifil Cotton Mako 40wt in the bobbin. I love this Aurifil shade of red, it is almost the exact colour of wine in a bottle.

Aurifil 28wt in a favourite colour

 

I outlined the bottle.

FMQ Outline

I divided the bottle into sections.

Area divided for FMQ

Each section is treated to a different free motion quilt design.

First section

Second section

Third Section

Fourth Section

Fifth Section

Sixth Section

I even revisited Lori Kennedy’s free motion quilting tutorial.

Final Section

I am pleased with the results.  AND I can still chat on my mobile phone…hands free (to quilt) of course.

Have a go at Zen-sational Stitching. If you can draw it you can stitch it.

I love my book, and you can find more of Suzanne’s books here:  Suzanne McNeill CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher).

Last But Not Least

Here we are at the end of our Block of the Month Journey.

A Modern Welcome
Finished size 20×24

We chose our charm squares; cut and sewed; layered and quilted: and now it is time to complete the finishing touches and enjoy our creations.

Last month, after our quilting was finished, we trimmed the excess backing even with the top.

Binding cut and trimmed ready for pressing

These pieces are carefully cut to 2 “widths and all 4 pieces (one from each side) are sewn together creating the binding. The 2” binding is pressed in half and applied in the normal way, creating a mitre at the corners. I stitch my binding down to the back of the piece by hand using Aurifil 40wt Cotton Mako. Jane Wickell has a great tutorial on making and applying bindings.

You will want to show off your new creation and a hanging sleeve can be made for easy display. Have a look at Susan Brubakers Knap’s instructions and Nancy Zieman demonstrates how to make a rod pocket for a show quilt.

The label is the last and most important item on your quilt.I have decided to use a pre-printed label.

Label for my BOM

We have some lovely quilt hangers in the shop and our labels come in many designs.

Each label has suggestions for the items to be included for future reference.

Information for a label

I hope you have enjoyed making your Modern Welcome BOM.

A Modern Welcome BOM-Creating the Backing Fabric

 I hope your Modern Welcome BOM quilt top is nearing completion.

Many quilts have a whole piece of fabric for the backs of their quilts.  Our Modern Welcome quilt has a pieced back.

If you remember at the start of our BOM, the entire project only needed 1/2 metre of background fabric and a charm pack of 5″ blocks.

My Charm Pack by Malka Dubrawsky
A STITCH IN COLOR

Gather any charm squares and pieces set aside from the construction of your pieced blocks.

Left over blocks and fabric pieces

This month you will be constructing the backing for your quilt.

Using your quilt top’s measurements as your guide,

sew pieces together into a rectangular shape at least 2 1/2″ larger than the quilt top on each side.

I use Aurifil Cotton Mako 40wt thread for my machine piecing.

Cotton Mako’ 40 is the best choice for piecing patchwork blocks

Create an arrangement that pleases you.

Left over pieces make a Modern Backing Fabric

Next month….the quilting begins.

Tuesday Treats: Where do you find your patchwork and embroidery design inspiration?

I’ve just returned from a whirlwind holiday in Japan and now have a camera full of potential inspiration for patchwork and embroidery designs.

I saw this cover in Osaka

This week I thought I would share some of the Japanese storm water drain covers that could be seen in every town.

This cover features the Deer Park in Nara

Unlike the boring, plain covers, that are found in Australia, the covers in Japan all tell stories about the city / prefecture where they are situated.

Not all storm water covers were round

Before I left home I had been told to watch for these covers, but hadn’t expected them to be so attractive.

This is a delightful reminder of the rice that was grown everywhere.

The group with whom I was travelling thought I was a touch odd taking photos of drain covers, especially when it was raining … but I didn’t care.

The covers do reflect the history of each region

I’ve now got a collection of photos that I plan to convert into textiles designs at sometime in the future.

I can imagine some images reproduced as applique, while others would make great embroidery designs stitched out in Cotton Mako’ 12.

There is so much detail on each cover

Even the street gardens had beautiful edges.

If only our local community services could be given such creative treatments.

I would love some feedback so please leave a comment to tell us which one is your favourite image, or suggest how I can convert one of the images into a textile memory.

A Modern Quilt-Month 5/Come Fly With Me…..

July is here already and we are ready to take off…with our Flying Geese. This is the last pieced block we will make for our Modern Quilt top.

Make 4 Flying Geese Blocks

Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns “dates the first flying-geese patterns ever published back to 1894”. It is still one of the most popular pieced blocks in quilt making because of its versatility.

Flying Geese

This month we will  make 4 of these blocks and fill in the gaps of our quilt top grid.

A Modern Quilt Month 5

Directions are provided as a free download as they are every month. These directions are written to utilize the beautiful charm square collections that come from the fabric companies cut in 5″ squares.

If you are making A Modern Quilt from your fabric stash you may want to have a look at www.quilterscashe.com. Marcia Hohn provides directions for several other methods.

Collect the Flying Geese Instructions this month and start stitching. (You do not need to register or “sign in” to access the patterns using this link. Once the page opens, simply use the “More Options” arrow, to the right of each file, to preview or download that file)

There will be several chances to win some wonderful lucky draw prizes just by uploading photos of your WIP (Work in Progress) after Month 5 (THIS MONTH) and again with photos of your finished top after Month 10!

Go to  Flickr to join our Block of the Month group and upload photos of your work.

Upload a photo of you quilt to win one of these Aurifil thread packs

Get a FREE digital magazine subscription

What fun!

Scroll down the page to find the link to subscribe to one of the free digital magazines

When I saw this owl design, I couldn’t resist creating a little advert about the FREE digital magazine subscriptions from Creative Living Media.

Click this link to see the owl fly & sing (it is slow to load, so wait …. it is silly but fun & so cute …. hoo hoo …….)

Of course you can sign up for the digital magazine subscription without making the owl fly …. just keep reading down the page to the subscription information.

Creative Living Media, the publishers, are offering a FREE  six month digital subscription to their magazines. So subscribe to receive, by email, your choice of one of the following magazines:

• Down Under Quilts,
• Creative Expressions
• Down Under Textiles

The digital versions don’t usually include the patterns but the articles are all there for easy reading.

All you have to do is follow the link  to Creative Living Media

Enjoy!

Creatively Tweaking

I have great admiration for those craftspeople who design items, those who start with a germ of an idea and take it all the way to a completed masterpiece.  I am in awe of the talent of designers whose patterns for quilts and other items I purchase because I fall in love with the design.

“I could never design like that!” I  think.  And yet, even if our creativity doesn’t extend that far, we all possess creative talents that are reflected in our finished projects (and even in the unfinished ones!!)  When we take someone else’s pattern and make a quilt or handcrafted item, we are using our creativity and putting our own personal stamp on it, from the choice of colour scheme, to the materials, threads and  techniques we employ, and the embellishments we add.

I must admit, that while I do not think I could ever design a quilt from scratch, I do like to do a far bit of “creative tweaking” once I have a basic idea to follow.

I also like to “fiddle” with my knitting patterns.  I actually like to buy old patterns, especially vintage ones which you quite often find in dusty corners of op-shops, so that I can use the stitches and design elements on other garments.

Let me share some photos of my latest knitting creative tweaks.

Knitting a long sleeve for my cardigan.

The pattern I started with is designed by Amanda Crawford and was featured on the cover of The Knitter Magazine, Issue 7 (the knitter.co.uk)  The original garment is knitted in cotton, is a jumper, has short sleeves and a scoop neckline.  It is embellished with a knitted and beaded corsage of wisteria and has a ribbon threaded above the bustline.  My version is knitted in 100% wool,  is a vee-neck cardigan and has long sleeves.  I picked up stitches sideways to make the button/buttonhole bands.  I have not added the embellishments.

Sewing on the buttons with matching Aurifil Cotton (50 weight).

When I creatively tweak a pattern, especially one for a garment which actually has to fit someone, it can be quite challenging to ensure I achieve the desired effect and fit.  Sometimes there is a bit of trial and error involved. (Many errors and lots of trials!!)  For example, I am currently making a jumper for my husband using a pattern which I have adapted to get a more modern fit.  I have knitted the back and front shaping 3 times to get it right.  (I hope he appreciates it!)

But back to my cardigan. …and the finished garment looks like this.

My finished cardigan.

So while we may not all be able to design items from scratch, we are all able to creatively tweak and add our own touches to the things we make.

Enjoy your creativity!!

Down Under Textiles – New in the store

I’ve just had a pleasurable browse through the new issue of Down Under Textiles.

Down Under Textiles; issue No 2, 2010

Issue 2 has maintained the high standard of issue 1, published earlier this year, and will be a worthwhile addition to your magazine library.

Just one of the articles in issue 2 of Down Under Textiles

This issue has something for everyone – transfer painting, beading, using colour, weaving, using texture, making journals, using metal shim and the list goes on.

Issue 2 of Down Under Textiles is full of detailed "How to" photos

I can’t wait to try our some of the techniques in this great magazine. If you want your own copy, the magazine is available for purchase from the Always Quilting Online Store

I've always been fascinated by textile journals so this article was a peek into one artist's inspiration.

The Design Inspiration Folder

Do you have a design inspiration folder? 

I do. I keep a folder of photos of  images & colours that appeal to me for future reference. I may never use the actual image but some times it might just be the stimulus that I have been seeking for a quilting design or patchwork block.

I added a couple of new images to the folder last week after my flying trip to Western Australia.

This was one of many displays of butterflies in the natural history section of the Museum.

Aren't these butterflies just amazing. It makes you wonder why we don't see as many colourful butterflies in the garden these days.

I probably wouldn't create a "butterfly" quilt but the layout of colours could be interesting

The other thing that caught my eye on this trip was the detail in the wrought iron balcony on this country hotel.  Old hotels like this can be found in country towns all over Australia and they all have names like the “Palace”, “Railway” and “Rising Sun”.  They are part of our history, and it is wonderful to find an example that has been well preserved.

A "turn of the century" (20th century that is) country hotel

A closer view of the wrought iron design. Great quilting inspiration!