Vertical Quilting Curve

Stitch with the Embroiderers’ Guild magazine is a magazine about embroidery and other stitching like no other I’ve found. It is a British publication started by the English Embroiderers’ Guild. It reminds me some of Quilting Arts but the emphasis is on embroidery instead of quilting.

The great thing is that if you like to embellish quilts or make embellished items you will love this magazine. The June/July issue that I have has instructions on how to embroider (not do smocking stitches) on smocked fabric, make designer fabric postcards, fusing fabrics, painting fabric and how to do faux chenille to make textured fabric. And of course, there is embroidery techniques and projects for framed pieces or pillows. One of the reasons I picked up this one yesterday was a pillow made out of burlap that has been embroidered with a darning stitch which makes it look woven. I could see using this in an art quilt.

quilting, embroidery, art quilting, crafts, quilt embellishing

While at CHA I stopped by a couple of publishers booths to see what they are up to and here are some of the books which caught my interest that will be released soon:

Simple Start Stunning Finish by Valori Wells (C&T Publishing, August 2007) - Use circles, squares and rectangles to make hip, quick to make quilts. Quilts are very geometric and look like contemporary art pieces.

Blendable Curves by Peggy Barkle (C&T Publishing, September 2007) - Here is a book that will let you take big blocks, cut in some free-form curves and end up with a quick work of art. Description from the new release catalog says “Quilts you can piece without matching seams or corners…curves you can sew without pinning or hash marks…a quilt that looks good enough to hand in a gallery, but you put it together in a single weekend.”

The Painted Quilt by Linda & Laura Kemshall (David & Charles, August 2007) - A new book about painting textiles. Catalog mentions instructions with easy-to-understand step-by-step photographs and that will deal with the application of color to the already quilted surface.

Simply Silk, Creative Designs for Quilting, Sewing & Journaling by Mary Jo Hiney (KP, December 2007) - Catalog description says this will help you tame silk for a variety of projects. Learn how to use fabric transfer, machine-stitched wording, rubber stamping and other techniques.

Living the Creative Life, Ideas and Inspiration from Working Artists by Rice Freeman-Zachery (North Light Books, September 2007) - Learn about creativity from 15 full-time artists. Includes creative jump-starts and excercises from the artists. Includes different mediums but sounds like a great source of inspiration.

CHA, quilt books, quilting

I’ve just recently recommitted myself to my crafting hobbies. One of my biggest problems is when I finally get time to actually sit down and sew I spend a lot more time getting ready and moving things around or looking for tools than I do actually working on a project. So, one of my goals for this month is to get organized and plan my time. One book I found that might help this is 10-20-30 Minutes to Quiltby Nancy Zieman.

I remember seeing this book when it was first out back in 2000 and thinking it was going to be all hints but surprisingly it is full of projects that appear to be quite easy and quick to do. The projects are broken down into 10, 20 and 30 minute blocks of time but the 30 minute time blocks are in the majority. There are very few 10 minute time blocks.

The books starts out with a list of must have tools especially ones that help you to be more efficient. It ends with machine quilting instructions. The book is full of great how-to illustrations. In between the first and last chapters are chapters that are each dedicated to different styles or projects. You can learn easy strip piecing, how to make a fleece quilt, photo transfer quilts, crazy quilting and how to use fusible bias tape to give a quilt a unique look. There is also a section for doing super quick quilts by using large pre-printed panels.

This book is a good introduction for beginners but has interesting projects for more experienced quilters. There are also Notes from Nancy throughout the book to give you helpful hints. I am always looking for really nice but quick gifts to make and this book certainly has that for me. I will have to be on the lookout for a copy. I will have to put it on my list for my next trip to Half Priced Books or keep checking it out of the library. I think the big problem will be having the discipline to stop after my allotted block of time especially if I get on a roll.

Question of the Day: Do you have any secrets or hints to help you get things done quicker or easier?

quilting, Nancy Zieman, 10-20-30, time managment, fleece quilt, fusible bias tape, strip piecing, quilting lessons

I went to the library yesterday to pick up videos for my recovering daughter. While I was there all by myself (which is very rare), I decided to browse the quilt book section and one book in particular jumped out at me. 90 Minute Quilts - 15+ Projects You Can Stitch in an Afternoon by Meryl Ann Butler.

90 minute quilts! Is that possible?

Since I do most of my creative endeavors on the weekend and maybe a free evening, I was very interested. The book is simply deceiving just by flipping through it because the projects are basically squares stitched in rows. Well, I can do that already! But, it still takes more than 90 minutes to cut out the squares, sew them together, add borders, baste it and quilt it. How could it claim 90 minutes? So, I decided I better just take a closer look.

Basically, this is a quilt as you sew instruction book but with a few tricks up its sleeve. You still sew rows of squares together but you don’t sew the rows together until you place them together on top of the batting and backing. Then you do the same for the borders. There are instructions for doing one of those self bindings but I still prefer the traditional binding which just happens to take a while to do. I always hear other quilters complain about the binding and how tedious it is. I on the other hand love this step. It actually is very relaxing for me to do and it means when it is done - I AM FINISHED!

Anyway, back to the book. Although the basic concept is very simple the author has an excellent point. She is really an art quilter but still wants to make quilts for family and friends and she likes to make quilts that people can use. I love this! I am always in a dilemma on the form versus function argument of design and now she just gave me permission to be simple as well as complicated. She explains in her introduction how doing these quick and easy pieces provides a balance to her time-consuming art pieces.

I am definitely going to give this method a try and although most of the projects in the book are very simple, she also shows a few using silk and velvet that turn a very simple design into a very elegant and sophisticated gift. Of course, I will document my findings here but it’s going to be awhile before I really get to do anything new with the holiday weekend coming up.

Another plus for using this book would be for those who like to make quilts for Project Linus or other charities. It would be a quick and easy way to get a few blankets done whether for kids quilts or lap quilts for a nursing home.

By the way, I think I’ve just found a new series for this blog. After finding this book, I decided to look for other time-saving or quick method ways to get that darn project done. I found several books including some older ones. I have a few lying around here somewhere, too. If you have any methods or books you like to use just let me know.