Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Road Trip


If you live in Seattle or are visiting, consider a short excursion to the ferry town of Kingston. Take the ferry from Edmonds across Puget Sound to Kingston. It is a short 20 minute ride that's easily done as a walk-on passenger, or in the car.

Check out The Kingston Quilt Shop. Finish off your trip with the crab cakes across the street at The Main Street Ale House.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Inspirations



I can tell what interests me at any given time, by what I am doing. Right now it is quilting a quilt. I'm always on the search for interesting quilting ideas. These are a few photo's from my collection of ideas.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

A Walk in the Woods



From thought to reality.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Easy Blocks for Sharing

Sew a nine patch cutting the pieces 4 1/2". I used different bright colors and black, but it would be just as effective using one bright fabric.


Cut it in half both horizontally and vertically.


Turn the diagonally opposite pieces 180 degrees, and re-sew the block.


Looks great and easy to sew!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Eye Candy Quilts


Eye Candy Quilts are the April Centerfold in the inaugural issue of the new magazine The Quilt Life!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Comparison of Hand and Machine Quilting

Hand and machine quilting in essence are not interchangeable. Although it is possible to make machine quilting resemble hand quilting, each technique has its particular look and its limitations. The look and limitations arise from the very different ways by which the two processes accomplish the quilting.

A hand-stitched line is the most subtle of quilted lines. The process of hand stitching dictates this characteristic: stitch by stitch the hand quilter runs a needle and thread in and out of the layers leaving a delicate, dotted trail. Delicacy of line does not preclude a significant design statement. We respond to hand-quilted antique quilts, modern quilts with well-designed patterns stitched by hand, and innovative quilts that are hand-stitched with original designs. The beauty of hand quilting is the quality of the line itself and the texture created.

On the other hand, the process of machine quilting lays a continuous line of thread on the fabric surface. This line is obvious in a way that a hand-quilted line never will achieve. Machine stitchers, embracing this quality, have exploded the possibilities in the quilted line. We are seeing threads in every texture, color, and material as design elements. Innovative lines, almost like drawing with pencil on paper, are becoming part of the visual design vocabulary on machine-made quilts.

In addition to differences in the effect of the stitched line, some designs are simply easier to accomplish with one method than the other.

For hand quilters, starts and stops are easy. Starts and stops are more problematic on the machine and must be carefully handled. For this reason, machine quilters will want to reduce the number of starts and stops by designing long lines of continuous stitching.

For machine quilters, tiny circles and twists and turns are quickly and easily accomplished using free motion. A hand quilter working with a hoop or a frame either will have to turn hoop or body continuously or learn to quilt wrong-handed and backwards to execute these same designs. The hand quilter will find it easier to design quilting with gentle curves and less frequent changes of direction.

In sum, both hand and machine quilting have their characteristic looks and limitations. As designers of the quilting, we can learn to use these characteristics to our advantage.

Autographed copies, of the now out of print: A Fine Line: Creating the Quilting Design, are available from my web site.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Strung out Holiday



Gained three or four pounds 'cause of a strung out holiday. The unexpected out of town trip meant we celebrated twice! The second one wasn't too bad until the 10 different kinds of home-made cookies appeared (a new cookie recipe book). I'm working hard to take the pounds off and get back in shape. Rock on!