So how does one go from a new idea, to being ready to demonstrate it on the magic screen? With lots, and lots, and lots of work. Usually I choose to demonstrate something I am very familiar with. It’s easy to pull out all the samples and spout off the spiel that I’ve said hundreds of times while teaching.
This time however, one of the segments I proposed was a new idea. It doesn’t happen very often that I get a new idea, all nice and shiny and fresh. I mostly teach techniques so coming up with a project isn’t my usual mode of operation. And while the technique is familiar to me, this new project has me ALL excited!
Guess what folks! I’m going to make some patterns!
You’ve heard the term “learning curve” before, right? Well here I am at the beginning of a roller coaster of a learning curve! I started with a small sketch of a celtic knot. Just choosing a couple out of the many, many, many I’ve drawn took forever. Too many to choose from. Which ones would work in cloth? Which ones are easy or hard or would look great on screen?
After a number of false starts I DID NOT choose this design for my main sample. I personally like this one, but after a few tries thought… not for TV. And especially not in red and black. Did you know cameras really don’t like red and black? I do now.
Instead I chose this. It’s a small and fairly easy knot. Comparatively. I found a talented graphic designer who cleaned up the sketch beautifully and created a vector file that I could print at any size without losing image quality.
I chose commercial fabrics thinking that people would relate more to them in that “I could do that” kind of way. And really, the whole point of the demo is to show the audience that yes, they CAN do that.
Then began the work. You know when you watch a cooking show and they have all the ingredients ready to go in pretty little bowls instead of digging things out of jars and boxes? Then they put the pan in the magic oven and pull the finished product out two seconds later? It’s like that… but a little more. When showing a project for TV you need to have a “step-out” of every part of the process. In my case I only had 8-12 minutes to teach something that could take a couple hours to make at home.
So here you are seeing:
- The pattern printed, a light box, and tracing materials
- Fabric half fused, already fused, ready to cut, already cut
- Cutting materials
- Partially fused fabric, ready to arrange
- Batting and stabilizer for the faux trapunto technique
- Small sample to show various thread choices
- Sample ready to show stitch techniques
- Stitched sample, ready to cut away extra batting
- Trapunto batting cut, ready to layer with thin batting and backing
- Sample ready to quilt
- Finished sample ready for shading with colored pencils.
And there you go!
Finished and ready to pull out of the magic oven sewing machine!
Tomorrow I’ll give you a peek at the other pieces I made for set dressing. Because, of COURSE I couldn’t just use one little sample, right?
Log Cabin, light and dark setting
Ardis and Robert James Collection
One Patch
Ardis and Robert James Collection
Triangles
Ardis and Robert James Collection
Ardis and Robert James Collection
So, now four out of five of my kids have quilts for their beds. The first got hers at age two, the second at age 8. Both are still in heavy use but neither are dressing a bed. 
Seeing him happy with it, dragging all around the house to wrap up in is gratifying. Worth it? Yes, thank you.
The 1860 House of Commons after original painting by John Phillip 1817 – 1867
I’m currently working with a little hand appliqué. I’m telling you right now, my skill level is not even close to this. 
Me not Me by Pam Lowe
by JoAnn Camp
The last two are kaleidoscope prints based on pictures of my french horn’s pipes.
This is a relatively new class and involves a lot of “head learning” as well as functional lessons in fusible appliqué. 
Robbi Eklow was my first friend during the two years our family lived in Chicago. She picked me up straight off the airplane while my husband went out for some job stuff. As I recall, we went straight to a bead shop. She now lives in Omaha Nebraska and works at has a public studio in the HotShops. 
30″ x 50″
Fusible Web and I are best friends. In this case Misty-Fuse is adhered to the black fabric that I will make all my “binding” out of.
I securely sewed each piece together, then carefully fused black strips over the edges. Then I zig-zagged the edge of the binding. This tote is seriously going to last FOREVER!
And there you have it! Doesn’t that make it sound effortless? HAH! I won’t tell you about the twelve (yes, twelve) needles I broke sewing through all those layers. In all fairness, I think my trusty Bernina Record 930 is a little out of whack and I’ve been putting off a trip in to the shop. It only breaks needles when backing up.
I’m in San Jose, California to teach for the wonderful Santa Clara Valley Quilt Association. With a little rare free time we visited the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. It was a great joy to finally see the artwork of Susan Else in person. 
Company
After Hours
Clocking Out
Absolutely Amazing
Lydia, the Tattooed Lady
This poor piece has been quilted and unfinished for around five-ish years. It was experimental and I didn’t love it and there were always other deadlines pressing. My tiny little Elna Lotus fit into my bin so it came along and helped me get the facing finished. I think I might have put the hanging sleeve on the bottom of this piece. It wouldn’t be the first time. And I think I’ve thought of a few more things I want to do to it.
Judy Coates Perez and I trying to figure out the bus system.
I had a print of the Matisse in the upper right corner hung for years.
Judy watching a kinetic sculpture by Lin Ley.
This photo feels so much like the essence of Christchurch to me. Scaffolding – still everywhere years after the devastating earthquake. Beautiful new architecture. The tendency to beautify everything from construction fences to plain walls to empty lots in the most community oriented friendly way possible. 
A memorial to the lives lost during the 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch. It’s a beautiful and peaceful walk along the river.
New Zealand is sheep country. And spectacularly gorgeous.
So here we are. Little guy sits and rolls the first gather on the pipe. The artist pulled the gather out of the crucible… that furnace was so white hot inside that you almost couldn’t see where the fire and the crucible and the glass began and ended.
The artist gathers another layer of glass, you roll it out again, then roll it into little shards of the coloring agents.
This then goes into a furnace and you turn it while the shards melt into the gather.
I’m telling you – even when the fan is on- they open that furnace door and it’s instant burn time! The wooden paddle he is holding will rest on the pipe and shield her from the heat just enough that she stops squawking.
Now, with a little help, giant pliers pull the edge. It’s a pretty thick and heavy glob of glass and the edges cool quickly but you keep pulling. Imagine a two pound hunk of cooled taffy. The red color is just the HOT glass.. it will be blue when it cools.
Like I said – DOING wins hands down. Our second trip through the gallery the kids were fascinated by every little detail, trying to imagine how you spun out such a heavy gather of glass into a two foot wide platter. All of us now noticed every little detail and appreciated colors and shapes in a way we hadn’t before.
Avia was married in Utah in the Provo City Center Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The building has an amazing 
Nephews and sons and my mom.
Krista and Scott Lewis – the very best in-laws anyone could wish for!
Melanie Testa
Linda and Laura Kemshall
Natalya Aikens
Kathy Ackerman
Kathy Ackerman … again! Sew girl sew!
Becky Harbour
Cris Brookheart
It’s been a while since I’ve sewn something to wear. I took pleasure in going slow. Well – actually – I almost never sew slowly. Perhaps deliberately is a better word. You can do “deliberate” pedal to the metal, right? I sewed interior French seams beautifully finished and pressed even though I had a serger sitting right there next to me. Although honestly – I probably just didn’t want to mess with changing the thread from black to white. And here’s a tip – do you use an edge stitching foot when making hems or topstitching seams? It’s the BEST. I end up sewing almost the entire garment with that foot on.
So after wearing it around for a while I think I’m OK with it. I had no expectations of perfection and knew I was taking a chance without making a muslin first. The V neck spread wide instead of down so the arms and the hood are shifted back farther than I’d like. I thing I have just enough left to make two ties so that I could attach them at the front of the hood and tie them if it bothers me. The pocket openings are cut on the bias so they are gapping as well. I sewed clear elastic inside the hem there but I might add a decorative tuck. I sewed the same elastic inside edge of the hood because I didn’t feel like making a long linen tie and threading it through. Deliberate and lazy at the same time. Or – I just know where I choose to intensify my efforts and where to take short cuts.
When I work small (under 18″ or so) I leave my back layer off as I do all of my stitching. Yes, that means top and batting only while I do my machine and hand stitching. Then I fuse a backing on to cover up all the mess and trim everything nice and straight …. if it’s the kind of piece that wants to be nice and straight.
Next up – choose your thread color – it will become an integral part of the design. I thought red would tie this little piece together without overwhelming anything. You can always pull out and double (or quadruple) up the thread and and lay it out on your quilt before actually choosing which color to use. Audition it. See what works. Take a picture of each option and look at the thumbnails all together if you can’t choose.
When you get to the corner, stop the needle on the right, leaving it down. Carefully lift the presser foot and swing the quilt-let down without moving it away from the needle.
Now slowly make the next couple of zig-zags on top of the stitching that is already there. Carry on in the same manner all the way around. You can see in the photos here that I’m already on the second layer. My first layer of zig-zag seems to just hold the edges and everything together.
On the second go-round I shorten my stitch length to satin stitch closeness – but widen out my zig-zag so that it is just wider than my first go-round.
When you have gone all the way around a second time, end with a couple of very short straight stitches and back stitch just one or two stitches. I cut my thread then flip over the piece and give a good hard yank on the back thread to pop the front thread through just a bit. I trim the thread right there at the fabric and it leaves no fuzzy little tail on the front.
When it is very dark outside I love to look up and see that the sky is still there. Sometimes I can see a familiar constellation – sometimes it is just a twinkling smattering of light. When I can see the stars I can see beauty.
Children wish on stars. (Anyone else singing like Jiminy Cricket here?) I have wishes and hopes and dreams. I choose to hope, to believe in good triumphing over evil. Perhaps it’s childish but it helps me through the days.
I decided that making an origami star was a great way to use the maps and tour guides from various trips. I’m not sure if this picture shows the Paris Subway star or the Mesa Verde, CO map star. Then – one day while I really should have done something else…. I went entirely overboard.
Materials:
