I loved the many “Grandma Quotes” that kept popping up on my wall on Facebook. They were very cute, sometimes provocative, often irreverent and really pretty funny. Then I visited a quilt shop with some Grandma quotes printed on muslin.
When a very good friend of mine announced that she was expecting her first granddaughter, I knew just what to make for her. The problem was figuring out how to mix the muslin in with the beautiful pinks and browns in the nursery decorations.
It didn’t hit me until very much later that with my embroidery machine, I didn’t need to use the muslin. I could embroider directly on to the cream cotton fabric I really wanted to use.
Sometimes we don’t remember all of our options. Keeping an open mind and paying attention to our available choices can show us possibilities that far surpass our expectations.
Manufacturers are not the only ones with the ability to produce photographic images on quilt blocks. By using photo transfer fabric sheets, a personal picture can be printed onto a cotton quilt block. Memory quilts, capturing important events, people or places are perfect for personally printed squares. These blocks can be interspersed with other meaningful fabrics to increase the memorialization in the entire quilt.
Painting on fabric is another option. Painting technologies improve constantly and the development of new and better tools and materials make fabric painting more and more durable and easier to accomplish. The painting can be of images or can be made of written words. Write names, titles or events. Writing can be of every day script or fancy calligraphy. Painting can be done with inks, acrylics or metallics.
Another way to personalize plain fabric quilt blocks is to embroider on it. My first embroideries on quilt squares were done by hand. Later quilt blocks were machine embroidered. Adding embroideries that personalized a quilt meant for someone special is an easy, beautiful way of creating a one of a kind gift or memorial.
Images, embroideries or designs can be further embellished by including lace, ribbon, crystals, leather or whatever else can be sewn on to further impart the message being created in the quilt.
Plain fabric blocks are an easy, quick and beautiful addition to any quilt top. With all of the amazing fabric patterns available, plain square quilt blocks combine into wonderful creations. More often, they are used as fill space between more intricately pieced blocks. Like the knitted blocks, very few of us who learned these skills as a child don’t have small starter quilts made of plain fabric squares. Those quilt blocks can be made of patterned fabric or a solid color.
Fabric manufacturers also offer large images printed right on the material. Pictures of solar systems or tea pots or African wildlife are all motifs that require quilt top patterns with ample area to display the images. Plain quilt blocks made up of the beautiful large pictures can be such an interesting addition to a themed quilt top.
The most fundamental quilt block design is the plain square. It actually doesn’t even have to be square, rectangles work just as well (even octogons).
Just sewing together different square blocks of various fabrics can result in wonderful color patterns. But to start the conversation about plain square blocks we have to talk about the ultimate plain quilt block, whole cloth quilts.
These are very easy to create, but not so easy to complete. Because of the lack of other design, more focus is on the quilting. When done well, whole cloth quilts are spectacular.
Because they are made of one piece of fabric, I am including them in my category of plain quilt blocks. They are, however, a very special type of plain block.
Sewing a well executed quilt top is so satisfying. For that to happen, a lot of care must be taken in the preparation and stitching of the quilt pattern. Very small variations in cutting or sewing can end up making large variances in the final product.
I was once asked to help figure out the problem in sewing a high school drama production costume. It just could be made to fit properly or look like it was supposed to. When the participants came to me, the problem became immediately apparent. The pieces were not cut closely enough along the pattern lines. Small deviations in cutting were resulting in the garment not fitting well. The same is even more true, of quilt tops.
A variation of less than a quarter of an inch makes the difference of an entire size in a dress. In garments those difference may only involve two seams. Just imagine the size difference only an eighth of an inch makes over a width of ten or twenty seams common in quilt top piecing. Because there are so many more seams in quilt piecing than on garment sewing, even more care must be taken in the cutting.
So many quilting fabrics, so many designs, how does one choose? My first cut comes in the area of quality. I have a typical quilter’s husband. He dutifully lugs my sewing machine out to the car for me for my classes when he is here. He loads his trunk with my containers of fabric, quilt patterns, and accessories for our trips to the cabin. He patiently oohs and aaws at all of my projects.
AND…he thinks I have more quilting fabric than anyone on earth and I spend much too much on it. He really has no idea the capacity a quilter has for collecting fabric and really, really no idea how much I do spend. But, he now understands about why my fabric cost the amount I spend.
My stash is neatly (well fairly neatly) displayed and my daughter Liza came by to request a quilt and chose some fabric. She picked out a collection I particularly liked and which suited her well that I purchased on vacation a few years ago. It was beautiful, soft, very good quality cotton. But, she also happened upon a piece of JoAnn’s sandpaper cotton that she insisted she wanted included and I didn’t even realize I still had.
I thought that this would be the perfect illustration for my husband. I took 2 swatches out to the living room and had him feel them. “This is what I purchased in Healdsburg for $10 a yard,” I said, “And this I bought at JoAnn’s for $2.97 a yard. Please feel them. Liza wants both in her quilt.”
He looked at me and said, “Why do you even have that cheap material?” Voila! He has never said another word to me about the cost of a piece of fabric. He still complains about the cost of the volume of my stash, but, one step at a time.
Quality material not only feels better, but it lasts longer, sews easier, and produces a much more satisfying sewing experience and result. It is always worth the extra expense.
And I refused to include the cheap stuff in Liza’s quilt.
You aren’t going to find this anywhere, but, isn’t it interesting?
Choosing fabric for your quilt pattern is sometimes a challenge. The first problem is that there are so many beautiful fabrics to select from. I spend so much time just perusing the rows and rows of bolts at any quilt shop.
If you have already chosen a quilt pattern the choices are narrowed. But if not, this is how I pick my next quilt fabric.
I see something that I want to work with, just one piece that will be my focal fabric. I know that the choices are extensive, but for now, just pick one. Then I need to choose a pattern. That decision will be decided by the purpose of the quilt project but it must be able to show off the focal fabric well.
With quilt pattern in hand, I see what coordinating fabric is needed. Noting how many other fabrics are necessary, I look over the other fabrics made by the manufacturer in that particular line. I pick out what I want to use from them but don’t limit myself to just those options.
I look at the colors in the focal fabric and pick a few out. If there is fabric with a similar style and theme in one of those colors, it gets considered. The color dots along the selvage are also a great guide. It gives you a sample of the colors used that are separated out and easy to see. There are sometimes surprising colors on the selvage that I had not noticed in the patterns.
A coordinating fabric does not have to match one of the colors used in the focal fabric perfectly. A color that is the same tone but maybe lighter or darker might set off the focal fabric very well.
Practice experimenting with fabrics and colors will give you a good experience, confidence and courage to reach out beyond what is presented as coordinating choices and often results in a much more beautiful outcome.
June 27, 2010
Cleaning My Sewing Room
I am not now, nor will I ever be a good (or even adequate) housekeeper. I would rather be creating a quilt design. I would rather be rummaging through beautiful fabric. And I would much rather be sewing up a gorgeous new quilt pattern.
But, when the corners, where I have containers or bolts of fabric or whatever start creeping out towards the middle of the room, it is time to focus for a few minutes on where to put everything so that there is some sanity.
If one were to look at my stash, they would be impressed with the organization. An inspection of my threads (quilting, tatting, embroidery) you will find them neat, organized, well protected and accessible. My finished quilt tops are nicely folded and stored under my quilting frame. My rulers are where they are supposed to be. So, on a micro level, I rock. On a macro level, however, OMG!!!
This post comes with no actual pictures and no video of my space. Why? Because I would never show anyone what I am talking about. So part of today will be straightening up my work space.
Today is about sorting through it all and determining how to fit (__________________) this much stuff into (_____) this much space.
I was editing videos for the 9 Patch Stepping Stones Quilt Top Pattern and Lesson yesterday. I pulled up the second to last video which was the lesson on mitered corners and thought I would share. This is my method for mitered corners and it results in perfect corners every time.
It takes some care, a good fine marking implement and most importantly – finding that exact point that all of the stitches radiate from. Finding that point and sewing a straight line are the only skills required and they are easily learned.
The corners go pretty fast and before you know it, you have all four corners mitered and finished and looking great.
And mitered corners always look so much fancier on your beautifully finished quilt top design. (smile!)
