Combining Quilting & Embroidery

The remodel has been a while in the making, but it’s just about complete now. For all of you that have been here “before”, you will really appreciate the changes to the space! I’ll take you on a virtual tour, so you can come inside and enjoy the space with me!

The first picture that was hung on the wall HAD to be my favorite. It was a gift from my hubby (who is also my biggest fan!).

Let’s start at the beginning. This is the view from the stairway as you enter the studio:

Then, when you first go around the corner, you can see the fabric shelves:

……and this is a better view of the shelves. I always have yummy candles nearby!

I have a nice big table to lay out the quilts. Again, I have to thank my hubby for this one:

If you are wondering what that blurry orange light is coming from, that’s actually a light box that is connected to the stereo. It flashes different colors depending on the notes in the song. (Big hugs to Dad for that one!).

The embroidery machine is right next to the desk over in this area:

On up the next wall is the table with the computer for customers to choose their designs for the Gammill Statler, and also another table that is folded down against the wall.

Continuing on down the wall, there is the batting rack in the corner:

This is the back wall, and the pictures that are above the carts I use for storage. My bobbin winder is right out there in the open in this picture, but it’s easy to stow below.

If I stand behind the quilt machine, and look out into the room, this is part of my view:

I wanted to carve out a little corner for myself. This is where I can work with the Cricut machine and all of those toys:

The last wall brings us back to the staircase, and has a nice warm sunshine design on it. With the mellow color on the walls, it feels like a sunny day all the time!

There are many patterns to choose from these days that are geared toward busy schedules, and this cute quilt from Connecting Threads is one of the best. It features owls that are bright and happy, and the Hooterville kit has all the fabric you need to hand-applique each owl and tree. It’s designed by Linda Hohag of Brandywine Designs.

Needing a gift quickly, my friend Linda decided to make the center border from the same fabric as the outer border. Hearts are quilted in the center border, and stars are quilted around the outer edge of the quilt.

To take it one step further, the owls and trees were digitized so each block could be machine embroidered. This gift was finished in a flash! Details were quilted on the owls and trees, and stippling fills all of the white areas. This quilt was fast and fun! Make sure to click each image twice, so you can see the largest version.

Karen decided to make a quilt full of color for a special gift. I love the fabrics she chose for this one! There is every color of the rainbow here — and that made it hard to choose a thread color. As a solution, we chose all of them!

Variegated threads can be so much fun on a white background. It blends well on all of the colored crayons in this quilt — even the crayon tips that were almost solid colors.

The special part is the border of variegated elephants walking around the outer border, holding the tail in front of the next elephant.

Click on each picture to see more detail. You can click a second time to make the pictures larger.

We will never forget. Please remember to fly your flags today, and pray for our soldiers and their families. Show your patriotic pride with our embroidered eagles!

Or, stitch a fast and fun Old Glory with a New Twist Flag Quilt

OK, who is SID?

SID refers to a common expression in quilting — Stitch In the Ditch. SID can make quilters tremble with fear, because it’s a real challenge to stitch exactly in a ditch without wobbling. Many quilters will go to great lengths to avoid learning the process, and some quilters will turn down any job that involves SID.

If you are using a computerized system, you may have been taught to click in lots of places along your seam in an effort to have your stitching match the quilt’s slight imperfections. This can consume a TON of time, and it just isn’t necessary. Think about it logically — a straight line consists of only two points, the beginning and the end. Clicking anywhere in between these two points implies that the line is not straight, and that you don’t want it to be stitched straight.

I know what you are thinking….. “But my customer hasn’t sewn a straight seam!” Or, maybe you are just thinking that SID takes too much time because you have been making too many clicks to accomplish your straight lines. Or “My customer hasn’t ironed her quilt correctly!”.

Ironing is a topic better saved for another day, but if the quilt top you are getting ready to work on has tragically wobbly seams due to an ironing technique, I’d like to suggest that you spend a few minutes correcting the problems before you mount the quilt on your machine.

In the following example, Linda has sewn perfect seams, and her ironing technique is fantastic, so no issues there.

Linda wanted a slight custom treatment of this quilt, with just a bit of SID. She wanted to highlight the gold areas, and have the striped sections recede just a bit. In order to accomplish this, we decided to do SID only around the gold sections, and have the “logs” all blend together as one area.

If you look verrryyyy closely, you can see that there was just one seam that wasn’t ironed perfectly.(And I really had to look hard to find this one! LOL)  I could have clicked about 6 times in order to make the stitching follow the slight wobble, but then that “unstraight” line would be obvious on the back of the quilt which was done in a solid color with contrasting thread.

As you can see from the picture, a better approach to take is to click at the beginning and the end only. If you slow down the speed of the machine just a bit, the fabric can be manipulated with your hands as the machine moves, resulting in a nearly perfect straight line.  Straight lines always look better on the back of the quilt.

The larger flower motifs follow the gold sections, and the smaller designs are in the striped section. The denser quilting makes the stripes recede, which is what Linda wanted for this quilt.

Many people wander whether they should do all of the SID first, and then go back and fill in the areas inside. I don’t have a particular preference — it all depends upon the quilt. If there is a lot of horizontal SID, I like to do that first to stabilize the entire piece. I may do SID near the upper border(s), and then more near the belly bar, knowing that the entire area is now stable and I can “wander around” in an efficient manner. If the SID is mostly vertical, I don’t worry as much as long as I keep an eye on keeping the quilt square as I work. If there is diagonal SID, as there was in this quilt, I do prefer to do that first so that everything is held in place before the designs are entered.

On your next small project, try incorporating SID. Even if you don’t use it between every block, SID can be very effective making certain areas recede and allowing other areas to move forward. You will be happier with the backs of your quilts, too. Keep in mind that a straight line only has one point at the beginning, and one at the end, and your project should move along quickly. Mastering SID is something that takes practice, but you will be very happy when you have mastered the technique.

Anita Shackelford has been an admired and respected quilt artist for quite some time. In 1997, she released her book “Surface Textures”. This book is as valuable today as it was more than 10 years ago.

The book begins with “the history of raised work”, with photos dating back to the 1700′s and 1800′s. Continuing on, Anita guides you through the process for making corded channels, padded work, stuffed work, feathers, and textured applique. Toward the end of the book, you will become acquainted with stippling patterns such as grids, echos, serpentine, rosettes, teardrops, and more. Finally, there is a chapter on suggested projects including clothing, home decor, and crafts.

Truly, a wonderful book for your library.

I’ve just finished reading “Quiltscapes” by Rebecca Barker. I have to say, it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had in a long time. These quilts (there are 24 of them featured in this book) all convey feelings of warmth and history.

The author grew up on a dairy farm in Oxford, Ohio. Living in Ohio now, all of these scenes touch my heart. Rebecca has been painting ever since she was a child, and took up quilting in the 1980′s. In 1994, she decided to bring quilts into her landscape paintings. Her first painting depicted a quilt hung from a clothesline in the foreground, and a farm landscape in the background. I’m sure many of you are familiar with this painting.

In her book “Quiltscapes”, Rebecca includes full-sized patterns for all of the quilts that are shown in her paintings. This book is a valuable resource for patterns, and belongs on a coffee table — not hidden away on a shelf. You will turn to it again and again, for inspiration — and for peaceful feelings of home.

Here is a partial quote from the actual product description at Amazon: “Each evokes impressions of the pleasant and positive places that form the patchwork of our lives. Included are the patterns for piecing or appliqueing the blocks depicted in the paintings. Quilt makers can choose from 24 well loved blocks, such as Whig Rose, Palm Leaf, Rose of Sharon, Wild Rose Wreath, Orange Basket, and Church Windows. ”

This book is a must read, and makes a wonderful gift!

Is it a whole-cloth quilt? Or, just a solid backing on a colorful quilt? In this case, it’s both!  I always like the back of the quilts to be as pretty as the front, and this quilt really lends itself to that idea.

Linda made four quilts using a pattern from Pat Sloan’s web site. Each one of them is different, and each has a different backing fabric.  These quilts are real stash-busters! Linda’s piecing is fantastic, and I really enjoy using a contrasting thread on the back of these quilts, because it enables the quilt to be just as dramatic from the back as it is from the front.  This black fabric features gold Sew Fine thread from Superior. It’s color number 421, and it’s one of my favorites on just about any fabric!

Using a zero margin for a seam allowance keeps everything as close to the edge as possible, without the need for stitching in the ditch except for all of the contrast areas. I had to keep a careful eye on this, to make sure the design didn’t “leak” into the wrong areas, but I think the outcome is well worth the time spent.

Enjoy the pictures of the front of the quilt below!

Once in a while, it’s fun to combine the precision of computerized quilting with a little bit of freehand stitching. Both methods were used to complete a quilt featuring an embroidery collection called “Butterflies and Flowers 2″ from Priscilla Madsen of Madsen Originals.

Make sure to see the close-up pictures of this beautiful embroidery!

Stash Envy!

Author Lisa Boyer is an expert quilter and here teaches the quirky, funny side of quilting in a book packed with quilting humor. From sharing ugly fat quarters at a fabric exchange to crocheting doilies as a motivator for returning to quilting, STASH ENVY AND OTHER QUILTING CONFESSIONS AND ADVENTURES will be the perfect gift for any avid quilter who ‘already has everything’.

I just LOVED this book! Make sure you get one for yourself, and a few copies as gifts for your friends!