MILWAUKEE'S WEST SURBURBAN QUILTERS

Last night was the West Suburban Quilters Guild's final meeting before their summer break. And.....of course being quilters....it was a great opportunity to host a pot luck dinner.  I spotted a blast from my past when I walked in.....  I haven't seen or even though of TAB in years!  Maybe that's a Wisconsin thing....

Show and tell was particularly inspiring......I didn't have an unobstructed view.....but I hope you'll enjoy these lovely quilts anyway.  I was struck by the great variety of styles.  With members cranking out such great pieces, no wonder this is such an active guild!

Today I'll be teaching 'Beading Basics & Beyond'.......this workshop is designed as an introduction to basic beading skills and by the afternoon, we morph into learning many of the fun and unique edging/trim methods I've developed.

Enjoy the show.....

 

WISCONSIN HERE I COME

I'm at the Asheville airport......just getting ready to board my flight to Charlotte....then onto Milwaukee to visit the West Suburban Quilters' Guild.

Tonight I'll be presenting my lecture "Let It Shine".......its focus is the why's and how's of adding beadwork to fiber.  There's a lot of practical as well as inspirational information shared.

Notice how the simple 4-patch heart appliques have been highlighted with swirls and squiggles of beads to add texture and additional interest.  The small beading technique featured along the binding has become a standard in my work these days....I love adding beaded edges to frame the work.

Beaded edging can be applied to a variety of pieces....here small pouches  have 3 different treatments.  

On Thursday I'll be teaching "Beading Basics & Beyond"......the morning we'll be learning basic beading stitches.....and the afternoon we'll be creating a sampler of many bead edging methods....

ALMOST COMPLETED JACKET

It's almost finished......and I learned a lot about working with this new 50/50 bamboo/rayon fabric.

The photo clearly illustrates the jacket still has some finishing touches left to do...... a good pressing for one, and it needs buttons.  I'm planning to make large colorful felt covered buttons and buttonholes in each of the 3 squares.

Though my goal was to treat this as a sweater.....I think if I had it to do over, I'd have lined it....unless I'll be wearing a slippery shirt, it's a bit too clingy.

My friend Kay wrote with a couple of edging suggestions.....both of which I had already been tracking on, but it's good to know that a real expert also thought they'd work!

One idea was to add some machine stitching around the outside edges to help stabilize them. By the time I got Kay's note....I'd already tried that approach by stitching with a bright blue Aurifil wool thread.  The impact wasn't what I hoped for, though my sample didn't stretch too much, I feared it would if several echo lines were added.

Next, I went back to my original idea of fusing a narrow strip of felt, allowing the original color to peak out along the outer most edge, plus machine stitching for added strength.  I expected to have to cut a template for the front wavy edge, but happily, the fabric was pliable enough to be manipulated into curves without any puckering.

So, overall, I'm happy with the results.....and definitely will explore more options as the fabric becomes readily available after Market.  National Nonwovens will be opening an online store, hopefully by early June.  For those of us who love working with any of their felt products, this will make obtaining them much faster and easier.

I'm off to teach at the West Suburban Quilters' Guild near Brookfield, WI for the next few days.....be sure to say hi if you are joining me for the lecture or class.

BAMBOO FELT JACKET

One of the first inspirations I had after viewing and fondling the 8 color samples of National Nonwoven's Xotic-Felt, was:  Hey....this would be great for a garment.  The 50/50 blend of bamboo/rayon provides a fairly lightweight fabric which drapes well.

Front

I decided to create a fairly unstructured jacket....unlined.....to be worn like a sweater.  I'm using a pattern (Class Act)  from my long time friend, Lorraine Torrence.  The edging treatment on her design calls for bias binding.  The thickness of the felt wouldn't be appropriate to use here....so I'm pondering how I want to finish the edges.  Of course they won't fray if left as is, but I think they'd benefit with a bit of stabilizing.

Back

The motifs were fused prior to the machine applique.  Since I'm not lining it.....the job of matching threads on the right and wrong side was time consuming, as was pulling all the thread ends to the wrong side, tying them off, and burying the ends between the layers.  Good construction methods are always worth the effort though.

The samples I received consisted of a yard of each color, obviously not enough to make an entire jacket from one single piece.  That led me to the color-blocking direction I took with this design. Originally I planned to use the bright blue fabric for the sleeves....but now that the body of the jacket was made, I realized matching the sleeve color to each of the front panels would be more suitable.

I'm preparing for another teaching trip on Wed. so my sewing time today will be limited.....however, today's goal is to get the jacket assembled so I can then figure out how to finish the edges.

MOTHER'S DAY GREEETINGS

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

CWS....these flowers are as beautiful as you were....the very moment I got to hold you!  Thank you...you are 'the perfect' child. 

EXPLORING ASHEVILLE

It's amazing that nearly 3 years have passed since we've moved to the Asheville area and yet I haven't even really begun exploring the charming downtown area.  Thanks to my PTA buddies, I got an excellent tour on Thursday.

I've been waiting to do a drum roll......with my big announcement......it's still a tad early....so consider this a sneak preview.  I'll be hosting the Great Smokey Mountain Quilting Tour - Aug. 5-13, 2010.  The tour is being organized with my friends at Traveling Together.  The co-owners have planned all of my quilt cruises and tours with great skill.  You can register your email address on their site now....click on quilting tours....and they will notify you when info is ready or......

Soon I'll have a link on both this blog and my website for you to obtain a brochure.  Because of some of the special (otherwise not available to the public) places we will be visiting, we are limiting the number of our group.  So....when registration is available, please consider signing up early.

Besides all the fabulous shops and galleries in downtown Asheville....there is a lot of history as well.

One notable landmark is the Flat Iron building......

Unfortunately, the actual large sculpture of a Flat Iron is away for repairs.....as we understand it.....it was hit by a car!

A short walk from our first hotel on this tour is the Basilica of Saint Lawrence which was built in 1905-1909, Rafeal Gustavino was the architect.  My photos of the breathtaking inside were too dark to post......but of course....you really need to see it in person anyway!  

Don't you wish we had these signs in many other places........how about in airplanes?!?!

This view is inside the Grove Arcade which opened in 1929.  It's one of Asheville's architectural jewels containing shopping, dining, and regional crafts.

I hope I'm just wetting your appetite for this exciting and fun tour.  I've saved the best for today's final peak......we've arranged to stay two nights in the famous Biltmore Estates (where daily entry fees alone are $60) at the Inn at Biltmore Estates.  Our farewell dinner will be held at this location as well.......believe me you do not want to miss this!    

Yes, I'm a tease.....the brochure will be available soon.....but mark your calenders now!

BYOBW

Oh to be young again.....oh to be flexible enough to have this kind of fun....

Our 'perfect' daugther-in-law' Kelly participated in a large San Francisco community event recently...BYOBW....Bring your own big wheel.  

Yes, I said she was 'perfect' and smart too....we just love her!   She's pictured below in the center wisely wearing a helmet, sturdy boots, & gloves.  Remember....we are talking the steep streets of San Francisco.

It really does look like fun....

GARDENING

Spring  has been very slow coming this year but fortunately, we've finally been getting much needed rain.

We've already made 3 trips to garden centers....filling our trunk each time.  We seem to lose A LOT of plants & bushes here......maybe because in addition to our 2 year drought, the last two winters have been harsh, with ice/snow appearing just as the plants were budding about a month ago. 

For years we've collected antique crocks.....many have now become outdoor planters.

The new colorful flowers placed near the humming bird feeder has caused numerous 'birdie' squabbles!

Our property is quite large, about 2 1/2 acres.....therefore we are attacking areas in phases to keep the cost spread.  The selection of various grasses are so tempting.....here we've planted a variegated species and two with darker leaves.

Like I said....we have a lot of property/bedding areas  to fill......although you can't see both....we just added two more yellow/green variegated bushes.  Now that we have our base plants in....we are trying to add color.

NEW SAMPLE

On April 18,19th & May 1st., I posted some process photos as I began working with National Nonwoven's new Xotic-Felt.  A 50/50 Bamboo/Rayon blend.  I'm crazy about this product....it needles well, whether by hand or machine.  My only stumbling point was its drape.....though I love the softness, and clean cut edges,  finishing the outside edges for that wallhanging required a bit more planning than I had done.  Hey, that's what I LOVE about the artistic process.....I'm never bored!

I've worked out many creative solutions to finishing similar pieces in my book, "Embellishing With Felted Wool" (see upper right sidebar for a link to purchase this book), yet none were right for my first piece due to the weight of the many layers in the body of the quilt and my poor decision to bring the machine stitching on the bamboo stalks beyond the edge of the piece, into the fabric's margin of error.

So, I began again and came up with this design.  Here too, the design motifs extend to the outer edge at the top, bottom and left side.....you'll need to look carefully because in this photo....my solution is already in progress.....I've added a backing to extend about 2" beyond the "quilt" top. This time I stopped the machine stitching a scant 1/4" short of the outside edge.....which allowed me to square off the top, without cutting into the machine stitching.  The backing adds further stability, in addition to hiding and protecting the stitches on the wrong side.

My friend and machine quilting expert Patsy Thompson suggested I use the escape hatch method to finish my first piece to provide a clean edge finish.....basically an envelope/or pillow style of finish.  The look would have been just right but, despite the softness of the the Xotic-Felt....the thickness of the stitched layers of fabric and the stabilizer on the wrong side, would have created seam allowance which were too bulky to achieve a nice flat edge when turned.

The other option would be to mat and frame the piece.  Mounting on a heavier backing would keep the piece flat and the mat would hide the raw edges.  I'm still deciding which method to use on my first piece.....stay tuned for that.

But, as I said.....I had a plan for this new (slightly lighter weight) piece.

I cut 4 strips about 1" wide and stitched a 3/4" wide 'bamboo' pattern on each for the desired length.  I was concerned about distorting such a narrow piece of fabric as I sewed.....so I placed a piece of tissue paper on the back which worked perfectly and was easy to remove.

I trimmed the excess fabric on both sides of the bamboo stitched design....although my photo still shows it at the top....I took the picture too soon!

Next, I placed the first trimmed strip on the upper edge of the quilt, centering the width over the main body and the backing, and positioning it to extend to the outer side edges of the backing section.  This allows the back side of the strip's edges to be finished. 

Following the outside stitching line of the bamboo design, I stitched the layers together.  I repeated for the bottom and sides.

Xotic-Bamboo  13" x 22"

After all the strips were added, I trimmed away the excess backing fabric, right up to the stitching. Now the piece has an asymmetrical frame which in a way......works like a binding.....covering and hiding the outside edge of the piece.  

AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM

If anyone will be traveling to New York before mid September, be sure to schedule a visit at the American Folk Art Museum to view Kaleidoscope Quilts:  The Art of Paula Nadelstern.

Paula is internationally recognized for her innovative and complex kaleidoscope inspired quilts.  The opportunity to see his collection in person will be a huge treat.  It runs from April 21 - September 13, 2009.   

The honor of being included in a major solo show is not only a proud personal moment for Paula, but for all quilters.