going to the fabric store...

Recently, on a break between appointments in town, I found myself with two hours to spare, and without hesitating, went straight to the nearest chain fabric store to leaf through  project books and pattern books and walk the aisles actually touching the rows and rows of beautiful material.

I was reminded how convenient and fantastic the Internet is for buying the latest jelly roll or charm pack of fun new fabric lines.  I also spend lots of time clicking around several websites that offer free tutorials, free quilt patterns, blogs and advice about almost any kind of sewing project from the new 'green' baby accessories (water resistant diaper covers, changing pad patterns, bibs, etc.) to home dec lampshades.  I am spoiled by instant access to learning, quick delivery of goods, and community through chat rooms, board rooms, and blog spots, social media and networking, and the great companionship the whole world of sewers and quilters extend.  I have lots of friends online.  But don't really know any of their faces beyond a profile snapshot or an icon of their pet that represents their online persona. I don't often return products, and love the predictable crispness of a box of quilters cotton I order from a manufacturer.

But I don't get to feel the fabric (till it arrives).  I don't get to smell the dye and test the loft of the batting.  I don't get to pick up and test the weight of the scissors.

Also, I don't get to chat with the cutting table lady, or hold the door open for the white haired lady who has too many bags to manage.  Or thank the cashier for reminding me about my coupon or membership card discount.

Back at the fabric store...

As I checked my watch and prepared to pay for a couple of things I couldn't live without, I rounded a stack of flat folds and bumped into a Costume Designer friend of mine I haven't seen in months...one who lives as far away from that particular fabric store as I do.  She too was between meetings, and gravitates to textiles like I do.  She had a yard of fabric she had brought back from Paris ten years before and was matching colors to make it into a throw for her bedroom...

As we talked and touched the choices and compared ideas, a lady rounded on us with a full cart, and it was a Set Hair Dresser I know from a sitcom I worked on a couple of years ago.  Introductions around, and we helped her find corduroy for a project she was working on, pillows for her home.  We laughed and chatted for a few more minutes with suggestions for her about the fabric district downtown LA and where to find other great fabric finds.  

I really had to get on to my next appointment, but I joked to them that we could meet here next week same time with our coffee and do it all again.

On the way home, I realized how much we creative spirits need real contact as well as virtual...really feeling things, touching, weighing, laughing, chatting, connecting.

My reminder for the day then is to use all of our fabulous Internet tools, but don't get isolated in a craft that is solitary in itself.  Join a quilt group.  Take a class.  Go to your local quilt shop whenever possible and sign up for their free sewing Tuesday to share and learn from quilting friends.  And stop by my Facebook page and post a picture of what you're working on...don't forget your friends online!  Connection.  It's what keeps us all moving forward, trying things, being inspired.   Looking forward to hearing from you...

;)  Beth

QUILTING:  PERFECT OR FINISHED

Yes, I too have a huge pile of unfinished projects, quilt tops ready to be quilted, nearly finished costumes, and even projects I started that went wrong, and that I promised to put back on course when I had more time.

Well, I’m pretty convinced that time won’t come unless I insist.  And my recent move already ruthlessly cut back the pile of UFO’s.

So I’ve made the hard decision...do I want to spend lots of extra time on each project making it perfect, making every seam match just so, restitching that little overlap in the binding?  Putting myself further and further behind from the projects calling out to me on my worktable...

No.  I want it done.  I want to be free to move on to all the zillions of other projects I have waiting, the new fabrics I bought to propel me into the next baby quilt, tutorial, girlfriend gift, family memento.  I want it all and I want it now.  Haha.

So, within reason, I have spent the last two years giving up and giving in to the not so perfect corner on my binding, the faster method of piecing, and the pre-cut revolution of time-saving cutting.  (jelly rolls, charm packs, fat quarters and the like)  And I LOVE IT!!!  I’m getting lots more done by concentrating on smaller, more manageable projects (baby quilts, table toppers, lap rugs, table runners) and using these faster methods has increased my “finished” pile by a landslide!!

So I’d like to encourage you to give this some thought and save your perfect methods for heirlooms and very special quilts...and get the job done by relaxing with your quilting and doing good work in a shorter amount of time.  That doesn’t mean being sloppy.  It means being practical with the time you have to quilt, and the kind of technique that will you there, and the gratification of completing your alphabet quilt before the baby is in college.  Save the hand quilting for the family heirloom you can make on summer vacation.  Embrace the machine.  Use this as an excuse to take a “finish in a day” class at your local quilt shop, or use a YouTube/Internet tutorial to coach you through “make it in a weekend”.  Pick smaller projects and bigger blocks.  Learn about panels and fussy cuts that can be big impact centers for quilts and blocks.  I use machine embroidery to create focus and then panel quilt around them with complimentary colors and prints.  Learn chain piecing techniques that save loads of time, and pick projects that use cutting to reduce construction time like the disappearing nine patch.

I am adding some stash buster and pre-cuts projects on my YouTube Channel over the next few weeks, but there are already loads of great tutorials on the Internet to inspire you, and with winter winding down...there’s still plenty of time to quilt, and actually finish those projects for you and your family and friends to enjoy and admire.

Now let’s get cracking!!  We've got quilts to finish!

New Year Resolution:  Be Creative!!  Get it Done!!

As January speeds past, I find myself still lingering in the Holiday Season, tucking away the last of the decorations, and trying to catch up on all the things I thought I’d have time to tackle during the break.  Instead of finishing the last of my homemade gifts, I got sick, and farther behind, and the temptation now is to put off my quilting and sewing projects and to find every excuse to wait until spring.  Or worse, add them to my pile of UFO’s that may or may not ever be finished.  Am I alone?!  I sure hope not!!!

The weather has been cold but beautiful, so I have no help there...no rainy days to keep me indoors.  Demands of work, family, home, and pets (I got a new kitten just after Christmas), have left me with three Christmas projects unfinished and a mad rush to purchase something to replace them as the gifts I intended.

I’ve decided not to be disappointed and I will not feel guilty either.  I’m turning it around to this new spin:  finish all three projects and be that far ahead for next year’s Christmas List!!

So I’ve put aside an hour three times a week to work on the projects, more time if I can spare it.  First I’ll bind the two small quilts that are trimmed and waiting, and then do the detailed negative space quilting I’ve got left on the third table top square quilt.  

I’m making it a game.  Finish the two closest to done, so I feel like I’m making good progress.  Like paying off credit cards, or dieting, any positive accomplishment urges you on to keep up the good work!  We’re goal oriented beings for the most part.  Might as well use it.  Then I’ll do the more challenging job, and use the negative space quilting as a learning project to try a few new designs and expand my skill set.  I wouldn’t have had time for the extras if I had finished this quilt for Christmas.  I’m making the situation into a good thing.

Besides, January is the best month of the year to learn new things.  Your mind is fresh, resolutions are made, and with a new calendar in place, we feel up to the task.  Also, in most parts of the country, winter is still keeping us house-bound, and it’s good to have something new to learn to keep us sharp.

I would also like to suggest that if you don’t have any UFO’s lying around to finish, or any new learning project you’ve been dying to try, that instead you do a few simple and fast projects with immediate gratification.  I’ll have a few quick and easy project tutorials on my YouTube Channel over the next couple of weeks to give you some ideas.  But there’s nothing better than starting AND FINISHING a few small lovelies to get the year moving in the right direction.

Now...let’s get crafting!

Excerpt from "Bewitching Quick Stitching" by                 Beth Maitland...  Quick Holiday Gift Idea:
Mini Art Quilt Brooche

   For a quick, freeform gift that is sure to please your female friends and family and that can be easily personalized, try one of these little pins.

  
Start with a central design, in my case these little machine embroideries on linen so they fray and look tattered and vintage.  You can use a special ribbon, piece of trim, hanky, patch, antique button or piece of old jewelry...if it's not fabric, mount it on a square of linen or cotton as described below.

For pin back:

 Pick two quilter’s cotton fabric scraps approximately 3” by 5” in size.  They can be the same or coordinating.  One side will be the back of the pin; the other will show from the front.

Make a quilt sandwich with a similar sized piece of cotton batting, layered fabric right sides together, and batting on top.

Start sewing 1⁄4 inch seams, beginning one inch in to one long side, and continue around the other three sides, turning the final corner and sewing just one inch in, leaving an opening to turn.  Snip corners diagonally to make turning easier on this small piece.

Turn right sides out. Pin the opening shut and topstitch to close, 1⁄4 inch from edge, continuing around all sides as a topstitch finish. This is a great place to change thread color to a decorative accent thread that will be seen from the front.

You now have your mini quilt base.

       

Cut out your embroidery design, or other central embellishment scrap, in a rectangle, approximately 1⁄2 inch larger than the design. Snip the cotton batting (if you used it) about 1⁄4 inches closer in to the embroidery design leaving room to fray the linen rectangle’s edges for a tattered appearance.

Now that we have all our elements ready, it’s time to get creative. Be brave. Take scraps of ribbon and lace or cord, and loop and drape them in one corner of your fabric mini quilt.  See what appeals to you.  Bunch it, scrunch it, gather it till it looks right.  Sew it down with the sewing machine in a few tacking stitches.

Take lace or cheesecloth scraps and build a trim ruffle on the top or side of your mini quilt, each time laying the embroidery over the top to see where it would best fit, and to make sure the embroidery element will eventually cover your tacking stitches.  Tack down the ruffle or puff of fabric trim.

Lay the embroidery design on top of the mini quilt collage.  Experiment with best layout, load contrasting top thread on your machine, and sew down onto mini quilt.  Stitch around the embroidered rectangle a couple of times like you were sketching an outline with a pen...this stitching looks better if it is not perfect and if each line of stitches wavers and wiggles a bit.

In my samples, I used a fabric pen to add some color interest.  I wet my mini quilt base before starting to layer the embroidery and embellishments.  Then I took the fabric pen and touched it to several areas of the wet cotton, and let the color “bleed” into the weave and create a sort of mottled color effect.  If you use solid muslin, this will be most successful, as a print or deeper colored fabric won’t take dye as well.  Heat press to set with a hot iron.

Experiment with buttons, trinkets, beads on top of the embroidery. At the top, or the bottom, on the embroidery itself, see what looks best and hand sew the embellishment onto the mini quilt collage.  Add hot fix rhinestones if desired directly onto the embroidery or around the quilt top to add some sparkle. You can also hand sew on beads, crystals, old broken jewelry or any other bit of bling to enhance your art quilt.

Holiday Tip #17:  SPREAD KINDNESS!

Last night, after a long two days of my sitcom production job and my three hour commute, I was getting ready to start the drive home and stopped at a Starbucks for coffee to keep me awake.  I was in line but daydreaming about all the work I have to do in the next 24 hours and stepped up to place my order.  The barista smiled and took my name for the cup and walked away.  My money was out, but he didn't tell me my total.  Confused, I waited at the register.  When he returned, I said, "How much is it?" (a little aggravated)  He  replied, "The person in front of you bought your drink.  It's been happening since about ten this morning."  

I handed him some bills and said, "Buy the next guy's and keep the change.  Merry Christmas."

One small, inexpensive gesture changed my whole three hour drive home...and perhaps my week.

Pass it on...

**Holiday Low Sew Idea**

The Project:  BUNTING!!

Now we’ve scoured the magazines and websites and project books and found the perfect holiday gift project for our family and friends...or at least a few of them.  It’s time to get cookin’.

For me this year, it’s bunting!!!  I love all things English (UK actually, add Irish and Scottish to the list), and found many darling ideas for bunting construction on etsy.com and in several craft magazines, as well as on some DIY craft websites.  I think the gift of celebration decorations sounds like fun, and a few of my family plans will happen after Christmas, so I’m going with non specific (non-holiday) fabrics and colors.  I’m also considering adding noise makers, gag prizes, bubbles, glow sticks and small party trinkets for a “party-in-a-box”.  I can find things like that at party stores or dollar stores, and the children in the homes that will receive these, will have a blast.  They can start by using all this for New Year’s Eve.  

The next step for me is to personalize the project somewhat.  I like to make adjustments to the ideas I see, with respect to materials, technique, color scheme, etc. to make them my own.

I want a faster to sew and a bit stiffer version than the ones I’m seeing, so I’m borrowing some tips from scrapbooking and using scalloped edge fabric scissors to cut out the flags.  When I construct the flags, I will leave the cut edges exposed which looks fun and tattery, and saves the step of turning and finishing.  In addition, I’m adding a layer of thin cotton batting between the top and backing fabrics I choose, to give the flags more body.   I pick color schemes for each household to go with their home furnishing colors, not a specific holiday.  That way they can use the bunting and accessories for any celebration, birthday, holiday, or just festive dinner at home, and I’m adding a complementary table runner in the same fabrics to go along with the bunting flags as a set.  This completes the “party-in-a-box” idea.

I’ve also decided to make the flags double sided.  So they can be turned around for a different look.  

For my first set, I’m designing for two homes that have a modern decorating scheme, so I’ll pick black and white fabrics in geometric prints and a couple of florals, and add some red, black, and white prints for a little color.  Several of the newest fabric collections did not disappoint, and I found lots of choices in my stash and at the local quilt shop.  I’ll use six black and white prints on one side of the flags, and six red, white and black prints for the other side.  When I sew them together with the batting in a mini quilt sandwich, I’ll mix up the combinations for interest.  

And I picked a ticking stripe in black and white for the tie strip to hold the banner flags.  

I’m making two or three sets at once to save time while cutting and sewing.  Like an assembly line, I can cut everything in one step and save time and materials.  I sew two or three long ties out of the ticking fabric.  Then I can sew a big pile of flags and mix them up and rearrange them when I’m applying them in the last step to the ties.

With the extra fabric, I can sew simple scrappy table runners or table toppers that use patchwork or panels, whichever I have time for, and I end up with a fabulous custom gift set that will be remembered all year long when it’s brought out for celebrations for all kinds of occasions.  It may even inspire some new family traditions.  I’m up for that!

Now that I have a fun idea that I think my families will like, it’s time to explore other colorways.  And start thinking of girlfriend gifts...something with roses maybe...

Stay tuned.

Have Yourself a Home-made Holiday:  Start a Project!

There’s something about the end of summer, school days beginning, and the dry, hot days in southern California.  It’s too hot to be outside, but the kids are back in school, so the lazy summer days have ended for another season.  All the yearnings for cooler weather, fall colors, pumpkin patches...they are all overwhelmed and overshadowed by the size of my Christmas gift list.  As if it’s a surprise, I am suddenly (it happens every year!) thrown into a frenzy of Christmas gift production.  My family rarely sees the surface of the dining room table from September through October...sometimes right up till we need it for Thanksgiving.  And they’re pretty good sports about doing homework on the sofa and eating in the den.  I think it’s as much a part of the Holidays coming for them as it is for me.  This year, we moved, and I’m all thrown off, so midnight oil is on my supply list...we better get started!!

I start looking for that one idea for a project that takes a moderate amount of time, and can be adjusted or personalized for many different people and their interests or color schemes.  Sometimes it has to be a couple of main projects, since my circle is pretty varied.  My list always includes family members with lots of new babies or young children, single men, girlfriends (they’re the easiest...I just pick what I’d like myself) and co-workers, all of whom need to be remembered in a personal way.

My embroidery machine has made gift giving just brilliant, but it gets more challenging each year to pick something I haven’t done before.  I don’t want everyone I know to have six aprons and four sets of personalized napkins from me, but my desire to use quilting and machine embroidery limits my projects to cloth and paper and things that I can hoop or quilt!

First, I try to be realistic about how much time I’ll have with work and family and the other demands my small farm make on my time.  Next, I think about my budget and materials, and look for a reasonable supply list that I can save money on if I make several or save time on if I do the projects like an assembly line in phases.  Then I start to sort through ideas.

The Internet is a great place to start for ideas.  Crafting blogs, embroidery design websites, and sewing product sites have great tutorials and free project instructions and keep their ideas popular and fresh.  I have a few favorite sites, but you can just Google handmade holiday gift projects.  But my favorite resource is a local bookseller or newsstand for fall and holiday issues of craft, quilting, embroidery, and hand-made gift magazines.  I love to go through them over and over to collect ideas for that perfect inspiration.  Sometimes just an image or a decoration in the background of an ad will take my imagination to the most amazing project.  And then, I take a look at the many beautiful and helpful instruction and project books in the book store craft section.  I can tell just by the photos if the book contains project ideas that are my “this year” style and taste.  Remember crafting has a trend set just like fashion and pop culture.

This selection process is the most exciting part of gift making for me.  Picking the gift ideas is as much fun as watching my friends and family open the gifts I have lovingly hand made for them.  But if I’m honest, making something fabulous each year for each person on my list is pretty high pressure.

I read an interesting article a few years ago on gift giving.  It has really stuck with me.  The author reminded us that although we strive for it, not every gift for every occasion is  going to be the perfect gift.  We need to keep that in mind, especially crafters, who invest time and effort and love, as well as money.  Some years, our gift will be the most remembered, the most clever, the most needed, the most beautiful.  And that should be enough.  We won’t be able to hit it every year, but a thoughtful remembrance for those we love, given and often made from the heart, is always appreciated.  We shouldn’t set ourselves up to outdo each year.  Just do our best, and be our thoughtful selves, and each gift giving opportunity will be special.

Now, let’s get out the sewing machine and glue gun and make a crafty mess!!!!