Folio Siting!

Back in December I posted links to tutorials I've written or various projects. My lovely sister, Karin, then emailed me photos of *11* teacher gifts she made from the junior legal pad folio project I designed for Quilting Arts! Here they are -

She personalized this one with machine embroidered monograms

I love how she used a variety of commercial fabrics to make each one unique, and tailored to the giftee. A special touch (not pictured here) is that she wrote a note to each teacher on the top most sheet of paper. Thank you, Karin, for sharing these!

Foto/Fiber 2012 Sneak Peek

Happy Belated New Year!  A major computer crash and some deadlines temporarily sidelined me, but I'm back with a tiny sneak peek of part of what I'll be donating for Foto/Fiber 2012, February 15 and 16.

Soon to be quilted!

Foto/Fiber 2012  is a Fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. It's part of Fiberart For A Cause, which has already donated over $215,000 to the American Cancer Society through the generosity of fiber artists and their patrons. See more details at

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/FotoFiberHowItWorks.html 

I *Like* Glitter

The lids have come off the glitter jars.

When my children were younger they loved to make pancakes with my husband. Standing on a chair, their chubby toddler bellies sticking out, they particularly enjoyed that my husband would add a variety of sweeteners to the batter. While stirring (and testing) the ingredients one child famously said, with a Jack Nicholson kind of gleam in his eyes, "I LIKE sugar!!"

 And, at the risk of tainting my reputation as an artist, that's kind of how I feel about glitter.

Dyeing to Stitch DVD Winner!

Congratulations to Gina of Clay and Fiber - she is our lucky winner of Candy Glendening's DVD, Dyeing to Stitch!

If you didn't win, you can check out these blogs for other opportunities:

·         Friday, 11/11 –  Victoria Gertenbach of The Silly BooDilly­

·         Monday, 11/14 – Susan Brubaker Knapp of Blue Moon River

·         Wednesday, 11/16 –  Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studio

·         Friday, 11/18 – Melody Johnson of Fibermania

·         Monday, 11/21 – Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side

·         Wednesday, 11/23 – Diane Doran of Ooh! Pretty Colors

·         Friday, 11/25 –  Vicki Welsh of  Field Trips in Fiber

·         Monday, 11/28/11 – Brenda Gael Smith of Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt

·         Wednesday, 11/30 – Amy Webb of Amy Lou Who Sews

·         Friday, 12/2 – Robin Ferrier of Simply Robin

·         Tuesday, 12/6 – Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt

·         Thursday, 12/8  – Beth and the gang from Sew Mama Sew

Time to Sew! (and Craft)

1/24/12 Edited to Add:

This post has links to tutorials I've written. I'll add to the list as new tutorials are available - enjoy!

OK, it's Black Friday, and you're not going to see me at a mall. As the holidays approach my first instinct is not to figure out what I can buy, but what I can make. Luckily there are several people in my life (most notably my sister) who truly appreciate it when I make a gift for them.

I find myself perusing the internet to find holiday sewing and crafting ideas, and this year it occurred to me that I've never put the links to all the projects I've designed (that are available free) in one place. So here they are!

1. Fast & Easy Fabric Bookmarks - from Quilting Arts Gifts 2009/2010 (The link is to an ebook that also includes several additional free projects from other designers.) If you've ever made an ATC or fabric postcard, you can easily make these adjustable bookmarks. Try customizing them by printing a photograph of the recipient on fabric to use as the main design. In the samples below I used a small portion of an old "experiment", as well as the leftovers from trimming the border of a quilt before I bound it.

 2. Junior Legal Pad Cover/Folio - also from Quilting Arts Gifts 2009/2010 and Quilting Arts TV Episode 805 - I've made this gift for a variety of people, and keep one in my purse at all times. The cover and flap provide just enough room for you to try out a little surface design or applique.

3. Personalized Tote - Shown on Quilting Arts TV Episode 810
I had a great time designing this little tote/purse using designs I created using Kaleidoscope Kreator . Of course you could use any fabric, commercial or of your own design, for the flap. On one of the samples I even went crazy and did some hand embroidery - uncharacteristic for me, but fun!

4. Esther's Tote - My basic, go to tote design. I've made it in a variety of fabrics, from sophisticated to girly, and get complements every time.

If you make any projects from these tutorials I'd love to see pictures of them!

So are you going to be sewing today, or shopping?

***Don't forget - there's still time to enter the giveaway of Candy Glendening's wonderful DVD, Dyeing to Stitch. I'll be drawing a winner on Tuesday, November 29. See my previous blog post for details.***

Happy sewing!

Dyeing to Stitch DVD Giveaway!

I'm simply delighted that Candy Glendening asked me to be part of her DVD blog tour. As you may recall Candy filmed her DVD, Dyeing to Stitch, the day before I filmed my DVD in Cleveland in early September.

Candy sent me her DVD a few weeks ago and I watched it right away.  Candy is a very personable, high energy person, and I noticed immediately that her personality shines through in the DVD.

I've been dyeing fabric for about twenty years now, having learned how by reading various articles and books (and dyeing hundreds of yards of fabric). I was therefore quite happy when Candy's DVD taught me several new things, especially with regards to folding the fabric to achieve different patterning. I only wish that a DVD like this had been available when I first started dyeing fabric - she covers all the basics, and then keeps building on that foundation. As a fellow scientist I literally applauded when she explained the tests she did to figure out how to make her dyeing both consistent and easy - she's done all the work so that all you need to do is follow her directions to successfully dye fabric from the start.

So now for the really good part - I get to give away one of her DVDs! Just leave me a comment for a chance to win. If you follow my blog you'll get another chance. I'll draw a name bright and early Tuesday, November 29. (Please be sure that your email address is accessible from your comment, as I will be emailing the winner to get their snail mail address.)

If you just can't wait, the DVD is available on Candy's website, or from Interweave (where there's also a download available).

Don't miss the rest of the blog tour for additional chances to win:

·         Friday, 11/11 –  Victoria Gertenbach of The Silly BooDilly­

·         Monday, 11/14 – Susan Brubaker Knapp of Blue Moon River

·         Wednesday, 11/16 –  Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studio

·         Friday, 11/18 – Melody Johnson of Fibermania

·         Monday, 11/21 – Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side

·         Wednesday, 11/23 – Diane Doran of Ooh! Pretty Colors

·         Friday, 11/25 –  Vicki Welsh of  Field Trips in Fiber

·         Monday, 11/28/11 – Brenda Gael Smith of Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt

·         Wednesday, 11/30 – Amy Webb of Amy Lou Who Sews

·         Friday, 12/2 – Robin Ferrier of Simply Robin

·         Tuesday, 12/6 – Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt

·         Thursday, 12/8  – Beth and the gang from Sew Mama Sew

Branching Out - Again!

Turns out an old dog can learn new tricks. My Machine Quilting Unlimited column, Filler Finesse, is expanded in 2012 - 3 fills per issue instead of two, and an additional stitched out sample using all three fills in one composition. I've decided to use the "three fills in one" compositions to try out some techniques that I haven't really used before. Back in September I shared an experiment I made using thread painting - something new to me. For the March issue I tried something else.

I can't show you the whole sample, as that would give away the quilting fills, but wanted to focus on this flower. I've used fusible applique many times in the past, but generally satin stitch the edges down. In this sample I quilted the entire background first, then fused on the flowers. OK, not terribly exciting. However, the real departure for me was that I did not trace the flower parts at all. I looked at a bunch of crocus photographs, made some very rough sketches, then applied fusible web to my hand dyed fabrics. I then cut out all the applique pieces free hand, just looking at my little sketches. I think I could have done a little better with the shading of the fabrics, but for someone who has always done applique in a very preplanned and precise manner, I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

Have you tried anything new lately?