Other Artists
There was a discussion of Karl Benjamin at our guild meeting last week. He seems to have been pals with Ellsworth Kelley, who I have discussed here. Karl’s works are very modern quilt (in the contemporary sense of the phrase)-like. It is interesting to see how nothing is new.
Johanna Bashford has a new coloring book available as a free download. Print it on good paper! To go along with this or give you some options in terms of types of things to color, 100 museums have converted parts of their collections into coloring pages. Check out the hashtag #ColorOurCollections. Among the institutions advertising their contributions are representatives from the academic world, including Harvard University’s Countway Library and the University of Waterloo, as well as museums like Les Champs Libres and the Huntington Library.
My pal, Jeff Rutherford, was featured in an article in his local hometown newspaper. It looks like Jeff creates his masterworks from his kitchen! In his article, he mentions Timna Tarr. I have never seen her work, but was interested once I took a look around her site. Check out her Instagram feed as well.
Projects, Patterns, & Tutorials
Everyone is making face masks, which is a good thing. However, I think that there is frustration and hopelessness out there that would be alleviated by Dammit Dolls. Perhaps alternating face masks and Dammit Dolls would mitigate some of the stress we are feeling. Welcome Home Farm blog has a pattern for Dammit Dolls.
Deb Tucker’s Blockbuster Season 5 project is in progress. Yes, the blocks use her tools, that allows you to mix and match elements. Block #48 is now available. Check out Blockbuster Season 4.
I love the look of this scrappy zipper pouch tutorial.
I have the papers and the book to make a La Passacaglia quilt. I don’t want to start it until some of my other handwork projects are finished. I keep looking at examples of nice La Pass quilts and Wendy’s is fabulous. I love the colors/fabrics. I am having some trouble selecting fabrics, though I haven’t tried very hard either. Wendy shows the fabrics she started with, which is a help.
Not all of us sew garments, but we can still use pattern weights. They can help us sew outside, or with the windows open on a windy day. They can be a quick and easy gift project, because they are cute and would look great in a pouch. This free pattern calls for rice, but you can also use Beanie Baby pellets -also called Poly Pellets weighted stuffing beads**.
Twirling at the Disco would be a good leaders and enders project as you could make 4 patches while working on another project. It looks like a traditional triple Irish Chain quilt, so you might check out some books on those patterns to confirm construction.
More Face Masks
- Watch the Modern Quilt Studio’s Face Mask tutorial on YouTube and download the free patterns.
- DIY face mask tutorial with Kaye (video)
- Adding a nylon layer – DH told me about this and I thought it was adding a nylon stocking layer to a sewn mask. I started thinking about the difficulties of sewing that type of fabric. When I saw the picture, I realized they were suggesting cutting up stockings and putting them over your face under the mask. Did you ever notice how people modelling masks never have glasses, hats or headphones?
- Friend Julie has some comments about the Instructables face mask pattern, which she likes
- Friend Julie also talks about mask making in general and what her research has told her about the best types of masks to make.
- Wazoodle has a lot of resources for making masks, fabrics suitable for PPE type masks and patterns. I also saw anti-microbial fabrics. N.B.: I haven’t tried any of these fabrics or patterns.
- My friend, Deirdr likes Lorrie Nunemaker’s pattern. She has adapted the pattern to work in an assembly line. It is a free download, though you can also pay her something. She has videos on YouTube which show how she assembles her mask. Deirdre made changes to her pattern was so the front curve is 1/2 inch taller, which means the mask doesn’t touch your mouth). Deirdre also lengthened the depth of the sides by an additional 1/2 inch, for the front and lining. For the filter layer, she matched the new curve but did not change the length.
- Deirdre also likes the Martelli Enterprises pattern. Deirdre said that the Martelli Enterprises set of masks fit adults best. They are selling a set of 3 templates withn non-slip plastic for $12 which includes shipping. She found, using their templates, that her 45mm and 28 mm rotary cutters have a hard time if I am cutting more than 2 layers. The nut in the rotary cutter hits this template. She ordered a 60mm Martelli rotary cutter, which works great for straight cuts. She has a hard time cutting curves with it. She changed the way she sews these by adding an antimicrobial one-way fabric. She also uses that as a 3rd layer which can hold a filter.
- A Dress A Day blog (thanks Julie!) tells how to add a nose wire and piping! I might even have some of that wire from a long-ago picture framing class
Pretty Quilts
I love this and may have to make one some day. Perhaps I can use the templates I bought from BettyCrockerAss to cut them?
Valerie has a baby quilt in her Etsy Shop that is awesome! I love the design and think the design could be used in other ways to great effect. If you have a panel you have been wanting to use, this might be your design.
Fabric, Products, Supplies & Tools
Now that we are all on video calls, we have to pay attention to our lighting. I have been thinking, as I spend more time in my workroom, that the lighting is awful. It could be the life sucking beige the walls are still painted. Regardless, I have been looking at more lighting. I saw the Carex Day-Light, which was recommended to me as a way to enhance the lighting for my video calls. It is also good for SAD Syndrome. I don’t usually suffer from it, but it might help when I am just plain cranky. 🙂
Color Girl Quilts (Sharon) reviews the Oliso mini iron. She comes across as simply delighted to open and try this new iron. I signed up for her mailing list just because she was so delightful. I am eyeing the Black Jack pattern she has. It is the style of a quilt I have wanted to make since the dark ages (before the Internet). I saw another quilt that was similar.
The Modern Quilt Studio has a new line of rulers called “Good Measure.” They don’t really say why these are better, though I may have missed a blog post about them, but the rulers are cool looking.
I saw some interesting Disney-esque fabrics at Wonder Ground fabrics. they have a variety of designs in different substrates.
Wazoodle sells food-safe PUL (multiple colors) fabrics. I heard about this site in the Sew Sweetness Facebook Group. I haven’t ordered from them or tried the fabric, so I can’t comment on their service or the quality of the fabric. I was thinking that I might like to try some waterproof fabric and this store might be an option.
Media, Articles and Information
Science Alert had an article about why crafting is so good for us. This was not an article just saying that it was, but it said why. One of the quotes I really liked was “According to the famous psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi** this allows us to enter a “flow” state, a perfect immersive state of balance between skill and challenge.” Flow state is a great description. Some of us call it ‘getting into the zone’. I find that repetitive nature of piecing calms my mind. Ironing fabric (not work shirts!) also has that effect on me. The article discusses why various crafts (there was a bit of a focus on knitting) make people with a variety of disorders feel better. It is amazing that we don’t see more people knitting during meetings. I used to do that during long ELT meetings to help me focus.
The NY Times had another article about the benefits of creativity. Remember: if you don’t have a subscription, check your local public library’s online resources. This article talks about drawing and the guy who wrote the article describes how drawing helps him manage stress. If you want prompts, the prompts from the Creative Prompt Project are still available.
Frances shared a video on Rose Kretsinger.
I was excited to see a hashtag for #windmillbladesquilt. I could be all over that hashtag! However, I annoyed to see that that hashtag is being applied to Pineapple quilts! The patterns, all of them, were PINEAPPLES! It is so irritating when people don’t know their quilt patterns. Adding a different hashtag doesn’t make them a completely different quilt!
Spring Quilt Market has been cancelled, but Barbara Brackman has a virtual booth.
I am really excited for and also super jealous of my pal Jeff Rutherford. He has another local newspaper article written about him! Good job, Jeff!
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