Many of you have chosen words of the year. I was reading Friend Julie’s blog and she brought up some interesting questions related to her word of the year, Worth. I have never found this to be a useful exercise, though I haven’t really tried either. Periodically, I use a book like 365 Tao and write about the reading of the day. Recently I found another book, , which will work the same way. Gretchen is also doing a Word of the Year project. She has never done one before either, so watching her progress might be enlightening.
Projects, Patterns & Tutorials
Gretchen of 120 Blocks wrote about a BOM that I glanced at then passed by. She writes “Last week (I think) Marie Bostwick sent out a newsletter with information about a BOM that she was doing with Stitchin’ Heaven and Deb Tucker. You can find the information from Marie here but you have to get to the end of the page. The quilt is huge (102 x102) and if you sign up by March 1 you get a Studio 180 ruler of your choice to use to make the quilt. The colors are pretty much something I might like in my room, so there you go. You can find more of the information from Stitchin’ Heaven. Make sure you read Marie’s post first though, because she has a coupon code.” The coupon code is worth reading Marie’s blog, which is worth reading even without the code. She also introduces readers to her three oldest books. I tracked them down a few years ago and read them. They are worth reading.
My friend, Deirdre, sent me a link to Sailrite. She said that they have a lot of great how-to videos. The initial link was to a Roll Top Backpack tutorial. There are a wide variety of bag projects, which can be found under their How-to – Hobby Projects menu. They also have a variety of hardware. I haven’t purchased anything from them, but the variety is staggering and I will take a look when I need some bag hardware.
There is an article that discusses drawing as the best way to learn.
I collected a group of patterns using Altoid tins. My DH saves them for me because of the Travel bag I have made using them. One is an Altoid Pincushion Tin, Pincushion & Notions Box, an altered Tin Mini-Purse, a Tin Cord Keeper,
The deadline for the 25,000,000 Stitches Project is coming up fast (final deadline April 30), so I am seeing a lot of posts, including one from Julie, about people’s progress. Rhonda’s piece is gorgeous and it was all I could do not to snatch it out of her hands at the meeting last week. the work people are showing on IG is mind boggling. I’d love to know the effect on handwork that this project has had. Do more people do handwork now? Were people introduced to handwork, having never done it before? Did people return to handwork for this project?
Do you need to know how to create quilt designs in Adobe Illustrator? Adobe has a a bunch of tips and some Illustrator files from well known quiltmakers for download.
Fabric, Supplies & Tools
Sarah Ann Smith gives a thorough overview of the new Janome M7 Continental in a recent blog post. As a bonus, you can learn how to create a French seam in this post.
Sarah also talks about pre-shrinking fabric. She discovered that some of her fabric that had not been pre-washed shrank after pressing. Read her scientific study, especially if you don’t pre-wash your fabric.
Articles & Information
What do you think about the color orange?
Paper Patterns, Projects and Tutorials
As you may know, I enjoy making wreaths from folded paper. I talked about the Mette Ring a few weeks ago. Have you made one?
This video shows a Christmas or Halloween wreath, which is really only designated with those themes because of the colors. You could make them any color.The end result is small. Also, the video is in an Asian language I don’t speak. The folding directions can be followed, however, whether you speak the language or not.
When I found the Mette Ring, I also came up with some other folded stars as well. One is a traditional 5 pointed star that I really like, though I haven’t tried it yet. The video is narrated in German by Ms. Wellpappe, so I can follow the words. Those of you who don’t speak German will be able to follow the visuals. I found a video with no words from OrigamiV that makes the same traditional 5 pointed star. The Stella di Natale star is not folded paper, but the folded and cut or snowflake method. This video is from MamaeBambini and has music, but no words. A similar version can be found at Copa de Nieve. Folded paper Christmas trees would be fun gifts for colleagues at work. The Reda Star by kamikey is a two color folded star. Finally, the Scandinavian star is traditionally made from paper, but the Shabby Fabrics video shows how to make it from fabric.
Many of these patterns have different videos from different designers, so you can find the one that works for you.
Exhibits & Shows
Barbara Brackman has a list of antique quilt shows through the Spring of 2020.
Kaffe Fassett’s house is pictured in a magazine called the Wealden Times, a lifestyle magazine of Kent and Sussex. I want a chaise longue recovered in Philip Jacobs fabrics! I love the bold wall colors including that violet. Perhaps I’ll paint my workroom that color. It would make me happy,b ut it would wreak havoc on color selection, I think.
I like the quilts on this site, but I almost like the quotes better!
Other Artists
My sister told me about Melanie Douthit.
