Stitch Adventures

Not like you-tube videos

I think most people use youtube videos on a weekly basis.  Don't know how to do something? Find a quick video.  Want a good laugh?  Pass around the latest dog or cat video.  They are endless, informative, and a great way to learn something new.  I've even posted a few videos of my own!

My only objection?  Anybody can post a video, and so you can't guarantee that the person really knows what they are talking about.  The videos are usually so short and poorly made, there's not alot of info.  So when it comes to finding correct information about sewing, quilting, or knitting, I tread carefully.  I don't know if a technique or the advice given is the best way - or even a good way.  It's just that person's version of what probably worked for them.

Thinking about all this made me think of something my daughter and I share a love for - Craftsy video classes.  She gave me a video for Christmas (yes, they have a wish list you can create, and she saw mine, and it made a wonderful gift!)  So, I rave about my latest quilting classes thru Craftsy, and she tells me about all the stuff she learned about her new serger, baby projects, and working with knits with her video classes. I've got at least 5 more classes waiting for me that I haven't started yet!

The classes are inexpensive for all the projects and info you get (usually about $19 - $40 for 10-15 chapters of videos on the subject).  You get to watch them whenever you want, and keep them forever. If a class is too expensive, get on their email list, and they will soon be sending you discounts. 

But best of all,  the teachers are verified knowledgeable people in their subject.  They teach sewing  quilting, cake decorating, (and many other crafts).  They have blogs, and are in general immersed in the subject you want to learn. They know what they are talking about - and the videos are professionaly produced.  You can also ask questions and talk with others who are taking the same class, and post pictures of what you have made.

If you'd like to try one out (and this is how I discovered Craftsy) take one of their free mini courses to get a taste.  Want to know about sewing machine feet or something else?

There are more places to learn how to sew than your local fabric store.  Although that's the perfect place to get your supplies!

Made it to Fairbanks, Alaska for my 10 day adventure. It took all yesterday to fly here. But Seattle Airport is awesome - had a wonderful fish lunch while waiting for my next flight. Flying up thru Canada - no roads, completely remote. When the airline Captain told us where to look for Ketchican, it was a few buildings near an ice flow. Snow, rivers, ice, amazing. Finally, flying out of Anchorage - oh my, what a view. The sun peaking thru clouds to make the mountain tops glow.

Have a new friend/roommate - she's from Ventura! Had to come all the way to Fairbanks to meet her.

Today we are going to museums, and tonight the Ice Sculpture Park. It is getting up to 35 today, so they are worried the Ice Sculptures will start melting.

Is it spring yet?

Superbowl Sunday.  I know it's a big deal for a lot of folks.  Since I'm not a football fan, it's more about having my husband around on a Sunday, which is unusual for him.  Being self-employed, he's always going to his shop - pretty much 7 days a week!  Not so much because he's a workaholic - more like he loves what he does, dreams about machining parts, design, etc.  Just like I dream about quilts, and how to get time to sew every day.

This morning I decided to cook an early St. Patricks Day corned beef for later on.  It's easy enough in a crock pot, so I ran off to the farmers market in Ojai to get tiny red potatoes and fresh carrots and cabbage.

I managed to avoid the fresh tamale booth (it is impossible to resist if I walk by, so I didn't go down that row).  But I did find the most awesome new vegetable to try -

Can you guess what it is?  Looks like something from Star Wars, and early risers at the farmers market were snapping these up just for the looks!

It's called a "Romanesco" cauliflower.  The vendor said it's an heirloom cauliflower - very buttery and nutty flavored. And looking on the web, it's actually a romanesco brocolli.

It's too beautiful to eat!  Well, for tonight anyway.

 

 

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Sashiko is so much fun!

I've been enthralled with sashiko, which is a Japanese style of needlework, for several years. It is most recognizable by the dark navy (indigo) color fabric and heavy white running threads that make the design. 

This is a purse that was made by my teacher in a class I took at the Sew Expo in Washington in 2011.  In that class, we used tracing paper to mark indigo cloth to make a fan design, which is shown below.

I'm still working on this project. It looks easy, but takes some practice to get the stitches evenly spaced, and longer on top. That's because hand quilting, which I also do, requires stitches that are equal in length on both top and bottom, and much closer together.

My newest, completed project is from prestamped sashiko fabric, which allowed me to practice getting my stitches even. 

You can see the lines of another design on the stamped fabric, which may seem a little confusing.  But the stamped lines wash right out.

Here's a finished square called "Ocean Waves".

And the third square, called "Seven Treasures of Buddha". 

This is the final project, which has been quilted.  I applied a red frame around and between each square, a blue frame, and then a large red print border print to make a wall hanging.

And this time, I decided to piece the back of the quilt, just to make it more interesting.  I added two extra sashiko stitched bars on the back too.

There will be more detailed pictures on my website, as well as links to great books and supplies so you can try out this Japanese stitching technique on your own.  There are so many more designs to try!

 

Add a penguin!

Went to the Camarillo Quilt Guild monthly meeting yesterday - I guess I never get tired of quilts! 

Our speaker at the quilt meeting was magnificent.  I'm not particularly fond of portrait quilts, or landscape quilts for that matter.  But once I heard Nancy S. Brown speak, I was absolutely in awe of her passion, and her ability to make an entire group of 300 tired quilters laugh for 30 minutes straight!

Of course her artistry, and her techniques are truly inspsiring. She is in love with animals, of all kinds, and she hand  appliques all of her animals.  Layer upon layer of fabrics of unusual colors - like an Andy Warhol style dog quilt. 

Who would have the ability to make green and yellow dogs look so natural except this amazing quilt artist?  Every dog had a different expression - even the chihuahua looks cute.  (Sorry, I'm just not a fan of little yippy dogs - but more power to you if you love one!)

And then, there was the Baltimore Album style quilt - a very traditional pattern.  But when Nancy does one - the flower blocks are all animals!

See how the detail picture on the right is really hummingbirds.

One of Nancy's favorite animals is penguins.  Her first quilt, and many many others, have penguins.  Her advice - if you have a quilt that isn't working, or lacking in some way, or you're just not happy with the way it's turning out (we've all been there) - add a penguin!

There is a great retrospective of some of her work at The Quilt Show

How I wish I had signed up for her applique workshop today!  But the class filled quickly - so I'll have to keep looking for her at local quilt guilds and workshops.

 

An awesome quilt show

Just got back from The Camarillo Quilt Show at the fairgrounds in Ventura.  A weekend that was filled with inspriation, delightful quilts, and wonderful vendors and people. 

I volunteered many, many hours to help prepare for, and set up the show.  One of my jobs was to be in charge of "white glove" volunteers.  Those are the ladies that walk around, literally, wearing white gloves to lift the corners of quilts so the backs can be seen by viewers. 

No fair touching a quilt without gloves on - fingers (especially hundreds of them) have oils that leave a residue on quilts.  So, to protect the quilts, you should not touch.  Pointing, and oohing is allowed though.

I'll be sharing some of the pictures I took as I walked around helping people.  Here are two similar quilts that I thought were interesting - they show a distinct difference in stitch design.

This was a quilt made by Nancy Kimery called "Unterwaschockstellungs", which was hand pieced and machine quilted.  I count nearly 400 separate pieces on the front.

As you can see by this closeup, there are curved pieces to fit together - but they all have the same shape - either placed vertically or horizontally. The pattern is traditionally called an "apple core quilt", but the name on this one is really fun - German for underwear crotch, because that's what the shapes resemble!

Now, here's another "apple core" quilt, which was made by Camilla Picard, called "Memories".

Again, hand pieced because it is easier to do all the curves that way.  But, the reason I noticed this one is because the hand quilting is done about 1/4" inside each shape.

So, I like this one too - because the shapes are emphasized by the stitching. 

Either way, that's a monumental amount of hand piecing.  But a great way to use up scraps!

As a volunteer, I spent a lot more time than usual looking at the quilts.  Instead of a quick hour, I saw the same quilts, over and over - front and back.  That's when I really began to appreciate not just the quilts that were "show stoppers", but the "simple" ones too.

Amazing to me how each quilter interprets a pattern that has been done for decades, by their own use of fabrics, stitching and title.