Busy, but lovin' it!

Still in process..... Hmmmm....

I've kept very busy over the past couple of weeks. First, I'm still working on the quilts highlighted in the previous two blogs. The apple core charm quilt is proving to be a huge challenge, taking much, much more time than I first anticipated. For one thing, curved piecing of so many small pieces is not easy. For another, I'm not really liking the block setting at all, so I'm still working on it. Then, my temporary flannel-backed table cloth design wall released from the kitchen wall sometime during the night, and fell on the floor, completely covering the kitties' litter box. So you can probably guess the rest of the story: a little misplaced cat pooh and pee made a quick laundering of several affected blocks necessary. I now have a plan to rearrange the sewing studio very soon so that I can once again have a permanent design wall. I really, really miss having one that I can depend on to stay put.

Second, I put the final touches on a new lecture/trunk show last week: The Value of Value. The topic here deals with issues of color and value and how they work together to develop pattern and rhythm in our quilted creations. I'm including lots of quilt photo illustrations of my ideas, and samples of right and wrong choices of fabrics in quilts. (Yes, I've made all the mistakes so you don't have to!)

This program title is the result of lots of suggestions from friends and quilters that I put together something about how I choose colors for my quilts. The fact is that I almost always start with a black and white sketch before adding color to the drawing. No, I do not dream up quilts in their final colors. My designs start with an interesting placement of dark, medium and light values in the blocks before I determine color placement. 

Ode to Jo

Sometimes, soft contrast is what I want. I will lay out of bunch of fabrics, then eliminate the lightest values and the darkest values, and use the middle values. If I want high contrast, I will eliminate the medium values. That's exactly what I did for the Ode to Jo quilt that I will be teaching Saturday March 3 at Completely Quilted Quilt Shop here in Ponca City, Oklahoma with a finishing followup the evening of March 29.

Third, I was interviewed via the internet for a teacher of the year nomination for Willow Bend Creations new online quilt expo. This event will take place March 7-10, and it's all free! You just need to register ahead of time, and then check back during those dates. There are more than 10 national teachers nominated, and each of us will be featured in our interviews, and then we will be presenting short mini-workshops. I demonstrated briefly the construction of the block for the Eggplant and Tomatoes quilt from my Squares and Triangles book. Hope you will have fun at this internet event, and report back what you liked the best about it. One of the previews up this week on You-tube features well-known teacher Cara Gulati.

Fourth, there's the house. Next thing on the long list on remodeling items is the heating and cooling system. We've opted for a geothermal unit which means we are now waiting on the well drillers. Four-400 foot deep holes will be drilled in the front lawn, the driveway which we planned to replace anyway, will be pretty much destroyed in the process, and water pipes inserted in the holes and lines run through the existing air conditioning lines into the house, the AC will be replaced with the outside heat exchanger, and the inside heating unit will be replaced with a preheater for the water heater, and the auxillary heating unit, hepa filtration system and humidifier. Then the concrete people will come in, re-grade the front lawn, pour a new driveway, front entry, sidewalk to the back yard, and the new floor for the sunroom. Then the sod goes in for the front lawn, and I can begin planting my flowers and things again. Ken has promised me that the kitchen will get a new floor, and the sunroom will be finished before the summer is over. Whew! But when I think about what all we've already done, it is beginning to feel more like home. More pictures will be posted as the work progresses.

I also want to remind my readers that I am still offering the Ruthie's Stars free pattern with purchase of any other item from my website from now through the end of February, so check it out! AND, I still have openings for speaking/teaching engagements for this summer and fall. Contact me if your group/guild would like to make an inquiry, and maybe we can meet in person sometime in the near future.

String Quilts, again!

Sunflowers ©2011 Jo Weaver

Plaid Poppies ©2009 Elsie M Campbell

I love teaching workshops. Plain and simple.

My all-time favorite to teach is "String Quilts". Lots of times, workshop participants already own my book Scrap Quilts: String Quilts  book, and walk into class wanting to make a specific quilt patterned in the book. That is a good thing, because you pretty much know where you are going, and what your finished quilt will look like. After all, that's why I write pattern books.

But the best part of taking a workshop is that you can take what the teacher has done, and add your own twist to make your version of the instructor's pattern. And I highly encourage others to take my patterns and adapt them with their own original ideas.

That's exactly what Jo Weaver, who took my workshop in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas last summer, did. She liked the Plaid Poppies quilt from my book, but with a little input from me, she decided to adapt the pattern and make her Sunflowers quilt. Note the subtle differences and similarities between the two quilts in the photographs above.

Sunflowers were a perfect substitute subject because they, too, have long mostly straight stems in real life, and they come in a variety of sizes. The addition of gourds and pumpkin vines to the lower border and the wavy border are the perfect touch for Jo's gorgeous quilt. The dark border is a perfect contrast for the bright yellow sunflowers.

If you've ever taken a workshop from me, I love to get pictures of finished projects. Just e-mail them to me, and maybe your quilts will be included in a future blog.

Detail: Sunflowers ©2011 Jo Weaver

New One Patch Wonder plus 1.....

Beginning of my Evening Star quilt top!

Evening Star block plus corners

 I wanted another one-patch wonder to add to my list, and found this block: Evening Star (according to Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns). The triangles are all the same size 45° triangles which can be easily cut using any 45° star ruler. I'm sure it could be cut using any ruler with a 45° angle marking, but I didn't try it that way since my own star ruler works so quick and easy. (You can purchase one for yourself from my website, if you'd like. Look for the Wall Flower pattern. You have your choice of buying the ruler only. Add a note to your order, and I will include one of my lone star patterns for free.)

The following instructions will make a 15 1/2" finished block, depending on the accuracy of your 1/4" seam allowance. Because of how many seams are in the block, your block size may vary slightly from my measurement.

Put 5-6 layers of tape at 4 3/4" from tip of ruler

First, prepare your ruler. Cut 5 or 6 pieces of masking tape about 4" long and affix them to the ruler at exactly 4 3/4" from the tip of the ruler, making sure that the tape is straight across the ruler.

Next, cut fabric strips 4 3/4" x 18" (across the width of a fat quarter). Each strip will yield 8 triangles. I like to layer 4 to 6 fat quarters of fabric on my ironing board, add a little starch/water mixture to the layers, and press them dry. The starch serves to stick the layers together, and will hold them well for rotary cutting. I can cut pieces for 2 or more blocks at one time when layered like this.

Use tape on ruler as a guide to cut first triangle.

Align the tape cutting guide on the prepared ruler along one long cut edge of the 4 3/4" x 18" fabric strip. Using a rotary cutter, cut along both angled edges of the ruler. Rotate the ruler 180° and cut the next triangle. Continue rotating and cutting pieces across the strip. You should be able to get 8 sets of triangles across the strip.

Continue cutting triangles by rotating the ruler.

Now, arrange the triangles in 2 groups of larger triangles, as shown, with 4 triangles in each stack of triangles. Set one group aside.

Arrange triangles in 2 sets of 4, with 4 deep. Set one group aside.

 Measure and pin at the 1/4" seam allowance.

Fold the far right triangle onto the middle triangle, right sides together. Stick a pin through the first fabric layer exactly where the quarter inch seam allowances cross. Note: A 1/4" piece of blue tape placed on your left thumb can be used to help you determine where the seam allowance line will fall. Then stick the pin point through the second layer of fabric exactly where the seam allowances cross. Bring the two layers together and if you wish, pin the layers together. Note that a triangle of the lower layer sticks out beyond the top later. It is very important that this step be accurate, or your pieces will not go together nicely.

First step.

Add the lower triangle to the set. Make 4.

In a similar manner, stitch the far left triangle to the set, then add the lower triangle to complete the large triangle. Make 4 and set them aside.


PRESS SEAMS OPEN! This is important, because these seams will not nest. Pressing seams to one side will make subsequent matching of seams difficult. (Ask me how I know!)

Second set of triangles

Cut two 6" squares of the corner fabric, then cut them in half diagonally, to yield 4 corner triangles. Add them to the layout of the 2nd group of triangles, as shown.

Cut two 6" squares in half diagonally.

Cut 4 corners triangles 

Add corners to the layout.

Stitch this group together in the same order as before, then center and add the corner triangles, as shown.

Stitch group together in same order as before.

Center at stitch the corner triangles to the group.

Stitch with the triangle group on top.
Stitch exactly through seam intersection.
This preserves the star point.

Press seams open. You may choose to press the corner triangle seams toward the corners, but if you will be stitching the blocks together without sashing strips between them, you will want to press the corner seams open, too.

Lay out the triangle groups, alternating the corner units with the first sets, as shown.

Lay out the sets, alternating with corner units.

Stitch the units together into quarter blocks, as shown, carefully matching seams.

Stitch units into quarter blocks.

Next, stitch the quarter blocks into half blocks. Be very careful to match all seams, but especially the center seams. When stitched, the center seams should form a perfect 'Y'.

Stitch quarter blocks into half blocks.

Carefully match the center seams.

Center seams should make a perfect 'Y'.

Stitching halves into wholes.....

Half blocks will look like this.

Stitching the halve into the entire block poses some challenges: Matching all seams, but in particular, matching the center seam. If the center doesn't match perfectly, the center may cup in, or it may pooch out. For the center seams to lay flat, you must take care to match it. Follow this sequence of steps to match the center seams:

Use a single pin to match the center seams, as shown.

Bring the layers together on the single pin.

Then pin layers together on either side of the single pin.
Remove the first center pin.

Stitch up to the first pin. Remove it.
Then stitch to the second pin before removing it.
Stitching line should fall exactly at seam intersections.

Aha! I did it! Perfect!

Underside of a finished block.
Note: seams are pressed open.
You may trim pointy pieces off at this time.

Using a very large square-up ruler,
trim two edges 1/4" beyond the points.
Turn the block 180° and trim the
remaining 2 sides. Your trimmed block should be
approximately 16" square.

 And, here is the beginning of my Evening Star quilt top:

Don't you love it?

A reminder for readers: February special is a free Ruthie's Stars pattern with order of any book. I'll extend this offer to any order of the Star Ruler, too, of course!

One Patch Wonders in Process

Still working, working, working on the old house, and new quilts. So blogs have been few and far between. The newest project on the house: new shower floor, repairs to entry doors, repairs to two holes in the garage ceiling, (Someone apparently wasn't careful where they put their feet when working in the attic above the garage.) and more. The newest project in the sewing room: One patch quilts for a new book proposal. One patch quilts are sometimes known as "Charm Quilts", but not all one-patch quilts are charm quilts. The usually definition of a charm quilt is that it is made up of a single shaped piece throughout the quilt with each piece being cut from a different fabric. Most end up with well over 1,000 different fabrics in them.

Beginning of "Charmed, I'm Sure"©2010 quilt

My first charm quilt was made up of 4"-long kite shapes. I cut many, many of the pieces, then sorted them by color and value. Then 3 light and 3 dark pieces of the same color family were put in a ziploc baggie and these baggies were packed in my computer bag and the pieces were stitched by hand into hexagons. When I had a bunch of them constructed, I stitched them all together after playing with settings on the design wall. I was so surprised to discover that when arranged on the wall, the hexagons formed 60° triangles. It was attractive, but it would have been so much easier to have stitched the pieces together as triangles first, instead of hexagons.

My next charm quilt is in process. It is made from a patch shape known as 'apple core' or 'hatchet'. After cutting over a thousand 3" patches, I stitched them into four-patches, then the 4-patches were stitched into 9-patch blocks made up of 4-patches.

Apple Core 4-Patch

Curved piecing is requiring lots and lots of time, so I only have 13 of 30 blocks completed after several months of working on t hem. I am stitching them together by machine, and have found that it is only slightly faster than stitching them together by hand, but it is beginning to take shape. Here is one design option for these blocks. The jury is still out on whether I like this arrangement or not. What do you think?

Simultaneously, I am working on another quilt design in which the block is made up of 45° triangles in the center with right triangles for corners. This one has been a lot of fun, and is quite a bit quicker and easier than the apple core charm quilt. I will write the instructions for the new one, and publish it in the next blog sometime later this week. 

Detail of Ruthie's Stars quilt

In the meantime, I'd like to offer you a Valentine's Day special from now until the end of February: A free Ruthie's Stars pattern with the purchase of any one of my 4 book titles from my website: Love Knows No Season, Winning Stitches, String Quilts, or Squares and Triangles. Ruthie's Stars features 12 Lone Star blocks with heart appliqué motifs in the corners. You can make it scrappy or you can purchase yardage to make your version of this queen bed-sized quilt. I chose a pink and blue color scheme but used multiple fabrics to make it scrappy. 

Winning Stitches Video (Hand Quilting)

Well, here goes....we'll try uploading the video again with Safari. Looks like it will only take 30 minutes or more! (It took an hour and a half, and I had to upload to YouTube first, then blogger! Whew!)

There is no sound with this video, so don't worry about your computer sound not working. I usually narrate this live when presenting this video.

The video begins by showing you how to make the quilter's knot by wrapping a loop of thread around the point of the needle. Then the quilting process begins by popping the tiny knot into the batting layer. My needle enters the top layer only about 1/2" from where the line of stitching begins, and then the knot is popped through the threads of the fabric into the batting layer.

Please watch carefully how the underneath finger and the thimbled finger work together to control the movement of the needle through the quilt layers. First, the needle is inserted into the quilt layers vertically, than transferred to the thimbled finger and rocked horizontally and back and forth forming the stitches several more times. The thumb of the hand above the quilt layers works with the underneath finger to 'bend' the fabric around the point of the needle for each stitch and before the needle is pushed through the fabric layers. This rocking of the needle allows a stitch to penetrate all 3 layers creating an even stitch on both the top and bottom sides of the quilt. This stitch is intended to hold all three layers together with small, even stitches.

This process takes practice to perfect, the same as any other worthwhile endeavor. (Remember learning to play the piano? Practice, practice, practice makes perfect!) Do you have questions? Either ask them here, or refer to my book Winning Stitches. If you don't own a copy, you can get one for free with your purchase any item, even a $9 pattern, at regular price between now and New Year's Day from my website. It originally retailed for $28.95, so this is a BIG sale!

No video?

So sorry, I've been trying....Can't get Blogspot to recognize my quiktime video. Any suggestions out there? Thinking I may need to try YouTube, and then bring it back into Blogspot. Anyone out there ever done that?

Winning Stitches!

It's about time to get back to quilting topics here on my blog, so here we go:

I became well-known in the quilt world when I started winning awards for my hand quilting. After several top awards at international competitions, including the Mary Krickbaum Award for Best Hand Quilting and the National Quilt Association annual show, people began asking me to teach them how. Then came my book Winning Stitches that pretty much outlines everything from

So, anyway, I'm not going to start at the very beginning, but I would like to give you the 'ins and outs' of the actual quilting process. (Yes, pun was intended!)

First, you'll need a few simple tools: 14" quilting hoop, quilting thimble, quilting needles, thread, and a product I helped to develop Needle-Grip-Its. And of course, your marked quilt sandwich.

Under hoops

As far as equipment is concerned, you usually get what you pay for. You may be able to buy a hoop at Walmart for $5, and it will get you through maybe your first quilt. But quality is important if you intend to make more than one quilt.  In the photo above, I bet you can spot the quality hoop without a second glance. Yes, of course, the quality one is on the bottom. It is braced, and the wood is smooth. Take a look at more differences in the following pictures:

Quality upper hoop has larger wingnut

Quality hoop is smooth, no gaps

Quality upper hoop is staple-free and true

I've used the quality hoop since 1982! The cheap hoop broke in half shortly after these photos were taken.

Sewing thimble/quilting thimble

Next, you'll need a thimble. You won't need the expensive ones here, but you do need to know the difference between a sewing thimble and a quilting thimble. A quilting thimble will have a deep depression that allows you to control the needle while 'rocking' it. Your needle will simply slip off the tip of a swing thimble, making it impossible to get close, even quilting stitches.

Quilting needle, top. Sewing needle, bottom.

Third, choose a quilting needle. My preferred brand is the John James Gold'n Glide Size 11 Big Eye Quilting Needle. A quilting needles is technically called a 'between' whereas a sewing needle is a 'sharp'. The difference between the two is 1/4" in length with the quilting needle being shorter. This allows better control of the needle during the rocking process.

As for thread, my favorite is actually a sewing thread, Mettler Silk-Finish 100% cotton. It is strong enough for hand quilting, and fine enough that your stitches will look smaller and more even than heavier threads.

My favorite for hand stitching

Another product I love to use for hand quilting is Needle-Grip-Its. I use this product on my thumb and forefinger of my preferred hand to allow for easier gripping of my tiny needles, and on my underneath fingers to protect them from needle pricks.

Now you're ready to start! Begin by hooping the quilt. Remember not to pull the quilt tight in the hoop. It should be smooth, but have some play in it. The hoop is only to free up both hands to work together to create the stitch. Ideally, the quilting stitch will look the same top and bottom. Because the needle is a stiff piece of metal, it will not bend to stitch straight down and then straight up to create the perfect stitch. But fabric is flexible. So the idea is to bend the fabric around the point of the needle. To do this, you will stick the needle down in the quilt sandwich perpendicular to it, transfer the eye end of the needle to the end of your thimble, rocking the needle horizontal and bending the quilt sandwich into the vertical position before driving the needle through it.

I will upload and insert a video of the actual hand quilting process in my next blog. (I'm having some technical difficulties uploading my QuickTime video, and need some more expertise here.) In the meantime, you can get your hand quilting equipment out and get ready to practice your hand quilting stitches!


From now until New Year's Day, I would love to  send you a copy of my Winning Stitches book for FREE! Just order any one item from my website at regular price, even if that is only a $9 pattern, and I will include a copy of Winning Stitches in your package.