Bright Idea, Poorly Executed!

I had a really good idea at a Demo last year. I can't remember what the Demo itself was about, but I was talking about using fusible interfacing to stabilize fabrics that were too drapey for traditional pieceing. ("Drapey" is not likely the proper adjective but I like it and I suspect you will know exactly what I mean!)

I remember thinking "Why couldn't you do the same thing if there was a fabric you wanted for a border but you wanted to cut it on the bias?" We quilters all know what would happen if we cut a bias border (not binding, border) and sewed to our quilt tops! But why not fuse a very lightweight interfacing to the back of the fabric prior to cutting the bias strips? As long as the borders aren't too long that should make them stable enough?

I found the perfect fabric to test my theory - a beautiful festive plaid by Nancy Halvorsen of Art to Heart which I liked best on the bias. In addition to my half metre of fabric I purchased a half metre of lightweight fusible interfacing.

I decided to begin with a small project - a Christmas ornament to be precise. I needed one more sample for an upcoming ornament class and this fabric was inspiring me in all sorts of directions. I fused the interfacing to the fabric, determined how wide the borders should be and made a few cuts. It was easy to cut through but when I lifted the first strip it started to curl slightly on the sides, as all bias-cut strips do. Uh-oh!

I gently tugged on each end and there was as much give with the interfacing as there was without. Then it hit me. Like a rock. I had used a woven interfacing and should have used one that wasn't. I had some so I fused it to a different piece of fabric, cut a strip and was pleased to see my theory was correct - the right interfacing made all the difference.

And here is the result:

My closeups still need a lot of work but you get the idea, especiall if you click on the photo and look at the enlarged version.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with my half meter that is fused to the wrong interfacing!

Let The Fun Begin!

My Fall Session of classes is the busiest I have ever had! Good thing I don't have a full time job... seriously though, I think it will be great fun and I am most looking forward to the Christmas Cupboard series of classes. In case you don't know about it yet I have come up with a plan for both decorating your house and having gifts to share! We're starting in the Living Room in October and from there to the Dining Room in November. December is all about ornaments and gift bags and tags - great last minute gifts and wonderful ways to present them!

Each class has several projects you will work on plus a bonus project where you will get the instructions but won't actually work on it in class time. And of course, each has a tasty treat to nibble on while you work! You'll not only get the recipe, but since we have teamed up with Culinary Inspirations next door, you will also get a discount card to save on the featured ingredient if you wish to purchase it from them. So, let the fun begin!

And just to tantalize you a little, below is the bonus project for the Gift Wrap Class - it's a door hanger to keep all away while Santa's Elves are busy in the workshop!

Come and join us,

I promise it will be more fun than you can imagine!

Notoriety

I am notorious for being over ambitious! My family seems to have gotten used to it over the years; perhaps they have simply realized I come by it honestly! My mother can never do one thing at a time - she generally has at least five, and often ten, tasks that are in progress and being attended to regularly. I am the same.

I am presently knee-deep in samples for my Christmas Cupboard Classes. Literally knee-deep. I finally had to stop this afternoon and put some things away as there was not a bare surface to be had, not even six square inches of a bare surface! I finished the wall hanging and centrepiece bag yesterday and today I made the napkin rings and am busy working on the ornaments. The first two are already down at the shop so I will take some pictures when I work tomorrow and get them posted.

Now I am on to the ornaments, which are fun to make but as it has been for everything, I am designing as I go and that is making it all take so much longer! I have two completed, one almost finished and the idea for another rattling around in my head. I am thinking I want three and then variations on each - makes the class more interesting if there are lots of options. It just makes it way more work getting it all pulled together but I think I just might have them all done for tomorrow.

Then it's on to Bags and Tags!!!

Lovely Linen

As promised, here is a picture of my new inspiration!

I am trying to be more creative with my photography and this is my first "staged" photo .... nothing fancy but these are some of my special treasures and I thought they deserved more!

The fabric is a linen rayon blend with a very fine pinstripe, the linen thread is by DMC, antique Parisian buttons from French General, antique crocheted lace and twisted cording in various shades of an elusive colour that changes with the light. All are very subtle which is perfect for me!

I have no idea whatsoever of what they will become, or even if they will be in it together, but they do inspire me!

Something New!

I haven't done a lot of serious needlework lately; quilting has definitely become an all-consuming interest of mine, but.... I was in Kelowna the other day and found DMC linen thread and is it lovely! (I promise to post a picture later - I have to work at my other job today!)

It's so odd because as soon as I saw it I knew it was linen. It's kind of like an internal linen radar I have - I can't resist it whether it's old or new, thread or fabric, 100% or blended with cotton. Must be an addiction!

So now it's on my wish list for the Sewing Basket to carry in our needlework section but first I must create something splendid with the skeins I purchased so we can show people how it looks stitched. I try, they buy!

This & That

Well, as promised, here it is! I have had a busy, busy day and am happy to show you what I have been up to. This is the Gypsy Rose fabric line again but this time a This & That pattern.

My machine has been acting up a bit lately - tension problems you know but I fiddled with it long enough that I finally got it all sorted out and we were down to business. Cleaning, oiling and adjusting the bobbin case seems to have taken care of all the issues and this runner is finished and the other one is now all quilted and washed (it's a frayed edge design) and is just waiting for the binding and the buttons. I spent a happy 30 minutes rooting through my button box but don't have anything that is just right so I will have to check out what we have at the store tomorrow when I work. I love my button box but it is filled to overflowing and I have had to store some outside of it lately. Somehow that just seems wrong! I think I will have to conjure up some button projects to make way for new ones...

Gypsy Rose

When I was a little girl I dressed up as a gypsy for Hallowe'en one year and it was my favourite costume of all. When I saw the name of this fabric line by Fig Tree & Co. a definite feeling of nostalgia set in and I knew I had to do something with it. A charm pack later and here is the start of it!

The pattern is by The Button Bush and goes together in a snap but it certainly was fun playing with the colours and figuring out what square to put where. (It kind of reminds me of doing jig saw puzzles!)

Anyway, I liked it so much and now another charm pack later and I am in the midst of another runner, this time by This & That Pattern Co.; these little things certainly are addictive! Although I jumped the gun and posted a picture of the first one before it's even finished I will wait until I have the second done before I post it - right now it's pin-basted and waiting for quilting.

Did I mention they are samples for the store and I want to take them in when I work tomorrow? Enough writing then!

The Perfect Fabric

Today at work I was on a quest for the perfect fabric - for myself of course! After I made the new version of the star block into a table runner I decided I needed to make a blue version as well. The design lends itself to the idea of snowflakes and so replacing the red parts with blue ones seemed like a splendid idea. That is, until I realized I did not have enough of the background fabric for one more runner. (Actually, I don't have enough left for one more anything!).

It is a Fairy Frost fabric (has a nice ring to it doesn't it?) and has just the right amount of soft grey smudges on a pearlescent ivoryish white to make it the perfect background fabric for those two new Christmas fabrics by In The Beginning that I just love. No problem I thought - I'll get more on Thursday when I work in the shop. No problem alright - the bolt was gone!

There is nothing quite like searching for a specific fabric in a quilt shop - as soon as someoneone asks what you are looking for, everyone within earshot joins in the hunt. We trudged upstairs to the office, and down to the work room, tore into the piles under the counter,rifled the fat quarters, and sifted through the remnants, all to no avail. It was gone, long gone. A heavy sigh and shoulder shrug later and I moved on as all quilters do -" if not that fabric, then what?" And the search for what I knew to be perfect became the hunt for what might be.

Like actors vying for a part in a play there were a few auditions - "Too grey, too dull, too yellow, too dark" and after a while you start feeling like Goldilocks - until, the right one comes forward. What starts as the smoothing of wrinkles becomes the ritual of petting and a new star is born; a quilter has just found the new perfect fabric and the possibilities are endless.

Design Dilemmas

For the past three days I have been busy working on projects for my Christmas Cupboard classes - and since I want all the projects to be of my own design I have a lot to do! I decided to start with the table runner (as that will likely be the biggest project in the series so I want to get it out of the way first) and thought stars/snowflakes. Below is a photo of the first rendition of the block design; I was very happy with it on paper but not so much once it was sewn. It seems more like a cross than a star and while pretty enough, not at all what I was after.

Version 1

So back to the drawing board, literally! I wondered how it would look if I took the red star points further up the square, rather than having them meet up with the small black squares. A few line erases later and quick pencil sketch and a much better design emerged. The star is very "starry" and pointy and the block looks more dramatic.

Version 2

In the red colouration it looks starry but I think I will rustle one up in blue and bet it will look more like a snowflake.

It's amazing to me how much more I like the second version and the only difference was extending the star points. I just wish I could have seen it when I was at the sketch stage, but I was in denial and had to sew all three before I finally admitted to myself that I didn't like it! Designing for me is often a two steps forward, one step back kind of process and just once I would like a bee-line!

In For A Penny

This is what started it all - for years I have wished for my own business but several things have held me back, not least of which was picking a name. How can one word sum up a whole intention?

One day in my sewing room I was thinking about our trip to France and how much I like the French language and what fun I had trying to remember everything I had learned in school when "recherche´" popped into my head. It was a true "A-ha" moment. Recherche´ means (among several meanings) to seek that which is special and that is what I have tried to do for years with my needlework. A doodle on a post it note later and I had the name - and from that followed clarity. You see, it wasn't just a name, it was also a definition, and there is an old saying that when you name something, it becomes real.

Serendipity lead me to a young woman named Lauren who designed the banner you see now, and a button which I am in the process of trying to add. I think you will agree she has done an amazing job with my request and I am thrilled with the look she has created. The snail is her own drawing and you can see him just behind the lettering on the right. There is of course a story there...

When Marc and I were on our trip to France last year we went for walks in the evenings while staying in Provence. That was the time of day the snails would leave the grass and vines and venture forth onto the warm roadways. Marc was quite concerned for their safety (a valid concern considering the number of snail fatalities we came upon!) and so he would gather them up and gently toss them back to the grass. There were so many there was no possibility of saving them all but we did develop a fondness for the little creatures through the effort of trying to save them!

Anyway, they are quintessentially French and are evocative of "slow" and I thought an appropriate symbol of what needlework and quilting are for me - an outlet of creativity that allows me to take the time to make things that are truly special where the process is more important than the final product (in snail talk that would be the journey matters more than the getting there!).

And so that is how recherche´ came to be.

And there is more to come...

A New Look!

I don't have time this morning to go into detail as I am working at the shop today, but.... my blog has a new look! 

I'll explain everything in tonight's post - I just couldn't wait to add my lovely new banner!

I'm So Excited!

Today is a busy day; I have to start nailing down the projects for my Christmas Cupboard  classes as well as the corresponding recipes. I am making pretty good progress in narrowing things down, especially as we have cut down the number of classes. I am hoping to try out a few new techniques I am developing that will make things much easier for the fiddly little ones and one involves freezer paper - just another way to combine quilting and the kitchen! (And no, it isn't applique...)

I have to come up with a runner, cards, ornaments, gift bags and table decorations and get the samples finished by the end of August. Yikes! (I promise to post pictures on here as I complete them) I am thinking the runner will be a type of snowflake runner so people can use it for winter rather than just Christmas. There is a strong trend in the design world toward that and I think it's a great idea, especially for us Canadians who "celebrate" winter. The rest will be quick projects with lots of variations so they will hopefully appeal to all levels. And if I hope to have all this done in just over a month I had best get busy...

Storage Solutions

There is a lot of discussion in the quilting world about how things are stored, especially thread. I have tried various spool racks over the years and spent too much time trying to figure out ways to keep the dust off and still have it visible. (I like to see the colours!) 

After spending a lot of money on these "trials" I finally found, what is for me, the perfect solution... candy jars. How appropriate is that? The colours come through and the thread remains dust-free; the jars decorate my sewing table with all the pretty colours contained inside. I have them sorted so one contains all my hand quilting thread and the other has regular sewing thread. When I am looking for a particular colour I just pick up the jar and twirl it around in my hands until I see what I am looking for and then fish it out. I haven't had any problems with tangling as I ensure that the ends are always tucked into the gripper on the end of the spool before dropping it back in the jar.

Aren't They Pretty?

I especially like them because they were cheap, look nice and solved the dust problem - one less thing to vacuum!

Yesterday I took a machine quilting class offered at the store by Chi Chi and in addition to thoroughly enjoying it, I learned a lot. She uses and teaches a Stop-Start method that certainly works for me - so well in fact, that I didn't even notice I don't have the needle down feature on my sewing machine! That has been a sore point with me since the first day I slid a quilt under the presser foot and started quilting. She also has a way of maneuvering and quilting large quilts on home sewing machines that I am anxious to try on the quilt I have been working on for my mother - it's 15 years in the making and has been at the quilting stage for 13 of them! I may just surprise her at the end of the month when she gets back from holidays....

In my last post I mentioned a give away so here we go. The first person that comes into the Sewing Basket on Friday, July 10 and tells me what method Chi Chi uses for machine quilting gets a gift from me!

By the way, the store opens at 9:00 am...

Making Progress

I have been busy today! Here it is, almost done. I have only to layer and quilt it - I think I will do a quick turn rather than binding and once I write out the instructions we can make the kits. It is of course much prettier in real life!

I like small projects like this as they work up fast, but since I was "designing" it (I am using that term loosely as it is adapted from another quilt pattern) there was some fiiguring things out involved. Really, just a perfect summertime project for all of you who would like to get a head start on Christmas things but aren't interested in tackling anything too involved. 

And now for a couple of new things. Firstly, although I have lots of ideas for the Friday Demos I would really appreciate hearing what you might like to see - so - leave suggestions in the comments (I promise to read them all) and if I use your idea you will get a gift!

Secondly, starting with the next blog, I will pose a question and the first person to come into the store on Friday and give me the answer will get a prize! (It has to be Fridays because that is the only day I work every week, and the question must be answered in person.) So - Friday July 10th will be the first one and we'll continue that throughout the summer. I think I'll call it "Fun in the Sun"...

Happy Canada Day!

Here it is July 1 and I should be thinking in red and white and instead I am thinking Christmas! A customer was in the shop a few weeks ago and loved the Holiday Chorus quilt we have hanging as a kit sample. "Wouldn't that make a lovely table runner?" she said. And we agreed. So..... I'm sure you know the rest of the story already.... here is the work in progress!

A Good Start!

So far I have completed the centre block and picked the two panels. I fiddled around for half an hour last night and again this morning trying to decide what to do with the setting triangles as the quilt pattern has some lovely piecing for that area but it creates awkward areas when making a runner. After much carry on I have decided that plain old triangles will be best and then I can mess with the border a bit. Unfortunately I don't have enough of the right fabric (and it is just right!) so the whole thing will have to wait until the store is open again tomorrow. The good news is that there is lots of the "right" fabric left; the bad news is I promised the customer it will be done for Friday. 

I suspect I will be busy, busy, busy tomorrow.

Oh, and I promised the pattern would be ready too! 

My Messy Sewing Room

Remember a few weeks ago when I said you should see my sewing room? What a disaster it is whenever I have a Demo in the offing? Well, a very good friend gave me her old digital camera so I could post pictures on here and so I am! Below is a photo of one corner of my room (it really doesn't do the mess justice...) showing my piles - they actually covered a space of about four feet by six feet and averaged 18 inches high throughout - and that was just one corner!

After much tidying!

It took several hours but the end result was well worth it and now I can create in comfort.

Speaking of creating, the store needed to know what I had in mind for teaching on the Fall schedule so I finally had to put thought to paper. Jill's Christmas Cupboard is a go and will have all sorts of classes covering items you might like to have in your Christmas cupboard to decorate your home for the holidays. We're partnering up with Culinary Inspirations (the cooking store next door to the Sewing Basket) on this as well so food will definitely have a place in the Christmas Cupboard as well! 

Summer Vacation Starts

No more Demos until the Fall - at least not official ones! My classes are finished until then as well so I really feel like I am on summer vacation... if I remember correctly though, when I was the a child, one of the first things we did after school was finished was play school! And so - you guessed it - I am still coming up with demo ideas. It may not be a bad thing though as I just might be supremely organized when September rolls around - unlikely, but maybe!

We are already mulling over the Fall classes as well as a possible Challenge. We have had many people asking about the next lineup of classes already so it sounds as though it will be a busy time. I have been thinking about what I would like to teach and may have come up with a plan. Yep, a plan albeit a rudimentary one, but at least it gives me a starting point. Let's just say "Jill's Christmas Cupboard" seems like an appropriate title! More to come....

Dandelion Girl

The next Demo is tomorrow and I am in high gear this morning! Diamonds have indeed made the final cut and they are certainly an interesting shape to work with - so much scope for design possibilities. The challenge was fabric choices, which I usually love to play with but frankly, I am a bit behind the 8 ball here!

I was thinking about what I should be doing (which was weeding - ugh!) and remembered a Jelly Roll I had bought last Fall called Dandelion Girl. As it was still intact (opened of course, but not used) I had a lot to play with and choose from. And have I been playing.... the first thing I should do when I get a camera is take pictures of  my sewing room the day before the Demo! 

New Skills

Today I am learning a new skill - how to post a picture on here - the only trouble is I don't have a digital camera as yet and so this is the only picture of one of my original designs that I have on my computer (sent to me via email courtesy of my good friend Val!). So, although this is not the season for this design of mine, I do think the blog needs colour - and now I am excited about this so I believe I am going camera shopping soon. Then I will be able post "teaser shots" of upcoming Demo ideas....

A Great Day!

Charm School was a great success - we had almost twenty participants, three separate demos (which naturally offered up way more than just three ideas!), lots of prizes and gifts, splendid desserts and -saving the best for a last - a "Buy One Get One Free" sale on Charm Packs, Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes! I'm especially glad about the sale because of course, now that we have sold so many, we have to get new ones!

Seriously though, the Challenge was great and the quilts were lovely; it really is amazing what you can produce with the pre-cuts! 

I am now thinking about the Fall and the classes I would like to teach. We have so many people ask about smaller projects for Christmas decorations and/or gifts so my thinking is going along in that direction. It might be fun to have something a bit more structured than a class (think "series"), and perhaps bring in some other aspects of the holidays (like baking!) to add to the fun. A series of classes would require a name, and Jill's Christmas Cupboard is coming to mind as a possibility. Might be more like Pandora's Box though..... I seem to have a bit of a knack for no sooner getting myself  through one "brainwave" and then immediately landing squarely in the next!

Busy As A Bee!

Every single time there is any hope of getting caught up (I gave up hoping to get ahead long ago and now strive for just getting caught up!) I go and get a new idea..... you would think I would eventually run out room in the old noggin but apparently not - at least not yet! Let me just say this one will require a huge amount of work and a lot of time to bring to fruitition, but might just end up being my best achievement yet! 

Charm School at the Sewing Basket is this Sunday and I am mustering up all the prizes, give aways and goodies. We have planned several project demos and everyone will get kits for each project - how great is that! (Really, it's just so I don't have to be alone with a growing "To Do" pile!) Jan has also hinted at an amazing sale for the participants and I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve!?!?

And of course, come Monday, it's on to the next Demo. I thought by now I might be stumped about what to offer up but as we all know in there is no shortage of new things in the quilting world. I found a new diamond ruler in the store as well as diamond-shaped papers, and may just have to prove that diamonds are indeed a girl's best friend. Stay tuned....

Onward!

One Demo finished and now preparing for the next... I have almost completed the first item - I have taken a pattern from Fig Tree Quilts (you have to come to the Demo to see which one!) and "re-arranged" it a bit - as I always like to do - and am very happy - it's a beautiful pattern;  Joanna at Fig Tree is a popular designer in the quilting world and we sell a lot of her designs.

Today was our Guild meeting and I came home with three library books (and I get to keep them for the whole summer!) and two have set me off on another course - we got some new rulers in the store and I have used two but am itching to get to the third - I will only say it involves triangles... and very colourful fabric!

It's also time to start thinking about Fall classes, if there is any hope of having completed class samples and I have several thoughts racing around the old noggin (don't you just love old words - they are soooo descriptive). I am thinking of a series.... stay tuned!

And - Charm School at the Sewing Basket is coming up on June 7 and should be a hoot. (With a vocabulary like that I may be in need of my own dose of charm!)  We have concocted some amazing ideas for using these addictive pre-cuts and will also be showing what we can do with a "Jelly Roll"! See you soon...

Sharing the Fun

I have been having such fun cruising the web and checking out different quilting websites so I thought I would add the links to my favourites and you-all can see for yourselves some of what is out there (most of them are American so you-all seems fitting!). 

Although I get inspired just from seeing what other designers are up to, it's their enthusiasm that I really enjoy. There is so much talent out there and wonderful websites; Happy Browsing!

Thinking Is Fun!

Well, I did it! - Followed through on my magazine cover quilt idea for the last demo and it went very well; a lot of discussion was generated and everyone seemed quite intrigued with the idea. I ran through the process from first finding the magazine and then how fabric selections were made. We discussed a little about how I would choose a design and then edit the fabrics if required. When designing from scratch you need to keep things fluid and allow the fabrics to speak out - at least once in a while!

I now have the result 3/4 finished and spread out on my sewing room floor. I had seen a design on the internet that I thought would work well, but as I drafted it out changes kept wiggling in so it now "resembles in part" what I first saw! I do wish my math skills were less "creative" and more "mathematical"  though.

I very much want to finish it in time for tomorrow because in this project, perhaps more than in most, the binding is integral to the overall look. And of course, I have several other ideas for tomorrow to bring to fruition...

Funky Flowers

It happened again - I worked at the store yesterday and got inspired by yet another Charm Pack! They are such addictive little things and I have done so many things with them but here I am with what I think is, of course, a really good idea - ha ha, we'll see! The fabric is what I call "Mod Squad" and makes me think of funky flowersfrom the sixties, so I have spent a pleasant hour crawling on the floor of my sewing room trying out different layouts and ideas. The fun is in the planning (I have been known to say that about every step of the process as I get to it!).

I am still on my magazine cover tangent and ideas are flowing; the colour scheme is worked out (still to be matched up to actual fabric though!) and a rudimentary design is coming to mind. I am trying to let the graphic design??? of the magazine cover lead me and it has already taken me to a few interesting places....

Best Intentions

Well, it's a done deed and I think it went rather well. People seemed to be the most intrigued with the folded hexagons (they are kind of like origami - I'll try just about anything with fabric!) so I must remember that for future ideas. But now, I must think of something new. I have spent the last few days tidying my sewing room, hoping I will either unearth something interesting, or find an idea or two. All I have come up with so far is a magazine I bought for the cover. Yes, it is true - I didn't care a fig about what might be inside; it was all about the cover and it's colours. Perhaps that could be a Demo???

It might be a stretch to explain it though, at least without people thinking I might just be in need of psychiatric help!

Inspiration Inspires!

What a day! First the Janome demo at the Sewing Basket, and what a demo it was? Who knew machines could do such a good job replicating the look of hand quilter? I must say I was most impressed and wish I wasn't so attached to my current machine....

I have had such fun getting ready for my own demo and have already amassed a little pile of treasures for tomorrow. Pincushions and sachets are such fun to make and I tried out the new rose maker from Clover. It was more than a tad frustrating on the first attempt but the second went better and I am eager now to give it another go. It seems kind of convoluted when you start but after one, it all makes sense! The sachets were fun too and it didn't take long before I was totally engrossed in them too. I dug into my ribbon treasures and found some leaves I made long ago - why, oh why, don't I do more ribbon work? 

Demo Madness

Two evenings before my next Demo at the Sewing Basket and ideas are running rampant! I'm thinking it should be a "Girly Demo" with all things floral - Grandmother's Flower Garden, dimensional flowers, sachets etc. As usual, my penchant for combining patchwork and stitchery will be a factor so it should be fun. I'll update on that "after-the-fact".

Also, I went on a hunt today for ground walnut shells to stuff pin cushions with,, and after several attempts, managed to procure the last bag at the local pet shop. Apparently it is used in reptile cages, so in deference, I will think about making a lizard for one of the pincushions!