Quilting Trends for 2023 on Off the Wall Friday

Me stitching in my studio watching the Mentalist...again

Okay, let's face it.  I'm not one for following trends.  I'm the type that decides what is good for me and mine and then goes in that direction.  I do, however, keep track of trends, just because it's good to stay informed.  I recently got Timna Tarr's latest newsletter and it mentioned that handwork is becoming more of a trend on the national scene.  That I can see.  You hear of handwork everywhere these days.  First English paper piecing made a resurgence with the Millefiori Quilts and Grandma Garden quilts leading the way.  The Daily Stitching Groups online have gotten quilters from all over stitching a little every day.  Plus every where you look you'll see quilters trying Big Stitch hand quilting.  On top of that, Sarah Fielke's Homeward Bound (the BOM designed for the Quilt Show) is bringing hand applique back in a big way.  I've read so many times on the BOM forum that there is a whole group of quilters that this is their first attempt at hand applique.  (For that matter there is an article on needle turned applique in the current issue of American Quilter).  

Personally, I think it was inevitable.  Normally trends are cylindrical right?  Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry broke the quilt world into machine quilting by winning Best in Show at Paducah for Corona 2: Solar Eclipse.  back in 1989 (Click on that link to see how she designed it - wow super fascinating)  It just went from there.  The internet really helped with youtube videos showing everyone how much they could push their domestic machines.  THEN came the advent of long-arm quilting which gave quilters an easy way to get all those quilt tops finally quilted.  BUT thirty years later, there is still a segment of quilters that love the slow methodical feeling of handwork.  It's cheap, it's portable, and it's soothing.  Plus there is a whole generation of quilters who haven't tried it.  So now it's back.  

This brings me back to the point that apparently I am officially "In". Who knew?  I do want to mention that when I started quilting in 1992, it was basically mandatory that you learn hand skills including hand quilting and applique. But I really loved it since I came from a cross-stitching background.

This month my work has been all dominated by handwork, so much so that my hand ached after a 10 hr day of it.  

I finished up my foray into appliqueing circles by completing this month's section of the Homeward Bound Quilt.  I want to say that none of the circles came perfectly circular but all the stitches were definitely invisible.  That 100-wt Invisafil thread is The Bomb!  I do think that if I ever do more applique circles, I will invest in the Applipops 'cause I want my circles to be perfectly circular.  

One thing Sarah clued me in on was how handy a sandpaper board is for tracing on fabric.  I did save the $20 and had Paul make me one with fine grit sandpaper.  It really does smooth out your lines when you are writing on fabric!

You can see how my circle templates came in handy...again.  If you don't have a set of drafting circle templates ... BUY some!  I can't tell you how many times I used them over the years for all sorts of things.  

Plus I'm still quilting on my Rain Rain quilt.  I have switched to a Size 5 crewel needle and it works fine.  Not only is it MUCH EASIER to thread but it's much stronger than the size 8 or 9.  I also pulled out some of my #12 pearl cotton to get a bigger color range.  I love the added line the quilting adds.  Normally with hand quilting, it's all about adding texture.  But with Pearl cotton, it actually adds an element of line that wasn't there before.   If you haven't tried big-stitch quilting, try it!!  Haven't you heard?  It's in!  (grin)

see, the pearl cotton makes it look like it's raining!

The News of the Day

After much hmmming and hawwwing, I picked out my annual creating vacation.  I'm going back to Marc Adams School of Woodworking to take Timna Tarr's Stitch Mosiac Class again.  It was so much fun last year, that once I really started thinking about it there wasn't anything else I'd rather do. 

You can read all about how much fun we had last year ... here .   It was so much fun two of my classmates are joining me to repeat the class.  If you haven't heard, Timna has a new book out on her very approachable technique of creating a mosaic pictorial quilt.  

If you are looking for a fun way to spend a week, please consider joining us in the class.  It runs July 17-21st of this year.  Also, there is affordable housing offered by the school OR hotel rooms are close by that are pretty inexpensive too.  Indiana as a whole is an affordable friendly place to visit.  I mean, gosh, this is what I made last year....

So is anybody else getting back to handwork?

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Works in Progress on Off the Wall Friday

Really I have no idea where the week has gone!  I've been working all day and then stitching for a few hours every night.  One thing I can say is that being this productive really doesn't make for really interesting blogging!  (sorry!) So I thought  I would just show you the progress I've made on my three main projects!

Project I - Homeward Bound BOM  Quilt - Month 2

OMGoodness!!  How could it take me this long to hand applique these little suckers?!?  When I first started quilting (BT - before Tessa), I would do hand applique blocks in the evenings and just slowly work my way through them. Now I have a deadline though and I need to get them done by the end of February.  I'm over halfway through and little by little my circles are getting smoother.  It's all in the way you press them AND the way you hand applique them.  But I do like how it's coming and I was sooo right...changing the color palette sure gives the quilt a different mood!  You can see the original palette here!  And this is my palette - eggplant, turquoise, red-orange, yellow

Cool Right?!?

Project II - Big Stitch Quilting Rain, Rain  

Putting my quilting frame in the little den off the kitchen (also known as Tessa's den) was one of my

better ideas.  Whenever I have a little block of time, I sit down and get more quilting in.  Plus I put the old TV  in there and have been watching favorite shows as I quilt at night.  It's fun.  It's out of the way but not too out of the way so I feel isolated.  In the past, I would set it up in the family room and it always seemed in the way.  Now it has its own spot.  I mean why own a 14 room victorian if you can't give your quilting frame its own room right?  Anyways as you can see my big stitch quilting is really "In-between" quilting.  I've given up totally trying to retrain my stitches to a quarter inch and just let them go naturally a bit bigger with the choice of pearl cotton and a bigger needle.  It's fun to see how the line of quilting really has a big impact on the quilt. Now the quilt finally seems like it's raining!   Plus,  it's super satisfying when it's time to roll the quilt because I finished another whole line.

Project III - Dressing/Fabric Room

This really isn't my project....it's Paul's. But GOSH!! What a difference!!  It makes me think why didn't we do this earlier.  He's so sweet though.  He includes me in the plans.  So when he started talking about how much the new shelving wood would cost, it was in the same conversation about how the big old church pew was in the way of his woodshop.  The pew came from his home church and they were going to throw it out so Paul rescued it.  I suggest upcycling it to become my new shelving.  The wood is so gorgeous, already finished, and of course heavy duty!  So that's what he did.  He cut up the pew and it's going to make the nicest shelving!  I love upcycling.  So we are getting closer and closer to putting everything back in.  (This dressing room sits in the once attic of my house - off the master bath that is up there.  It's accessed through stairs in my master bedroom)

The Before:

The So-Far!

 Yes, the Sayre's have been busy!!

(Linking with Slow Stitch Sunday since I'm doing so much stitching!)

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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Homeward Bound BOM Month 2 on Off the Wall Friday

 

Ya know, even though I don't put much belief in astrology, I can totally see myself fitting nicely under

the sign Gemini.  It's like two people living in my head.  This week it was totally pointed out to me...again.  For the last few years, I've been busy in my quilt studio designing original work and creating it with my Janome.  This month, I've become totally obsessed with the exact opposite.  I have two, yes count 'em two, pattern quilts going at once both mostly done by hand.  Well to be fair, Rain, Rain started out as a patterned quilt and grew into a scrap monstrosity.  Plus, I'm fully committed to the Quilt Show's Block of the Month quilt, Homeward bound.  

So what I learned this week....

FINALLY, I learned how to thread 8 pearl cotton into a #9 crewel embroidery needle.   After much experimentation, I've been using the method I learned from Spruce Crafts.  You pinch the thread between your pincher finger and thumb with just a bit of thread showing.  Then you lower the eye of the needle onto that little bit while you push up the thread.  It doesn't work 100% on the first time,

photo from Spruce Crafts but it shows exactly how I was able to do it.

but it's been working better than anything else has!  I don't know how people can thread their #8 Pearl cotton so easily but I've had a hard time.  I also decided that my favorite needle is Colonial

embroidery needle #9.  It's sharp and thin enough to hold about 3 rocking stitches but I can still thread the eye.  I've been quilting 1-2 hrs a night and I'm still on my first needle so that's saying something. 
I'm quite sure what I'm doing is not really considered big stitch quilting but it's not little either.  So I guess it's in between quilting.  I do like getting my needles from the Colonial site because they have a great selection to choose from! I don't know about you, but I've had a hard time finding good quality needles anymore in the stores! BOY!  I've really been enjoying being back at my frame.  I'm working my way through the Mentalist (again).  I think tonight Patrick will FINALLY get Red John. 

For my studio time, I've been working on the block of the month quilt which apparently is all hand applique.  I finally have mastered Sarah Fielke's method of making bias stems.

Then today I tackled making circles using templates and tin foil.  I don't think I've ever made real templates in my whole 30 years of being a quilter!  What I ended up doing was using Kay Buckley's perfect circles to make cardboard templates.  Then you trace the circle on the wrong side of the fabric and cut an approximate quarter inch around it.  

Then you make a tin fabric-cardboard template sandwich wrapped in tinfoil...and press.  

  Now when  Sarah does it they come out perfectly.  As you can see I am going to need a bit of practice. Actually, the last ones came out better than the first ones.   I think part of the reason is my cardboard templates are perfectly circular so I might have my husband try recutting them for me.  With something like 130 circles to go I should get in some practice!

The thing that is working is Wonderfil's 100 wt invisafil thread.  I've been using light and dark grey and it disappears into the fabric.  Plus it stitches up nicely without tangling.  LOVE IT!!

So the traditional side of this Gemini was hard at work this week....

What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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Found: Stitch Samples on Off the Wall Friday

 

This week I've continued on with the spring cleaning of my dressing room which houses the clothes I don't wear all that much and the stash that I don't use that much.  When I say "That Much",  up until I started this it's been a long while since I had been in there.  The clothes have been easy.  So far 12 13-gallon bags have gone to the Salvation Army.  Apparently, when you work for a women's clothing retailer you tend to accumulate a lot of clothes.  Now the stash, well that's another story.

I've been coming across all sorts of stuff that I ... #1 Loved but didn't know what to do with ... #2  Hate but know I'll need it eventually and  #3 Totally forgot I owned or where it originally came from.  It's kinda scary the stuff you accumulate over 30 years of quilting.  So I'm making piles.  

One of the piles is actually one that I will need quite soon.  

In three weeks, I leave for Marc Adams School of Woodworking to take an art quilting class.  Part of the supply list are scraps over 2".  Now I thought I had made an honest effort over the years not to keep too many scraps. But, I keep finding little baggies and boxes of them.  Apparently, "Honest Effort" is all relative.  Right now they are all sitting in a large laundry basket...yes you read that right...laundry basket waiting to get sorted into some kind of semblance of order.  More on this in the upcoming weeks.

One thing I found that was interesting was the box of weird experiments.  I found these stitching blocks that I was playing with.  I just took the odds and ends scraps I had and started stitching them, playing with the texture and line.  I thought they were kinda cool but had no idea what to do with them.  I also found a box of what I call Lost Blocks.  These are leftover blocks from bigger projects, or starter blocks that I didn't like, or blocks I traded that weren't my deal.  

Truly I can see this project taking me all summer.  And yes I'm taking pictures.  

So What Have You've Been Up to Creatively?

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Embellishing @ John C. Campbell on Off the Wall Friday

 

Jennifer Reis stitching her latest piece

First of all, I want to apologize for taking a break from blogging.  I've have been having some health issues this summer which I think are finally behind me!  Still they didn't stop me from making the 11 hour trip to John C. Campbell Folk School.  After getting cancelled out of two - YES TWO! - classes in 2020, I wasn't going to miss this year.

This time, I was lucky enough to snag a spot in Jennifer Reis' Embellishment class.  We spent the week first learning (or refreshing) all sorts of hand stitched embroidery skills and embellishments.  In fact, we learned so much that first day, my head was spinning!  After that we could work on our piece.  Luckily I had brought a piece I had made in Emily Richardson's class in 2019 which was perfect to embellish and stitch down.  Little did I know that I would only get about 20% of it done in 3 days!  Handwork is inherently slow, but me feeling not my best made it even slower.

Not to mention, I spent the week whiny, which is NOT my norm.  Normally, John C. Campbell is my happy spot.  This year...not so much.  Due to on-going blight on our life, we had to wear masks in all buildings including class.  Our class was limited to 7 people, all of which  had to social distance at least 6-10 ft apart behind ... plexiglass!  So here we are hand stitching all week in this big beautiful studio masked up, behind plexiglass and too far to talk comfortably.  It led to a week of silence.

 

 

You thought I was exaggerating right?!?

Meal times which normally are a time to socialize and get to know your fellow artisans were also socially distanced behind plexi glass.   People were scattered across campus to eat.  The food was great
though but it wasn't nearly as good as it would be  with some good company.  

See I'm whining again just thinking of it.  Jennifer's class was great and I would highly recommend it if you would like to learn a new twist on hand work.  She's a great teacher but really one of the few highlights of the week  is that she's a great lady.  She always brightened my day.  

 

Also the campus was as beautiful as ever.  In August, it wasn't unbearably hot with plenty of seats in the shade.  We stayed at the Rock House which was treat!  Our room was spacious and really, really comfy.  

Detail of Jennifer Reis work in progress

Maybe it's because I work from home but I wasn't used to wearing my mask for such long periods of time.  Nor was I ready for Covid to dominate so many conversations.  As we left for the week, you could see how hard North Carolina had been hit with restaurants closed for Covid cleanings.  Sad.

Anyways, I am feeling better everyday and ready to get back after my piece.  Jenn managed to spark my love of handwork.  But the biggest thing I learned from the experience is that although I go to John C. Campbell's to learn, the real draw for me is the socialization.  I mean I can work in silence at home as well as eat dinner every night with my husband.  I go there to be with people who understand what I do and why I do it.  That was really what I was missing this trip.  Hopefully next time we'll be back to normal!

So What Have You've Been Up to Creatively?

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All About Hand Sewing Needles - Off the Wall Friday

 Ever since I was 7 and I got my first hand sewing kit from my Aunt Bert, I've always loved the way the needle felt going through fabric,  Plus they are so fine but strong and lethal.  I'm sure there is a good essay in there on how historically women have mastered a tool like the needle .... refined, graceful yet can draw blood....So let's talk Hand Sewing Needles!

Have you ever gone to buy needles and are faced with a plethora of choices?  So many sizes, names, companies....What's a girl to choose?  

Okay let's talk basics!   You want to choose a needle that fits the job AND the size of the thread you are going to use.  So needles are broken down into categories and number sizes.  The  BIGGER the number, the SMALLER the size of the needle (and the needle eye).  Normally you can buy packets in categories that either have an assortment of sizes or all the same size.

Although there are A LOT of categories - here are a few common ones that a textile artist should use sooner or later....

SHARPS

All-purpose needles with nice sharp fine tips and one of the thinnest needles.  Normal sized 1-12.  Good for all general sewing except on maybe thin or delicate fabric.

BETWEENS/QUILTING

Short length needles make it easier to take small precise even stitches for traditional hand quilting.  Sized - 1-12

MILLINERS/STRAWS

Longer and thinner than sharps, these are used for decorative stitches, pleating.  Also a lot of English

Paper piecing and applique work since the tips are super sharp and super fine.  Sized 1-11

TAPESTRY/CROSS STITCH

Blunt thicker needles with wide eyes that will accommodate yarns or embroidery floss.  These needles will work nicely on any kind of lose weave fabric.  Sized 13-26

CHENILLE 

These are the sharper cousin to the tapestry needle. So these will also work with yarns and floss but sharp point will make it easier to get through tighter courser fabric.  Quilters are now using these for big stitch quilting.  Sized 13-24

EMBRODIERY/CREWEL 

Very similar to sharps, these have a larger eye so they can be used in embroidery and needle craft. Sized 1-12

BEADING

Very long, fine needles with long eyes for...wait for it ...beading.  Sizing of these can be very important so that they will fit the specific beading or embellishments you are working with.  Size 10-15

And THAT's just a few !!!

You can see how picking the right needle for the job you're doing can get confusing!!!  Not to mention, not all needles are created equal AND the availability can get tricky too!!  Like anything, your choice in needle is very personal but since this is my blog I thought I would share what  I use.

For Applique, EPP, and binding quilts ... I use Richard Hemming & Son  large eye Sharps 10 .  I love, love these needles.  I always try other brands and other kinds and I keep switching back to these. Yes, I've tried Milliners which I do love for how sharp and fine their points are but my fingers can't get used to how long they are!!

For Traditional Quilting  - I have a box of Clover Size 12  - that I am working my way through (for the last 25 yrs) I can't honestly say what their quality is now since I bought the box of packets so long ago, but after trying many other hand quilting needles, I keep going back to my Clovers.

For Cross Stitch ... I use John James 26 ... I don't  do any cross stitching any more but I did do a TON at one time so you never saw me without size 26's!

Normally, I pick up needles from a vendor at my favorite quilting conference.  I can't get them locally and I won't even talk about needles I see in the stores here.  But this year, with COVID, pushing it ways into every aspect of our lives (even hand sewing needles), I had to come up with a new plan.  I found that The Colonial Needle Company had an excellent website.  It just so happens that AQS has a cool deal of 25% off of $25 with the code AQS2525 (I just ordered from them recently and was very happy with the transaction).  As always, I am not affiliated with them in any way (nor will I EVER monetize this blog).  Once I started looking, there are nice web pages out there for John James and others.  

Okay, I'm sure this is WAY more than you need to know about needles but it basically comes down to this - 

1.   Think of the job you're doing
2.   Think of the thread you're using 
3.   Think of the fabric you're going through

I highly suggest you find your favorite all around needles and keep a half dozen packets of them.  They aren't expensive and you can grab a new needle as soon as yours becomes blunt or bent (or lost in the couch!) Also, I suggest having assorted packs in other types of needles that you use occasionally so when can use the right needle for the right job.  Nothing is worse than trying to play the struggle monkey with the wrong needle!!

Thanks for sharing our guilty pleasures last week - they made me smile a TON!!  

 sOOOOOO.....what needles do you use?  Where do you buy them?

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Hand Stitching Inspiration - Off the Wall Friday

I'm a little talked out this week - but I've been studying hand 

   stitching for texture's sake.      Its amazing how the mark 

                            of Hand is so unique and interesting!   Creating line

            with a needle & thread seams just that much more

  personal than just doing it with a pen.

                              Each stitch is like a little piece of yourself.   
(These pictures are from my inspirational folder and not my own work)

So What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

 

Another Sign - Another Design Wall Monday

 

Now granted this is not the most colorful project I've ever done.  Usually it is the color that draws me to a project.  Maybe its because I live along Lake Erie and it tends to be gray here in the winter - very gray.  Still this Signs, Signs piece has captured my passion and I've been having a ball doing them.

I completed the "Field Close" this week  - along with the detailing on the other signs.  Its funny how some days at work I have a ton of time to stitch and others  my fingers are so busy placing orders that I don't even touch the needle.  Still most of the time I can get a few stitches in here and there.

I'm onto my 5th piece - the "End is Near" Guy.  This is a popular thought among some Christians I know.  Now, I wouldn't say that I'm one of them - since people have always thought that they lived in the decade of the second coming.  I mean, even the Disciples thought it.

And since the end of the world is not  near, I better make sure that I get crackin' this week because I have two deadlines that definitely are.  The Ladies need to be done by March 9th and Signs are due March 24th.

Do I always neeeedddddd to bring it to the last minute??

See More great design Walls at Judy's Patchworks!

A Learning Curve - Design Wall Monday

Why is there always a learning curve as you do a project?  I mean when I started this redwork piece it was because it was a simple little piece of stitching on the side  The next thing you know, its grown into this major art piece that takes over my quiet thoughts before bed when I should be thinking of getting some sleep.  Over the last two weeks I've formed the direction I want the quilt to go in - but now just to get it executed.

I mean - what could be simpler??  You just outline a drawing on fabric and stitch it using the lowly backstitch.   Any beginner stitcher can handle  right??  Well  it being me - of course not.  Even though I literally embrodiered for the first 20 yrs of my life (starting at the age of 7) nothing ever comes easily.

So what have I found so far??  First of all when doing redwork you need to use a crewel needle - I like size 18 - that has a pointy tip.  The tapestry needle doesn't work on cotton like it does on linen.  Also, the pretty DMC size 5 perle cotton I picked out (a nice khaki color) will not make the fine stitches I need for some of the sign lettering.  So I'll have to look through my stash of DMC floss (which I have tons and tons and tons of ) and find the right color for that.

 Ohhhh and yeah - did I mention the Saral transfer that I so painstakingly did last week faded midstream - sighhhhhh.  Yep - of course it did - so I needed to retrace that with a light mechanical pencil.

Anyways - I'm hoping I have all the kinks worked out of this project and it will be go a bit more smoothly from now on.  I'm working out the design of my second block which I will transfer this time using my light box - I'm going to go ole skol and use an overhead projector to make it larger first.    Also, my friend Sandy is coming today so we can brainstorm some of the surface designing I want to do for the background set of the pieces.   She's such a master with that kind of thing maybe she can save me the trouble of my normal trial error methods!


Hope you'll give a look at what everyone else is up to on Judy's Patchwork Times Design Wall Monday!

Redwork Patterning - Off the Wall Friday

Have you noticed how stitching has taken the fiber/Quilt world by storm?  Its like all of a sudden quilters have found their needles again and decided that its time to get back to the basics.

With that in mind, this redwork project has taken me by storm and its been hard to get  it out of my mind.  I haven't had that much time at work to stitch this week - go figure they actually want me to - well - work.  But still did get a bit of a start on the first block.




Anyways - so this is how I went about starting the project -

• Find my Saral transfer paper I bought at least 17 yrs ago
• Layer the transfer paper with Kona Cotton I bought on sale this week for $4.50/yd
• Tape my drawing on top - then trace over it with a pencil 
• It came too light
• Trace over it with a mechanical pencil without the lead - too light again
• Trace over it a third time with a metal hemming ruler (my mother's from 40 yrs ago)
• Worked great - started stitching with DMC Pearl 5 cotton - love it

Of course, I could have saved myself the time if I had just read Katrina's (at Acting my VintAge) post on her experiments  - finding that Saral did work fine but that Sulky's transfer pen worked the best.  Still she said she couldn't get a fine line with that and with my Saral it was nice and fine!

Anyways - I really do need to get back to the praise ladies and not let myself get side tracked again!

So what have you all been up to creatively?