So Easy Quilts

January Embroidery Etc Club

2012-01-17T01:18:00.002-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's a new year and its time to get busy learning something new. Our members were busy over the holidays and a eager to share and inspire other. Look at the wonderful things our members made so far. Awesome!

Our topic this month was "Threads Demystified" and we investigated how threads were made, how to select the right thread for the job, and how to troubleshoot problems with breaking and shredding thread. I showed some videos from YouTube and from Superior Thread's Bob Purcell. We only covered a few of the videos, but here are the links to the videos and the handouts. I highly recommend that you view them. Having the right thread and the right needle can make all the difference in the world in the quality of your sewing, quilting, or embroidery.

1. http://www.ylicorp.com/PDF/A_THREAD_OF_TRUTH.pdf - I highly recommend you download the full handout from YLI Corporation's site for detailed information about thread sizing and manufacturing. The handout I gave out in Club contained only small excerpts from this valuable document.

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH_b3Heo48I - Have you ever wondered how thread is manufactured? This YouTube video show how cotton thread is made. It is fascinating to watch.

3. http://www.superiorthreads.com/videos/thread-therapy-with-dr-bob-educational-videos/ - There are 27 must see videos on this site given by Bob Purcell. These video clips consist of education from Bob's Thread Therapy seminar. Quality of thread, how thread is made, the important processing steps, and a host of answered questions are available for viewing. These videos are a MUST SEE!

4. http://www.superiorthreads.com/videos/thread-education-videos/ - There are 12 videos in this series from Superior Thread's educator Cindy Needham, award winning quilter, author, and the 2010 Machine Quilting Teacher of the Year, and an author. Check out the last two videos showing her trunk show. She takes old, vintage table linens and makes spectacular quilts with them.

We also had a guest educator during the Saturday session. Rochelle B. demonstrated how to glue on rhinestones using E6000 glue. Her daughter is a competitive figure skater and Rochelle makes all of her skating costumes. These stones do not easily fall off the costume as do stones put on with a hot fix gun. That is very important in figure skating. Here's a photo of my favorite one.

The process to glue on the stones is very easy. First set up some good lighting and a nice flat surface like an ironing board. Then put a small blog of the glue (no larger than the size of a dime because the glue sets very quickly) onto a pad of post it notes. Take a pin and pick up a tiny amount of glue, touch it to the back of a flat backed rhinestone and use the pin to apply the rhinestone to the fabric. It's best to know exactly where you want to place the rhinestone because boo boo's just won't come off. Of course, you can use those boo boos as inspiration for a unique beading/stoning pattern.

Md Sew & Vac is now collecting quilt blocks to make a "Customers Friendship" quilt. If you would like to contribute a quilt block, then contact us at the store at 301-856-7200 or email us at Clubs@marylandsewvac.com to get a copy of the pattern. Please make your block in earth tones (greens, browns, golds, etc.) and make sure you embroider or use a permanent ink marker to put your name and the name of the town that you live in, in the center of the block. The blocks are due at the next Embroidery Etc. Club meeting in February. Here is a photo of the block sample.

Hey, I have a new hobby (like I needed something else to fill my non-existent free time). It's making jewelry. It started by making stuff to wear ballroom dancing. My sweetie gave me a book, Beaded Opulence by Marcia DeCoster about to create beaded jewelry using a Right Angle Weaving (RAW) technique. It is so much fun and is something I can do cuddled on the couch with my electric blanket wrapped around me (I hate winter). Here is one of the things that I created so far.

Rita came back to Club this month and we haven't seen her for awhile. We rejoiced with her when she announced that she has lost 110 lbs over the past two years and she no longer suffers from type 2 diabetes or hypertension. Congratulations Rita--we are so proud of you!

Well, that's all the news for now. See you next month!

2011 BORDER CHALLENGE WINNERS

2012-01-14T23:49:00.000-05:00

I'm proud to announce the winners of the Maryland Sewing and Vacuum Center's 2011 Embroidery Etc. Challenge. We had seven entries from six artists and we thank everyone who entered the challenge and also to all our members for voting. The 2012 Challenge will be announced at the January Embroidery Etc. Club meeting.

FIRST PLACE

This beautiful table topper is made up entirely of thread made by the beautiful and talented Cynthia Y. The colors are very striking and the quality of the embroidery is wonderful. Embroidered lace takes great patience, time, and of course, thread.

SECOND PLACE

Patricia R. started this wallhanging a few years ago when we had a Mystery Quilt project. Embroidered dragonflies adorn the block centers. The quilting was done entirely on the embroidery machine using Designer's Gallery Quilting Interactive. Beautiful quilt!!!

THIRD PLACE

Carol M. stitched this amazing Christmas quilt. It was a block of the month project. The snowmen are appliqued and embellished with buttons, beads, and charms. She made fantastic use of her decorative stitches on the sashing and borders. Machine embroidered text adorns the white outer borers. This quilt is a great crowd pleaser.

HONORABLE MENTION - STAFF JUDGES' CHOICE

Nikki H. created this stunning quilt top. This quilt is piecing perfection! The embroideries are expertly stitched and well placed. The colors were beautiful and has the perfect balance of light, medium, and done. Just beautiful!

December Embroidery Etc Club

2012-01-13T21:05:00.005-05:00

We had a wonderful time at our annual Holiday. As usual, the food was a big hit. Everyone here at Maryland Sewing and Vacuum wish all our patrons a happy holiday season and thank everyone for their loyal patronage. We started our meeting with a short Show and Tell Session. Here's what these talented folks did last month. AMAZING!!!

2011 Challenge Entries

We had seven entries to our 2011 Challenge contest from some extremely talented ladies. We will announce the winners after January's Embroidery Etc. Club meeting. The challenge was to create an item that utilized some type of border. Thank you so much to all who entered the competition. Here are our entries:

Good Luck to Everyone!!!!

November Embroidery Club - Gifts for the Sewer Part II

2012-01-13T19:56:00.001-05:00

Everyone has been so busy this past month getting ready for the holidays. The projects our ladies made were quite wonderful As you will see, several ladies were busy making lots and lots of spiral bargello tablerunners. We also had a charity workshop on Veterens Day where we made little holiday dresses for the homeless children of Washington DC. They turned out so cute and everyone had a wonderful time making them. I'll show more photos of them next month.

Without further adoo--here's the photos of the wonderful work created by our members.

We finished up our mini series, Gifts for the Sewer, this month. I demo'd how to make two more projects,. See the photos below. If you would like to receive the instructions for either of these two projects, then send an email to me at Geri@soeasyquilts.com

Wristwatch Pincushion

Couch Potato Sewing Center

I also demo'd how to make the Mug Bucket pattern available at Nancy's Notions (available at the store or order online at http://www.nancysnotions.com/product/mug+bucket+pattern.do

Mug Bucket Sewing Organizer

Last, but not least, I did a video last month on how to make this lovely Pin Cushion Trim Bin, but that's the film that crashed my computer. All that's left of the video or the instructions is the photo below. I have to start all over in creating the pattern and hope to have the instructions available in few weeks. I'll let you know when it's done.

Pin Cushion Trim Bin

I hope you all enjoyed the videos and the photos.

October 2011 Club. - Gifts for the Sewer Part 1

2012-01-12T01:02:00.004-05:00

We started the first of a two-part series - Gifts for the Sewer. We featured how to make a Scissor Fob using your Babylock Evolve or Evolution Serger. I even recorded a little video showing how t make the scissor fob. Here's the scissor fob video.

Next I demo'd how to make a beaded scissor fob. The video will show you basic beading techniques and show you how to make a scissor fob. These are great little gifts so your sewing friends can tell their scissors apart at your next sewing class or quilting bee. I hope you enjoy this video.

Lastly, I demo'd how to make a set of alphabet pins for your favorite quilter. With these pins, you can label your quilt blocks. For those who took my Spiral Bargello class, these pins were a must to keep those bargello strips in order. They are easy and fun to make. Hope you like this video.

Oh my, I almost forgot....Here's what our lovely and talented members brought to the meeting for Show and Tell.

I hope you liked the videos. Please feel free to let me know what you think of them (good or bad) and give me any suggestions so I can improve any of my videos. There were a couple of other projects, the pincushion sew-side waste basket and the cup caddie, but the my computer crashed after I had made the videos and all was lost (the instructions and the video).

September Embroidery Etc. Club Cancelled

2012-01-11T23:29:00.000-05:00

Sorry folks, but the September club meeting was cancelled this month due to a death in my husband's family. His dear Great Uncle Griff, 97 years young passed. He was a wonderful and loving man who actively farmed until the age of 95 and who's mind was sharp as a tack. He was the last living sibling of my husband's paternal grandmother, Lela who died when my father-in-law was just nine years old. My husband never knew his grandmother, but Uncle Griff brought her to life for my husband and my sons. He will be missed dearly!

August 2011 Club - Shadow and Reverse Applique

2011-08-17T16:47:00.000-04:00

We had very nice club sessions in spite of the torrential rains. I showed a video showing the new Babylock Ellisimo Gold sewing/embroidery machine. Click here for the YouTube link to see the video.

I also showed the newest item from the Babylock family of stabilizers. They have a new product that will protect sensitive skin from irritation caused by the back of an embroidered item. It is a very soft woven fabric that is fused to the back of a garment. It is good for baby items and for protecting the skin from a scratchy thread such as a metallic thread. Call your nearest Babylock dealer for pricing and more information.

Our overhead camera was on the fritz, so thanks to Cynthia, one of our members, who recorded the club lessons (see below). Please feel free to send me any comments or suggestions for improving the videos. I have to admit, video taping was one of the most intimidating experiences I've had.

See what beautiful work our members have done:

Now for the lessons of the month.

Shadow Applique

Shadow applique is a wonderful way to embellish sheer fabrics. It can be done on any sewing machine capable of doing a simple zig zag stitch. A simple cording foot makes guiding the thick embellishing thread and keeping it under the zig zag foot as it is couched onto the surface of the sheer fabric.

A bright, colorful fabric is placed underneath the sheer fabric, the shapes are couched on using the zig zag stitch, and then carefully trimmed away from the back of sheer fabric. First trace your design onto a layer of Dissolvable Mesh stabilizer and place it underneath the sheer fabric. Then place the colorful fabric underneath the other two layers and couch the thick thread onto the surface using a thick or fancy thread (such as YLI Candlelight, cordonnet, or pearl rayon thread). Confused? Hope this video helps.

Reverse/Shadow Applique by Embroidery Machine

Full Neckline Version for the Large Hoop

Smaller 4x4 Design

This kind of applique is perfect for embellishing a plain t-shirt. The shadow applique technique (sheer piece attached to back of the shirt and the excess is trimmed away from the back of the shirt) allows sheer flower centers. The reverse applique technique is used (the solid t-shirt fabric is trimmed from the inside of the flower) allows you to see the sheer fabric below.

The design in pes format is free to Embroidery Etcetera Club members. Send me an email if you need a copy of the design. The large design (shown above on the t-shirt) utilizes the large hoop for the Ellegante and the Ellisimo. A split design is available for machines that have a 5"x7" embroidery field and can be sewn in two hoopings. In the video below, I used a smaller, one-flower version for use in a 4" x 4" hoop.

Cording/Piping with the Serger

You can get a cording/piping foot for most brands of sergers and overlock machines. It makes perfect piping and allows you to perfectly apply piping between two layers of fabric...and...it's so easy to do! I used 3mm-wide piping for this demonstration.

The foot has a channel under the foot that allows the piping to easily glide under the serger foot and securely guides the piping for perfect placement and stitching. The 3mm foot that I used is available for the Babylock Imagine, Eclipse, and Enlighten machines. A 5mm foot for wider piping is also available for these machines. Only a5mm Cording foot is available for the Evolve and Evolution sergers.

Check out the video below for a demonstration. By the way, nerves got the best of me and I had a big goof. What is the difference between an expert and a novice? Nothing! You will make the same dumb mistakes from time to time no matter how long you have sewn. The expert just knows how to fix them or cover them up.

Making Micro Cording with a Pintuck Foot

Micro Cording is piping that is 1/8" wide or less. It is perfect for adding a fabulous accent to collars, pockets, quilt bindings, etc. With tiny borders like this, the tiniest of mistakes can really show up. The pintuck foot makes the process easy and fool proof. You will need to stuff the piping with tiny cording. I like to use thick DMC tatting floss for a filler. It is available in any needlework store or in places like Michaels or AC Moore.

You will also need a pintuck foot. They are available for most sewing machines. It would be helpful to be able to reposition your needle just to the right of one of the pintuck foot grooves. Use washaway thread in the needle and the bobbin when you make the piping. If your stitching happens to show when you apply the piping to your garment, it will easily wash or rinse out and no one will ever know your stitching wasn't perfect. Then use regular thread in the needle and the bobbin when you apply the piping to the garment or quilt binding. Hope the video makes the process a little clearer.

Catching Up March to July 2011

2011-08-17T01:22:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Sorry that I haven't had too much time for blogging lately. Yes, ballroom dancing has taken over our lives. My husband and I started competing at the Bronze level and usually spend 10-15 hours per week on the dancefloor. It's paying off though. I have lost 35 pounds in the past year and a half and am happy to say that I am off of all diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol medications. YEAH!

I've decided to just give you a synopsis of what we did each month in Embroidery Club and, of course I'll include the Show and Tell photos for each month.

Here Goes--Don't forget that Embroidery Club members may contact me by email at clubs@marylandsewvac.com or Geri@soeasyquilts.com for copies of any of these handouts or free designs.

February 2011 - Scallops

We talked about creating a scalloped hems. Handouts included instructions on how to create a Scalloped edged pillowcase using MasterWorks; instructions on how to include scallops on a regular skirt pattern; and the free designs for creating a faux Madeira border placemat with cherries in the corners.

March 2011 - Garment Tips

I shared some of my favorite garment sewing tips. I gave demonstrations on how to apply a patch pocket to any garment with totally hidden stitches. We had only one handout that talked about my eight favorite sewing tips. Here's the Show and Tell.

April 2011 - Favorite Gadgets

Members shared some of their favorite sewing gadgets that they have aquired over the years. There were also some duds. You'll see some of these favorites mixed in the show and tell below. You'll also notice some cute little girls dresses. Club members met earlier in the month to make these Easter dresses for homeless little girls in Washington DC.

May 2011 - Making jewelry.

This month we talked about creating fashionable jewelry with the embroidery and the sewing machine. We had instructions on how to create a fabulous twisted fabric flower pin, and create fabric roses. I also had free designs for embroidered necklace, earrings, a bracelet, and felt covered hair clips.

June 2011 Club - Life's a Beach

Since summer had just started, we decided to celebrate. I demonstrated how to create a make a mesh tote bag guaranteed to keep you from dragging beach sand back to your car, how to make a beach towel tote, complete with a pillow for your head, and how to make a Keep Cool Scarf perfect for keeping our troops in the field cool and comfortable. Enjoy the show and tell.

July - Reviewing Stabilizer Choices

We review embroidery stabilizers once a year. Things change all the time and members shared their tips and tricks in selecting the perfect stabilizer for their favorite projects.

Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you. My husband and I took six first places in the Virginia State Dancesport Championships in Senior II Bronze American Style Smooth and Rhythm. We competed in Cha Cha, Rhumba, Waltz and Fox Trot. It was a lot of fun and I especially had fun making the costumes.

Here are pictures of my dresses.

Smooth (Waltz/Fox Trot) Dress

Rhythm (Cha Cha/ Rhumba) Dress

Babylock Educator Sue Kostroski Serger Seminar

2011-02-09T01:08:00.000-05:00

you missed the Serger University II Seminar this past weekend at Maryland Sew & Vac, you missed a lot. Sue Kostroski is a talented and creative teacher and everyone who attended the seminar had a great time and learned a lot.

Sue is an educator for Babylock and iis known as the Dean of Serging. It is amazing what she can do with a serger. She is from Wisconsin and not particularly impressed with our little bit of snow. Everyone left the two day seminar with new found inspiration.

If you bought your Babylock Jet Air Serger (Imagine, Imagine Wave, Evolve, Evolution, or Enlighten) at Maryland Sew & Vac, you can take machine instruction classes as many times as you like, for as long as you own the machine. We cover many of the techniques and tips that Sue presented in the seminar. Contact the store (the link is on the right hand side of this blog) for more information about guide classes.

If you didn't get to attend her seminar, the I have included photos of some of the items from her trunk show below. If you have a chance to attend Sue's seminars in the future, I suggest you attend. It's worth taking off work to take a class from Sue.

See you next week --It's Embroidery Club again.

Geri

January Embroidery Club - Embroidered Borders

2011-01-31T23:02:00.001-05:00

I hope all who attended the January Embroidery Club learned a lot. This year we will be concentrating on creating borders and achieving perfect placement for machine embroidery. The 2011 Embroidery Club Challenge is to create an item with a border. It can be a tablecloth, quilt border, bed linen, tablerunner, jacket, tote or handbag, or anything else--as long as it has a border.

We will start off with your favorite part--Show and Tell. As you can see the ladies have been quite busy since the holidays.

Now for this month's topic--Perfect Placement for Borders

Achieving perfect placement when creating borders looks difficult, but it's not. I just takes a little planning, a little measuring, and a knowledge of how to resize your designs.

Planning. You have to start with a plan. Are you going to use the same design all around your project or do you have a different design for the corners or in the center of each side (or both). I helps to be able to print paper templates of the embroidery designs you want to use. It would be helpful to print several copies to help visualize the finished product. I like to print my templates on ink jet vellum paper or translucent slide paper so you can see though it. These papers are somewhat expensive, so most of the time, I just use plain old bond paper.

Next, use the templates to place the designs into the corners and/or centers onto your project. Mark your vertical and horizontal axis on your fabric with chalk or a blue washaway marker. Since it takes multiple hoopings to create a border, I like to use a tearaway stabilizer that has a water activated adhesive such as Babylock's Aqua Set or OESD's Hydrostick. Apply it to the back of your fabric before marking the placement lines. Apply water to the stabilizer by using a damp sponge (don't drench it as that makes it too hard to remove), wait a minute to activate the adhesive and press it onto the back of your fabric. A light pressing with a medium heat iron will help to dry the adhesive faster.

Now stitch the designs into the corners.

Measuring. Draw a line from the center of one corner design to the center of an ajoining corner. Do this for all four sides. This the horizontal center of the rest of the embroidery designs. I know that most of you do not like metric measurements, but for embroidery placement, it's easier to deal with millimeters instead of inches. To make it easier on you, get a dressmakers measuring tape that has both metric and inches printed on the same side. Measure the blank space between the corner motifs (call this measurment L).

For our project, the distance (L) from corner to corner is 294 mm (millimeters). Our design is 95 mm x 95 mm (call this measurment D). This means that three of our designs will fit into the blank space; with 9 mm left over (L divided by D = 3 + extra. So 3 x 95mm =285 mm and 294mm - 285mm = 9mm left over) You have a choice--either add a little space between the designs OR you can change the width of the embroidery design and stretch the design to make it fit end-to-end with no gapping.

Next, divide the space L by the number of design repeats (i.e., 294/3 = 98mm). We will call this measurement "A". Next take a piece of adding machine paper the same length as the space (i.e., 294mm). Make a mark every length A (i.e., 98mm) and fold accordian style along each mark. In order to determine the centerpoints for each design motif, fold the adding machine paper into the number of repeats (i.e., thirds) lengthwise. Fold this wad of paper in half. This will mark the center of each design. Use the eyelet cutting tool that came with your machine to punch a small hole at the centerpoint mark.

Now, unfold the paper and transfer the marks to your fabric. This is the vertical center of each design motif.

Resizing the Design. You now have to change the width of the design to match the A measurement (i.e., 98mm). If you need to increase or decrease the design by less than 20 percent, you can make the changes within your sewing machine. Change your sewing machine to display metric measurements and change only the width of the design measurement. In other words, you will resize the design without maintaining the aspect ratio. Had you resized the whole design, the height would also be changed. The eye will not notice small changes in one dimension as long as the all the motifs are all the same height across the border.

If you need to increase or decrease the width more than 20 percent, you must use editing software such as Designer's Gallery Sizeworks, Palette, MasterWorks, Embird or any other editing software. Transfer the edited design to your sewing machine.

Use the grid insert that came with your embroidery hoop to ensure that the fabric is aligned straight in the hoop. The entire design should fit inside the sewing area (grid) of your insert. Use the arrow keys in the sewing screen of your sewing machine to place the needle right in the targeting X on your fabric and stitch the design.

Repeat for the other three sides of the tablecloth. If you would like the embroidery file for this simple design, send an email note to Geri@soeasyquilt.com. Please let me know what type of sewing machine you have. The design is available in .pes, .hus, .pcs, .jef, .sew, .dst, .exp, .shv, and .vip formats.

I hope that you enjoy embroidering beautiful borders as much as I do.

2010 Landscape Challenge Winners

2011-01-11T15:03:00.002-05:00

I'd like to thank those people who entered the 2010 Embroidery Club Challenge - Landscapes. People who accepted the challenge admittedly learned a lot and, I think you will agree, did a fantastic job.

Here are the entries:

#1 This was done by Jean. She took a Snippet Landscape class and this was her first quilt. She found it quite a challenge and is planning on making another landscape in the near future. She embroidered butterflies and applied decorative buttons to the corners. The landscape wall hanging is also Jean's first attempt at machine quilting. She used invisible thread and embroidery thread to quilt the piece and did a great job. I am a proud teacher!

#2 Mary created this stunning seascape. I like the way it is set off center and this piece has wonderful eye appeal. Mary used many different techniques to create this seascape and included applique, piecing, serger decorative stitching, 3-D rouching, machine embroidery, and other techniques. This a wonderful piece and I think she should enter this it into formal competition.

Linda created this lovely pillow. Linda has only been embroidering for a short time and already embroiders like a pro. She does everything with great enthusiasm and her joy of life shows in this piece. She used piecing, applique and machine embroidery to complete this lovely piece. To me, this pillow is the most creative used of a landscape and shows that landscapes don't have to be just wall hangings and can be used in home decor or even on a garment. Way to go Linda!

Trudy submitted this joyful piece. I like she used layers of fabric to create the distance and perspective in this piece. She used the following techniques to create this wallhanging: pieceing, applique, couching, machine embroidery and quilting. I love how she machine quilted a face in the middle of the rising sun. I like how her embroidered elements are so proportional and allow the wonderful composition of the piece shine through. Just beautiful!

Carol created this beautiful wallhanging. Her attention to detail is wonderful. I see something new every time I look at it. I like the way she used denim in the border to give it that down home country look. What's amazing is that Carol hand quilted this piece. Carol is so very talented and I think she should also enter this piece into serious competitions. She used applique, machine embroidery, surface embellishment (beads or buttons), hand and machine quilting, and couching to create this lovely piece. It is a shame that you can't see the detailed hand stitching that Carol did. Her stitches are so perfect and even. I'm jealous!

Cynthia created this unique art piece. This piece is just chock full of texture. She used all types of fabric from cotton to felt. She even created the pebble walkway by free motion stippling with shrinking thread on cotton. She has 3-D embroidered flowers that pop right out of the piece. She fringed felt to create the look of bushes and the night perspective makes this garden a magical place.

OK--NOW FOR THE WINNERS -- drumroll please.

1st place - #5 Carol

2nd Place - #2 Mary

3rd Place - #1 Jean

Congratulations to all our winners. Thank you to all who entered and all our Embroidery Club participants to who the time to examine the pieces and had the difficult task of selecting the winners. As far as I'm concerned, they all should have won first place.

Catching Up - AUGUST to DECEMBER

2011-01-06T21:28:00.184-05:00

OK, I guess it's time to sit down and try to play catch up now.

I spent the latter part of last year super busy with so many things. To make a long story short for those who don't get to attend our monthly Embroidery Club meetings at Maryland Sew & Vac, here's the scoop: My husband and I got serious about our ballroom dance study starting this summer and now we take dance or take classes 4 days a week. Great for my health, bad for my sewing. I also started teaching the deaf community of Shiloh Baptist Church in downtown Washington DC to sew and quilt. I enjoy learning sign language, but it's is a lot harder than I ever imagined.

In a nutshell, here's what we have been doing in our Embroidery Club:

August:

The topic was Sweatshirt Makovers and we featured Eileen Roche's Scrumption Sweats video and CD. They turned out fabulous. Check out the link to order your copy of the CD.

http://www.dzgns.com/products/*/*/435

Here are the Show-n-Tell photos for August.

September:
The topic for the month was making Garment Bags, I gave out a handout on how to construct this lovely garment bag. The advantage to this one is that it folds into thirds instead of in half (that makes the bottom of a dress to fall to the bottom of the bag and wrinkle). I also showed how to make a doll sized garment bag and, one lucky person from each of the three sessions won the demonstration sample.

Detailed View of Inside the Flap

Doll Sized Garment Bag with Lucky Winner

Folded Bag

Open Bag

If you would like a copy of the instructions for this garment bag, contact me by email at Geri@soeasyquilts.com.

OK. Now it's time for September's Show-n-Tell photos.

October:
We had a guest speaker, Vicki Collins, this month. She is a master digitizer and embroiders commercially. She taught us how to digitize for towels and how to make adorable luggage tags. She did a test stitch on a towel--one without using a topping, and one with using a water soluble topping. Guess which one looked better? You got it--the one with the topper. She also taught how to digitize for towels and how to create an embossed monogram design for towels.

We had one member bring in some antique sewing tools. Can you recogize the purpose of all three tools?

OK-- Here's October's Shown-n-Tell

November:

This month's topic was Bobbin Work. Babylock just came out with a wonderful alternate bobbin case for doing bobbin work. What is Bobbin Work? It's sewing and embroidering with really thick threads that can't possibly fit into the eye of a needle. You work from the wrong side of the fabric and put the really thick thread in the bobbin. The Babylock kit not only comes with an alternative bobbin case, but it comes with some sample threads, some great projects, and embroidery designs created specifically for bobbin work.

Note the project is underneath the hoop.

Members received instructions and the design for this adorable Over-the-Glasses Sunvisor.

They also received instructions and the design for this holiday placemat.

We also did this In-the-Hoop Coaster and Wine Bottle Apron

If you are interested in any of these free Embroidery Club designs or instructions, be sure to send me an email at Geri@soeasyquilts.com.

Now for November's Embroidery Club Show-n-Tell:

December

If you didn't make it to the annual Embroidery Club Holiday Party, you sure missed a great time. The food and fellowship was fabulous.

We even had entertainment (or torture as some would see it)! Dance partners, Geri & husband Terry, demonstrated Cha Cha and Rhumba steps. To those in attendance--now you know why you will never see us on Dancing with the Stars.

Remember, I said at the beginning of this blog entry that I have been teaching hearing impaired quilters at Shiloh Baptist Church located in downtown DC. Look at what we made! It has historical and present day photos of the Silent Mission and origins of this historic church. They did a great job and I am so proud of them.

Here we are at the dedication ceremony. The group consists of 12 of the finest and loving people I have ever known.

OK, here's the December Show-n-Tell:

You see we have all had a busy five months. Check back in a couple of days to see the winners and entries of the 2010 Landscape Challenge. The winners will be announced at the January 2011 Embroidery Club in a couple of days.

The topic will be Borders.

July Embroidery Club - Embroidery Stabilizer Primer

2010-10-04T16:06:00.000-04:00

Everyone had a great time at the July Embroidery Club. We had a demonstration on how to make the pillowcse dresses for the pillowcase project last month and the ladies turned in 132 pillowcase dresses to The Pillowcase Project. Many thanks goes to the Andrews Air Force Base Wednesday Quilters and the Prince Georges and Montgomery County Chapters of the Maryland Association for Family and Community Education (MDAFCE) who made the dresses. They were so adorable and making dresses for children who have nothing gave everyone a wonderful feeling. You can check out photos of all the dresses below.

I'd like to thank everyone who made a dress or donated a pillowcase. If you are interested in contributing to this wonderful cause, then check out their website at http://www.thepillowcaseproject.blogspot.com/.

First of all, here are the photos from the July Embroidery Club. You can see that everyone was very busy this month.

Now for our topic--Stabilizers for Embroidery.

There are so many stabilizers on the market. How do you select one? There are tear-aways, cut-aways, wash-aways, etc. The list goes on and on.

It is important to select the right stabilizer for your project. Using the wrong stabilizer can result in puckering and uneven stitching.

You stabilze for two reasons:
1. Just to get through the stitching process without a lot of puckering or stretching.
2. To keep the thing you have embroidered looking nice throughout the life of the item.

#1. The Stitching Process. The needle punching through the fabric time and time again displaces the fabric's fibers causing stretching. The hoop moving while embroidering causes the thread to pull on the fabric causes puckering. The stabilizer is designed to counter these forces. It is also important to hoop correctely and not stretch the fabric while hooping. Hooping too loosely allows the fabric to move around during stitching.

#2. The Life of the Item. Have you ever bought an embroidered shirt from Walmart or other discount stores? It looks great new and then when you wash it, the embroidery becomes distorted and puckered. That's because they have used a tear-away stabilizer because it is easier and cheaper to just pull the stabilizer off of the back of the embroidery and be done with it. Using cut-away takes more time, as you have to trim the excess stabilizer about 1/8" all around the embroidery.

Rule #1. If the item you are embroidering is to be laundered then use a cutaway stabilizer. This means cutaway stabilizer is used for garments. Using several layers of a tearaway is no substitute for one correct layer of cutaway. Use tearaways for wall hangings, tote bags, quilts, or anything else that won't be put in a washing machine. Also, use a cutaway for large designs such as jacket backs and designs larger than 5"x7" that are stitch intensive.

Rule #2 Pick the right weight of Stabilizer.
I divide up all stabilizers into four categories, light weight, medium weight, heavy weight, and extra heavy weight. The formula I give you below applies to both tearaway and cutaway stabilizer. The number of stitches in a design determines the weight of the stabilizer you should use. There are many different brand on the market, and all have different labeling that makes things confusing. All of the brands do tell you the actual weight of the stabilizer.

A. Lightweight - 1.5 ounces or less. This stabilizer can be used for any design containing 8,000 stitches or less. Remember that the average 4"x4" design had 11,000 - 14,000 stitches. Does that mean you can never use a lightweight? No, you can stack more than one layer to support the stitching process.

B. Medium weight - 2.0 ounces. This stabilizer can be used for any design containing up to 15,000 stitches. Why not use this all the time for things like T-shirt? Well no. Medium weight cutaway can show through (aka, shadow through) a light colored garment and that is ugly. The lightweight mesh stabilizers (i.e., Babylock No Show Mesh) does not shadow through. If the design is larger than 8,000 stitches, then I will hoop the No Show Mesh with the garment and float (place a loose piece under the hoop just before stitching) one or more layers of tearaway stabilizer. That way, the easy-to-remove layers of tearaway keep the embroidery pucker free and the No Show Mesh keeps the design nice through repeated washings.

C. Heavy weight - 2.5 ounces. This stabilizer can be used for any design containing up to 30,000 stitches. I like this weight for medium sized (5"x7") designs.

D. Extra Heavy Weight - 3.0 ounces. This stabilizer can be used for any design containing up to 50,000 stitches. This is perfect for jacket backs.

Next month, we will go into more debth about each type of stabilizers. There are cutaways, tearaways and washaways.
For today, just remember this--YOU EMBROIDER ON THE STABILIZER AND THE FABRIC JUST GOES ALONG FOR THE RIDE.

See you soon,

Geri

June Embroidery Club

2010-09-21T00:26:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to add to this blog. It has been a crazy summer. My husband and I went into high gear in our ballroom dance studies and I haven't had much time to sew, write, or do much else. We got tired of going to to dances and looking like clumsy oafs. We graduated from the beginner classes at the local community center and started studying at a real dance studio in Alexandria, Virginia. For awhile, we were dancing six days a week. That was exhausting and after about 2 months, we cut it down to 4 days a week. So things have calmed down a little and I have the time to catch you all up to what we have been doing at Embroidery Club.

We started a month long project to make pillowcase dresses for the Pillowcase Project. Our ladies made 135 dresses that were sent to Uganda to orphan children who have little to no clothes. Check out the photos at thepillowcaseproject.blogspot.com. I will write more about the Pillowcase Project on my next blog entry.

I June, we talked about how to make and embroider aprons. We had handouts on how to make a pillowcase apron, how to make a Half Yard apron, a Napkin Apron (different than the one I will talk about today).

Before I talk about the Table Napkin Apron, here's your favorite part... Show & Tell.

Now for our project of the month: Table Napkin Apron

This apron is so easy to make and would make a lovely wedding gift. It would be great to have a complete dinner party set that matches the tablecloth and napkins. Start with two standard sized table napkins. Try to select napkins that are rather plain and without directional prints.

1. From one napkin, cur off the sewn hem from one end and cut four 1 ½” strips from this side. This will make up the side and neck ties for the apron. The large piece left over after cutting the strips make up the bib part of the apron.

2. Fold ¼” on both of the long edges of each tie. Then fold the tie in half lengthwise and press. Topstitch the ties on both long edges of the fold. Do this for all four ties.

3. Take the large piece and press a ¼” hem along the side of the napkin.

4. Fold this piece in half and press. Mark the center along the fold with a pin.

5. On the other napkin, embroider a border along one edge of a table napkin. This will be the bottom part of the apron skirt.

6. On the opposite side of the apron fold a 1 ¼ inch hem to the back of the apron. This will form the waistband. Press. Mark the center point of the apron along the waistband fold and mark with a pin.

7. Match up the fold of the bid with the fold of the waistband, right sides together. Sew along the fold lines.

8. Place the ties on the corners at the top of the bib and at the sides of the waistband and pin in place. Top stitch along the open edges, securing the ties. Topstitch the waistband closes. The apron is ready to wear.

Now I have to catch up with July's Embroidery Club. The topic was Stabilizer Choices. Check back in about a week.

Let me know if you have any comments or questions.

May Embroidery Club - Applique

2010-05-25T01:30:00.000-04:00

This month's topic is embroidery machine applique. It's one of my favorite embroidery techniques. With applique, you get a lot of bang for the buck. You can create a sizeable design very quickly and easily. It is perfect for garments,quilts, or baby items because the finished product is soft and pliable. Sometimes large embroideries are stiff and can often feel like cardboard. Stiffness can ruin the drape of a garment.

Before we go into our lesson, lets look at all the fabulous work done by the ladies (and gentlemen) of Maryland Sew & Vac's Embroidery Club. I think that you will agree that we have a lot of talented people in our group.

Now for machine applique. Here's how to do it.
1. Hoop your background fabric with a lightweight stabilizer. Since applique doesn't have very many stitches, you can use a light weight or medium weight tear away stabilizer.

2. Stitch out the first color. This will show you the placement for the applique piece on the background fabric.

3. Place a piece of the applique fabric that is big enough to cover the stitching you just did. You can spray the back of the fabric with a temporary adhesive spray (i.e., Sulky's KK2000 spray) to hold it down on the background fabric, but it is not usually necessary to do so.

4. Stitch out the second color. This will tack down the fabric. Remove the hoop from the machine but do not remove the fabric from the hoop. With a sharp pair of scissors (I prefer to used curved embroidery scissors), carefully trim the fabric from the outside of the stitching. Try to trim as close to the stitching as you can.

NOTE: You could also print out the applique template and precut the applique shape ahead of time. This will save a lot of time. If you don't have the ability to print out the applique designs using editing software, you could place a piece of cardstock on top of the stabilizer in step 2 above and stitch it once without thread in the needle. You could cut out the applique shape to use as a template to precut the fabric applique pieces.

If the pieces are very small or if you are concerned that the pieces will flip in the hoop, then I suggest tracing the template on fusible web such as Wonder Under or Steam-a-Seam Lite and press them in place (Step 4 above). You could also use a spray adhesive to hold the pieces in place.

5. Now place the hoop back into the machine and stitch out the last color. This color stop will seal the edges of the embroidery with a satin stitch, a decorative stitch or a blanket stitch.

6. Now your applique is finished. Remove any jump stitches and tear out any stabilizer from behind the design.

Now, wasn't that easy?

You can use applique in so many ways.

I have a free pattern for all the members of Maryland Sew & Vac's Embroidery Club. They received in the club email newsletter. The Pinwheel Tablerunner is a quick and easy way to make a delightfull spring tablerunner. It's also a great way to use up scraps.

Viewers of my blog can also receive the free pattern for the next 90 days. The project is the pinwheel table runner shown below and is available in .pes format. If you would like the free embroidery design and table runner instructions then send a email to me at Geri@soeasyquilts.com and I will be happy to send it to you. Remember, that this design is for personal use only. You may not share the design or the instructions with anyone, nor do you have permission to sell the tablerunner or any items made with the pinwheel embroidery design.

Pinwheel Table Runner

Check back next month. Our topic will be Aprons, Aprons, Aprons!

See you soon!

April Embroidery Club

2010-05-07T02:02:00.001-04:00

Hi,

Sorry that this blog entry is a late, but I left for vacation right after the meeting last month and I misplaced my camera. Luckily, I found it a couple of days ago. Since it's only a couple of days until the May Embroidery Club meetings, I've just put up the photos without the captions.

I attended the Machine Quilter's Expo (MQX) in Providence, Rhode Island in April and the quilts were just beautiful. The best part was taking my Aunt Amy to her very first quilt show. She was amazed by all the wonderful quilts and really enjoyed the show. Below is a photo of us at the show in front of my quilt.

We really accomplished a lot at the April Embroidery Club meeting. We learned how to edit an embroidery design so that it could be used as a pocket topper. We used Designer's Gallery Customworks to cut a design in half. I also demonstrated how to sew a patch pocket on a jacket without top stitching it into place. If you are interested in the instructions, then send me an email and I will forward them to you. I hope to tape a You Tube clip on how to do it as soon as things calm down.

I know that you are anxious to see the Show and Tell photos, so here they are:

Well, that's all there is for now. My husband and I are off to dance class. In fact, if I'm not at a dance class or practice, I'm trying to recover from dance class or practice. I have sore muscles where none have ever existed. I don't have time to sew anymore. I shouldn't complain because since we started taking ballroom dancing lessons, I've lost 16 lbs and my husband has lost 27 lbs (That's just not fair!) and my Glucose A1C test is smack dab in the middle of normal. YEAH!!!!

Bye for Now--Geri

March 2010 Embroidery Club Embroidered Landscapes Part 3

2010-04-01T00:20:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm so glad that winter is finally over. We had a light turnout at Club this month, but we all had a great time and even learned a little bit.

We showcased the incredible work of Kathy T. a.k.a., the Fish Lady (because she is so well known for her seascapes). She expertly incorporates all of her talents like painting, hand embroidery, free motion quilting, thread painting, scrapbooking skills in her art. If you are looking at the Show and Tell photos, then scroll down to the bottom of this blog entry. Now let's start with the lesson on constructing a landscape.

Last month, we learned how to plan a landscape by selecting the embroidery designs first and scaling the landscape and elements of the landscape to the background. Now it comes to constructing the landscape after you have a plan of actions. Don't be too upset that the finished project looks very different from what you initially planned. Art has a mind of it's own, so just roll with the flow and I'll bet that you will be pleasantly surprised with the finished product.

Let's take a look at Kathy's work and analyse how it was constructed. The first work that we will look at is the farm scene below.

When constructing landscapes, start with the part that is farthest away from the viewer. In this case, Kathy started with the sky. She then appliqued the purple mountains onto the sky. She hooped the fabric and embroidered the horse and the moose directly onto the fabric. She also added decorative stitches to the mountains. Next she applique'd green grass area, leaving a space for the stone wall and the sidewalk. She added couched yarns, appliques for the mud, the field, the sidewalk, the stone wall, and the garden. Some of the embroideries are stitched directly on the background fabric and some were hooped separately, carefully cut out and machine appliqued to the scene. You'll have to look close to see them. Note that the moose embroidery is partially covered by the wall and many of the animals span across two appliques. The borders were also appliqued and embellished with several of her machine's decorative stitches. She also embellished her landscape with couched ribbon, buttons, yarn, and even 3D eggs from the floral department of a craft store (in the lower right hand corner). Although this piece was quilted, it is mounted to a canvas frame just like a painting.

This seacape was also started with the top background sea. She used organza to change the look of the sky to transition from the sky to the surface of the sea. Some of the embroideries were stitched on the background fabric and others were stitch separately and appliqued to the scene later. Some of the embroideries were stuffed to give them a 3D look. Other embroideries (like the sea lion) was stitched twice (one was mirror imaged) on a separate hoop, stuffed and sewn together just like a stuffed toy and affixed to the background. Look behind the sea lion to see a third embroidery in muted colors to look like a shadow. In the sea area, organza and bridal tuling give it a shimmering look and make some of the embroideries appear farther under the water than others. Although you can't see it, but the two scuba divers are actually affixed to clear plastic cording on top of the piece and wiggle like they are actually swimming. She used freemotion quilting and decorative stitches to add texture and movement to the piece. The piece was finally mounted on a painting canvas frame.

This piece was created to commemorate a family tree. It contains embroideries, thread painting, appliqued photo transfer appliques of family members. Take particular note of the tree. The trunk has appliqued fabric and then was heavily thread painted using free motion stitching. The tree leaves are made of fabric snippets and then simply glued in place. The flowers along the bottom were stitched separately on washaway stabilizer and then glued or stitched into place. Now look at the bottom of the piece below.

You can see tiny photos of family members under the glass flat marbles. The marbles magnify the image and are glued onto the background. She says that there is plenty of room to add photos as the family grows. Free motion quilting and decorative stiches add texture and details to this piece. Again, this piece is mounted on painters canvas.

Here is another of Kathy's famous seascapes. She has a lot of three dimentional fish appliqued on top of the organza and her hand painted background fabric. The fish were stitched off hoop with fabric both above and below the stabilizer and embellished with decorative stitches, beads, sequins and thread painting. The kelp and seaweed are made up crocheted and knitted yarn. Look closely at this mounted piece. It has so many details that I can't begin to describe them all.

This small piece that is mounted to a painter's canvas frame came from a photo that is printed on photo transfer fabric three times. First for the background, and then it was tread painted and painted with fabric markers to bring out the details. The second photo fabric is the vase that was carefully cut out, embellished with thread painting, appliqued to the background, and stuffed for a 3D effect. The third printing is the foreground element that are also embellished. Yarn was glued all along the edge to frame the piece.

She also brought two fabulous quilts that the photo's didn't come out. One of them was a spectacular large seascape that even had a treasure chest with jewels. Another was a desert scene with a road going through it. It had all kinds of wild animals embroidered on it. In fact, the road had a magnetic strip sewn into it and freestanding animals and jeeps with magnets on the back to be placed where ever the viewer wishes them to be. Perfect for a kid!

I think that you will agree that Kathy's work is wonderful and innovative. I really thank her from the bottom of my heart for letting me use her work to finish up our landscape series.

Now for the show and tell portion of the blog. Our ladies have, once again, shown us how Southern Maryland had some of the most talented embroiderers around.

Be sure to come to club next month as our topic will be Pockets, Pockets, Pockets.

February Embroidery Club - Embroidery to Art Part II

2010-02-25T01:11:00.001-05:00

It seems like the snow has finally ended. I hope everyone in the Washington DC area came through it all with no damage. I'd like to thank all those brave folks who came to Club last Saturday and Monday morning. We had another bout of snowfall and had to cancel Monday evening's session.

Don't be too upset about missing the meeting because you can catch up on the lesson in this blog. First of all, lets's start with everyone's favorite part--Show & Tell. Pay particular attention to Mary C's cape made on her brand new Babylock serger. It is breathtaking! You can send any photos of your projects for the Show and Tell that you missed to me at Geri@soeasyquilts.com and I will add them to the slide show. Also send me an email telling us all how you spent your time during Snowmageddon 2010. Did you sew, quilt, embroider, read a book, clean house (yulk!), etc.? We took a poll at the meeting and the results will be in the next newsletter next week.

Now for this month's lesson. We will continue our discussion on creating a landscape design. With this challenge project, you will use all of the skills you have learned (embroidery, sewing, felting, fabric painting, beading, using Angelina fibers, etc.) to create your landscape.

It’s fun to create a landscape. Landscapes can be used for quilts, wall hangings, tote bags, garments, pillows…all kinds of stuff.

This photo is a picture of my husband's cousin's farm in the hills of Tennessee. It is beautiful!

You can get inspiration from all kinds of places like photo's, clip art, coloring books, and even in your mind's eye.

The trick of a landscape is to create a 3-dimensional effect on a 2-dimensional surface. This is done through the use of line and color.
The eyes are fooled by what we see. One part may appear to be closer than other parts. Look at the illustration below. Lines are created to produce an effect of depth or motion.

1- This shows a normal patchwork block
2- Lines distort these patchwork blocks to make us think the block is lying down.
3-The shortened lines and the little triangle make us think the block is folded.
4- Curving the lines makes us think the block is curled.
Manipulating the lines like this is called Linear Perspective. These rules were devised by painters and art schools. As sewers, we have an added challenge as painters don’t have to take seam lines into account.

Now look at the illustration above. In #1, the linear perspective says that distant objects appear smaller. In #2 look at the train track. If the eye sees relatively parallel lines, they must be moving away from us. This is the same for the patchwork block in #3. It appears to be moving away from us. This concept is called foreshortening.

We expect the space between the parallel lines to reduce as they travel away from us and finally disappear. They usually converge on the horizon. This is called the vanishing point. These vanishing lines help to determine the comparative size of distant objects and the distance to the horizon.

Looking at his photo at viewer’s eye level is called the point of sight. In this drawing, the line represents the horizon (the eye level). The horizon is not a fixed line, but is determined by the limit of the viewer’s vision. The horizon is most clearly seen when you look out into the ocean and nothing breaks this horizon line separating the sea from the sky. If the horizon is unbroken, it gives the viewer the impression of great space and emptiness.

Look at this photo from the perspective of the little guy holding the flag. The higher your eye level, the higher the horizon would appear. More ground, less sky.

When your eye level is low, as in #1, the opposite happens.
If lying on your stomach, you would see more sky than ground.
If the sky occupies more space on the landscape, as in #2, there is greater emphasis on the sky.
Now look at #3. If the horizon is in the middle, equal emphasis is placed on land and sky.

The placement of objects in a landscape can also create an impression of debth. The background in #1 seems larger by placing this tree in the foreground.
In #2, the foreground seems larger by placing this smaller tree near the horizon. Also the size of the trees create an illusion of distance.
In these two photos, can we tell if one tree is smaller or just far away? We can’t tell from the information we have on hand.

Look at the effect that eye level has upon the focus object with its relationship to the horizon. The object appear to lie above the horizon in #1, below in #2 and way below the horizon according to the height of the eye level in #3.

Now, lets look at defining distance and motion. Look at the illustration below.
If the nearest in a series of similar sized objects is positioned lower than the horizon, the remainder of the series will also be lower…and vice versa.

Which distance is greater 1 or 2? Which is more pleasing to the eye? What could be added to these landscapes?

It is possible to create a landscape with no horizon at all. A landscape could be only sky (1) or land (2). This is called birds eye perspective.

The affect of depth can be created by overlapping one object over another. If we see this in a landscape, we figure that one must be at a different distance from us.
1. The object that is partially covered is further away and therefore behind the one in full outline.
2. Several layers of overlapping hills can create an illusion of great distance even though the size of each hill is exactly the same.

Placing large objects in the foreground (like these leaves) creates a feeling of involvement by the viewer (eye level is right in front of the leaves). The eye will estimate the distance by comparing the two, This makes for a dramatic landscape.

Now how to begin creating a landscape. Art schools always teach you to start with the horizon and the background. I do things opposite. I decide on the focus piece of the landscape--usually the embroideries. I print out full sized images of all the embroidery designs I want to use. Be sure to write down where you filed the designs on the paper.
Next, put up a piece of paper the size of the finished size of the landscape. Place the focus design on background where you want it to be. Then place all the embroideries you want to use in the landscape.
Then sketch all the missing elements of your landscape like the horizon, trees, land, hills, water, etc. If you are planning on resizing an embroidery design, mark the desired dimentions on the printed embroidery. If you are planning on editing an embroidery to take out parts of the design, also make notes on your printed paper.
Take a look at a couple of the concept drawings that Embroidery Club members came up with last weekend.

Don't be surprized if the finished product looks very different from your original concept. Artwork has a life of its own. Just follow your intuition and it will always lead you in the right direction.
So I want you to start looking at the embroidery designs that you own. Print out a full sized template of any designs you might like to use in its entirely or in part. Make a few sketches of landscapes. Next month, we will learn how to take apart an embroidery design using Designer's Gallery Colorworks, CustomWorks or MasterWorks. See you next month.

References:
Fabric Landscapes by Machine by Linda Crone, 2000, Krause Publishing
Peaceful Scenes by Angela Madden, 1997 MCQ Publications

Snow-maggedon 2010

2010-02-11T19:50:00.001-05:00

Greetings from the Artic Circle. At least that's what it feels like. I'd like to say that I spent my time quilting during the historic Washington DC snowfall, but it was not the case. We spent the entire time shoveling, nursing sore muscles and sleeping due to the exhaustion of shoveling.

As to whether or not we are going to have Embroidery Club this weekend remains to be seen.

Here are the photos from my yard. You can send any photos to me at Geri@soeasyquilts.com and I can add them to my slideshow. Here are the loving memories of this past week.

See you soon and KEEP WARM

January Embroidery Club

2010-01-17T22:42:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

It's a new year and a new decade. It's hard to believe that first decade of the millennium went by so fast. Well it's time to expand your horizons as we begin a three month series, From Embroidery to Art. We will talk about that later, so we can get to your favorite part of Club--Show & Tell. I did take more photos, but some of them were too blurry to post. My photo skills are getting a little better since at least half of the photos in September were unuseable. Without further ado, here's the show!

I was so happy that so many of our club members are venturing out into the digitizing world. I am so pleased with their progress.

Now for our topic: From Embroidery to Art.

Embroidery machines are wonderful inventions, but after awhile just embroidering a design in the middle of a towel, pillow, tote bag, or quilt block begins to fail holding our interest. Embroidery should be an element in your work and not always the focal point of it.   In this series, we will learn the elements of a design and begin the 2010 embroidery club challenge to create a wallhanging, tote bag, pillow, quilt, garment that includes embroidery as part of a still life, landscape, abstract artwork piece, or other "picture." This with be a mixed technique piece that can include applique, painting, needlepunch, thread painting, etc. (in other words, all of your skills as a sewer and an artist). Embroidery Club members have until December 1st to complete your work.

To look at embroidery as art, look at the work of Ann Horton at http://www.annhortonquilts.com/. She uses a lot of machine embroidery in her quilts, but you have to look close up to realize it.

How to get started in creating a piece of art. Everything starts with an idea,  You can spend hours trying to get your drawing to look like what is in your mind's eye...OR just let the drawing happen. We get caught up by too many ideas and decisions in the creative process and end up quitting before we even begin. Try to make only one decision at a time and all the other elements of the drawing will evolve from the previous design. Who knows, the design make take a whole new direction, surprising everyone.

All drawings and shapes are made up of lines.  There are only two kinds of lines –Straight and Curved

Straight Lines – A straight line is the shortest distance between two points. There are three possible orientations of straight lines.

Horizontal – They draw the eye across the design area. We respond emotionally to horizontal lines the same way we respond to the ground, floors, ceilings. We equate horizontal lines with solid stability, firm foundation, a place of rest.
Vertical – These lines draw our eyes up and down, lifting us up to the heavens or drawing us into the depths. They represent cathedrals, skyscrapers, and trees. We equate vertical lines with upward growth, spirituality, and strength.
Diagonal l – Can be any angle and not just 45 degrees. Diagonals add movement and drama to any design. The longer the line, the more dramatic the effect. Short diagonals, especially if they are in all different directions can add a kind of edginess to the design. Long diagonal lines are extremely powerful and full of barely contained energy. Use diagonal straight lines wisely.

Curves – Not the shortest distance between two points. There are two styles,

Geometric – derive from circles and ellipses. They are arcs, segments and are mathematically predictable. They are familiar to us and these qualities make them very strong in any design. Be careful as they can destroy the vitality of a design by overpowering it. A full circle is one of the strongest shapes the human eye recognizes and will draw attention away from almost everything else in a design. It is the sun, the moon, our whole world.
Organic Curves – can be many things.. They can be lazy and sensual or busy and agitated. They can meander or fly in vast sweeps across the page. They can go anywhere at any time, and they draw our eyes along the path. They are softer than geometric curves. They can suggest waves, the curve of a petal, or a gust of wind. Use organic curves whenever or wherever they seem likely to add something special to any design.

Exercise in Abstract Drawing.

Try this exercise to loosen up your creative skills. The drawing won't look like anything, but it is a great exercise. keep your drawing space small (a piece of copy paper) so you won't be overwhelmed by the size. If you like it, you can always enlarge the design on a copy machine. Here are the rules.

Draw in sets of lines—draw all of one kind of line at a time (draw 3 - 5 horizontal lines; then 3 or more diagonal lines, etc.) Do not go back and repeat a line set you have already finished.
Draw lines to make closed shapes. Now you can go back and change things.
Add thick lines or make some of your lines thicker to serve as linear elements.
Add details such as buttons, beads, couching, embroideries etc. as potential embellishments.
Add dashed lines for any planned quilting lines

Do this exercise at least 10 times, changing the order you draw the five types of lines. I think you will be surprized at what you see.

Well you have enough to take in for now. Next month, we will talk about how to draw a landscape and how to use embroidery designs you already have and can modify to include in a landscape.

Happy drawing!

2010 Show Quilt is Finished

2010-01-17T21:42:00.000-05:00

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season. Terry and I had a quiet Christmas and New Years. I spent most of the holiday time off working on this year's show quilt. Since the deadline for the Machine Quilters Expo was Jan 15th, I have been working non stop for the past two weeks finishing the quilting. I started the machine quilting just before Thanksgiving and put about 500 hours into quilting. (Yes, my Christmas Tree is still up. I hope to take it down next week.) See the photo below and let me know what you think.

I decided to use YLI #100 silk thread to quilt this piece. Since the judges all hated my use of 50 wt. cotton thread in last year's quilt, I decided to bite the bullet and spend a small fortune on the silk thread.

After five minutes of stitching with this thread, I was hooked. I hate to admit that the judges were right, but they were. It was possible to do two or three passes of the thread and it looks like only a single strand of thread.

The quilt is called Just of Charles Street. I went to Towson State University in Baltimore and lived off campus, just off Charles Street. Charles Street runs through the heart of the city and is known for elegant homes and gardens. Since this is a Baltimore Album quilt, I thought the name fitting. The patterns are my own and from the Electric Needleturn book that I have written. I'm still trying to find a publisher, but if I don't find one fairly soon, I will self publish the book and patterns. Check with my website in a couple of months.

Next entry - The January Embroidery Club

Placemat Challenge Winners

2009-12-21T12:38:00.004-05:00

I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the Placemat Challenge. I know that there will be 19 home-bound residents who's holiday will be a little brighter because of these ladies. They were given to the Harriet L. Hunter Senior Center's Homebound Meal Program in Prince George's County. (The Waldorf Meals on Wheels program mysteriously disappeared)

Maria F's whymsical placemat took first place my a narrow margin.

Maria is still recovering from surgery so she wasn't available for a photo with her placemat.

Cynthia Y came in second with her wonderful fall placemat.

Finally, in third place is Judy P. The red ribbon almost looks like velvet.

Now for a few photos from Show and Tell to give you a little inspiration. All of the ladies have done a fantastic job (as usual). Take some time to check out the slide show. It can take awhile as there are a record 68 photos this month.

You asked for my recipe for the Hawaiian Meatballs. So here it is.

Geri Ford’s Sweet and Sour Meatballs

2 packages of frozen meatballs (not the Italian meatballs)
2 jars of Kraft (yellow) or LaChoy (red) sweet and sour sauce (your preference)
1 small can of crushed pineapple
½ chopped onion
½ green or red pepper, chopped
1small jar of maraschino cherries

- Bake meatballs ½ hour in a 450° oven and drain grease on paper towels.
- Throw in Crockpot. Sauté onions and peppers until clear. Throw in the Crockpot.
- Throw sweet and sour sauce, crushed pineapple and cherries with juice in the Crockpot.

Heat and ENJOY!!!

Starting next month, we will be starting a new 3-part series, From Embroidery to Art. In this next series, members will learn the basics of art design and layout, how to take designs apart and how to combine designs to create something entirely new. Finally, members will be challenges to create a small landscape that could be used as a pillow or on a tote bag that would combine many different techniques such as embroidery, quilting, thread painting, needle punching, appliqué, etc. Do don't forget to log in next month.

By the way, check out a new web site, http://www.cynts.com/, from our Embroidery Club member, Cynthia I. Her Photo Gallery has lots of inspiration!

2009 PLACEMAT CHALLENGE

2009-12-04T02:55:00.003-05:00

As I said yesterday, our Embroidery Club is having a placemat challenge with the entries to be given to the Waldorf Chapter of Meals on Wheels. Well, all the entries have been received, photographed and posted below.

Please help us decide who should win the big prize (a thread storage box filled with embroidery thread). Look at the photos of the entries in the slideshow below.

After you have made a selection, then you can vote in one of two ways--by visiting Maryland Sew & Vac in Clinton, Maryland, or by sending an email to me at either Geri@soeasyquilts.com or at clubs@marylandsewvac.com.

November Embroidery Club

2009-12-01T01:31:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to add anything to my post, but I have been insanely busy trying to get ready for the holidays. I've also been working like crazy to finish this year's show quilt(More on that later).

We had a wonderful Embroidery Club meeting in November. Our ladies have been very, very busy. Our topic was "Small Gifts," and I demonstrated how to make this gift basket for the holiday powder room. It features a Christmas tree embroidered on hand towels, toilet paper (no, I'm not kidding), a candle, and guest soaps.

I have a gift for all of my newletter recipients as a token of my appreciation for all of your support and patience. You will receive original digitized design files in the format of your choosing and the instructions in PDF format to complete the items in the gift basket. Be sure to email me at Geri@soeasyquilts.com to sign up for my newsletter and let me know the design format that you need. The following formats are available: PES, DST, PCS, SEW, JEF, HUS, XXX, EXP, VIP, VP3, CSD, PCM and the designs range from 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" to 4" x 5-1/4"

OK, Here's the part of the Embroidery Club that you've been waiting for--SHOW & TELL. As you will see, we have some of the most talented embroiderers around.

At Club I also showed how to make the snowflake Christmas tree shown below. It was made using Designer's Gallery Christmas Traditions Software. I made 15 snowflakes ranging from 4-1/2" in diameter to 1" in diameter. They are stacked on a metal receipt spindle available at any office supply store. There are large crystal beads between the snowflake layers to separate the branches. You can learn how to make it by signing up for the Sew at Home class, Interactives, available through your local Babylock Sewing Machine Dealer.

What's coming up in the next few weeks? Well the Embroidery Club is having a Holiday Placemat Challenge. At the end of the contest, the placemats will be donated to the local Meals On Wheels program to help our local shut ins have a more festive holiday. Sorry, entries are limited to the Maryland Sewing & Vacuum Embroidery Club members. However, anyone can vote for their favorites and December 14th is the last day to vote. Check back in a couple of days to see the entries.

Also check back next week for some fantastic instructions and ideas from a suprise artist. Who is it? You'll just have to wait. It's worth the wait--she has some terrific ideas.

See you later--Geri

October Embroidery Club Show & Tell

2009-10-18T00:12:00.002-04:00

Show and tell is our favorite part of the monthly Embroidery Club. These have to be some of the most talented women in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area. Their work is amazing. Look at the Slideshow below and check out all the fun we have and look at some of the fantastic work our ladies produce.

As you can see, our ladies have been busy.

The best tip of the Club was presented by Vickie C. She suggested that you pin strips of the rubber drawer lining to the sides of your embroidery hoop. This will provide more "grip" to the hoop and help minimize the puckering that happens when the fabric is pulled into the center of the hoop by the embroidery process. They drawer linining is cheap and readily available. I tried it and, not only does it reduce puckering, improve registration, but it also eliminates hoop burn.

While we always have fabulous show and tell projects shown at Embroidery Club, I have to highlight a couple of really exquisite projects.

One was Kathy T.'s wall hanging. It shows her family tree and is a combination of photo transfer, thread painting, quilting, beadwork, and embroidery. The glass beads at the bottom magnify the photos below them. There is also lots of room to add new family members and their glass beads to the piece. Kathy, also known as the "Fish Lady" (seascapes are her usual subjects of choice) has really showed what a wonderful fiber artist she truly is. The photo does not do it justice.

Another notable project is Flora's Victorian wall piece of her family member with the exquisite hand bead work. It is very pretty and looks like it to hours to accomplish.

Kitty F. has really grown as a quilter. This lovey quilt was quilted using her embroidery machine. I love her use of color and it has wonderful, balanced design. Great work Kitty!

There were so many beautiful show and tell items, that I could never list them all. Besides, I learned two major lessons this month. 1. My camcorder takes lousy pictures (or it could be me). 2. Don't try to operate the camcorder while conducting a meeting. I cut off most of the heads and the rest of the shots were all blurry. I promise to do better next month.

Next month's topic is "Small Gifts"

October Embroidery Club

2009-10-14T02:15:00.019-04:00

Hi Folks,
We had a great time at Embroidery Club this weekend. This topic this month was "Sew What's New." Locally, we had the Original Sewing and Quilting Expo at the Chantilly, Virginia Expo Center. It was a wonderful event and I noticed that the best part of the Expo was going up to your friends and asking "What did you buy?" So members were asked to bring their their latest find to the meeting.

Here are some of the treasures Embroidery Club members bought. If anyone has any comments about the items people bought (either pro or con) then be sure to let us know by submitting a comment.

Top Row:
-Chizimi Thread that puckers for an interesting effect
- a T-Square (raided from her husband's tool box (for squaring up quilts
- Sandra got this fabulous doll from N'Zinga Dolls

Middle Row:
- A Bling Kit for hot fix crystals
- Mary took this fantastic class to learn to embroider on umbrellas
- Geri's haul of a Martelli cutting mat/rotary cutter/ruler kit, Graberoo machine quilting gloves, spiral eyed needles, Prismacolor water soluble graphite pencils, Clover bias cutting ruler, a Simplicity Piping Wizard, and Kai embroidery scissors

Bottom Row:

- Jeree's Tilt-able that came with a foot pedal stand and a step stool (for your other foot)

- Star Single paper for making perfect half square triangles

Other things people got at the show that are not pictured.

- A Simplicity Bias tape maker
-Solar scissors
- Brass Sewing Christmas ornaments
- Appliques for the embroidery machine from Dalco
- Embroidery designs from Momo Dini
- Almost everyone bought at least a fat quarter of fabric
- Wash-away thread for $2.00 in a clearance bin (lucky girl!)
- Fancy buttons
- Miracle Chalk
- Mary also took a really nice pin cushion class (picture was blurred)
- Martelli no slip foot petal mat
-Rita found really wonderful double eyed needle

So as you see, I still haven't mastered this digital photo stuff. Sorry ladies, a lot of the pictures I took came out very blurry. I'll try better next month.

Next installment: We had some fabulous show and tell at the Embroidery Club.

My Website is Finally Up and Running

2009-10-12T01:44:00.000-04:00

Hi Guys,

I finally got my website up and running. It's http://www.soeasyquilts.com/. The store page won't be finished until all the pattern testing is done and everything is just right. The site has photos of a lot of my quilts, YouTube videos, and even a link to this blog. I'm new at this internet stuff, so check it out and email at Geri@soeasyquilts.com if you have any comments or suggestions for improvement.

Electric Needle-turn Video

2009-10-07T09:19:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I have been busy this week. It started last week when I was asked to clarify my Electric Needle-turn technique by telephone. That was very hard to do. So I decided to give a shot at doing a video. That was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. First of all I didn't have a clue about video camcorders. I ended up buying three different ones and returning them and getting another one. I tried a cheap DMX one from Walmart and the picture quality was horrible and the audio was choppy when I transferred it to my computer. Next was a Canon from Staples. That one needed a mini DVD put into the machine and I could never get it to load. Next was a little Sony orange and it went back because you had to have a computer with at least a 2.8 GHz processor. My computer only has a 2.0 GHz processor so I knew it wouldn't work. Lastly I went back to Walmart and got a JVC Enverio and IT WORKED! So I spent the past two days shooting the video and uploaded it on YouTube.

I've also discovered that I am extremely camera phobic. I was a nervous wreck, and I think it shows. I loaded it anyway. The next one will get better. Please let me know what you all think and give me any suggestions for improvement. For better or worse, here it is.

Color Schemes

2009-10-06T01:21:00.000-04:00

Hi Again,

I've been a little preoccupied this last week. I've decided to add a little video to the blog and I have been researching video camcorders. I finally bought one today. It's a JVC-Everio, Model GZ-MS120 and a pretty red color (my favorite color). I tried out three different cameras and ended up bringing them back due to bad quality, too hard to operate or bad connections with my computer. It was a very frustrating experience. I'll be trying to tape something in the next couple of days for you all.

Back to our topic. Today, I'm going to talk about different color schemes for quilt as well as for home decorating. We will also be talking about using the color wheel to help us along.

Monochromatic: This is selecting only one color. It is the easiest to choose fabric for a monochromatic quilt than any other scheme. It does not have to be boring. Just be sure to remember rule number one: value. Just be sure to select a variety of lights, mediums, and darks.

Analogous: This is a complicated sounding name for quilts made from colors that lie side by side on the color wheel. Analogous colors look good together naturally, because their color roots are similar. They are great for baby quilts.

Select a focal color, then choose the two colors on each side of the focal. If you like, extend outward and add the next round of colors that touch the original focal fabrics.

It's important to include neutral colors, plus shades, tints and tones of the colors you're using, to add depth and variety to analogous quilts.

Complementary Colors: These are colors located across from each other on the color wheel. They are red and green, red-violet and yellow-green; red-orange and blue-green; yellow and purple; yellow-orange and blue-violet; and blue and orange.

It's often best to use one complementary color in smaller quantities than its pair. For instance, if you select yellow and purple, do not sew the quilt with equal amounts of the two colors. Instead, use one as a highlight, sprinkling it throughout your design. Remember that yellow is an attention hog, so use it sparingly.

Split Complementary: This layout is made by selecting three colors that are side by side on the color wheel, then adding the color that is directly across the color wheel from the color at the center of the trio.

TRIAD: The triad is threecolors that are evenly spaced from each other on the color wheel. Whatever color you land on, pick two more colors evenly spaced from the first one. These are the color combinations with the most amounts of spice and pop.

TETRAD: A tetrad is four colors that are evenly spaced from its complimentary color on the color wheel.

Hopefully, you now have the tools to help you select colors to make your world a more beautiful place.

The next topic: The Psychology of color. We will explore why we select the colors we do and the way color affects your life.

Tints, Shades, and Tones

2009-09-29T19:45:00.002-04:00

Oops! I forgot all about tints and shades in the last segment. This will be short. I promise!.

Remember, I said that the Hue is the pure color. In other words, one of the 12 basic colors of the color wheel. If you look at the color wheel shown n the last blog, hues can be found in the center ring.

Now, there's tints, shades, and tones. Good grief--What's that? All these play into the value of a color. Pure colors can be made higher in value by mixing them with white or lower in value by mixing them with black. Tones, also call the intensity of the color, describes the brightness or dullness of a hue.

Tints are pure colors with white added to them. Tinting a color makes it paler than the original hue. Most of the pastels are tints. For example, pink is a tint of red. These are the colors that are shown in the inside ring of the color wheel shown in the last segment.
Shades are pure colors with black added. Shades are darker than the original hue and are show in the outer most ring of the color wheel in the last segment. Dark forest green is a shade of green
Tone (or Intensity) describes how bright or dull a color is. A pure hue can be dulled (made less intense) by adding either grey or the color located on the opposite side of the color wheel (also called its complementary color). For example, adding purple to yellow reduces its intensity. A pure color mixed with either grey or its complementary color is called a tone. You will see a lot of tones in batik fabrics. Mauve is a tone of red.

Next Segment - Color Schemes and the Color Wheel

Third & Last Rule - Color

2009-09-27T17:25:00.000-04:00

Color is one of the first things we notice about a quilt, and it is the one aspect of quilt making that gives all of us the most grief. We all have our favorite colors and we tend to fall into a rut using the same colors over and over again. We also shy away from colors that we don't like.

Personnally, I love burgundy and rich, dark reds and dislike orange and green. I have found that you can't have a beautiful red flower without the green leaves. Also, a slight touch of orange will make a quilt sizzle. The more I try to step outside of my comfort zone, the better I like my quilts. Hopefully, the next few sections will encourage you try new colors and new color combinations.

When we think of color, we are usually talking about the hue and can be represented by the 12 basic colors of the color wheel. OK, I promised not to scare you too soon by talking about the color wheel, but we'll have to face it eventually, so we might as well begin now. Remember, it's only al tool!

OK, let's begin. Look at the week below. The basic hues are in the center ring of the wheel below.

A color has intensity. This refers to the purity of the color. Pure colors (the ones in the center ring) have the most intensity. They are the jewel tones, and they command the most attention in a quilt. What is the difference between value and intensity? Value refers to how light or dark a fabric appears, but the intensity refers to the color's dullness or purity. Quilts using lower intensity colors have a look of sophistication and unpredictablity. Quilts using pure colors have excitement and are dramatic.

Color also has visual temperature. This refers to whether a color is warm or cool. Warm colors spice things up and cool colors are calming and soothing. Reds, yellows, and oranges are warm colors, and greens, blues and violets are cool colors. (Exception: red-violet and yellow-green can be either warm or cool depending on the colors surrounding them.) Even neutrals have a temperature as black is usually considered warm and white is considered cool. Using warm colors next to cool colors shows greater contrast. The warm colors tend to grab attention and move forward and cool colors recede.

Next segement - Color Schemes and using the Color Wheel

Character of Print

2009-09-26T02:55:00.001-04:00

Here's rule number two--Character of Print. This is how large or small the designs are printed on the fabric. There are large prints, medium prints, small prints, and solids (and remember--some small prints will read as a solid). This rule is the second most important rule. A quilt would be a little boring if all the pieces were made up of prints in the same scale.

Take a look at the quilt below. The black and red show high contrast and has a good mix up of lights, medium, and dark value colors (Remember rule #1). BUT all the squares are made up of small prints. BORING!!!

Now let's look at a similar quilt, but this time I switched out some of the fabrics to include some large and medium prints. Doesn't it look much better?

Keep in mind the size of the pieces and the quilt when selecting your fabric. A fabric will look very different cut up than when you see it whole on the bolt. For instance, take a look at this lovely Kona Bay large print fabric.

This fabric would look lovely in a large block or a wide border, but the pattern would totally disappear cut up into a small square. Now, this could work to your advantage, if you are selecting small fabric pieces for applique or for broderie perse.

It would be a good idea to take some cardstock and make scale cutouts of your pattern pieces. You could take them with you when you shop. This way you can get an idea of what that terribly expensive fabric will look like when cut up into little pieces.

There is one exception to this character rule. When you are using period fabric, such as civil war fabric, 1930’s reproduction era, or feed sacks, you will just have to accept the fact this is the character of the period and move on. The quilt may not have as much POP as you are use to, but it will still make a wornderful quilt. At worst. it will make a great bedspread for everyday use!

Next session: Color Families

First of Three Rules for Selecting Fabric

2009-09-16T01:10:00.000-04:00

Well maybe not rules, but guides. I've never been one to follow rules, but these three do help me select fabrics that make more interesting projects. They are:

VALUE
CHARACTER OF PRINT
COLOR FAMILIES

VALUE: This is the most important rule of all.

Value is how dark or light a fabric appears. Generally fabric values fall into three categories; light, medium, and dark. So when you are shopping, look first for the darks and the lights that you need and then fill out the rest of your fabric budget with those medium fabrics.

Here's a shocker, 80 percent of all fabric available for sale in a quilt or fabric store is of a medium value. It's what sells. For example, let's say you only have money for one yard of fabric and the fabrics below are your choices: a light gray tone-on-tone or a medium blue swirl fabric. Which one would you choose? I'd don't know about you, but I would pick the one with the blue swirls. It's more appealing and the fabric manufacturers know it.

A quilt should be made up of a mixture of all three values. A quilt made up of all medium fabric can be rather dull.

Sometimes, it's hard to determine the value of a fabric. Here are a few ideas to help you sort out your fabric stash by value. Try placing fabric you are auditioning for a quilt on a black and white copy machine. The relative value will pop out immediately! The value is much easier to determine when you only see the grayscale image of your fabric. Try purchasing a set of ruby beholders to use when shopping. What are those? They are red and green pieces of plastic. Put them between your eye and the fabric. The ruby beholder will block out the effects of color on your eye. This allows you to see the fabric in grayscale. Many times, I am surprised to find what I think a light or dark fabric in regular light really turns out to be a medium fabric.

Using all medium value fabrics in a quilt can be quite boring. For instance, take a look at the greens below. Nice but boring!

Add just a little bit of white fabric and it instantly becomes more interesting!

Now let's see what happens with colors. The first sample below shows light green an light pink. Nice, but boring. It would probably be nice for a crib quilt.

See what happens when you mix a medium pink and a light green. It's still soft and nice, but the medium value adds more interest.

Then by adding the dark green and pink to the mixture adds pop to the piece. I'm still not crazy about this color combination, but you have to admit it more interesting to look at.

Tomorrow --The Second Rule: Character of Print.

Basics of Color and Fabric Selection Part 1

2009-09-11T20:25:00.000-04:00

Let’s talk about selecting fabrics for a home dec or craft project, a quilt, or even a garment. Yes, we’re going to talk about the color wheel, but just remember, it’s just a tool when your instinct for color is in stall mode.

First of all, trust yourself -- you know what you like! Maybe after this, you will have the confidence to step outside of your comfort zone and take a chance. What's the risk? If you don’t like the end result, there’s always a goodwill tax write off.

How to pick colors

I took several art and quilting classes in the area of color theory and it made me crazy when it came to selecting fabric for a quilt. All those theories just plain paralyzed me at the fabric store. Here are some of the tips and tricks below help take some of the thinking out of fabric selection.

If you are an absolute beginner, one thing you can do is to find a fabric you like, and look at it very closely. Pick out the colors from that fabric. The experts hired by the fabric companies are trained in color theory and they have done all the hard work. BUT when shopping, be careful not to select all medium value colors. About 80 percent of all the fabric in the stores is medium value fabrics. Why? Because that’s what sells.
Look at the dots on the sides of printed fabric. The dots show all the colors that were used in printing the fabric.
Take a photograph that you like and look very closely at the colors nature put in that picture. Zoom in on it very close. You'll see colors there that you never expected. use those colors as your color palette. See photos above.
Use a reducing lens or a kaleidoscope to audition colors. It helps you step back and see the colors from a different prospective.
Challenge yourself to use fabrics that you don’t like. The more you experiment with color, the easier it becomes. Soon you will be more comfortable using different colors and prints (ie 1930’s, Hawaiian prints, etc).
I make cat mats for all those color experiments. They are small, don't take too much time, and I use them to keep cat hair off my furniture. Color experiments help you to use up some of that undending fabric scrap stash.
Last resort, use the color wheel!

Next segment - The three big rules of fabric selection.

Houston Auction Wallhanging

2009-09-07T18:07:00.000-04:00

I have spent the past week working on a small wallhanging for the IQA auction in Houston in October. The pattern will be in the book that I am working on. I call the technique Electric Needle-turn. So if you are planning to be in Houston, Texas in October, stop the IQA Show and bid on my wall hanging.

I have also had a very frustrating week trying to transfer my domain name from the totally useless website I use to have to my new web host. My old web host gave me the royal run round. Anyway, it transferred this afternoon, so my website should be up and running in about two more weeks.

Here are a couple of photos of the IQA Auction wallhanging called Morning Glory Fan-tasy.

Welcome to Geri's Embroidery Blog

2009-09-01T09:08:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for checking out my blog. A special welcome goes out to all the members of the MD Sew & Vac's Embroidery Club and the Southern Comforter and Calvert County Quilt Guilds. This is totally new to me so please bear with me if I make mistakes. I hope to add information to this blog at least once a week, Also check out my website, www. soeasyquilts.com for more information. It should be up and running in about a week.

Why am I doing this and who am I? My name is Geri Ford and I am a quilting and embroidery teacher, designer and soon-to-be author. I love embroidery and quilting and I hope to share some of my enthusiasm and experience with all of you. In the weeks ahead, I will talk about stabilizers, thread, design selection so that I can help all of you with your embroidery projects.

Ok, let's begin

Today's Topic is: EMBROIDERY THREAD

(Let the Obsession Begin!)

I'm going to start talking about machine embroidery thread. This is part of my sewing studio (fancy name for a converted bedroom) and my wall of thread. The first five racks on the left show my machine embroidery thread. The sixth rack is my sewing thread and the rack on the right is my serging thread. Is this all? NO! There's much more in drawers and boxes.

THIS IS NOT THE IDEAL WAY TO STORE THREAD! Thread should be stored away from light, dust, and pollutants, but I am constantly inspired by my wall of color, so I don't care.

There are basically four types of thread used in machine embroidery: rayon, polyester, metallic and cotton. Most of the major brands are quality threads and can be used interchangably. Beware of bargain brands. When I first started embroidering, I bought some bargain rayon thread in the back of a sewing magazine. That was the most rotten thread I've ever seen and has no useful purpose in life. Reference: http://www.superiorthreads.com/ If you have a chance to hear Bob Purcell from Superior Threads give his program at a quilt show or sewing expo, sign up for his class. It is well worth the time and money!

Rayon - This is usually a 40-wt thread (we will talk more about the weight of thread in a future blog) and is made up of natural fibers. It is very shiny and pretty but since it is not colorfast , it should not be used in items that are washed a lot. It is a weaker fiber and should never be used for sewing seams and there are more problems with the thread shredding and breaking in machine embroidery. It is more prone to deterioration so beware of old, brittle thread. Use either a size 11, 12, or 14 embroidery needle with this thread. It helps to slow your machine down to about 600 stitches per minute for better results.

Polyester - This is usually a 40-wt thread and is made up of trilobal polyester (manmade) fibers. Since the dye is applied during the thread formation, polyester thread is colorfast. It is stronger than rayon and less prone to breakage and fraying. It works great at high speed (1000 stitches per minute). It has a loose twist to the fibers, and although it is a strong thread, it still should never be used for sewing seams. It is not quite as shiny as rayon, but has a much longer shelf life and had fewer problems. It is my fiber of choice as I have had bad experiences with red rayon thread bleeding onto the background fabric of one of my show quilts. I was not happy! Use either a size 11, 12, or 14 embroidery or titanium embroidery needle with this thread.

Cotton - This is usually a 50-wt cotton. It can be used for regular sewing or quilting. It is not shiny and gives the embroidery an old fashioned hand embroidered look. It is great for redwork and stand alone laces. It has a slight problem with shredding and breakage so slow down your machine to about 600 stitches per minute and slightly loosen the needle tension.

Metallic - Beautiful results, difficult thread. DO NOT BUY BARGAIN METALLIC THREAD. Good thread is made up a thin metal foil that is glued to a thin ribbon of rice paper and wrapped around a nylon or polyester core. This is why good thread is so expensive. This is a very stretchy thread and is prone to shredding and breakage, but the end results are well worth the effort. How to tame this beast? First use a metallic needle as the eye is coated with teflon and helps with the fiction issue with shredding thread. Second, slow down your machine to 350 stitches per minute if you can. Third, loosen your tension -- a lot. If 4.0 is your normal tension, loosen it to at least 3.0 for metallic thread. Fourth, use an external spool stand like the kind you use for serger thread. This way the thread spools off from the end with little to no back pressure. It also gives the thread more space to relax before it reaches the machine's tensioning system. If you have problems with thread spiraling too much or kinking, try taking a foam packing noodle, piercing it with a large hand sewing needle, jam the noodle into the thread stand, and threading the metallic thread through the hole.

Bobbin Thread - Use a thin 60-wt nylon or polyester thread. Machine embroidery is thick enough, why add more bulk in the bobbin where you can't see it. You can wind your own or use prewound bobbins. I like to use prewound bobbins. They are wound under pressure and hold a lot more thread than you can wind yourself. If your machine has a top loaded bobbin or has a low bobbin sensor, it is best to buy a prewound bobbin on a clear plastic bobbin and not a cardboard sided bobbin or one on an opaque plastic bobbin.

Well that's enough for today. I have a deadline on finishing a quilt for the IQA auction. I'll post pictures later. See you later.

Geri Ford