Craftsy Pre-Black Friday Yarn and Fabric Sales

Hi everyone:

Just a quick post to let you know about the great sales that are available at Craftsy from now until December 2 (can't believe it's going to be December in a few days!). 

You can save up to 80% off yarn and up to 65% off fabric for these few days. Best part is you don't have to wait until Friday to start shopping! 



These are the best prices of the year on craft supplies, so make sure you don't miss out on these fantastic savings! 

Now I'm off to do some shopping myself before the specials are all gone.

Chatting with Diane

Hi everyone:

I recently spent a very long day shooting some video with Diane McGregor of Castilleja Cotton. Okay, Diane and I had a great time chatting about quilting while my hubby did most of the filming and post-production work, but it's not easy being the talent, you know! 

You may not initially recognize Diane's name, but I'm sure that you've seen her patterns in your local quilt shop. Or perhaps you've seen her designs in a quilting magazine. Or maybe you've been fortunate enough to take one of her classes. Diane is a prolific pattern designer with over 500 patterns. 

I appreciated her spending time with me filming the videos. This video series will be released over the next few weeks. 

In the first video Diane talks about her journey as a quilter and shows us her passion, art quilting. Diane has developed her own technique and has created beautiful art quilts based on photographs. Some of these quilts are available as patterns and include complete instructions for Diane's technique. 

I hope you enjoy getting to know about Diane and her quilting.

Fabric Fundamentals - Episode 5 - Washing Your Fabric - or Not!

Hi everyone:


I know that this video is a day late, but that's because it was a holiday yesterday here in Alberta, so I took the day off. My husband and I were hard at work doing some filming in the extra few days that we had this week-end, so expect the next series of quilting videos to be available in a few weeks' time. 


This is the last video in the Fabric Fundamentals video series and it's all about that controversial subject of whether or not to wash your fabric before you piece it into your quilt. Watch my video to learn all about your options so you can decide for yourself.

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to view all of my quilting videos and ensure that you receive all future ones as well.

I'd love to hear whether or not you pre-wash your quilting fabric and your reasons for doing so - or not!

Fabric Fundamentals - Episode 4 - Fabric Pre-cuts

Hi everyone:


Have you heard about layer cakes and jelly rolls? No, I'm not talking about pastries; I'm talking about fabric pre-cuts. You'll want to check out my latest video in the Fabric Fundamentals series to learn all about these already-cut-for-you fabric bundles. 

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to view all of my quilting videos and ensure that you receive all future ones as well.

Fabric Fundamentals - Episode 3 - WOF

Hi everyone:


Thanks for all the positive comments about the previous 2 videos. I'm glad that you're enjoying them and have even learned a thing or two. 


This week we'll be continuing our exploration of fabric and investigating that mysterious "WOF" or width of fabric. This is an expression that you'll hear and see over and over again in patterns and classes, but how much do you really know about it? Well, after viewing my video, you'll be an expert.

I'm currently working on another video series regarding studio organization and set up, so if there's a specific topic that you'd like me to cover, please let me know.


Subscribe to my Youtube channel to view all of my quilting videos and ensure that you receive notification of future ones as well.

Fabric Fundamentals - Episode 2 - Selvedge, or is that Selvage?

Hi everyone:


Wow, Monday is here again already and you know what that means? Time to release another video in the Fabric Fundamentals series. 


This week I'll be addressing that tricky Jekyll and Hyde of fabric, Mr. Selvedge - or is that Selvage?  


Grab your popcorn or favourite sweet treat, pull up a chair and let's learn all about him, er, it.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions for future video episodes. 

Bust your stash!

Hi everyone:


I'm currently working on another sample for an upcoming class, which gives me a chance to clear out some of my stash - and I have lots of stash to clear out!


Do you ever wonder if you have too much fabric in your studio? Of course, "too much" is such a relative term, don't you agree? Well, finally, there's a reward for having stash-itis. AccuQuilt is having a "Bust Your Stash" photo challenge and here's all the information you need to enter it.

Bust My Stash Photo Challenge

Have you stared at your fabric stash and wished that you had the time and energy to cut up your fabric for future projects?  AccuQuilt has the answer!  Click on the following link to participate: http://on.fb.me/qtyUoq or go to AccuQuilt’s Facebook page and click “Like”.  Then go to the ‘Bust My Stash’ tab under their profile picture and upload a picture of your fabric stash.  Submit your photo by Friday, July 22^nd and you’ll be eligible to win a GO! Mix & Match 12” Starter Set.  The photo with the most votes by July 31^st wins!  Photos will be voted on by viewers and fans of the AccuQuilt Facebook page using the following criteria: relevance, creativity, and originality.  Share with your friends during the voting period to increase your odds of winning!

In case you're wondering what my stash looks like, well, here are some pictures of it. 

Fat quarters in drawer unit; kits and fabrics with patterns in
boxes - all stored in my sauna. No, I don't quilt in the sauna - yet!

Novelties and 30's prints - I've cleaned this up
since this photo was taken. Well, a little bit anyway.

Fabrics stored by colour - sort of - under my cutting table.

Okay, so it doesn't look very tidy and I do intend to straighten it up - someday. Right now I'm more focussed on actually quilting and preparing some new patterns. 

Hopefully this doesn't overwhelm you. I also have batiks stored in a large container, as well as charm packs and jelly rolls which are also packed away elsewhere. It would be nice if all my fabric was in one area, but that's not possible in my quilt studio, so it will stay like this for now. The main thing is that I know where all my fabric is and it's sorted according to my own particular system so I can find whatever fabric I need quickly. Now, where did I put that polka dot fabric...

Hoping to see your fabric stash on the AccuQuilt challenge. Good luck!

Never enough fabric

Hi everyone:


Recently I've been trying to use up my existing stash - and have been doing quite well at this I think. But using up stash means that there are some holes available that need to be filled with new fabric. I've also rearranged (notice, I didn't say weeded out) my quilt and craft books and there appears to be a bit of space available there as well for some new volumes. 
So, what's a girl to do? Well, shop, of course! But not at any fabric store. Oh no, I'm really loving going to the Goodwill store to pick up wool clothes and use the fabric in small projects. This is great, but a few weeks back I hit the motherlode! Yes, a great fabric and craft sale with all proceeds going to a good cause. I'm talking about the annual Ujamaa Grandmas fabric sale here in Calgary.

Did I buy too much? This is a rhetorical question!

I've never seen so much fabric in one place at one time. And the prices! Well, let's just say my money went a long way that day! Besides all types of fabric, which is sorted according to type and colour, there are books, magazines, yarn, craft items, well, if it has to do with sewing or crafting you'll find it there. The variety was overwhelming - almost!

Some of the wool pieces I purchased.

Luckily I brought along my daughter, Sarah, as my quilt sherpa. Between the two of us we managed to find everything from wool to Creative Circle craft kits. Our buying had to stop when we couldn't carry any more items. 

Creative Circles kits at $.50 for my "collection".
I even bought one I already have!

The best part of all this (besides the look on my husband's face when he saw all our purchases) was that the money goes to help grandmothers raising their grandchildren, orphaned by AIDS, in Africa. 

Some of my fabric and pattern finds.

Batiks, fabric, patterns, anyone?

Books

More books - great for design inspiration

I was so impressed by the ladies volunteering there that I joined our local Calgary chapter. They are a hard working, positive, fun group of ladies. In addition to their fabric sale in April each year, they hold a Bags, Babies and Beyond sale in October. These are their two primary fundraising events and this year they raised $20,000 through the fabric sale alone. Wow, that's a lot of fabric! 


The Ujamaa Grandmas are a Stephen Lewis initiative and you can read more about their work here. 


Now I just have to figure out where to put all these new purchases...

Brainstorming with fabrics

Hi everyone:


I've had my head down this past week working on several projects, so I apologize for being out of touch. I'm almost finished one project, which I'll talk about in an upcoming post, but I thought you might be interested in seeing how I select fabrics when I'm working on a design.


Now, I'll be the first to admit that I don't always approach things in a logical fashion and often will jump from thing to thing, so I can't be expected to have an orderly, organized method to choosing fabrics for projects, can I? While some people purchase fabrics specifically for projects they intend to make, I often buy fabrics that catch my eye and then have to figure out what to do with them - and where to store them! Hopefully, since I really liked them when I bought them, they'll be perfect for one of my future projects. I usually buy several coordinating fabrics, so I will have enough to make a table runner at the very least. This year I'm really trying hard to use up my existing stash, but it can be a bit challenging to find the fabrics I need in my studio. It does, however, allow me to re-connect with forgotten fabric friends. 

I liked them; I bought them!

Once I have my design complete it's time to start searching in my stash for those perfect fabrics that will really make my finished quilt shine. 


Here's where the disorganized part comes in. I know that some people will choose fabrics and make a block to see if the fabrics work well in the quilt before they make the entire project. Not me. I'm too impatient and just want to choose the fabrics, make the quilt and be on to the next project. I think making a block or two is a great idea and I have done this to check out a construction technique, but never to check fabric combinations. Did I mention that I can be a bit stubbon? Anyway, this is how I do it:


I pull out several fabrics that I think might be suitable for the design and then start to play. I must admit that I quickly eliminate fabrics which are in insufficient quantities to take part in the current project. I may be impatient and stubborn, but I'm not dumb! They'll have to wait for a future design. Initially I have fabrics stewn all over each other, but then I start to narrow down the selections. Next I start to fold up the fabrics to approximate the size and shape that they'll have in the quilt. Then I arrange the fabrics to see if they play nicely together. I often take photos of my arrangements or use a door viewer or spyglass, as I like to call them, to get an overall view. I also find that this helps to see if there is sufficient contrast among the fabrics. If one or two fabrics aren't working out, then they'll be swapped out and new ones will be introduced.  It can sometimes take quite awhile to get the fabrics just right, but then I know they'll work okay in the finished quilt. If all looks well, I'll then proceed to cut up my fabrics and make the design.

Fabrics folded to approximate shape and size

Auditioning fabrics

I also use a similar technique when arranging die-cut appliqué shapes for a project. I think I just love playing with fabric! I will lay out the background fabric and borders and then spend time arranging and rearranging appliqué pieces until they look just right. I often take photos at this stage to help me when I actually fuse the fabrics down - which may be a few days later, since I often get distracted by other ideas and projects. Did I mention that I can be a bit scatterbrained too? 

Auditioning hearts and circles cut with Accuquilt GO! dies

So now you know how I select my fabrics for my projects. Do you have a method that you've found works well for you? I'd love to hear about it. In the meantime I'm off to finish  the edges on some appliqué shapes. I think I actually might get this project done this week!