Block #43 in the Machine Quilting Challenge

Good Morning,

We've had several days of yucky, wet weather here in Denver, rain and slush and even a bit of snow. The weather guys are predicting that Spring will really arrive next week with temperatures in the 70's. I can't wait! I love the spring, with all of the trees in bloom and the flowers beginning to blossom. All of the tulips in my front garden seem to have survived this storm and are lush and beautiful.

Spring is such a great time for renewal. I've been Spring cleaning, getting more organized and spending more time out in the back garden. Sometimes it's hard to make time for creativity. Sticking to a creative habit can often be as difficult as sticking to a new diet or budget (both things I am NOT good at). But the rewards can be so fulfilling! Have you ever thought of embracing a more creative lifestyle? What changes do you think you could make to add 30 minutes of creative time to your daily schedule?

Today's new stitch-out; Filigree, is a wonderful, delicate,whimsical background fill. It looks great all on it's own or stitched around design motifs (.....just wait till you see tomorrow's block!). It is a continuous design that requires lots of over stitching (stitching back over lines you have all ready stitched). But unlike some other over stitched designs, this one looks great if you stitch right next to the original line rather than right on top. This will make it easier for some stitchers and more difficult for others. You'll probably want to doodle it out before you take your first stitch.

Begin in the center of the block and stitch a small swirl that is about 3/4" across. Stitch back over the swirl (or right next to it, doubling up the width of the line) and make a second swirl. These swirl don't have lots of rotations, just one and a half or so. Stitch back over the second swirl and stitch away then make another swirl. Change up the size of the swirls and add little half swirls along the way too. My swirls vary in size from 1/4" up to 3/4". Try to keep a consistent amount of space in between the swirls too. If you get stuck and can not determine where to stitch next, remember that you can always knot off and start up again somewhere else.

I hope you enjoy this delightful little design,

Till tomorrow,

Heather

Block #42 in the Machine Quilting Challenge

Good Afternoon,

Today's stitch-out is the second in a two part triangle design. I call it Triangle Maze. It is very similar to the square and round swirls. As with the other swirls, you stitch in then leave yourself room to stitch back out again.

It is very helpful to mark the rows in which you plan to stitch. I marked five, 2" rows using a Hera marker. Stitching begins in the lower, left hand corner. This corner is occupied by a half triangle. Each row will begin and end with a half triangle. The triangles are easiest to do if they are equilateral - that is, all the sides are the same length. This one definitely requires some doodling before you take your first stitch.

Begin in the bottom, left hand corner and stitch up and toward the right so that the top of the line is positioned about 1" away from the side of the block. Next stitch over toward the left till you reach the edge then stitch down along the edge and stop about 1/4" before the bottom. Now stitch back up, about 1/4" inside the angled line on the right stopping 1/4" before you get to the top then stitch across toward the left then all the way down to the bottom and over to the left past the outside line of the triangle you just stitched by about 1/4". This will put you in position to stitch you first complete triangle.

Keeping the line about 1/4" away from the outside line of the half triangle, stitch an angled line up stopping just below the creased line. Next, stitch back down, angling toward the right and striving for a 2"distance from the beginning of the triangle. Stop 1/4" from the bottom and stitch across the bottom stopping 1/4"from the other side then stitch back up again, continue swirling in, making the lines about 1/4" apart, until you are in the center then stitch back out again keeping the outbound lines centered between the lines that are all ready stitched.

Once you are back out, stitch along the bottom of the triangle until you are position to make the next triangle. The next triangle is made in the same way, only upside down. Continue making triangles until you get to the end of the row and finish with a half triangle. Stitch up along the side of the block to get in position to stitch the next row and do it in the opposite direction.

I love how contemporary this design is,
Hope you enjoy playing with it,
Till tomorrow,
Heather

The Machine Quilting Challenge - Block #41

Good Morning,

Hope you enjoyed yesterday's stitch-out. Today we're going to begin a two day stint of playing with triangles. Here is the easier of the designs. It is a background fill made from mostly triangles. It's challenge is to make straight sides and tight points. It's ease is that you can cross over lines to get to where you want to go so there is never a need to panic!

Doodle it out before you begin so that you become comfortable with the way that the triangles are formed and how to travel between triangles.

Begin near the middle of your block. Stitch the first two sides of a triangle. As you complete the shape with the third side, stitch past the intersection that forms the third corner far enough away so that you can make another triangle. Keep making triangles and filling in the space, keeping the negative space as even as possible and slightly varying the size of the triangles. My triangles are between 1/4" up to 3/4" with negative space of approximately 1/8" in between.

Hope you like today's quick and easy stitch-out. It's great for contemporary quilts and kids quilts too.

Till tomorrow,

Heather

Block # 40 in the Machine Quilting Challenge

Good Morning,

I'm back after a little break with lots of new quilting designs. I've really been enjoying this project. It's getting me to broaden my horizons and stitch out designs that I haven't used in a long time and come up with new designs too.

I spent some time last week trying to think of all sorts of things that could be added to a simple clam shell stitch out. So here are some of the additions that I came up with. If you need a review, I posted the instructions several weeks ago. It is block #17. Make the clam shells at least 1" wide so that you have room to put designs in them. In the small slice photo above you can see 11 different designs stitched inside the clam shells from tall grasses to tiny circles and lots of other shapes. Choose 3-5 designs and use them in your clam shells. It looks best if you have at least three rows repeating one shape to really get a good understanding of how the design looks.

In the block above I used three designs, Asian Grasses in the lower section, Waves in the mid section and Alternating Furrows in the top most section. Some of the designs are stitched as each clam shell is stitched while others are added after the row of clam shells have been completed.

The Asian Grasses are added during the making of the clam shells. Beginning on the lower left hand edge of your block, stitch a clam shell and at the right hand end of it, stitch a mid sized arch inside it along the upper curve then stitch back down again to make a curved blade of grass, then stitch a second smaller one under the first one. Each blade of grass should begin and end in the right hand corner of the clam shell. Complete the first row in this manner. The next row is stitched from right to left and the grasses come out of the left hand corner so that they alternate with the previous row.

The wave design is added after the row of clam shells has been stitched. Stitch the clam shells and once completed, stitch back in the opposite direction with a wavy line about 1/4" inside the top curve of each clam shell. Begin and end each wavy line inside the corners of the clam shell.

The Alternating furrows are also added after a row of clam shells has been stitched. You will have to retrace portions of each clam shell as you add the rows of stitch inside it. Try very hard to stay on the previously stitched lines or the design will begin to look sloppy. Add lines moving in one direction/angle in the first row and lines moving in a different direction in the next row then back to the original direction in the third row and so on.

I hope you enjoy this combined stitch-out. I bet you can come up with some really fun designs to stitch inside your clam shells!

Till tomorrow,

Heather

Block #39 in the Machine Quilting Challenge

Good Morning,

Last night I went to the 1st Monday Art Talk(http://www.fmatdenver.com/) at Dazzle Jazz Club. It's a great venue. The artists work hangs for a month and on the Talk night she/he is feted with a nice introductory bio then gets interviewed in a question and answer session where the audience gets to participate. This months artist is local painter Audrey McNamara whose urban themed paintings depict gritty vignettes of modern life. Her work has a graffiti like feel to it with bold outlines and lots of gesture lines that invoke a sense of movement Though she uses lots of black, a good deal of her work relies on subtle tones and as my daughter said, " lots of taupe". There were several pieces that I wanted to take home with me. The evening also included some spoken word performances by a young woman and an older man (sorry I didn't get their names),. Both were highly entertaining and thought provoking. It was a lovely evening and just what I needed to get me back in the creative mode (I've been having a little dry spell).

Here is today's new stitch-out; I call it Gothic Swirls. It is a border/sashing design and looks best in long rows. It looks very complicated, but it uses elements we've used before; a swirl and petals. So that you could see how it is sectioned out I stitched each portion of the design separately in the long narrow piece and made sure that the creased sections in the block were discernible. You definitely want to doodle this one out to get the rhythm and spacing of it.

Begin with a long tail that gently curves into a swirl. Swirl in then out. Once you are out of the swirl, begin making small, half round, petals all the way around the swirl. Once you get about an inch away from the end of the tail make one final elongated petal. Now add a second row of petals above the first row as you stitch back in the opposite direction. This second row of petals can be half rounds like the first or they can have a peak like the ones shown. Stitch these petals around the swirl until you reach the bottom edge then swoop up again toward the next swirl. The hardest part of this design is the spacing that's why marking the sections with a Hera marker is so helpful. As you make the swirl try to place it in the middle of the second half of the section so that you have room to surround it with petals.

The design can be used in several ways. Use it in a single row for a narrow border or sashing or double it up, face to face to form a heart in a wider border. The top most section of the block shows two rows that move in the same direction but are offset, which is another way you can use the design.

To stitch out the block, divide it into 6,1 1/2"wide rows then divide the rows into 3, 3 1/4" long sections. You will stitch one complete design inside each of the 1 1/2" x 3 1/4" sections. Begin in the section in the bottom left hand corner. Place your needle down near the top left hand corner in the section and stitch down and over to the right forming a slight arch like half of a heart and head into a swirl. Make the swirl, leaving yourself enough room to stitch back out of it. Just as you finish stitching back out of the swirl begin making small, half round petals. Stitch these all the way around the outside of the swirl and back to the beginning of the line with the last petal elongated. Next stitch the second row of petals just above the first row. When you reach the base of the swirl, stitch a slight arch into the next section to form the next Gothic Swirl. When you have stitched the entire row knot off and begin again back on the left hand side of the block. If you want to form hearts then the second row is stitched upside down so that the swirls meet up with the swirls in the first row.

I hope you enjoy this design. I thinks it's beautiful.

Till tomorrow,

Heather

Block #38 in the Machine Quilting Challenge

Good Morning,

I hope today is the start to a great week for everyone.

It is my youngest daughter's 20th birthday today. I find it hard to believe that my children are both 'grown-up's'! Time does fly by and as I get older I feel like I need to pay more attention. Especially to things such as how I spend my time and who I spend it with. I want to learn to be more discerning (was kind of hoping that would come with age - but not so far) and yet more open. Birthdays, mine and others, always remind me of how precious time really is.

Well, enough with the Monday morning philosophy..... here is today's new stitch-out; Rambling Feathers. This is an all over or fill stitch. It can be used in wide borders, in setting squares or triangles or as an all over design on a quilt with simple piecing. If you've never used feathers as a fill you'll probably want to doodle this one out to get the feel for how the feathers nestle into each other.

You will use the same technique described in yesterdays block, #37 to make the feathers. They are linked together by small loop d'loops (click on the photo to see it larger). Each of my feathers is between 2 1/2" - 3 1/2" long and about 1 1/4" - 1 1/2" wide. You can make yours as large or small as you like, just strive for consistency. This can mean that all of your feathers are about the same size or that you have lots of different sized feathers. What you probably don't want (because it looks like a mistake) is a bunch of feathers that are all close in size and one that is much larger or smaller.

Begin by stitching a curved feather near the center of your block. Once complete, loop d'loop your self away from the finished feather and stitch a second feather that curves in the opposite direction from the first. Keep stitching feathers, switching the direction of the curves so that they can nestle into each other and/or make a nook in which to position another feather.

I really love the artistry and dimension that this stitch-out can bring to a project. I hope you enjoy experimenting with it.

Till tomorrow,

Heather

Block #37 in the Machine Quilting Challenge

Good Morning,





I've been enjoying a really nice three day weekend - with no teaching, a lot of rest and just a little creativity. I spent most of Friday down in Colorado Springs indigo dying with the girlfriends and I plan to do some more today. It's a very addictive technique!





Here is today's new stitch-out; Feathers. I love stitching feathers but have to admit that I don't use them all that often. I like to use them on projects that have very simple piecing. Or feature them as the major design elements because they are big attention getters. Every quilter uses a different technique to make feathers. So, if you've made feathers before and were successful with them then their is no need to change the way you've done them in the past. However, if you've always struggled with them or have never given them a try, then explore my method.

The photo on the left shows the separate steps that I take when forming a feather. I start at the bottom of the spine (center line), stitching upwards and end with the tear drop shape that forms the top of the feather. Next, I stitch all of the feathers along the left hand side (easiest if you are right handed, start with the right side if you are left handed) then I back over the end of the spine and head back up to the top of the feather forming a spine that is thick on the bottom, about 1/4" wide and narrows down to a point as I reach the top feather. I then begin making feathers on the remaining side, trying to match them up with the feathers on the original side.

This technique requires you to double over part of the feather section that you just stitched to create the next feather section. If you don't like doubling over, simply separate your feather sections as shown in the last sample in the stitch-out on the right.

As you begin your feather making experience, make the spine just slightly curved as placement of the feather sections can be somewhat difficult on concave curves. Once you feel competent making simple feathers, pump it up by making more curved ones.

To make the feathers above, begin by stitching the spine, from the bottom, up. Add the top teardrop then begin making feather sections on one side. Always angle the bottom portion of each section down, towards the base of the spine, this will place you in the correct position to add the next section. Some people like feathers that have a half heart shape others prefer more of a tear drop shape. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you strive for consistency. Once you have completed one side of the feather, double back over the base of the spine and stitch back up to the top of the feather and add the feather sections to the other side.

I surrounded my main feather with tiny circles - just because I like the way it looks.

Next make a smaller feather on each side of the larger feather. If you feel up to it, curve the center spines so that they fill up the corner space well and hug the center feather. I used slightly wavy lines spaced about 1/4" apart in the background but you could stipple too. Heavily quilting the background areas around the feathers will make them poof as if they were trapunutoed.

I hope you have fun playing with feathers.

Till tomorrow,

Heather