Introducing…. “Ambrosia”

Posted on Leave a comment

I am very pleased to introduce “Ambrosia”, my first line of quilting fabrics for Robert Kaufman. I just got the strike-offs this week and wanted to give you a sneak peek. The fabrics WILL NOT BE IN QUILT SHOPS UNTIL SEPTEMBER, but I will be creating some special patterns for them this summer to debut in the fall, so check back in.

Without further ado, here is Ambrosia…

Summer Color Story


Spring Color Story


The Buttercup fabric that is pictured here with the Spring grouping (big yellow circles with tiny flowers in between) actually coordinates with both families. The families can be mixed and matched as well.

I am excited. I’ll have to have someone pinch me to make sure they are real! (But not if the volunteer is a nine year old boy who goes by the nickname “Bob.”)

Pin It

Batgirl’s Bag, Part II

Posted on Leave a comment

The work on Batgirl’s bag continues.

I pieced the outside panels and made the pleated pockets. I then spread the panels on top of a layer of muslin and quilt batting. All set to quilt!

A few thoughts about quilting… Machine quilting is something that takes practice, like riding the bicycle. (Or so I hear, because I still can’t ride a bicycle.) For your first project, pick something small where the quilting will be unobtrusive. Use a relatively busy print – mistakes are more obvious on solids. This bag is a good project to try because it is lined, so you can use matching thread in the bobbin and no one will see your messy back or the threads that might pop to one side from time to time. Keep a quilt “sandwich” made of scraps beside you to “warm up” and experiment with.

I love the symmetrical, intricate designs on traditional quilts, but my ability to follow exactly along marked lines is not what I’d like it to be. For me, quilting along marked lines takes some of the joy out of the process. If you are learning, sometimes it is easier to just “wing it”. For this bag, I let the big flower motifs dictate the pattern. Instead of following them precisely, I quilted circles surrounded by big petals. In the area with the fern print, I quilted large fern-like leaves and filled in the with stippling. (You want to keep the amount of quilting realtively even throughout the design.) Here are the front and bag of the panels so you can see the quilting clearly, flaws and all:


If there were quilting police, they would surely arrest me, but I did have fun.

Another thing – threads and needles. Use high-quality thread and a relatively new needle – if you don’t the thread may break, and constantly starting and stopping is really frustrating. I usually swear by Mettler silk-finish thread for all sewing. Recently, I picked up a spool of Superior Threads Masterpiece Egytian cotton by Alex Anderson from Ye Olde Forest Quilt Shop in Greensboro, North Carolina, and I am in love. It is a dream to quilt with, even at rapid speeds. Happy quilting, everyone!

Amanda

Pin It

Peltex

Posted on Leave a comment

Okay, I’ll admit it. I am a huge fan of Peltex, to the point where I would go into a massive depression if Pellon ever decided to discontinue it. It is like Duct Tape for the sewing world. For those of you who haven’t used it before it basically REALLY heavy interfacing that is fusible on both sides. You can use it in your projects to construct many different three dimensional shapes that wouldn’t be possible with fabric alone.
Yesterday we were playing with fabric flowers. (This is for a delicious project for my second fabric release for Robert Kaufman Fabrics, coming out in late fall of this year.) Our favorites were the two below:

Which do you all like better? Both use Peltex in the leaves. The flower on the right uses Peltex in the flower as well, which gives it a more defined look. We can’t decide.

These are the things I learned making these flowers:
1. I am a better sewer than hot-gluer.
2. Sometimes you shouldn’t skip basting (don’t pretend you haven’t tried this either!)
3. White hot fabric glue stuck to tips of fingernails doesn’t look anything like a French manicure.

What a mess, but I do like the result! Of course, we had to make a matching barrette.

Have a lovely Memorial Day, everyone!

Amanda

Pin It