Feb. 2004
Quilting in sections
Since I can't stand to handle all that bulk under the sewing machine, I make it a point to NEVER machine quilt large pieces. I machine quilt them in sections, then attach them together later. I made a commission 10 and a half feet tall, 7 feet wide, and I completed the center in three sections, and I also quilted each of the four borders separately and bound each border piece before attaching them all together. (It is "The Opera Quilt" on my website gallery.) I used Ricky Tims' piped binding method and the only thing I had to do after it was all one humongous piece was to finish the corners of the binding. (If you ever get a chance to take Ricky Tims' Finishing class, take it! His piped binding is the best!)
A section about 45" x 45" is the biggest I ever like to machine quilt. This is a decision I made several years ago, and it has made my quilting life MUCH happier.
March 2004
Digital to slides
In case anyone has a digital camera and wonders how to turn the digitals
into slides, I think Shutterbug Photo in Aiken, SC does a good job.
Their website is www.color-imaging.com and you can email them at
order@color-imaging.com . There is also a website that is actually
called Shutterbug but that is a different company and they don't do
digital to slides.
Slides cost $1.75 each, additional slides of the same image
cost $1.00 each. Postage is $2.75 every time, I believe.
You can email your images to them, or mail them a CD. It took a little over 2 weeks from the time I mailed off my CD to when I received back the slides, so you have to plan ahead if you want to use snail mail. But I am pleased, and will use them again.
I also have their information on my "Links" page on my website.
Apr. 2004
Advice to an aspiring quilt artist
I was asked, "What are the two most useful tips you can give to an aspiring quilt artist?"
The first thing I would suggest is to join the quiltart email list. If you are a lurker for awhile,
you will hear more advice than you ever dreamed possible, and then after you get used to the way it works and familiar with the different topics and people, you can start sending posts also. If you want to get about 50-80 messages a day, all about art quilts, how to enter shows, what judges are looking for, etc. then join that. Its basically free, but you can donate $15 a year if you want.
The second thing I would say is start going to the major quilt shows, such as the Williamsburg Quilt Festival (the closest one to us, the last week in February) or to Houston (the International Quilt Festival in November). You'll really learn what prizewinning quilts look like, and will be able to network with all the people you have corresponded with on the quiltart email list. These two things are the best advice I could give.
I will give you the instructions for subscribing to quiltart next month, because they are in the midst of redoing their server. I have heard that there are about 2000 people on the list.
May 2004
Try new techniques! Change styles whenever you feel the urge!
Having just turned a major corner in my work, I am suddenly faced with the fact that all my
previous work now looks "old" to me. I am scheduled to teach all my former techniques for at least two years in the future, and now all I want to do is my new technique!! BooHoo!!
So I found this quote, and it has made me feel better about changing styles:
"God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant, the ant. He has
no real style. He just goes on trying other things." -Picasso
Also, I told you last month that I would give you the instructions for subscribing to quiltart
this month. Go to http://www.quiltart.com/subscribe_info.html and follow the instructions
there.
June 2004
Embellishing without messing up the back of the quilt.
You probably know that I do a lot of embellishment on my quilts. Someone asked "How important is it that the back of an art quilt is pretty? Do judges look at the backs, too?"
When I make quilts with lots of hand embellishment, I don't add the back until later. I usually do all the embroidery and beading through the top and batting, then add the back after that. (You can put a back on using the "pillowcase" technique, or add a back and
then bind it.) Then quilt through all the layers along some of the seamlines or around some selected motifs. I have won prizes when there was a lot of quilting and embellishment on the front, but the back hardly had any quilting at all.
I personally wouldn't enter any of the "big" quilt shows with all that mess showing on the back, because I know the judges would give the prize to the quilt with the clean back instead of to mine. I think art galleries and mixed media competitions are a completely
different story.
July 2004
Make room for your art
Ask yourself: Why aren't I finding more time to sew and quilt? Is it because I have not set aside a space for it?
I have always made it a point to have a place for my sewing stuff, and I
tell everyone to do the same. No matter how small your house is, you
deserve a place to keep your dearly loved activities, so you can use them
easily. In our first little house, my sewing machine was
in the living room, but the linen closet in the nearby hallway was
completely given over to my fabric and supplies. In my next house, I used a small storage room in the basement, and in this house I have the bonus room. If it is a priority to you, you can find a place to store your projects with the least amount of putting away and setting up. That makes it easier to sew a little when you have the time.
Aug. 2004 Sewing kits for doing mending
Isn't it annoying the way the mending piles up? Mending just doesn't compete when all you want to do is have fun with quilting! When I am in my sewing room, I get "in the zone" and don't think about mundane things like that. My feelings of guilt (and my family's nagging) made me figure out a solution. I discovered that if I made three more sewing kits (containing a seam ripper, scissors, handsewing needle, thimble and thread) I could keep them in various places and do my mending there. One is near my phone, one is at the tv, one is in the car. Anytime I have a button that needs sewn on, or a hem to redo, I
toss the garment into one of those places and it gets done!
Sept. 2004 "Advice on rayon thread"
I love to use rayon thread when machine quilting or machine embellishing. I bought Sulky's big thread storage box of 104 spools of of Sulky rayon 30 weight thread in 2002, and couldn't be happier with my purchase. I have been using it on everything since then. It was about $280, but if I had bought all the spools separately it would have been $356.
It is called a Sulky Slimline Thread storage box, and I bought the"Quilter's Dream Package 1" which is 30 weight thread. There are otheroptions, such as the "Embroiderer's Dream Package", which is all 40 weight.
I love 30 weight for my quilting and decorative sewing because it is thicker. (You can remember the weight because it is alliteration: Forty is Finer, Thirty is Thicker.) It shows up so much better than the 40 weight.
My other favorite thread is Superior brand Rainbow Thread. I LOVE their variegated thread, it variegates in one-inch increments, instead of the 4-6 inch increments in other brands. You can see the variegation on the background of my website, or in my Current Works gallery, the quilt is called "Groovy Basket of Blessings".
Dec. 2004
Horizontal thread, vertical thread
Did you know that some thread spools should sit up vertically, and some should lay down horizontally? If your machine only has one kind of spool pin or the other, you would be smart to buy a supplemental thread spool holder. These are available for most machines.
Libby Lehman taught me a clever way to remember which way to put the spool. If you look at the thread on the spool and it looks like it has crisscrosses all over it, it needs to lay down horizontally. (These threads are usually on long skinny spools, and include Mettler, Gutermann, Sulky, and others). Libby says you can remember this by thinking of the cartoons of dead people. They have X's drawn on their eyes. Dead people lay down. Thread spools with crisscrosses lay down too.
Thread on fat spools, like Coats & Clark, needs to sit up straight on a vertical spool pin. I believe it is the direction of the twist on the yarn that makes the difference, but don't quote me on that.
My Bernina 153 has both kinds of spool pins. I recently learned that it is correct to push the end cap tightly onto the horizontal spool pin to hold the horizontal thread firmly so it doesn't spin. I learned from Bernina that horizontal thread is not supposed to spin. The thread just pulls off the end of the stationary spool. Who knew?
Jan. 2005
Hanging Oddly Shaped Quilts
Something to think about when making a round quilt, or any other shape which is difficult to hang:
Gravity works! You can't completely counteract gravity , and a show curator might not want to deal with your quilt if he or she suspects it will hang poorly.
I curated 3 art quilt exhibits at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center (2000, 2001, and 2002) and was very wary of the quilts I saw in slides which were anything other than square or rectangle. My mind would immediately try to picture how it would hang on the wall, and what headaches it would give me in trying to get it to hang flat, and I eliminated some right off the bat because I didn't care to deal with them.
Before I knew better, I accepted some round ones and we had all we could do to slap, poke and prod them into shape every time we walked past them---it was miserable. (The round one with a tube sewn around the outside was the worst.)
Later, when I wasn't the curator anymore, PAQA-S took over the management of the art quilt show at the Page-Walker. They would get some art expert to jury the slides, who was not fixated on the question of "How will this particular quilt hang on the wall?". As a helper on the hanging committee, we had to deal with some real nightmares.
So, when I make quilts which need to be an unusual shape, I try to think about how I could border them to make them square at the top, at least. The bottom edge can stay funky. (copyright 2005 Amy Stewart Winsor)
Feb. 2005
My Lack of Premeditation
Someone asked "How much time do you spend staring at your fabric before you actually start working on it?"
My answer: I found out many years ago that if I just start playing and cutting and sewing, without thinking much about the outcome, I will eventually get to a point where a lightbulb in my head goes on and I say "Wow! This would make a great _____ (fill in the blank: background, sky, flower, etc)!" This is my favorite way to work, and the results have been some of my best creations.
Another one of my techniques is to make small elements, in large quantities (such as yoyos, crooked log cabin blocks, crazy quilt patches, etc) until I have enough, and then spread them out and start thinking of
how to arrange them. The great benefit of this modus operendi is that by the time I know what I want to make, most of the busy work has already been done, and it is ready to put together.
Many times I go ahead and quilt the center of a big quilt before I even think of the borders. Later, I design the borders, machine quilt them, and then attach them to the center panel.
I almost never know how to finish a piece until the very last. I will look at an almost finished quilt top and come up with a way to border it or edge it, or decide what embellishments it needs. When I think of
something satisfactory, I will just go for it, without too many second thoughts. My motto is "Finished is better than perfect". And after it is finished, if I think it needs a little more pizazz, I can always add
more embellishments. (copyright 2005 Amy Stewart Winsor)
March 2005
Only Do Techniques You Love
As psychologist Abraham Maslow's research revealed 30 years ago, all fully-functioning, productive, joyful people have one trait in common: They're doing work they love. When you are doing the parts of a quilt that are your favorite, the work goes fast and you can't wait to do it. On the other hand, the steps you hate get postponed, and sometimes the quilt becomes a UFO (unfinished object). What can you do?
Ask yourself what is bothering you about a particular step. Why are you putting it off? Ask the ladies in your quilt bee or at quilt guild for some ideas on different ways to do it. Maybe you will find ways that are not so distasteful to you.
Another strategy is to break unpleasant tasks down into smaller parts, do a little on each one. You can pick out incorrect seams while talking on the phone, or do the handsewing while riding in the car or watching TV.
Learn to say no to tasks you don't like. Hate to do bias binding? Learn an edge finish such as those used on art quilts: rattail cording zigzagged on the edge, or pillowcase finishing. Never do bias binding again, if you truly hate it. Spend your time on processes that you love. A favorite verse of mine from the Book of Mormon is "Man is, that he might have joy." If quilting is your joy, make sure you don't choose techniques that are a burden to you. Frolic in the fabric! (copyright 2005 Amy Stewart Winsor)
April 2005
Piecing My Backings
I often piece my backings, because I buy many 1/2 yard pieces of fabric. If I have 2 pieces that are the full 45" width of fabric, I will sew them together and use them for the back of a small wallhanging. I don't usually go to the bother of sewing a real patchwork for the back of a quilt, because I'm too lazy, but many of my backings are 45" wide strips of 1/2 yd fabric. (copyright 2005 Amy Stewart Winsor)
June 2005
Sewing Lessons for Children's Birthday Gift
Before I had children, I always wanted to teach my kids to quilt or sew, but worried that they wouldn't be interested. My fears came true with my only daughter.
I came up with a creative way to give her some sewing lessons. For several years, every time she was invited to a birthday party, I would give 2 hours of sewing lessons to the little friend. Then my daughter and her friend would get private lessons from me, and my daughter didn't know that it was my way of getting her into
the sewing room with me. (copyright 2005 Amy Stewart Winsor)
Oct 2005
Why Do Quilters Love a Good Quilt Challenge?
Your guild or bee announces a quilt challenge. The rules are set, such as "use a half yard of the challenge fabric in your quilt" or "include a handkerchief in your quilt". Suddenly the ideas start flowing and you end up locking yourself in your sewing room working at breakneck speed. You have rarely felt so alive with new ideas, and you are thrilled to be so creative. How does this happen?
"Having too many choices is paralyzing", says Barry Schwartz, Ph.D., author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. And the flip side of that would be, "Having fewer choices is freeing." Once you find out what the challenge is, suddenly you can focus on that one requirement. You are freed from making numerous other wonderful quilts, and you can eliminate all the fabrics which are not suitable. The choices that remain can be mulled over, and magically can come together into a lovely quilt, all because so many choices were eliminated previously. Your brain didn't have to deal with them, so was free to deal with what was available.
Some of my most enjoyable quilts came out of challenges. Therefore, my advice to you is to find a quilting group or someone you can join with to start a challenge, and watch the ideas pour out of your brain. (copyright 2005 Amy Stewart Winsor)
Jan. 2006
Weeding out Your Fabric Stash
Have you found that your fabric stash is getting too big? Are your favorite fabrics covered up by piles of not-so-great pieces? When mine starts to get that way, I know I need to weed it out. I tell myself to let go of some of it, to enable me to work more conveniently.
One way to get rid of fabric is through a yard sale, advertised in your quilt guild newsletter. But if you are not trying to get back some of your money, you might find it easier to just give it away.
A very generous strategy was used by my friend a few years ago. She looked through her wall of fabric shelves, and took out every piece of yardage she wasn't crazy about. She allowed her quilting friends to take anything they wanted. I can now look at the backings of most of my quilts, and think of her kindness.
The Senior Citizen center in my town has a sewing group, and they make many items for charity. They are happy to take those strange fabrics I no longer have a use for. Also, quilt guilds usually have baby quilt projects for neonatal clinics or for AIDS babies, and wheelchair quilt projects for nursing homes. Warm, scrappy quilts can be made of your castoffs, and do a lot of good in the world.
Just after the purging, you might feel your fabric shelves are a little bare. But after a few months, you will be surprised at the way you have started filling them up again, with fabrics you actually like! Instead of just getting by with old colors and prints, you will start buying the newest and most appealing designs, because you know you have room for it. (copyright 2006 Amy Stewart Winsor)
March 2006
More Places to Donate Fabric
When your fabric shelves are stuffed to overflowing, and you know you need to weed them out, who can you give it all to? I found a great way to dispose of unwanted fabric and notions. Many middle school, high school, and even colleges have Home Economics ("Life Skills") classes or Drama costume departments that are underfunded and would be thrilled to take your items. As the students learn, they can use the small scraps for practice, and your unusual fabrics can be incorporated into costumes. Call your local school systems and ask to speak to the Drama or Home Economics teachers and see what they can use. (copyright 2006 Amy Stewart Winsor)
April 2006
Embellishing with Yarn
I have used many, many types of yarn for embellishing onto quilts, and a few on wearables. I don't use the feet that most other people do when couching yarns. I have found that any pressure on the yarn tends to make it stretch or pull at a different rate than the fabric beneath, so a long time ago I started using a darning foot (also called a freemotion quilting foot) . The darning foot skims across the top of the yarn without any pressure, and I can place the yarn in doodles or curvy lines, and then do a small zigzag in monofilament on the yarn. I don't have to turn the fabric, I can sew in any direction, just like doing freemotion quilting. I usually hold the loops in place with a stiletto as I sew over them.
When using hairy yarns, you can let the hairiness fall as it may, or you can painstakingly try to push each of the little hairs in your chosen direction as the needle is passing over them. I do that sometimes, but more often I just let them get sewn down however they want. The results are random, sometimes you get more hairs on one side than the other but it is still ok. A narrower zigzag will catch fewer of the hairs so it will look hairier than if you used a wider zigzag. (copyright 2006 Amy Stewart Winsor)
July, Sept, Dec 2006
Surefire Ways to have a Positive Quilting Experience (Three part series)
Have you ever attempted a quilting project that just didn't go the way you had envisioned? Want your next quilting experience to be one that is filled with pleasure? Over the next couple of months I will share with you many surefire ways to make sure you will have a positive experience:
Part One
1) USE COLORS THAT YOU LOVE.
I look back with regret on the quilts that I made using fabric that was given to me. I didn't pick out the fabric, but since I didn't have much money at the time, I wanted to use it. I spent months working on something that when finished was not that appealing to me.
2) USE APPROPRIATE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT WHICH ARE IN PROPER WORKING ORDER
The most common problem I have seen as I have taught beginner students, is that their thread tension is messed up on their sewing machine. Also pay attention that you have sharp scissors, thin sharp pins, sharp rotary blades, appropriate sizes of rulers for the project, a large enough cutting mat, and a new sewing machine needle.
3) HAVE A PLACE FOR YOUR PROJECT AND YOUR SEWING MACHINE.
What's a beautiful house worth if you can't enjoy your favorite hobby? Quit sewing on the kitchen table, and carve yourself out a place in your home. If your sewing area is in the fancy living room, so be it. You'll be using it 24/7 instead of saving it for when company comes.
Part Two:
4)USE TECHNIQUES YOU KNOW HOW TO DO
When faced with a decision, choose the techniques that you are familiar with and you will have a bigger chance of happiness with your project. You will know the steps, you'll know how long it will take, and you'll know what supplies to have on hand.
5) USE TECHNIQUES YOU ALREADY KNOW YOU ENJOY
If you have done this technique in the past, you already know that it was fun and you can look forward to doing it again. You won't feel stressed out, because you know that you have already done it competently, and it came out correctly the last time.
6) DON'T USE ANY TECHNIQUES YOU HATE.
This seems like a no-brainer, but we get into habits and it doesn't occur to us to do it differently next time. If you hate marking the quilting lines, find a way to quilt without marking. If you hate the binding method you have used, learn a new way to bind. For almost any technique, there is an alternate way to do it. Find one that you like.
Part Three:
7) LIMIT THE PROJECT TO THE TIME YOU HAVE AVAILABLE
Don't choose something which costs you more time than the project is worth. For an important quilt competition, you might want to budget a year of work. But for a baby to spit up on, or for a first grade class project, make it simple and get it over with.
8)MAKE THE PROCESS PLEASURABLE
Think about what makes your sewing time enjoyable, and plan for that perfect atmosphere. Rent some movies, or gather up your favorite music, and don't forget to buy your favorite chocolate goodies! Then retreat to the sewing room at the perfect time when you will have several hours to sew like a demon, while being entertained by your chosen media. Pampering ourselves is fun, so why not do it?
9) STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE, NOT PERFECTION
Remember to do the best you can under the circumstances, and that Finished is Better Than Perfect. You could take out every stitch multiple times and the quilt's recipient may never know the difference. Sew and enjoy it and then finish it and go on your way to another fun project. Keep repeating to yourself, "This is a HOBBY. I don't need to stress out about it!"
If you follow my nine steps, you are guaranteed to have a much happier experience than you ever had before. Your favorite colors, your favorite techniques and tools, your favorite music, your favorite chocolate, the perfect time frame, and a place for everything, and you have the optimal setup for some Good Time Sewing. Have a great time, and tell me how it went! (Copyright 2006 Amy Stewart Winsor)
Jan. 2007 With friends, Exchanging quilting for cleaning
My friend's new grandbaby was due any day. She isn't a quilter, but she had surprised herself and everyone elseby making a beautiful redwork embroidered and pieced quilt top. She asked me, "What would you charge to machinequilt this baby quilt I made?"
I didn't know what to say. I consider myself a quilting instructor, not aquilter-for-hire, and I had no idea how to charge. So I said, "What if you work for me for the same amount of time it takes for me to machine quilt it?" And she thought that was fair.
So on a Saturday morning, she showed up at my house ready to work. She cleaned my house for me while I layered, machine quilted, and bound her grandbaby's quilt. We both worked as fast as we could go, and after 4 1/2 hours, I announced that I was finished and she was happy to stop scrubbing. We thought it was a pretty good exchange,since I had been putting off the cleaning and she did not have the skills to get the quilt finished.
Looking back, I'm glad we exchanged labor that way, because I wouldn't have felt right charging a friend the amount per hour that I would have wanted. On the other hand, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to work for 4 1/2 hours for nothing. So we both turned out satisfied, and that's what is important.
April 2007
Be Thankful for the Fabric Stores
For many years I've had the privilege of having at least 5 nice quilting shops near my house. I have happily shopped there for all my cotton quilting fabric and have enjoyed being personally acquainted with many of the employees. I've quilted more than made clothing, so it didn't bother me that we only had one local fabric store that carried dressmaking fabric and supplies.
Last month I was surprised to feel a big pang of sadness when I saw a large "STORE CLOSING SALE" sign hanging in front of the Hancock's store in my city. (Note: I don't know whether this is happening everywhere, I just know the Hancock's near me is shutting down.)
Why am I so sad? I've never been that big a fan of Hancock's, but it suddenly hit me that I would no longer have a handy source for buttons, zippers, dress patterns, and polar fleece. I wouldn't be able to buy denim, fluffy trim to put around a purse, or tablecloth lace by the yard. Linings, corduroy, prom dress fabric, or tweed for a skirt.
Yes, I know clothing at Walmart and Target is cheaper than what I can make myself. I know that fabric is expensive. But sometimes you've got to alter or repair something, and you must find just the right color and fabric. Sometimes the item you need is not available readymade, such as a modest prom dress for your daughter, and Mom has got to make it. I think we all need to be a little bit more thankful for the local fabric shops, and patronize them whenever possible. We will feel really badly when they are gone.
July 2007
Develop confidence in making short-term decisions.
When making a quilt, tell yourself that each small choice is not such a big deal. When you make little decisions, you enable yourself to move forward.
Can't think of a quilting design for that block? Hand- or machine-quilt a simple design, and add more stitching to make it more complicated as you see fit. Does the quilt top need more pizzazz? Lay some tentative applique shapes all over the surface and decide whether you want to stitch them down.
You can always take out the stitches and go back a step if you don't like how it turns out. But for the most part, the little step will work fine, and then you can advance one more time. And so on. And eventually your quilt will be finished, instead of sitting there in an unsewn heap.
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