Hi ,
Have you ever given a quilt as a gift and not gotten the reaction you were expecting? I've given a lot of quilted gifts over the years and it's been interesting to say the least. I've experienced every reaction from a tearful hug
of gratitude to a casual shrug with "Gee, thanks. A quilt..."
The fact is, not everyone understands quilting or how much time, energy, money, and effort go into making these beautiful creations. It's hurtful when the effort we put into our quilts goes unappreciated, or worse, downright disrespected.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately because I have a big goal to really enjoy the holidays this year. I don't want to get to Christmas and
feel frazzled and guilty about all the things I meant to do and didn't have time for. And a big part of that is planning what gifts I'm going to make because that making needs to start now!
Elemental Energy Design Collection |
One of my tips in the podcast was to look for projects you can create more quickly... maybe even automatically. Yes, I'm talking about machine embroidery!
I've just published a new collection of Elemental Energy embroidery designs that will
automatically stitch out on your embroidery machine with the touch of a button. This collection features 25 natural energy themed designs from Universe Spiral to Sun Medallion.
All of the designs will stitch a perfect 3.9 inch square, which means they will fit embroidery machines with the smallest 100 mm hoop. The designs are available in all the major file types: ART, ART USB EXP, DST, EXP, HUS, JEF, PCS, PES, SEW, VIP, VP3, and
XXX.
Note: many of the designs in this collection were also included in the Expressions of Textures design CD which has been unavailable for several years. We've re-digitized the designs and now you can create the Chakra Wall Hanging once again.
Save 30% on all machine embroidery designs!
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Sale ends Monday, September 17th at midnight EST
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More Fun with Free Motion Couching |
On Friday I played with free motion couching again, this time stitching out different filler designs and seeing how that works using thick yarn and the smallest couching foot on my Grace Qnique longarm.
It might be a little confusing to understand how free motion couching works on a longarm. I have my machine set up the way it normally is with the stitch length set at 16 stitches per inch, a size 16 needle, and the tension set to where it's normally balanced for regular free motion
quilting.
Piece Block 4 with Leaf Peepers Quilt Along |
First learn how to piece the prettiest red, orange and purple block with half and quarter square triangles in this new quilting tutorial
This leaf block is composed of lots of little shapes and the first step is to arrange all the units on a flat surface next to your machine. Make sure to check out the videos on how to piece half square triangles and quarter square triangles to help you create all of the units for this leaf block.
Doll and Dress Making Fun |
This past weekend I continued my doll making adventure by sewing dresses for Ms. Bunny.
It's tricky because after making a very similar shaped dress, I realized that it's far more formal looking than what I described in the book.
So this is a bit of a conundrum – do I design for what I wrote in the book or design for the memory of my own Ms. Bunny?
I think the ultimate
solution is to design a dress that I like and in which Ms. Bunny looks cute. These dresses just ended up looking... well, a bit old fashioned. I'm going to keep tweaking until I get the pattern pieces perfect (which will probably take another three tries!) and then stash this pattern away for a future pattern collection with formal
dresses.
Quick update on the novel Mally the Maker - the preorder will begin on October 1st!
I can't wait to get this new book in your hands. It was such a fun adventure to write and illustrate and I've already started writing the second book in the series. Be looking for more info about Mally the Maker in the next few weeks.
One last note, if you live on the east coast of the United States, then I'm sure you're following the path of
Hurricane Florence.
We live in the foothills of North Carolina and possibly may experience power outages starting Friday through the weekend and possibly beyond (we really hope not!), so if Josh does not email you right away, please bear with us. We will get back to you as soon as the power comes back on.
If you are also in the path of Hurricane Florence, please take the necessary precautions and stay safe. Our thoughts are
with everyone on the east coast this week.
Let's go quilt, Leah Day
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