Image: sxc.hu

Combining colors in a striking palette becomes an art in itself.  Although these articles are about dyeing fabrics for quilting, you can utilize the theories for other art work.

My daughter delights in dyeing her own fabric, although I’m not sure I’d have the patience.  She finds it relaxing and discovers combinations she wouldn’t find otherwise.  Amazingly, she does this on the kitchen counter or dining table because she doesn’t have space for a studio in our multi-generational household.

What have you discovered about color in your quilting or other crafts?

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More About Color Coordinating & Art

Kara Mastin's Civil War Era quilt

With new techniques and materials, fabric artists have more to work with than their forebears did.  Manystill stick with the traditional patterns and techniques.  Others combine various ages in their work.  While the most modern quilters continue to experiment with working “outside the block.”

Reading Penny’s article will give you insight of the evolution of quilting and where you are in the picture.

What type of quilting do you like to do? 

 My daughter Beth and I find we’ve evolved from making quilts using traditional patterns to creating with new materials and techniques, even working in mixed media, combining our scrapbooking and quiltmaking.

(Image by my granddaughter, Kara Mastin)

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Penny Halgren’s Recap of Quilting History

Image: sxc.hu

How to disguise the fabric as they bring it into the house and then where to store it once it’s there becomes a challenge.  What are your techniques and where do you store your fabrics?

My cousin uses some of her fabric (that which overflows the sewing room/office) in the living room as part of the decor.  When I walked into her home, my eyes immediately focused on the fabric and quilts stacked on shelves.  Even though she couldn’t display all of this so you saw the full design, the colorful fabrics were very appealing on shelves.

Penny Halgren, at How to Quilt, has some interesting suggestions about Storing Fabric for Quilting that might help you.  Most of these also would apply to storing fabric for any type of sewing. 

If you wonder how to sneak your fabric into the house, check out Penny’s Clever Fabric Hideaways.

Do you have any suggestions?

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Storing Your Fabric Stash

Although it’s fairly simple to make, usually in blocks of two colors or two fabric designs, Penny Halgren, at How to Quilt, shows us, step-by-step, how to create a 9-patch quilt even faster by strip piecing.

I’ve also made simple and more complex 9-patch pillows when I had a quilting business.  These also are good patterns for beginners, patterns I used when I taught quilting workshops.

What experiences have you had with 9-Patch patterns?

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Strip Piecing a 9-Patch Quilt

Penny Halgren, at How to Quilt has posted the pattern and directions for the Double Irish Chain.  She says that even though it looks complicated, it’s really fairly straight forward since the quilt is made by using only two basic blocks.

(Amazon image)

If you give it a try, let us know how you make out?

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Create a Double Irish Chain

(Amazon image)

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How About an Irish Chain Quilt for St. Patrick’s Day?

Since my grandmother, my aunt and their friend Susie tied their quilts, that’s what I knew.  When I helped them make quilts, you might say I attended a “tying bee,” when they spread the layers out on the large dining table and tied and chatted.

When I began making quilts during the Bicentennial Years of 1975-76, I naturally tied them.  I continued to do so to make the quilts affordable.  Because it doesn’t take so long to tie, I could sell the quilts at prices within the budget  of more people than if they had been quilted.

However, I did quilt several quilts.  These were old family tops that customers wanted me to finish for them.  I enjoyed this, but I had to charge much more than when I tied quilts.  Admittedly, with the old quilt tops, that were hand stitched to begin with, quilting was a better finish.

Penny Halgren has a great tutorial on tying quilts if you want to learn more about this and how to do it.  Check out Tying Your Quilt.  She also had a very informative article on quilt tying in her free monthly e-mail newsletter.

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Do You Prefer Tying Your Quilts?

This is Flag Day in the US, a day to commemorate our stars and stripes flag and all that it means to us and our country.

Quilters also remember the flag in many ways and create numerous colorful designs in red/white/blue with stars and stripes incorporated within.

Stop by Penny Halgren’s web site for Rag Flag Quilt information: How to Make a Flag Rag Quilt in a Weekend.  Penny also reminisces about the flags in her life.

Do other countries have a special day for their flag?  If so, when?  Do you, as a quilter, create or use designs resembling your flag? 

I’d love to have you share your thoughts.

(Amazon image: click on flag for details)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

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Flag Day Today, June 14 – How Do Quilters Celebrate?

Sewing triangles and getting all the points to match up is more difficult in some patterns than others and more challenging for some quilters than others. 

Penny Halgren, by popular request, has developed a tutorial with videos at her How To Quilt web site for making a quilt with triangles.

As Penny explains:

This quilt offers opportunities for different kinds of
triangles, and has given me a chance to try some different
methods for sewing them together that make your results
more accurate.

These methods don’t necessarily save fabric. But they do
save time and aggravation by making the resulting triangles
a little more perfect.

You may want to check out Penny’s videos for A New Quilt Showing Different Ways to Sew Triangles.  She also has much interesting and helpful information for quilters on her web site.

Do you have any “triangular tips?”

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

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Quilter Penny Halgren’s Techniques for Sewing Triangles

  I discovered some really neat ideas for T-shirt quilts at Penny Halgren’s How to Quilt web site.  Penny says:

Create a unique T-shirt Quilt that someone in your family will be proud to show off instead of the same-ole’ T-shirt Quilt like Susie down the street made

Have you saved those old outgrown T-shirts your children wore, you purchased on a trip, perhaps even some you wore in school? 

Penny describes her T-shirt stash that consists of tees from various phases of her and her family’s life.  The memories here are many so you don’t like to toss them out or use them as dust rags.

She also mentions a t-shirt quilt resource, Terrific Tees – I Can’t Believe It’s a T-shirt Quilt! by Roberta De Luz.

Visit Penny’s web site to view photos of some t-shirt quilts.  What have you done with t-shirts for quilts and fabric art?

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Additional Resources:

T-shirt MemoryQuilts

Creating Quilts from T-shirts

More About T-shirt Quilts

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T-Shirt Quilts – Attractive Variations from Your T-Shirt Stash