My daughter keeps freezer paper handy for many of her quilting/fabric art tasks. 
(This is that handy household item that’s plain on one side and slightly waxy on the other.  We called it waxed paper when I was a youngster and used it for wrapping sandwiches, covering bowls in the refrigerator and a heavier version for wrapping items for freezing.  There were no plastic baggies nor plastic wrap available.)
Penny Halgren has a great article, Using Freezer Paper to Make Quilts, at her How to Quilt site that gives information on using freezer or waxed paper for quilting…for tasks such as applique and making …read more

When you’re quilting your quilts or fabric art, do you prefer a hoop or quilting frame?
 I started out thinking I MUST use a quilting frame and purchased one that took up our entire very small living room (the only room in our apartment in which it would fit).  I put a quilt on it, but had to roll it out and then up whenever I worked.
I got a large hoop for quilting a small project and found this worked well in my sewing room or the living room.  Then I wondered, “Why not use it for a large quilt?”
I tried …read more

Microchips are coming into vogue as a way to label and identify one’s quilts, fabric art and other crafts.  This also is a method of helping to ensure the security of your item.
Worried about your quilts being stolen from a shop or gallery? Embedding a microchip isn’t a sure fire way to prevent this, but you can determine ownership if the quilt is recovered.  Also, if the microchip identification method is more publicized, perhaps thieves will think twice about taking such art objects.
These microchips can be placed in the layers of the quilt or fabric art before quilting or embedded after …read more

Labels for quilts and crafts can be as simple as signing or quilting your name and the date to attaching a piece of fabric with many details.  Signing with indelible  ink or embroidering your name on the item makes it more permanent.  A  label can be removed. 
There also are ready made labels you can purchase and then simply sign your name with permanent ink.  Applique these to the back of your quilt or fabric art.
Computerized labels have come into vogue and enable you to add more information to your quilt.  Simply print directly on inkjet fabric sheets, then stitch to the back of …read more

Here’s a quick quiz for you…13 quilting terms.  Are there any you don’t know?

Binding
Feather stitch
Batting
Mixed media
Blind stitch
Calico
Quilting bee
Embellishment
Felting
Stitch in the Ditch
Grandmother’s Garden
Yo-yos
Batik

Of course, there are many, many other quilting and fabric terms.  However, it’s interesting to see how much we know when we see various words and ideas used in this art field.
What are some you’d add to a list you’d make?  Were there any you didn’t know here?
Image: sxc.hu

More quilters are labeling their quilts these days.  so future generations will know who made them.  So many utilitarian and exquisite quilts of the pioneer quilters were unsigned so we don’t have any idea who created them.
 (Image: sxc.hu)
I have a quilt given my mom and dad as a wedding gift.  Only portions survive, but I can’t find any identification on any of the four corners, the usual place for labels or writing.  I wish it were signed so I knew who made it.
The quilts my grandmother made (with my 8-year old help) have the initials of my sister, brothers and …read more

This is Space & Stars Theme Week at my Blisstree Parenting blog, so I thought quilters and crafters might like to consider the designs featuring this theme in their work.  Have you made anything that reflects space, the space shuttle, Mars, or the stars?
Here are a list of some quilting patterns that encompass star designs:

Beautiful Star
Feather Edged Star
French Star
Lone Star
Mexican Star
Pieced Star
Rolling Star
Seven Stars
Star of the West
Star of Bethlehem

As my husband and I celebrated our anniversary yesterday, I looked back on years of adventure and learning, of the various phases of life, of a daughter and grandchildren, careers and businesses, travels and ups and downs.
Should I plan something representing our life, either a quilt or mixed media collage?  The more I think of it, the more it seems a possibility.
What should I include?  Where will I research?

Photos from engagement and wedding
Reminiscenses of Jim’s years as an Air Force pilot and me a military wife.
Owning airplanes and Jim’s cross-country trip in a bi-plane
The arrival of our daughter and her …read more

I’ve been receiving comments at former blogs  regarding caregiving, Alzheimer’s and quilts.  I now write these at b5’s  Blisstree and would like to share the information received from readers.  I hope you’ll find it interesting and informative.
To my post, Design a Touch Quilt for Alzheimer’s Patients, one of my readers pointed me to Eva’s Loving Touch Lap Quilts.  Here we learn about the Alzheimer’s patient’s need for tactile or sensory stimulation and comfort. 
This reminds me how much my aunt seemed to need the sensation of something comforting to rub her hands over as she sat in her rocking chair.  My mother, in …read more

Quilts have evolved a long way from great-grandmother’s day, when mostly they were made as bed coverings, lap throws, and pillows.  Nowadays so many are used as wall hangings and incorporate multiple materials and as such often are called mixed media quilts.
Recently I was reading about Amy Orr, a mixed media artist, who uses many types of materials most people would consider junk – twist ties, credit cards, metal x-ray markers, glass beads of various types, paper automobile air fresheners, plastic hair clips, sequins, plastic plant fragments, window glass fragments and….chicken bones.
Study some of her work utilizing “trash” or “found …read more