Insights From SewCalGal

The way you Follow Blogs may be changing - Google Friend Connect

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

There are a variety of ways to follow a blog, one of which is Google Friend Connect (GFC). Many that follow my blog, us GFC.

For those that use GFC to follow SewCalGal, I do not believe you will be impacted by changes coming down the road to this utility. Thus, I certainly welcome others that may want to follow me using this utility. Simply click on the "Join this site", on the right hand column, and follow the few steps to follow.

While you may already be aware, I do want to share insights that I've learned in my research. First,

Google has decided to retire this tool on March lst, and has issued various announcements of their plans, with the most recent showing:

I understand this announcement as Google's effort to push use of Google+ and the impact will be associated with non-blogger blogs (e.g. Typepad, Wordpress, etc).. To clarify, I do not view that this will impact followers of SewCalGal that use GFC, or those that use GFC on any blogger (blogspot.com) blogs).    But here are some questions that I've been trying to better understand, and will continue to try to get clarification from Google support teams (they've yet to respond to my questions):

Will GFC's obsolecence only impact non-blogger sites (e.g. Wordpress, Typepad, etc.) ?
answer:   To the best I can tell, this planned obsolecnese will ONLY impact non-blogger sites.

Will those that use blogger (e.g. *.blogspot.com) blogs be ok?
answers: I believe that all blogger supported blogs will NOT be impacted.
If GFC is disabled, will Google Reader (www.google.com/reader ) will work?
answer: I believe Google Reader will continue to work. I'm hoping that manually added links to follow non-google blogs will continue to work, but I have not been able to get a confirmation from Google. Many of us will know the answer to this early March, but I'll try to update this post as soon as I have more information.

Will Google+ meet the needs for blog followers?
answer: This is a personal opinion, but I feel this is not a good solution for blog followers. Google Plus can be automatically fed with information when a blog is updated. A blogger can also manually post a comment and link on Google + to announce they've updated their lob. But, a follower could easily overlook such a comment on Google+ and may not realize a blog has been updated. Thus, I am truly disappointed that Google is obsoleting this utility. While it may only impact non-blogger blogs, it is still a disappointment.

Google does recommend that Bloggers point followers to using Google + and they also encourage blogers to export the data from GFC. This export may be beneficial to blogs supported by a variety of platforms (e.g. Typepad, Wordpress, Blogger), but it appears to be limited to exporting a maximum of 2,000 followers. And, what can be done with this export is limited to what you can do with it manually. Don't expect to be able to import it to another tool for followers to use.

For Followers, it looks like your options to follow are now:

Networked Blogs
Linky Followers
Bloglovin
RSS feeds
subscribe thru email

Again, as a follower of SewCalGal I believe that you should still be able to follow via GFC. Other ways you can follow SewCalGal are:
http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/sewcalgal#
https://twitter.com/#!/SewCalGal
Follow SewCalGal on Google+
Networked Blogs
Linky Followers

If you have additional insights and/or recommendations, I hope you'll add a comment to share your perspective.

Don't forget, SewCalGal loves her followers! Fun Friday giveaways were created especially for followers. To clarify, you need to be a follower to win a prize in a Fun Friday giveaway. Other giveaways and contests typically give followers an extra entry. This is my little way to say thank you for being a follower.

What does a Quilter do on Oscar Sunday?

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Are you going to get dressed up today and celebrate the Oscars?

Are you getting a facial, manicure, pedicure? What about your hair and makeup?

While you may be busy getting ready for the Oscar Awards ceremonies and parties, some of you may have decided to ignore the Oscars and quilt!

While I hope you have a wonderful quilty day today I also hope you don't ignore your opportunity to nominate those that have made a difference in helping to make our world of quilting so wonderful. If you haven't already submitted your nominations for the 2012 Golden Quilter Awards, I hope you'll take time today to submit your nominations. There are ten categories, but you need not submit a nomination for each category. The important thing is you take time to recognize deserving quilters by nominating.

For more information on the 2012 Golden Quilter's Awards you can visit the page for this event. Nominations are accepted through March 4th for the following categories:

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 Golden Quilter Awards and will be accepted thru Sunday, March 4th. There are ten categories that you can submit nominations for. You can only submit your nomination form one time, so please be prepared to submit your nomination any/all of the following categories:

Best Quilt Designer
Best Quilt Teacher/Instructor
Best Quilt book Author
Best Quilt Store (physical)
Best Quilt Store (online)
Best Longarm Quilter
Most Innovative Product (physical)
Most Innovative Product (software)
Most influential person in the world of quilting to-date, aka "Lifetime Achievement"
Best Quilt book publisher

While today you can get dressed up and "watch" the Oscar's, the Golden Quilter Awards you can nominate your favorites, vote for the ultimate winners, and you will automatically be invited to come to our party to celebrate the ultimate winners of the 2012 Golden Quilter Awards. Plus, those that help with PR (PR Angels), nominate and/or vote can enter to win some great prizes too!

I hope you take time today to submit your nominations. And, if not today, please do so soon as the deadline for nomination is March 4th.

The sponsors for the 2012 Golden Quilters Awards have donated some wonderful prizes. As such, I want to recognize the sponsors for this fun event:

Thank you to the

Sponsors of the 2012 Golden Quilters Award:

I do hope quilters from around the world will take time to submit nominations for the 2012 Golden Quilter Awards.

For more information on this event, as well as insights on prizes, visit the main page for this event:
http://www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com/p/golden-quilter-awards.html

Fun Friday Giveaway: SONOMA ROSE: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel‏

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:26:00 +0000

Last year, Jennifer Chiaverini’s The Wedding Quilt was published and quickly was placed on the New York Times bestseller. This year, her newest novel in the Elm Creek Quilts series, SONOMA ROSE has just been released. Here is the press announcement:

Sonoma Rose

An Elm Creek Quilts Novel

The 1920s evokes indelible cultural motifs—the Jazz Age, Modernism, Prohibition—and

inspired heralded literature—from the interwar disillusionment explored in The Great Gatsby

or The Sun Also Rises to the strong women portrayed in Alice Adams or Main Street.

But in recently published fiction, this time period has rarely been explored.

Jennifer Chiaverini, author of the bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series, is one of few writers

working today to demonstrate equal mastery of contemporary and historical fiction. In 2011,

she published two New York Times bestselling novels—The Union Quilters, a Civil-War-era

chronicle of life behind Northern lines, and The Wedding Quilt, a twenty-first-century

celebration of one of America’s most enduring and romantic traditions. In SONOMA ROSE

(On sale: February 21, 2012), Chiaverini turns her imaginative powers to the story of how

one woman’s courage and vision wrought true change, for her family and for herself.

Rosa Diaz Barclay is touched by the criminality surrounding Prohibition when she

unwittingly discovers that her husband, John, has given over the duties of their

Southern California rye farm in favor of armed bootlegging. Fearing the safety of her four

beloved children, Rosa flees, with little more than a suitcase filled with John’s ill-gotten gains

and her heirloom quilts. Accompanying Rosa is her true love, Lars Jorgensen, a good but

flawed man who is the father of two of her children.

Together, the six travel north to San Francisco, seeking not only refuge from danger, but a cure

for two of the children, who suffer from a mysterious wasting disease. A beneficent doctor orders

a special diet and a rural convalescence for which Rosa and Lars, under assumed names, hire on

at a Sonoma County vineyard. There, the devotion of the Italian-American community to the

craft of viticulture—which through no fault of their own, has become illegal—inspires Rosa

to acquire a vineyard of her own, even as she discovers firsthand its inherent hardships

and dangers winemakers face in such turbulent times.

As Rose, she creates a personal and professional identity that she would never have dared

imagine at the opening of her tale, one that brings great honor—and beauty—to all who

surround her. As the New York Journal of Books has written, “Jennifer Chiaverini’s strength is

not only writing strong female characters, but also placing them in interesting life and

times.” SONOMA ROSE is a triumph on both fronts.

About the Author:

Jennifer Chiaverini is the author of the New York Times bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series, as well as

five collections of quilt projects inspired by the novels. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and

the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and sons in Madison, Wisconsin. For

more information, please visit www.elmcreek.net.

Jennifer is also currently on a booktour that takes her to many bookstores and libraries across the country.
• Friday, February 24 — Hudson, OH
• Saturday, February 25 — Collegeville, PA
• Sunday, February 26 — Gurnee, IL
• Monday, February 27 — Libertyville, IL and Mequon, WI
• Thursday, March 1 — Petaluma, CA
• Friday, March 2 — Corte Madera, CA
• Saturday, March 3 — Thousand Oaks, CA
• Saturday, March 10 — Oconomowoc, WI

For book tour locations, dates, and times, please see the Events page on Jennifer's website: http://elmcreek.net/events.
If you are able to attend one of her book signings, she is also giving away limited edition sonoma Rose pins for each copy of Sonoma Rose that you have her sign, while supplies last. This pin features two original quilt blocks, Sanoma Rose and Arboles Valley Star.

Did I mention a giveaway? Yes, Jennifer's publisher has generously offered to ship a free copy of Sonoma Rose to a follower of SewCalGal who is a resident in the US or Canada. To enter to win, simply leave a comment on this post and I'll randomly select and announce the lucky winner next Friday.

Want to increase your chances of winning, by extra entries? If so, please leave an additional comment for any/all of the following that you want to claim:
For Twitter users:
1) Follow @jchiaverini on Twitter.
2) Follow @duttonbooks on Twitter
2) Tweet a comment about this giveaway and include @duttonbooks, @chiaverini and @SewCalGal
Here is a sample tweet: "Win a copy of Sonoma Rose, newest novel in the Elm Creek Quilts by @jchiverini, published by @duttonbooks at http://tinyurl.com/8666azc "

The winner of the giveaway from last week is Connie (Quilting by the River) And they will receive a copy of "Nature's Beauty in Applique': Pretty and Practical Projects", by Susan Taylor Probst, published by Martingale & Company, home of That Patchwork Place.

2012 Golden Quilter Awards - Open for Nominations

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:14:00 +0000

While Hollywood is gearing up for the Oscar's, it is time to formally kick off activities for the 2012 Golden Quilters Awards. As you may be new to fun event, I'm going to start with providing some background information.

Over the past couple of years, SewCalGal has hosted the Golden Quilter Awards. Entertainers have the Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmys, and various other awards, but I felt that we needed something special to recognize those that have helped to make our world of quilting so wonderful.

SewCalGal hosts this event and facilitates the process, but it is up to quilters from all over the world to submit nominations, and ultimately vote for their favorite nominees, to help identify the best of the best.

Nominations are now being accepted for candidates, for the 2012 Golden Quilter Awards, that have made a difference in the world of quilting, for the following categories:

Best Quilt Designer
Best Quilt Teacher/Instructor
Best Quilt book Author
Best Quilt Store (physical)
Best Quilt Store (online)
Best Longarm Quilter
Most Innovative Product (physical)
Most Innovative Product (software)
Most influential person in the world of quilting to-date, aka "Lifetime Achievement"
Best Quilt book publisher

You can submit your nomination any time, but only once. Thus, I do recommend that you give consideration on the above categories before you submit your nomination. I will also appreciate if you can provide a website link for any nominee you submit. If not, I will do my best to search to find the website, but ultimately, if I do not have a website link for any nominee, while they may deserved to be honored for their contributions to our World of Quilting, they will not be recognized in the next round of voting for nominees.

When you are ready to submit your nominations, you can submit by click this link to "submit nominations" or click the trophy below:

While there are many in the quilting business that deserve a trophy, take time to think of the "best of the best" when you submit your nominations. Thank you for taking time to recognize those that you feel have made contributions to our world of quilting and need to be recognized.

Key dates that you may want to mark on your calendar:

Sunday, March 4th - last day to submit your nomination. Everyone is invited to submit nominations.
Monday, March 12th - SewCalGal announces all nominees and voting for the ultimate winners begins. Everyone is invited to vote.
Monday, April 2nd, SewCalGal announces the ultimate winners of the 2012 Golden Quilter Awards. We celebrate with a party with sponsored prizes to be given.
Tuesday, April 3rd, SewCalGal announces the winners of the sponsored prizes.

Note: PR Angels are currently asked to help spread the word to help increase awareness and encourage quilters, from all over the world, to submit their nominations prior to March 4th. Help is also needed between March 12th & April 2nd to encourage quilters to take time to vote for the ultimate winners. I can't do this event without the help of PR Angels. Thus, I do want to say thank you to everyone who helps with PR.

Thank you to the

Sponsors of the 2012 Golden Quilters Award:

If you are interested in being a sponsor for this fun event, please email me.

And, don't forget to submit your nominations no later than March 4th.

Lastly, the page on this blog labeled "Golden Quilter Awards" will be updated periodically, to provide a summary of current information on this event and appropriate links. Thus, I recommend you check that page periodically.

FAQ

1) Can I just nominate for one category, or do I need to do all ten? NO, you do not need to submit a nomination for every category. But if you only submit a nomination for a couple of the categories, once you click the "submit" button you can not go back and submit nominations for other categories.

2) Can I nominate someone that won previously? YES, just like the Oscars.

3) How will I know who is a PR Angel? Leave me a comment on this post, to let me know you are helping spread the word about the 2012 Golden Quilters Awards and what you did to help (e.g. post a badge, write a blog post, share a link on Facebook or Twitter, etc.).

4) Who was nominated in the past? 2011 Nominees were recognized here

5) How do I enter to win a prize ? By submitting a nomination, which has you contact info, you are automatically entered to win a prize donated by one of our sponsors.

Fun Friday: Quilt Book Review and Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:22:00 +0000

"Nature's Beauty in Applique': Pretty and Practical Projects", by Susan Taylor Propst, published by Martingale & Company, home of That Patchwork Place, is a new quilting book that has many wonderful projects.

There are nine beautiful projects in this book, each with inspirational photos, great visuals and easy to follow instructions. And every project rejoices in the beauty of nature.

Projects are all small, from place mats, tote bags, carrying cases, a neck-roll pillow, wall hanging and more.

Techniques covered in this book include basic piecing, along with using hand or fusible applique'.

The projects would make perfect gifts, or keep and enjoy for yourself and they are appropriate for quilters of all levels (beginners thru advanced).

I hope you get a chance to check out this new quilt book at your local quilt store, or online at Martingale & Company's online store.

Did I mention a giveaway? Thanks to Martingale & Company for donating a copy of this delightful book for a Fun Friday giveaway for followers of SewCalGal.

Want to win a copy of this book? Simply leave a comment on this post to enter.

Want an extra entry ? Sign up to receive the newsletter from Martingale & Company. It is a great way to find out about new books, as well as some amazing specials. And then leave a comment on this post to let me know you wish to claim this extra entry.

But, please be aware, that to win I need to have a way to contact you. Default settings for google/blogger, as well as those with Typepad and other blogging tools, can show up as a "no reply blogger" comment where I can't contact them to let them know they won. Please check my list of bloggers and non-bloggers that have posted comments and show up as a no reply blogger. If in doubt, embed your email address in your comment.

Due to cumulative blog related expenses and costs for shipping, sadly I'm forced to limit the winner of this prize to be someone within the United States. I've been hoping that the AdChoices advertisements on my blog (the ads you click on to get more info), along with sponsored advertisements, would generate revenue to help offset shipping costs for shipping prizes. Unfortunately, 2012 shipping costs have already far exceeded such income and donation from those that have kindly sent money to offset shipping cost. While many prizes are shipped directly from sponsors, there are still many that SewCalGal absorbs the cost. Thus, without sufficient paid advertisements and/or sponsors, I may not have a Fun Friday giveaway every week.

The winner of this giveaway will randomly be selected and announced next Friday, February 24th.

Congratulations to the winners of the giveaway from last week, for the very popular quilting tool "lighted pin picker upper", sponsored by Toys for Quilters, aka Graphic Impressions where three lighted pin picker uppers are given to the following three winners:
1) Shez
2) Anita (Margret Mary's Place)
3) Kathryn

My effort to De-Stash

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:04:00 +0000

You may have missed it, but I've decided to work on a Ten Step program for quilters that need to re-claim their sewing room and de-stash. I'm currently working on my Step 1 De-Stash activities.

While I think I'll find more things I need to find a new home for, today I'm sharing insights on a few items that I'd like to eliminate from my stash. Possibly you are interested in one or more of these items. But, I'm also adding this to a linky where other quilters are also sharing insights on items that they'd like to eliminate from their stash. You are invited to participate in this Spring De-Stash activity by sharing items you'd like to get rid of, as well as shopping for items you might like to buy from a fellow quilter, or negotiate a direct trade with them. Thus, I hope you'll pop over and take a look at all of the entries by participants in this Spring De-Stash effort. But, pop back as many of us will be updating our entries through the month.

Email me if you are interested in any of the items that I'd like to de-stash.

Janome Jem 720 excellent condition

Plenty of extras including sewing table, bobins, 6 feet (including walking foot and one foot not shown), tote bag, etc.. $300

Book: Friendship's Offering: Techniques & Inspiration for Writing on Quilts, by Susan McKelvery

Excellent Condition. New $18. $2.50

Book "Facebook for Dummies"

$22 list, asking $8.

Template: Easy Diamond Template by Omnigrid. ***SOLD***

New in package. Never used. Asking $3

Portable Design Wall ***SOLD****

Portable Design Wall, by Cheryl Ann, used, good condition. 72"x72" 100% cotton flannel, weighs less than 7 pounds, includes bag. New $139. Asking $70.

FABRIC: Charm Squares ***SOLD***

This 5" Charm Square collection includes 50 "fussy" cut pieces of tropical fabric, all 100% high quality cotton. $5

Fabric ***SOLD***

This fabric is a brocade type that looks like silk, but I truly am not certain what it is. I think it would make a cute purse, vest or other project. There is over a yard of fabric. $2

Padded Tote bag - Tapestry - never used ***SOLD***

Perfect bag to carry a small portable sewing machine. $20

Bernina Embroidery Software Designer Plus Version 5 ***SOLD***

Software Installation CDs & working Dongle included to allow you to digitize and edit machine embroidery designs. Includes electronic user manuals. PC Software compatible with MS Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Win 7 O/S. Bernina/OESD Support website also has software patches for compatibility with other operating systems, that you may want to check compatibility on. DesignerPlus software includes: Bernina PhotoSnap, Cross Stitch and Quilter. $400

Other items that I plan to add to this list shortly include:

Serger thread
sewing & quilting thread
quilt rulers & templates
cricut
quilt frames (small)
AccuQuilt die, new in unopened package
Bernina Compact Flash, new (never used)

Terms are for buyer to pay shipping. I'm also open for trades and interested in the following:

Books: Great Sets or Setting Solutions, published by Sharyn Craig

Book: All-in-One Quilter's Reference Tool, published by CT Pub

Just about any book or dvd on free-motion quilting or precision piecing, or machine embroidery designs.

Don't forget to go visit all the entries in this Spring De-Stash event, as you'll find many more items that quilting, sewing and/or embroidery enthusiasts may want. This event will run thru March 15th, when I will host another updated Spring De-Stash event with more items from our sewing rooms that we all want to eliminate, to free up space.

Spring Cleaning 101 - De-Stashing

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:48:00 +0000

Anyone that wants to do any Spring Cleaning of their sewing room, as well as those that want to add items to their stash, are invited to participate in this Spring Cleaning De-Stash activity.

There are those of us, like myself, that have more items in their sewing room than they feel they need. It might be that they have far too many project ideas to complete in a lifetime, their tastes may have changed, or they bought an item that doesn fit their current needs. For what ever their reason, they can benefit from some Spring Cleaning to make room in their sewing room for other projects. And, there may be some of you that are looking for items to add to your stash, may need a particular tool or pattern, etc. Thus, this is hopefully an opportunity that helps connect those that have more in your stash than you have room and for those that would like to find items to help them create beautiful projects, now or in the future.

Bloggers and non-bloggers are invited to share insights on what they want to sell or trade, but before you add a link to the linky tool below, please read the rules below in this post.

1) Maximum of 2 links per person, per day, can be added to this linky. Bloggers can include more than one item in their post, but all posts need to be current (not pre-dated)
2) Your entry should clarify if you are wanting to sell vs trade, what the terms are and how you can be contacted.
3) Please reference the link for this De-Stashing linky (http://www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com/2012/02/spring-cleaning-101-de-stashing.html) in your notice, and encourage others to also check out what other quilters have to de-stash. To clarify, Please help promote awareness so more quilters will visit all the entries and also consider adding a link to items they may want to de-stash. Everyone is welcome to participate!
4) please mark your items as sold, or remove them. And, when the all the items on your page have sold, let me know and I'll remove your link from the linky. This will help ensure those shopping do not waste time visiting a link where everything is already sold.

Best to have a photo of each individual item you want to sell or trade, determine how much you want for it, if the price will include shipping, etc. You may also want to share insights on why you want to get rid of it (e.g. your taste has changed, bought more than you needed, don't have time, doesn't meet your needs, etc.), to be able to help a potential buyer determine if it is a good fit for them to want to bring it home to their sewing room.

For Bloggers:
1) Be sure you understand how to add a link to your post, not a link to your blog (e.g. click on the title post of your post) and take time to verify it after you've added your link to the linky tool. If not, your link may be removed.
2) If your items sell, or you want to add more items, you can always update your post accordingly.

For non-Bloggers:
1) You will need to have a Flickr account (www.flickr.com).
2) Upload "one" photo to Flickr, batch organize, send to groups, select "De-Stash Spring Cleaning". While Flickr, limits the amount of text you can share in your description, feel free to share your perspective on this exercise and/or your past FMQ experience, if you wish.
3) After photo has successfully been loaded to the "De-Stash Spring Cleaning"" group, click on your photo in that group and copy the URL link to your particular photo entry. Add that link to the linky tool above, to officially enter this show.

This linky, for this first Spring Cleaning 101 De Stashing will be valid for one month. On March 15th I wil host another Spring Cleaning event where you can enter any item that did not sell, again, as well as new items.

Should anyone wonder why they an X next to their link, it appears to be a new feature of this linky tool and no one else sees it. To clarify, the red X only appears on links that you personally add to this linky tool.

I will be doing a separate post, shortly, and add a link for items that I would like to find a new home for. Unfortunately, I haven't yet had time to take pictures of them to be able to share. But, I should be able to get to it shortly. Do remember to keep checking back and visit the links for those participating in this de-stash event as there could be more participants and any participant can update their entry, to reflect additional items as well as change of pricing or other terms.

Mock Needle Turn Applique' with AccuQuilt pre-cuts & Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:50:00 +0000

Today I want to share some tips for a Mock Needle Turn Applique' technique that is very easy to use and also works well with many AccuQuilt shapes, especially the GO! Heart.

The raw edge applique technique is a common technique for many that use AccuQuilt, but a needle turn effect gives a more finished effect to your projects. If you don't have the time or interest in needle turn applique', this mock applique technique is so easy and can work for many applique' shapes.

To create this effect you cut your fabrics as you would normally cut, using your AccuQuilt. But, you also cut a layer of lightweight interfacing that has an adhesive on one side. There are many brands of this type of interfacing on the market, but I personally enjoy using Pellon interfacing that is also easy to find at JoAnns and very reasonably priced.

I place the adhesive side of the stablizer to the right side of the fabric for my pre-cut hearts and sew a 1/4" seam completely around these two layers. I then take a sharp pair of small scissors and poke a small hole thru the cneter of the interfacing and cut a line to create an opening, approximately 1 to 1-1/2" long. Also, be sure to clip the curves.

Using my finger I poke the fabric thru the hole in the interfacing to turn the heart. Once turned, I use my finger to stick inside of the pocket and rub against the inside of the seam to ensure the heart pocket is fully opened. Then, finger press the heart shape flat. You now have a mock heart with the tacky side of the interfacing on the outside, ready to press this applique' shape to your project.

For this project, I created a very simple table runner. It was fun & fast to make and consists of a design that I'm wanting to use to practice some free-motion quilting on too!

While I still need to sandwich and quilt this table runner, I hope these photos give you the general idea of how to do a mock needle turn applique and if you haven't yet used this technique', that you'll give it a try. It works great for the AccuQuilt circles, round flower, Christmas Tree, Heart and many other shapes too. But some AccuQuilt applique' shapes are not appropriate for a traditional needle turn, nor mock needle turn as they may loose their design shape in the process, or they are so small they may not support the 1/4" seam on a machine. This technique also works with applique' shapes not cut with an AccuQuilt. Play with it and see if you like this technique. Again, it is easy, fast and fun.

Interested in winning some pre-cut hearts and interfacing to try this Mock Needle Turn Applique' technique? I've cut 20 hearts and interfacing with fusible on one side and will gladly give these to a follower that is interested in winning them. Simply leave a comment on this post and I'll randomly draw a name Fri., Feb 24th

Want an extra entry? Visit all of the blogs in the GO! Ahead and Show Some Love Blog Hop and leave a comment on their blog post, for this hop and come back on this post (no earlier than the 18th) letting me know you visited all of the blogs participating in this hop. Of course, each of these participating blogs will be sharing inspirational projects, tips, tutorials and they'll be some fun giveaways too.

Here is the line up for this blog hop:

February 13th

Marjorie (Marjorie Busby, quilter)
Ariane (Ariane's Crafts)

February 14th

Connie (Quilting by the River)
Linda (Living 4 Quilting)

February 15th

Lisa Marie (Scraps of Life)
Marilyn (North Hills Quilters)

February 16th

Alicia (Heirloom Quilting)
Marjorie (Marjorie's Busy Corner)

February 17th

Sharon (Crazee Corners)
Jacque (Lilypad Quilting)

February 18th

Stacey (Driving Miss Stacey)
Tracey (The Peony Teacup)
Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations)

GO! Ahead and Show Some Love Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:28:00 +0000

Paulette (Sweet P Quilting) has coordinated a fun blog hop that everyone is invited to. There will be inspirational projects, tips, tutorials and a few giveaways too!

While I've been unusually busy, I wanted to provide some treats for everyone. I was inspired by an idea on Pinterest, and was easily able to create a version of it using the AccuQuilt and GO! Heart die. You simply cut wax paper hearts and stitch them, leaving a partial opening. Using a spoon, I filled them with M&Ms and then finished stitching them to seal the package.

Later this week I'll share some tips on how to do a mock needle turn applique technique' that is also perfect for AccuQuilt designs.

I hope you will have fun visiting all the blogs in this blog hop. They'll be tutorials, tips, inspiration and a few giveaways too. Here is the line up.

February 13th

Marjorie (Marjorie Busby, quilter)
Ariane (Ariane's Crafts)

February 14th

Connie (Quilting by the River)
Linda (Living 4 Quilting)

February 15th

Lisa Marie (Scraps of Life)
Marilyn (North Hills Quilters)

February 16th

Alicia (Heirloom Quilting)
Marjorie (Marjorie's Busy Corner)

February 17th

Sharon (Crazee Corners)
Jacque (Lilypad Quilting)

February 18th

Stacey (Driving Miss Stacey)
Tracey (The Peony Teacup)
Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations)

All of the quilters in this blog hop are Quilters that enjoy using Modern Quilting Tools and definitely enjoy using AccuQuilt products. The quilters in this group share a number of tutorials, tips and inspirational articles on their blogs. You can search their blogs for "AccuQuilt", or the names of other modern quilting tools. They also have a badge on their blog to identify the Modern Quilting tools that they use.

Winners of the January 2012 FMQ Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:41:00 +0000

Today I get the pleasure to recognize our Grand Prize Sponsors for the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge and our sponsors for the January FMQ Challenge, where Frances Moore provided an excellent tutorial. I am also happy to officially announce the winners of the January Challenge.

2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge

GRAND PRIZE SPONSORS

The Fat Quarter Shop

The Stencil Company

Dream World

The Electric Quilt Company

June Tailor

Grand Prizes will be awarded to those that have taken the Pledge to complete all 12 FMQ tutorials. After they complete all 12 tutorials there will be a special post with information on how they enter. Prizes will be randomly awarded in early 2013.

SewCalGal is proud to recognize our
MONTHLY PRIZE SPONSORS
for the January Challenge.

Prize #1 is sponsored by

Aurifil -

Prize #2 is a bundle of items

Aurifil -has donated a sample pack of 5 threads

SewSlip

Quilters Touch LLC

MACHINGERS Quilting Gloves

The winner will need to determine the size that is appropriate for them by visiting the page on Quilter's Touch site that shares insight on how to help fit gloves.

DVD: "Sew PRECISE Sew FAST Machine Binding"

Winners of the January Challenge were randomly selected by those that completed the challenge.

Congratulations to the following winners:

Prize #1 - Mary (Quilt Dancer)

Prize #2 - Jen (Closet Quilter)

I will send an email to these winners to get their mailing information and confirm that they want to claim this prize. If I do not hear back from them within a week, another name will be drawn.

As I am mailing out these prizes, at my own expense, I do want to share that to help offset such expenses I now have sponsored advertisements on my blog. If you are interested in a paid sponsorship advertisement, please email me for more info. And, I hope you will all support all sponsors of SewCalGal and definitely "click" on their advertisements and go visit their shops.

Don't forget that the main page for this event is http://www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com/p/free-motion-quilt-challenge.html and it will be updated throughout this event, to provide a summary of current info and links.

Quilters of all levels can enter this challenge anytime. Take the Pledge by signing up.

Fun Friday Giveaway: Lighted Pin Picker Uppers

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

I recently picked up two Lighted Pin Picker Uppers, one for my sewing room and one for my husband. We both have fallen in love with this very handy tool. And, today three lucky quilters have a chance at winning one for their very own.

These lightweight pin picker uppers compact to a small size, yet easily extends to a 28" reach with a cushion grip handle to prevent possible slipping.

There is also a bright LED light that can easily be turned on or off. And the part that has the light is magnetic, making it a breeze to pick up pins that have fallen on the ground. No more bending down to pick up a pin for me. Plus, it is so much easier to see the pins on the floor with this LED light too!

This product is really a very reasonable price, making this a great product for quilting, sewing and even embroidery enthusiasts, along with those that may want to pick up screws, nails and other parts that "garage" hobbiest may drop, from time to time. My DH can certainly vouch for this product too, but admittedly he doesn't call it a "pin" picker upper.

Did I mention a giveaway? "Toys for Quilters" is our Fun Friday Sponsor today and they have generously offered 3 pin picker uppers to be given away to followers of SewCalGal. But, first, I want to share a little insight with you about this company.

Their motto is "quilting is the Toy Department of Life" and their mission is to bring fun and unique toys to quilters. They offer a variety of Quilting and Sewing Notions, Tools and Toys for sale, at all reasonable prices. And, they have some yummy fabric too!

Before you enter any giveaway, I hope you'll read my post "WANTED: Quilters that do not win in giveaways" for insights on what you can do to increase your chances of winning. This list is updated periodically, as I encounter various no-reply bloggers (aka those that can't win at giveaways as they can't be contacted).

If you would like to win one of these very handy Lighted Pin Picker Upper, simply leave a comment on this post.

Want an extra entry? Visit "Toys for Quilters" to take a look at their wonderful products. Come back here and leave another comment telling me what your favorite product is at Toys for Quilters.

Toys for Quilters, aka
Graphic Impressions
www.uquilt.com

The giveaway last week was sponsored by Hoffman of California Fabrics.

And the winner of the bundle of fabrics (aka a Sushi Roll) is: Sally King (Baby Steps Quilting)

Quilt Show Treasures - Quilted in Clay

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:06:00 +0000

At the recent Road to California Quilt Show, I picked up some special jewelry, with a quilt motif, that I'm excited to share with you. But, first I want to share with you some insight about this vendor and why I like their products.

Jennifer Patterson is the designer and owner of "Quilted in Clay", where she has a large selection of beautiful jewelery, that she makes using polymer clay. As I continually hear "I love your earrings, where did you get them" and I've enjoyed wearing various pieces of Quilted in Clay jewelery for several years, I can honestly recommend them to others.

If you are not familiar with how polymer clay jewelry is made and/or with Jennifer, you may want to watch this video. To me, it is an amazing art form with detailed craftmanship and amazing creativity. Clearly, Jennifer is very talented and a master artist with polymer clay.

Quilted in Clay has a large selection of earrings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, beads and more. All are high quality handcrafted pieces and with reasonable prices too!

There are a variety of quilt block designs, all beautiful. For me, the quilt motifs are my favorite. Don't you just love the design and colors in this pendant? I certainly do!

The floral designs are also spectacular and certainly inspire me to think of fond memories of times in Hawaii. But, I think these floral designs would work anywhere.

Their pink ribbon block is very cute too!

The majority of the designs come in a variety of styles, as well as sets (e.g. earrings, necklace, pendant).

Red and white quilts have always catch my attention, and I felt the same way while admiring the red and white jewelry. But, it did take me a little while to decide which piece "needed" to come home wiht me.

After drooling over all the Quilted in Clay jewelry, I ended up taking home the red and white earrings.

And, I decided this cute Fall Quilt block motif, which is a new design, also needed to come home with me.

So fun to get dressed up with a new piece of jewelry, especially when it shows off my love of quilting!

If you could recommend a quilt block design, or colors, what would you recommend Quilted in Clay create for quilters?

You can find Jennifer and Quilted in Clay at:

http://www.quiltedinclay.com/
https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1172302158

http://www.quiltedinclay.com/

Not to Miss Opportunities at the Glendale Quilt Show

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

For quilters living in Southern California, or those that want to come enjoy our weather and quilting activities, here are some insights on some fun quilting opportunities you may not want to miss.

The 33rd Annual Glendale Quilt Guild Show is Fri., March 16th - Sun., March 18th, in Burbank California.

Bonnie K. Hunter will be teaching five fun classes at this show:

Thurs, March 15: Shirttails Workshop

Fri, March 16: Pineapple Blossom Workshop

Sat, March 17: Star Struck Workshop

Sun, March 18: Scrappy Mountain Majesties Workshop

Classes are also offered at this show with other talented teachers, including Mickey Lawler, David Taylor, Larkin Van Horn, Nan Maples, Diane Pitchford and Sue Vite. For information on all of the workshops at this show, download a copy of the brochure. For those interested in learning free-motion quiting, David Taylor is also teaching a beginner FMQ class.

pre-orders

You can also find Bonnie at:
http://quiltville.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Quiltville/381510001640
http://quiltville.blogspot.com/

I hope you get a chance to visit the upcoming Glendale Quilt Guild Show and take a class too!

The theme for the

2012 Glendale Quilt Guild Show is

"Quilting Green".

March 16, 17, 18, 2012

Friday 10-5, Saturday 10-5, Sunday 10-4

Admission: $9.00

Husbands: FREE on Sunday

Children under 12: FREE

3-day pass: $15.00

Parking: $11.00

Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel & Convention Center

2500 Hollywood Way

Burbank, California

SHOW CHAIR SPECIAL FOR 2012

Stay one night at the hotel and

earn a FREE voucher for the Mystery Class

offered at the 2013 GQG Quilt Show,

or take the Mystery Class this year for $65.00.

March 15-18:

For More info on the Glendale Quilting Guild and/or show:
http://www.glendalequiltguild.org/2012quilt-show.html
Guild Contact: Corrine Gurney

"MOO" Velous Cow Parade

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Sometimes Life is truly greener on the other side of the fence, or shall I say "Moo" Velous vs greener?

While at the recent Road to California Quilt Show, I had fun looking at the "MOO" Velous Cow Parade. This whimsical quilt exhibit was created by Mary Lou Weidman and Melanie McFarland using the "Purple Cow" pattern from the book "Out of the Box with Easy Blocks". They challenged their friends to create their own version. What resulted is a "moo" velous collection ov bovine beauties.

There are nine cow quilts with a BOVINE theme: Psy-COW-delic, MOO-lin Rouge, Holy Cow, Pana-MOO Canal, MOO-oy COW-liente, and more! I found each of these quilts to be captivating, artistic, humorous, detailed and many with beautiful embellishment and/or free-motion quilting. As such, I'm delighted to be able to share insights with you today.

{above} Udderly Green with Envy, by Pam Tombs.

{above} Pana-MOO Canal, by Susan Typpi.

I found this quilt to have some beautiful embellishments that were absolutely perfect for this quilt, yet if you breeze by it, you could easily miss it. For example, look at the beautiful beads used for udders.

{above} Veggie Cow, by Kathy Collins

{above} COWmen Miranda, by Sue Cresse

{above} MOOOY COWlient, by Tina Neppl.

{above} MO LA LA at the MOO-lin Rouge, by Sandy Fisher.

And don't overlook the beautiful free-motion quilting on this whimsical quilt.

{Above} Boo MOO, by Molly Evangelisti.

I also enjoyed the detailed free-motion quilting in this spooktacular quilt.

{above} Holy Cow!, by Melanie B. McFarland

I found this quilt to be beautifully pieced,

with delightful embellishments and lovely free-motion quilting.

This was definitely a "MOO" Velous Cow Parade. I hope you enjoyed my insights on this whimsical quilt exhibit too.

Preparing for Spring Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:02:00 +0000

Have you started doing any Spring Cleaning or started thinking about it?

It isn't my favorite activity, but I sure like the outcome. I've been researching sewing room organization and have plans to make a major lifestyle change on how I organize my sewing room. Don't expect any photos to be shared, but visualize chaos.

All the experts tend to recommend that we start with de-Stashing. There is probably a ten step program for this, but I'm thinking of taking it in a few major steps, with my first area of focus on what I'm calling De-Stash 101:

I'm a dumper. When I go to a quilt retreat I come back exhausted and dump everything in my sewing room floor. And I do the same thing when I take a workshop, or attend a sew-cial. I'm taking a vow to better schedule time to put things away, when I return home with projects and machine in tow. But I also realize I have more "stuff" in my sewing room than I really use. As such, I've decided to host a Spring Cleaning (and organization) ten step program that I'd like to invite you to participate in.

As I go thru my stash, I'm giving a serious evaluation as to what I really want to keep vs get out of my sewing room. While I give a lot of things away, especially to charity quilting programs, there are some items that I want to sale, or possibly trade. You may also have such items in your Sewing Cave too!

For the next couple of months, on the 15th of each month, I'll do a Spring Cleaning post and include a linky. If you have something, from your sewing room, that you want to sale or trade, you are invited to add a link. This will be open to bloggers and non-bloggers that have items that would like to get rid of. And, of course, those that may not have enough stuff in their sewing room, or find something from these Spring Cleaning activities that they can use, are certainly able make a purchase, or negotiate a trade directly with the quilter that owns the item(s) they are interested in.

Interested? Mark the date and start looking in your Sewing Cave for items that you are no longer interested in and want to get rid of, to free-up space.

Here is a list of some of the items I am planning on getting rid of, as I do some Spring Cleaning in my sewing room.

Serger thread
Janome Sewing Machine
Fabric
Rulers
sewing & quilting thread
portable quilt wall
quilt frames (small)
book: "Facebook for Dummies".
Bernina Artista Designer Plus 5.0 embroidery digitizing software (CD, dongle, manual, etc).

I'm also hoping I can find someone with a few items that I'm interested in, such as:

quilting books published by Sharyn Craig

All-in-One Quilter's Reference Tool, published by CT Pub

Just about any book or dvd on free-motion quilting or precision piecing, or machine embroidery designs.

So, maybe you'll take a look at what you have in your sewing room that you may not be using, nor have plans to use, and would like to do some Spring Cleaning too.

Again, I'll post a linky to host then on the 15th. Bloggers can write a post on what they have to sale, trade and/or what they want.

Non-Bloggers can post images in Flickr group called "De-Stash Spring Cleaning" to what they have to sale or trade and they will need to add a link to the specific item(s) they have for sale on the linky that will be shared on the 15th of the mont.

Best to have a photo of each individual item you want to sell or trade, determine how much you want for it, if the price will include shipping, etc. You may also want to share insights on why you want to get rid of it (e.g. your taste has changed, bought more than you needed, don't have time, doesn't meet your needs, etc.), to be able to help a potential buyer determine if it is a good fit for them to want to bring it home to their sewing room.

I do hope you'll come back. I'll share more insights on my Sewing Room Cleaning and ten-step program. You are on the ground floor, as I research and test this out. Of course, as I have absolutely no expertise in the area of Sewing Room Cleaning and Organization, I'm also eager to hear your recommendations. And, my hubby is hopeful that one of my quilting friends will come over and help me de-stash. Oh my, does that thought make me shake.

Fun Friday Giveaway: Sponsored by Hoffman Fabrics of California

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:23:00 +0000

You may remember that in December, I shared insights with you about my tour of Hoffman Fabrics of California. I've always loved Hoffman Fabrics, and I wanted to come home with a bolt of every fabric that I saw.

But, I was able to "sneak" out some bundles of fabric. Well, I didn't exactly sneak them out. They were kind enough to let me take a few bundles of fabric that will be used in various Fun Friday Giveaways for followers of SewCalGal. And, today is one of those days.....yes, Hoffman Fabrics is the sponsor of this giveaway! Yeah!

The bundle today isn't a bundle of fabric that you'll ever find in any quilt store. It is a special bundle of fabrics that I like to think of as a Sushi Roll. You don't need to like Sushi to love this roll of Hoffman Fabrics.

This beautiful roll of Hoffman Fabrics contains a variety of fabrics and colors that can help to make a variety of projects, from scrappy quilts, to the perfect applique' project. SewCalGal certainly has ideas for how to put this Sushi bundle to good use, should no one want it. I just wish I had camera that would take a better picture, as mine does not do the beauty of these fabrics justice.

If you would like to win this bundle of fabric, followers of SewCalGal simply leave a comment on this post. Just be sure I have a way to contact you and you are not on my list of "WANTED: Quilters that do not win in giveaways". I'll randomly select a winner next Friday, from the pool that can be contacted (e.g. settings are NOT a no-reply status).

Want an extra entry? Go "like" Hoffman Fabrics on Facebook. Find the picture of the Sushi fabric bundle on their page and leave a comment, under that photo, telling them how much you appreciate all they do to make our quilting world so wonderful. Or, maybe you have a photo of a project that you've made with Hoffman Fabrics that you'd like to post on their Facebook page. Just send them some quilty love on Facebook and you'll get a second entry, if you come back and leave a comment here to tell me what you did. Plus,you may hear about another giveaway on their Facebook page too!

Don't forget to keep an eye out, as there will be a few more giveaways for various Hoffman fabric bundles. I have a few more Sushi bundles of beautiful Hoffman fabric for you. It is just easier on my budget if I don't ship them all at once.

Hoffman California Fabrics
25792 Obrero Drive, Mission Viejo, CA 92691-3140
949.770.2922
800.547.0100
hoffmanfabrics.com

The giveaway last week was sponsored by Incomparable Buttons (aka ButtonMad).

Thanks to Jennifer for sponsoring this giveaway where ten winners will each receive a card of beautiful handmade buttons, with very cute hearts. Jennifer also helped to randomly select the following winners:

February 2012 FMQ Challenge Tutorial with Diane Gaudynski

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the 2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge Tutorial for February. First, I want to clarify that this blog is copyright protected. Please do not copy images or insights, with out written permission by SewCalGal. To clarify, you do have permission to print a copy of this tutorial for your personal use. Any other use would need prior approval.

On a personal note, I was inspired by the beauty of Diane's quilting, which actually became a reason why I am hosting this challenge! To clarify, it was in 2010, when I was pretty much an "in the ditch" quilter, although I had done extensive hand quilting, when a friend who attended an Asilomar workshop with Diane, encouraged me to try FMQ and take a class with Diane too! I decided to make it a goal to focus on learning FMQ, for a year. I signed up for Diane's workshop at Asilomar in June 2011, and began watching FMQ DVDs, reading books on DVDs, taking as many classes as I possibly could, and researching every possible way to learn and improve my FMQ skills.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking a workshop with Diane, as well as using her books for on-going reference. To me, Diane Gaudynski is the Elizabeth Taylor of Quilting. She is an elegant, beautiful, inspirational woman, and so are her quilts. Diane is also a quilter that continually gives back, to help make our world of quilting so wonderful.

Diane lives in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She is a quilter, teacher, author and a multi-award winner that creates beauty and inspiration on a home sewing machine, using many original designs.

I am truly honored to have Diane Gaudynski as our FMQ Expert this month. She has provided an excellent free-motion quilting tutorial, which will be available during the month of February only. To clarify, this post will be updated March lst to remove the tutorial below:

February FMQ Tutorial, by Diane Gaudynski “Echo Feather Plume”

INTRODUCTION

I’ve been machine quilting since 1988! I began with excitement and great expectations for what could be done on a home sewing machine, and quilted with a walking foot for two entire years. Desperation for soft curves and pretty designs made me realize I needed a new machine for free motion quilting, as my poor old machine just could not handle it. I bought a new Bernina 1030 and discovered I could free motion quilt after all with a good machine and patience.

At each stage of my quilting experience I was happy, and didn’t know how bad or how good I was, but always tried to be better with each project. Because I had been a hand quilter for a short time and came from the tradition of marked designs for hand quilting and was making traditional classic quilts, that’s what I did first in FMQ. Now I combine both marked and freehand designs in my work, with many interesting freehand backgrounds as well.

Stencils were my friend, and I traced my first feather design and slowly quilted on the marked lines, backtracking over lines of stitches to get to the next area, working carefully and slowly. It worked, and with my first effort on the outer border of a bed quilt, I became confident I could do more and do better. I made many bed quilts, and learned techniques as well as how to handle a big quilt in a home sewing machine.

Invisible thread was my choice at the time, for its forgiving nature, and not showing machine stitches. All you saw was the illusion of quilting, the dimension. After wearing out a machine from using it, I switched to quilting with fine #100 silk thread in a variety of colors that blended with the fabrics beautifully.

I learned if I controlled the speed of my hands and also slowed the machine’s speed I could do some difficult designs well. If I went one speed I ran into trouble, and if I used the “pedal to the metal” approach everyone was doing at this time, I couldn’t get any quality at all.

Stencils led to drawing my own designs on paper and tracing them, then quilting many motifs without marking at all. Stippling was a challenge at first but became easy with repetition, but I wanted new backgrounds so came up with some of my own.

I’ve taught machine quilting since the early 90’s, and have become a better quilter because of it. Figuring out why things happened in class, and trying to find methods for success for my students inspired my own work and made things easier for my classes. My two books on machine quilting have helped many become excellent quilters: Guide to Machine Quilting, and Quilt Savvy: Gaudynski’s Machine Quilting Guidebook. They are available at www.amazon.com, or www.americanquilter.com among other places.

I continue to give information and tutorials on my blog at www.dianegaudynski.blogspot.com and tips on Twitter even though my teaching schedule is now limited. I have one class scheduled in October ’12 at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY. Visit www.quiltmuseum.org to get information.

Contact info: My website is www.dianegaudynski.net and there you will find photos of my work. You may reach me at dianequilter@sbcglobal.net

FMQ BASICS:

· Threads: I recommend lightweight cotton threads such as Aurifil #50, Superior MasterPiece, Mettler #60, YLI Soft Touch, DMC #50, or #100 silk. Use the same thread in the top and bobbin, preferably the same color, but different colors work OK if tension is balanced. With #100 silk in the top, any of the above cotton threads work well in the bobbin. For beginners, I highly recommend the same color, top and bobbin, probably the same thread too. Don’t try and match the bobbin color to the quilt backing. Instead keep the bobbin color the same as the various top thread colors if possible for a really nice stitch.

· Thread color: Look for a shade that matches the top fabric or blends. A shade just slightly different from the fabric often adds beauty plus lets you see what you are quilting. Try a soft yellow on ecru muslin, or lilac thread on light blue, soft gold on rose or tan, etc. Avoid high contrast threads until you are more accomplished as they showcase errors and draw the eye to any problems. Dark lightweight threads on light fabrics never show a machine stitch well.

· Needles: For this exercise use a #70 Microtex needle. If you don’t have one, use a #70 Universal. Normally, choose the thread size and then the appropriate size/type needle.

· Marking tools: Blue washout markers have always worked great for me, but use whatever you prefer. Mark-B-Gone is good, use a light touch, and always plan on immersing quilt in water when done, then rinsing thoroughly. Or use a marker of your choice. For dark fabrics try the Clover white marking pen, iron out the marks when finished.

· Batting: My preference is wool batt such as Hobbs Tuscany or Pellon Legacy. Soft stable cotton batt like Quilter’s Dream Select is also good. Find what works for you.

· Machine Tension: Usually lower the top tension one number for FMQ. Do some tests and see what is needed to get a perfect stitch. Sometimes the bobbin tension needs tweaking, either tighter or looser as well. Learn to work with your machine to get the best tension, and do some sample stitching on a quilt sandwich to get it right. Do NOT be afraid to lower the top tension so that the stitch looks like a gentle curve, a “clamshell,” and thread is not stretched tight. On some machines in classes I see tension that has to be set on “0” and if the stitch looks right, that is ok. I usually set my Bernina 730 with #100 silk thread at 1.75 or 2.

· Stitch Length: For lighter weight threads, use a smaller stitch length. Heavier threads like #40 cottons will require a larger stitch. You will have better loft or “puff” in the design, and quilting will look so much nicer with small, even stitches. Try for a free motion stitch about 1.8 mm. My stitches are smaller as I use such a fine thread, probably are about 1.5 mm.

· Hand positions: Except for large designs, long lines, etc., I try to rest my arms on the surround of the machine, preferably having the machine set down into a table or cabinet. Use your hands to move the quilt, fingers resting gently and lightly on the quilt and moving in tandem to control the quilt top. Don’t press too hard, don’t “scrub floors.” Keep your elbows down. Keep your shoulders down. Be delicate but firm with your hand control. No, I don’t use gloves or hoops, never have, they are a nuisance and hoops are a visual distraction. I like Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream to give my hands a bit of the sticky factor.

· Work area set-up: It’s definitely best to have the machine set into a cabinet or portable table so your work area is extended and at the right height. Have a comfortable wheeled chair with adjustable height and back support. It is a misconception that the chair has to be much higher than the machine. Find a height that is comfy for you and your body. Keep the foot control under your right foot (like driving a car) not way out so you have to stretch your leg and reach for it. My cabinet has a leaf extended to the left, and one to the back with an obstacle there to prevent a large quilt from sliding off and causing drag. It’s crucial to be able to move the quilt freely with NO DRAG. Don’t be afraid to stop, adjust the quilt, start again. Use the auto needle down feature if you have it.

· Feed dogs are down, lowered, for FMQ.

· Aids: I love the Free Motion Slider, Supreme Slider. It adheres to the bed or surround and makes moving the quilt easy and smooth. It’s terrific.

· You may use invisible thread if you choose, but I find that a high quality cotton or silk thread looks nicer and blends in well so your mistakes don’t shout at you. Also, you can see your stitches as you quilt and that is good, makes it easier to improve, and cotton is easier to use in the machine.

· Basting: I pin baste with #1 bent pins, about 4-5 inches apart generally, and around specific areas as needed. Learn to place pins so they do not get in the way. Sometimes, if seam lines will be quilted over with designs, my next step is to quilt these with water soluble thread, top and bobbin. These basting stitches wash out when the quilt is finished, blocked, and bound.

· Transferring designs to fabric: Trace with stencils, use a lightbox to trace line designs, or the method of your choice.

· Favorite stencils: Look for something with small curves, no big shapes and no straight lines for beginning. It’s easier to quilt many smaller curvy shapes than big sustained curves. For this feather tutorial, if you need a stencil to learn the shape or mark a design, try the template from Anita Shackleford called “Infinite Feathers.” www.thimbleworks.com June Tailor also makes a set of graduated sizes of individual feathers, usually at fabric stores like JoAnn Fabrics.

TROUBLE SHOOTING

· If things go wrong, check or change one thing at a time until the problem is solved.

· Use a new needle.

· Machine should be cleaned and oiled according to manufacturer’s directions and in good working condition in order to FMQ successfully. Get rid of the lint and gunk, oil the hook area in the bobbin if ok for your machine.

· Make sure machine is threaded properly, top and bobbin, and bobbin is inserted and threaded right. Always re-thread if problems occur. Use all thread guides.

· Use horizontal spindle for threads, or whatever works best for your machine for smooth thread delivery. If it doesn’t work one way, try a different set-up.

· Turn off machine, take a break, come back with fresh resolve, set it up again, re-thread, and see if that helps.

· Consult your owner’s manual!

FMQ DESIGN: Echo Feather Plume

There are many ways to quilt feathers, and this technique has worked for me and for students who were “feather challenged”!

The traditional method involves backtracking, a skill that is often very challenging for beginners. This method replaces that with a narrow echo or repeat of a line of stitching between each small feather in a design. The design, above, shows the traditional method on the right side, and the echo method we’ll do on the left.

Here we’ll do a simple plume. As you progress you can branch plumes (shown above), add more plumes to them, curve them in different directions to form a border, add them to stencil designs to make them your own.

You can use this technique for marked designs, or try this plume without marking. If you find you cannot freehand quilt the teardrop shape of a feather, get a template or stencil and mark a design and use this technique to quilt it. Complete directions for quilting a marked stencil are in my Quilt Savvy book.

Choose a thread color slightly different than the fabric, and when you learn a background design to quilt around this feather, use a thread color that matches fabric so the feather will stand out nicely. Use the same color in the top and bobbin.

FIRST: Draw the “SPINE” The center line of a feather is called the spine. It is the backbone of the design, and all the small feather shapes emerge from this line. It is your base. It is good to use your marker and sketch a soft curve in your 8” block and use the line as the spine.

TIP: Avoid tight or big curves, go for a very soft curve or you will have difficulty forming feathers.

NEXT: Quilt the spine Begin at the bottom of the drawn line by lowering the presser foot, taking one complete stitch, and pulling the loop of bobbin thread to the top of the quilt. Hold both threads with your left hand, gently and firmly, and take about 7 small stitches, not on top of each other, but very close. These will lock in the stitches. Move slowly so the stitches are very tiny and could not be easily removed! Then gradually increase speed of both hands and machine to increase stitch size and follow the line up to the top. End any line of stitching this way as well. For heavier threads, tying off thread and burying ends works better.

Quilt up the spine, away from yourself, pulling gently, and control the quilt with your fingers and firm, gentle pressure.

Look ahead of the needle.

Try to get a nice, medium speed on the machine, combined with slow and even hand speed. Don’t jerk your hands, don’t press down hard on the quilt. There should be no drag on the quilt if it is positioned correctly and bunched up around your working area as needed. If you feel resistance as you try and move the quilt (like a fish on the line), stop, needle down, and readjust so it moves freely. Try and quilt to the top of the line without stopping.

TIP: If you need to stop, use the “needle down” to lock the quilt in place, and when you begin quilting, raise the needle out of the quilt and begin in that position to avoid a zig-zag stitch where you stop/start. Start slowly and then resume speed. This will become automatic after you do it a few times.

At the top of the marked line, quilt a gentle curved tip like a cotton swab shape, to the right, and then, without turning the quilt, quilt back down the spine towards yourself by echoing the line of quilting you’ve already done. Try for a scant ¼” echo. (see photo, above)

You will find this is harder than it looks! Most quilters tend to slow hands way down while doing this second line of quilting on the spine, and stitches then get very small indeed. If your hands need to go slower to do any kind of quilting or a task like this, slow down the speed of the machine too. It’s ok to quilt at a slower speed for more difficult tasks.

Tip: Hands go slower, machine goes slower. Work with your hands leading and let the machine speed follow and adjust to your hand speed. It’s stressful and difficult keeping up with a speeding machine. Learn to use the foot control to stay in pace with your controlled and even hand movement. If your hands go fast to get a straight line or a big curve (like the spine here), increase the machine speed to keep up. Great stitches will result.

FINALLY: Bottom tip of spine As you approach your starting point, continue past it to create a “quill-shaped” end to the spine, ending stitching at the beginning point. Stop here, needle down, take a breath and relax before you begin the feathers. The spine is complete.

Look at your work. See if stitches on both lines are similar in size. There will ALWAYS be stitch length variation and it really shows at this point. It will look much better when the feathers are quilted too.

Is the tension OK? Are you happy? Should you watch for better hand control and stitch length as you proceed from this point? Make mental notes for next time; but don’t take out stitches.

Some things to remember:

· Look ahead of the needle, not at the marked line.

· When you echo the line back to the bottom, look at the space between the two lines of quilting and try and keep that even. Don’t look at the side of the foot, or the needle, or each stitch as it is being made. Look at the negative space instead.

· Try to keep consistent speed, hand movement, and stitch length. If stitches aren’t all even, don’t worry, they WILL get better with repetition. Don’t worry too much about stitches and how consistent they are at this point. They will improve the more you quilt. It doesn’t all happen at once.

Quilting the Feathers

We will quilt the left side of the spine first, because the needle is there, no need to cut the thread or start in a new spot. Always try and plan things so cutting thread is minimized; it saves time, and looks neater. Quilt all feathers on the left side, but DO NOT go around the tip of the spine at the top. STOP at the TOP.

Now, let’s begin the feathers!

The feather shape is a teardrop, actually “half a heart shape.” The template in the photo shows you the basic shape you will quilt, in various sizes. Practice drawing this shape so it is smooth and easy.

The feather shape has a half-circle on the top originally obtained by tracing the top half of coins directly on quilts in the frame, and connecting those half-circles with “tails” to the quilted spine.

Visualize that half circle to keep feather shapes beautiful, plump and rounded, and to prevent them becoming tongue depressors. You can always draw or trace a few to help you master quilting the rounded tops of the feathers.

Your feather shape will be unique to you. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look exactly like mine or your friend’s or feathers in stencils. As long as they are consistent, that is ok. Some are thinner and longer, some short and fat. Quilt the first feather to the left of the spine, below.

Quilt out to the left, make a half circle, and a gentle curve, a small “hill,” back down to the spine, almost to the point where you began. See photo, above. Draw this first shape if you need to, or trace a template if that will help. Sometimes one drawn one to get you started is all you need.

One tendency is to quilt the rounded top of the feather, then quilt a totally straight line, a beeline, back to the spine. Avoid this! Quilt a nice gentle lift, a curve, back to the spine. No Straight Lines.

Quilt the second feather, above the first one, shown in photo below.

Each feather will be separated from the one above it by a narrow echo, about 1/8”. This allows you to do a continuous line of quilting with no backtracking in the feather. This little space also helps separate the feathers and gives interest and added dimension to the design. By finishing the feather plume with the same spaced echo around the outer edge, a wonderful complete look is achieved, and it doesn’t look beginner-y or simplistic.

When you hit the spine, stitch on it one or two stitches up the spine, then begin the echo. Sometimes a simple V shape is all you need at the spine to get to the next feather.

Tip: All the feathers can be quilted at one medium speed. You may need to increase speed as the feathers get larger as speed helps smoothness.

Begin at the bottom and build the feathers up to the top, like stacking up blocks, one on top of the next. This works so well in a home machine because you can see the line of stitching in front of the foot and space that narrow echo between each feather. After mastering this, you will be able to quilt freehand feathers in any direction at all, and pick the direction that works best for you.

TIP: Don’t “lazy susan” or rotate the quilt. Keep north facing north, etc., and don’t give in to the temptation to turn it so to quilt towards yourself, as when sewing, or when quilting with a walking foot. In FMQ, you quilt to the west without turning the quilt, to the north, to the east, etc. It frees you up to do all sorts of designs within very large quilts where turning them is impossible or not practical.

Quilt more feathers, various sizes, building them up the spine until you make smaller ones towards the tip, see photo. If feathers start distorting or looking weird, stop, see what you are doing wrong, correct it and proceed.

Try and quilt two feathers, stop, take a break, look at them and see what you might be doing wrong. When you are learning, sometimes only two feathers are possible before they begin to become uneven. Don’t worry, simply stop, and then quilt two more until you get to the top of the spine.

!!!!!!Do NOT quilt past the top to the other side. Stop at the top of the spine. STOP!!!!!!

Instead of going to the other side of the spine, quilt back down to the bottom with an echo of the tops of the feathers.

Use the same space as between each feather, a scant 1/8”. You will be quilting towards yourself. You can see in the photo below how much easier it is to echo around the feathers in this direction.

Quilt around the bottom of the spine, see photo below, over to the right side, where you will begin the RIGHT SIDE of the feather. Stop here, needle down, and take a break.

Observation: From teaching many years, I’ve noted that most quilters have an easier time with one side of the feather. The “second” side is usually harder, as you are quilting the same shape, but mirror imaged. Take a break, think how you will quilt the second side (here the right side) or draw some on paper first to get the hang of it. It doesn’t matter which side is quilted first. Try beginning on the other side first for a change.

Next: Quilt a feather to the right of the spine, first the bottom of the feather, then the rounded top, and finally the gentle curve back to the spine, almost to the point where you began the feather, below. The echo above this feather will form the bottom of the next feather, and so on.

Second feather: Stitch up the spine a few stitches and echo this first feather, scant 1/8”, then form rounded top of second feather, quilt back to the spine.

Continue like this to the top of the spine. Stop. Echo back down the outer edge of feathers, around the curved tops, back to the starting point. Make a crisp “V” between each one, and stop here if you need to for any necessary readjusting, or take a quick breath. Free motion quilting may include as many stops and breaks as you need!

When you get to the spine, lock in your stitches by slowing hands and making about 7 very small stitches next to each other; cut threads as close to quilt as possible, top and back.

The complete plume, below.

On a diagonal in the 8” square, this plume looks fine. If you want to stop at this point, that’s ok. I decided there was way too much space left around my plume in the square, so added the tendril on the right and feathered it, and some more plumes to the left.

Simply start anywhere you want on the main plume, lock in stitches, quilt a spine (it’s best to sketch it in first) and then feather it. I added the one on the top left, then one under that to balance out the main plume and fill the space. I could have made one plume and branched the spine too. Each added plume was one unit of quilting, and threads were then cut.

In Conclusion

I hope you are able to quilt a feather plume and enjoy the process. It is within most quilters’ abilities and can become so relaxing and easy after correct shapes are repeated many times, becoming part of muscle memory. Thinking about each one will become automatic, and you will have freedom to create some of the flowing, fancy, splendid designs we are seeing in quilts today.

The spine determines the shape of the feather design. You can feather anything, a straight line, an appliquéd vine, a drawing of a truck. Use the lines as the spines and feather away! A circle creates a feathered wreath, and so on. Feathers are indeed endless, and as fascinating to quilt as they are to see in quilts.

If you have odd spaces and little pools of puff between feathers, it means you did not echo properly but wandered on the echo part of the quilting. You must hug that feather, make it look like you have a twin needle in the machine so that small pathway or corridor between each feather is even and smooth.

Try to avoid quilting feathers that resemble water towers, strange broccoli stalks, rigid tongue depressors, or any unusual or deformed veggies.

Unfortunately what will catch the eye in this design are the mistakes in echoing. A good rule to remember is echo up the top of the previous feather BEFORE starting to think about the feather you are now forming.

Yes, you can even stop the machine and think about how big the feather should be or how fat/thin. You can give yourself a guideline mark so you know how far out each feather should go.

Longer feathers are more difficult to quilt. Big feathers especially to a curved spine, are more difficult. Smaller ones are easier.

Tip: Adding leaves to the feather is a nice touch, or more tendrils for balance. After you learn the basic technique, try a branched feather, by drawing a spine like a slingshot shape, see photo below.

Add pearls or circles inside a widened spine, about 3/8” works well. Do a triple spine! Add spirals to feathers, insert tiny feathers next to large ones, vary the scale, add interest.

The more you quilt feathers the better you will be, and more ideas will come to you.

Thank you to Diane Gaudynski for providing the above tutorial.

I'm sure all of the participants in this challenge will enjoy Diane's excellent tutorial. I know I will.

I know some of you have signed up for Diane's workshop scheduled in the Fall 2012, but as I've heard there are still a few spaces, I wanted to let everyone know about this great opportunity to take a class with Diane:

Oct. 18-20, 2012 - National Quilt Museum, Paducah KY: "A New Tradition in Quilting" workshop for intermediate machine quilting basics http://www.quiltmuseum.org/
There is also an excellent quilt exhibit at the National Quilt Musem that has several of Diane's beautiful quilts on exhibit. This exhibit is titled "Quilt Journeys: Three Quilters" and runs thru March 13, 2012. In cooperation with Murray State University's Journey Stories Project, the story of three quilter's journey into quilting. The exhibit tells the story of three quilters. This is not a journey from point A to point B, but rather a spiritual, emotional journey from one's first step into the world created by quilting. Like most journeys, it isn't the destination that is the story, it is the process of getting there that is interesting.
This exhibit follows three quilters, Diane Gaudynski (right, a sample of her "feather stitching), the late Dorris McManis and the late Doreen Speckmann. Each issued themselves a quilt challenge, and this exhibit explores how they responded to that challenge.

I also highly recommend Diane's book "Quilt Savvy: Gaudynski's Machine Quilting Guidebook"

and her book "Guide to Machine Quilting".

You can also follow Diane at her inspirational blog “A New Tradition In Quilting”
and on twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/dianegaudynski).

To be eligible to win a monthly prize, simply complete the current months' tutorial in the month it is released and get your entry submitted via the linky tool, at the bottom of this page, no later than February 29th. But do remember this challenge is more about learning and improving your FMQ skills, so don't rush thru the exercise just to enter. Take time to practice and embed this design to your muscle memory, before you enter. To clarify, DO NOT just add a link to your blog, but to your post that shows that you have completed this tutorial. You get one link, so keep practicing until you feel you are finished with this tutorial.

For bloggers, please post your entry on your blog. To clarify, you can include as many photos of this tutorial exercise in your post, but you can only add one link to the linky tool below. You may also want to include insights in your post about your past FMQ experience and thoughts about this tutorial. Totally, optional, but you may also want to let everyone know that you have taken the Pledge and you did this exercise to enter the the challenge this month, where randomly selected winners will win a prize. You may inspire others to want to join this challenge too!

For non-Bloggers:
1) You will need to have a Flickr account (www.flickr.com).
2) Upload "one" photo to Flickr, batch organize, send to groups, select "2012 FMQ Challenge". While Flickr, limits the amount of text you can share in your description, feel free to share your perspective on this exercise and/or your past FMQ experience, if you wish.
3) After photo has successfully been loaded to the "2012 FMQ Challenge" group, click on your photo in that group and copy the URL link to your particular photo entry. Add that link to the linky tool above, to officially enter this show.
note: While there was a unique group for the January challenge, based on feedback a Flickr group has been created that will hold all your photos for the remaining monthly challenges, so you will not need to rejoin a group on Flickr every month.

Winners will be randomly selected and this post will be updated early February to reflect the winners.

Should anyone wonder why they an X next to their link, it appears to be a new feature of this linky tool and no one else sees it. To clarify, the red X only appears on links that you personally add to this linky tool.

One link per person that has taken the pledge to learn and/or improve their Free Motion Quilting Skills, on a home sewing machine, in 2012. Dana (Stormy Days) has also written an excellent tutorial for using linkys, so please take time to read her tutorial if you are not familiar with linkys or have any questions about linkys, in general.

note:To officially be entered in the 2012 FMQ Challenge please take time to fill out the "Pledge Form" . Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out an easy way to get the email addresses collected in the Pledge Form to automatically load to my MailChimp mailing list, as originally planned. While I apologies, I do ask, if you want to receive email reminders when new FMQ tutorials are released each month, please also sign up via the special mailing list for this activity. And, don't forget that the page labeled "2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge" is the main page for the FMQ challenge and will be updated throughout the year, to provide a summary of current info and appropriate links.

Those on Facebook, may also want to join the "2012 Free Motion Quilting" group that was created to allow networking with those participating in this challenge.

If you have not yet completed the January tutorial, by Frances Moore, please remember it is available for you to complete at your leisure.

FMQ Challenge Recap - January 2012

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

First, I want to recognize and formally thank Frances Moore, our January FMQ expert for her wonderful tutorial, as well as all the insightsshe shared on her blog, to provide supplemental information and inspiration. Of course, I always enjoy her blog, but it was greatly appreciated to have her so active in support of her tutorial this month.

To help express appreciation to Frances, I took the liberty to share a few comments and observations that I've seen this month:

{above} Gail Fossman shared on the groups' optional Facebook page: "Did my January FMQ today and I must say that after watching the video & practicing on paper, this is some of the best quilting I've done!!! i can't wait for February!"

{above} Many were inspired by various designs by Frances. Gelopop shared this beautiful entry as her Flickr entry.

{above} Many tried creating versions of the leaves, including this one by Diane Myron and shared on Facebook.

I believe we all learned and improved our free-motion skills this month, and many had fun applying this FMQ design to UFOs and other projects. Thus, I want to give a big stand up applause to Frances Moore for teaching us and inspiring us with FMQ. Thank you, Frances.

There are over 2,000 quilters that have taken the Pledge to complete all 12 tutorials in 2012, which is a requirement to win a Grand Prize. And, there are many more quilters that are participating, but have acknowledged their schedule won't allow them to complete all 12 tutorials. At the time of writing this post, there are 300 quilters that complete the January tutorial and took time to enter it in the monthly challenge, to win a Monthly prize.

The objective of the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge is to encourage quilters to learn and improve their FMQ skills, as well as gain more awareness to various FMQ Experts, opportunities to learn, tools that are helpful for those doing FMQ, all on a home sewing machine. While the focus is on learning, and SewCalGal does not want the focus to become all about winning prizes, I'm also delighted that many generous sponsors have donated wonderful Grand Prizes and Monthly prizes, that will be awarded to participants randomly. It doesn't matter how good you are at FMQ, what matters is you take time to learn and improve.

Details on how to win a monthly prize will always be shared in the same post for the monthly tutorial. Details on how to win a Grand Prize will be shared later this year, but hte basic rule will be that you will need to complete all 12 FMQ tutorials "anytime" in 2012 to be eligible to win a Grand Prize.

SewCalGal is proud to recognize our
GRAND PRIZE SPONSORS
for this challenge.
IF you are interested in being a Grand Prize sponsor, please email SewCalGal for more info.

Sponsor(s)	Prize(s)
The Fat Quarter Shop	Six prizes for Grand Prize Winners: 1 - $250 GC 1 - $150 GC 1 - $100 GC 3 - $50 GCs
	One lucky winner will receive a $200 gift certificate to The Stencil Company where they can pick out their favorite continuous line stencil designs that are perfect for quilting
Dream World	One lucky winner will receive a Pieceful Holiday Quilting Package, which includes: a Steady portable tables, a Travel/Storage Bag, Sew Straight Guide, Spinner Tray and Polish Kit estimated value: $149.99
The Electric Quilt Company	One lucky winner will receive a copy of EQ7 Retail price: $189.95
June Tailor	A bundle of June Tailor products, perfect for free motion quilting, with an estimated value over $100
	A bundle of books, perfect for those interested in free motion quilting, with an estimated value over $100

SewCalGal is proud to recognize our
MONTHLY PRIZE SPONSORS
for this challenge.

Sponsor(s)	Prize(s)
Aurifil -	sampler pack of 5 threads (12) Silk Stars Thread kit, with 12 spools of 40 wt threads:
SewSlip	SewSlip has donated 12 SewSlips!
Sewline:	Trio Three Color Fabric Marking Pencils with an extra refill package.
Quilters Touch	Quilters Touch has donated 12 bundles, each with a value of $27.95: pair of Machingers quilting gloves value $8 each Sew Precise Sew Fast Machine Binding DVD (retail $19.95),
Electric Quilt	winners' choice of Quiltmaker Quilting Designs software from Volume 1-7

Prizes for the challenge this month are:

Prize #1 - Silk Stars Thread kit, with 12 spools of 40 wt threads, donated by Aurifil.

Prize #2 - bundle that includes:

a sampler pack of 5 Aurifil threads,, donated by Aurifil.
a SewSlip, donated by SewSlip

Quilters Touch has donated 12 bundles, each with a value of $27.95:

pair of Machingers quilting gloves value $8 each

Sew Precise Sew Fast Machine Binding DVD (retail $19.95),

There is still time to enter to win a prize, simply visit the January tutorial for more information. But all entries for this monthly challenge need to be submitted in January. This post will be updated later this week, to announce the January winners. And, an email will be sent to the winners.

The February tuturial will be released on February lst. An email announcement, with additional information, will also be sent to those that signed up for optional emails for this event. If you didn't sign up for such emails and are interested, click here to sign up.

Don't forget that you can always use the January tutorial provided by Frances Moore. SewCalGal encourages everyone to continue to practice with this excellent tutorial, to be able to apply it to your quilting projects. I also hope that you will consider tell your local Quilt Guild and Quilt Shops about Frances, as she is certainly willing to travel to teach FMQ and can help quilters of all levels. And, don't forget to follow her blog, as she always shares great tips & inspiration.

Frances Moore
email: frantasticquilts@sbcglobal.net
blog: http://frantastic-stitchwitchery.blogspot.com

Cindy Needham at Road to California Conference and Quilt Show

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:18:00 +0000

While at the 2012 Road to California Quilt Show, I was delighted to have a chance to admire two beautiful quilts made by Cindy Needham. While Cindy is a very talented quilter, and Expert Free Motion quilter, author, teacher, she also has a expertise in preservation and restoration of old antique linens, and talents to turn them into spectacular pieces of art.

The first quilt that I'm sharing is the "The Nuns Quilt", was created by Cindy Needham. The display sign for this quilt on exhibit read:

"This linen was hand made by nuns in a French convent in the early 1900's. The linen was placed on top of an underlayment of green fabric, wool batting, and vintage raw silk. Hundreds and hundreds of hours have been spent meticulously quilting and beading this piece. The original handwork of the nuns is incredible. I can only hope that they approve of what I've done with their beautiful piece"

I found the detail workmanship by the nuns, was complimented with the spectacular workmanship by Cindy.

From my perspective, I'm sure the nuns that created the original linen are delighted with the excellent work that Cindy did turn this linen into such an exquisite piece of art, using exceptional free-motion quilting and embellishment. I just wish my photos could capture the true beauty of this quilt become a treasureable piece of art.

The second quilt is the Infinity quilt, created by Cindy Needham.

The display sign for this quilt on exhibit read:

"This started out as a beautiful linen tablecloth which was placed on top of bone colored cotton fabric for the underlayment, wool batting and cotton fabric for the backing. I loved adding my quilting to this amazing piece. The embroidery work of the original maker is incredible. A doily was separately quilted and added as the centerpiece. Hundreds of beads and pearls were added for embellishment.

The detail free motion quilting on this quilt truly complimented every inch of this beautiful linen.

Cindy's elegant feathers in a formal setting dazzles the eye.

While at the show, I enjoyed having a chance to chat with Docents and fellow quilters who were unfamiliar with Cindy's work. When I shared insights on how she finds old linens, from all over the world, repairs them, and turns them into spectacular quilts of art, I was delighted to see their smiles and their interest peak in taking classes with Cindy.

Cindy teaches a variety of free-motion quilting classes and workshops for beginners thru expert quilters. She teaches at quilt guilds, quilt shops, quilt shows, and also with Superior Threads' Threadology workshops too. Plus, she hosts various "my time" retreat workshops where you can work on your own projects and a "my designs" workshop where you can learn her FMQ techniques.

As an author, Cindy has published "Wholecloth Linen Quilts: Patterns & Designs".

And, she has several self published books including a Beginning Machine Quilting Collection, Beginner's Guides to Feathers and Backgrounds, Needles & Threads: Mastering Tension, and more.

The Quilt Show #202 "Antique Linens and Textile Revival" features Cindy.

Cindy has also volunteered to help the 2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge, providing a tutorial that will be shared this coming June.

I hope you get a chance to take a class with Cindy. I'm certainly looking forward to attending one of her "My Designs" workshops this coming fall.

You can find Cindy at:

http://www.cindyneedham.com/

http://blog.cindyneedham.com/

Creating Quilt ClipArt, Signs, Banners and more

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:10:00 +0000

I use a variety of software packages to create digital artwork, frame and format photos, make greeting cards, scrapbook pages, badges and other items for blogging, etc.. But, I can truly say that the MyMemories software has become my go to software, as it is so easy to use and fast to create what I need to do. Thus, it gives me more time for doing other things I also enjoy doing. And, today, I'm spending the day quilting (not housecleaning).

And, given the sun is cheerfully shining today, I may also get outside and do some gardening this afternoon.

While MyMemories software is reasonably priced at $39.97, they have also offered readers of SewCalGal a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software. And, they will also give you a $10 coupon for the My Memories store - $20 value! Just copy and paste the code STMMMS74482 and enter it during checkout to receive your discount!

https://www.mymemories.com

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and find time to enjoy and create!

If you like the ClipArt that I quickly created this morning, using MyMemories software, right click on the image and save to your computer. While I do ask you to obtain my approval to use images on my blog, I created this image to share with those that might be interested.

Fun Friday: Sponsored giveaway - Incomparable Buttons

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

When I think about Valentines and Spring theme projects, I start thinking about special embellishments that can really make a sewn project stand out. As such, I'm honored and excited to host a giveaway sponsored by Incomparable Buttons (aka ButtonMad).

'Incomparable Buttons is a South African company that produces handmade and painted, fully washable buttons.

The company was founded in the early eighties by Jennifer Pascall working around her kitchen table long into the night perfecting the formula for creating durable, fully washable buttons. It now operates from a separate premises, exporting beautiful buttons all over the world.

Jennifer's main goal these days (apart from creating gorgeous buttons for you to sigh over) is to uplift previously disadvantaged women in the community and provide much needed employment and skills. Truly this is a company with a conscience and a cause.

Some members of the ButtonMad Team have been working together from the very beginning. Nine of the eleven official South African languages are spoken by the ladies...one big family united by the common thread - being Mad about Buttons!

Each button is lovingly sculpted into creation and given its own unique personality by one of the team of Incomparable women employed by the company.

Each piece is a work of art - if you look closely, you may even be lucky enough to see the artist's fingerprint on the back.

Incomparable produces a wide variety of buttons - anything from birds and bees to teddy bears, flowers, farmyard, the big 5, teeny tiny hearts to two inch butterscotch fashion buttons. Their full catalogue is available on ButtonMad.com

When looking for a design you are simply spoiled for choice.

Incomparable buttons are perfect for use on all your quilts, needlework, stitch work, knitted jerseys...they're also ideal to add to store bought items - hats, jackets, mittens, sew them onto pockets and cuffs...or replace boring plastic buttons with one of their fun designs and transform a generic item into something truly special.

Fall in love with Incomparable's range of beautiful buttons...they sell and ship worldwide.

As their tagline reads: 'Why settle for plastic?' '

Time for a giveaway:

First, I want to thank Jennifer of Incomparable Buttons for offering this giveaway opportunity to followers of SewCalGal.

This week, Incomparable is giving away 10 sets of buttons of cute hearts (L554) valued at $10 per set ($100 value of all prizes). To clarify, ten different winners will receive a set of these cute buttons:

This giveaway is open to anyone anywhere in the world. Deadline to enter is midnight PST, Thursday, February 2nd. To enter to win a set of buttons, simply leave a comment on this post. Jennifer will be selecting the winner and I'll announce here next Friday, February 3rd.

Want extra ways to win ? Here are some options to get an extra entry. Leave a comment for each entry you want to claim:

1) Become a follower of ButtonMad (www.buttonmad.com), an inspirational blog for Incomparable Buttons, and leave a comment on their blog post about this giveaway, letting them know SewCalGal sent you.

2) "Like" ButtonMad on Facebook and leave a comment on their wall, underneath the photo of a shirt embellished with these cute hearts, letting them know SewCalGal sent you.

But, please be aware, that to win I need to have a way to contact you. Default settings for google/blogger, as well as those with Typepad and other blogging tools, can show up as a "no reply blogger" comment where I can't contact them to let them know they won. Please check my list of bloggers and non-bloggers that have posted comments and show up as a no reply blogger. If in doubt, embed your email address in your comment.

www.buttonmad.com
www.facebook.com/ButtonMad
http://incomparablebuttons.blogspot.com

The winner of the Fun Friday Giveaway from last week, sponsored by Hoffman Fabrics is:
Richard Healy

Shadow Trapunto Quilts

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

"Shadow Trapunto Quilts: Simple Steps, Remarkable Results - 30 Elegant Projects", by Geta Gama, published by CT Publishing is a new quilting book that will be released February, 2012.

Geta lives in Romania and began crafting in 2000. She has an inspirational blog (Geta's Quilting Studio), where she shares insights on her spectacular quilts, as well as sharing tips and tutorials. Needless to say, I was excited to see Geta share her expertise with Trapunto Quilts through publishing her first quilting book with CT Publishing. And, I was very happy to have a chance to review an Advanced Reading Copy of this book too, so that I could share insights with you today.

"Shadow Trapunto" is excellent quilting book for quilters looking for fun and creative projects that will certainly capture the attention of quilters and non-quilters, for their beautiful designs. I also believe this book is going to provide inspiration to many quilters that create award winning quilts based on designs in this book.

There are 30 elegant projects with easy to follow instructions and excellent visuals in this book, along with an amazing photo gallery that provides great inspiration.

You'll also find a nice section on Machine Stitching, Quilting and Finishing. :Though most of the projects require free motion stitching, a few of them can be stitched with a walking foot.

The CD that will be included in the published version of this book (not included in my Advanced Reading Copy) will allow you to print off the designs for the 30 projects to create full-size projects that are covered in this book. Projects range in size from 4"x6" (postcard) to 34"x34".

This is an excellent new quilting book that I hope you have a chance to check out at your local quilt store, or at CT Publishing's online store. I'm certainly happy to have Geta share her expertise on Trapunto Quilts in her first quilting book with CT Publishing. And, I also hope that she'll write more quilt books in the future. I'm particularly hoping that she will write one that shares her insights on free-motion quilting as I would certainly love to learn her FMQ techniques, in addition to her beautiful Shadow Traputo techniques.

SewCalGal views this is a "must have" book for any quilter that wants to learn Trapunto, as well as make spectacular wholecloth projects.

You can find Geta at:
website: www.RomanianQuiltStudio.com
Geta's Quilting Studio: http://cadouri-din-inima.blogspot.com

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/getagrama/

You can also place your pre-order for this book with CT Publishing.

http://www.ctpub.com/

http://www.ctpubblog.com/

Inspirational Free Motion Quilting at Road to California Quilt Show

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:57:00 +0000

I previously shared insights about how I "approach" attending a quilt show. I don't feel there is a right or a wrong way to attend a quilt show, but I do believe if you don't take advantage of attending quilt shows you loose out on a lot of inspirational opportunities. For me, as I've been on a quest to learn and improve my free-motion quilting (FMQ) skills, I certainly had fun attending the 2012 Road to California Quilt Show. While at this show, I spent most of my time looking at quilts that displayed inspirational FMQ. Today, I want to share a few of these quilts with you.

{Below} Plumeria Stars made by Kimberly Einmo and quilted by Birgit Schueller, of Palm Harbor, Florida.

{below} A Truly Feathered Star, by Karen L. Sievert of Gainesville, Ill.

{Below} Rare Catch, by Diane Steffen, Lake Ozark, MO

{below} Sunlit Circles, by Ann L. Petersen, Surprise, Arizona

I hope you enjoyed seeing these beautiful quilts and the excellent free-motion quilting that helped to make each of these quilts even more magnificient.

The Next Generation

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

While at the Road to California Quilt Show, I enjoyed a special exhibit for "The Next Generation". This exhibit was created to promote and encourage quiltmaking by younger quilters in a non-competitive environment. Young quilters seven years to sixteen years were invite to participate. The entries were displayed in a special exhibit at the 2012 Road to California Quilt Show.

Each participant will receive an AccuQuilt GO! Baby!, one year subscription to Quilt Trends, and a yard of Hoffman California Fabric and a participation ribbon. The participants are also entered into a drawing for a Janome Magnolia and a Bernette 46 sewing machine.

All of the quilts in this exhibit were delightful and these young quilters need to be recognized and congratulated. I just wish I had been able to capture a good photo to be able to share for each of the quilts in this exhibit:

Jenna Adams
Hannah Anderson

{above} Brighter Daze, by Hannah Anderson

Julia Brady
Taylor Breese
Kendall Bryan
Crystal Farrand

{above}Fishies under the water, by Crystal Farrand.

Paige Graves
Chloe Halal
Sarah Halal
Keegan T. Johnson

{above} The Fish I Didn't Catch With Grandpa, by Keegan T. Johnson

Sierra Lewis
Miranda Noel McCauley
Allison Mendenhall
Jaiden Oliva

{above} Yikes! Who's that in the Window, by Jaiden Oliva

Jessica Ottaway
Jordan Phillips

{above} Bright Baja Bugs, by Jordan Phillips

Tiara Smith
Brittany Mawree Smith

I also want to recognize AccuQuilt, Hoffman California Fabrics, and All American Crafts for being sponsors for this inspirational exhibit. And, I want to recognize the Road to California Show for helping to encourage The Next Generation of quilters.

What ideas do you have to encourage and help the next generation of quilters? How can quilt shops, guilds, quilt shows and individual quilters help? I look forward to hearing your ideas on how quilters can help the next generation fall in love with quilting.

GO! Ahead and Show Some Love Blog Hop - Coming Soon

noreply@blogger.com (SewCal Gal) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:49:00 +0000

Thanks to Paulette (Sweet P Quilting) for coordinating an upcoming blog hop for those that enjoy creating with their AccuQuilt, as well as those interested in learning more about quilting using die cutting tools. I also want to thank Jacque (Lilypad Quilting) for helping to create the very cute artwork for this blog hop.

We hope you will save the date and come visit all the blogs in this blog hop. They'll be tutorials, tips, inspiration and a few giveaways too.

February 13th

Marjorie (Marjorie Busby, quilter)

Ariane (Ariane's Crafts)

February 14th

Connie (Quilting by the River)

Linda (Living 4 Quilting)

February 15th

Lisa Marie (Scraps of Life)

Marilyn (North Hills Quilters)

February 16th

Alicia (Heirloom Quilting)

Marjorie (Marjorie's Busy Corner)

February 17th

Sharon (Crazee Corners)

Jacque (Lilypad Quilting)

February 18th

Stacey (Driving Miss Stacey)

Tracey (The Peony Teacup)

Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations)

Source: the-wilson-world.blogspot.com via Gini on Pinterest

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