Peppermint Pinwheels - On The Design Wall

Top 10 Tips for Buying Your First Sewing Machine

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:32:00 +0000

Buying a new sewing machine can feel overwhelming—there are so many brands, features, and price points to consider! To make things easier, here are my top 10 tips for choosing your very first machine.

1. Buy the Best Sewing Machine You Can Afford

Cheaper machines often have plastic parts that won’t hold up over time. Also, some of them are not built very well and will fall apart after a few uses. New and inexpensive machines (I'm looking at you - Amazon) may work for a while but can be frustrating and short-lived. That said, don’t overspend—no need to drop $3,000 on your very first machine. Start with a solid mid-range option and upgrade later if needed.

If you're looking to purchase a sewing machine and have been doing your research online, please remember that reviews mostly only cover machines that can be purchased online (as that's where the reviewers make they make their $$$!). Many of their recommended machines are not as good in quality as ones that you'll get from your local dealer!

2. Beware of Sales Pressure

When you walk into a sewing shop, you might get nudged toward high-end, fancy models. Those machines are great, but they’re often overkill for beginners. Stick to your budget and your actual needs—you can always upgrade down the road once you have a better idea of what you really want and need.

3. Keep It Simple

I'm telling you now - no one needs 250+ stitches. Even 50 stitches is overkill! You'll use straight stitch and zig-zag 98% of the time! Choose a machine with an interface that feels intuitive and easy for you to use—the “best” machine is the one you’ll actually enjoy sewing on.

4. Know the Brands

Two of my favorite contemporary brands are Bernina and Janome.

Bernina = The "Cadillac” of sewing machines (wonderful quality, higher price, usually $1,200+).
Janome = The “Toyota” of machines (dependable, more budget-friendly).

Those are the two that I have owned and used the most. There are other brands that offer good quality machines, but as I haven't had any personal experience with them, I can't speak about their level of quality.

5. Test Drive Before You Buy

The best way to know what feels right is to actually sew on the machine. If you’re local to the San Francisco Bay Area, you can test-drive machines at The Sewing Machine Shop in Walnut Creek or visit The Cotton Patch in Lafayette (which carries only Bernina). The support you get from knowledgeable staff is invaluable and is something you won't get from ordering a machine online or buying from a big box store.

Make sure you feel comfortable with the dealer. Not all dealers are great. If you have a local quilt store, stop in and ask the staff where they would recommend. And don't forget to pick up some supplies while you're there!

6. Go Computerized (If You Can)

Computerized machines are often easier for beginners, thanks to features like automatic needle up/down. That’s one less thing to remember as you sew!

7. Look for a Thread Cutter

It’s not essential, but an automatic thread cutter is a wonderful luxury. It speeds up sewing and keeps your space tidier. Worth it if it fits in your budget.

8. Consider Used Machines (Carefully)

You can sometimes find good deals on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, but proceed with caution—sellers don’t always know the condition of what they’re offering. In the SF Bay area, a safer bet is The White Elephant Sale in Oakland (seasonal) or Creative Upcycle in Pleasant Hill, where used machines are tested by a qualified repair technician.

9. They Don't Make Them Like They Used To

Vintage machines can be wonderful—they’re often built like tanks with strong metal parts that last decades. Many sew better and more powerfully than today's entry-level models. They also last forever! One of my favorite sewing machines to use is over 75 years old and purrs along beautifully. She's a pleasure to sew with! Plus, the overall design of vintage machines blows the newer "plastic-fantastic" machines out of the water.

But there are caveats with vintage machines: It's hard to know what to look for if you're a new sewer and buying a second-hand vintage machine. They also require regular oil and lubrication, while new machines often do not. This maintenance is easy, but it's just one more thing to remember or be intimidated about doing.

10. The Best Sewing Machine Is the One You’ll Use

Try not to get too overwhelmed with the decision process. Especially if you're searching online, there are so many options and price points. Keep it simple and get the best quality you can within your budget, buy from a reputable dealer, and start sewing.

At the end of the day, all sewing machines basically do the same thing - sew. Choose the one that feels comfortable, makes sense to you, and encourages you to play and practice. Make sure it's something that won't be so intimidating that it sits in a box on the shelf and never sees the light of day. The best beginner sewing machine is the one that keeps you excited about sewing!

Bonus: Read Your Manual and Take a Class!

Your sewing machine will come with a manual—and maybe even video tutorials. They might not seem exciting, but those instructions are essential when you’re learning to thread and operate your machine. Follow them closely until the process feels like second nature. If you’re working with a used machine that didn’t include a manual, don’t worry—most brands offer free, downloadable versions online.

And finally—take a class! One great benefit of buying from a dealer is that your new machine may include a class, which can be invaluable. If your machine didn’t come with one, check with your local quilt or sewing store to see if they offer “bring your own machine” workshops. I teach one of these myself—so if you’re in the Bay Area, keep an eye out for my Love Your Sewing Machine classes!

Voices in Cloth and Stitch Modern. Two Great Quilt Groups and Two Great Quilt Shows!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 23:09:00 +0000

I'll just say it - if you're a quilter, the San Francisco Bay Area is the place to be. This area is blessed with great museums, great fabric stores and an even greater quilting and sewing community. Just in the next month, there are two great quilt shows! This weekend, March 19 & 20, the East Bay Heritage Quilt Guild will be hosting their bi-annual quilt show at the beautiful Craneway Pavilion. Every member has a chance to show a quilt of their choice and the range of different types of quilting is really fun to see. There will also be a special exhibit of Julie Silber's "Maverick Quilts," which I'm super excited to check out.

I will be doing a free demo on Sunday from 12-1. my topic is "Improvising with Structure," and I've been having so much coming up with samples! You can find out more about the my demo as well as what else will be on offer here. Entry to the show is $15, but the demos are all free with admittance!

Some samples for the Improvising with Structure demonstration

The second show I want to tell you about is Stitch Modern, which runs from April 8 - May 8 at the Piedmont Center for the Arts. This show is very special to me because it's the 5th year that my group, the East Bay Modern Quilters, has put on this month long exhibit! Amazing! And, every year it gets better. Many of the events hosted over the course of the month are free, or at a very low cost and open to all ages. This is an event that we put on to promote our love of the art and we want to share it with as many people as possible! Check out what we have going on, or sign up for the East Bay Modern Quilters newsletter to keep abreast of late-breaking news.

I have work in both shows, so go check them out!

Minimalism and Modern Patchwork Quilting

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 18:37:00 +0000

I would never describe myself as a minimalist. If anything, I'm a boarder-line hoarder with very Victorian ideas about how a space should be filled. But, I do often make quilts with a simple, or minimalist color palette. One of these quilts, the X Quilt, just made it's publishing debut in Modern Patchwork Spring 2015!

The author of the article, Cinzia Allocca, saw the quilt and included it in her article, "Minimalism in Modern Quilt Design." What an honor! Thank you!

Cinzia Alloca's article on minimalist quilts in Modern Patchwork magazine.

The article is a great reference to help quilters distill their own vision and develop minimalist quilts with personal meaning. Check it out while it's till on a magazine rack near you! On that note, did you realize that many great quilting and craft magazines are often available for free at your local library as downloadable e-books? Many craft books are as well! I just downloaded a book on making furoshiki fabric gift wraps which has gotten me off on quite a tangent!

Working from a Score, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Fri, 15 May 2015 11:30:00 +0000

One of my favorite quilters, Sherri Lynn Wood has a new book! A few years ago, at the Stitch Modern 2013 show, Sherri gave a talk about working improvisationally that blew the minds of everyone in the audience. We all left the lecture that dark and rainy night, completely energized and ready to go out and create new work in a new way. What was it that she was talking about? Well, it's all in her new book, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters.

The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters: A Guide to Creating, Quilting, and Living Courageously

Although I was already deep into making improvisational work when I heard the lecture, I didn't really have a language in which to talk about it so that other people could understand how I did what I did. I could show them how to do it, but talking about it wasn't really my thing. I really appreciate how Sherri can interpret the way that she works and helps others to see a new way of approaching a project. You can see clear evidence of this in her "Test Score" gallery. She put out a call on her blog for participants who would like to create quilts based on the different "scores" that would be featured in her new book. There were hundreds of applicants, of which, I was one! The variety of work created is wonderful and some of it is breath-taking. Of course, not all of them could be included in the book, but you can see them all online. The diversity and creativity of the work is quite amazing.

I created my quilt, Northwest, based on the Score for Modern Block Improv. The block I was focused on was "flying geese." I love triangles, so I was happy! I played with it for awhile, and I came up with my Northwest quilt.

Northwest by Stacey Sharman

Northwest, detail

Because I didn't stick with incorporating only flying geese blocks, (part of my improv process is breaking rules!), my quilt was included in the Score for Showing Up, score #9, in the book.

The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters is a beautiful book, and I'm so proud and happy to have been included in it! (You can also check me out on page 49 with my Improv Round Robin quilt!) If you would like a chance to win a copy of your very own, and your shipping address is in the US, enter a comment below and tell me what rule you've broken lately! I'll randomly choose a winner on May 22nd.

Follow along with the Improv Handbook Blog Hop and find out more about how other quilters created work from a score:

May 2: Sew Mama Sew – Score for Floating Squares Gallery
May 4 STC Craft – Score for Rhythmic Grid Gallery
May 4: Plaid Portico – Score for Strings Gallery
May 6: During Quiet Time – Test Quilter Amy Friend
May 8: Wise Craft Handmade – Score for Get Your Curve On Gallery
May 11: Studio Notes – Test Quilter Penny Gold
May 13: Quiltville – Score for Modern Block Improv Gallery
May 15: Peppermint Pinwheels – Test Quilter Stacey Sharman
May 18: Quirky Quilts – Test Quilter Kim McPeake
May 20: PoppyPrintCreates – Score for Patchwork Doodle Gallery
May 22: The Last Piece – Test Quilter Sara Fielke
May 25: Cauchy Complete – Score for Layered Curves Gallery
May 26: Diary of a Quilter – Score for Bias Strip Petals Gallery
May 28: Getting Stitched on the Farm –Score for Improv Round Robin Gallery
May 29: Spoonflower – Score for Showing Up Gallery
May 30: Fresh Modern Quilts – Test Quilter Rossie Hutchinson

Time for Stitch Modern!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Mon, 23 Mar 2015 16:53:00 +0000

It's almost here! Stitch Modern 2015 will open on March 27th and run until April 25th at the Piedmont Center for the Arts. If you live in the SF Bay Area, the show is not to be missed! The opening, which is on March 27 from 6pm-9pm, is always a great party. If you don't live nearby, follow along on the Stitch Modern blog, or by following #stitchmodern. Find out more about the show and all the events below.

The East Bay Modern Quilters are proud to present Stitch Modern 2015, our 4th annual quilt show at the Piedmont Center for the Arts. As a group, East Bay Modern focuses on modern design and personal expression through quilting. As a non-juried show, there are no hard rules - this is quilting our own way, whether it’s with the latest fabrics and traditional patterns, or free piecing with no pattern at all!

We hope you will join us! Click the links below to find out more about our exciting events.

March 27th - April 25th
Piedmont Center of the Arts
801 Magnolia Ave, Piedmont, CA.
Gallery Hours: 12pm-3pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. (The gallery will be closed on Easter, April 5th.)

March 27th: 6pm-9pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts FREE
Opening Reception - Join the artists for an evening of fun, food, and celebration. There will be a book signing with Sherri Lynn Wood presenting her new book, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters. Signed books by Roderick Kiracofe and Eli Leon will also be available.

April 12th: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts FREE
Stitch Up - An afternoon of sewing in memory of Deanna Davis Come and celebrate the life and passion of our friend, Deanna, by helping to make quilts for her favorite charity, The Children's Quilt Project. Fabric kits will be provided, just bring your sewing machine or bring your own fabric donation. People new to sewing are welcome!

April 16th: 7pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts
Lecture: Biased and Edgy: My Career in Quilts, a lecture by Joe Cunningham $10 collected at the door, doors open at 6:30pm

April 18th: 10am-4pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts
Workshop: Modern quilts with a message: Designing quilt blocks for today’s stories with Kathryn Clark. $85 (registration required)

April 19th: 12pm-2:30pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts FREE
Family and Community Activity Day - includes quilting demos

Quilts clockwise from top left: Tara Faughnan, Joel Ignacio, Linda Hlady, Stacey Sharman, Terri Carpenter, Patricia Smith, Kristen Takakuwa

Tutorial: Quilted Mariner's Compass Floor Cushion

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 23:44:00 +0000

Awhile back, I made a floor cushion for my friend Kim featuring her first fabric line, Tidal Lace. Since her fabric is inspired by the sea, I decided that something featuring a Mariner's Compass block would be just the thing! Want to make one as well? Although I didn't photograph every step of the process, I'll walk you through the basics of foundation paper piecing the compass block and point you in the right direction for good tutorials for the rest of the cushion. I won't lie, it's not the easiest thing in the world to whip up, but you can do it!

To make a 24" square floor cushion of your own, you will need:

MATERIALS:

TOOLS:

Rotary cutter

Cutting mat

Rotary Cutting Ruler

Sewing Machine with zipper foot and walking foot and hoping foot

Basic sewing supplies like scissors, thread, pins, etc.

Thread to match cushion

Printer & plain white printing paper

Tape
Washable glue stick
Freezer paper
Spray Baste 505
Blue painters tape
Pencil
Exacto knife

FOUNDATION PAPER PIECING THE TOP:

Download and print the PDF file for the Mariner's Compass block. Make sure that the PDF is not scaled to fit the page or resized when you print it. You will need to tape the pages together to form the completed block, as seen in the picture below.

If possible, avoid taping over the dark outer lines of each shape. You'll need to stitch through and rip out the paper along these lines later, so the less tape on those parts the better!

Cut your pattern apart, keeping each similarly lettered section uncut as in the photo below.

FABRIC CUTS:

Fussy cut four 8" x 25" strips of the large border print that runs along the bottom of the Tidal Lace Coral fabric featuring the large, lacy tide-pool creatures for the sides of the cushion
25" x 25" square of Tidal Lace Coral for the bottom of the cushion
4.25" strip of Tidal Lace Coral, (using what is left over from your fussy cutting for the rest of the cushion *
4" strip of Shimmer Aqua (along the selvedge edge as it's a directional print)*
5-1/2" x 42" strip of Starlight Seafoam*
4" x 42" strip of Tide Pool Seafoam*
5" x 42" strip of Tidal Lace Deep Sea solid blue

Cut the following in both batting and muslin:

2 pcs. 26" x 26"
4 pcs. 9" x 26"

*I usually use each strip until I run out of it and then cut another, instead of cutting all the strips I will need for a project at once. That way, if I've made a cutting or measuring mistake, it's not such a big deal!

Starting with the wedge labeled A1 - A4 complete the following steps:

With the printed side of the paper facing away from you, place a little dot of glue in the middle of the triangle marked "A1" with the glue stick. Position the Shimmer Aqua fabric on the A1 triangle, sticking the wrong side of the fabric to the paper and making sure that the edges of the fabric are at least 1/4" over the black line outlining the A1 triangle (PHOTO A/B). Hint: That line will be your sewing line, so you want to make sure you have enough fabric outside of it to get a 1/4" seam!
From the paper side, fold the A2 flap along the black line (PHOTO C). I use a postcard to help me get a crisp edge when I fold the paper over (PHOTO D).

With the paper side up, re-fold the paper over along on of the black lines (PHOTO E). Using a rotary cutting ruler, measure and cut 1/4" on the outside of folded paper edge (PHOTO F).
Do the same with the other side to create a triangular shape (PHOTO G).
With fabric right sides together, lay the strip of Starlight Seafoam over your triangle, lining up the cut edges (PHOTO H). Make sure that your Seafoam fabric strip overlaps the edges of the paper at least 1/2". Pin together.

Paper side up, sew directly along the solid black line. The fabric you've pinned becomes sewn together with a 1/4" seam allowance (PHOTO I). Hint: set your sewing machine stitch a little smaller than usual, this will help you later when you rip out the paper. Also, don't forget to pull your pins out before you sew over them!
Fabric side up, press your seam and then trim your fabric along the outside straight edge of the paper, making sure to cut 1/4" outside of the paper edge (PHOTO J).
Repeat with section A3 (PHOTO K).
Using scissors, cut along the curved solid line between A1 and A4 (PHOTO L). Set A4 aside.

Using your ruler as a guide, mark a 1/4" seam allowance on the curved outer edge of your paper.(PHOTO M/N).
Cut along the marking (PHOTO O).
Use this same process to cut along the bottom curved edge of A1 (PHOTO P). (Remember that you always have to add the 1/4" seam allowance beyond the paper edge!)

Cut a 4" square from your strip of Tide Pool Seafoam fabric. Put a dot from the glue stick on the back of paper piece A4. Stick paper to the wrong side of your 4" square.
Using the same method as show in photo M, mark a 1/4" seam allowance along the curved top edge of the fabric above A4. Cut along the marked line.
Using your ruler, cut 1/2" from the outside straight edges of A4. (YES! 1/2" on these seams, not the usual 1/4". Trust me on this one!) PHOTO R.
Fold A4 in half and crease. Do the same for A1. Right sides together, match A4 to A1, using the creased center (PHOTO S). Pin together along the cut edges (PHOTO T).

You can remove the A4 piece of paper if that makes things easier (it will) and sew with a 1/4" seam allowance (PHOTO U).
Using a hot iron, press the seam open with the paper side against the ironing board (PHOTO V).
Using your paper with A2 and A3 as a guide, trim the outside edges so that you have a 1/4" seam allowance all the way down the triangle (PHOTO W).
You now have a completed wedge! (PHOTO X)
Complete the above steps for sections B through H.

Put a spot of glue on the back of paper piece I1 and center it on the strip of Tide Lace Coral. Cut out the shape, adding 1/4" seam allowance all around.

With right sides together, sew I1 to Section A and then to Section B.

Complete with the remaining sections to create 4 large wedge sections that look like the photo above.

Put a spot of glue on the back of paper piece M1 and center on the Deep Sea solid blue. Cut out the shape, again adding the 1/4" seam allowance.

With right sides together, sew to Wedge A/B.

Repeat with the remaining 3 wedges.

Complete the circle by sewing all of your sections together.

ADDING THE OUTSIDE EDGES:

Put a little glue on the back of paper piece Q1 and position it on the wrong side of your Tide Pool Ocean fabric, making sure to leave at least 1/2" extra fabric all the way around the outside of the paper.
Mark your 1/4" seam allowance on the curved edge and cut.
Add 1/4" seam allowance to the short sides of the template and cut.
Add 1/2" seam allowance to the long outside edges of the template and cut.
Repeat with the remaining three Q sections.

Fold one of your Q templates in half and mark with a pin along the curved edge. Then fold each half section in half again in order to mark each quarter section with a pin.
Using 1/4" seam allowance, sew the short edges of the Q fabric pieces together and press open.
Note that on your Mariner's Compass circle, each section is already divided into quarters with the "compass" points.
Starting with the upper left quadrant and with fabric right sides together match the curved inside edge of the Q template with the curved outside edge of the wedge, using the pins to help you align. Pin the two together and repeat with the remaining 3 Q pieces.
Continuing with a 1/4" seam allowance, sew the Tide Pool Ocean fabric to the compass circle.
Press.

ADDING THE CENTER CIRCLE:

Cut out a 7" square of freezer paper.
Glue the R1 circle template to the top of the freezer paper.
Cut around the template. Keep the circle as perfect looking as possible!
Using the tutorial here, create a circle with your Tide Pool Ocean fabric.
Once you've removed the freezer paper, fold the circle into quarters and finger press to crease.
Use the creases to help align the circle on your compass block.
Pin in place.

Stitch the circle to the compass by using a matching blue thread and straight stitching all the way around the circle right inside the folded edge.

Gently remove all the remaining paper inside of your block, give it a press, and your block is complete!

Completed Mariner's Compass block

QUILTING THE SECTIONS:

With the blue painter's tape, tape a square of muslin to a flat surface so that it is taught but not stretched. Mask the area outside of the square with some scrap paper, such as newspaper to avoid over-spray. Using the Spray Baste 505, lightly spray the muslin. Smooth a layer of the batting on top of the muslin and lightly spray the batting. Place your Mariner's Compass block, right side up on top of the batting and smooth the quilt "sandwich" together, making sure there are no wrinkles. Repeat this process with the Tidal Lace Coral 25" bottom square and each of the 4 Tidal Lace Coral long rectangular sides.

Quilt the sections together using a walking foot for straight line quilting or a hoping foot for free motion quilting. For the Mariner's Compass block, I stitched in the ditch along all of my sewing lines to accentuate the pattern. For the bottom square, I quilted in a simple diamond pattern. On the rectangles, I free motion stitched following the drawn lines of the tide-pool creatures.

Once the sections are each quilted, cut off the excess batting and backing fabrics, using a rotary cutter and ruler. You should be left with two 25" squares and cut the rectangles so that you have four 8" x 25" pieces.

SEWING IT ALL TOGETHER:

**IMPORTANT NOTE***
Now that we're moving on to sewing up the cushion, we will be using a 1/2" seam allowance!!

You can find a great tutorial for making your piping (or welting) here using 2" bias strips. You need about 100" of piping for the top of the cushion and 100" for the bottom. (You will have excess, but it's better to work with more and cut it down than to have too little!) Using the process outlined in the tutorial, baste the piping to the Mariner's Compass block and to your bottom square. And don't worry, although they have a piping foot on their sewing machine, a zipper foot will work just fine.

The next step is adding the zipper. I chose to add an invisible zipper that is hidden under the piping. It works so well that I forget that the cushion even has a zipper! You can find a great video tutorial for that step here. I added my zipper along the bottom edge of the cushion. Make sure to leave a 1/2" unsewn space at the beginning and end of the cushion edge.* (See note below for explanation.)

Once you've added the zipper, it's time to put all the pieces all together!

Make sure your zipper is open at least half way. You will already have one rectangle attached to the bottom square where you've attached the zipper.
With right sides together (and remember to use 1/2" seam allowance!), pin and sew the remaining three rectangles to the bottom square, starting and stopping 1/2" in from the corners. Back tack every time you start or stop, for stability, but make sure that you don't go into the 1/2" zone at the beginning and end of each straight line of stitching.

Repeat with the top compass square so that you have an inside out box cushion with slits in the corner sides where the short ends of the rectangles meet.
Sew together the short ends of the rectangles. Remember to back tack at the beginning and end of your stitching.
Turn your cushion right side out and stuff with poly fill or have a piece of foam custom cut for it. I have a lot of scrap pieces of batting, so I used those to stuff my cushion!

Whew! You did it! That was a lot of work, but look how cool your cushion is!

Amish: The Modern Muse

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 15:48:00 +0000

Awhile back, I mentioned that I had submitted a couple of quilts to an upcoming show at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Well, they were both accepted! So many wonderful quilts were entered that the museum has split the show into two parts. Part I of the show opens on November 15th in conjunction with the opening of the exhibition, Antique Ohio Amish Quilts from the Darwin D. Bearley Collection, the quilts that were the inspiration for our show. Part II of the show will open on January 10th.

If you live in the Bay Area, I highly recommend you make it over to check out the museum. I've only had a tiny sneak peak at the quilts in the Modern Muse show, but I know they're going to be wonderful, not to mention the stunning antique quilts that will be on display!

The Carnival Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 16:44:00 +0000

It's finished! Just in time to post this on The Blogger's Quilt Festival, I finally finished and took some pictures of the quilt I made with Carol Van Zandt's super-fun fabric, Pop Rox. If you want to see some in process pictures, check out this post.

I love how that last photo makes my sewing room look so bright and clean. Ha!

Blogger's Quilt Festival 2014!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 15:01:00 +0000

It' that time of year again! Time for Blogger's Quilt Festival! I love checking out all the beautiful quilts over at Amy's Creative Side, Amy Ellis's blog. Ages ago, I was a featured Blogger's Quilt Festival quilter and I love to go back every season and check out what's happening in quilt-land. It's open to everyone, so you get a really great, international over-view of what people are making!

My first entry this fall is my latest finish, the X Quilt, created for the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles' show, Modern Muse. If you live in the area, you can see it there on November 15th! I already wrote a post all about making this quilt, so if you want to read more about it, check out my previous post.

The X Quilt

I love the back of this quilt!!

You can see my second entry for the Blogger's Quilt Festival in the next post!

Inspired by Amish Quilts? Um, YEAHH!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Recently, the modern quilt guilds of the SF Bay area were approached for an exciting new project. The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles will be showing Ohio Amish quilts from the collection of Darwin D. Bearley and guilds were invited to submit Amish inspired quilts of our own for a simultaneous show, called Amish: The Modern Muse, curated by Joe Cunningham.

Wow! I didn't even know where to start designing because there's so much inspiration to choose from! Well, I finally narrowed it down to wanting to work with triangles, so I chose the traditional Railroad Crossing pattern to work with. I decided that I wanted to incorporate scraps and pieces of up-cycled fabric, so I visited SCRAP, a great re-use store in San Francisco that carries a huge variety of donated fabrics, and picked up a lot of small pieces of black fabric scraps. As much as I love the wonderful prints of new fabric designs, I really enjoy the process of making quilts the way they were originally made - patchworked with small bits and pieces left over from other things that were too small for making clothes, but too dear to throw away.

Once I'd but the quilt top together, I decided to use a wool batting, as I've been a bit obsessed with Welsh quilts lately, as well as Amish. The wool batting gives the quilt some loft, so that when I quilted the borders, the design really shows through. This is important on Welsh quilts, because they are often wholecloth, so the entire design comes from the quilting alone, plus, they have a lot of wool there! Welsh quilting is AMAZING - kind of a bit chunky and archaic looking and so much fun! If you are on Facebook, follow Jen Jones' Welsh Quilt Centre as she occasionally posts photos of her collection. Drool!

So anyway, enough chatter about my quilt. Here's what it looks like!

X Quilt

X Quilt, back

X Quilt, quilting detail

The Modern Muse show is curated, so it's possible that my quilt won't make the cut, but I've seen some of the other East Bay Modern guild member's entries, and I know it's going to be amazing! If you want to check it out, the Amish show opens on November 15th and runs until March 1st. If you can't make it to San Jose, you might want to get a copy of Darwin Bearley's book, Antique Ohio Amish Quilts. He sells it personally through his E-bay site, so you could even ask for a signed copy. That's what I did! It's a beautiful book!

In wrapping up, I'm excited to announce the winner of the Kim Andersson's Tidal Lace fat quarter collection is Nancy! Kim was on the Modern Sewciety podcast a few weeks ago talking about her design inspirations and you can really get to know her a little bit just by listening!

Tidal Lace Blog Hop and a Give-Away!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 10:00:00 +0000

Who's my favorite expat Aussie? Kim Andersson of I Adore Pattern! I met Kim awhile back when the fledgeling East Bay Modern Quilt Guild was still meeting in a coffee shop in the early days of the Modern Quilt Guild movement. She has a great sense of humor and always has on the biggest smile. I'm so happy I get to see her at least once a month for guild meetings!

We were all very early supporters of her fabric design career, (as everyone who has seen a Kim Andersson quilt knows - she does great design!) and followed her progress on the The Printed Bolt fabric design competition without surprise when she did spectacularly. I kept gushing that her Tidal Lace print was amazing and I MUST have it...and then guess what -- she got Windham Fabrics to print it for me! Isn't that the best?!!!

Of course, when her first fabric line came out, I snatched it right up and today I get to participate in her first blog hop, which is my first blog hop, too! I decided to make a Mariner's Compass floor cushion, as it seemed fitting with the sea theme and I LOVE paper piecing. (My dog keeps eyeing it lovingly, so it might go from fancy floor cushion, to pampered pet bed...we shall see...he's been stealing the cat's bed a lot lately.)

Photos by Danielle Collins

Want to make one of your own? I'll have a pattern coming out soon and if you'd like to win a Tidal Lace fat quarter bundle of your very own, enter a comment below telling me what cool project you've got in mind for the collection. I'll pick a winner at random on September 30th!

Win your own Tidal Lace fat quarter bundle!

In the meantime, check out the other posts on the blog hop to see more exciting projects, or check out Kim's beautiful look book!

Monday, September 15 - Windham Fabrics / Kim Andersson - I Adore Pattern
Tuesday, September 16 - Erin Harris - House on Hill Road / Amy Gunson - Badskirt / Cath Mosley on Instagram
Wednesday, September 17 – Anne Sullivan - Play Crafts / Stacey Day - Stacey In Stitches
Thursday September 18th – Adrianne Ove - Little Bluebell / Terri Carpenter - The Quilted Fox
Friday September 19 - Pati Fried - See How We Sew / Amanda Hohnstreiter - My Sewcial Hour
Saturday September 20 - Ann Haley - Sew Messy / Madeleine Roberg - Domestic Strata
Sunday September 21 - Cal Patch - Hodge Podge Farm / Rebecca Ringquist - Drop Cloth
Monday September 22 - Alicia Wietholter - Swoon Patterns / Stacey Sharman - Peppermint Pinwheels
Tuesday September 23 - Jen Carlton Bailly - Bettycrockerass / Miriam Blaich - The Berlin Quilter

Beautiful Handmade Jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 13:00:00 +0000

I think that just coming up with dinner to feed your family every night takes a very high level of creativity and craftiness, but the women in my family have somehow always managed to do that and find time to do their own thing. My Aunt Kathy has always been one of the most talented artists in our family, plus, when I would visit her house as a kid, she'd buy my sister and I any kind of cereal we wanted, so you know we love her a LOT!

My Aunt Kathy hard at work!

Ten years ago, after studying jewelry design in Italy (how cool is that??), she opened her own shop, Tailored Treasure, and has been going strong ever since. And when I say strong, I mean, she has been a one woman design and manufacturing factory! She has so many different, one of a kind, handmade designs and somehow they are all still really affordable! You can tell she really has a great time creating her different pieces.

My aunt is also a survivor of breast cancer. This month, October, is Breast Cancer Awareness month and she's donating a portion of the proceeds from her shop to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. She's also offering free shipping between now and Christmas with the coupon FREESHIP14.

I just ordered a couple of really cool necklaces. I can't wait till they get here! Here's what I ordered:

Cool, huh? I've recently was thinking about how I need a simple necklace, so the hexagon and ring one is exactly what I needed, and how could I pass up silver and rhinestones? So go over, check out her shop, get free shipping, and some really beautiful, handmade jewelry, all while supporting a great cause!

I'm in a book!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 17:27:00 +0000

Oooh! It's so exciting to get presents in the mail, especially when it's a book and it's even more special when I have a hint as to what's inside! On Friday, I received a copy of Joen Wolfrom's new Color Play book.

This a great re-issue of her very popular Color Play book from 2000. She contacted me awhile ago to see if she could include my Silk Indian Orange Peel quilt in the book - and here it is - practically on the first page!

I must confess that although I love working with color, I haven't delved too much into color theory. I've made my share of color wheels in various art classes in the past, but overall, I've preferred to pick colors intuitively. Looking through Joen's book though, makes me want to get a little more technical! Here's an example of one of the "color lessons" in the book:

Doesn't that look like fun?

P.S. Joen also has a color class on Craftsy, if you're interested!

Lovely Tidal Lace

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Sat, 09 Aug 2014 04:21:00 +0000

Yay! My friend and fellow East Bay Modern Quilt Guild member, Kim Andersson, of I Adore Pattern has a new fabric line! Called Tidal Lace, it's full of fun and whimsy and I was lucky enough to watch her develop her first line from the beginning. I'm a huge fan!

Working in top secret, I made a floor cushion for the Tidal Lace lookbookhttp://www.windhamfabrics.net/cgi-bin/fabricshop/catalog.cgi?brochureID=19.

Compass Floor Cushion, photo by Danielle Collins

The lookbook is filled with tons of other wonderful projects. I especially love the star fish hairclips and the starfish pin cushions, but those are just what first pops out at me. There are so many creative uses for these prints!

The Tidal Lace Lookbook.

Congratulations, Kim! I can't wait to see what comes next!

Pop Rox!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 18:14:00 +0000

I adore candy. I adore fabric. So, a line of fabric inspired by one of my favorite candies? Heaven! My friend, Carol Van Zandt, has come out with a new line of fabric called Pop Rox and I was able to get my greedy hands on some of it. There are two color ways, and the one I used to make my quilt is nice and bright, but I can't wait to make a new top out of one of the darker prints.

Here's what I've been working on...

In progress...

...almost done...

Finished top!

Now, I just need to find the time to quilt it up!

At the same time I was working on this quilt, I agreed to do a demo at the Voices in Cloth quilt show hosted by the East Bay Heritage Quilt Guild. I decided to demonstrate how I put together blocks without using a ruler or pattern. For the demo, I put together this quilt with some of the extra bits of solids that I had left over from my Pop Rox project. All of these blocks were done without any measuring!

To see pictures of me cutting and sewing like a maniac, as well as other pictures from the show, click here!

Stitch Modern 2014 Is Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 19:58:00 +0000

This is the 3rd year that my guild, the East Bay Modern Quilt Guild, will be holding their annual show at the Piedmont Center for the Arts. It's a lot of fun and we have a great time showing off our latest works. I just got back from hanging the show, and as it does every year, it looks amazing! If you live in the Bay Area, make sure you come and check it out. All our events are open to the public and many are free of charge, unless otherwise noted. You can find out more below, or on our website.

Stitch Modern 2014
January 31 – Feb 23rd at
Piedmont Center of the Arts
801 Magnolia Ave, Piedmont, CA.
Gallery Hours: 12pm-3pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Jan 31st: 6pm-9pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts
Opening Reception

Feb 8: 12:30pm – 1pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts
Needle Ceremony- An informal memorial service for our spent sewing needles and pins based on the Japanese Hari kuyou ceremony which happens on February 8th. Bring your spent machine, hand sewing, and pins and join us in celebrating our tools and their service.

Feb 8: 1pm – 2:30pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts
Panel Discussion, Beyond the Bed: Exploring Quilts in the Public Eye – Please join us for a moderated discussion highlighting how quilts have gone from being household objects to objet d’art.

Feb 9: 12:00pm-2:30pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts
Family and Community Activity Day – includes quilting demos

Feb 13: 7pm-8:30pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts $5
Lecture: Ben Venom & Roderick Kiracofe

Feb 16: 12pm-3pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts
Sew Day with the East Bay Modern Quilt Guild

Feb 23: 9:30am-4pm, Piedmont Center of the Arts $75
Workshop: Round Robin Improv with Sherri Lynn Wood. SOLD OUT!

Want a sneak peak at the my quilt? Here it is right after we finished hanging the show with my happy little helper. (Mine is the double wedding ring.)

Bill Volkening's New York Beauty Quilts. Ooooh! Aaaah!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 00:50:00 +0000

In September, I was honored to be able to teach at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Although I only live about an hour and a half away, this was my first visit to the museum. (I know, I'm a lazy, lazy girl!) The museum was lovely! Our classroom was one of the small galleries, so we were surrounded by inspiring quilts while we sewed. How fun is that?!

These ladies got a lot of great work done in class!

During a break, I was able to peak in at the exhibition, Collecting New York Beauty Quilts: Bill Volckening’s Passion. I'm pretty sure that show was put there just for me! I loved it! Below are some of my favorites.

Pacific International Quilt Festival 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Thu, 07 Nov 2013 18:05:00 +0000

I breezed through PIQF this year. Somehow, I did it in under 2 hours! Here are a few of my favorites.

To see the quilts in more detail, just click on the image above!

New Pattern! Pennant Bunting Advent Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Yay! Just in time for Christmas, I have a new pattern available! I originally made a few sets of these advent calendars to sell on my Etsy shop a few years ago, and got so many requests for directions that I decided to publish the pattern. Each of the pennants is a fully lined, button enclosed pouch and can be stuffed with little presents or treats to help count down the days until Christmas. Make your own beautiful, heirloom advent calendar!

The best part of the pattern is that you don't have to wait for it in the mail - it's a digital download!

If you're not a DIY kind of person, I do have a couple of sets available this year, and you can find them in my Etsy shop.

Learning: Bojagi with Youngmin Lee

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 23:03:00 +0000

Last month, I took a Bojagi class with Youngmin Lee at the Pacific International Quilt Festival. While the description and photos of the workshop that were posted online were a bit lacking, I was sure I would regret missing this class - and I was so right! Of course, I didn't quite think through how I would be able to drive through notorious Bay Area traffic (made infinitely worse by a BART strike) to arrive at the class location 65 miles from my house first thing in the morning on a school day, so I was very tardy and missed the first 45 minutes of class. I caught up quickly, though!

You can get an idea of the stiffness of the cloth from this photo.

All of the stitching is done by hand.

This is as far as I got in a 6 hour class. Not a very fast process!

Bojagi is a form of Korean patchwork that uses flat-felled seams to create a fully reversible square of cloth, traditionally used for a variety of things such as gift wrapping, covering food, and clothing storage. Just do a google image search to see how wonderful and different they can be! I was also able to work with a textile that I have never handled before called ramie, which is one of the oldest known cloth materials and is plant based. According to Youngmin, ramie can be much more expensive than silk!

Youngmin Lee's beautiful patchwork.

As well as teaching us her stitching techniques which are made up of the tiniest stitches you can imagine, she also shared some of her work with us. My pictures don't do them justice - they should be seen in person to be truly appreciated, but you can see more of her work on her website!

This was my favorite piece, all done in black ramie.

Can you even see those tiny hand stitches?

She has a DVD out teaching her techniques and it looks like a great resource. You can also see more of her amazing, tiny hand stitches!

Back to School

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 04:48:00 +0000

It's that time of year again. Time to think about school supplies (so fun!) and how to pack a healthy, yet edible school lunch (not fun at all). But, don't let this September be all about the kids! Get your own learnin'! I'll be teaching two classes in the Bay Area this September. The first class will be at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles on Sunday, September 22nd. There's a great show going on at the museum through October 27th, showcasing the amazing collection of Bill Volckening's New York Beauty quilts. Sigh, I do love a New York Beauty, and I love Bill Volckening's blog, so I can't wait to see the show! (I was a little obsessed with making NYB's a few years ago. I have to thank Karen K. Stone for that!)

The second class I'll be teaching is in Oakland on September 29th, at my favorite local quilt store (my lqs, for those in the know!), A Verb for Keeping Warm. They have the coolest, most eclectic collection of quilting fabric around!

I promise, I won't rap anyone's knuckles with my ruler...unless you leave your rotary cutter open...So, come and learn some new skills!

Class Alert!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:14:00 +0000

I'll be teaching a one day workshop on Improvisational Quilting at A Verb for Keeping Warm in Oakland on Sunday, June 23rd.

Cutting, sewing, chatting, and cupcakes right next door! What could be better? Click here to register.

Making: An Improv Double Wedding Ring Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 04:06:00 +0000

This is one of the things I've been working on lately.

Laying out the blocks.

I decided that I needed to try making a double wedding ring...improvisationally. One of my main inspirations was this quilt by Emma Hall from Eli Leon's collection. I love the story behind this quilt, which you can read here. It kinda sums up exactly how I feel about quilting.

Emma Hall, Double Wedding Ring c. 1948

Although I used a plastic template for the basis of my pattern, I had to do a bit of drafting as well. It was fun!

Drafting the double wedding ring.

For the fabric arcs, I used a variety of old denim, tribal batiks, Japanese wovens, and hand-dyed indigo. The middle sections are made of vintage linen and a couple of gorgeous, organic, hand-woven striped fabrics from India, called Khadi which I have been drooling over at my local shop, A Verb for Keeping Warm.

This is how far I've gotten. I have this vision of striped, mitered border, but haven't dreamt up a way to do that yet. Any ideas?

P.S. If you live in the SF Bay Area, I'll be teaching an improvisational quilting class this Sunday! I promise, it will be fun! You could make a whole day of it, by taking the indigo resist dyeing workshop first, and then the quilting class after!

Learning: Strips and Triangles and Geometry - Oh, My!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 05:07:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to take a workshop with Rita Hutchens through one of our local guilds, EBHQ. I've been a fan of Rita's geometrical work since I saw her on Simply Quilts and she made magic happen from strips of fabric sewn into tubes. I used some of her techniques on a quilt I started work on last summer (but haven't shown any pictures of yet!) and wanted to learn more, so I was excited to sign up for the workshop.

Rita showing us how she creates Tube magic!

It was a full day of sewing, with some bits of math and geometry thrown in, and I was exhausted by the end of it! Good thing I had an extra-large latte keeping me company.

By sewing fabric strips together and cutting them into the correct angles, you end up with so many different (and fun!) shapes.

Here's what I made. I love how the Licorice Fizz fabric pops against the solids.

I'm so glad she's worked out the equations for me, and I'll be referring back to my hand-outs often. There is NO WAY I would have had the ability or the patience to figure this stuff out!

These are some fun shapes that Rita made using her technique.

One of Rita's quilts. All of these pieces started as strip sets!

If you can't take one of her workshops, you can still learn her techniques by purchasing her books or patterns from her Etsy shop, and watching her YouTube channel.

Learning: Back in the classroom!

noreply@blogger.com (Peppermint Pinwheels) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 05:00:00 +0000

I have been taking a bit of a break from teaching quilting over the past year. I've been busy acquiring some new sewing machines and some new skills.

The longarm that took over my living room in April.

The turquoise beauty that I couldn't live without.

My latest acquisition, a vintage Yamato serger. She's scary fast!

I've even taken a few classes myself!

I went to MQX in Portland and took TONS of classes from some great longarm quilters, like Claudia Pfeil (above), Gina Perkes and Karen McTavish.

I took an improvisation workshop by Sherri Lynn Wood with other Modern Quilt Guild members from around the Bay area.

But, now I'm back in the classroom! I will be teaching my Improvisational Basketweave quilt pattern this upcoming Sunday (Feb. 24 & March 3) at A Verb for Keeping Warm from 1-3 pm. If you live in the area and have been wanting to try quilting without using rulers OR rules, sign up! If you can't get here, don't fret. I've published the pattern over on Craftsy. It's not quite as fun as meeting a bunch of great people and chatting while you sew, but it's the best I can do until some genius invents teleportation!