Over at Simplify, Camille is hosting a Parade of Quilts (and lots of parenthesis) along with Carrie@La Vie en Rosie (who I’ll honestly admit I don’t know, but obviously I’ve been missing out because her blog looks wonderful and I’ll have to go get lost over there for a while after I’m finished here). Camille and Carrie want to see first quilts and last quilts, and I thought I might pass on this one (especially since I’d just posted something already this morning, and I’m lucky to post something twice a week but twice a day is unheard of and y’all might think I’m having an out of body experience and some other strange quilter has taken over and is madly posting to the blog). I mean, I could just be a sponge and soak it all in once the links to everyone’s entries were posted up on Monday but then I remembered that my first quilt (or what I call my first quilt anyway, which was really “one of the first quilts” if you need to be all technical about it) was an Irish Chain. The only picture I can find of it (well easily find anyway, since a 10 minute dig in the hard drive didn’t turn up anything bigger or better) is this little bit of a thing you see at the top of this post.

I made this quilt for my first daughter (who is now 17), to use in her crib and then on her toddler bed when she got bigger. It had cute fabric with baby foot prints all over it, which was what I used to decorate her whole room. What I learned: I don’t like Warm & Natural batting (or anything cottony for that matter); cotton poly blend isn’t that great for quilt backings, even when it’s sold as “quilt fabric;” (...)
Read the rest of My First Quilt (for the Parade of Quilts) (272 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments
Post categories: Creativity, Featured, Quilting
Tags: appliqué, free motion, free motion quilting, Inchie Quilts, Inchies, Parade of Quilts

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I ordered a couple of small things from the lovely Mai who sells her hand made items on Etsy, but I call this “gifts from Japan” because I received so much more than just the things I ordered! It was all so beautifully packaged, and even the envelope was hand made from recycled Japanese catalog pages!

And just look inside! (...)
Read the rest of Gifts from Japan (222 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments
Post categories: Creativity, Favorites, Featured
Tags: fun, handwork, Japan, Japanese, Sarubobo

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One of my Inchie Quilts called Where the Inchies Are appeared in Irish Quilting Magazine! Cool, right? Now take a look at the picture of the quilt in the magazine:(...)
Read the rest of A Touch o’ the Irish–Quilting, that is! (302 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments
Post categories: Featured, Off the Bookshelf, Patterns, Quilting
Tags: Inchie Quilts, Inchies, Irish Quilting

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Are you planning to attend the AQS Quilt Expo in Des Moines, Iowa this year in October? I am, and I’ll be teaching my newest techniques and projects there October 28-31! Check out the workshop descriptions here on the Workshops page, and then head over to the AQS site to download the Registration Guide for the show.

On the workshop menu are Inchie projects and a lecture, as well as workshops on embellishments, machine appliqué and there’s even a class for bloggers and those that would like to start blogging online. Online registration for the Des Moines Quilt Expo is coming soon I’m told, but if you want first dibs on limited class space, you can fill out the form in the Registration Guide, and fax it in to AQS! See you there!

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post categories: Quilting, Shows & Contests
Tags: appliqué, AQS, bloggers, blogging, classes, Des Moines, Inchie Quilts, Inchies, machine appliqué, workshops

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Early in the Inchie development process, I thought the whole concept would make a great book. It was new, it was different, and nobody was out there doing it already (that I knew of). The development process then was naturally geared toward writing a book, and therefore, I took photos of almost everything I did or made, knowing that if the book deal came through, I would need those photos for the technique portions of the book. Note taking was also profuse, so that I could write instructions for individual quilts without having to figure out measurements and such from finished quilts later.

When it came time to write the proposal, I downloaded the Book Proposal Guidelines from the AQS site. I read them dozens of times, and constructed my proposal to include exactly what they asked for plus a few extras that I thought were pertinent to the Inchies subject material. For example, I included the chapter called Basic Inchie Instructions in my proposal, with color photos and laid out exactly as I envisioned it would be in the book, because I wanted to be sure that the book committee would understand how easy it is to make Inchies.(...)
Read the rest of Want to Write a Quilt Book? (Part 2) (649 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post categories: Creativity, Featured, Off the Bookshelf, Quilting
Tags: AQS, Inchie Quilts, Inchies, publishing

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I started making her a quilt with those colors, but then in a different email conversation, she mentioned that she really liked the new Moda Patisserie line of fabrics, and I just happened to have a charm pack of those fabrics, so I started the quilt again and used Patisserie fabrics for the Inchies.

But before I show you the quilt, I must confess, I almost couldn’t bear to part with it! I’ve never given any Inchie Quilts away permanently before now, so I haven’t ever had this problem before! Although I’ve considered sending one of my quilts to my mom but I haven’t ever done it, so maybe I just can’t part with that one either. Anyway, here’s the quilt I made for Nadine: (...)
Read the rest of Inchie Quilt Reveal #1 (151 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 10 comments
Post categories: Creativity, Featured, Quilting
Tags: giveaway, Inchie Quilts, Inchies

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I love the AQS Publishing blog, and for more reasons than the above. For example, the post just after the one about Inchie Quilts says that Anita Shackelford’s book, Infinite Feathers has been reprinted, which is fantastic news since it’s the best book out there on feather quilting. Truly, the best book. I use mine all the time when I’m designing quilting designs like those I used on Material Marquetry, and it’s been one of the most used books in my library since I bought it.

Speaking of my library, I do still have The Library page on the site, even though it’s not really “findable” from anywhere but the sitemap. The Library pulls my quilting book titles from LibraryThing, a totally awesome and fun site where you can catalog your books, whether quilting titles or not. When I found LibraryThing, I cataloged all my quilting books (as well as the rest of the books in the house), tagged them by subject, and then life got in the way and I sort of forgot it was there most of the time.(...)
Read the rest of Bookish Things (368 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Post categories: Favorite Things, Off the Bookshelf
Tags: Amazon AuthorCentral, Inchie Quilts, LibraryThing

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Way back in March (I think), Ami Simms said she would hand dye some of my panties, and I could become a panty-wearing member of the Yo-Yo Sisterhood of the Traveling Panties, an exclusive club of women (and one man, it turns out) who would recognize each other at quilt shows by flashing the secret “Sisterhood” signal: an index finger to the hip. Okay, to be honest, Ami didn’t just issue this lovely offer to me, she blogged about it, and I decided I’d take her up on it!

Time was short, so I did what any good Angel-card-carrying VSC shopper would do. I ordered panties online and had them shipped to Ami direct! I’m told she got a total kick out of the whole VSC panties thing. Anyway, the picture above shows four of the ten pairs I got back, each one prettier than the last. I LOVE my hand dyed panties, thankyouverymuch, and if you’re a member too, be sure to give the secret signal when we meet up at quilt shows!

In April (or maybe it was May, come to think about it), the lovely Glennis@ShiboriGirl was on her way to Japan to participate in the Silk Experience tour (her trip report is still unfolding on her blog, with great pictures from Japan!). Lucky lady indeed! Before she left, she had a Sayonara Sale on her luscious silk shibori ribbon, and it was just the opportunity I’d been waiting for to try some. Here’s what I bought:(...)
Read the rest of Patchwork Times: Eating, Dressing, Shopping (647 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments
Post categories: Featured, Life, Quilting
Tags: German life, giveaway, Inchie Quilts, Inchies, just life

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Of course, no story is complete around here unless it’s a long one, so you have to have the back story: I started dreaming about writing a quilt book way back in the late 1990s. I actually submitted a proposal to That Patchwork Place/Martingale Publishing in 1998, for a book about my Bargello Blocks technique. I waited a really long time to hear back from them (I didn’t have a clue, and I didn’t want to seem pushy), and finally learned by calling their offices that they had lost my proposal. They eventually found the quilt I submitted with the proposal in their offices somewhere, but the proposal itself never turned up. Discouraging, to say the least, and by that time (months had gone by) I was off in another quilting direction entirely.

I did eventually publish the Inspiration pattern (see quilt at right) through Cafe Press. Another interesting note: Last year a book was released by Krause Publications that’s essentially the same technique (from what I can tell by the cover anyway, you be the judge)(...)
Read the rest of Want to Write a Quilt Book? (Part 1) (680 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments
Post categories: Creativity, Featured, Off the Bookshelf, Quilting, Shows & Contests
Tags: AQS, Inchie Quilts, Inchies, Off the Bookshelf, publishing

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A whole box of Inchie Quilts books! I signed the first one today, for ITMan. (I have no idea why he thinks he needs a signed copy of my book, but hey, I aim to please!) It’s just beautiful! The team at American Quilter’s Society did such a fabulous job turning my techniques and patterns into something cohesive, accessible and readable, and I’m just so pleased.

I took a copy to bed last night, and when ITMan came in he had a little laugh at me. “You’re reading your own book?” Sure I was! (...)
Read the rest of Inchie Quilts is in the House! (497 words)

© Nadine for DreamWeaver's Quilts Quilt Epiphany Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 15 comments
Post categories: Creativity, Featured, Quilting
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