Insights From SewCalGal

Fun Friday: Sponsored giveaway - Incomparable Buttons

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — 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 (SewCalGal) — 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 (SewCalGal) — 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 (SewCalGal) — 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 (SewCalGal) — 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)

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.

Don't forget to come join the fun in our upcoming GO! Ahead and Show Some Love Blog Hop! I think you'll have fun and find some ideas to create some really sweet projects too.

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

<a href=" http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/2012/01/go-ahead-and-show-some-love-blog-hop.html " target="_blank"><img src=" http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6743301603_119420c68a_m.jpg "/></a>

Road to California - Winter Wonderland, by Leah Day

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:28:00 +0000

The Road to California Quilt Show is a juried quilt show that selects the best of the best entries, to exhibit at this show. As such, I was delighted when I heard that Leah Day (The Free Motion Quilting Project) had her amazing quilt "Winter Wonderland" juried into this show.

Leah Day is a talented quilter, teacher, author with a broad range of quilting skills, including being an Expert at free-motion quilting.

Winter Wonderland was completed in 2010 and measures 48" x 48". The design is fresh, crisp, and visually stimulating. The free-motion quilting is inspirational, with unique free-motion quilting, perfectly stitched, in each of the unique snowflake blocks of this beautiful quilt.

Each of the beautiful snowflake blocks have unique free-motion quilting backgrounds that are perfectly balanced for this quilt, as well as inspirational FMQ for a variety of quilt designs.

This quilt was entered in the AQS Knoxville, TN show in 2011 and it received a ribbon for Best Workmanship.

It also received awards for Best Machine Quilting at North Carolina Quilt Symposium 2010 and an
Honorable Mention in Applique category at Asheville Quilt Show 2010.

and now an Honorable Mention at Road to California 2012!

An article on Winter Wonderland was also published in Quilters Newsletter, this past year.

But, I was truly delighted to see this quilt and amazing workmanship at the Road to California Quilt Show. While admiring this quilt, I also had fun chatting with fellow quilters about Leah and her Free Motion Quilting Project, as well as letting them know that she has published books and DVDs on free-motion quilting.

While Leah has shared her insights via her blog, along with free videos on you-tube, I do want to share that I truly enjoy using her FMQ books. I like to have these near my machine as I practice and I enjoy the ease of her DVDs to watch her videos, especially while I travel, vs watching via youtube.

Leah also has a great online store, that specializes in products perfect for those learning and/or improving their free-motion quilting skills.

Congratulations to Leah Day for her beautiful Winter Wonderland quilt winning an award at Road to California, but also for all of her accomplishments and contributions to our wonderful world of quilting.

I also hope that quilters, from around the world will let their local quilt shops, quilt guilds and quilt show administrators know about Lean Day and her Free Motion Quilting Project. She is a talented quilter and teacher, that would also make for an excellent guest instructor at your local quilt shop, guild or quilt show.

http://www.daystyledesigns.com/quiltshop.htm
http://www.freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/

You may also want to recommend Leah Day to come teach at your local quilt shop, guilds, shows.

Fun Friday Giveaway - Hoffman Fabrics

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Earlier this week, I shared insights about my recent tour of Hoffman Fabrics. While I wanted to walk away with a bolt of every Hoffman Fabric that I saw, I did come away with several beautiful fabric bundles that Hoffman Fabrics sent home with me, to share with you.

As I've been at the Road to California Conference and Quilt Show this week, of which Hoffman Fabrics is a sponsor for this show, I want to start off with sharing insights with you about the 2011 Hoffman Challenge exhibit at this show.

Hoffman Fabrics is also the Best of Show Diamond Sponsor for ths show, with a $3,000 grand prize. The winner of this award is Molly Hamilton McNally of Tehachapi, California, for a spectacular quilt called Everlasting Bouqet. Molly was the maker of this quilt, partnering with Cindy Seitz-Krug. Molly designed the quilt and used reverse applique'. The quilting design was by Cindy, who used her home sewing machine to quilt it.

The Hoffman 2011 Challenge exhibit has many beautiful quilts, clothing items, dolls, purses and more, of which every item was truly spectacular.

Did I mention a giveaway? Today, one of the fabric rolls that Hoffman Fabrics gave me, for followers of SewCalGal, while I was on tour will be given away this week. Thank you Hoffman Fabrics for sponsoring this giveaway (and a few more to come in the near future, with a few more of these yummy fabric rolls).

I like to think of this bundle as an Sushi Roll. If you would like to win this bundle of fabric, simply leave a comment on this post. I'll randomly select a winner next Friday.

Want an extra entry? Go "like" Hoffman Fabrics on Facebook. Find the comment, below, that Hoffman Fabrics posted on their wall, on January 19th, and leave a comment under it 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, if you leave the comment on Hoffman's Facebook page prior to Friday, Jan 20th 4:45 PST you also get entered to win a FQ bundle of 10 fabrics through a giveaway they are hosting on their Facebook page.

Here is the comment you need to find on Hoffman Fabrics Facebook page: "Hey gang! We have posted swatches of our new screenprint groups just released for sale to our retailers. We'd love to get your feedback. So take a look and feel free to post a comment on the group(s) you like best (and why). The newest collections are marked by "New Release." We'll select someone's post via random number generator at about 4:45 pm PST tomorrow (Friday, the 20th) and that person will get a FQ bundle of 10 fabrics from the group. Sound good? http://bit.ly/mLV934"

note: Keep an eye out, as there will be a few more giveaways for various Hoffman fabric bundles. Seems I came home with a few bundles of beautiful Hoffman fabric for you. It is just easier on my budget if I don't ship them all at once.

The winner of last weeks' giveaway for the MicroFine Tweezers, sponsored by Famore Scissors and I Have A Notion is LJ

Road to California Conference & Quilt Show

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:02:00 +0000

One of the highlights of the year, is the Road to California Conference and Quilt Show. I'm currently attending a two-day class with Sarah Vedeler and have plans to attend the show on Thursday. While I plan to later share insights with you, I wanted to raise the topic of "Do you have a strategy for attending quilt conferences and quilt shows?".

Some attend quilt shows to shop with the large selection of vendors, which is certainly a great reason to attend the Road to California Quilt Show.

Some attend quilt shows to take a class, to develop their skills, which is actually how the Road to California Quilter's Conference and Showcase began. To clarify, they have a large number of classes for teachers throughout the world, in a variety of quilting techniques. If there is a skill that you are wanting to learn and/or improve, this is definitely a great place for you to pursue this.

There are those that like to be inspired by the quilts on display. Road consistently has quilts to inspire quilters of all interest and levels.

I was recently asked what was my strategy for attending a quilt show, so I thought this would be a good time to share my perspective, but I also hope you'll leave a comment and share yours too.

For me, I look at a show's class offerings to seek out teachers and class topics that align with my annual goals. When I tour the show, I come prepared with notes on what I want to be sure to see. I also treat the day as an opportunity for great exercise. I move thru the aisles quickly, avoiding when groups may pool around a particular quilt. While it may take only a few seconds to get a better view, I move on and ultimately make 3-4 passes through every aisle. Initial passes are to see all the quilts and take photos, where allowed. I also seek out quilts, to spend more time admiring, that reflect areas I'm trying to learn (e.g. free motion quilting, color, etc.). The last 3-4 passes through the aisles are done with the focus of spending time with my favorites, to really absorb the beauty.

I take a similar approach of visiting vendors, as I do with viewing the quilts. I make an initial 1-2 passes of all the vendors to take in all the unique items that they have, that I may not necessarily find in my local quilt store. I may also come with a list of gift ideas, or items I want for my projects, and essentially use this as I search thru the vendors. On my 3-4 pass of the vendors, I'll focus on vendor booths that may have a demonstration, or have products that I'm interested in.

My approach may sound time consuming, but it really isn't. I move quickly, getting in my exercise for the day, and try to avoid spending time following slow moving groups, realizing I'll be back in that spot before I leave.

If you don't have much time to see a show, I think my approach also helps you see as much as you can, in the time you have available, whereby you can come home inspired.

I do hope you have a chance to visit this show next week:

Road to California Quilter’s Conference and Showcase
“The Best in the West”
at the Ontario Convention Center, Ontario CA

January 19-22, 2012
No Rolling Carts Allowed, and Strollers on Sunday Only

Show Hours:
Thursday - Saturday 9:30 AM - 6 PM
Sunday 10 AM - 3:30 PM

Ticket Prices:
$10 Per Day - $25 Multi Day
(Multi Day Pass includes Preview Event)
Children 12 and Under Free

You can also like them on Facebook:

Road to California Quilters Conference & Showcase

I also want to share that Hoffman Fabrics is the Best of Show Diamond Sponsor for this show, with a $3,000 grand prize! For those going to this show, be sure to see the display of the 2011 Hoffman Challenge entries and pick up brochures for the 2012 Hoffman Challenge too.

Kaleidoscope Collections - stop by and see their demonstration, sample projects and new design packs. This is a fun software package that you'll be amazed how much fun you'll have creating with it.

Cozy Quilt Designs will be showing new books, patterns and rulers. They also have some exceptional fabric kits created specifically for this show.

Quilted in Clay has unique jewelry for quilters, at an exceptional price. Definitely pop into their booth and check out their beautiful jewelry. They also have several new pieces that will be shared at this show.

PCP Group (Pellon) has a booth that you should definitely visit to see some new quilt battings that are environmentally friendly and help create spectacular quilts, that will last for years. They also have some wonderful battings perfect for those interested in free motion quilting too!

Quilt in a Day also has a coupon that you may want to print and be sure to take with you to the show.

Gosh, I could go on and on. There are so many wonderful vendors at this show and they always have amazing quilts, to delight quilters of all interests, from traditional, contemporary, mixed media and more.

Don't forget, if you have a strategy for how you visit quilt shows, please share your approach.

http://www.road2ca.com/index2.html

Hoffman Fabrics

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I was able to attend a tour of Hoffman Fabrics, in Mission Viejo, California. I am happy to be able to share some insights, from this tour, with you today.

Michelle Flores, a very talented and enthusiastic Marketing Coordinator, at Hoffman Fabrics, was our tour guide. And, all attendees agreed, Michelle did an excellent job and we also enjoyed meeting many super friendly and happy employees at Hoffman Fabrics.

One might wonder in today's economic times, how does a company like Hoffman Fabrics have such truly happy employees? To answer this, I think you need to understand a couple of things. First, Hoffman Fabrics was founded in 1924, by Rube Hoffman, when good work ethics, values, leadership, wanting to produce quality products, and honest concern about customers were common values of any successful business. Rube's values for Hoffman Fabrics have clearly been able to grow and florish. I also think that their employees simply enjoy creating beautiful, high quality fabric, that quilting, sewing and embroidery enthusiasts love to work with. While I don't know all of Hoffman's core values, it is clear that Hoffman Fabrics deserves to be proud as a leader in the industry, as well as a role model that many companies could learn from.

Today, there are actually three generations of the Hoffman family actively involved in the company, which turns 88 years old in 2012! Plus, this company has many longtime employees who have been with Hoffman Fabrics from 12 to 30 years!

While Hoffman manufacturers fabrics, it is difficult for me to use the word "manufacturer" when I think of Hoffman, especially after going on this tour. I think of Hoffman Fabrics of being in the business to "create beauty". They create original, authentic and 100% handmade Hoffman Bali Batiks, Hoffman Hand-dyes and Hoffman Bali Pops®. They also create beautiful screenprinted fabrics, specializing in Asian, holiday/Christmas, tropical/Aloha, children's, contemporary, and novelty themes. I think every quilting, sewing, and embroidery enthusiast loves working with Hoffman Fabrics! Who wouldn't?

{above} Video by Pam Holland, shared on The Daily Blog, from The Quilt Show.

Unlike some Batiks and hand dyed fabrics, Hoffman Bali Batiks and Bali Handpaints will not bleed or rub off on other fabrics. Sandy Muckenthaler (Sales & Marketing Director for Hoffman Fabrics) advises if you are using these fabrics for a wallhanging it is ok to skip prewashing, which has already gone thru several rinses to remove excess dyes and waxes, before it is sold. However, if you decide you want to prewash, before sewing a lap or bed quilt, be sure to use a low-phosphate detergent (e.g. Orvis), wash in cold water, move to the dryer as soon as the wash cycle is complete. Never use detergents with bleach or chlorine. Avoid displaying your quilt or wallhanging in strong sunlight in order to preserve the vibrancy of the colors. Lastly, never dryclean.

Many quilters are familiar with Hoffman fabrics that they can find in their local quilt shops and through online stores, but you may not be aware that Hoffman also provides a service to design custom fabrics. Such fabrics may be for schools, special clothing lines, quilt runs, etc. While they have a talented group of in-house designers, they also work with a number of designers to turn their artwork into fabric lines. And, there are also a many art houses, that represent various artists, that Hoffman also buys artwork from. To clarify, Hoffman may establish a licensee agreement with an artist or may purchase artwork, as well as use in-house artists, to design their fabrics.

You are probably familiar with Hoffman licensed artists, such as McKenna Ryan, Rennie Rau Marquez, Yo Gabba Gabba!, and Punch Studio. They are all very talented artists that Hoffman has worked with to create spectacular lines of fabric.

Hoffman introduces new fabrics a couple of times a year, with their biggest introductions scheduled in time for the Spring and the Fall Quilt Markets. Plus they release "seasonal" batiks (e.g. hliday motifs like snowflakes and pinecones) are released in January, and another small group in late August. Fabric introductions, or "releases for sales" first go into distribution and appear in quilt shops a few months later.

New introductions could easily exceeds 200+ fabrics, spread out over a large number of fabric lines.

Each season's collection will consist of 15-20 groups of fabrics, with each group having ~6-7 designs, each offered in ~3 - 5 color ways. Most of the screenprinting is done in Japan, which provides worldclass printing of metallics, pearl or lacquer. For simpler designs, such as novelty or children's fabric, the printing will typically happen in Korea or Indonesia. Overall, new introductions could easily exceed 200+ fabric designs, spread out over a large number of fabric lines, each with their own name. And, to my amazement, Michele knew the name of every fabric (old and new).

The Hoffman Challenge is celebrating their 25th year. Every year, members of Hoffman California Fabrics' textile team selects fabrics for this challenge. This year, lavender and pink roses showcase the them of this wonderful challenge.

SewCalGal definitely wants to encourge all quilters to enter the Hoffman 2012 Challenge. This is a great way to expand your quilting skills. It is also a great honor to have your quilt selected in this challenge, as there are five traveling exhibits, comprised of the top 150 quilts, thirty garments and thirty dolls entered. These exhibits spend the next year traveling the country, being displayed at quilt shops, national exhibits, and quilt shows. To request a traveling exhibit for an event, guild meeting or shop, contact Julie Breidt, the Hoffman Challenge Curator, at Julie@HoffmanChallenge.com . For more information on this challenge vist: www.HoffmanChallenge.com

For those living in Southern California, or visiting, and interested in a group tour of Hoffman Fabrics, Michelle Flores is the appropriate contact. Hoffman welcomes groups of ~20-30 for such tours. For those that want schedule their own group tour, email Michelle at: Michellef@hoffmanfabrics.net And, for those attending the IQF Long Beach Show, consider signing up thru this show, for a Hoffman Fabrics group tour.

Lasty, I also want to share that Hoffman Fabrics sponsors prizes at a number of quilt shows. For the Road to California Conference and Quilt Show, which starts this week, Hoffman Fabrics is the Best of Show Diamond Sponsor, with a $3,000 grand prize! For those going to this show, be sure to see the display of the 2011 Hoffman Challenge entries and pick up brochures for the 2012 Hoffman Challenge too (you can also download your entry form).

Thank you Hoffman Fabrics for all you do to make our world of quilting so wonderful!

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

www.HoffmanChallenge.com

Hoffman Free Patterns

You can make a difference

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Thearica (Pigtales and Quilts) is hosting a fundraiser to benefit Ronald McDonald houses. She has a held these fundraisers, with the help of various quilters for many years. Her goal this year is to raise $5,000, but she needs your help to do this. And, there are a number of ways you can help make a difference!

Donations of quilts, table toppers, wallhangers, that can be used as a standalone raffle item are appreciated.

Gift baskets, and/or quilty items to go into gift baskets are appreciated.

Help selling raffle tickets, as well as buying raffle tickets is appreciated.

Help spread the word! PR is key for any successful charity fundraiser.

And, no matter what you do, your help will is appreciated and you can make a difference!

For more information visit Thearica's recent post on this event.

http://www.pigtalesandquilts.com/

The IHAN/Famore Blog Hop & Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Today SewCalGal is participating in a Famore Blog Hop, hosted by Kelly of I Have A Notion.

Kelly has introduced me to a variety of notions and I've always found that every product I've ordered from IHAN has been high quality, at a reasonable price, and she has exceptional service. What I really like is that she gets to know what type of projects I like to work on and make recommendations for "me", not just recommendations to sell products.

I learned about Famore products, from Kelly. IHAN also has a great selection of Famore products.

One day, well over a year ago, I was working on a particularly nasty reverse sewing situation, when Kelly recommended that I try the Famore Micro Fine Tweezers. My first thought was tweezers are tweezers and my common tweezers had always been what I used, and probably were as good as the one's Kelly was recommending. But then, I thought about how Kelly had always given me great recommendations and I said "please add those Famore Micro Fine Tweezers to my order".

Kelly was 100% spot on with her recommendation for these tweezers. They are a thousand times better than any tweezer I've ever used. I honestly can't imagine how I managed without them before, and certainly will never go without them in the future. They are fantastic.

So, when Kelly asked me to participate in the Famore Blog Hop, of course I jumped with delight. How could I not be excited for a chance to chat about a product that I think offers an excellent value and provides a benefit for all quilting, sewing, and embroidery enthusiasts, along with general domestic situations when one would want to use tweezers. I'm sure you can visualize a number of common reasons one uses tweezers (e.g. removing bee stingers, trimming unwanted hairs, removing splinters, etc.). But, I wonder how many thing about the benefits of having fine tweezers for use with your sewing projects? Well, take a look at a few ways I use these tweezers in my sewing projects:

For those that periodically do reverse sewing and want to get out those annoying fine threads that leave obvious signs of "I've been sewn more than once". These tweezers do a great job making it easy and fast to pull out this distracting threads.

For those that have AccuQuilt products, while you receive a pair of tweezers from AccuQuilt, they really are not great for getting fine threads that get caught in the dyes. These Famore micro fine tweezers make it so easy to pull out threads caught in the AccuQuilt dyes, to help them cut accurately after heavy use

.

For those that do machine embroidery, it is common to have small threads that are difficult to trim with the finest scissors. Having these micro fine tweezers help to lightly pull threads to see if they need to be trimmed vs can safely be pulled out. Historically, I would toss machine embroidery (ME)designs that after stitching out they needed some level of reverse sewing. These tweezers helped to make the proceess of reverse sewing ME so fast & easy, I now comfortably and quickly reverse sew my ME designs, when needed, with the help of these tweezers.

For those that periodically get a broken thread caught in their bobbin, or one of the shafts that a thread travels thru, this pair of tweezers makes it very easy to remove such unwanted threads.

I hope I've shared a few examples of how these tweezers may help you in your sewing (or reverse sewing). Don't forget that they also work better than other tweezers for all the common household uses of tweezers. Thus, I can truly say I highly recommend every quilting, sewing & embroidery enthusiast have a pair of these tweezers, if not two! I do believe you'll like them too!

Did I mention a giveaway? Thanks to IHAN and Famore, I have a pair of Famore Micro Fine Tweezers 3 1/2" for one lucky winner. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. I'll randomly select a winner and announce on Friday, January 20th. But, before you leave a comment, I hope you'll take time to read my updated post titled "WANTED: Quilters that never win at Giveaways", as you may just find your name in this article and insights on how you can improve your chances at winning in various giveaways.

Don't overlook an great opportunity to learn about other Famore products and get a chance to win a Famore product at each blog that has participated in the hop this week. While this hop started on Monday, there is still plenty of time to enter the giveaway at each of these participating blogs:

Monday Jan. 9th:            Patsy Thompson Designs
Tuesday Jan. 10th:          Green Fairy Quilts
Wednesday Jan. 11th:    I Have a Notion
Thursday Jan 12th:        Happy Cottage Quilter
Friday Jan. 13th:             SewCalGal {where you are now}

Lastly, I want to announce the winner of last weeks' Fun Friday Giveaway for the Sewline Fabric Marker. Congratulations to Josie (Jo Crazy Mama).

Charity Projects: Busty Cups

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Marguerita McManus and her friend Judy came up with a fun idea for raising funds for Breast Cancer Support. They also want to encourage others to leverage from their idea, to create "Busty Cups" to help raise funds for your local Breast Cancer Awareness, Support and Treatment programs.

Charity Fundraisers are always looking for items to include in gift baskets for raffle or silent auction, as well as stand along fundraising items and Busty Cups cover a variety of areas when it comes to helping to raise funds to benefit various breast cancer programs.

Plus, Busty Cups are a great way to challenge your creativity. They could even be a fun project for your quilt guild, or sewing group. There are tutorials available to help you make cute Busty Cups, but it is even better when you use your own imagination and sewing skills to create your own unique Busty Cups.

To help with fundraising, check with your local programs that help fight breast cancer. Susan G. Komen For The Cure, American Cancer Society, and many other programs have a number of fundraising events that could benefit from having Busty Cups. Of course, you could also make your own Busty Cups, sell them, and donate funds to a local program that helps fight breast cancer.

For more information, ideas, and a tutorial on making Busty Cups visit: http://www.loosefibers.com/busty-cups/

EmbroideryShoppe

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:57:00 +0000

I'm continually excited to hear from quilters that have begun to explore machine embroidery, as well as many that have enjoyed machine embroidery (ME), for years, learn to quilt. While there are many machine embroidery designers, and design houses out there, sadly, not all create high quality designs, or designs that are easy to stitch out. As such, I'm happy to have a chance to share insights with you on recent projects that I've been working on using ME designs from the EmbroiderShoppe.

First, I want to share that I've found the EmbroiderShoppe to provide high quality designs, that have great detail and easy to stitch out designs, along with appropriate documentation.

Their Crazy Applique set includes six cute whimsical designs for easy, in the hoop, applique', or manually cut your applique shapes prior to machine embroidery. There is a cute Crazy Cat, Owl, Elephant, Birdie, Gecko and a Frog in this fun design collection.

Each design has amazing detail.

They consistently stitch out beautifully.

While I found doing the applique definitely creates a lovely design, I also thought each of the designs looked beautiful when I stitched them out and didn't use any fabric for the applique step, which to me is another sign of an exceptional design (that it can be used either way and still look great).

I've had fun using these designs to create tops for two baby quilts, that I'm looking forward to doing the free-motion quilting on. I just wish my camera did a better job capturing the beauty of these quilts, as they really do look much nicer than what these images reflect.

I think these ME designs look great on a baby quilt, but I also think they'd look cute on a jacket, bag, lap quilt, and an endless number of possibilities. They are Crazy fun designs.

To clarify, these designs are available in a set, or they can be purchased individually.

I also enjoyed making cute Matroyshka Doll Pillows with these new designs.

The Matroyshka Doll Pillows are also very easy applique' in the hoop designs with an amazing detail. Easy to follow instructions are also included with the designs, to create these cute little doll pillows. They are also fast and fun to make.

The Crazy Applique' quilts and the Matroyshka Doll Pillows that I made will be donated to a charity program, as soon as I finish free-motion quilting & binding of the baby quilts.

As I have consistently found EmbroiderShoppe designs to be high quality and easy to stitch out, I did want to share with you insights on my projects above. They have many wonderful designs, and always have great instructions too.

One of their new designs, a Russian Floral Quilt design I think would make a stunning quilt.

And, their cute Retro Bird collection would definitely help create some fun projects too!

I'm certainly looking forward to creating more projects with designs from the Embroider Shoppe.
I hope you'll visit the EmbroiderShoppe soon and look at all of their beautiful designs. I think they are an excellent machine embroidery design house and believe you'll also be happy stitching out their designs too.

http://www.embroidershoppe.com/

Lighted Pin Picker Upper

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Have you, or anyone in your family ever found a pin on the floor in a way you really don't want them to find them (e.g. their foot finds them first)?

If you are like me, you probably wait to the last minute to pick up pins that have fallen on the floor. It isn't that I want someone to get hurt. For me, it just seems to be part of sewing. Pins fall on the floor. I tend to wait till there are enough of them, to justify me getting down on my hands and knees to pick them up. Ok, I'll admit I need to work on my cleaning & organizational skills, but I do think I'm pretty good about finding useful tools.

To my delight, I was recently shopping at Cozy Quilt Shop, when I decided to purchase a "Lighted Pin Picker Upper". It wasn't an expensive item and it looked like a great stocking stuffer, so I decided to buy one for myself and one for my husband. I've now had a chance to fall in love with this tool, and so has my husband, so I wanted to share insights with you.

The Lighted Pin Picker Upper works great to pick up lightweight metallic object like pins, snaps, grommets, eyelets, etc. in my sewing room. And, for my husband, various metallic parts that he may drop while working in his garage, on the car, boat, etc..

This handy tool, that is lightweight, portable, and easy to store, is also an extendable device that has a ma the end. Plus, it has an LED light, in the center of that magnet, making it easy to see what you are trying to pick up on the floor, or in a dark space.

It can extend up to 28" to pick something up.

Marketing info on this product shows that it can pick up items weighing up to 8 pounds, but I'll admit I've only used it to pick up pins. Still, I've been amazed how many pins that it can pick up at one time.....every pin I had dropped on the floor and I suspect it could pick up many more in one swoop!

I love this gadget. And, I'm very happy that I also bought one for my hubby as I know "mine" would have ended up in his toolbox.

Check out Cozy Quilt Shop's online store to see this product, as well as all the other great items you can find in their store too! I truly do think you'll enjoy putting this Pin Picker Upper to good use in your sewing room, when you go to classes, workshops, or retreats, etc.. Definitely a handy tool and at a reasonable price.

Mastering the Art of Longarm Quilting

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:28:00 +0000

"Mastering the Art of Longarm Quilting: 40 Original Designs - Step-by-Step Instructions Takes You from Novice to Expert", by Gina Perkes, published by CT Publishing is a new free-motion quilting (FMQ) book that will be released February, 2012. While this book is focused on longarm quilting, it is also an excellent FMQ reference book for midarm quilters, as well as those on home sewing machines.

For the longarm quilter, this book provides you insight on stitch regulation, preload vs postload marking, rulers and gridwork, tension, threads, needles, quilt loading, and much more.

For any quilter interested in FMQ, this book is packed full of insights that will build your confidence and help you master beautiful FMQ designs with easy to follow instructions.

There are 40 original quilting designs included that are excellent for the advanced FMQ quilter, or a very confident FMQ quilter that wants to push their skills to higher creativity. But, as the book says, this book can take you from "Novice to Expert", you just need to practice!

Gina does an excellent job sharing insights on Quilt Interpretation, planning how to FMQ your projects, and tips are included throughout the book, providing something for FMQ quilters of all levels. There are also many photos of inspirational quilts, many of which are award winning quilts.

This is truly an excellent book for Longarm quilters that want to pursue FMQ, but SewCalGal also recommends this book to those that want to do FMQ on a midarm, as well as a home sewing machine.

I hope you get a chance to check out this book at your local quilting shop, once it is released this spring. Or, check it out online at CT Publishing's online store where you can also pre-order this book now.

Fun Friday: Sewline Fabric Marking Pencils

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:42:00 +0000

Sewline is the sponsor of today's Fun Friday giveaway. The winner will receive a Sewline mechanical fabric pencil with ceramic leads.

The Sewline fabric marker is a easy to use marker that is perfect for sewing, quilting and embroidery enthusiasts. The fine tip, with ceramic technology leads, make it an easy to use marking tool on fabrics, especially when using stencils.

You may want to read a previous review, written by SewCalGal, where insights are also shared on testing marking pencils. Always, do remember to test any fabric marking tool on your fabrics. And, try to use the lightest level of marking you can use, as this will also help improve the ease of removing any marks later.

To enter to win a Sewline fabric marking pencil, simply be a follower of SewCalGal and leave a comment on this post. One lucky winner will be randomly selected and announced next Friday, January 13th. If you haven't ever won a giveaway on a blog, you may want to read my post "WANTED: Quilters that never win at giveaways".

The winner of last weeks' Fun Friday giveaway, sponsored by Martingale & Company, home of that Patchwork Place, for a copy of Make Your Bed: Quilted Bed Runners, Pillows, and More to Suit Your Style, by Leslee Evans, is

Congratulations to Anita (The Other Side of Me)

Quilt Alongs and the FMQ Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:32:00 +0000

Quilt Alongs can be great fun! They can help quilters learn new things, as well as meet new people. For Quilt Shops, they can also be an excellent way to get customers into your store.

The possibilities for Quilt Alongs are endless. There are Christmas Quilt Alongs, Mug Rug Quilt Alongs, Scrappy Quilt Alongs, Color Challenge Quilt Alongs, Border Challenge Quilt Alongs, and yes, there are even Free-Motion Quilt Alongs. Today, I want to share a few insights with you about some Free-Motion Quilt alongs that you may want to join. You may also want to talk with your quilt guild, local quilt shop, or even your own group of qulting friends, to see if they want to organize a Free-Motion Quilt Along to learn/improve their free-motion quilting skills in 2012! To clarify, don't just use the 2012 FMQ Challenge as your only place to inspire you to do FMQ. If you really want to improve your FMQ skills this year, take advantage of every possibility you can and create your own opportunities too!

Shiisa Quilts has started a "Free-Motion Quilting Addicts Support Group" that meets the 4th Thursday of each month. The group is doing a "piggy back" using tips & tutorials from the 2012 FMQ Challenge. This shop also has many FMQ classes scheduled, including a class with Sarah Vedeler and one with Paula Reid.

Leah Day (Free Motion Quilting Project) has started a new project called the "Quilt Along Wednesdays". Every Wednesday Leah will post a video, on her blog, of a design to work on, which gives you more opportunities to practice and learn more FMQ designs.

Cozy Quilt Shops has also offered free "Project Linus - Free Motion Quilting" classes, where participants practice on charity quilts (e.g. Linus) and learn new FMQ designs. Cozy also has a variety FMQ classes, including a class with Paula Reid in March and one with Sarah Vedeler in August.

Again, I do hope you take advantage of as many ways as you can, in 2012, to learn and improve your FMQ skills. Quilt Alongs, classes, books, dvds are all great ways to learn and improve.

Plans for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Every year I set goals, some of which I achieve, and others I don't. Typically, I don't announce them, but this year I thought I would. I'm also hoping to hear your feedback on my plans, as well as hearing about your plans too.

Here are my plans for 2012:

While I'm far from being a free-motion quilting expert, I am happy to have set the goal to learn FMQ in 2011. I attacked it with vigor, where it was clearly my priority. I took every FMQ class I could possibly take, and a minimum number of other quilting classes. I watched as many FMQ DVDs and YouTube Videos, and read as many FMQ Books. I spent as much time as I could at quilt shows admiring beautiful FMQ work, as well as reading blogs that share insights on FMQ . And, I practiced, practiced, and practiced FMQ as much as I could. While I'm impressed with what I learned in a year, I'm also now obsessed with FMQ and plan to continue improving my FMQ skills in 2012. I definitely see taking more classes, watching more FMQ DVDs, reading more FMQ Books, and spending more time practicing!

I plan to continue to make charity quilts for a variety of charity projects.

I want to continue to grow my skills with EQ7 and would like to achieve a level where I can design in EQ7 and others may actually want what I share!

Like my research in FMQ, I plan to see if an old quilter like myself can significantly improve their piecing skills. As I do fear I've fallen into many bad habbits, I'm going to research precision piecing with the same focus that I attacked learning FMQ. And, I hope that by the end of 2012, I can be one of those quilters that can be proud to show the back of their quilts, just like they show the front of their quilts!

I want to spend more time drawing. While I've never been good at drawing, I do find it to be relaxing. And, I am confortable with the thought of "learning" to doodle. And, doodling is the theme of the 2012 Sketchbook Challenge. Sounds like a perfect challenge for me in 2012.

It seems like every year I have a goal to be create a more organized sewing room, but I haven't ever been able to achieve it. I was inspired by a recent post on Bonnie Hunter's blog (Quiltville) where she spoke of "Fabric Herding" and raised the question are you a hoarder or a herder? So, my goal is to develop my Fabric Herding skills, get new flooring in my sewing room, which means I need to organize everything and get rid of stuff I'm not using.

Warning: no current state picture provided as I don't want you to think less of me than you already do, but I hope you'll keep after me as I'd love to be able to show you a picture of my sewing room by the end of 2012. A picture, that exists only in my mind, of a very clean and orderly sewing room.

I also plan to continue with my exercise program, as well as trying to eat healthy (no, or minimal processed foods), to spend more time gardening.

To continue to grow my skills and expertise in Social Media Marketing and offer consulting to a limited number of quilting businesses.

As SewCalGal, my plans for 2012 are:

Continue to research and share insights on topics of interest to those interested in quilting, sewing & embroidery. Likewise, help to increase awareness of those in the business, to try to help survive during our economic challengs.

Fun Fridays are planned, where I hope to showcase a variety of sponsors and host weekly giveaways.

Try to find a way for SewCalGal to earn a little money, to help offset costs of giveaways, research, etc. {e.g. sponsored advertisements, Adsense, etc}.
I have plans to host the 2012 Golden Quilter Awards whereby quilters from around the world are invited to nominate, for a variety of categories, for those that help make our world of quilting so wonderful. You'll be hearing more about this very soon.

Complete at least one quilt pattern evaluation and one machine embroidery design evaluation each month, whereby the samples will be given to charity. And insights on the designer and design will be shared on SewCalGal.

Host blog hops and other fun activities, to increase awareness on ways to use various Modern Quilting Tools.

I'm on a Mission to make the US National Quilt Day a World Quilt Day. Of course, I could use your help to make this happen.

I will continue my search for Quilters that don't win giveaways/no reply bloggers and try to set them on a path to increase their chances of winning in giveaways.

Sadly, I realized I had to say I couldn't do it all in 2012. I've decided I can't host the Pets on Quilts Show in the future, but I'm happy that Jacque (Lily Pad Quilting) will be the host of this fun event in the future. For similar reasons, I've also concluded that I can no longer host the annual Christmas Quilt Show and I'm hoping a fellow blogger will come forward to volunteer to host this event, in the future, vs letting it die off.

What do you think of my goals for 2012? Do you have any other recommendations? Did you make any goals for 2012 ? Do we have any common goals?

What ever you do in 2012, I hope you have a very happy & healthy year and find time to enjoy and create!

Welcome to the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge.

I want to introduce you to Frances Moore, our first FMQ Expert in the 2011 FMQ Challenge. You could essentially think of Frances as "Miss January". Frances loves teaching FMQ designs and how to plan FMQ for various quilt designs & sizes, to quilters of all skill levels. She also teaches a variety of quilt classes, not just FMQ.

Frances has been teaching quilting for 8+ years. I met her during my FMQ research, in 2011, when I attended a FMQ Workshop with Two Wacky Woman. I found Frances to be an excellent teacher, a wonderful person, and be blessed with a nice senses of humor too! I enjoyed her class and was delighted when she agreed to be one of the 12 FMQ experts for this challenge. What sets her apart from other FMQ teachers is her "No frame, stitch regulator, marking or gloves" approach.

While I want to encourage everyone to take as many FMQ classes as they can possibly take, I also want to heighten awareness that Frances is willing to travel to teach a variety of workshops, and all levels of free-motion quilting. But, for those living in Southern California, or willing to visit sunny Southern California, Frances will be teaching at an upcoming FMQ Quilt Retreat, by Two Wacky Woman, March 23-25 in Mission Viejo, CA.

If you are interested in having Frances give a presentation/workshop at your quilt guild, please have your guild program coordinator contact Frances directly. Likewise, if you want her to teach at your local quilt shop, talk with the store owner to recommend they contact Frances.

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

During the 2012 FMQ Challenge, each month a tutorial will be released. Some experts may provide a tutorial with text & photos, whereas some may provide theirs via video. Frances created a special video tutorial for us that I think is excellent! I hope you enjoy it too!

January FMQ Tutorial

If you have a MAC and/or problems viewing this video please try watching it directly from youtube via this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A9GiSm7iHDI
If you still have problems viewing the HD FMQ tutorial, please email me and I'll see what I can do to help you.

To clarify, the January challenge will be to learn and/or improve your FMQ skills by practicing the design that Frances has shared in her video tutorial. Pull out your practice quilt sandwiches have fun. For those that are new to FMQ, remember to drop your feeddogs. And, if you have problems with the leaf motif, think of creating heart shapes. The goal is to not finish this tutorial in one day, but to practice until you feel you have this FMQ design embedded in your muscle memory and can do it on your quilts. At that point, if you are doing the optional FMQ Sampler Quilt, pick an 8x8" block in the lst row and sew out this design in that block. Before the end of the month, besure to photograph your favorite stitch outs of this design and follow the instructions to this months challenge, via the linky below.

For those using Facebook, you may also want to post photos in the group "2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge" to share with others. To clarify, these are not official entries, but this forum is a great way to network with others participating in this challenge. We also encourage members of this group to help each other when questions are asked. As this isn't a class, our FMQ experts provide a tutorial, we don't want to impose on our experts to be available to answer all of our questions, so lets try to help each other where we can.

Frances has generously offered to try to answer questions for those participating in this January FMQ challenge. So, this month, you also have the option of emailing her your questions and if you follow her blog, you may see your question get addressed in one of her blog posts. Plus, following her blog is a great way to learn more about Frances and get inspired by her beautiful quilting.

Our sponsor for the challenge this month is Aurifil. One lucky winner will receive a sampler pack of 5 Aurifil threads and another lucky winner will receive a Silk Stars Thread kit, with 12 spools of 40 wt threads.

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 January 31st. 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 - January". 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 - January" 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.

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.

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.

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.

FMQ Challenge - Q&A

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:28:00 +0000

Many FMQ questions will be addressed in various tutorials, on one of the FMQ Experts' Blog, or on the Facebook page for this group (2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge). I will also use this page to log many of the questions and answers on this page. This page will also be updated periodically, so you may want to refer back to this page periodically to see if a question has already been asked, or if there is an answer to one of your questions.

Also, the default assumption is answers are mine, unless noted otherwise. If I find a link to a good reference, I will add that link. If I receive feedback from an FMQ Expert, I'll clarify which Expert shared their insight.

How do I join this challenge?

Read the page labeled "Free Motion Quilting Challenge", take The Pledge, and sign up for the email list for this group.

Is it too late to join this challenge ?

It is never too late. While tutorials will be released monthly, you can do these exercises anytime, and follow along at your leisure. It is more of a matter that if you complete a tutorial exercise in the month that it is released, you can enter to win a monthly prize. If you complete all 12 of the FMQ Challenge tutorials anytime in 2012 you can enter to win a Grand Prize.

Is this Challenge for midarm and longarm quilters, or just those with a home (domestic) sewing machine?

This challenge is focused on those with a home (domestic) sewing machine. The thought of having a different change for those with midarm and/or longarm machines is under consideration. Insights may still be of interest to those using midarm/longarm sewing machines, and FMQ designs may also be of interest, but the actual challenge is focused on home sewing machines.

I know how to do FMQ, but what do you do with the quilting?

This may be covered in one or more of the FMQ tutorials, or on an FMQ Experts blog. SewCalGal recommends building a library of FMQ quilting books and FMQ DVDs, as well as taking classes where there is frequently a sharing of quilts and group discussion on how various quilts should be quilted.

Should my feed dogs be up or down?

You'll find a variety of preferences for various FMQ techniques. SewCalGal recommends you try both, follow the advice of the FMQ Experts, but my personal preference is to drop my feeddogs.

How do you work with so much fabric in a domestic machine?

Start building your skills with a practice quilt sandwich and work on small quilt sizes first. Overtime, try working on large projects. There are a variety of ways to work on large projects, but you need to assess your work area for how your quilt will move around. You do not want it to hang off the table, as the weight will make it difficult to move around on your sewing bed. SewCalGal recommends you take classes with FMQ Teachers that work on large projects, to see how quilts are physically placed and moved while being quilted on a domestic machine.

How come I can't get my bobbin thread to come up before I start sewing ?

Hold the end of your top thread and slowly run your machine to do a single stitch, where your top thread will pull up your bobbin thread. Troubleshooting may be that you need to pull out your bobbin thread to verify it was wound thru the bobbin case properly, as well as it has long enough thread for the top thread to pull it up. Verify your machine is clean, free of lint. You may also need to take your machine in for service.

Why do I have sewing that looks like "eyelasses" on the bottom of my quilt ?

Two common reasons are moving the quilt sandwich too fast around curves and having tension issues. There are also many wonderful FMQ quilting books that share excellent troubleshooting tips for this type of issue.

How to start/stop and hide your threads ?

What machines are the FMQ Experts using?
Many of the FMQ Experts use a variety of machines, but their primary machine is:

Sarah Vedeler (Bernina 830)
Frances Moore (Juki)
Paula Reid (Bernina 730)
Diane Gaudynski (Bernina 730)

Fun Friday Giveaway: Make Your Bed

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Martingale & Company, home of that Patchwork Place, is the sponsor of this Fun Friday Giveaway today.

Make Your Bed: Quilted Bed Runners, Pillows, and More to Suit Your Style, by Leslee Evans, is an inspirational new quilt book. It is packed with nine fun projects to help you decorate your bed and make it look spectacular.

All of the projects in this book come with easy to follow instructions and great visuals, making it an excellent book for quilters of all skill levels. These projects would also make fast & fun gifts too!

I hope you have a chance to check out this book at your local quilt store, or online at Martingale & Company. I think you'll enjoy all the new ideas that are shared in this book. Very creative.

Want to win a copy of this very versatile quilt book? Simple leave a comment to let me know you would like to win it. If you like an additional entry, go "like" Martingale & Company on Facebook.

One lucky winner will be randomly selected and announced next Friday.

IF you've never won a giveaway via a blog, you may want to read this post "WANTED: Quilters that never win at giveaways".

The winner of last weeks' Fun Friday giveaway, for a copy of a pattern book by ADORNit, is

and lucky #44 is lucky Ceceilia.

Ideas for FMQ Sampler Quilts

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:38:00 +0000

Block of the month quilts are popular for those that tackle pieced block challenges and applique' challenges. Why not have a quilt to show off your free motion quilting samples in the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge?

Everyone is invited to join the 2012 FMQ Challenge and you are encouraged to utilize Practice Quilt Sandwiches for every FMQ design, to help you learn. But for those that would like the ability to create a sampler quilt, of the 12 FMQ designs that our FMQ Experts will share in this challenge, this post is for you. I've used EQ7 to create two different design layouts that are easy to make. These designs are also easily adapted to different size blocks. You may want to use one of these designs, or create your own layout for a table topper, wall quilt, or lap quilt that utilizes the 12 FMQ designs to be shared in this challenge.

FMQ Sampler Quilt #1 measures 42"x 42"

Fabric Requirements:

1 1/8 yard - border fabric

1 yard - center block fabric, or use a variety of different fabrics.

Cut border strips 5 1/2" x 44" (trim as you mitre corners)

Cut 5 - 8 1/2" x 16 1/2" squares

Cut 6 - 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" squares

Assembly step one

Assembly step two

Assembly step three

Subsequent steps would be to add borders, sandwich, and, of course, use a FMQ design for one of the blocks. In month 12, Patsy Thompson will share a tutorial design that will work in the border.

FMQ Sampler Quilt #2 measures 34"x 50"

Fabric Requirements:

1 1/2 yards - border fabric

1 yard - center block fabric, or use a variety of scraps.

Cut 2 border strips 5 1/2" x 52" (trim as you mitre corners)

Cut 2 border strips 5 1/2" x 36" (trim as you mitre corners)

Cut 4 - 8 1/2" x 16 1/2" squares

Cut 7 - 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" squares

assembly step 1

assembly step 2

assembly step 3

assembly step 4

Subsequent steps would be to add borders, sandwich, and, of course, use a FMQ design for one of the blocks. In month 12, Patsy Thompson will share a tutorial design that will work in the border.

To clarify, FMQ Quilt Samplers are totally optional for those participating in the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge. You can make a FMQ Quilt Sampler anytime, on your own, even after the 2012 FMQ Challenge is over. But, as I'm making my FMQ sampler quilt now, to have ready for when I've finished practicing each FMQ design on my practice sandwiches. I plan to use this FMQ Sampler Quilt to show off all 12 FMQ designs from this challenge. And, I wanted to share these layouts with you.

I also emphasize that you should play with each new design on your practice quilt sandwiches, before you attempt to use any new design on your Sampler Quilt, or other quilts. After all, practice is key to learning every new design.

Update 1/5

There are eleven center blocks and a border. Our December tutorial, by Patsy Thompson, will include a FMQ design that should be more appropriate for a border.

My approach to quilting this will be to do a stitch in the ditch, using invisible thread. I will then use use one of the FMQ tutorials, for each block (or eventually the border), after I have finished my practice on one of my practice FMQ quilt sandwiches. I will NOT be using an approach to quilt each block and then use a technique to hinge the blocks together, but that technique would work for these challenges using one of the quilt designs above, or your own. There are no plans to provide a tutorial for this hinge technique, but I have heard that others may write such a tutorial. If I hear of such a tutorial I will gladly share insights. For me, I just feel I have my hands full this year coordinating this challenge and keeping up with my other goals for 2012, so I'm personally trying to keep this challenge focused on FMQ and not other techniques. Thanks for understanding and your patience.

Practice Quilt Sandwiches For Free Motion Quilting

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:24:00 +0000

A year ago, my machine quilting skills were pretty much limited to using a walking foot and stitching in the ditch. I observed many new quilters that were quickly becoming quite talented in the area of free-motion quilting, and I decided to set off on a year of research, to see if an average quilter "like me" could learn to do free-motion quilting. Or, as some might say, can an old quilter like me learn new quilting skills?

I began researching FMQ experts that had written books, as well as those that had created DVDs. I also signed up for every FMQ class that worked for my schedule. While, I'm far from being an FMQ Expert, I am truly impressed with how this year of FMQ research has changed my perspective on FMQ. I have now quilted small and medium size quilts with beautiful FMQ Feathers and a variety of other designs, that I previously would have never thought I could do. And, I'm confident, if you spend a year working on your FMQ skills, you too will be pleasantly surprised how much you will improve. Yes, Virginia, you too can be great at FMQ! Thus, I hope the 2012 FMQ Challenge inspires more quilters to take the pledge to learn and/or improve your FMQ

Today, I want to share with you some of my insights on Practice quilt sandwiches for Free Motion Quilting. They are a critical key for you to learn and improve your FMQ skills.

Practice quilt sandwiches, aka Sample quilt sandwiches, can take on a variety of sizes, colors, and batting combinations. As you gain more experience, you'll most likely want to be sure you are using a high quality quilt store 100% cotton, superior quality low-loft batting (100% cotton, wool or silk), and superior quality threads (40-50 wt cotton or silk thread). Please refer to a prior post for more insights on supplies in general.

I prefer to thread baste or pin my quilts that I plan to do heavy FMQ work on. You may be loyal to spray basting, which is not my favorite for FMQ, but I want you to form your own opinion by trying a practice quilt sandwich that has been spray basted vs one that has not been spray basted. And, if you find your needle gums up, or you have problems with your stitching, do try a non-spray basted sample quilt and see if you find a difference in your FMQ!

{above} Practice quilt sandwiches are an excellent way to check your thread tension, color and FMQ design. I know many FMQ Experts that practice on quilt sandwiches made out of scrap fabric, blocks, batting from their quilt project. To clarify, many like to practice FMQ and play with threads on a practice quilt sandwich that is similar to their primary quilt. In the photograph above, I identified problems with thread tension, by playing with my practice quilt sandwich. This problem can also happen by moving your sandwich too fast on curves, so remember to keep your sandwich movement and machine speed consistent. Even for the experienced FMQ quilter, FMQ Practice quilt sandwiches can help identify and resolve issues before you work on your primary quilt.

While I tend to play with a new design on my practice quilt sandwich, there have been many times where I've played with new FMQ designs on a charity quilts. In the case of this charity quilt (photo above), this was my first time to seriously practice with rock/mini-circle designs. I was also bold to try to create a feathered flower design, without following anything that I found in a book, video or other source. I would have never have attempted doing this a year ago. While my feathered floral motif isn't great, this practice quilt sandwich still works, and will also be functional as a charity quilt.

For some of my practice quilt sandwiches I marked circles, using a CD, and then did various FMQ designs inside of these circles.

{above} This sample was created during a class I took with Diane Gaudynski. While not one of the best student samples, I was pleased and definitely learned how to apply this technique to a variety of FMQ designs. I'm definitely looking to practicing this design on more practice quilt sandwiches, to master it for use on my quilts. To clarify, the above was my first attempt and quite a challenge for me.

{above} I also found it fun to use stencils to create FMQ motifs.

{above}This is a good example of using fabric from our stash and how some prints are simply not desirable for practice quilt sandwiches. While it is fine to use fabric from your stash, try to use prints that will allow you to easily see your stitching.

{above} this is an example of using stencils with other FMQ designs. I'll later share insights about marking tools, as you can see in the fabric how the marking tool "bleached" the fabric. There are many non-quilting marking tools that have sharp points and free flow of ink, but I've painfully learned the importance of using marking tools that are truly marketed for quilters. Again, I'll share more on this soon. In the meantime, I want to encourage you to thoroughly test any fabric marking tool you use, before you use it on a quilt project.

{above} A good exercise is to use a stencil motif to mark your quilt and practice FMQ by quilting on the stencil lines, followed by using a filler design.

{above} Another fun exercise is to mark your quilt with a stencil design, quilt by stitching on the lines, followed by one or two echo lines of that design, before you pursue using a filler FMQ design.

{above} This Practice Sandwich is a good example of a variety of exercises. I continually use every inch of a quilt to practice various FMQ designs.

{above} Here is a Sampler quilt design that works well to use to show a variety of FMQ designs. You may want to create such a sampler quilt for the 2012 FMQ Challenge. Tomorrow, I'll also share a sampler quilt design that I'm recommending for those that want to create such a sampler quilt, using designs from the 12 FMQ Experts.

Remember, Practice Quilt Sandwiches are meant to be tools to help you learn and/or improve your FMQ skills. Try using different batting (e.g. brands of batting, type of batting like a wool or silk batting). Your practice quilt sandwich can work in a variety of sizes, but my general recommendation is for something along the size of ~18-24" x 18-24". As you progress, you may want to practice one or two designs on small quilts, such as a Linus charity quilt.

Some quilters like to keep their practice quilt sandwiches, others will re-purpose them. The possibilities to re-purpose are endless: hot pads, lining for inside of bags, totes, table toppers, wallhangings, pet beds, etc..

Do remember to practice. If a design feels like it is giving you a challenge, remember that repetition helps to embed that design to your muscle memory. Try doing a particular design ten times, but keep repeating it, till you master it. Remember, I'm not an FMQ expert, but I'm no longer satisfied with quilting in the ditch. There are so many beautiful FMQ designs that I want to master. I'm certainly looking forward to mastering 12 new FMQ designs, or more, in 2012! And, I hope you are too!

Suggested Supplies for Free Motion Quilting and Other Insights

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

I want to start off sharing that "suggestions" are just that - suggestions. In the case of suggested supplies, it doesn't mean you need to run out and buy every item on the list. And, you may have your own opinion and prefer to not use these suggestions. But, as many participants in the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge have asked for a supply list, the focus of this post is to provide insight on suggested supplies for free motion quilting.

I also want to clarify that the 2012 FMQ Challenge is not an online class, but a challenge where 12 FMQ Experts will provide a tutorial to help you learn a design(s). They may also share insights on their favorite supplies and various tips. While I do encourage you to try a variety of supplies and form your own opinions, it is up to you to decide if you want to use any of these suggested supplies or not. But, to clarify, most will see a difference in doing FMQ when using quality supplies (e.g. thread, batting, needles, etc). So, if you truly want to improve your FMQ skills in 2012, commit yourself to not just stitching out new designs, but also trying a variety of supplies.

If you haven't already, I also recommend you start a notebook for "Free Motion Quilting". Fill your notebook with notes from these tutorials, as well as your notes on supplies you like, or may not like. Take photos of your work, or even consider quilting pieces that can be cut and saved in your notebook. You may also want to include photos of inspirational FMQ designs and quilts, that can help you later plan how you want to quilt your projects, as well as more designs that you may want to learn. I refer to my FMQ notebook, with every project that I quilt!

Before this challenge begins, be sure you are familiar with the machine you will be using. Most quilters do not want to switch machines while doing FMQ on a project. For the machine(s) that you want to use for this challenge be sure you know how to:

Here are some suggested supplies and items you may want to prepare for use in this challenge:

· How to sew using your machine

· How to lower your feed dogs

· Adjust your thread tension

· Adjust your stitch length and width controls

· Knowledge of how to adjust your bobbintension

· Knowledge of how to create a quilt sandwich, baste

· Knowledge of how to use your walking foot

· Knowledge of how to do FMQ of a straight line, a square and a circle

If you are not familiar with any of the above, you may want to pull out your manual and/or talk to an expert at your local sewing center or quilt shop.

SUGGESTED SUPPLIES FOR FREE MOTION QUILTING:

A home sewing machine:

· Darning foot (#24 on a Bernina)

· Ability to drop your feed dogs

· Walking foot

· Extra bobbins

Recommended Supplies:

Quilter’s Gloves
Small scissors, thread snips
Fabric marking pencils
Sew slip, supreme slider
High quality Threads

40-50 wt thread 100% cotton high quality thread
Monofilament thread

High Quality Batting

100% cotton, wool or silk

Sewing machine needles

Topstitch needles 80/12, 90/14. 100/16 topstitch needles for heavy decorative thread and 70/10 for thinner threads, such as silks.

Recommended Resources for those learning FMQ:

Books:

· “Bluhming Background Designs 2 “, by Irena Bluhm

· “Bluhming Bugs”, by Irena Bluhm

· “Coloring with Thread”, by Ann Fahl

· “Dancing with Thread”, by Ann Fahl

· “Feather Adventures”, by Patsy Thompson

· “free motion quilting”, by Don Linn

· “From Daisy to Paisley: 50 Beginner free motion quilt designs”, by Leah Day

· “From Feathers to Flames: 60 Intermediate free motion quilt designs”, by Leah Day

· “Guide to Machine Quilting”, by Diane Gaudynski

· “Hyperquiting”, by Patsy Thompson

· “Mastering Metallics”, by Ann Fahl

· “Quilts of a Different Color”, by Irena Bluhm

· “Quilt Savvy: Gaudynski’s Machine Quilting Guidebook”, by Diane Gaudynski

· “Sophisticated Stitches:66 new motifs from Mr. Quilt”, by Don Linn

· “Start with a Blank Slate”, by Irena Bluhm

· “To Piece or Not to Piece”, by Irena Bluhm

· “Whimsical and Funky Feathers”, by Irena Bluhm

For information on more books on free motion quilting, click here.

DVDs

· Ann Fahl Teaches you Coloring with Thread, by Ann Fahl

· Dynamic Quilt Design: Paint Meets Stitch, by Susan Brubaker Knapp

· Fast & Free, Volume 0.5, by Patsy Thompson

· Fast & Free, Volume 2, by Patsy Thompson

· Fast & Free, Volume 3, “ “ “

· Free Motion Fun..with Feathers, Volume 1, by Patsy Thompson

· “ “ “ “ “ “ 2, “ “ “

· “ “ “ “ “ “ 3, “ “

· “ “ “ “ “ “ 4, “ “

· “ “ “ “ Vines & Leaves, Volume 1

· “ “ “ “ “ “ “ 2

· Master Machine Stitching, by Susan Brubaker Knapp, by Patsy Thompson

· Master Machine Quilting, by Susan Brubaker Knapp, “ “ “

Blogs

· Ann Fahl’s Color and Quilts: http://annfahl.blogspot.com/

· Blue Moon River http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/

· Cindy’s blog: http://blog.cindyneedham.com/

· Diane Gaudynski “A New Tradition In Quilting”:: http://dianegaudynski.blogspot.com/

· Frantastic -Stitch Witchery: http://frantastic-stitchwitchery.blogspot.com/

· The free Motion Quilting Project http://www.freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/

· Irena Bluhm Designs http://irenabluhmdesigns.blogspot.com/

· Ivory Spring: http://ivoryspring.wordpress.com

· Patsys’ Blog: http://www.patsythompsondesigns.com/blog/

· Paula Reid Machine Quilter: http://battsintheattic.blogspot.com/

· Sarah Vedeler Designs: http://sarahvedelerdesigns.com/

· SewCalGal: http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com

Other Links:

SewCalGal’s page on the 2012 FMQ Challenge: http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/p/free-motion-quilt-challenge.html

Facebook: 2012 FMQ Challenge group: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/148471145258369/

Lastly, this particular post may be updated throughout the year. I'll reflect when it has been updated on the main page for the 2012 FMQ Challenge. This week, I'll also share insights on sample quilt sandwiches, as well as, an optional pattern for those that want to create a sample quilt using all 12 FMQ tutorials to be released in this challenge.

Merry Christmas and AccuQuilt plays Santa

noreply@blogger.com (SewCalGal) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 16:39:00 +0000

The words "Be Merry" have special meaning in my life. My mother always told us to be merry and to count our blessings. As a child, those words were difficult to understand, especially when you wanted Santa to drop off a new toy, that was probably not in alignment with Santa's budget. As I grew older, I began to understand why my mother valued those words, and why she emphasized their meaning to my sisters and me. It is these words that I now find helpful to center my balance in a world that can be easy to get caught up in thinking about what might be wrong, what may not be fair, and what I might want and can not have. So, today, I wish for you to simply Be Merry.

Recently I hosted the AccuQuilt Christmas theme blog hop. While the hop is over, if you didn't get a chance to visit all of the blogs that participated in this hop, I encourage you to do so. They shared some great tutorials and tips with fun projects for Christmas, and many are adaptable to projects throughout the year. The participating blogs were: Leona's Quilting Adventure, Cherry (Cherry Bossoms), Terrie (Bits & Pieces), Nancy (Tattered Garden), Katrina (Sunshower Quilts), Jacque (Lily Pad Quilting), Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations) and, of course, SewCalGal.

AccuQuilt was the sponsor of this fun blog hop and they generously donated a GO! Baby. As we had a Christmas theme for this blog hop, it just seemed appropriate for AccuQuilt to play Santa and the winner be announced today.

Santa (AccuQuilt) will be delivering a cute little GO! Baby to Hilachas very soon.

Remember, Be Merry. And, if you have an opportunity, pass on some Merry to others too!

Merry Christmas!