Tip Tuesday! How to Mix Fabric Patterns

"Tip Tuesday!" - How to Mix Fabric Patterns

I love learning new things and then sharing that knowledge with my quilting friends. So, every Tuesday I'll provide some tips, hints, tricks, tutorials, shortcuts, etc. that I've learned over the years and share them here on the blog. 

"Tip Tuesday" will be a collection of information about a wide variety of subjects garnered from a large variety of sources.  I am not an expert by any means and do not take credit for being the great wizard behind all of these hints and tips. I will gladly give due credit whenever possible.

These tips will be archived and accessible to you just by clicking on the "Tip Tuesday" tab above. 

Read, enjoy, and be inspired!

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What is the most challenging thing about quilt for you?

For me, it used to be picking fabrics. I often struggled with making a pattern "my own" and simply purchased fabric that was almost exactly like the one the pattern cover or the sample hanging in a shop. After a while, I tried to stretch myself and pick my own fabrics, but often found that it was too "matchy matchy," safe, and quite honestly, boring. I wanted to be bold in my choices but was too afraid to do it. After all, if I chose fabrics that didn't "work" together, I'd be wasting a lot of money.

A number of years ago, probably 15 or so, Jack and I walked into an area quilt shop and he said that he signed my up for a mystery quilt class. What?!?!? Talk about being out of my comfort zone! To top it off, he then proceeded to tell me that he already bought all the fabric. Between my shock and horror (yes, I admit that I was scared of what he chose), I asked if he had seen the quilt before he picked the fabric. He said no, but that he spoke with the owner and she helped him pick the "supporting fabrics" after he chose his focus fabric.

When I saw the pile of fabric he picked out, I didn't know what to think. Everything was bright and there were lots of different designs and patterns. In retrospect, I realize that I had made a lot of quilts up to that point that had one or two "patterned" fabrics and everything else was a solid or Moda Marble. (Yawn!)

That class was a definite learning experience and the beginning of a fabric journey that has been fun and scary all at the same time.

I am not an expert and I will never be a color theorist; but, I do like to mix and match fabric patterns and colors. I don't always hit the mark, but I love the experiment. I still tend to be somewhat safe, but I do try to step back and push myself a little. My sister Ann and brother Jerry are amazing at choosing fabric; and between them and Jack, I am learning to go with my gut feeling.  

I found a blog that has a really good post about choosing fabrics and mixing patterns. I think it's worth the read.

http://www.heytherehome.com/how-to-mix-fabric-patterns/

Enjoy!

Design Wall Monday

Even though it was a very busy week, I did complete the Sparkling Gemstones quilt top that I posted last Monday. It's quilted and I've started hand stitching the binding.

Here's the back.

A friend of mine from my book club gave me a bunch (at least 6 yards) of this fabric a while ago and it was the perfect width for this quilt. (Thanks Carolyn!) It's kind of weird - half is printed one direction and the other half is printed upside down.   

And here's what I'm using to bind it. I am going to love this!

Besides being busy, it was kind of a challenging week for me. My phone was doing some strange things (I think I've figured out the problem), my HQ 16 is still giving me fits and my schedule won't allow for me to take it to the shop until this coming Saturday. And, to top it off, my computer crashed. ARRRGGGHHHHH!!!

And when I say crashed, I mean that I can't even get it to turn on. It's at the "computer spa" and I hope to hear from them tomorrow with a diagnosis. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's simply a hardware problem and that I have not lost any data. (Of course I need it for school and classes; and I was fiddling around with a couple of patterns right before it crashed and I hope I didn't lose them.)

I'm using Jack's computer and the keyboard feels different so it takes me a long time to do anything because I keep hitting the wrong key. On the flip side, I've been using my phone (now that I figured out the issue) a lot more than I did before. I guess when push comes to shove, I can learn technology. :-)

I did spend a little time playing with fabric this weekend and that made me very happy! Plus, it was the guild meeting weekend and Eileen organized a sew-in after the meeting. The members were sewing quilts for Flying Horse Farms and it was a lot of fun. Whew! I'm glad I tried to be organized and took care of all the computer work for the patterns they used, or we could have been in a real bind. I really should remember this for the next time I find myself procrastinating. :-)

What are you working on today?

See what others are working on by going to

Judy L's Patchwork Times

and

Monday Makings

Tip Tuesday! Quilting Charts and Formulas

"Tip Tuesday!" - Quilting Charts and Formulas

I love learning new things and then sharing that knowledge with my quilting friends. So, every Tuesday I'll provide some tips, hints, tricks, tutorials, shortcuts, etc. that I've learned over the years and share them here on the blog. 

"Tip Tuesday" will be a collection of information about a wide variety of subjects garnered from a large variety of sources.  I am not an expert by any means and do not take credit for being the great wizard behind all of these hints and tips. I will gladly give due credit whenever possible.

These tips will be archived and accessible to you just by clicking on the "Tip Tuesday" tab above. 

Read, enjoy, and be inspired!

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I love to teach quilting and have been blessed to be able to do so for a number of years. I love seeing the excitement of a new quilter who has had the proverbial "light bulb moment" and feels confident in his or her abilities.

But, we all have had those moments when we see something and just can't figure it out. You know what I'm talking about, right? 

**Even though we've made tons of quilts, we just can't for the life of us remember the measurements of a queen size mattress. (mattress top = 60" x 80") 

**We have those moments when our brain just cannot convert 2/3 of a yard into inches, let alone a decimal.  (24" and .66)

**What the heck are all of those lines on the ruler? Why do we need so many and how do I know which one to use?

**When trying to determine how much backing fabric we need and how we are going to piece it, we give up and buy a wide backing that doesn't quite match or we just buy the rest of the bolt and hope that we have enough.

I know we've all been there, even if we don't like to admit it. 

I can't tell you how many times I've helped someone determine fabric requirements for a pattern to which they've adjusted a size or decided to make from just three fabrics instead of from scraps (or vice versa). 

Okay, I admit it. I'm kind of a geek because I actually like to to these things. And I like to bind quilts too! (Yes, Mr. Schull - my high school math teacher - I now see that I use math EVERY day, and I like it!)

Over the years, I've found and shared a number of cheat sheets, phone apps, etc. that help with all of this info, and today I'd like to share a link to Jane's Quilting Blog, where she has complied a substantial set of charts and formulas often used by quilters. I'm sure you'll find it helpful.  

 http://janesquilting.blogspot.com/2015/10/quilt-charts-and-formulas.html

Don't stress out about it. 

Use the charts and go create something awesome!

Design Wall Monday

It's a crappy picture, but this is what's on my wall today.

This is an adaptation of the Sparkling Gemstones pattern and all of the fabric is from my stash, which makes me very happy. I know that the "background" fabric is a bit unconventional, but I wanted something different and this fit the bill. The picture really doesn't do it justice; I promise! 

I'm hoping to get this top completed by the end of this week because I know that I'll have very limited sewing/quilting time until the middle of March. I have accepted a long-term substitute teaching position that will keep me busy, plus I already have some quilting classes and workshops scheduled. (I know. I'm crazy.)

I finally finished a Turning Twenty quilt from a very long time ago but I don't have any pictures yet. The binding was hand-stitched Sunday and it was dark by the time I finished so decent pictures were just not going to happen. I'll try to get a picture in the next few days and post it. There's a story behind this quilt and I'll share it when I post the picture. Let's just say that I am extremely happy to have this done! It is long overdue.  :-)

What are you working on today?

Check out what others have on their design walls today.

Go to

Judy L's Patchwork Times

and 

Monday Makings over at Love Laugh Quilt 

Friday Finishes

Happy New Year!

May 2016 find you happy, healthy and with lots of time to quilt!

2015 ended with some finishes and for that I am happy. It's been kind of crazy around here and the first few months of 2016 doesn't look like it will be much different. I've decided to look at this as a positive, as I could be struggling with things and not able to quilt or teach at all. :-)  

I finished a t-shirt quilt for a friend. She and her daughter started it, but soon ran into issues so they asked me to complete it for them. I was happy to do it and it's done and was delivered in time for Christmas, even if this picture doesn't show that. (I send them this picture to determine if they liked the border corners and forgot to take a picture when the quilt was completed. Oh well...)

And, I finished and delivered this Carpenter's Star quilt, complete with embroidered names to my friend Janet. It was a gift for her mom. I love the fabrics in this quilt!

And Brandon's quilt was presented to his twin brother and mom on Monday. This really was an emotional challenge for me.  I am glad I made it and hope that it brings comfort to the family.

I hand-wrote a message to the family on the back of the quilt, along the binding.

I promised Quinn and Sadie that they could sew a little bit over Christmas break. They each chose 6 strips of fabric from my "collection" (That's what they call my stash and I love it!), and sewed them together to make a baby quilt. I set up the machine with a guide for them to keep an accurate (or close to accurate) 1/4" seam allowance and they both did exceptionally well. Here they are showing Grandpa Jack what they've created.

Sadie decided that she thinks hers could be used by Bailey when her baby doll isn't using it. She's trying out the size to make sure it will work. They do love their sister!  :-)

I did the actual quilting for them (in the ditch) and they love them. Since we finished these right before supper, the girls asked if these quilts could be used for placemats too and since I said yes, it was decided that I (or we) need to make one for Ronan. I think I'll try to do that later today. 

I love this backing fabric and have just enough to make Ronan's placemat and maybe one more. 

And finally, although not quilt-related, I am happy to say that I'm thrilled to have finished with what I hope will be first of many purging episodes. 

My sisters and I challenged ourselves to do some "housekeeping" and here's what my car looked like when Jack and I made a trip to Goodwill yesterday. Feels good!

Do you have any Friday Finishes to share? 

I'd love to see them.

Hooking up to 

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.