Cozy Quilt Chatter

Spring Wall Hanging - Calendar Quilts

Post by Andrea Paden

When Kim Shaefer's Calendar Quilts first arrived in the shop, I thought it looked like a really neat project. It's a set of 12 different wall hangings to make with a new theme for each month of the year. But like most of you, I already had too many projects waiting at home, so I put it on my "wish list" for later. This year, Calendar Quilts was chosen as the project for Cozy Breakfast Club (formerly Thimbleberries) and Jan and Kara started making the samples. They turned out so cute and looked like a lot of fun to make! These wall hangings are a fairly small size and seemed like something I could manage to get done pretty fast, so I had to get my own and get to work!

I realized right away that the really nice thing about Calendar Quilts is that you get a good amount of practice on many basic quilting skills when making each banner. Yes, there are 12 quilts, but they are small (about 20 x 28) and you only have to make the ones you like. However, I would suggest trying them all and adding your own personal touches, or even varying the color palette here and there to really make it your own. I thought I would skip a couple, but when I saw our shop samples, I decided I liked them after all! When you tweak the colors or fabric style to match it to your decor and personal preference, you will enjoy it so much more. Or if you are giving it to someone as a gift (great idea!) use their favorite color or style. Every version I have seen so far has looked great.

The same basic format is used for each month with 15 - 4 1/2" squares framed by another 20 - 4 1/2" squares. Then you use fused applique to apply that month's design to the background. I have stuck to the directions, but a quilter with a larger stash might want to make things easy and just use 5" charm squares - it all works out just fine! In fact, just about everything about in these patterns is flexible, which makes them more fun to work with.

My favorite part of the process is picking the fabric for each part of the wall hanging, then cutting out the pieces. Who doesn't like playing with fabric? I had a real dilemma when I was working with my birds on this one. The color instructions show red birds perched on the birdhouse, but I really thought they should be yellow. I asked my friends at Friday Night Fever (my favorite sit-n-sew group), and most of them agreed on red. They just weren't seeing the "yellow vision". Hmmm? Well, I knew red birds would bug me for some reason because I had just decided that wasn't right. I wanted them to stand out and celebrate Spring! So I found the perfect bright yellow fabric and made my own sunny yellow birds, darn it! Cutting out my applique pieces was a breeze. I just got a pair of Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Scissors at our recent "West Wing" sale and I love 'em! The micro-serrated blades were specifically designed for applique and they do the job well. In fact, they have become my favorite scissors. And since I lost my multi-tasking little snips that I usually keep at my machine, I have been using them for just about everything that doesn't require a rotary cutter!

Calendar Quilts directions call for ironing all of your applique pieces down to the background, then quilting over the whole project. I did that on the first banner I made (February, because I got a late start), but I decided to follow Maureen's sample for April (with the umbrella and bright yellow rain boots) and did some free-motion quilting on the background before adding the applique. This was a great way to practice what I learned in Sarah Vedeler's Free Motion Quilting class without worrying about what I might do to a large quilt as I am learning. Again, this project is such a great size for practicing different quilting skills and nice for trying out different quilting designs. I wanted to mimic the flower shape in my quilting, so I made a template a bit larger than the flowers and traced around it on the background with a Chaco Liner. Then I just did continuous-line quilting over my markings connecting the flowers to each other with a little curly-que. And, hey! Sarah's class must have paid off because they turned out pretty good!

To stitch the applique in place, I used my zig-zag stitch on the branches and birdhouse and double blanket stitch around the birds to help them "pop". I even used variegated thread (a really forgiving tool!) on the flowers to soften the look of the stitches. On my leaves, I just used a longer straight stitch 1/4" inside the edge and up the center to give the look of veins. I lifted the edges off the background to help the leaves look like they are fluttering in a breeze. See, you can do all kinds of things with these "fabric pictures" to make them uniquely yours!

To finish off my wall hanging, I dug through my now unused boxes of scrapbooking supplies and found some metal elements that added a few nice little details to the birdhouse. I used a loopy brad to "hang" my birdhouse (see below) from the branch and a large grommet to frame the bird's front door (see above in the yellow birds photo).

I am so happy with my completed March quilt (even though I finished it in April!). Better late than never, right? I had fun making the design, enjoyed using scraps from some of my favorite fabrics, and loved adding my own personal touches (like bright yellow birds). I took a couple of evenings and part of a weekend to make my banner (two kids cause for a lot of interruptions!), but most quilters could easily finish each project in a day. The wall hanging is now up near our front door to welcome guests when they arrive. And the little yellow birds make me feel very cheerful every time I walk by.

More Information:

This project is great for beginners, but fun for everyone. You can pick up your own Calendar Quilts pattern is our shop, or find Calendar Quilts online if you are one of our Far-Away Friends.

Friday Night Fever Sit and Sew takes place at Cozy Quilt Shop on the fourth Friday of every month. The cost is $20 and includes your dinner, a place to sew, and a whole lot of fun. You can sign up anytime.

Cozy Breakfast Club is full for the current year, but keep an eye out this winter about next year's projects and for sign ups.

 

 

Building Blocks Month #1: Hammer & Nails

Post by Andrea Paden

Today I'm talking about a new program here at Cozy Quilt Shop. It's called "Building Blocks with Sharyn Craig"! Building Blocks is a monthly program designed by the one and only Sharyn Craig. But is isn’t just a matter of making one block each month (which is a wonderful, minimal obligation plan anyway), it’s about challenging yourself to make a block the way you want to make it - branching out, and seeing what happens.  Join me in making these fun, easy to piece blocks and follow along as I share some of my experiences.

I have been so excited about making my own Building Blocks! I enjoy Sharyn's teaching and design style so much and I knew that this would be a really fun project to do throughout the year. Her patterns are written well, very organized and easy to understand. And whether you are a beginner like me, or an experienced quilter, that is a good thing.

Getting Ready to Build

Building Blocks kits come in 5 different colorways - Black & White, Red, White & Blue, Red & Green, Brights, and Pastels. I chose to use the Brights as I haven't done any projects in bold colors yet and I thought it would be good for me to branch out. Before I even opened my kit bag, I flipped through Sharyn's Welcome Handout (you should ask for one when you buy your first block - we include them with your 1st Building Block web order) and was relieved to read that I didn't have to make my block with templates. That was not my favorite part of my Intro. to Quilting class - I'd rather just use my rotary cutter.

I picked a white-on-white fabric to use as my background fabric. Following Sharyn's advice, I went ahead and got 2 yards (you can always find use for a white-on-white!) to use for the background and any borders I might want to add later.

Before I started cutting, I made a few copies of the block from the cover image on my Hammer & Nails pattern from my desktop printer at home to make some sample designs.

When I was ready to pick which colored fabric would go into the block design in each place, I got a glass of iced tea and turned on Oprah, got out my kid's colored pencils and went to work on some making some different color options.

  
 
Once I got a block design that I was happy with, I went to work cutting, then piecing. I've noticed I can get very frustrated when I am piecing - I might be a little bit of a perfectionist. But once that block starts to take shape, I get a wonderful feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment! And it even ended up being the right size! Here's what I ended up with:

 
Sharyn mentioned a great organization tip in her Handout: making a special box to keep all of your Building Blocks stuff throughout the year. It reminded me of those cool organization shows where they dump all your stuff on the driveway, go through it and put it all back neat and tidy. I love it! So I found a clear storage box I bought at Target and that is my new Building Blocks Box! I put my tip sheet, Month 1 kit and leftover fabric, and my completed block inside for storage until I get my next kit. I even put the leftover fabric right in the plastic bag for the Month 1 pattern to keep the box from becoming a mess.

 

Designing my own block was a lot of fun. I like being able to pick which fabric and/or colors to emphasize and what shapes to create. That's not something you get to do much in an everyday pattern. I'm already looking forward to February 1 when I can get my next kit! I wonder what those fabrics will look like? 

If you haven't gotten your own Building Blocks kit or pattern for Month 1, there's still time! Come in to the shop, call or go online to CozyQuilt.com Kits Page. You can also buy the Building Block Patterns alone if you want to use your own fabric for these blocks. And we offer Building Blocks in an Auto-Ship system! Just call the shop to be added to the list and we'll ship your kit or pattern after the 1st of each month - no need to order everytime!

Fresh Flower Art Class

Post by Andrea Paden

You’ve gotta love a class with a Supply List that includes fresh flowers and a hammer, but no sewing machine! Oh yeah, ear plugs are optional. I am talking, of course, about a Fresh Flower art class I took at Cozy.  Or, as we like to call it, a Flower Pounding class. What I liked best about this class is that anyone can do it! You don’t have to be a quilter. You don’t even have to know how to sew at all. As long as you can swing a hammer, you can make something beautiful and have a blast doing it. I think it would be especially refreshing, say, for Mom’s with misbehaving children, disgruntled employees, irritated housewives, and anyone who may just be having a bad day. All that pounding with a hammer really gets those frustrations out! When I first saw the examples for our Fresh Flower Art Quilt class, I was ready to sign up immediately. These small sized art quilts looked so beautiful and different from anything else I have seen and my artsy-fartsy background kicked into high gear! I was also attracted to the fact that these are smaller sized projects and so not as intimidating to me as a full-sized quilt. In fact, you can make Fresh Flower Art Quilts in any size you like. You have full control. You really don’t even have to make them into a quilt. You can frame or display your finished piece without adding a backing or binding. You can make pictures to hang on the wall, cards to give away, pillows, or, if you choose, use these unique creations for various blocks to be sewn into a special quilt.Our class had people from all different walks of life and all different skill and experience levels. Just a sampling of our group included Jolene, a stay-at-home-Mom and former teacher new to quilting; Loretta, an experienced quilter; and Mary, an artist who does not quilt at all.
Our teacher was Peggy Caballero, a lovely and charming lady who gets you going with the basics and then just lets you go for it! Because the class can get a little loud, she suggests ear plugs or cotton balls to block the sound. And to get your attention after all that pounding begins, she just waves a “white flag” of fabric. The whole process is really very simple, but it was great to be in a group setting to learn this technique and see the results that everyone gets from their flowers. Everyone including Peggy brought different kinds of flowers from their yard or from a store and we all just shared around. It was so interesting to see how different flowers stained the fabric. Some that we all thought would work great just didn’t, and some we were sure wouldn’t give off much color turned out to produce the brightest results.

  
I don’t know if it was the fact that this class is just plain noisy or that there’s no pressure to sew a straight line…  but everybody in this class had a great time! It was so enjoyable to hammer away at these delicate flowers and end up with such pretty little images.

 
This technique would be a great one to learn and share with kids of all ages. How much fun would it be to spend a summer day outside with the kids pounding flowers? They would love it! You could make tote bags for the beach, park or school, custom t-shirts or bandanas. It would make a great project to include Dad in on as well. After all, it does require a hammer!If you aren’t using a pretreated fabric off the bolt for your project (we carry some in the shop), then you might want to investigate this terrific resource, Flower Pounding by Ann Frischkorn & Amy Sandrin to learn how to treat your own fabric so it holds the color and stands up to delicate washing better. This book is also our teacher’s favorite resource – she still refers to it even after 9 years of pounding! My favorite image is of the skateboarder. See, you can make colorful images with flowers and they don’t have to be just for girls!

Towards the end of class, we got instructions on how to add a few finishing touches to our art to create detail and enhance the colors we have created, and Voila! You have a Fresh Flower Art Quilt! What a unique item to decorate your home with or give to a friend. It takes a fraction of the time and expense that making an entire quilt takes, but is so elegant that it would be treasured by any recipient.

You can use flowers to create various shapes with templates. Peggy has made lots of different shapes including vases, cats, and even a seahorse. Fresh Flower Art Quilts, 2 will be given here at the shop in July for any students who have already taken the first class and want to create a larger project from start to finish while learning more advanced Flower Art techniques.

If you are interested in the Fresh Flower Art Class, Level 1, you can find information and class times on our website. Fresh Flower Art Quilts, 2 is best taken after attending the Level 1 class. 

Six Early Lessons in Sewing

Raw Edges:  The Diary of a Clumsy Quilter  by Andrea Paden

March 16, 2010

Last night, I completed my first sewing project! And even though it isn’t a quilt, I sure feel a sense of accomplishment. I actually sewed something together and it didn’t fall apart. Hooray for me! And in just this one small sewing project, I learned six important lessons that have given me a great beginning education to the world of quilting.

What did I make if it wasn’t a quilt? Well, I guess you may know that I spend quite a bit of time in the shop so I see lots of fun things to sew. I recently brought home my new Bernina 240 and I was itching for a project to break it in. So I got the idea to make my Mom something for her upcoming birthday. Who wouldn’t love a handmade project from their daughter? But… (sigh) a quilt still seems a bit more than I am ready to wrestle.

 
Then I saw our sample for Jan Hayman’s latest BFF class. [BFF stands for Bags for Fun and Fashion] What a cute handbag! Lots of pockets. My Mom loves handbags. I was pretty sure that was something I could tackle, especially if it was taught in a class. I figured I could get some basic sewing skills under my belt to help my quilting, too. And if I made a bag for myself in class, I would be less apt to mess up my Mom’s birthday gift! So I signed myself up.

 
As with most education, if you are ready to learn, you usually get more from the experience than you expected. And with this purse project, I sure learned a lot of great things.

Before my class started, I got the supply list and learned that we should purchase, cut and fuse our fabric beforehand to get a jump start. Fuse? Uh-oh. I had no idea what that meant. Luckily, I work in a quilt shop! There’s always someone around to ask for help.

Lesson #1 – Fusing is the process of applying an interfacing product (like Pellon Fusible Fleece) to your fabric for added support to the finished project. The interfacing is ironed to the wrong side of the fabric with the right side of the fabric facing up to prevent burning the interfacing.

So I bought some PFF. Then it was time for the fun part – picking out my fabric.

Lesson #2 – Buy fabric you love. It’s one of the best parts of quilting!

This was one of the first pieces of advice I ever got in the shop. Since day one, I have heard many customers and quilters repeat it. If you don’t love the fabric, you probably won’t love the finished project, right? I have seen fabrics in the shop that I love since the day I started, and I finally had a chance to use some! I have always been drawn to Art Gallery fabrics with their bold, colorful graphic prints and their unique fabric texture. So that was the first place I looked. I chose Spellbound with a dark navy blue background because it had some accent colors I liked and I thought a darker-colored bag would be best for a mom-on-the-go like me. Then I was ready to prep for class.

 
I got everything home and opened up the pattern to get started. Background fabric, check. Pocket fabric, check. Lining fabric, check. Cutting instructions, check. Ready to follow the pattern for the initial sewing and fusing before class (I was always a good student). First line of the pattern… and I’m already stumped. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I read it over and over and it isn’t any clearer. I know I am an intelligent woman, but I just don’t get it! I have only learned a little about quilting/sewing so far but it really seems wrong. So, fine. I give in and just do what it says even though it still doesn’t make sense. I have to be prepared for class. But I don’t go any further because I figure if I did this wrong, I’ll have to fix it before I move on.
 
Lesson #3 – Trust your knowledge. Patterns are written by people, and people are not perfect.

I guess you know where this is going. I got to class early and showed Jan my first piece, sewn as the instructions described, with Wrong Sides Together (uh-huh WST!) Of course that wasn’t right, Jan confirmed. That would put my seam on the outside of the bag. How silly. We re-read the instructions over together and sure enough, first line of the pattern has a typo. I knew it! Well, at least I brought my seam ripper.

Lesson #4 – Sewers and quilters are some of the friendliest people around.

 
The vintage Singer pictured above belongs to Rosemary. I asked her about it because it just looks so pretty. She bought it just recently because it was made the same year she was born, 1947. We spent some time talking about her sewing machine, her family, and other things. And as I’ve noticed often happens with quilters and sewers, you can feel like you have a new friend in just a few minutes. What a lovely lady.

Class went on, and although we didn’t finish our handbags that night, we got more than half way done. It was a lot of fun for me to see the different fabrics everyone chose. Here are a few for you to see.

     
After class, I had to bring my project to the shop to show the ladies what I had started. They are so supportive and as we were going over what I had left to do, Diane suggested a few things to me.

Lesson #5 – Show off your work! Quilters and sewers are such supportive people and they have fabulous ideas and suggestions if you are open to them.

I still needed to sew up the lining and sew on a button for the top closure. Diane looked at my fabric and button and suggested I layer two buttons together instead of one. How cute! I like the contrasting colors even better than with one alone. And when I mentioned being nervous about hand-stitching up the lining to finish the bag, she mentioned how she just makes a tiny fold and sews it right on the machine. It ends up on the inside-bottom and is so small it’s hardly seen. Perfect solution for me! Thanks, Diane.

Lesson #6 – Make what you want, how you want it.

This is my favorite lesson because I made it up myself! As I was admiring my own work, studying my fabulous new purse, I realized I had covered an awful lot of the fabric I loved with four big pockets on the outside per the instructions. I ended up with nine pockets on the inside of the bag. Now, I have a lot of stuff to carry, but not that much stuff. Did I really need all four outside pockets? Nope! So I ripped two of them off! Now my project is complete! So what that it’s not identical to the pattern. It’s just the way I want it which makes it just right for me.

 
And that’s how life should be, shouldn’t it? Just the way we want it. Another great lesson for me to learn. Now that I have finished my handbag and learned these valuable lessons in sewing, I think I just might be ready to make a quilt!

[If you would like to find out about our BFF classes, check our Classes & Clubs menu on Cozyquilt.com!]

Witches Summit

At our first annual witches summit, cackling echoed the hall. Followed by laugher... then the sound of eating!  Then laugher again  What a good time!

The witches cauldron was not scary at all!  With Teresa dressed up as an elf, she very nicely offered saving coupons to our festive guest.

 

The star of the witching hour was our very own Broomhilda. Pictured here with Sharreen. With the ugliest face, you've ever seen, her piercing laugh startled many a unguarded shopper. Broomhilda was the spark of our whole witches summit, so without her, there would have been no boil, toil or trouble.

Here Broomhilda poses with young and the restless witches. (Jenna and Kathy.)

As you know, my happy quilter, success is in the details.... Here are the stockings (and the SHOES! check out Kathy's platforms!) Wearing horizontal stripped tights... now that's spirit!... Kathy, watch for falling houses!

Here is the profile of Broomhilda the ugly.

For a polar opposite.... look at these eyelashes on Kathy!

Janice dressed has a Biker's Witch! (isn't that too funny!?)

Again, it's all in the details... Janice embroidered those rose flames and added them to her witches hat, then finished off the rim with flame fabric.

And check out the shoes... those are really her boots. No costume here. Aren't they great!?

Finally we have the Hot Witch and the Head Witch. Jenna poses with me... This is one of my favorite photos! Do you think it is too weird for our family Christmas card :-)

To round out the day, we have this classic shot of the witches hat adorned with a fabulous orange boa. It's that clever?

And while she didn't dress in her woolen wicken robe, Jeri did bring us a spider bread to share. Yum!

So, my pretties, if you missed it, too bad you... but we'll try to do it again next year. Because, as you might could tell... it was too much fun!

Market Fun- People and Booths

  
A good friend said to me, "Will you please post something new to your blog?? I'm tired of looking at that car trunk."  So, Jenny, here you are. :-)

I was just looking over my pictures from our recent trip to International Quilt Market....  What a good time.... and great pictures... check it out.

First we set up the booth, then we walked around and checked out the other booths. 

Then we set up for something called Sample Spree. If you don't know sample spree, it is amazing!  In a room far away from the big booths, we set up these little tables to sell the new stuff.  We have fun and it is the fastest hours that I've ever worked.  ......

... but the real stars of Sample Spree are the fabric companies that put out advanced lines that won't be on the market for month.  And the star of the stars is Moda!  The picture above of Andie and Kathy is before it all started when it is calm and relaxed. On the other side of red doors many an anxious shopper wait in line... some for HOURS to be the first to rush in and charge the Moda table.  It's an amazing thing to see... I used my handy Canon to capture that first rush. ... then I put it into a video so you can really see what I mean. :-)  The funny part is that many of those women are quilt shop owners who see new fabric all of the time! But there is something about Sample Spree that turns these normal women into crazed shoppers!

 

At Sample Spree we always see some of our friends... here is our Jacqueline from BeColourful... and she is!  Don't you love that quilt behind her? Me too... more on that later.....

Here is another candid of a fun loving woman enjoying a little personal shopping time at Sample Spree on an otherwise business related trip. Look at that smile. :-)  She is actually a good friend named Shelli. ... and her market buddy is....

....Susan Nelson!  Susan was kind enough to pose for me in front of her very stunning original work that was on display at the Quilts Exhibit!  Susan designed, appliqued and quilted that work of art. The picture just doesn't do it enough justice. You may not know Susan for her stunning masterpieces... but I bet you DO know her for......

 

... her fabulous Fun and Done technique from her pattern company Prairie Sky Quilting!  We've done some of her quilt-as-you-go at Cozy  (such as the Feathered Flowers project below.)  And now we are please to show off her latest creation, the Eye Catcher! 

It's a totally awesome idea. It is a way to keep your classes safe protected, and stylin.. it is perfect for the bedside, by the computer, in the sewing room or anywhere classes get tossed! And this quilted project would be a great Christmas present!  Again, it is called the Eye Catcher and, indeed, we have it!  

 

The day after sample spree, the show officially opened.

 

    
 

 

Luckily we were close to the Moda booth where Kathy and Andie were ready for their close up....

and where we got an up close and personal view of some of the terrific projects who's patterns are all FREE and available on ModaBakeShop.com

 

  

 

On one of my ventures out of the booth I ran into Me and My Sister autographing copies of their latest book, Still Crazy for Baby.

We had a couple of other celebrity sightings, including Alex Anderson and Elinor Peace Bailey.. but alas I did not have my handy camera.  But here is a shameless paparazzi shot of Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts!  We picked up her entire fabric and batik line for the spring!  It is beautiful!!

Now let me finish with some of the hottest lines from Quilt Market

First, Disney fabrics (shipping early next year) from David Textiles.

 

And finally, Chirp! from Robert Kaufman, also coming out next year. Too Cute!

 

A trunk show... literally

I just had to share this image.... As I was walking out of our Strip Club presentation on Monday, Debbee was about to give a trunk show. Literally!

It was too priceless to pass up!  Thank goodness I had my trusty Canon with me!