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I'm off Saturday to Kingsville to teach my class "Quilting with Rulers for Domestic Sewing Machines" with the wonderful members of the Erie Shores Quilters Guild and just thought I would share an excellent resource with my readers.
The resource I am speaking about is a fantastic book by Amanda Murphy called "Rulerwork Quilting Idea Book" I am excited about this book and recommending it because it contains 59 Outline Designs that can be done with rulers and then filled with Free Motion Quilting.. This book is both for the domestic and long arm quilter. 
I was reading it over and utilizing it to discuss ideas with my class and I think it's a great comprehensive book that everyone should have if they are serious about using rulers for quilting. I will certainly recommend it in all of my classes!
See the contents of the book below to see what I am talking about. 
This book covers just about every ruler shape with so many design ideas to expand upon, it is very inspiring. Amanda also discusses all types/brands of rulers, the very common shapes and how to plan your quilt with ruler work. See some photos from the contents of the book below:
The pictures alone do not do this book justice, I ordered it from Amazon and believe me, I am not disappointed and I would recommend it to my students and anyone passionate about making their quilting precise and beautiful! As you can see below, this book is very affordable at $25.69, spiral bound and easy to refer to while you are working on your quilt. Where to get this awesome book? Click on the photo below:  
I am hoping to share some photos of my student work next week, check back to see what creative ideas they have, I am sure there will be an abundance of them!
Have a lovely weekend and Happy Friday?
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That is right crayons!!! They are a tool I personally use combined with quilting, last Thursday I showed you a photo montage of quilts completed with an abundance of crayon work and yes I use crayola crayons exclusively because the colour is vivid, gives off very little residue and is colour fast after washing (all with heat setting, this is a must, please keep reading for how to do this). I do not recommend other brands as I have tried others and they do not have the same quality results.
See photo montage of my quilts below: 
Hot Summer Fun featured on the Front Cover of Quilters Connection Magazine Summer 2016 Technique -Crayon Applique and Machine Piecing
My most recent crayon appliqué mini project is shown below:
Turning to the Sun - technique Using Fabric Transfer Pens, Crayon Appliqué and thread painted outlining
The above mini project was made for a recent demo I was asked to do for a local quilt shop.
How to do Crayon Appliqué? That is the Question
1. Find an image and transfer the design onto 100% cotton fabric (light coloured cotton background is recommended). See blog post here about pens for transfer design purposes. Colouring books with designs and web designs are everywhere but please be aware of copyright. Crayola also has some free colouring pages here
2. Tape your fabric with the transferred design to a hard surface (use masking tape) 3. Colour with crayola crayons, press as hard as you like and go over your colouring until you get the intensity of colour you want. 4. Once you are satisfied with the completed colouring, remove your design from the surface and place it on your ironing board. 5. Place 2 layers of paper towel on top of your design, coloured side facing upwards. 6. Press with an iron on cotton setting (no steam) hold for about 20 seconds. lift up the paper towel to see if there is residue from the crayons, if there is, get another 2 fresh layers of paper towel and press again for 20 seconds until there is no residue showing. (CAUTION: DO NOT MOVE YOUR IRON, PRESS ONLY). If you have used a lot of crayon, you may need to repeat this process, I usually only have to do it twice. 7. Sandwich your quilt or apply your design to whatever project you wish, the colour is now imbedded into the cotton fabric, crayola crayons are colour fast as long as you do not expose them to strong sun light and don't use harsh chemicals to clean with. You can also sew through the coloured area with no wax residue on sewing machine needles. 8. There you have it, enjoy working with this wonder tool! Who knew a child's colouring tool invented in 1903 could work for quilting? Get the Crayola Ultimate Crayon Collection with 152 Colours in a durable Caddy Case with a Sharpener below:
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
If you try this technique, please send us a photo of your work we would be happy to share and post! Have a Happy Thursday!? 
Last week I talked about the cool and trendy kerchief bibs. Some new moms also like the classic bibs that actually come down further on the babies chest, they are especially great as your child gets bigger and longer in the torso. So today, I am sharing this free pattern download. See some pictures below of the bibs I have made and made ready packaged for gift giving:
I have made matching pacifier clips and will share this pattern next Wednesday, so please check back with us. The bib and the pacifier clip make a great customized combo gift. Not like anything you can purchase in a store and much better quality if you purchase great quality cotton and lining materials.
How to Make the Classic Baby Bib
Look at your snap options below, sew many ideas:
      
Bright Idea! Add rick rack for a girls bib- see this blog post here 
I hope you have a great Wednesday!
I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Victoria Day weekend in Canada and viewing of the Royal Wedding! It was quite something! So much love shown at that wedding!! Speaking of love, I am just sharing today what I have been working on lately. It is a different kind of love, my quilting and sewing but it is still a passion of mine and for "some light entertainment" below if a photo montage of my recent pursuits.  "Moon Glow" quilt made by Ruth, I was long arm quilting it- it's compete now  Working with these cute little mini canning jar blocks for some fun sewing  Used the mini canning jar blocks to make a canning jar quilt for my youngest daughter Mallory to hang in their apartment kitchen. It was a UFO but it is now complete  Made this very sturdy tote bag with hexies and Peltex, just a small project as I need a tote bag -very cool technique!  Deb's Quilt "Whales Tails" Custom quilted with waves and bubbles, stitch in the ditch around appliqués and straight lines to show movement with the tails That's the end for now, on to other inspiring projects.
I really love what I am doing and am honoured to work with such great colour and design! Thanks to all my wonderful customers and family (who tolerate my hand made gifts!) Happy Tuesday! 😊 
I know I have blabbed on about these transfer pens in the past however, if you want to make a quilt or project with a specific appliqué or design motif and you need help transferring a design they work perfectly and you can easily transfer any design to cotton with these pens. Images are everywhere on the internet and in colouring books, magazines etc. A recent graphic I used recently is shown below:
Once the design is transferred to cotton, you can then stitch on to your hearts desire!
See my previous tutorial about how I have used these pens in the past here These pens have become my go to design transferring pens. You can find these pens below in a 4 pack for $19.00 CDN not bad works out to less than $5.00 each.
Another type of pen you can use as well are fabric markers to transfer designs
You will need:
How to do this:
The fabric markers I use are shown below and they are also very effective, they are approximately $24.99 for a package of 10 ($2.50 per pen). " Money Well Spent" as they say.  
If you have either of these two types of pens at your disposal, you can transfer any design and the design possibilities for custom projects are limitless!
A gallery of projects I have done and used either the Sulky Iron-on Transfer Pens or the Fabric Fun Fabric Markers are shown below. These pens were used to transfer the designs only!
The Crayon work on these quilts is a whole other blog post and stay tuned for a tutorial on that in the near future!!
Happy Thursday! Keep your Sun Glasses on! ☀️
Kerchief bibs are sew easy! They take 5 minutes to cut up, 5 minutes to sew and 5 minutes to place a snap or closure. That's only 15 minutes for the entire thing! Straight sewing only needed and very little fabric.
You can add fancy snaps as I did but if you don't have a snap setter, add some velcro, it's readily available and easy to sew in. These bibs are trending right now as new mom's like how different they look than a traditional bib. 
Bibs made ready for gift giving
I have made lots of them!
Pretty pearlized snaps help to add colour and easy closures to these bibs. The Snap Setter www.snapsource.com/snaps/snap-sets/pearl-snap-sets/ is my go to tool for putting on snaps for all of my projects, I highly recommend it. This makes it easy to add snaps to your project with just a small "ladies" hammer.
What you will need to make your kerchief bib:
Kerchief Bib for Babies- Free Pattern Download click here or click on the shop tab above and free patterns A Fat quarter or less of 100% cotton fabric A small piece of flannel or minky for a soft lining against the baby snaps or velcro thread to match How to make the kerchief bib: Cut out the pattern from the free pattern download Cut one of outside cotton Cut one of lining Sew 1/4" from the edge with both fabrics right side together, leave a 2" gap for turning Clip curves and turn to the right side Use a turning tool to smooth edges and press Slip stitch gap closed by hand recommended Top stitch 3/8" from the edge of the bib Use velcro or snaps for closure at marked neck area Make more... they take no time at all and admire your efforts. Stack a few up and wrap them for a very useful gift. 
My sweet grandson Eli with one of his bibs!
I think Eli likes his kerchief bib!
Happy Wednesday!?
As most people who are blog followers and readers know these days people who promote creativity and many other topics of the world wide web actively market products in order for their websites to be sponsored. This is so that they can keep their websites funded and up and running as a minimum. It is also a source of income and let's face it we all need to find a way to finance living. There is no free ride these days. At least not unless a miracle is bestowed on you!
Recently, I was asked by Accuquilt to be an affiliate marketer with them because they are wanting to promote their product on Canadian websites and get it out to Canadian quilters that they have this great quilt cutting system. After some research and testing of their products and review of their website, I decided Accuquilt is a company who I can support and endorse as it is: 1) great quality and 2) It makes cutting quilt fabric much easier and faster for quilters To look at what I am talking about check it out below: 
Stay tuned for some exciting projects I will be working on with the accuquilt Go Baby quilt cutting system in the very near future!
Happy Tuesday! As some of you know, in the past 4 years or so, some significant things have happened in my life. One of those significant life changes is that I have moved closer to family. My sister who has retired (around about the same time I moved), has decided to learn to sew with particular focus to quilting projects. Yeah! is what I say to that!! We have another quilter on the planet and that's just perfect! We quilters do nothing more than enhance the world with our positive productivity. An added bonus is that my sister Alison and I get much more time together with stitch ripping and upside down mistakes that come with beginning to learn and tons of laughter!! I smile just thinking about it. Today, I decided to feature some of the projects my sister has recently embarked on. She is off to the races as they say and really challenging herself to try some new projects on her own without my help. I am showing some pictures of her work below:  Our mom Linda holding a log cabin lap quilt that Alison has made The above picture is my mother holding a log cabin quilt that Alison gave her for Mothers Day, all pieced basted, machine quilted and bound by Alison all by herself!  Alison's Table Runners Above is a picture of the table runners Alison custom made for her sewing centre without using a pattern!. She wanted something to add colour to her sewing room and to protect her sewing surface.  Alison's Hexi Tote Bags The above are tote bags Alison has made from the pattern Honeycomb Handbags shown below:  Alison showed these bags to a quilt shop in her area recently and has been asked to teach a class, she is so organized and creative that she will do a fantastic job!  Alison's "ruler bag" Above is another picture of a ruler bag Alison has made with fabric and vinyl (no pattern). Most of these items she has made in the last few weeks. WOW is all I can say! I hope all you beginners out there are inspired! You can do this too!
A mere 3 years ago Alison sewed on her sewing machine for the first time. She has come a long way with her quilting and sewing skills! Way to go Alison!! Alison has also agreed to do some guest feature blog writing for me as well in the near future. Stay tuned ! Happy Monday! Enjoy this gorgeous weather!😊
I should have posted this friday but it's never to late to watch classes about things that you enjoy and are passionate about. If you want to have an indulgent day today on Mothers Day, feel free to watch them Free at Craftsy,com.
Happy Mother's Day to you.
I sincerely hope you enjoy your day! |
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Welcome!Hi I'm Robin and I am a professional long arm quilter, pattern designer and teacher. I am passionate about all things quilty! Sponsors
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