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FREE Project – Origami Drawstring Bag
Quick class update – the Color Tools & Color Confidence Zoom class is coming up this Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. Click here to register through Lakeshore Sewing. đ Interested in other Zoom classes? Check out the Upcoming Zoom Classes page on this site. Hope to see you soon! And now to the FREE PROJECT! This […]
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FREE Project – Festive Holiday Coasters
Hello again, everyone! As some of you know, I went through a cancer scare this fall, and had my hands more than full with doctor visits and subsequent surgery a couple of weeks ago. But I am thrilled to report that my final biopsies came back negative & I’m getting my groove back! I have […]
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Machine Quilting with a Serpentine Stitch
This is a slightly expanded version of a post previously published on the Cotton Cuts blog in September 2021. Iâll say one thing about the global pandemic: I think Iâve done more sewing and quilting in the past year and a half than in the previous 10 years! Seriously, my sewing machine has been a […]
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Finishing Spree! Quick Bindings That Mimic the Look of Hand-Sewn
I like to have lots of different projects going at different stages at the same time, so I always have something interesting to work on. But sometimes there’s a bottleneck, and I have a bunch of projects that are all at the same step. That’s what has been happening to me lately – a pile-up […]
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Finishing Spree! Finish with a Facing
A quick note before we dive into facings – I have 3 more Zoom classes coming up soon: âEasy & Effective Machine Quilting with a Walking Foot – Sat., April 17 & 24, 2021; 10 am – 1 pm âIt’s All About the Thread – Thurs., April 29, 2021; 6 – 8 pm âColor Tools […]
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Wicked Weaver & My New Favorite Product
The October Java Batiks box from Cotton Cuts and the Midnight Bite Sew Along (#MidnightBiteSAL) from Lillyella Stitchery offered me a fun opportunity to go outside my comfort zone this month. The Midnight Bite pattern bundle has 3 sizes of each of two different patterns – a bat and a spider. I opted to make […]
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Finishing Spree – Take Wing, Foundation Piecing, & Mixing Quilting Methods
A quick note: my fall online teaching schedule is up! In addition to repeating a couple of my most-requested classes, I’ve got some brand-new classes to share with you all. đ And now to the topic at hand – foundation piecing (also called foundation paper piecing) is a great technique for achieving precise piecing and […]
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Finishing Spree – Flange Binding by Machine
What is a flange binding? It’s a great no-hand-sewing option for finishing quilts with a sturdy double fold binding while adding a fun design element to the outer edges of your quilt. With only a few exceptions, Iâve always bound my quilts by sewing the binding to the front of the quilt by machine, and […]
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Finishing Spree – Quilting with Decorative Stitches
Now that I’m participating in at least four new sew-alongs over the next few months, my finishing-spree is more important that ever! This time, I’d like to share yet another machine quilting option – quilting with the decorative stitches that are built into your sewing machine. My observations & recommendations:
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A Comfy & Easy-to-Make Pillow Lounger
I love to sit on the floor with William (age 3) and Emilia (age 1) and play, but I sure don’t love trying to get up again. Nor am I impressed with how hard the floor feels after a while. Given that and also knowing how much fun the little ones have falling/jumping/snuggling into pillows, […]
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Experiments in Binding – Changing the Width
In a previous post, I started experimenting with sewing quilt binding on the back of the quilt and then bringing it around to the front and appliquĂ©ing it down by machine (instead of sewing it to the front of the quilt, wrapping it around, and hand-stitching it on the back of the quilt). I felt […]
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How to Sew a Decorative Pillow Cover with an Invisible Zipper
I’m planning to put my new Baby Lock Jazz through its paces by testing how it performs while making a series of different projects. I’m starting with decorative pillow covers with invisible zippers. If you’d like to make a pillow cover of your own, here is what you’ll need: square pillow form to cover (or […]
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Experiments in Binding – Bringing the Binding From the Back to the Front
In my last post, I started a sewing/quilting experiment by doing things a little differently than I normally would. (1) I sewed the binding first to the back of the quilt (in the past, I’ve always sewed the binding to the front first) (2) I purposely planned to have the binding finish at 1/4″ wide […]
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Experiments in Binding – Sewing the Binding to the Back of the Quilt First
After taking some time away from my sewing machine to focus on getting the Lakeshore Sewing Creative Quarterly ready for the printer, I’m back in business. đ I’m ready to bind my newest incarnation of Cascade from Colorwash Bargello Quilts. I’ve always bound my quilts by sewing the binding to the front of the quilt by […]
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A No Hand-Sewing Method for Adding a Hanging Sleeve to a Quilt
The quilting on my newest Colorwash Bargello quilt is finished! It actually only took me about 2 1/2 hours cumulatively to complete the all-over free-motion quilting, but I had to break the time up into smaller increments so as to not overtax my body – taking into account MS, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, chronic […]
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Colorwash Bargello – Free-Motion Quilting!
This is the eleventh in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. I am following the pattern for Cascade, the most beginner-friendly pattern from Colorwash Bargello Quilts. I’ve layered my quilt top, Hobb’s Heirloom Fusible Batting, and backing fabric, and fused the layers together. It’s a little unusual, but when I use fusible batting, I […]
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Colorwash Bargello – Choosing Thread for Free-Motion Quilting
This is the tenth in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. I am following the pattern for Cascade, the most beginner-friendly pattern from Colorwash Bargello Quilts. The quilt top is complete, and as I discussed in my previous post, I’ve decided to free-motion quilt this project. I’m raring to get started! I’m leaning […]
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Colorwash Bargello – Machine Quilting Options
This is the ninth in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. I am following the pattern for Cascade, the most beginner-friendly pattern from Colorwash Bargello Quilts. The quilt top is complete, and I’m considering my options for machine quilting the quilt top, batting, and backing together. There are no rules about how best […]
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Colorwash Bargello – Measuring & Sewing the Borders
This is the eighth in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. I am following the pattern for Cascade, the most beginner-friendly pattern from Colorwash Bargello Quilts. I’ve picked out my border and am ready to sew it on. When I first started quilting many, many years ago, I would just lay my border strip […]
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Colorwash Bargello – Auditioning Borders
This is the seventh in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. I am following the Cascade pattern from Colorwash Bargello Quilts. The body of the quilt top is complete, and now it is time for the border. When I teach quilting classes or workshops, I usually caution class participants to wait, […]
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Colorwash Bargello – Sewing the Vertical Rows
This is the sixth in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. I’m following the Cascade pattern from Colorwash Bargello Quilts. We’re on the home stretch! The vertical rows have all been numbered and are ready to sew. Just like before, I start with a small piece of “header” fabric in my […]
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Colorwash Bargello – Laying Out the Vertical Rows
This is the fifth in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. Now that my loops are all cut from the strip-pieced tubes (see previous post), I’m ready to open the loops up and lay out the bargello segments that form the vertical rows. This is exciting, as it will be the first […]
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Colorwash Bargello â Cutting the Bargello Segments
This is the fourth in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. Once you have your fabric sewn into tubes, it’s time to cut the bargello segments. There is a cutting chart for each project in Colorwash Bargello Quilts. I’m following the chart for Cascade here and am cutting my segments 1 […]
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Colorwash Bargello – Sewing & Pressing the Strip Sets
This is the third in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. Once you have your strips cut (each pattern in Colorwash Bargello Quilts tells you how many strips to cut – Cascade requires 2 strips of each fabric, each strip 2″ x 20-21″), it’s time to sew them together. Note: the […]
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Making a Bargello Quilt – Fabric Selection & Arrangement
This is the second in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. I spend two entire chapters discussing selecting a palette of fabrics and using color, value, and visual texture to help arrange them to maximum effect in my book Colorwash Bargello Quilts. I won’t try to repeat all of that here, […]
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Making a Bargello Quilt – Cascade
This is the first in a series of sew/quilt-along posts about making a bargello quilt. For a little more background information, you can check out my previous post, Colorwash Bargello. For this series, I’ll be referring to the Cascade pattern from my book Colorwash Bargello Quilts. If you don’t have the book or would rather […]
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Celtic Quilt to Celtic Pillow – Sewing Machine or Serger
The Celtic True Lovers’ Knot has been appliquĂ©d, quilted, and trimmed, and is now ready for the binding. This would allow you to use the completed piece as a wallhanging. I did consider a wallhanging – I especially liked how it looked when I hung it on point – but I already have several of […]
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Making a Celtic Quilt – Adding Additional Texture with Machine Quilting
This is the tenth in a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. The lines that form my Celtic and Celtic-style knotwork designs are formed by cutting bias strips of fabric and sewing them into tubes, which are then fused onto background fabric. For this project, I added […]
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Making a Celtic Quilt – Top Tips for (Invisible) Machine AppliquĂ©
This is the ninth in a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. The lines that form my Celtic and Celtic-style knotwork designs are formed by cutting bias strips of fabric and sewing them into tubes, which are then fuse-basted onto background fabric. You can choose to appliquĂ© the […]
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Making a Celtic Quilt – Preparing the Quilt “Sandwich”
This is the eighth in a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. The lines that form my Celtic and Celtic-style knotwork designs are formed by cutting bias strips of fabric and sewing them into tubes, which are then fuse-basted onto background fabric. You can choose to appliquĂ© the […]
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Making a Celtic Quilt – Adding Borders
This is the seventh in a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. The lines that form my Celtic and Celtic-style knotwork designs are formed by cutting bias strips of fabric and sewing them into tubes, which are then fuse-basted onto background fabric. You can choose to appliquĂ© […]
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Making a Celtic Quilt – “Basting” the AppliquĂ© Design
This is the sixth in a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. The lines that form my Celtic and Celtic-style knotwork designs are formed by cutting bias strips of fabric and sewing them into tubes, which are then fuse-basted onto background fabric. The fabric tubes have been […]
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Making a Celtic Quilt â Pressing the Bias Tubes
This is the fifth in a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. The lines that form my Celtic and Celtic-style knotwork designs are formed by cutting bias strips of fabric and sewing them into tubes, which are then fuse-basted and machine appliquĂ©d onto background fabric. The strips […]
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Making a Celtic Quilt – Sewing the Bias Strips
This is the fourth in a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. The lines that form my Celtic and Celtic-style knotwork designs are formed by cutting bias strips of fabric and sewing them into tubes, which are then machine appliquĂ©d onto background fabric. Your strips are all […]
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Making a Celtic Quilt – Cutting the Bias Strips
This is the third of a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. The lines that form my Celtic and Celtic-style knotwork designs are formed by cutting strips of fabric and sewing them into tubes. The first thing to decide is how wide you want your finished tubes of […]
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Making a Celtic Quilt – Fine-Tuning the Design & Preparing the Background
This is the second of a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. One of the first things you need to do is finalize your design choice and fine-tune it, if necessary. If you are using an original design or using a design from a source other […]
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Making a Celtic Quilt – Selecting Fabrics
This is the first of a series of posts that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating a Celtic Quilt. We’ll be creating the True Lover’s Knot, one of the beginner-friendly patterns from my book, Celtic Quilts: A New Look for Ancient Designs (pp. 36-29). Along the way, we’ll explore how to make […]
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Infinity Scarves – Sewn with a Serger or a Sewing Machine
Infinity scarves are one of my favorite sewn gifts to give or to receive – easy to make and easy to wear! The continuous loop means no worrying about the scarf sliding out of position or the scarf ends being blown right off your body in a passing breeze. There are many Infinity Scarf tutorials […]
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Folded Fabric Ornaments to Sew – Tutorial, Part 2
More Christmas in July! In my last post, I gave a step-by-step overview of the process of making the triangular ornament shown in the photo. I first stumbled across these lovely and unusual fabric ornaments on a post by Katrina, a sewist in New Zealand, at katrinastutorials.blogspot.com. The links below will take you to my saved […]
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Folded Fabric Ornaments to Sew – Tutorial, Part 1
Christmas in July! It’s not just an excuse for a sale – it’s when many of us start (if we haven’t already) sewing holiday gifts for our friends and family members. I first stumbled across these lovely and unusual fabric ornaments on a post by Katrina, a sewist in New Zealand, at katrinastutorials.blogspot.com. The links […]
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Fun with Fabric Paints
Getting started: Itâs important to think about how you expect to use your fabric. If you intend to create âart clothâ to mat and frame like a painting, or to serve as the main focal point of a quilt or wall hanging, your needs may be quite different than they would be if you intend […]
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Quick Tips for Making Color Theory Work for You
Do you ever struggle with something you are creating, just knowing that something is off or missing, but not sure what it is? Both from personal experience and from that as a long-time instructor, I find that quite often this has to do with color and value choices. Color theory to the rescue! But sometimes color […]
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Mosaic Fabric
Iâve always been fascinated with the interplay of color, value and visual texture of mosaics, especially those created by artists such as Sonia King. Back in 1997, a book called Machine Embroidery: Stitched Patterns by Valerie Campbell-Harding was published by Quiltersâ Resource Inc. The cover photos fascinated me â mosaics in fabric! There wasnât a […]
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Machine Quilting FAQ & Top Tips
Hereâs another post dealing with FAQ â this time specifically related to using a sewing machine for quilting. For the time being, Iâm avoiding the topic of which threads I recommend; weâll save that for another day! Do you work by hand or by machine? The short answer is both. I almost always use a […]
