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Archive for the ‘Projects’ Category

Have You Considered a Retrospective of Your Work?

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

Have you thought about a retrospective of your, your student’s or your customer’s work? It’s a great way to showcase the work. In the Fall issue of The Professional Quilter, Gloria Hansen shared what it took to create the retrospective of her work. Here are some highlights in an excerpt from her article:

Over the years that I’ve been creating quilts, I’ve kept photos, notes, sketches and various records of nearly everything I’ve made and been involved with. This summer I took the time to compile a good deal of it into a retrospective book of my work that I titled Gloria Hansen: An Evolution in Stitches, Paint & Pixels. It’s the type of project I wholeheartedly recommend that you consider doing for yourself as a way to not only document your work (your business, etc.), but to get perspective and appreciation for your personal journey.

  1. First, determine what you want to include. I first created a loose outline and used a calendar to chart out what I hoped to finish by when.
  2. Next, gather your images and write your story.
  3. To create a professionally printed, high-quality book, I recommend using a print-on-demand (POD) service. I selected Blurb, which offers various tools for book creation. You’ll find links to a step-by-step video tutorial along with tips, tutorials and updates within a getting-started guide (all of which require you to be online), which I recommend looking at.
  4. Of paramount importance to the success any type of portfolio book is the quality of the images. Besides starting with good photographs, you can take extra steps to ensure it will print the way you intend. If you have any trouble getting a printed image to closely match what you see on your monitor, you will need to calibrate your monitor.
  5. Once your book is finished, and especially if you do the layout yourself, it’s extremely important to proof it. Don’t just rely on yourself. Have a couple of people read it for typos and look at the layout for anything that looks off.

To quote from the closing of my book, “…documenting my artwork gave me a deep appreciation for what I have experienced and accomplished, gratitude to those who helped me and motivation to carry on.” I invite you to my website (www.gloriahansen.com) to learn more about it, and I also again encourage you to consider writing and publishing your own story.

If you have experience creating a written retrospective, please leave your comments below.

Book Review: Pieced Hexies

Sunday, January 20th, 2013

Pieced Hexies2

Pieced Hexies: A New Tradition in English Paper Piecing by Mickey Depre

Kansas City Star Quilts; $26.95

Everything old is new again, and that applies to quilting, too. For those of us who’ve been quilting for decades, we’ve seen the resurgence of a variety of techniques. And so it is with English Paper Piecing. Mickey Depre found hexies in late 2011 and something just clicked or totally grabbed her. Once she basted those first hexagons into a rosette, the design possibilities began swimming in her head and there was no looking back. In her book, she shares the “Original 7,” as she calls them, the first design variations that she drew. The seven eventually grew into the 63 designs in the book. Mickey gets you started with detailed basic basting and piecing instructions and then gets your juices going with all her samples. While I loved all the design variations, I would have liked to see a completed quilt from the hexies. This is the perfect “on the go” project; just don’t be surprised if you get hooked!

Look for the book at your favorite quilt or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

 

Book Review: Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Sampler

Sunday, December 16th, 2012

Barbara Brackman’s Civil War Sampler   
Barbara Brackman
C&T Publishing $29.95

Noted quilt historian Barbara Brackman created a blog devoted to Civil War quilts about two years. It was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. She began to attract a large following for the weekly block with a first-person story about the war. By this week, she has attracted more than 1,000,000 viewers to her blog. Her book is a collection of 50 8″ x 8″ or 12″ x 12″ blocks with the accompanying stories. She choose the blocks based on the symbolism of their names, as most were published in the 1930s, well past the end of the war. It is fun to read the connections she makes between the history of the war and the blocks.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Book Review: S is for Stitch

Sunday, December 9th, 2012

S is for Stitch  
Kristyne Czepuryk
Stash Books; $24.95

Do you like to embroider in addition to quilt? S is for Stitch is a charming book with 52 embroidered alphabet designs perfect for the alphabet samplers for little girls and boys. As the mother of two daughters, Kristyne started designing the quilt “And Everything Nice” while on vacation and then realized she needed to create a “And Puppy Dog Tails” quilt. In addition to the two sampler quilts, this charming book includes five projects that can use any of the small block designs. She also offer tips for using the designs framed or on premade items.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Book Review: Surprise Yourself

Sunday, November 18th, 2012

Surprise Yourself
Charlotte Angotti and Debbie Caffery
Debbie’s Creative Moments; $24.95

Do you like mystery quilts? Between the two of them, Charlotte Angotti and Debbie Caffery have designed close to 500 mystery quilts. They are often asked how they approach design of their quilts, all of which are colorful, capture your eye, are based in tradition, yet use contemporary techniques for today’s quilters. Like any of us, they have unique starting points, and what is most fun about the book is reading how each approached the design and made specific decisions. One, Debbie, is very linear and starts with graph paper; the other, Charlotte, starts with the fabric. You can choose to follow one or the other, or best of all, both and find your own rhythm as you complete the 12 quilts included in the book or surprise yourself by using the skills to create your own original.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Book Review: No Math Quilt Charts & Formulas

Sunday, November 11th, 2012

No Math Quilt Charts & Formulas

Landauer Publishing; $6.95

Have you or your students ever stopped at the quilt shop and needed to know how much fabric yardage is needed to add those corner setting triangle blocks? Or maybe how many 5-inch squares you can cut from a fat quarter? Or how much fabric you need for a backing? Not everyone is so quick with the pencil figuring it out. This little book from Landauer includes 16 different charts in 36 pages in a compact 4″ by 6″ carry-along size. Perfect for including as an extra for your classes or for a holiday gift.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt or book retailer. Here’s a link to the publisher’s website if you would like to learn more about the book.

Book Review: Czecherboard Quilts

Sunday, October 14th, 2012

Czecherboard Quilts
Rose Ann Cook
Kansas City Star Quilts’ $16.95

I have to admit what hooked me was the play on words – checkerboard and Czecherboard. Rose Ann Cook, owner of Quilter’s Emporium in Stafford, Texas, created the quilts in the book to honor the stories she learned of her father’s family and its Czech history. The book includes 13 projects with checkerboard themes and accompanying stories and photos about Rose Ann’s father’s family. I enjoyed how she was able to weave the family history into each quilt. It’s an idea that anyone interested in genealogy and quilting can try.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

 

Book Review: Purses, Bags & Totes

Sunday, October 7th, 2012

Purses, Bags & Totes
Moya’s Workshop
AQS; $22.99

Everyone seems to love to make bags, and we have lots of patterns for bags of all sorts. This collection from Moya Hu, who owns Moya’s Workshop, an importer of quilting and patchwork supplies to Taiwan, does include some fresh ideas, such as the tote that expands with a decorative zipper, the ties that create a pleat to the tote bag, and the leaf shapes that add a nice touch to the moon bag. The book starts with general instructions for zippers and pockets. Each bag includes easy-to-follow instructions with step-by-step full color photos. Patterns are included in a CD.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Book Review: String Fling

Sunday, September 30th, 2012

String Fling
Bonnie K. Hunter
Kansas City Star Quilts; $29.95

I remember making string quilts when I first learned to quilt in 1977, and they’ve been revived several times since. I think string quilts are the ultimate in scrap quilts. What’s fun about “strings,” is that they are versatile. They can be the basis for the block design, as in a log cabin, or they can be put together to create other elements, like squares or triangles, and then added to your block. Bonnie, who focuses mainly on scrap quilts, includes 13 varied, large quilts all using strings. It’s a fun collection, and you’ll learn a lot about color just by studying the photos.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

 

Book Review: Japanese Quilting

Sunday, September 16th, 2012

Japanese Quilting
Yoko Saito
Interweave; $26.95

Making traditional patchwork quilts left well-known Japanese quilter Yoko Saito frustrated. Her work was filled with imprecise angles and crooked seams, something uncommon for someone known for meticulous needlework. That led to her realization that if her pieces weren’t perfectly even then she should make intentionally imperfect ones. She found the pride and joy in her work that had been missing. This collection of 29 quilts and quilted projects features her use of odd-shaped pieces and improvisation. The projects are all done in her hallmark neutral/taupe color scheme. The book includes paper patterns for the projects.

Look for the book at your favorite book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

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