Archive for the ‘Color Inspiration’ Category

Ready, Set, Go – Baby Necessities to Sew is here! It’s official!

For the next preview, llet’s take a peek at “Play Date at Grandma’s”! This is a fun section of the book, featuring playthings for baby and a smart and stylish backpack for Grandma. The playthings consist of textural treats made from wovens, knits and ribbons. At left is an example from the book of the “Soft Blankie” – I used a Minkee solid with Blank’s Simply Delicious line which I embellished with ribbon and rick-rack. Simple and quick!

During Spring Quilt Market, I stopped at Shannon Fabric’s booth and fell in love with this bright printed Cuddle line (shown at the right)! I just made up these 3 projects from Play Date with Grandma to show you how cute it is in different fabrics!  I made some changes from the book – for example, since the printed cuddle is so cute, I decided not to use as much quilt fabric (woven) in my projects. Don’t you just love that Jumbo Dot?

I photographed the Ball, Blocks and Blankie on top of the Star Baby Quilt which is part of the “You’re Invited” section of the book. (More on that in another blog post!).

Here is what I learned as I was sewing with Cuddle:

• Use a walking foot, so that your bottom layer does not push out ahead of your top layer!
• Add some zig to your zag! A slight zig zag adds stretch to your seam.
• When adding an applique, interface your cuddle with a light interfacing first then use a stabilizer to add the “oomph” to the back of your Cuddle while stitching.
• I lengthened my normal stitch length to 2.6 mm.
• Use a size 90 Stretch needle.
• Pinning does help as there is some slide with this fabric.
• Smile!

I hope you’ll give my book a try and don’t be afraid to mix fabric types as I did with these baby toys. Your little one will love it!

Happy sewing!  -Kris

I thought I’d share with you some “hot” variations on my Thursday Night Jazz pattern, as a nod to the high temperatures we are experiencing in the Northeast lately! I released the Thurdsay Night Jazz pattern in May, featuring Silk Taffetta on the front cover. However, I have made these up in hot summer colors to show you the versatility and fun you can have with this pattern!

The curvy clutch is my favorite! It takes about 2 hours to make and it is very cute! I did add about 1 inch to the length of the clutch body for this variation, and I did not put in a zipper. I also fussy cut the fabric to get the chevron centered.

I hope you like this variation and give Thursday Night Jazz a try!

Keep quilting!

-Kris

We are in the process of giving some of our patterns a little face lift. This is by no means an “Extreme Makeover”! Our first volunteer is the Sampler Tote. Here is the “after” picture (a.k.a. our new “look”). It’s the same Sampler Tote pattern with a fresh new look – no botox required! The Sampler Tote offers many options – use up your test blocks (any 6″ block will do – you don’t have to use the blocks in the pattern), practice your free morion quilting, test out a color combination that you’ve been curious about. The possibilities are endless!
Keep on quilting! -Kris

It’s NEW! It’s comfortable! Best of all – it’s quick!

It will be ready for you on November 1st…let me introduce you to the Friday Bag!

Here is a new bag that is relaxed enough for Friday, but sophisticated enough for a walk in your urban jungle. The fabric here is called “Garden Party” – it’s a riot of spring color – it is now being offered by Blank Quilting. the fabric is designed by textile designer Yolanda Fundora. Kits will be available on Yolanda’s website for the versions shown here!!

With this bag, you have options! You can quilt the panels, you can make it reversible, you can embellish or piece. The choice is yours!

Feature your lastest fabric find! Coming soon…more options with our girl Friday!

Until then, have fun with your sewing machine – go on, give it a hug!)

-Kris

The mornings are brisk here in NH, but the days still warm up nicely. I think a last day at the beach is in order! I am packing a Bongo Bag and a Crafty Tote done in Sketchbook Teal Blue by Blank Quilting, designed by Yolanda Fundora.

I have to admit: Blue is never my first choice. However, this collection made a believer out of me! This is an analogous color scheme, using blues/green inspired by nature.

My personal favorite of the Teal Blue colorway is the Arabesque Turquoise. It’s a timeless floral – perfect for a bag, front porch quilt, or a wearable!

The lime paisley really makes this collection pop – it is also a very versatile fabric. It can be paired with so many fabrics in my stash- I would bet you’d find it a good addition to your collection.

Stay tuned for more Sew and Go Totes done up in Sketchbook!
-Kris

I heard from Kathy Stanley of Sew Maine yesterday. She owns two lovely shops in Maine, one in Portland (Sew Portland) and Trenton (Sewing by the Sea). We chatted for a few minutes about the Tidal Totes pattern; she and a group of 8 other women ventured to Lily’s Cafe in Stonington, Maine and enjoyed a day of sewing and eating. (Now that’s a perfect day!)

Click here to read Kathy’s blog and see her beautiful embroidered Tidal Tote. You will also be inspired by all of the color choices. Check it out!

Keep quilting!
-Kris

Back again! We were working on a simulated table runner from the last post and now I’d like to take a look at this design using some Photoshop Elements filters – this gives me a different design perspective. Here is the original:

Let’s take a look at this design without color. Click on Filter>Sketch>Chalk and Charcoal. I increased the Charcoal setting to 10 and decreased the Chalk setting to 2 and here is what appeared:I think the squares on point really show up above; I can use that in choosing another color scheme. Next, I used the Filter>Pixellate>Crystallize. I set the cell size to 40 and the results below illustrate the spinning effect of the block.

Last, just for fun I used the Filter>Stylize>Glowing Edges and increased edge width to 3. I think this just looks cool!
What can you do with one block and Photoshop? Try it!