We just released 2 new patterns in a series called “A Banner Year”.  These patterns are meant to be  fun to display, easy to piece (featuring Creative Grids rulers), quick to appliqué and simple to quilt.

We decided to call on Terry Burris of Terry Burris Quilting (see her post on these banners ) to give our banners that extra polish that we needed for Spring Quilt Market in Portland!

We asked Terry to quilt these banners in a way that quilters (using their short arms like me) could do! So here are Terry’s keys to Winter Welcome  success:

1. Stitch in the ditch to stabilizer your quilt. Terry used clear monofilament in the top thread. I really like Aurifil’s monofilament for this.

2. Stiching around your main appliques will make them POP! You can choose to empahsize small details also – like stitching beside the netting on the snow shoes. This provided definition needed for this simple design.

3. Fills – Terry did not employ fills – I think she made the right choice!

4. Planned designs – Terry added simple snowflakes in key areas. This is an option -  you don’t have to do this.

5. Let the fabric speak to you – it will tell you how it would like to be quilted! In the Skate border, Terry decided to give it a bead board finish. At home, you can use your walking foot to quilt straight line alternating between 1″ apart and then 1/4″ apart. You can see the Snow Shoe border that she followed along the plaid. The sled border fabric had a small diagonal print – do a 45 degree cross hatch, spaced 1 – 1 1/2″ apart. In all 3 borders, Terry incorporated a technique that you can do yourself!

What? You say you’d rather have a long arm quilter finish up for you? Communicate with her as much as you can; bring sketches or ask her what she thinks will work. You can also get familiar with quilting styles by looking at your local shops, to see what you like. The more information you can give to her, the better your results will be.

Thanks so much, Terry, for making our banners shine!

By the way, you can see these banners at the Red Barn booth at the Quilter’s Sampler taking place May 31 to June 1 in the Courtyard Marriot in Nashua, NH! Tell them that Kris sent ya!

Happy quilting! -Kris

Are you ready for Spring sewing? I hope you are!

This is a preview of our new Spring Door Banner. We know you’ll like using the Creative Grids 45º/90º Triangle Ruler CGRMS4590…we used it to piece the baskets here. This is a versatile ruler that we explore in this pattern.

It’s raining here today, but if I look at this banner, I know that Spring is here!

Have a great day! Keep stitchin’,

-Kris

We have just introduced PQD-187, Fab Photo Frames, a pattern that uses 2 fat quarters and 1/2 package of Heat Moldable Stiffener to create a lovely keepsake! This pattern can be made in prints, batiks, novelties and then embellished with decorative stitching, buttons and trims. Our testers were amazed with the professional results they achieved with their first project. The Heat Moldable Stiffener adds  stability to the project, as well as the ability to mail the frame flat to your gift recipient; when the “giftee” receives the frame, they can reshape the frame with an iron to add the bend needed.  We hope you’ll give this project a try!

-Kris

It’s almost spring; before you know it, we’ll be planning barbecues, graduations, showers, all sorts of outdoor events!  Now is a great time to try Paverpol! Paverpol is a fabric stiffener with a consistency much like craft glue. It can be applied to fabric, paper, clay, dried flowers, most anything you can think of except plastic. Paverpol makes your creation weather resistant, so it can be used indoors or out.

I wanted to try Paverpol to coat a leaf bowl to make it water  resistant.  Because our bowl is already stiff, the Paverpol is not being used to stiffen it any more; however the bowl is even more stable with the addition of the Paverpol.

How did I do it? First I completed the leaf bowl per the PQD-176 Natural Inspirations Leaf Bowl pattern; including the molding. (Once you have applied the Paverpol, you can’t re-mold your project, so make sure that you will be happy with the shape that you have achieved).  I then the bowl on a sheet of plastic wrap and applied a thin coat of Paverpol to one side using a new sponge brush. (I like to use a new brush to avoid those pesky  little foam “crumbs” from adhering to the project).  Its that easy! I let the project dry about 2 hours, and then applied another coat. The nice thing about Paverpol  is that it dries really fast!  I applied 2 more coats on the back.

I found that I could sand my leaf with a 220 grit very fine sandpaper (don’t use a coarser sandpaper or you will remove the coating and some fabric with it!!) – the sanding gave me a smoother finish that I could then apply a 3rd coat of Paverpol to.

I hope you can see a little bit of the shine on the photo! I would not put anything greasy in the bowl without putting in a paper towel for absorption, but at least you will be able to wipe the bowl after using it!

If you like the fabric in this bowl, check out Newcastle Fabric’s Style Mod line – they are also introducing Style Mod 2 – can’t wait to see that!

So, if you need a pretty little bowl for your next picnic, try Paverpol!  Ask for Paverpol at your local quilt shop, or get it on line at http://www.keepsakequilting.com/productdetail/8121.htm. If you’d like to get more ideas on using Paverpol, check out www.paverpol.com.

Don’t these little bowls put a smile on your face? Our new Sunflower Nesting Bowls patterns will be released shortly (part number PQD-186)  but I wanted to let my readers in on the fun a little early! The pattern also contains a cute sunflower pincushion.

These are made with Heat Activated Batting (HAB for short!) and they are so much fun to make! HAB, such as Heat and Shape by Innovative Craft Products or Heat Moldable Batting #494 by Bosal is so easy to use! These little projects are made flat, then molded into their final shape.

With HABs, you cannot re-heat and re-shape your project – so when you mold, you have achieved the permanent set of the project. This is a little different from the Heat Moldable Stiffeners used to create the leaf bowls.

These projects are very light and somewhat crushable – they are not as stiff as the leaf bowls; but the texture you can achieve is interesting in itself. I can think of many different quilt applications (especially in floral wall hangings) that you will be able to do with HAB.

Keep on sewing, gals!

-Kris

Join the Heat and Shape craze! Speaking of joining…..

You can join Heat and Shape with a loose zig zag just like regular batting! Cut your joining edges straight with a rotary cutter.  Using your utility or zig zag foot, join the pieces together with a loooooooose zig zag. Set your stitch length to 5.0 mm and width to the widest you can get. Then butt edges together, without overlapping, sew together and use! I have found that joining does not affect the finished piece at all.

I have joined pieces of Heat and Shape to create my Essentials Clutch Bag - a new bag pattern featuring Heat and Shape.

You can also join Heat and Shape with heat! So here is an example of a ring that I made just by wrapping a strip around on itself. The joined area is compressed and harder than the soft Heat and Shape. This is just an example – you may have a problem that Heat and Shape can solve – check it out! You can purchase Heat and Shape (by Innovative Craft Products) at Keepsake Quilting and other independent Quilt Shops. So, “join” the fun!

Stay tuned….my last Heat and Shape installment is scheduled for next week! In the meantime, have fun stitching!  -Kris

What is Heat and Shape? Heat and Shape, by Innovative Craft Products is a new heat moldable batting! ICP has done it again – this batting is just so much fun to play with!  Why? Well, it starts out as a soft batting – easy to sew through, layer and embellish.  The fun really begins with when you heat and steam it! I will show you in this post how you can add some pretty texture to your pieces.

Here are some of my experiments:

I am starting with a simple channel straight stitched rectangle. Here are my samples before:

And here are the samples (placed one on top of the other after heating and steaming:

Notice the change in length and width! You will have to play with this a little to determine what  you’d like to see.

Let’s see what happens when we meander a little! Here are my swatches:

And after:

When steaming, hover over the piece in one section with your steam iron and let the steam work it’s magic for about 30 seconds. Then move on to the next section. Once the piece has been steamed, it will not shrink any more.  It’s also pretty stiff as you can see here. Hope you agree that this has a lot of potential!

Are there any patterns out that use Heat and Shape? Poorhouse Quilt Design’s new pattern, Essentials Clutches, uses Heat and Shape. There are also patterns available from Aunties Two that use this batting. Check it out!

An 18″ x 45″ package of Heat and Shape retails for $12.99. This is just the right size to have fun and play with!

Keep on sewing!  -Kris

Quick Christmas projects – as I sit here with my projects in a various stages of “not quite done”, I thought, why not share some of Poorhouse’ quick ideas?  Check out the pictures below.

Newlyweds on your list? No problem! How about an elegant pair of Christmas Stockings? These beauties will put a dent in your stash and you can get them done in a flash! They are from PQD-180 Tea Leaf Christmas - use your bias edges to create these elegeant curves!

The PQD-170  Tea Leaf Tabletop pattern contains an option for this tabletopper or placemats – they are quick and easy and you are sure to get oohs and aahs! If you are going to make these as a gift, make sure that you cut and press all of your pieces ahead of time! When you are gluing, keep a gue stick in the freezer – when one glue stick gets warm, switch to the other one! You can find Tea Leaf tips here: http://poorhousequiltdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Tea_Leaf_Tips.pdf!

How about a poinsettia bowl filled with candy? Mmmmm!  Check out PQD-178 Poinsettia Accents! I am using up my Inn-spire Plus scraps by making pins - a sure hit!  Check out this video - a demo of molding with Inn-spire.

And last but not least, we have PQD-184 A Novel Approach - a perfect way to use novelty prints! Tuck in a good book and you have a perfect gift!

What are you working on for Christmas? Whatever it is, have fun and give proudly!

Happy stitching!  -Kris