Appliqué Books
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Jan
6
The book goes to… and, what I got for Christmas
Filed Under Fabrics, Kittens Off Topic, Prizes | 11 Comments
Heather came up the winner in the draw for Pennies From Heaven. Congratulations Heather! She says she is particularly attracted to the valance since she has been toying with the idea of making one. Enjoy the book!
Every year the DH Dana puts some fat quarters in my stocking. (Yes, he’s a very good quilt husband.) This year, as I mentioned, he was in Oslo on a business trip in mid-December, so what should I pull out of my stocking but these beautiful things!
The apple fabric turned out to be an Alexander Henry, which he was bitterly disappointed to learn is a California fabric company LOL! I didn’t care, I love it!
He did better on the other two. I consulted Dr. Google and found that the Tilda fabric is designed by adorable Oslo native Tone Finnanger. Isn’t it gorgeous? Tone has a whole line of things that she has designed and it’s all to drool over.
Dana didn’t remember the name of the shop where he found the fabric, describing it as “sort of a craft store.” Luckily the label on the fabric enabled me to track it down to being Panduro Hobby in downtown Oslo.
And here’s what else I got for Christmas. You remember the Cavalcade of Kittens? And how I said there was a followup? You remember the very last batch, the ones with the sneezy noses?
A few days before Christmas I started getting a queasy feeling… queasy because I was terrified by it but still it was there… of thinking that maybe Max would stay. (He’s the one in the middle with the smush-face.) I brought it up with Dana and he was delighted! He was all for it, but understood my fear of commitment. After losing Willie and before that, three aged cats one by one, I felt like a widow enjoying the dating scene but not ready for a long-term relationship.
But truly, Max had all the qualities we would want in a cat, so I kept thinking about it. On Christmas Eve we turned out the lights at about 11:30 p.m. and Max came and draped himself purring over my neck and laid his face on my cheek for a pillow, and suddenly my heart opened up and the fear washed away, and I knew that he was a keeper. It had to be about midnight on Christmas morning.
Dana named him for his favorite childhood TV character Maxwell Smart. Max is a velvety soft, squishy, floppy five-month-old who loves to be picked up, held, hugged, kissed, turned upside down, draped over the shoulder, etc., purring all the while. He’s ours now, all officially adopted through the shelter, and fits in here like peas and carrots.
This cat knows how to relax.
Did I mention that he's floppy?
Under my ironing board.
Willie used to sleep at the base of my stash.
Max has chosen his spot, about four feet higher.
Face plant in the batiks.
To quote Dr. Seuss (and Anne Sutton, who recently told us the heartwarming story of Bitsy Button Sutton), “It came without ribbons.” I didn’t want a kitty for Christmas, but it’s the very best present I got.
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
P.S. BTW the other two kitties recovered well from their colds and I took them back to the shelter. Within 10 minutes of getting them set up and settled in the adoptable area, one of them was already requested for a meet-and-greet. Out the door he went with his new family. About 45 minutes later, the other one went! That’s gotta be a new world’s record, even for the Kitten Flipper (as they call me at the shelter)!
Jan
1
It’s a New Year!
Filed Under Blanket stitch, Books, Prizes, Raw edge, Wool | 54 Comments
And we have a great book as our featured selection to start things off right!
Pennies From Heaven: Celebrated Quilt and Companion Projects by Gretchen Gibbons.
The title of the book and cover quilt comes from the old term “penny rug,” so called because of the circles, usually wool, that are blanket-stitched onto a base in decorative patterns. As Gretchen says, this style is “primitive, colorful, and funky all at the same time.”
Gretchen enjoys working with wool, and calls it the easiest appliqué technique, for several reasons:
• There are no edges to turn.
• There’s no right or wrong side, so you don’t have to reverse patterns.
• You don’t have to use fusible web (though you can if you want to).
• Cutting on the straight of grain or on the bias works equally well.
• The blanket stitching can be done by hand or machine.
• Hand-dyed wools come in yummy colors.
The book starts out with instructions for felting wool, which is the process that shrinks it, mats the fibers together, and eliminates raveling. Then there are complete instructions for wool appliqué, a color guide for the motifs used in the book’s projects, and information on needles, threads, and beads, and embroidery. There’s good advice on batting, mixing cottons and wools within a project, quilting considerations, and attaching a hanging sleeve.
Besides the cover quilt with its 10 beautiful blocks, there are instructions for eight more smaller projects, each one cuter than the last.
Enchanted Pennies
Joyful Pillow
Pennies Window Valance
Circle of Life Table Mat
I just love their primitive, folksy look. If you admire it too, and would like a chance to win this book, please leave a comment here on this post before 7:00 p.m. California time on Thursday, January 5. Contest open to U.S. and Canada mailing addresses only, and remember to click over to the blog itself instead of replying to your email feed.
Thank you, That Patchwork Place, for providing the book!
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Dec
19
Kat wins Sue
Filed Under Holiday, Prizes | 3 Comments
The extra holiday book giveaway, A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue, goes to Comment #50, Kat! Congratulations! Kat’s birthday was December 13 so that’s very fun.
Thank you so much to everyone who posted and sent me nice birthday wishes. The DH Dana was away in Norway for a week prior and arrived home that night sick and jetlagged, so I put him to bed and we are still catching up on the bday celebrating LOL, whilst I’m doing my best not to catch his cold!
Until Christmas Day, when I subject you once again to picture of cute kittens in the second annual roundup of foster felines.
Enjoy this time!
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Dec
14
Special holiday giveaway
Filed Under Books, Prizes | 50 Comments
The last couple of years, I did an extra holiday-season drawing to give away a book. It’s also the time of my birthday, which is December 17, and it made me feel like my birthday lasted a whole week. 
Let’s do it again!
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, if you’re a quilter you know Sunbonnet Sue. That simple little girl in a simple little frock and great big bonnet that conveniently hides her face. The first appliquér to come up with that concept was a genius!
Christine Porter and Darra Williamson collaborated “across the pond” to create a dozen small quilts to see what Sue gets up to through the seasons.
A Year in the Life of Sunbonnet Sue
The book starts with a section of “Sue Basics” that includes materials, frames, borders, backings, bindings, assembling the wall quilts, and how to add the appliqués. The method that the authors used was raw-edge fusible finished with a machine blanket stitch. They’ll take you through it step-by-step.
I’ll take a moment to say here that the illustrator for this book is the same one who is working on my new book, and the illustrations are fantastic. Kudos Robin!!
Sue decks the halls.
Sue tiptoes through the tulips.
Sue has to go back to school. Bummer.
If you’d like to win a copy of this book, courtesy of That Patchwork Place, please leave a comment on this blog post by 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 18. U.S. and Canada mailing addresses only.
Happiest of holidays to you and yours!
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Dec
6
Winner and a little Show & Tell
Filed Under Prizes, Show & Tell | 10 Comments
The winner of Bloom Creek Quilts is Michele of Manitouwadge, Ontario, Canada! Congratulations! Michele says, “Yippeee Skippeee!! This is fantastic news!! Now I know what I’ll be doing over the holidays!”
During the fall, at the quilt show in Reedley, somebody sent a friend to come see me in my booth and to look at all my appliqué quilts, but I had stepped away for a moment. Later they came back and this friend pronounced that she couldn’t find me because my booth had no sign. (This despite the appliqué quilts hung everywhere LOL.)
It got me thinking. Well, the larger shows often provide signage, but the smaller ones usually don’t. Hmm, I said to myself. Other vendors have really cute quilted signs, maybe I should have one too. So I sat down and sketched out an idea for something simple but graphic. I’ve been working on it the last couple weeks and just finished it up.
That oughta fill the bill, don’t you think? And, maybe it will pre-answer the question that I often get, which is, “Did you do all these???”
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
P.S. The $5 off any order of $10 or more is still on at the website, through December 10! The code is 5OFF.
Dec
1
Bloom Creek Quilts
Filed Under Books, Prizes | 58 Comments
Our featured book this month is Bloom Creek Quilts by Vicki Bellino.
I just love the soft, mellow feel of this book. Not only that, it has a cat on the cover! Very cool.
Bloom Creek is the name of Vicki’s pattern company, hence the name of the book, which includes 14 of Vicki’s most popular designs. She has included a variety of projects: smaller, larger, with appliqué, without appliqué, traditional, contemporary, some made with precuts, and a few brand-new designs. What a great combo platter.
The book starts out by covering quiltmaking basics, including working with precuts, freezer-paper hand appliqué, fusible machine appliqué, bias vines, and half-square triangle units. There’s also infomation on preparing for machine quilting, making a hanging sleeve, binding the quilt, and making creative quilt labels. Her labels are very cute.
Here are just a few of the projects in the book.
Brandyvine Tote Bag
I love this bag! The combination of red and white toiles plus the simple appliqué put it right up my alley.
A Pack of Posies
Here’s that soft mellow look again. This table runner is made with one charm pack and a half yard of fabric.
Home for the Holidays
Since ’tis the season, I thought I’d show you this darling Christmas tree complete with cardinals.
Also included are the Blooms pillow and bed quilt shown on the cover (under the cat) more bed quilts, wall quilts large and small, and sofa quilts suitable for snuggling under in the living room.
Courtesy of That Patchwork Place, I have a copy to give away in a drawing. If you’d like to win this attractive book full of very doable designs, leave a comment here on this post before 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 4. U.S. and Canada addresses only, and remember that replying to your email feed won’t enter you in the drawing. Go the the blog itself and leave your comment there.
Many thanks for your readership, and remember that if you haven’t used it yet, the $5 off any order of $10 or more is still on at kaymackenzie.com, through December 10.
Until next time,
Kay
Nov
16
Lucky Kathy H. is the winner of a copy of the brand-new 100 Blocks Volume 4. Congratulations! Kathy reports that she already has the second and third editions and just loves them, so this’ll be a great one to add to her collection.
Elizabeth came up the winner of a copy of my book Dolls & Dresses to Appliqué. The cool thing is, Elizabeth said in her comment, “Thanks so much for the opportunity to win the book Dolls and Dresses. I have wanted to get it.” How cool is that? Sometimes random.org knows what it’s doing.
Until next time, with a couple of reader questions.
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Nov
6
Winner, plus nice surprise in Roseville
Filed Under Prizes, Quilt shows | 2 Comments
The winner of Cheryl Almgren Taylor’s Inspirational Appliqué is Debra B.! Debra says that she is very new at quilting and it’s something she has a deep desire to learn about. She’s very excited to get Cheryl’s book and try some new techniques. Congratulations Debra, and welcome to quilting!
I just got home from the Pioneer Quilt Guild show in Roseville, California. It was a lovely weekend and I got a nice surprise! Hanging in the show was a beautiful basket sampler quilt made using the designs in my Baskets to Appliqué.
What's in Your Basket? by Clareen Bolton
I read on the label that Clareen made this quilt during a class with Betty Kisbey at the Quilter’s Stash. The shop is closed now, but while it was open Betty used to teach appliqué using my patterns, which I appreciated so much. Thank you, Betty and Clareen!
Another quilt that grabbed me with strong magnetic attraction was one using my favorite pattern in the whole wide world, Fairmeadow by Jeana Kimball.
Fair Meadow in Lincoln by Clareen Bolton
And it turned out to be by the same quiltmaker, with the same teacher! Fun.
Until tomorrow, with the start of the 100 Blocks blog hop,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Nov
1
Inspirational Appliqué
Filed Under Books, Machine appliqué, Prizes, Raw edge | 46 Comments
I want to thank Kay for inviting me to her blog today. I had the opportunity to be a guest on her blog once before and enjoyed the experience very much.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Cheryl Almgren Taylor, a quilter and designer who specializes in fusible-web appliqué. In certain quilting circles, making this admission is like admitting you feed your kids hot dogs and goldfish crackers for dinner every night! However, I find this method to be very user-friendly and it enables me to create fabulous, intricate shapes with ease. It also incorporates thread as a design element which gives me the opportunity to add more color and texture.
I have a brand-new book just released by Martingale & Company / That Patchwork Place: Inspirational Applique: Reflections of Faith, Hope, & Love.
The book is a collection of scripture-inspired quilts, wallhangings, and small projects. I am a pastor’s wife and as a person of faith, I enjoyed being able to create tangible objects that express my beliefs through my quilting. That is one of my favorite things about quilting—our ability as quilters to convey our thoughts and beliefs through the medium of fabric and thread and color.
As I worked on the book, I felt a connection to the quilters of past generations who also used their quilting skills to express their beliefs and dreams. If you study the Baltimore Albums of the 19th century, most of those beautiful creations give us glimpses into the lives of their makers. Even the plainer, patchwork quilts from the past sometimes include tantalizing personal insights left by the quilter. And one of the common practices in historic quilts was to include a deliberate mistake to express their religious faith, the belief that nothing is perfect except God. I’ve never had to create a deliberate mistake in a quilt—I’m quite proficient at providing numerous mistakes without any extra effort, but I enjoy this tradition and the significance it held for the quilters who did this.
I am happy, though, that I have access to the wonderful world of quilting that we live in now, with rotary cutters and electric irons and fabulous computerized sewing machines. I own several sewing machines and like a man and his car, I am bonded with my machines.
As I mentioned before, my favorite technique is fusible-web appliqué. I always recommend using a lightweight fusible web and the “doughnut” method of construction, which has you cut out the center portion of the web from large pieces before fusing it to the back of your motif fabric. This makes the quilt soft and pliable rather than stiff, which is a common complaint about quilts made with fusible web. However, when using a lightweight fusible web, you must sew a finishing stitch around each unfinished edge in the appliqué design. I prefer a very small blanket stitch, but it is possible to use a satin stitch or zigzag—it just gives a slightly different look to the finished piece.
In creating the quilts for the book, I discovered a new technique that I think a lot of people would enjoy knowing about. One of the designs in the book, “Daily Bread,” features a neg done in gold and blue tones.
A neg is a bundle of wheat that is set out in wintertime in Scandinavian countries for the animals. Because the design featured a number of strands of wheat bundled together, there are a large number of overlapping wheat kernels to be appliquéd. All of them needed to be finished with a blanket stitch. If you are a fusible appliquér, you know that sometimes as you sew around overlapping pieces, you do not end up in the right spot for the next shape. Then you have to stop, trim your threads, move the fabric, and start over again. By accident, I discovered a traveling technique that makes it easy to move from piece to piece.
I discovered that after finishing the blanket stitch on a piece, I could change the machine setting from the blanket stitch to a straight stitch and travel to the next piece along the edge of the pattern pieces. (The pieces do have to be overlapping.) This can be done before or after using the blanket stitch on the design. If I traveled before finishing the edge, the blanket stitch laid over the top of the straight stitching and couldn’t be seen. If the blanket stitch was already sewn along the edge, the straight stitch went on top of the edge stitch and still couldn’t be seen. Of course, you must be using the same color of thread on the next piece, but for my overlapping wheat kernels, it was an outstanding technique.
I used traditional bias strips for the border vine in “Birds of the Air.”
But, in two other projects I used another trick — cutting fusible web-backed fabric pieces rather than creating bias strips for vines. For the tablecloth “I Am the Vine,” I traced the vine shapes onto fusible backing, fused the vines to the background, and finished the edges with a blanket stitch. It looks great and was much easier than fussing with bias strips.
I hope these tips will help you in your quilting journey and, for those of you who have never tried fusing, I hope you will become inspired to try this wonderful and easy technique!
Happy quilting!~Cheryl
Kay here — Thanks a million Cheryl for those two fabulous appliqué tips! The traveling straight stitch to another shape is something I been playing with myself. Thank you for legitimizing it!
Courtesy of the publisher, we have a copy of Inspirational Appliqué to give away to a reader. If you’d like to enter the drawing for the book, leave a comment by 7:00 p.m. California time on Sunday, November 5. U.S. and Canada addresses only, and remember to resist the temptation to hit “reply” to your email subscription. Instead, click over to the blog itself.
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Oct
5
Winner, and overheard at the quilt show
Filed Under Prizes | 5 Comments
Sew the Perfect Gift goes to…. Kathy in NC! Congratulations Kathy! I hope you enjoy the very cute projects in the book.
The first time I heard the following, I laughed so hard. Then I kind of got used to it as it happened a few more times. Passersby, especially men it seems, would look at a little quilt that I hang in my booth and say, “Hmm… Baked Potatoes.”
This is what they’re looking at:
 Baked Potatoes or Plum Pudding: |
At my last show I heard a new one. A teenaged girl looked at one of my quilts and said, “Oh, Prairie Dogs.”
 You be the judge. |
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Oct
1
Sew the Perfect Gift
Filed Under Books, Prizes, Uncategorized | 44 Comments
Hot off the presses!
Sew the Perfect Gift: 25 Handmade Projects from Top Designers just came out a week ago. I guess I have received a promotion to “top designer” because one of the projects is mine!
Awhile back, when Martingale put out the call to its authors to contribute a project to a book idea that they had for making gifts, I didn’t let the sun set on the opportunity.
The teapot idea came to me right away when I thought about sewing a gift. You may know that I’ve designed a number of teapot patterns, and I’ve often heard quilters say that they’re inspired to make something special for a friend who collects teapots.
Time for Tea, Have a Cup With Me
Here’s my project from the book. It’s a little guy, 14″ x 9″, hung up with rickrack for a little extra touch. The caption says, “Include it with a gift of your time; brew a pot of tea, sit down, and have a long chat with your friend.” That was my thought about making something for somebody you care about.
Here are some more exceedingly cute things from the book.
Tic-Tac-Toe for Ewe from Cheryl Almgren Taylor.
Little Wool Bags from Karen Clifton.
Elegant Parsons Chair Dressing from Avis Shirer.
Sew the Perfect Gift is this month’s prize, thanks to That Patchwork Place! If you’d like to win a copy of this brand-new book, leave a comment here by 7:00 p.m. California time on Wednesday, October 5.
Open to U.S. and Canada shipping addresses only. Remember that if you are subscribed by email, replying to the email won’t get you in the drawing. Instead, click the title of the post and you will be taken to the blog itself. Leave your comment at the bottom of the post.
Good luck! If you don’t win the drawing, I put the book up on my website and you can order a copy there.
Cheers,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Sep
5
Winner for September
Filed Under Prizes, Quilt shows, Show & Tell | 2 Comments
Welcome to the North Pole goes to… Debbie St. Germain! Congratulations!
Debbie is a regular blog reader and reports that she has been trying to get this book from the library but apparently someone liked it a little too much to bring it back. She plans to use the designs for some Christmas things this year, so hopefully we’ll see some photos soon! But Debbie, no pressure .
In other news, I’m about to embark on a busy spell of traveling to quilt shows. I just finished a couple of mini quilts made out of single blocks from my Baskets to Appliqué Pattern Pack to hang underneath the sampler quilt.
Daisy Basket
Knitting Basket. This one is actually a combination of two different designs. It's fun to mix and match the contents with the baskets.
Here’s where I’ll be.
Sept 8-10, 2011
San Diego Quilt Show
It’s the 30th annual show of the San Diego Quilt Association! The show is held at the beautiful San Diego Convention Center, right on the water.
Sept 17-18, 2011
Quilts & Threads Show
This is the Sierra Quilt Guild’s 22nd annual show, held at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora, California.
Sept 24-25, 2011
Kings River Quilt Festival
The Kings River Quilt Guild puts on this 300-quilt show in Reedley, California.
I’ll be home in between times, so I hope to get a few posts in there.
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Sep
1
A Piece o’ Cake classic
Filed Under Books, Embellishment, Holiday, Prizes | 53 Comments
Guess what came out in 1997 and is still in print?
The fabulous Welcome to the North Pole from Piece o’ Cake!
This is one of my personal favorite books. I got it when it first came out and it sits on my bookshelf to this day. Back when I first got it, I made a little project for my friend’s parents, and loved every minute.
For Tess's folks, by Kay Mackenzie
I jumped at the chance to get an additional review copy from Martingale / That Patchwork Place. The scenes in this book, which is subtitled Santa’s Village in Appliqué, are just utterly whimsical and charming. Here are a couple of the vignettes from Santa’s Village.
The book includes notes on fabric selection and preparation, information on the Piece o’ Cake gals’ hand appliqué methods, adding embellishments, and finishing your festive little quilts.
If you’d like a chance to win Welcome to the North Pole, leave a comment here on this post by 7:00 p.m. California time on Sunday, September 4.
Drawing open to U.S. and Canada addresses only. Remember that if you’re subscribed by email, you’ll need to click on the title and come over to the blog itself to leave your comment.
Cheers,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Aug
11
August winner
Filed Under Prizes | 2 Comments
I was delighted to see in the comments that so many of you already know the Lizzie B girls! I admire them so much; talk about boundless energy and spirit!
The winner of their book Quiltin’ Happy is Stray Stitches! Congratulations Stray! Enjoy the whimsy.
Back soon with more questions from the Call for Topics.
Until then,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Aug
6
Quiltin’ Happy
Filed Under Books, Designers, Prizes | 62 Comments
At Spring Market, I stopped by the Lizzie B Cre8ive booth to visit with Beth Hawkins. Beth is half of the Lizzie B team. The other half, Liz, was manning a booth at another show the same weekend.
These gals are sisters-in-law who are both named Elizabeth Hawkins. Besides the name, I think they share a brain! They have the same design sensibility, the same upbeat humor, the same sense of whimsy and fun, and they even have identical handwriting!
This team seems to have a boundless supply of energy. They design and make quilts, they have a huge line of fun patterns, they have their own fabric with Henry Glass, they have books with the Kansas City Star, they publish an on-line magazine, and now I find out they’ve put out their own new book, Quiltin’ Happy!
The subtitle is “simple hip quilts to make ya smile.” There are seven fast, fun, fresh quilts included, with complete instructions, easy-to-follow diagrams, and full color photos of all the projects All the quilts in the book are made from the Hip Happy collection of fabrics designed by the Lizzie B girls. Hip Happy offers colorful brights combined with blacks and whites to make modern-looking quilts that pop.
Playful Posies and Happy Dancin'
Their links:
Lizzie B website
Lizzie B on-line store
Lizzie B blog
Lizzie B magazine
Beth gave me a copy of the new book for a giveaway. Thanks Beth! If you’d like to win a copy of Quiltin’ Happy, leave a comment on this post by 7:00 p.m. California time on Wednesday, August 10. Contest open to U.S. and Canada addresses only.
Remember that if you are subscribed by email, you’ll need to click over to the blog itself to leave a comment. Replying to your email feed won’t get it done .
Cheers,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Jul
7
Mary from NOLA is the lucky winner of Quilting Those Flirty ’30s. Mary reports that she is flabbergasted because she’s never won anything! Just goes to show…
Donna A. came up the winner for Treasures From the ’30s. She says that she is sooooo excited and can hardly wait for it to arrive so she can plan and scheme.
Congratulations, both you gals! The books are going out in the mail today. Enjoy.
Many thanks to everyone who entered the drawing. I appreciate your reading my blog.
Until next time,
Kay
Jul
1
'30s + '30s = Double the '30s fun!
Filed Under Books, History, Prizes | 56 Comments
I have two fabulous books to show you this month, both hearkening back to the cute, cute fabrics and quilts of the 1930s.
As promised, I got my hands on a copy of Quilting Those Flirty '30s by Cynthia Tomaszewski. Thank you, That Patchwork Place!
“Quilting is steeped in history,” says Cynthia. “I still remember the first time I saw a 1930s quilt…. the prints reminded me of a roll of Necco candy wafers. Each fabric was cute in its own right, but gathered together like a floral bouquet, the effect was charming and heartwarming.”
I know what she means! All those ’30s repro prints just always seem to work together. It’s like they all have the same amount of gray in them or something.
“The designs you’ll discover in this book will be tomorrow’s traditions. They’re firmly rooted in the past with the use of the reproduction prints, but the designs are distinctive, open, and carefree to fit comfortably with your sense of today.”
In case it’s not enough to give us designs and instructions for very cute projects, Cynthia give us recipes for delicious cookies too! Butterscotch Oatmeal, Gingersnaps, and Peanut Blossoms are just a few of the old-fashioned confections sprinkled throughout the book.
To being with, quiltmaking basics are covered, including information on fabric, tools and supplies, rotary cutting, machine piecing, adding borders, and all the way through layering and basting, quilting, and binding. Then there’s a fabulous Introduction to Appliqué that gives Cynthia’s three favorite methods: fusible, freezer-paper-underneath, and traditional needleturn with a marked line. The author says, “Try them all so you have the ability to use the technique that’s best for your project.” And, you can mix them together for more variety and texture.
The follows the section of projects. Sooo cute, every one! Here are just a couple.
Sweet Pea's Garden
Tea cozy and pot holders
If you’re a ’30s fan, you’ll love Cynthia’s family stories, cookie recipes, and fresh quilty take on the decade. And be sure to go and read her interview over on the Martingale blog. This is quite the adventuresome woman!
Continuing the blast from the past, we have Treasures from the ’30s: Cheerful Quilts with Vintage Appeal by Nancy Mahoney.
Full disclosure statement: Nancy is a longtime Martingale author with about nine books to her credit, and she also does editing for the company. At Spring Market, I found out that Nancy is going to be the technical editor for my next book! I’m very thrilled to have such a veteran author on my team.
Treasures from the ’30s is fun for every quilter. Nancy says, “The projects on these pages are scrappy in style, constructed with 1930s reproduction fabrics, but they make use of updated appliqué and piecing techniques. Some are a bit more challenging, but you’ll also find projects for the confident beginner. If you’re a less-experienced quilter, dive in and try something new! The designs may look complicated, but they really aren’t.”
Never fear, Nancy starts with a whole section on quiltmaking basics, taking you through rotary cutting and on into several different methods of preparing and stitching your appliqué. You’ll find information on starch appliqué, hand appliqué, invisible machine appliqué, fusible appliqué, even embellishment!
Then Nancy presents eight of her favorite 1930s quilt designs.
Bride's Quilt
Bell Flowers
All of the quilts are darling, and so reminiscent of an earlier time. While working on this book, the author became fascinated with the rich history of the decade, which included not only hard and depressing times but some wonderful, amazing things that she shares throughout the pages.
I have one copy of each book to give away, thanks to the publisher. If you’d like to enter the drawing, just leave a comment by 7:00 p.m. California time on Wednesday, July 6. Open to U.S. and Canada addresses only. Also, be sure to leave your comment on THIS post. Sometimes readers poke around a little bit and end up leaving their entry comment somewhere else.
The first winner will receive Quilting Those Flirty '30s, the second winner will receive Treasures From the '30s. Good luck, and have a fabulous holiday weekend!!
Until then,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Jun
1
The Ultimate Appliqué Guidebook
Filed Under Books, Freezer paper on top, Glue stick, Hand appliqué, Machine appliqué, Prepared edge, Prizes, Raw edge | 44 Comments
Remember this photo, of me and Annie Smith holding each other’s books?
The Ultimate Appliqué Guidebook from C&T Publishing is our featured book this month.
Full disclosure: Annie is a buddy of mine. For years we’ve followed one another’s progression as we strove for and attained career goals. A goal that we each held dear was the publication of an appliqué book. I’m so thrilled for Annie that her wish came true last fall when this gorgeous book came to life.
I’ll start by telling you that this is not the ultimate guide to every method of appliqué that’s out there. It’ something very important, a sourcebook of appliqué design elements and a gentle guide through the process of finding inspiration, encouraging it, recording it when it strikes, and translating it into your own unique appliqué quilts.
Starting with the basics, Annie goes through choosing fabrics, playing with fabrics, employing a focus fabric, and determining value. There’s a comprehensive section on tools and supplies for appliqué.
Wow.
Then she moves on to detailed instructions for her own favored appliqué methods: raw-edge fusible machine appliqué and Holly Mabutas’s prepared-edge method for hand appliqué, where freezer-paper templates are ironed to the front and the turning allowance is glued to the back. All through the book there are specific, detailed photographs to help you see exactly what Annie’s talking about.
Then comes a section on the basics of design for blocks and quilts. These are important concepts that in my experience are not covered all the time. A beautiful gallery of quilts follows, to give you even more inspiration. Check out an earlier blog post of mine that shows Annie’s gorgeous coat and accompanying quilt, both of which are pictured in the book.
Following that are several lovely quilt projects to get you started, with pull-out patterns in the back Then comes a whole long catalog of appliqué design elements! A 50 page appliqué shape-a-palooza! Mix and match these as you like!
Many of the elements are given in a variety of sizes, and you can always enlarge or reduce on a photocopy machine. And, you can use any method of appliqué that you like. Another great thing about this book is that it has a lay-flat binding, so you can smooth it out flat for tracing without worrying about breaking the spine. Very cool!
Annie gave me an autographed copy of her book to give away to one of my readers in a drawing. Thank you Annie! If you’d like a chance to win, leave a comment by 7:00 p.m. California time on Saturday, June 4. Contest open to U.S. and Canada addresses only. Good luck!
Until then,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
P.S. In case you might not know, Annie does a podcast for quilters. Check it out at Simple Arts.
May
29
Oh oops!
Filed Under Prizes | 2 Comments
Oops I forgot to fill in the name of the winner in my last post.
The winner of the table runner pattern is… Viv! Congratulations! Viv says, “OH MY GOSH….I am soooo excited…..I have never won, this is the first!
I love the table runner….can’t wait to make it!”
Have fun with it!
Kay
May
28
More from Schoolhouse
Filed Under Books, Designers, Glue stick, Magazines, Prepared edge, Prizes | 3 Comments
The winner of the Quilted Crow Girls pattern is… ! Congratulations
One of the Schoolhouse sessions that I attended during Spring Market was a presentation by Tri-State Printing. Tri-State is a well know name in the quilting industry. I’ve never used them, but I’ve been aware of them for a long time. They are extremely knowledgeable about our industry and its printing needs, and they print for a ton of quilt designers. If you need a little or a lot of help with your printed materials, from pattern covers to brochures to self-published books, they would be a good company to contact.
I went to a fun presentation from the Quilted Frog! Aka Carla Scott and Leanne Smith, who just came out with a new book from AQS Publishing called Lady Bug & Friends Quilts.
The Quilted Frog gals have developed a distinctive, cartoony, and very fun style they call Easy Outline Appliqué™. You have to go to their website and see the quilts from the new book! They are so different looking, really fresh and appealing!
Over on their website they also have tutorials and videos, so be sure to poke around all the great resources they offer.
There’s more from Schoolhouse and Market. I’m trying to wrangle some guest posts, so stay tuned!
Whilst I was tramping around the aisles of Market, I stopped by the Creative Crafts Group booth. They’re the ones who publish Quiltmaker and the special 100 Blocks issues, among many other publications. I was tickled to see the cover of the recent 100 Blocks Volume 3 blown up to poster size. A staffer insisted on taking my picture, and she told me to point to my block. This cheesy maneuver caused me to slump down, which made me look like I gained back that 10 pounds I just lost, but oh well.
In case you ‘re interested in getting that special issue and haven’t found it yet, I have it available on my website now, on the Patterns page.
Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
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