I’ve recently rediscovered the magic of sewing with canvas in one of my latest projects, so I thought we could all rediscover the magic of one of the best blog series’ of all time… our quilty road trip of 2017!
After the last Quilty Adventure post on sewing with Lawn, you thought our beautiful trip was over.
Once upon a time, not so long ago, I was sewing with double gauze and using the heck out of my Tailor’s Clapper, when I suddenly stopped. I raised my trusted hunk of wood up in front of my eyes and said, “Mr.
Before sharing my 5 secrets to machine quilting with 12 wt. thread – travel with me back in time to a few weeks ago (cue dreamy music)…
It was a rainy day in May and I was teaching a Sew Mojo Mini workshop (watch the video class here and get the patterns here) in Grand Rapids, Michigan (heeeeyo to my GR ladies!) My teaching style is, how to say this...mostly me giving loose instructions and then hopping around oooohing and ahhhhing over the splendid things everyone is making.
Ever wonder what's the difference between cotton and poly thread? Both can be great sewing options, but they are pretty different in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Lucky for you I'm a part-time P.I. with an insatiable drive to answer quilting's toughest questions and solve our sewing mysteries.
I've been talking a lot about my latest quilt pattern, Bohemian Garden, and even though I've mentioned some of my influences, I wanted to dive deeper into one of them – the paper cut-outs of Henri Mattise.
You're probably familiar with him, and even more familiar with the dramatic and captivating shapes he created through simple paper, but did you know that the work he created and was most proud to call his, was done at the very end of his life?
This light-hearted and whimsical design has been itching at my brain for over a year, and only now am I finally scratching that itch. My high school art teacher always emphasized the importance of an artist's "layering of experiences." I think about that all the time when tracing back the inception of a design.
I know you all think I’m Superwoman when it comes to quilting (right? You do, right?) but I don’t do all of this alone. I have a whole toolbox of sidekicks backing me up during all of my quilting adventures. Building up your team of must-have quilting tools is just as important as perfecting your sewing skills.
A wise woman once said to me, “Suzy, the very first thing you should do when you get home from a fabric shop is throw all of your fabric into the washing machine. One must prewash fabric before quilting. It's essential.”
Another wise woman also said to me, “Prewashing??
Over the last year I’ve done a lot of hand quilting, which means I’ve formed a pretty deep and intimate trust relationship with my hand quilting needles. People tell you that you should choose your friends wisely, and surround yourself with supportive, sharp people who can move easily through fabric (that’s what I’ve heard, at least).
