Quilting With a Modern Slant: A Review

So friends, I'm doing a sponsored book review today!  (Sponsored meaning the publisher sent me a book for free, and I get to give one copy to one of you)  If you read my blog much, you know I just don't do this stuff.  I find it way too hard to be honest, but also nice at the same time:)

So why am I doing it this time?  I don't know.  Must have been that the concept of the book intrigued me, as it did not seem to be your typical quilting book.   And even though I don't label myself as a modern quilter, I am influenced by modern quilters and very interested in this topic as a whole.

So I said yes, I will accept this book and talk about it on my blog.  And then in the weeks I was waiting for it to arrive, I wondered to myself why I had put myself in for this, since I was sure to disagree with most of what the book said about 'modern' quilting.

After the book arrived (only yesterday, so I haven't had a lot of time to look at it) I cracked it open and started reading at the beginning.

I started out by being pleasantly surprised.  I enjoyed Rachel May's introduction, as well as the following pages which include Six Steps to a Quilt (simple breakdown on how to make a quilt),  as well as a few pages with her thoughts on modern quilting.  I found this first part of the book to be very encouraging and inclusive.

This book is mainly a collection of quilters and artists who have inspired or been a part of the modern quilting community.  Each person has a page or two with some of their thoughts on various aspects, as well as some examples of their work.

I was very pleased to find Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr as the first featured artists.  I only wish that they could have had a few more pages to share their amazing quilts and valuable thoughts.

I could go into so much more, but I'll try to put my overview into a few sentences.  I enjoyed reading this book, but am not sure what it's use is for me.  There are patterns sprinkled throughout, but none that I would be likely to use.  There are lots of beautiful quilts shown, but it felt like I'd seen a lot of them before.  It was interesting to hear a bit from each of these quilters, but I would have rather seen a smaller number of contributors and more in depth conversations as well as more samples of each artist's work.

I feel like I'm being picky by saying this, like I'm expecting perfection!  The fact is, this is a beautiful book with a LOT of content.

If you are a quilter deeply immersed in the modern quilting world, you'll find this book interesting simply because you'll recognize many names and feel a connection.

I would also recommend this book to a fairly new quilter as I feel like it has a very encouraging and inclusive tone to it.  Overall, I am very happy with the impression it leaves of the quilting community in general.

I hope this little review interested you enough to go check it out!

Oh, and leave me a comment here on this post for a chance to win a copy.  I'll leave the giveaway open till Feb. 24th.

Really Random Thursday

a few of you have asked if i'm still got this McElligot's Pool fabric stack hanging around.  yes, it's one of the lucky few that has not been pulled apart and used mercilessly in other quilts.  (ok, a few of the fabrics were stolen for other projects, but i did my best to replace them)

i've been thinking and digesting on this one for a few months.  i never could land on the the perfect pattern.  i had a lot of ideas, i had almost decided on a wonky cross quilt, kinda like this or this.  (totally love both those quilts, maybe i should still do it)

in the end though, i settled on something inspired by this and this.  i never intended to interpret the 'fish' theme literally.  i was only thinking of the color scheme.  but i do kinda like how this pattern looks a little 'fishy'.  i think that must be why i went with this design, because i actually really dislike making half square triangles!   it's one of those mind-block things, kind of like cleaning out the dishwasher.  it's a relatively quick and simple task, but i always put it off!

i don't necessarily say that i won't change things up part way through!  i may get bored, which is when things tend to get interesting!

random point number two!

i find it interesting how my taste in fabric evolves over time.  i buy mostly online, since i live in an igloo and my dog sled is frozen in a snow drift.  buying fabric online can be tricky although after a few years, i have less mistakes (aka:  fabrics that i thought looked good online but in person just aren't my thing)

anyways, i tend to just buy what i love and usually that works out great.  i rarely think consciously about what makes me love a fabric and reach for it over and over and feel panicky when it runs out.

the other day i did have a light bulb moment though, and realized that i tend to like fabrics printed on a slightly creamy background more than pure white ones.

hence the above example. the top photo with five fabrics are ones that had pure white backgrounds (or more 'blueish' undertones)  i decided to try giving them a bit of a bath in tea dye.

the second photo shows the only two that had any noticeable change.   (i used an actual  tea bag in water and just dipped the fabrics in and swished around a bit, then rinsed)  they definitely have a different tone now, although i'm not sure if quite the 'right' color.

and my final random mention for the day...  a while back i talked about one of my favorite online fabric shops, you can read about it here.  i just received an order from another fave shop, so i thought i'd mention them as well.

that would be Mad About Patchwork!  

Pros:

♦ they are in Canada!  this means that for once in my life, the shipping slogan that says 'FREE SHIPPING!!' actually applies to me :)
♦ that also means that if you're in Canada, there's no risk of duty costs and you'll receive your fabric within a week or less!
♦ they specialize in basics, which is really so very good for my fabric diet right now!  they have many of the Kona solids, as well as Kaffe Fasset shot cottons and Essex Linen.  they also have some other lines of fabric, and a nice selection of modern books and patterns.
♦  their yardage prices are just slightly higher than most stores in the US, but when i figure out the price of postage and add in the idea of supporting a Canadian shop, it makes me more than happy to buy from Pam!
♦ last but not least, super duper customer service!  awhile ago i made an order of shot cottons and asked if she could jot the names of the colors on the selvedge, just because i had such a terrible time with guessing which color was which.  guess what she did?  she sent me three sheets of paper filled with samples of all her shot cotton colors!!  and i think she now has those sheets for sale in the shop!

Cons:

♦ hmmm... can't find too much to complain about.  the selection of new collections coming in is very well edited and a nice selection, but of course i can't find everything i want here, so i end up buying most of my prints elsewhere.  i think i may find myself shopping here more and more in the future with the crazy cost of shipping though!

by the way, i'm not being compensated, this is my honest review!

well, that's all for random Thursday!  i'm linking up with Cindy of LiveAColorfulLife, because i love me some random!

A Fabric Shop Review

i had a few requests from my last post for identifying this stack of fabrics, so i thot i'd give you a quick list.  and then since most of them (well, half at least) are from my most recent order from one of my top five fave online quilt shops, i thot i'd do a little review right away.

i've always been meaning to talk about some of my fave shops.  i have no connection with any of them, other than that they take my money and i take their fabric, so these are really, truly my favorite shops.  also, i'm a Canadian, which makes the whole online shipping thing slightly different, since shipping and customs and all that jazz can be a bit expensive!  so for my fellow Canadians, my list of faves is tailored for us!

first i'll talk about this one shop a bit, and then at the end i'll give you the list of fabrics and where to find them.

so the shop i'm thinking of today is.......FabricShack!!  Now if I was to make a list with my top fave shop as #1, then FabricShack would likely be about #3 or so.

Here's what I love -

♥ huge huge selection.  like sooooo many collections.  they have lots of modern lines, (although not all) and then so very many more reproduction and vintage style collections, as well as lots of lesser known brands and designers that I would likely never come across.

♥ good shipping rates to Canada!  They fit 9 yards in a flat rate envelope (most shops will put anywhere from 7-10 yards in an envelope for about $12.95)  Basically, I only buy from shops that put 9-10 yards in.  It may be a mind block for me, but that extra yard or two just really wins me over!   Anyways, back to FabrickShack!  So they put 9 yards in a flat rate envelope, and they do it for $8.50!)

♥ in a lot of ways, their selection of fabric is similiar to FatQuarterShop, (in that they have SO many collections)  but the nice thing about FabricShack is that they don't sell out quite so soon.  Maybe they're not as well known, but at least it gives me a few days to decide if I want to buy!

♥  really good customer service.  they are friendly and accomodating, and they just got Paypal so I'm happy about that!

Here's the reasons why this shop is not #1 on my list.

- archaic website.  am I being a bit fussy?  ya probably, but if definitely does not have the ease of navigation or the beauty of some other online shops.

- a bit slow on the shipping.  sometimes it seems they don't get the order shipped out for a couple of days, although i'm usually waiting 2 weeks for any order from the U.S.,  so it's not a big deal.

- they don't always carry the more modern collections.  I can't think of an example right now...

Overall, shopping at FabricShack is a bit of a treasure hunt for me!  Sometimes I'll try looking at every fabric collection, even if the little icon, or the name under it, or the manufacturer just makes me think i won't like it.  I'll click on it anyways, and I've found so many great prints that I love, just nestled in among a collection that I would have never, ever seen in any of the 'modern' focused online shops.

I hope that info was at least slightly helpful, i'd love to hear your online shopping stories!

Now for the list of fabrics...

1. Punctuation by American Jane for Moda Fabrics - from my stash
2. Wee Woodlands by Keiki for Moda Fabrics - from my stash
3. Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt for Free Spirit Fabrics - from my stash
4. ?? ??  by Paula Barnes for Marcus Fabrics - from my stash (i adore this print and am looking for more)
5. Simple Abundance by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics - from my stash
6. Tea Time by SPX fabrics - from my stash
7. Marmalade by Bonnie and Camille for Moda - just bought from Fabric Shack
8. Anna Bella by Marcus Brothers - just bought from Fabric Shack  (i'm crazy for this print, it reminds me a bit of Liberty prints)
9.Inkwell by Meg Hawkey for Lecien - just bought from Fabric Shack  (unfortunately, this print has since sold out here, but you can still get it in the red)
10.Anna Bella by Marcus Brothers - just bought from Fabric Shack
11.Odds and Ends by Cosmo Cricket for Moda Fabrics - just bought from Fabric Shack
12. The Sweetest Thing by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake Fabrics - just bought from Fabrick Shack (yes, this pink shade is yum!)

any more questions or mistakes you see, feel free to let me know!  happy fabric shopping:)

quilt love {book love}

i'm in love with this book.  it's not really a new technique book for me, but more of pure inspiration.  Cassandra's overall philosophy of quilting just rings right with me.

i love her concept of using loved and precious fabrics to make meaningful quilts.  quilts with soul.  you can laugh, but i really think it's possible to make a quilt that truly is a Quilt.  this doesn't necessarily mean a high and lofty designer quilt.

it starts with the maker, who loves making it, and pours their emotions into each stitch.  taking fabric and thread, meaningless on their own and joining them together to make a blanket filled with beauty and texture.

even this though, is not enough.  even a quilt that is loved and breathed upon by it's maker will not really become a Quilt, until it is put to use in the way that every quilt wants to be used.  as a soft and comforting cover, pulled off the shelf every day for so many reasons.  loved to pieces and used without regard for it's 'specialness'.  Chosen because it is soft, because it is warm, because it unconsciously speaks of love.

---ok, that was a little sappy, maybe?!---   oh well, i'm glad that most of you reading this are quilters, so you won't find me too strange:)

anyways, i'm hoping to make the above fabric stack into a quilt from this book one of these days soon!

Scrap Republic

Scrap Republic.  Isn't that the most perfect name ever?  I mean, I would have bought it on the name alone, not to mention all the delicious, scrappy, rainbowy goodness.  So I bought this book almost without thinking about it.  The $$ low investment helped this hasty decision somewhat!  I've almost finished my second quilt top from this book.  (Well, one was following a pattern, and one was "inspired" by a pattern)

So now it's time for a little book review.  I've pondered whether I should even give my own little review like this.  To me, a book review isn't worth a lot unless it's honest and not involving a free book in exchange for blogging about it.  NOW before you get huffy, please...I'm not downing bloggy book tours because I think they're a great way to spread the news about your new book and all.  I'm just saying that the reviews that have made me buy a book are the ones where I can tell that the person really did like the book just.because.they.did.

The problem with honest book reviews though, is that I absolutely do not want to say anything to hurt the author's feelings if perchance they did ever stumble upon my post about their book.  So hmmm...my solution:  When I find a book that I can't keep quiet about, then I'll tell you about it.  And yes, I'll be honest if there's something less than perfect about it, but obviously I love the book, so my gushing praise should be enough to make you go out and buy it, pronto, right?!



Here I am, busy at my machine, sewing my second!! quilt top from this book.  That alone should tell you something (other than the fact that my scraps are getting uncontrollable)

This book is packed with color, and I'm a sucker for Emily's style of quilting, so everything is win/win here.  Little photos of beautifully pieced quilt backs and bindings and dense quilting with lovely texture.  The photos honestly have me squinting and holding it up to my face in hopes of seeing more!

Now, I'll say that the instructions aren't just overly clear, but then I've never seen a quilt book that matched up to the lovely online tutorials we see nowadays with so many great photos, so that's hardly worth mentioning, and should not deter you if you've made any quilts before.  That is because these quilts are all fairly simple in design so they're not too confusing to begin with.

Here's a little glimpse of the first top I made.  Most of the patterns in this book are for fairly small quilts.  For example, this strippy rainbow one, (yes I'll show you more of it yet) I made into a large lap/almost twin size. This one I didn't follow the pattern or directions at all, just took inspiration from the yummy quilt in the book and dug in.  And you don't have to use scraps or use this color scheme.  See this pink one?  Wonderful!  And she includes instructions for making every one of these quilts from yardage.

Now this one is the really astounding one!  I made this log cabin patchwork quilt completely by following a pattern, down to the exact diagram and not changing ONE thing!!  Here's my experience with this pattern.

There's a cutting diagram that tells you the exact size and amount of strips to cut from each color of the rainbow.  While I was cutting, I was thinking that this was taking a long time and maybe overcomplicating it a bit.  BUT, I was having a blast!  I just immersed myself in my scraps and didn't spend a moment thinking about the final design.  I just cut 3 pink strips 2.5" x 8" and 5 pink strips 1.5"x4" and on and on.

And then the sewing.  All that time cutting made putting the blocks together go REALLY fast.  And this was all laid out precisely in diagrams too.  (you can kind of see it in the top picture)  I had a blast digging around in my pile of cut strips and pulling out the next treasured piece to sew on.

I haven't had so much fun putting something together for a long time.  And when I had all the blocks together, I was actually kind of sad... and that is VERY unusual for this quilter with a short attention span.

So I'll be making this pattern again, only instead of scraps I'll choose six fabric to take the place of the rainbow scrappy colors.  (yes, the instructions make this easy too!)  And maybe with a darker background color?!  Yummy!!

So overall, I'd say that the general way of constructing these blocks is different than what I'd do.  I'm much more improv and less exact directions, whereas Emily seems to be more mathematical and precise.  I think though, that the reason I'm enjoying this book so much is the fact that I'm letting go of the design, (cause let's face it, I love every design in this book) and just playing with color.  Well, duh, that's what any pattern does for you right?

Well, I've rambled on and I hope I've convinced you to go buy this book.  If you don't, you're just gonna be jealous whenever you see these bright scrappy quilts showing up around here!

Quilting and Sewing Labels

 I've received quite a few questions about the quilt labels I use, and where to get them.  Here's a bit of an overview of the ones I've used and where you can find them.  The three different kinds I show here are only a small sampling of the options available to you, so please don't imagine me to be an expert on this topic!



These are the first ones I used, and was using until recently when I ran out and decided to try something different.  I found these by searching for 'sew in labels' on Etsy.  (I'd suggest you do the same!  There are many sellers, and I'm sure that most, if not all, have a great product.)

The ones I'm showing here were purchased from MommieMadeIt on Etsy.  (click on the name for the link)

They are printed on a slightly stiff woven fabric.  You can choose your font, color, size, etc.   The photo above shows the sew on ones that I ordered rather than the sew in.  The sew in ones have the name printed twice with a mirror image so that you fold them in half and sew in your seam.

Here's one sewn into a quilt.  I noticed absolutely no fading with these labels, which was the biggest reason I was happy with them.  The one down side was the fact that they tended to curl up a bit.  Nothing that an iron can't fix, but I avoid all ironing if possible!

Here's the one that I put on my cell phone cover.  They are quite tiny, so they're perfect for small projects like this.  As you can see, the edges are fraying a bit, but this cover has seen a LOT of use ( and needs a washing too)

When those labels ran out, I decided I wanted to try the twill look.  I ordered these from the same seller, because I was happy with her customer service, prices, and she has a good selection.

You can see that the print faded a little bit on the twill labels, but it gives it a natural hand made look that doesn't really bother me.  The biggest problem for me was a designing mistake on my part.  Because I have a long name, it ended up really tiny, and the beginning and end get lost in the seam allowance.  Just something to remember when you order, remember to leave enough room on the edges where you're planning to sew it in.

Also, because these labels are longer and larger, they tended to curl over the edge after washing.  Again, I could iron them:)

Really, the biggest reason I didn't continue with these was that I didn't like the way the name was so long and skinny in the middle of the label.  Again, this was completely my fault, as I was given a proof, showing me how it would look.  I may try these again, and put the name on two lines, or use a tall skinny font.


OK, on to the next kind that I just purchased.

I decided to try another shop, just to be adventurous!  This time I tried Gutentags, also on Etsy.  There were so many great options for labels, but I decided to try this shop.  She sounded friendly and her product looked nice.  Also, I wanted to try the ribbon look as another option.

One really nice thing about these is the fact that they're printed on really wide ribbon.  If you look at the photo above, you'll see that I cut and separate the tags horizontally (that tiny black dot on the top of the label is the mark where I'm to cut.  So that makes the fraying edges the ones that are sewn into your quilt, and the sides that are out are the sides of the ribbon, so there will be no fraying.

After one washing there is a tiny bit of fading in the print.  Other than that, I'm very happy with the looks of these labels.  They look shiny and crisp after washing, with no folding.

Overall, I think any of these labels would be a great option, depending on the look you want.  I think that I still like the natural look of twill, but for now I'm excited about my new ribbon labels and will be using them up happily.

I just really like the idea of supporting other crafters on Etsy and the fact that these are next best to making the labels myself.

Feel free to ask me more questions!

Three Books Reviewed

Saturday morning.  Husband took the three year old with him.  Baby Girl is playing {sort of} happily.  The house is {sort of} cleaned up.  So now we will have the book reviews that I've been planning.

This year for Christmas I had quite a few quilting books on my list.  Think 10 or so!  Now I didn't expect to get them all, but I had never seen any of them in real life, so couldn't decide which I wanted most.  My sis-in-law bought me Liberated Quiltmaking ll by Gwen Marston, and I was given money from my aunt with the instructions to pick out a couple more.  FuN!!  So that began the research.  I found a few reviews on blogs and some Flickr discussions, and in the end I decided to go with The Modern Quilt Workshop, and Denyse Schmidt Quilts.

Because I found these reviews helpful and interesting, and there wasn't any too many of them, I decided I'd do my own little comparison thingie.  This isn't going to be any in-depth analysis, but rather my impressions and overall likes and dislikes of each book.  I think to keep it simple for my wording challenged brain, I'm going to do pros and cons of each one.

Let's start off with Gwen Marston's Liberated Quiltmaking ll

Pros:  Just read that little blurb above and you'll understand why I absolutely LOVE this book.  I read it through from cover to cover, and I've since found myself looking at it again and again.  There are lots and lots of quilts in this book, and some serious inspiration.  Cheryl wrote a review of one of Gwen's other books, and what she found is SO true of this book as well.  It's plain fun to read.  It made me more enthused about quilting than I was before (if that's possible)  There's not a single template in this book, (Yaaay!!)  There is lots of encouragement to have fun and make it up as you go.

(my favorite quilt in this book)

Cons:  I honestly have a hard time finding any downsides, so the one I do have seems really nitpicky and inconsequential.  I'm not a huge fan of her fabric and color choices.  She seems to make her quilts totally in solids (which I like better, since most of her quilts are quite "busy" design-wise)  or else they have many different patterned fabrics with few solids to rest the eye.  OK, so that's completely my personal opinion, and really doesn't affect the awesomeness that is this book.

If you don't have this book, please get it!  I think that Gwen must have FUN quilting, because that's what totally reads through in this book.


Next up:  Modern Quilt Workshop

Pros:  When I found the FunQuilts website, I knew I had to have this book.  They have designed so many wonderful and original quilts.  I had seen this Love Beads quilt (pictured above) on Flickr, but never realized that it came from this book.  Same with the Plain Spoken pattern.  I think finding out that both these patterns came from this book tipped me over the edge and MADE me buy it.  And yes, I'm definitely making both of these quilts!  So this book has quite a few patterns that I love and will definitely make some time.  With each quilt they show small computer-generated images of the quilt in quite a few different color schemes.  They also have charts on how to make each quilt in everthing from wall hanging to king-sized.  For me, this isn't a major bonus since I tend to look at the picture and then figure it out on my own anyways, but I think quite a few people would find this helpful.  Overall, there are some seriously great quilts in this book, and I'd buy it for that fact alone.

(I'm thinking this would be great in different shades of green)

Cons:  This book definitely has a more "serious" tone.  An inexperienced quilter might find it a bit intimidating. Although there is lots of good instructions and some good diagrams, it doesn't have quite the "go for it, you can do it!" that Gwen Marston's book has.


Lastly:  Denyse Schmidt Quilts

Of all three books, this one has the hippest, coolest, (I told you I'm no writer so I can use words like that) anyways, the hippest, coolest layout.  The overall design of the book and the selection of projects as well as the colors and fabrics used give for an overall modern and unique vibe.   Although I would never follow these instructions to make the projects, many of these patterns are the basis for a lot of the quilts I make, so somehow it just feels right to own this book.  If nothing else, it makes me happy just seeing it sitting on the shelf!

Cons:  I'll have to admit I was a teensy bit disappointed in this one.  Although if I had first seen this book three years ago, I would have been entranced.  I've seen so many of these patterns or versions of these patterns all over Flickr and blogland, so I didn't feel like I found anything new.  I've read and heard this before, but it is interesting that Denyse's patterns all use complicated templates (OK, I call all templates complicated) when the quilt could be easily made in a more free form manner.  I suppose though, that there are enough people out there who want to make that 'exact' quilt, so if that's what you want to do, then the instructions here are perfect for you.


So there's my little review.  I'm sure I'll think of more later that I wanted to add, but Baby Girl has decided to empty out the bottom shelf in the pantry. (the middle drawer in the bathroom got a little boring since all the contents are on the floor)

Furthermore, these are all my OPINIONS, and I would definitely recommend all three books to anyone wanting to expand their quilt book library in a more modernish direction.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on these books, or any others you think I should be getting!