Wendy Butler Berns

My good friend Wendy Butler Berns has premiered a new website, I invite you to check it out.

Wendy Butler Berns
textile artist, teacher, lecturer

Look for my book "Photo Album Quilts"
and patterns too.....

Go to my "updated" website to learn more!!
http://www.wendybutlerberns.com

An interview with me

Recently I was contacted by Violette Severin to do an interview on my art. You can view it here on her blog Hand Quilting. Thanks Violette it was fun to have to think about those questions.

Dancing Trees

Dancing Trees

From the first leaves of spring to the last falling leaf in autumn, I am attracted to leaves. They flutter
past my eyes as they drift to the ground. The unfurling of luminous spring green fronds fill me with joy, and crisp orange red waifs delight my eyes as the leaves change from month to month. Every night, from spring to fall, outside my open window, their soft rustling sounds lull me to sleep. Leaves fill my life with color and sound and joy. They make me feel that all is right with the world.

Those are the inspirations for Dancing Trees the class I will be teaching at Quilt Expo in Madison WI
Dancing Trees Thur., Sept. 11, 2008; 1 P.M. - 4 P.M.
Dancing Trees Fri., Sept. 12, 2008; 1 P.M. - 4 P.M.
Dancing Trees Sat., Sept. 13, 2008; 1 P.M. - 4 P.M.

Treat yourself to a fun class. Make Dancing Trees
with me at Quilt Expo. We will be using easy fusing techniques and fun decorative blades for a fast and beautiful quilt project. I know you will enjoy making it. I hope to see you there.

Sleeve Pleat

Sleeve Pleat

I was recently asked by a group to write a description of a sleeve pleat. Making a pleat in your quilts sleeve will allow the quilt to hang on the wall much flatter and is well worth the trouble of creating it. I cringe when I see quilted projects with too slim or too tight of sleeves that make the quilt bulge out at the top when hung. A sleeve on any quilted project should be able to be hung at any quilt show, but it requires at least a four inch wide sleeve. Even on my small quilts which are intended to be hung as art, I always put a good 4 inch sleeve on the back with an half inch pleat in it so that when it has a rod in the sleeve it doesn’t cause a bulge at the top of the quilt. It really isn’t very hard to make a nice sleeve that is finished off neatly and that has an easy pleat incorporated into the making.

What follows are easy to follow straight forward directions for a neat sleeve with a ½ inch pleat.

Measure your finished squared up quilt width before binding. Cut a piece of fabric at least 1 3/4 inch longer than the finished quilt length and 10 inches wide.

On your ironing surface, press a ½ inch over on each short end. Press it again ½ inch over to enclose the ends. Stitch these ends down with a straight stitch. This will finish off the exposed edges of the sleeve neatly.
Fold the whole piece of fabric length wise in half, matching the raw edge along the top of the long side, creating a long open ended tube that is 5 inches deep and an inch shorter than the length of the quilt. Press this with a steam iron.

With the tube still laying on your ironing surface, take the top fold and bring it up 3/8 inch over the top of the back half. Make a new crease with the steam iron. This creates a second crease that will be on the back side of the sleeve when it is folded back to the first crease and even at the top. You can stitch a straight line along this fold to use as a guide later when you fold it up to stitch it to the back of the quilt.
I then add my label to the center of my sleeve on the front side and sew it in place with my sewing machine.

Fold the top flat back down to the first crease mark with the two edges flush at the top. Place straight pins along the top length to hold it all in place. With a regular length stitch on your sewing machine, stitch the top together along the long side with a quarter inch seam.

On the top edge of your squared up quilt, find the center and center the sewn tube along this edge with the raw edges at the top meeting flush. With a quarter inch seam allowance, sew the sleeve in place. Go ahead and add the binding all around the quilt.

After you have finished stitching the binding down on the quilt, hand stitch the sleeve into place. To create the pleat, push the sleeve unit up so that the second pressed crease with the stitch line that was on the back of the sleeve is the crease that you hand stitch in place. By sewing down the second crease, you have created your pleat. Once it is sewn in place, you can press the sleeve again to create a crease at the top by the binding.

It is just as important to have a neat and carefully crafted sleeve on your treasured quilted pieces as it is to have a neat and carefully crafted quilt.

More quilts that I like

If anyone knows the names of the quilt makers please let me know. I find it rather odd that they don't put the makers name next to the quilt. Anyway these are more quilts that I like from the show.

Some of the Quilts

This is one of the winners at the show, I believe it is by Philipa Naylor, how ever I am not sure, because they make you BUY the program with the names of the quilters and I am too cheap to pay the 5 pounds for it!!

This is also one of the winners. I love the composition.

And just for a contrast I adore this pink and black cow with her tiny barn on the side!

This quilt is in the miniature category, it is only about 12" square. I am always amazed at the miniaturers and their piecing. Crazy woman.

Festival of Quilts

Here we are in the UK at the Festival of Quilts, this is my new BFF Mai-Britt. She saw we were coming and made sure to stop in and say hello. We are seeing lots of people we know and making lots of new friends.

Our stall at the quilt show

It is a very small space but with great light from an over head skylight and fabulously friendly people. The walls are pinnable and the carpet comes with the booth. Fantastic

I will be missing George

I leave tomorrow for Birmingham England. I will be gone for two weeks. The first week working the show and the second week traveling around Wales with my husband. I will be missing George the whole time. So I thought I would do a little tribute to him, so when I get on line I can see him when ever I want. He is going to college with our youngest son. George has been to college before and always learns a thing or two. He has a good time and so do the boys.

September 11,12,13, 2008 Anne Lullie and I will be teaching and sharing a booth at QUILT EXPO in Madison WI. We will have a fabulous hand dyed fabrics in cotton and silk and all of our patterns for sale. Along with a display of our art quilts.

If you haven't been to this great show now is the time to check it out. Madison is only about 1 1/2 hour drive from the Chicago land area and is a beautiful city on a lake. I particularly love this quilt show for many reasons, firstly because Nancy Zeiman is such a great sewer and craftsman. But what is really nice is the size and scale of this venue. It is so easy to get to, park and take classes at, that it really is the best show around. I hope to see a few familiar faces and meet some new friends. Make a plan with your quilting buddies to drive up for a day or two and be inspired.

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Birmingham UK

British Translator Wanted Visiting the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, UK, August 14 – 17? Then please stop in at the Artfabrik Booth, B7, and say hello. Laura Wasilowski and I have a great selection of hand dyed fabrics, threads, silk, and beautiful art quilt patterns for sale. (And we love Cadbury chocolate.)

Leaves in a Whirl

Laura getting ready to film her DVD called "Leaves in a Whirl". She is one hot fuser chick.

Laura and the crew, do they look familiar? They are my crew too, Todd and his daughter Savanah. Both Laura and I will have new DVD's packaged with the paper patterns premiering this fall. I know you can't wait to have one of each! It will be like having us over for tea and taking a class. What fun!