Happy on the new quilt

Lars and Megan happy and warm on the new quilt!!

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a very happy and warm Valentine's Day. We are still freezing here in Illinois.

Lars and Megan's quilt

My son Lars asked me in August to make him a quilt for his new apartment in Boston. I finally finished it! Winter is almost over, but there is always next year. He and Megan decided they want it to be Blue, and Blue and White. So first I had to buy the white and more light blue because I like really intense colors and didn't really have any lighter shades. Then I had to decide what pattern to make. I decided to use a pattern out of Pat Speth's book, More Nickel Quilts. She calls it Streak of Lightning. It is a scrapy quilt, but I wish I had placed the white in certain areas to see the pattern develope more noticably. I know they will enjoy it no matter what. It turned out huge 100 x 100 so it will fit on queen or king.

What kind of batting is best for fusing.

Hi Frieda – I took my first shot at doing a fusie – the tulips – from your book. Considering it was my first learning experience – it turned out OK enough for my husband to want it – Anyway, I used a scrap piece of warm n natural for my batting. I am no pro at free motion quilting or stipling but I found it difficult to get a nice flow. Is there another type of batting that would be more appropriate for working with fused layers? Also, from what I saw on your web site I may need to use a different sized needle. Saw the Chicago School of Fusion on our SD PBS channel. Enjoyed! Feel sorry for my iron – definitely a challenge keeping that sucker out of fusions way. Thanks, Kathie (born n raised Chicagoan and parents formerly your “neighbors” from Streamwood. ) Rapid City, SD

Thanks Kathie for the question. My batting of chose is Hobbs Heirloom, or Fairfield Cotton Classic. Both are nice and thin and don't have any pattern on them the way Warm and Natural does. They machine quilt beautifully and don't create any drag. I also have found that if I spray the back of my quilt with spray sizing ( I like the new Mary Ellen spray sizing that comes in a pump bottle, it costs more but there is non wasted and it smells good) the quilt just glides through the machine with easy. And yes it is important to use the correct needle for the correct job. If you are using cotton thread I recommend using a "Quilting Needle" it is designed to penetrate all the layers of the quilt with ease unlike a Universal needle which is designed to part the threads for sewing. And remember that a sewing machine needle is only intended to sew 8-10 hours of sewing time, so change those needles!!!

New design on my webpage

I have been working with a friend from my church for over a month now, and we finally have a new web design for FRIESTYLE, my website. I still have to upload some images on my notions page, but other than that I am ready to premier the new site. I invite you to take a minute and check it out, particularly the store section. I would appreciate your honest feed back.

My samples

Tsukineko Inks

Yesterday Judy Coats Perez led a class for the Textile Diva's at the College of DuPage on Tsukinelo Inks. We had a blast. I had never used these inks and was very interesting in giving them a try. What I discovered is that you need to practice. Big surprise.

Judy demonstrated the various techniques of applying the inks to dry white or light colored hand dyed cottons. Dipping the Fantast/x coloring tool bullet point (nub), either sharp or rounded, into the ink you then rub the nub onto the fabric creating shading and shape. To thin the inks you can use Aloe instead of water. After playing around I found I liked using the Aloe method better as it gave a smoother appearance.

Judy started us out by doing basic shapes, rectangles, leaves, and spheres. She then gave us hand outs from Dover books of flowers, fruits and berries to lay under our white fabrics to follow along and color in. Eventually I tried my own designs. We even did a little marbling on shaving cream with the inks, something else I had always wanted to try. This was great fun and more my cup of tea.

I enjoy taking classes on new techniques with friends along for the fun, it is always easier to learn by watching someone else do it first and then experimenting in class while you sit and visit. It is particularly nice on a gray day in February.