Friday, April 23, 2010

8 Steps to finish your UFOs

I must confess that I didn't even know what UFO stands for when I went to my first quilting group. I thought, what are they talking about when they mentioned: "I have so many UFOs that I started hiding them."

Quickly I found out that they are not unidentified objects flying around somewhere, a UFO is an Unfinished Object, and the quilts we start but never seem to get finished.

Ask a quilter and they will tell you where to find the UFOs in their house. Stuffed in a basket under some wool for the jumper that I wanted to knit for my son when he was 3, he is now 13 and I don't have enough wool to finish the jumper, but never mind - one day….the jumper and one day the quilt.

You might find UFOs in boxes, the last draw in my cupboard or hidden behind some old clothes that I don't wear any more since I have put on 10 pounds...

Quilters tend to hide them after a while and go out to buy more fabrics anyway. It's like an addiction this quilting, there are so many beautiful fabrics to touch, to stroke and finally buy them to start yet another stunning project, which I promise to finish one day.

There are many reasons why this can happen, some I like to share with you here.

Someone comes along and gives me a negative feedback. Next I have the little voice in the head that says: "See, I told you so - you are no good at this".
I just bought this fantastic new fabric and wanted to get started right away with my new quilt, the last one I will finish later.
My auntie's birthday has passed anyway, so I can't give her the quilt now - can I?
I started a new job, now I don't have time to finish the project.
The weather is so beautiful and I started swimming again, no time to do the jobs around the house.
Oh, I forgot all about that quilt, I thought I finished it last year.
My friend didn't like the colours I chose, so I lost interest.
I don't know how to do the next step.

There are so many different ways to delay the final few steps - I could go on and on, but this is not what the article is about.
I like to encourage you to finish the quilt and give you some tips on how to do that.
At this stage you have to be honest here with yourself. You might discover that deep down inside you really love to cut up the fabric, sew the blocks and assemble them, but you don't like basting, quilting or binding. Whatever you feel, put this aside for now and follow the steps:

Monday, April 19, 2010

Reversible Quilts Book Review

I was fortunate enough to meet with Sharon in Houston at the Quilt Market last year. Sharon is a warm and approachable person, always keen to share her experience.
Reversible Quilts is a well laid out educational book, which shows you how to make two quilts at the same time. You make and quilt the blocks as you go and therefore can attempt a queen size quilt on any machine. Using her method you can make a quilt that has two distinct sides; one side showing a Christmas theme and on the other side you might like to show an Easter theme.
Sharon shows you how to make a simple quilt to start off with and progresses to more complex designs as you go.
In the book you will find 10 projects to do, but you actually end up with 20 different quilt tops if you turn them.
It's a pleasure to read through the pages and get inspired along the way with new ideas.
If you are not so good with learning from a book, the educational DVD works very well in conjunction to the book or by itself.
I recommend this book and the DVD to any beginner or experienced quilter who would like to add a new technique to their repertoire.

Color the World with your Creativity

Heike

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Intuitive Color & Design - Book Review

There are many different ways in which I like to spend a sunny afternoon, one of them is to sit with a cup of tea and read through a new book.
 Reading through Jean Wells’ Intuitive Color & Design is an adventure in itself. Jean shows you how to open your eyes to see the multiple colours and shapes that surround us. You will learn to start your journal with confidence, explore colour families and related harmony to make the quilt design dance.
You are inspired and provoked to see what actually attracts you to certain shapes, sizes and colours. Jean guides you through her assignments to convert your ideas into the finished art piece. She offers 11 assignments, starting with a journal, what tools you need, and shows you how to paper piece.
Jean also goes into great details of the principles of design and scale, shape, patterns and colours.
Every page has either inspiring landscape images, close up design photos and drawings to show you ‘How’ it all comes together.
This book is an inspiration to me and I can recommend it to anyone who would like to broaden their horizon and develop their own artistic potential.

Colour the World with your creativity

Heike

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

My new Bag

My son and his wife Elle came on Easter Sunday for Coffee and cake, that is what Germans do....

We had a lovely time and I notice her new bag. Elle said that she received the bag as a gift for Christmas and has another 2, nearly the same. "Oh..." I said, "A bag is easy to make"

I sat on Sunday evening and thought about the bag. What about if I make one - just for the fun of it. Here is the result I came up with. The bags are easy to make and you only need 1 metre of fabric if you would like the outer and inner bag in the same colour. Otherwise you take 2 fat quarters, one for the outer and one for the inner bag.
Since I have collected buttons for some time I used those on the bag as well.
If you would like the pattern for the bag please go to my website and when you purchase 1 metre of fabric in total I will send you the pattern for free via email.

This one I made with lovely Kaffe Fassett fabrics.
Scrap material that I had for a while.

Colour the World with your Creativity

Heike