DebbieWendt's Blog

I’m thrilled to be back in Grand Rapids! I’ve spent the last day and a half setting up my booth for the AQS QuiltWeek. It is always a pleasure to be back in this city and welcome all the wonderful quilters to my booth. And my booth…..Booth #1019…..same spot as all the other years I’ve been coming to this show!! You can find me on the vendor section of the first aisle, next to the Guild Challenge quilts.

So how about tips for attending a quilt show? I’ve listed some in the past but here are a few more.

#1 – Take notes! I’ve seen many quilters frustrated because they can’t remember what booth they saw something they wanted to go back to. Write it down!

#2 – Walk the show in both directions. You’ll be amazed how different a booth can look from the other direction.

#3 – Please look at us! Give ALL booths a look-see. We are here for your looking and buying pleasure!

#4 – Please move your conversations away from the front of someone’s booth. We all want a good chat with quilting friends….but stopping and blocking a booth entrance isn’t fair to your vendor friends.

#5 – Take breaks, drink water, and give your feet a rest!

#6 – and……. have FUN!

in quilting,

Debbie

A bit of a side step this week. I taped a podcast a few weeks ago with Tori MeElwain and Andi Stanfield from Quilting on the Side. These two ladies have found a niche for talking about and exploring the world of quilting from behind the scenes. Looking at how people got started in quilting, exploring ways for making a profit and how to juggle a quilt business as a “side hustle” when you have an “everyday” job. MY podcast interview was released today!! You can visit their website quiltingontheside and find all the ways to listen or WATCH the interview on YouTube. We did the interview over Zoom! We had a wonderful time talking about quilting and I loved doing the interview with them and being a featured guest. I will tell/warn you, it is 46 minutes long, but some great interview questions and my answers and discussion about my quilt business! (I should say my quilt life!!!) I hope you will take some time and given it a listen or look.

If you are interested in learning more about starting a pattern design, quilt teaching or quilt related business, I highly recommend you give Tori and Andi a follow!

There are several vendor tips and getting started teaching tips in the interview. So, I will let those be the two tips for this week! I’m getting ready to vend at Quilt Week in Grand Rapids next week and working on a couple projects for Quilt Market in Houston the end of October. I promise to share as soon as my “new” is ready! Those of you going to Grand Rapids, I’ll be in the same spot as last year, Booth #1019. My little spot on the corner by the guild Challenge quilts. I’m looking forward to a great show and it always is fun to be a part of Quilt Week and be in Grand Rapids.

in quilting,

Debbie

It was on my list….A Hexie Flower Garden made with the look of traditional 1930s fabrics. The fabrics used in the quilt I made below are reproduction fabrics, not actually “old” fabrics. There is something about this quilt design that screams QUILT to me. It is probably a combination of many factors…Hexagons, Grandmother’s Flower Garden design, reproduction fabrics and the crisp white background. (It really is white! The lighting causes it to look gray and cream.)

I find it interesting in taking photos of quilts…… you see little things that you didn’t see while piecing. This quilt is straight and seams are matched pretty darn good. But in looking at the blue flower when it meets the cream flower in the center, it looks like I made a huge mistake. NOPE, it is a blue boat in the cream fabric that looks like it is bleeding into the blue flower. The same thing happened on the orange flower with the cream elephant moving into the cream flower. Will I change it, no! It is a great learning/talking point when I teach the class. And it was a good point to show you on my two tips!

My next task of this quilt is to decide how to quilt it. I’d love to hear your feedback, you know, you can comment on this blog post! I’m trying to decide if I should go the traditional route. One traditional possibility is outline quilting, and another is a Baptist Fan or crosshatching or clam shell. All of these options seem a bit boring. However, I do like the idea of an overall Baptist Fan. I love to quilt feathers in my background, another possibility. Hmmmm! Maybe a pumpkin seed design in the flower itself. That is what I did on my Kaffe and black dots Flower Garden. That quilt is so busy you don’t even see the quilting unless you get up close. So many decisions whether to keep it looking traditional or bring it modern in the quilting. With the white background, you will see the quilting design. Does that change my mind? What do you think? I’m hoping to have this quilted by next week, so check back to see what my quilting decision will be!

This Flower Garden quilt layout is in the Hex-a-ma-jig tool instruction booklet. Actually, it is in the instruction booklet of all three size of my hexie tools. You can purchase my tools on my website http://www.wendtquilting.com. Or here is the shortcut directly to Hex-a-ma-jig. (click on highlighted words “shortcut”) I added a plain strip of background fabric to the top and bottom to make the quilt a rectangle instead of square. The background strips for this quilt were cut at 3 1/2″, the same strip width as the strips cut for Hex-a-ma-jig!

#1 – Take photos of your quilts. Often any errors or changing points will show up in the photo. Or as I said earlier, I’m not changing a thing.

#2 – Do you match your quilting design to the era of the fabric? That, my friends is your choice. Some quilts just seem to need traditional quilting, while other a perfect for more “modern” quilting designs. In the end, it is your choice!

in quilting,

Debbie

I have named this Other’s Quilts since I am happy using other designers’ patterns! My friend Donna Robertson of Fabric Cafe has wonderful 3-yard quilt patterns. The one I am working on today is called Stepping Up. It has been a free pattern on her website. (Hopefully, you can still catch it there!) I have purchased a couple of her books and single patterns over the years. I love her inspiration and concept of using only 1 yard each of three fabrics.

I am working with flannel for “Stepping Up”. I got it cut out last night and almost completely sewn together with several breaks. Had I focused only on the quilt, it would have been done tonight. YES, that easy!

A few pictures and steps of working with flannel fabrics…seams…blocks…

I press the seam as it was sewn to “set the seam”. I am a fan of doing this with any fabrics. I feel it is a good practice and helps the seam stay put! For flannel, I like to open the seam flat to reduce the bulk. I also use either starch or Best Press or my new favorite “Premium Quilting & Crafting Spray” by Magic. It is fragrance free!!! I have no affiliation to any of the sprays listed, just a happy customer! I buy in large quantities and put it to my wonderful mist spray bottle. The addition on the spray helps to stabilize the flannel. Flannel can be very stretchy, so handle with care! I also pre-wash to help shrink the fabric as much as possible. Often, I use a spray before I cut, this time I didn’t. I wanted to get the strips cut and just didn’t take the time. So I was extra careful when I cut and sewed the seams…there is that no stretching, again! Below are some of the process photos.

Press to SET the SEAM as it was sewn!

Press seams open. I use my finer to get it started and carefully use the tip of the iron to finish. Then spray with the Magic Spray.

I always press again from the right side of the strips or blocks. I want to be sure there are no tucks pressed into the seam line. I love my wool pressing mat when I press!

And TADA….blocks cut and sewn into rows and a few rows sewn together. I’ll be adding borders. I’m happy with this flannel quilt and oh so fast to make!

#1- Use a spray to help stabilize flannel fabric!

#2 – Use care and a light touch to not stretch flannel when you are working with it!

in quilting,

Debbie

I missed last week as I was across the Atlantic in Ireland!!! My husband, parents and myself went to some dear friend’s wedding. It was an amazing first trip to Ireland for me and my husband. My parents had been years ago. We stayed in a cottage near Portmagee, in county Kerry. WOW!! I’ve fallen in love with this area of Ireland. Since the wedding festivities took up several days, we only did a smidge of sightseeing. BUT, what we saw was amazing! I didn’t do a bit of sewing or quilting, just enjoyed the scenery. My first morning view…

Our little group after the wedding. The ceremony took place on Valentia Island on top of Geokaun Mountain. A wonderful tradition of all the ladies wearing white so the evil spirits could not find the bride. Plus we were requested to wear tennis shoes! It was cool that afternoon, thus the extra layers. The skies cleared during the ceremony and the sun shown on the bridge and groom!!

The one quilty bit I found, the entry floor at the Royal Hotel Valentia in Knightstown on Valentia Island.

The Kerry Cliffs were magnificent and I had fun driving from the right side of the car on the left side of the road. The number of one lane roads were incredible (I only scraped the hedges a few times!!) It was great to be in an area away from the big cities!

On a quick afternoon trip into Portmagee one almost clear day, we scored a boat trip out to the Skellig Islands. Skellig Micheal was made famous from the latest Star Wars movie. On the trip out to the islands we had a bit rough seas, but oh so worth it!

The Little Skellig Island is home of a bird sanctuary. Thousands of Gannet birds return to Little Skellig Island every year. The photo below is only one small section of the island. These seagulls are very territorial and noisy!

As mentioned earlier, no projects on this trip, just enjoyed the scenery, and company! So my tips are….

#1 – Take a break and take it all in!!!

#2 – Keep watch for quilty inspiration. YES, floors, walls, fields, you just never know!

in quilting,

Debbie

Soooo, what do you do after you accomplish a huge deadline??? Do you jump right back at it with a new project? Do you dig out an old project that needs finishing? Do you fall in a pile on your sofa? Hmmmm! I started to work on a new project, then I wanted to take time to work on two well overdue quilts, then I started trying to organize my sewing space, then I cleared out quilts from a guest bedroom, then, then, then! Yes, I jumped for one thing to another. I didn’t get far on much. I did get the guest bedroom ready for my parent’s visit. That was highest on the list! I’m sitting here writing tonight thinking about all the things I could have done, should have done and what won’t get done. That was a long way of saying I’m done in for this week. The only sewing I accomplished was to put a sleeve on a quilt so I could hang it in the guest bedroom. Check!

I won’t bore you with before and after photos, just in progress. Yes, a pile of paperwork and magazines. Yes, a box of clothes and suitcase full of old purses to give away. A stack of fabric that needs to be folded and put away (One of my favorite bags to carry my projects….I’m a GiGi and loving it!) Oh the bread, see the bonus tip below! <grin>

My tips in all this…

#1 – Give yourself a chance to appreciate your accomplishment of your latest deadline.

#2- Don’t do what I do/did and spin in place! Seriously, I know you can do better! I have a mental list, but I need to write down my tasks so I can cross them off the list. I’ve always heard, number one on your list is to Make a List!! Then you get to cross off one item immediately!

Bonus #3 – Make Banana Bread…nothing better than the smell of fresh baked sweet bread. One with nuts, one without (just for you Mom!)

in quilting and other life happenings,

Debbie

I’m HAPPY to report that my Challenge piece is done….well, except for some more Big Stitch quilting when my wrist allows. I quilted the major lines and block details on my longarm. Then added more quilting lines using the Big Stitch with Sulky 12 wt. cotton thread. The Binding was also done using the Big Stitch and the 12 wt thread. See the quilt below!

I’m also THRILLED that we had a 3-way tie for FIRST PLACE!!! My quilt was one of those three!!!! There were almost 20 people that had a quilt in the challenge, Thimble Pleasures Quilt Guild. The name of the Challenge was Circles, Curves and Colors. We were given a variety of circles cut from a wide variety of styles of fabric. A bit challenging to work them together. I did not change the circle sizes, I used ALL of them as given. I should have taken photos of all the quilts, there was such a great variety of techniques used.

I showed a couple step photos recently in previous Two Tips about machine applique. It was a fun quilt to work on and happy to show the entire qilt. It was a “two fer” Challenge. The other guild I belong to (Blackstone Valley Heritage Quilters) also had a Challenge where we had to use a book from our guild library to make a quilt or use the book as inspiration for a quilt or quilted item. The book I picked (no peeking on the pick, no clue until I opened the bag) was Give & Take Machine Applique by Daphne Greig and Susan Purney Mark. I showed BVHQ’s Challenge quilts a few weeks ago, minus mine since it was waiting for the second guild’s Challenge.

A couple close up photos of the applique and Big Stitch…

I also did Big Stitch sewing of the binding to the back of the quilt. I knew I wanted to use this method for a couple reasons – 1. to get it done quickly and 2. It played well with the Big Stitch quilting I did on the quilt. Here is one of the mitered corners. I like to put and “X” on the miter to hold it securely in place.

A couple of tips on the Binding

#1 – I used Elmer’s glue to hold the binding in place and ironed it dry. It helped my hand/wrist, since it is still tender from the sprain. Plus, no need for pins or clips! It allowed me to “fly” with the stitching. (You can see a glue spot in the top right side of the mitered corner fold in the next photo. The glue will easily wash out! It is made for kids and water soluble.)

#2 – I stood at my ironing board to hand sew the binding. The weight of the quilt was on the board, it was a good height to hand sew and with the hot weather, I didn’t have to have the quilt on my lap. Plus it kept me from holding the binding edge with my sore hand/wrist.

I even got the label done!!

in quilting,

Debbie

I’ve been coloring! I had a question from a friend about my pattern R-W-B Boise, see pattern cover quilt in the photo below.

The question…How would it look it look in Christmas colors? So, my first thought is lets find out! I took a copy of layout and colored it in with red and green. I also went further with other combinations. My colorings are in the next photo.

I find it fun to explore what different fabrics can do for a pattern. Also good to see what happens when you change up lights and darks. The quilt below is one I made and is shown in the pattern. You can purchase the pattern on my website HERE.

A good thing to remember when you buy a pattern, some designers will allow you to make a copy of the pattern for your own use. NOT to give away. Tip #1 – Please be mindful and respectful of all copyrights. I appreciate your support of my small business!

I love variations of colors and options. Give a favorite pattern a try. Tip #2 – Just because a pattern cover quilt is red, white and blue like my R-W-B Boise above does not mean you can’t change the coloring. It is fun and exciting to see so many possibilities.

in quilting,

Debbie

As we celebrate the birthday of our nation, I hope you are having a wonderful day of family and friends! I have had a fantastic time celebrating with family. Oh my do they like their fireworks down here in Florida! This is at the end of a neighborhood street! So close!

Have you made a red, white and blue quilt? Any time I try a new technique, I’ll pull out my red, white and blue fabrics. One of these days I’m going to have to find all those blocks and put them together into their own quilt. Here is my latest to celebrate good ol’ America. Happy Birthday USA!!!

My Hexie Speak – Say it with Hexies cover quilt is shown above. I love how you can use the letters in the book to spell out things with a purpose. You can purchase the book from my website HERE.

#1- Make a quilt to celebrate your HOME country!

#2 – My break continues and my wrist is feeling much better! I’ll be back to cutting and sewing soon. The break and rest has done me good! Plus seeing our new Great Grandson does my heart good.

in quilting,

Debbie

Looks like REST is now enforced, not an option! This is my hand/wrist/forearm. UGG! I think a lot of cutting and carrying a carryon got it overstressed and resulted in an achy wrist and pain, lots of pain. I gave in today, after a lot of ice and doing nothing for two days, urgent care put me in this brace. Bones are good but next up, a call to a hand specialist. I need to find out what is happening!

I can’t quilt, cut or pick up anything. I can’t even hold anything to do handwork. So, typing one handed is the new task. I’m not good at sitting but have to take this rest. Lessons/Tips in this

#1 – Take breaks when cutting! Cutting too long only aggravates those muscles you are using. The repetitive motions and pressure on cutting templates and rulers can cause unwanted damage.

#2 – Vary activities. I’ve always said to have your iron away from your sewing machine. Get up and move! Now, I need to cut some, stop, sew some, stop, and so on!

I’m learning the hard way….. 38 years of quilting just snuck up on me.

in quilting,

Debbie