DebbieWendt's Blog

Two Tip Tuesday – snow and show

Posted on March 13, 2018 by debbiewendt

This is my view today! 22″ at 6pm and it was still coming down.

I’m in the final steps of finishing up some quilts that will be entered into my guild’s show this weekend. Thimble Pleasures show will be March 17 and 18 at Blackstone Valley Regional Technical School in Upton, MA. Join us from 10-4!! Admission is $7/adults and children under 18 are free.

I’m attaching sleeves for hanging my quilts at the show. I’ll share some steps below.

1 – First our sleeve requirement is 5″. I cut a piece of fabric 11″ wide (twice the width needed and a bit more for seams). The length of the sleeve is the width of the quilt or just inside the binding.

2 – Hem both short ends, folding over 1/4″ and fold over again. Stitch. (Tip: This will bring the width inside the binding so it does not show from the front. Oh, and I was a bit long so it sits closer to the binding than I like.)

3 – Fold wrong sides together along length of sleeve. Stitch a 1/4″ seam. Press seam open and center in the middle of the sleeve. Press sleeve edges. (Tip: The seam will be hidden, so no need to turn inside out.)

4 – On one long edge, fold back 1/2″ from fold line and press a crease. (Tip: This allows for the thickness of the of the hanging pole.)

5 – Attach to the top of the quilt, just inside the binding. I make sure it is about 1/2″ from the top of the quilt. Hand sew in place. (Tip: this keeps the sleeve from showing above the quilt!)

6 – Smooth sleeve and pull back the sleeve to the second crease you pressed. This is the edge that is sewn to the quilt. (Tip: again, this allows fullness for pole!)

Step 2

Step 3

Step 5 and 6

Also Step 3

I added my label and it is ready to be hung in the show! Now, to get some good sleep to I can snow blow all that snow in the morning!!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Thank You Daytona Beach

Posted on March 7, 2018 by debbiewendt

Thank you to those who came to the booth and purchased patterns, tools and quilty notions! Even though the weather got cooler, we still had beautiful sunshine. Below are a few of the quilts near my booth and favorites!

“Village” by Rose Valentine

“Razzle Dazzle” by Karen Dever and Jo Kuchera

“North by Northwest” by Gloria Seibel

I love so much about these quilts. Scrappy! Very well done! Amazing piecing and applique!

And I’m still taking pictures of floors and walls! Here is inspiration of a different sort. Carpet and picture in a hotel. Ha! But seriously, inspiration! And look at these colors of central Florida. There is a baby alligator in there but very difficult to see.

#1 – Get inspiration from quilt shows!!

#2- Get inspirations from EVERYTHING around you.

in quilting,

Debbie

P.S. I’ll be back to sewing next week!

Posted in Appliqué, Inspiration, Quilt shows, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Two Tip Tuesday – late but SHOW time

Posted on March 1, 2018 by debbiewendt

Welcome to Daytona Beach AQS quilt week! My first show of the year. I was in the throws of setting up my booth day before yesterday and two tips skipped right on by. I’m happy to report, the booth is setup and today was a great first day of the show!

Wendt Quilting booth #1118
Daytona Beach Quilt Week

No walk on the beach, yet, but a relaxing sit in the hot tub helped ease the knot in my back. Oh, the fun of setup. Don’t get me wrong, I love shows but some days the body doesn’t!!

I’m going to keep this short. A great big welcome to some new followers and I’m thankful for those of my long time supporters!

New Hex-a-am-jig quilts!

#1- Grab a friend and go to a quilt show!

#2- Say hi to the vendors! We’ve come a long way to bring you our quilty goodness. A smile goes a long way and is greatly appreciated!!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Getaways/Retreats

Posted on February 20, 2018 by debbiewendt

I sure enjoy an entire weekend focused on quilting! It is easy for me to get sidetracked when sewing at home. I had a very productive weekend on the Cape. Same as my last getaway, I was working on “Hex-a-ma-jig” Hexie quilts. Two more completed!

Mixed Flower Garden

Full Hexies
(NO “Y” set-in seams)

A Mixed Flower Garden with all flowers touching and Half Hexies made into full hexies with no “Y” (set-in seams).

In piecing these two quilts, the half hexies are sewn in rows across the quilt. To speed up the process, I pick up one row at a time. In order to keep the pieces IN ORDER, I pick up the top piece and put a pin in the top left corner. Stitch 1/4″ seam. Then the next two, continuing to put a pin in the top left corner. Once the row is stitched, I take the row out of the machine and lay it out. It is in the order sewn with my “leader” (starter fabric) at the beginning of the line of stitched pieces.

“leader”(starter fabric) left on first sewn seam.

I cut between my stitching line, from the left (beginning) one section at a time and sew the next section in the line to the previous. Again, leaving the pin in the farthest left piece. Repeat until the entire row is sewn.

Pins in the top left corner to keep order.

This helps speed up the piecing process and I don’t get the pieces in reverse order.

#1 – Leave “leader” in stitched row to help remember the order. And place pin in the top left piece.

I left my stiletto at home so I used my curved snips as my “pusher”. It worked great! The two points stay separated until you squeeze to cut. Perfect to hold fabric in place.

Snips as stiletto!

#2 – Snips work great in place of a stiletto!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – “Fat Tuesday”

Posted on February 14, 2018 by debbiewendt

So what do you do for “Fat Tuesday”? I’ve been cooking up a favorite, Crawfish Ettouffe. Not much quilting today. We lived in Louisiana for two very wonderful years. And there, gained a love of crawfish. Nothing quite like their local crawfish but I tried. Without green peppers in the house, I got a different look and taste with a different recipe. Not worth repeating, but great colors!

And the dark cherry scones was my substitute for King Cake. I got the purple in there with the cherries but only green in the spatula. HA! Oh well, all in all, a fun cooking day.

So, does food inspire your colors? What about holidays?

I need to dig out my Mardi Gras fabric and make a table runner.

#1 – Find color inspiration for quilts in food! TeeHee!

On to another quilt using my new tool, “Hex-a-ma-jig”. Baby (or tumbling) Blocks! It was fun to play with Peppered Cottons.

“Hex-a-ma-jig” Baby Blocks
D.W.

And speaking of solid fabrics…I got to see this wonderful quilt made with my By The Numbers pattern, “Done by Three”! I love what Nora did! I can’t tell you any more, as it might be a present. You can find the mentioned tool and pattern on my website, http://www.wendtquilting.com!!

“Done by Three”

#2 – Try using solids or peppered cottons! Great to show off a design.

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Hexagons, Inspiration, Tips, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Two Tip Tuesday – follow up and new sample

Posted on February 6, 2018 by debbiewendt

I love posting my student’s work. Below are five finished Neck Tie Pillows!! A great way to make keepsakes from neck ties!

Neck Tie Pillows

I appreciate the girls sharing their work! They are very different in the tie choices they made yet show beautifully together.

My new sample projects are the quilts in the “Hex-a-ma-jig” template instruction booklet. I will be showing the six quilts from the booklet over the next several weeks. Not only are you getting instructions of how to use the tool, but quilts that can be made cutting all the different shapes from ONE tool, Hex-a-ma-jig!

First up is the traditional Flower Garden using half hexies. An old favorite using Kaffe fabrics and black and white polka dot background. I love how the background helps the fabrics pop. The first picture is auditioning some fabric choices.

Flower Garden Audition

The final quilt has a change in arrangement and fabric. (Not enough of one fabric.)

#1 – Don’t be afraid to change up fabrics from original audition. Sometimes you just run out of fabric and need to substitute!

And speaking of changing up fabrics…..Look at the center flower, it felt wrong. I said to a friend, “I need to change that one fabric”. She turned around and said, yes the bottom one in the center flower! Bingo! Both of us were on the same page of what just didn’t work. And notice the arrangement changed from the original bit of fabric layed out on the cutting board. Another half hexie was cut and placed. YES, that did it! It is a tiny change but made me happy and the flower feels complete.

Flower Garden audition

#2 – If it feels wrong….change it! My portable design wall works great for travel.

And finally, when on a quilting Getaway I love the inspiration and the universe telling me I made the right patterns…

Snow covered garden.

Mermaid….
there was more!

Both at the same coffee shop on the Cape! And verb-age to know you are in New England!!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Fussy Cut

Posted on January 30, 2018 by debbiewendt

Today I’m working on a fussy cut project. It is a guild challenge so I can’t show the entire project, but I can show some bits. The challenge is to bring the outside border print into the center of the quilt. I debated on making a new piece. Then, low and behold, I had an unfinished project that would work perfectly. No new quilt, finishing up an old! This quilt top was made about 9 years ago for a beginner quilting class I taught. (I know, it is about time for it to be done!) I’m happy it is on its way to completion!! One more out of the closet!

See the photos below for the design and how I decided to break away at the ivy leaf without loosing much of the edge.

#1- Find a natural break in the design to cut away a fussy cut area.

Now to find a place where it would make the transition on the quilt. Here will work! The poinsettia is a bit larger but covers the area and extends the design into the center of the quilt.

Ready to get them ironed in place and sewn down to the quilt. One more UFO on its way to being complete and filling the bill of a challenge piece. Win,WIN!!

#2 – Grab a UFO and finish it! YES, feels good and serves a purpose, or a new purpose!!! (Even if it started to be something else in the first place.)

I’ll show the finished piece after the “All About Borders” challenge is shown the end of March. I’d hate to ruin the “guess whose piece” in the challenge reveal.

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Challenges, Fussy Cutting, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Two Tip Tuesday – visit a local quilt shop

Posted on January 23, 2018 by debbiewendt

I’m seeing posts from quilt shops that Saturday, January 27th is support your local quilt shop day. So, what will you be doing on Saturday? I hope you will indulge yourself and find a shop! I’ll be teaching Snuggle Tails – Mermaid at Emma’s Quilt Cupboard in Franklin, MA. There is still time to prep and take the class. Give them a call to SIGN UP!! Class will be focused on making a “plain” version but the pieced braid and applique clam shells will be demonstrated. See the versions below. The pattern is available in the shop and as always, on my website.

Snuggle Tails ~ Mermaids

Cuties in their “plain” Snuggle Tails! D.W.

Pieced and Applique tails at my guild’s show two years ago. Third place ribbon!

And look at my friend’s kids in their plain version that she made for them.

#1 – Make them big so they can grow into them!

In collecting my samples, I came across the start of a small braid version.

Snuggle Tails – pieced version D.W.

I used 2 1/2″ strips and cut the trapizoids shorter with my Brilliant Bindings tool.

Using Brilliant Bindings to cut trapizoids for a braid!

You can find the simple braid pattern as a free handout on my website. The prairie braid style is in the Snuggle Tails patterns and in the Brilliant Braid pattern, also available online.

Back to the beginning of this post…I’ll be visiting a quilt shop on Saturday, will you?!?

#2- Visit your local quilt shop and give support! I want them around for years to come. Please go and buy something great for your quilting needs!

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Brilliant Bindings, Patterns, Snuggle Tails, trapezoids, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Two Tip Tuesday – Deep Freeze

Posted on January 16, 2018 by debbiewendt

It is winter out there. And we are getting more snow and cold. I know several areas of the US are already frozen. So, what do you do during inclement weather. Sew? Cuddle under a quilt? Bake? And how many layers of clothes do you wear or just turn up the heat? My answers, yes to all! I love to wear my chenille scarf during the really cold days. The picture below is some of the ones I’ve made.

Chenille Scarves D.W.

Did you know I self published a Chenille book? “Chenille Made Easy on the Longarm” gives instruction on using a longarm to make chenille; scarves, clothing, chenille strips. The book is available on my website. wendtquilting.com

Chenille Made Easy on the Longarm by D.Wendt

Chenille has been around a while and still going strong. It is fun to make and so soft and yummy to wear.

#1 – Make chenille for a warm and fuzzy project.

I like to use 5 layers for Chenille. The middle does not get cut, the top and bottom 2 do. I also use 3/8″ channels. 1/4″ is too narrow and 1/2″ is too wide. To get the best fray with chenille, be sure the sewing lines are at right angles to the grain of fabric.

#2 – Use 3/8″ channels for chenille.

Stay warm!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Sewing Time

Posted on January 9, 2018 by debbiewendt

Have you ever just wanted to sit and sew? I’ve been itching to just sit and hear the hum of my machine. With my husbands shoulder replacement done and recoup in progress, I was able to spend some time with fabric, rotary cutter and my machine last night!! Ohhhhhh, the sound of my little featherweight makes me so happy! I decided to make “back to front napkins” (double sided napkins). See original post on Dec. 23, 2015 for back to front binding instructions. These red/white/blue napkins will go to my Thimble Pleasures Quilt Guild’s special project for our upcoming quilt show. The special project will raise monies for the Fisher House, who supports military and veteran families. The Thimble Pleasures show will be March 17-18, 2018 from 10am-4pm at the Blackstone Valley Regional Technical High School in Upton, MA. Mark your calendar!!

Back to sewing….But first, I needed to give the machine a good clean. I used a hand made cleaner from a coffee stir-er and pipe cleaner. I got this from Kathryn, owner of Dragonflys Quilt Shop in Bellingham. (thanks Kathryn!)

#1- Clean your machine! A homemade tool of a coffee stir-er/pipe cleaner works well to clean the lint from the bobbin area!

On to sewing napkins… In preparing the back to front napkins, you typically fold the backing even with the top piece of the napkin and then over again. But, I wanted to make the napkin as large as possible and had limited backing fabric due to the width of the fabric used. I cut 20 1/2″ squares for the backing and 17″ squares for the tops. In order to get a larger finished rolled over edge, I did not fold the back even with the top and then again on top of itself. I made the first fold 1/2″ and then folded over the top even with the top’s cut edge. This way I got a larger rolled over hem. Now to make that first 1/2″ press, I could have eyeballed it, measured as I pressed or drew a line. But, I choose to do it an “old” way of sewing the 1/2″ and then pressing on the stitching line. I did this a LOT in my “dress making” days. Especially for a pants hem or facing hem. As I mentioned earlier, I love to just sit a sew. Comfort in sewing that silly little 1/2″ line!! The photos below shows how I “hemmed” (back to front finish) for the napkins I’m making for the guild’s special project. It gave me a wonderful even 1/2″ fold and I got to relax while sitting and sewing! Win, win!

Sew a 1/2″ line from the outside edge of the napkin back.
Fold along the 1/2″ line and press.
Fold over again along the cut edge of napkin front.

1. Stitching line 1/2″ from
backing edge.

2. Folded and pressed along stitching line. Note stitching on outside edge.

3. Second fold over napkin front.

#2 – Sew a line for your fold line instead of marking or eyeballing!

Ta Da! Ready for the back to front miter finish on the corners. I’ll add photos of how I finished these, since the original directions have the back to front fold even.

Back to Front Mitered Corner with shorter first fold.