DebbieWendt's Blog

Two Tip Tuesday – Sightseeing delay

Posted on July 13, 2016 by debbiewendt

Hi quilting friends. Summertime in New Englad is now upon us! I was out sightseeing yesterday with limited internet access on the ferry to Nantucket. But look at the view…

Nantucket Bay

My sister was visiting from Missouri and we had an awesome trip to Nantucket! Those amazing colors of the photo above would make a great start of a quilt (previous tip on using nature for inspiration!) and my mom pointed out the match of hat to sky, shirt to sea and shorts to sand. LOVE it, and unplanned.

My inspiration this week comes from a visit to “The Breakers” in Rhode Island. Everywhere I looked in the mansion of the Vanderbilts, I saw quilting patterns. Both piecing and quilting! From floor…

Wood parquet in “the Breakers”

Marble floor in “the Breakers”

Tile floor on balcony of “the Breakers”

to ceiling…

to things in between…

Woodwork in “The Breakers”

Beautiful window treatments!

#1- Simple parts make amazing designs!

#2- look to outside crafts for inspiration! (Tile work, wood work, stained glass patterns, even draperies!)

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Inspiration, Nine Patch, Quilting, Tips, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Two Tip Tuesday – R-W-B

Posted on July 6, 2016 by debbiewendt

Happy day after Fourth of July! Have you made a Red – White – Blue quilt? I have made several. I have a couple in the works to give to Quilts of Valor. I really need to focus on getting them done! Several years ago I did a workshop for one of my guilds on making a sawtooth star in R-W-B’s. A simple pattern is all you need!

My 4-3-2-1-Done by Starlight is a super easy pattern and would be a great Quilt of Valor. You can purchase the pattern on my website.

#1- Make a quilt for a soldier, veteran or donate to Quilts of Valor or another organization that gives quilts to our military!

Done by Starlight is a simple block and easy to quilt by taking the lead of the appliqué star. Instant fireworks!

Quilting on Done by Starlight. D.W.

When I am taking or teaching a quilt workshop, I often pull out my R-W-B fabrics for class. I don’t have to fuss over choosing fabrics. And when the quilt is done, it is given to someone who has served our country.

#2- Want to try a new quilt or technique? Choose Red-White-Blue fabrics!

I realize I have readers from all over the globe…and many of you have similar national colors!

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Two Tip Tuesday – R x R

Posted on June 28, 2016 by debbiewendt

How many of you are rowing? No, not a boat…Row by Row! As I mentioned in my last post, I went on a R x R bus trip. It was an awesome way to see some shops I had never been to and revisit others I had been to before! And oh the laughs! Our leaders, Michelle Banton and Jennifer Watchorn out did themselves! They are both quilt business women and a blast to hang out with. Michelle is the owner of Little Pup Designs and Jen is the owner of Handcrafts by Jennifer. These gals are my friends and I knew I was in for a good time! They succeeded! Along with 44 other like minded quilters. 47 total, along with a great bus driver!

A little plug for Michelle and Jen…one of each of their patterns is below. Keep your eye out for them, neither are complicated and very effective! Another fellow designer, Terri Sontra of Purple Moose Designs was on the trip. Look for her new quilty card game, “Quilter’s Block Party”. We played and laughed!

#1- Go on a quilt bus trip…whether it is to go on a shop hop, Row x Row or to a quilt show…They are a ton of FUN and a great way to connect with quilters near you!

Every person on the trip got one of my new “By The Numbers” patterns! I enjoyed telling the group about my quilt business and my new BTN patterns. I did this while the bus was on the road, so I had to quickly get my “bus legs” to stay upright! By the way, all the new patterns are now on my website. They are “small” in size but packed with diagrams and instructions. And a great price at $5.00 each. Check them out at wendtquilting.com

Done by Three D.W.

Shoo Fly Picnic. D.W.

My favorite part of Row x Row is collecting license plates. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting the free row patterns but there is something about those plates! I think it is the clever sayings and to me they say travel…and I love to travel!!

#2- When visiting the shops, buy something! Even if it is a package of needles or some Fat Quarters. You made the trip!

Also, thank your shops for being there and giving away their rows. They have spent a lot of time preparing for the Row x Row event. I sure appreciate it!

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Two Tip Tuesday – more on T-shirt quilts (This didn’t get published last week)

Posted on June 21, 2016 by debbiewendt

For whatever reason, I didn’t do something correctly last week and this was still sitting as a draft. Ugh! I apologize! So here is the tips that were supposed to come to you last week. I’m going on a Row by Row bus trip so I’ll post an extra bit from that trip later this week. Below is what went missing…..

Today I want to continue with T-shirt quilts. When making a random arrangement quilt, there might be sections that come together with angles in what seams like impossible intersections. Not to worry! These can be broken down into partial seam construction.

T-shirt Memories – D.W.

The center of the section shown at the left, can be pieced in the order shown below.

Pink Missouri to blue Steamboat. (Section 1)
Section 1 to large DZ. (I’ll call that A, since it is a multiple pieced section)
DEBBIE to Teal Keystone (Section 2)
Section 2 to above orange Cougars. (B)
B to gray Missouri (C)
C to A

Now, that section is together! Then I would continue looking at other areas and breaking them down into manageable sections!

#1- Break down areas with partial seam construction.

#2- Break quilt into manageable chunks of construction. Then sew those sections into the final quilt.

If you do not want partial seams, adjust your T-shirt arrangement (or cut T-shirt sizes) to make long straight lines across the quilt top. Personally, I love the look and interest that partial seams gives to the overall look. But, that is your call! Enjoy making T-shirt quilts! It can be a great business opportunity. T-shirts don’t go out of style and it is a great way to recycle the ones you don’t wear anymore. And a wonderful memory quilt! Another idea…all those leftover T-shirt backs…useable fabric! Make into quilt backs or make another quilt! It is still great soft T-shirt fabric, just without the logos.

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in t-shirt quilts, Tips | 1 Comment

Two Tip Tuesday – T-shirt Quilts

Posted on June 8, 2016 by debbiewendt

Around here, school is still in session and graduation parties have begun. Back in my old stomping ground…the Midwest…graduations have happened and all ages are out of school. Why do I bring up graduations? I am a very proud aunt and got to attend my brother’s oldest HS graduation party! Katie, we are so proud of you! (and she has requested a t-shirt quilt!!). So I’m using some of my “old” t-shirts to play with random size and placement technique. I’ve made the simple block type. The dance quilt below is one I helped a friend with a couple years ago.

Beth’s Eleve Danse Studio quilt

And here is my random pieced quilt!

T-shirt Quilt ..Debbie Wendt

I love how it turned out. There are several places where I had partial seams. I’ll give some tips on that next week. For this week, I’d like to recommend a great T-shirt quilt book. “How to Make a Too Cool T-shirt Quilt” by Andrea T. Funk. This has great steps. One of the additions that I did, that she does not, is to apply a stabilizer. I used the cheapest fusible Pellon.

#1- Use a fusible interfacing/stabilizer to help control the stretch of T-shirts.

Andrea recommends you cut every shirt to a size divisible by 4. Great tip and one I highly recommend! I cut my own templates from plexiglass I purchased at Lowe’s. (Actually, I had someone at Lowes make a couple of the larger cuts and did the rest myself…I got better cuts!)

T-shirt Templates (each side is divisible by 4)

#2- Keep cut T-shirt sizes consistent. Whether you use 4″ increments or another number, it makes random piecing a breeze. Everything fits!

More T-shirt tips next week!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on May 31, 2016 by debbiewendt

More yummy fabric! Here is more fabric, other than “traditional quilter’s cotton”, that I found at Market. I talked about “Cuddle” by Shannon Fabrics last week. How about Shannon’s double gauze?

Double Gauze by Shannon Fabrics

This fabric is great for clothing and would also make great baby quilts. Or a quilt for any age! It is 100% cotton.

#1 – try sewing/quilting with fabrics other than traditional quilter’s Corton.

#2- check manufactures website for tips in working with their fabric.

I also found “Bolt” by Girl Charlee. This is preshrunk cotton spandex knits. Also 100% cotton!

“Bolt” postcard

Look at these great colors and patterns!

Desert Sky Collection by “Bolt”

I’m looking forward to making a summer weight Snuggle Tail and quilt!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on May 24, 2016 by debbiewendt

Spring Quilt Market is over and I have several photos and new patterns to show you. They will be on my website in the next week or so!

My booth…

Brilliant Bindings demo and quilts.

From left to right

“Twirl-a-Tool”, most requested favorite, new “Flowers in the Valley”, new “4:4 Remix” (black-white-bright) and Brilliant Braid (still a favorite).

“Shoo Fly Picnic”

“Shoo Fly Picnic” complete with a tarp backpack! Pattern includes backpack instructions.

#1- Shoo Fly block is an oldies but goodie. (Use “traditional blocks” and make them modern in current fabric.

and “‘Four’ Dinner or any other meal”! Placemats that use back to front binding that are quick and easy to make.

Wendt Quilting

L to R, “Brilliant Twin Darts”, “Done by Three” (light version) and “Twirl-a-Tool” again. On the left corner of the table is “Bow Tie Blues”, right corner is Blue and brown “Done by Three” and another placemat under the “iPad Pyramid Pillow”.

The new “By The Numbers” Patterns are in the clear shelves on the grid wall!

“By The Number” Patterns and fabric system.

My new Orca made from Shannon Cuddle!

Snuggle Tails – Orca and Dolphin

A humpback whale made for the Shannon booth and the Mermaid. Quite a hit!

#2- try new fabrics! Cuddle is yummy and soft!

Cuddle Mermaid

Cuddle Humpback on the dresser

In quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Quilt shows, Tips | Leave a comment

Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on May 17, 2016 by debbiewendt

Last week came and went…without any tips. I’m back today and on my way to Spring Quilt Market. I stayed the night in snowy Cheyenne, WY. (Not expected, didn’t even think about it!!!). The exciting new BTN patterns I showed earlier will be shown. My friend Gina Zeleznok of Sturbridge Quilting and Sewing will be promoting her By The Numbers Fabric System with the patterns. I’ll also show Snuggle Tails made with Cuddle by Shannon Fabrics.

How cute is my doll with her NEW “Cuddle” tail?!?!

“Cuddle” Mermaid Doll

In working with Cuddle, there are many tips that can be used and many found online. But, here are a couple that my friend and I found really helped…

“Cuddle” has LOTS of fibers, that is what makes it so YUMMY…when the fabric is cut all those fibers are cut!

#1 – use a vacuum to remove the extra fibers!

Vacuuming to remove excess fibers

I also used my walking foot and lengthened my stitch. Also in the vacuuming photo,

#2 – put right sides together before you cut and the pieces are ready to sew!

In quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Tips, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Two Tips on Wednesday

Posted on May 4, 2016 by debbiewendt

Well, Tuesday flew right by! And Wednesday is almost gone. So, tips this week are a day late, obviously. But first the winner of my Block Stock prize…..

Brilliant Bundle

drumroll…..Debbie Frick you win! Debbie, you will receive my Brilliant Bundle!! Congratulations!! A huge THANK YOU to everyone who placed an order during the Block Stock event. I loved seeing all the innovative blocks! I even made some purchases along with many of you to get blocks. Please share with me when you make my block into a quilt! I’d love to see photos.

Spring Market is in two weeks and that means my life is a buzz with final preparations. Look at my new “little” patterns. Not little in instruction but, little in size. And a great price point at $5. They are designed to be Fast! Fun! Finished! Look for them on my website next week. Below are a few of them.