DebbieWendt's Blog

Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on April 20, 2016 by debbiewendt

…on the road again

I love Niagara Falls

We made a little detour to Niagara Falls, so amazing to see and hear the power of the water! And another stop at Church Hill Downs for another photo opportunity.

Tile floor at Churchill Downs

Where do you get your inspiration? With all the wonderful cell phone cameras it is convenient to snap a picture for quilt inspiration.

#1 – Tile floors are great patterns for quilt blocks, layouts and quilting designs.

Store front in Paducah

….and now in Paducah!! We are here and the booth is set up and ready for the start of AQS Quilt Week. You can find me in the same booth as last year, #4403, in the Pavilion. However, the Pavilion (or bubble, as I call it) has been moved to a new spot just down the road. It is easy to walk a block from the Convention Center or hop on the trolley. Come by and see my new patterns, tool patterns, and favorite Snuggle Tails! I have an AQS member special.

We took a quick look at the Rotary Quilt Show. “Quilts: Patriotc and Presidential”. Wonderful!! Here was one of my favorites.

Mariner’s Compass c.1850

The Presidental Quilts were VERY well done. Sue Reich is the curator. The president I learned a lot about growing up in Missouri…Harry S. Truman.

made by Cindy DeLong, Springfield, MO

#2- look to old quilts for amazing fabric choices…not everything has to be matchy, matchy!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on April 12, 2016 by debbiewendt

Quilt Show Inspiration! I attended MQX East this past week/end. I spent some time in Sturbridge Quilting and Sewing’s booth, Willow Leaf Designs and viewing some amazing quilts! My friend’s quilt “Kaffe Clam Shells” won Best Scrap Quilt!!! So happy for Sue Pelland and Kathy Sperino, her very talented quilter! I might have yelled just a little when their names were called at the awards ceremony!

“Kaffe Clam Shells” by Sue Pelland, quilted by Kathy Sperino

Gina at Sturbridge Quilting and Sewing had a “Debbie corner” in her booth. These are my newest patterns! Look for them on my website very soon. The Snuggle Tails ended up on Gina’s” Sail Away” quilt.

From Top left…Flowers in the Valley, Done by Three, 4:4 Remix, Bow Tie Blues. In front…Brilliant Twin Darts

Snuggle Tails

I love the inspiration at quilt shows. I love the quilts and the “odd” stuff things you see beyond the quilts. How about one tired little boy…

Tired attendee!

and a random table…

Table Top

and “cool” drink…

Color Inspiration

As I’ve mentioned before, I travel with my machine and piecing. When in a hotel room I am aware of the noise my machine makes. To help soften the sound I use a piece of an old floor pad. #1 – Use a floor cushion pad to muffle machine noise.

Floor pad under machine

Always check the bottom of hotel irons before you press anything! I get a hand towel to test the iron heat and steam.

#2 – Check iron temperature and steam setting before you put it to your fabric!

No design wall in a hotel room so the lumpy comforter will have to do!

Design Bed 🙂

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on April 5, 2016 by debbiewendt

Bindings = Finished Quilts!! I’m doing the final turn of the binding to the back of the quilt. As I sit and sew, I’ve been thinking about what people call this process. In my mind I am finishing the binding or turning the binding to the back. When I lived in Louisiana, they called it hemming. It is just like hemming a pair of pants, but I had not heard it called this before.

The two types of stitches I use are the Appliqué stitch and ladder stitch. I can stitch must faster when I do the appliqué stitch. The ladder stitch hides the stitch better but I take more time to execute it. See both types below!

Appliqué stitch –

Appliqué stitch

The needle goes into the backing between the layers and catches just a few threads of the fold. Pull thread through and repeat.

#1 – all stitching should be done with thread that matches the binding fabric.

Ladder stitch –

The ladder stitch begins by running the needle in the backing between the layers. From the point that you exit, insert the needle straight across into the fold running needle along the fold. Exit the fold and insert needle back into the backing, continue repeating the entire process.

#2 – stitch length should be between 1/8″ – 1/4″ long and no longer than 1/4″!

Keep stitch length as even as possible and pull snug, but do not pull too tight to get a pucker.

The quilt in the photo is a new pattern, “Done by Three”. It will debut at MQX in Sturbridge Quilting and Sewing booth. Come take a look. The pattern will be available at the show and on my website in another week.

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on March 29, 2016 by debbiewendt

Do you get the Nancy’s Notions catalog? I’m in it again! A dear friend texted me the page, see below. Mermaids and Whales are hot right now! What is not to like about a snuggle bag in their shape? Of course, I’d love for you to purchase direct from my website (wendtquilting.com). If you purchase it from Nancy’s Notions or a quilt shop you are still supporting me. AND I thank YOU! Don’t forget the Block Stock initiative is still running through the end of April. Make any purchase on my website or in my booth at a show and you receive my Brilliant Ribbons block pattern, free! Hurry before time runs out.

Snuggle Tails in Nancy’s Notions catalog

Quilt show season has started. I will be helping in Sturbridge Quilting and Sewing’s booth and Willow Leaf Designs at MQX next week. (Please note: these are not my personal booths, I will not have the Block Stock blocks with me) Stop by and say hi!

I have been working on new patterns and Sturbridge Quilting will have them in the booth!! One of the quilts has a mitered border. (Check out my mitered border instructions on my website under free patterns.) And this quilt has a double border. I’ll give my TIPS in telling the process I use to miter a double border.

First, to simplify the process, you can sew both borders together.

Both borders sewn together and sew onto quilt stopping 1/4″ from corner.

Find the center of the quilt and sew pieced border onto the center of the quilt. Stop sewing 1/4″ from each end. It is good to backstitch! I take several measurements and make sure I do NOT stretch the border as I sew it onto the center of the quilt.

1/4″ stopping point at corner.

Adjacent edge also has 1/4″ stopping point at corner.

Sew the adjacent border on the quilt. Also stopping 1/4″ in from the corner of the quilt.

Fold the adjacent borders on top of each other. Align outside border’s long edges, seam lines between the borders and 1/4″ stopping points at the corner. Place a ruler so the straight edge of the ruler is along the diagonal fold of the quilt and the 45 degree line is on the outside border edge. Draw a line along ruler. Pin. Take to the machine and sew directly on the line. Begin at the 1/4″ corner points and stitch to the outside edge.

45 degree line on outside edge. sorry for overhead lighting glare 😦

Straight edge on center of quilt, runs across 1/4″ stopping points.

Ruler placement. Note the diagonal center seam of quilt is on the edge of the ruler. Halfway along the edge the seam flipped under.

Chalked sewing line.

Mitered double border.

Press seam open and ta da…a mitered border!! (trim seam to 1/2″, it lays better! This step was not done for the photo.

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Borders, Mitered borders, Patterns, Tips, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on March 22, 2016 by debbiewendt

Did you do anything special for National Quilting Day on the 19th? I hope you saw the quilt I posted. It is beautiful! If you did a lot of sewing, did you change your needle? How do you know when you need to? It is suggested about every 8 hours. I’m not good at keeping track but when I hear a popping sound, I know it is time.

#1 -Change your sewing machine need every 8 hours or so.

On National Quilting Day, I spent some time piecing and then went to the Harlem Globetrotters. I haven’t seen them since I was a little girl. What an amazing fun evening!

Speaking of basketballs, it is March Madness and I haven’t been following. Have you? What about Spring Training for baseball. Being a KC Royals fan, I’m excited for the boys in blue! We also root for the Cubbies…it is going to be an interesting season!!!

With all this talk about basketballs and baseballs, how do you cut circles? I love CIRCLES!

The first circle cutting ruler I found years ago is the WonderArc by Mary Ellen Johnson.

Wonder Arc by Mary Ellen Johnson

You can rotary cut using the slots or draw a line and cut with scissors.

#2 – Use a small rotary 28mm or smaller when cutting curves.

Another ruler…rulers for cutting circles (and other shapes) is Sue Pelland’s Hearts and More. The photo is some shapes I made in a workshop I took from Sue.

fun with Hearts and More

The two smaller sizes are shown below.

Hearts and More by Sue Pelland Designs

Sue has a new book coming out next month on using her Hearts and More templates. Check out her website! Sue Pelland Designs

Another of my favorites is the Learning Curve by Linda Warren.

The Learning Curve by Linda Warren

You can find the Learning Curve at Linda’s website! Linda Warren Designs

All the rulers I’ve mentioned have a lot of different designs that can be made with them. Enjoy exploring!

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Circles, Sewing Machine Maintance, Tips, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Happy National Quilting Day

Posted on March 19, 2016 by debbiewendt

What will you do today to celebrate National Quilting Day?

I think I will sit at my machine and work on piecing one of my new patterns!

Here is some eye candy…

Elaine’s “From Dad’s Garden” quilt

Elaine Nadeau’s beautiful quilt is raw edge fused applique and I quilted it!

And the detail…

Elaine’s rose detail

Elaine’s quilt detail

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Quilting, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on March 15, 2016 by debbiewendt

After the show…

The Thimble Pleasures Quilt Guild Show was a HUGE success! Thank you to all who attended and supported the guild, special projects, and vendors! The beautiful raffle quilt was won by a local gal, congrats Penny! Viewer’s choice voting was done a bit different with the public picking their top 5 favorites. You can see the winners on the guild Facebook page. (Thimble Pleasures) Amazing work! In addition to the public voting, guild members had a separate vote on every category.

I had several quilts in the show. The most talked about of mine were the Mermaid tails. I’m pleased I won a third place in the guild’s vote.

Snuggle Tails ~ Mermaids

A quilt I quilted for a friend won a 2nd place! Happy for Elaine!

What do you look at or focus on when attending a quilt show? I’d love to hear your comments!

I gave two demos at the show. First on Bindings (all the tricks and tips… from choosing binding fabric, to cutting binding, to finishing the tail ends with” Brilliant Bindings”). My second was on trapezoids in quilts. I showed many of my cover quilts. A few Ahhhhhs of how different they can look in a quilt. A huge thanks to my very own “Vanna” (Elisa) for her help in holding the quilts as I talked about them. I have thirteen published quilt patterns to date that include trapezoids. Plus several free patterns online! Be sure to check out my free patterns on my website.

In working with trapezoids, let me show you the reason to use a trapezoid tool to cut it’s shape.

Most patterns use rectangles and squares to get the trapezoid shape…

a square is placed on the end of the rectangle and sewn from corner to corner
the excess is trimmed away and is often scrap
the sewing line is the solid line and dotted line is seam allowance to be cut away, X is scrap (often waste and not used). (X is too small to use on another rectangle)
Rectangle and square to get trapezoid

If using trapezoid tool (such as Brilliant Bindings) to cut shape…

trapezoids can be cut first
if template rotated and cut again, less fabric is used
a square (cut the same size as the width of the trapezoid) is cut diagonally once. Each half is used

cut trapezoid with triangle on 45 degree edge

triangle pressed

#1 – Cutting trapezoid shapes (instead of using rectangle and squares) saves fabric and has less waste.

#2 – If your head hurts when doing quilting math…don’t! Find a pattern and someone has done it for you!

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Brilliant Bindings, Free patterns, Tips, trapezoids, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on March 8, 2016 by debbiewendt

Highlight from Daytona Beach… I bought a quilt from the Caohagan Quilts booth!

Caohagan Quilt Made by Linda

I LOVE the whimsy of all their quilts! And the inspiring use of fabrics and colors! Their spokesperson, Dana Jones is a delight to speak with. I first met Dana in Chattanooga at the AQS show a couple years ago. I saw her again at the International Quilt Festival in Houston and purchased her recently published book, “Pagtinabangay The Quilts and Quiltmakers of Caohagan Island”. I have wanted a quilt ever since I first saw them, now I have one!

So, you may ask, why buy a quilt when you can make one yourself? The pure joy of supporting this quilter from the Island of Caohagan! (And how can you not love a red polka dot pieced fish!) Caohagan is a 13 acre island in the center of the Philippine islands. As Dana states in her book, there are over 100 quilters of the 600 residents of the island. And the revenue from the quilts helps support the island’s income. Dana’s book is beautiful in showing you the island, quilters and island life!

Book by Dana E. Jones

You can find out more about Caohagan quilts and the island at Caohagan.com. Dana’s book is available on her website at Islandquiltsbook.org. If you see Dana and the quilts at a show, please consider supporting the quilters of Caohagan!

#1 – Support your fellow quilters!

This weekend will be my guild’s quilt show! Thimble Pleasures Quilt Guild. Check out our FB page for all the latest information. (Thimble Pleasures ) For once, my quilts are quilted (earlier than the night before the show) and ready to hang in the show. Well, expect the last hanging sleeve I need to add to my Brilliant Twin Darts quilt. If you live in the area, please join us at the show. It will be held at the Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical School, 65 Pleasant Street, Upton, MA. Show is Saturday and Sunday, March 12 and 13 from 10-4.

Thimble Pleasures Raffle Quilt 2016

#2 – Attend a local quilt show. A great way to meet quilter’s in your area!

Our raffle quilt is shown to the left. I have tickets if anyone is interested in purchasing a chance to win this beautiful quilt. Tickets also available at the show and winner will be drawn on Sunday afternoon. It was made by many member of the guild (myself included) and quilted by my good friend Terri Vadenais! Nice job ladies!!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday

Posted on March 1, 2016 by debbiewendt

After the show…Thank you Daytona Beach! I really enjoyed the show and appreciate my customers. Several shared photos of quilts they made with my patterns. It was great to see! Look at Twirl-A-Tool in a teal color scheme. And Diamond Tipped Tools mixed with solid blocks. Awesome!

Twirl-A-Tool by Loretta

Diamond Tipped Tools by Cheryl

I spent a couple days playing in Orlando. Can you say Disney?! As I was walking through Magic Kingdom and Epcot, the colors, sounds and sights bring magical memories of childhood books, stories and favorite movies. I was a kid again!

My favorite as a kid, Swiss Family Robinson Tree House.

As a quilter, I’m always finding awesome patterns. In landscaping, tile floors, benches and even manhole covers and drain grates. Loving all these patterns!

Epcot

Bench at Epcot

Manhole cover at Magic Kingdom

Shadow over drain grate.

#1 – Look for quilting inspiration in your surroundings. Even at Disney!

Magical color at Magic Kingdom!

#2 – Pick color schemes that are magical to YOU!

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Patterns, Tips, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Two Tip Tuesday from Sunny Florida

Posted on February 24, 2016 by debbiewendt

It is late, but my booth is set up and ready for AQS Quilt Week Daytona Beach! My friend Michelle Banton is here helping me in the booth. Come see us if you come to the show! Booth #1118.

Here is a look at the Snuggle tails. We even have one you can try on!

Wendt Quilting Booth

This week will be another short and sweet post as it was a long day setting up the booth and the show opens in the morning!

Tips for quilt show go-ers.

#1 – Wear comfortable shoes!

#2 – Look for show specials!

more…

Plan on going through the show at least twice, you see different things! Make notes of who you want to go back to (it is difficult to remember every isle). Look for free demos!

and most importantly…HAVE FUN!!!

We took a walk along the beach…gorgeous!

in quilting,

Debbie

Posted in Quilt shows, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

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