Two Tip Tuesday – Hello Paducah and Thanks VT

Posted on April 24, 2024 by debbiewendt

It has been a couple of VERY busy weeks! I got to teach in Vermont for the Maple Leaf Quilters. We had so much fun learning the Tentmakers’ style of applique but using machine applique instead of by hand. I also did a lecture for their meeting on Teaching the World to Quilt. Thank you ladies….(and Mary, the guild will understand). We shared lots of laughs and great quilt conversations! Nancy and Virginia came by my booth tonight in Paducah for the the opening night of Quilt Week. Nancy finished her Messenger Bag from the class! Well DONE!!! I love her color choices and the added button.

I’m looking forward to seeing some more finished messenger bags. The photos below shows some progress from the workshop!

AND…..Hello Paducah!!! I’m here for Quilt Week! My booth is #3500/02 on the second floor of the Convention Center. I’m teaching my lecture, Bindings- A World of Options and my class Done by Three. The class is sold out and there are a few spots left in the lecture. I hope you’ll stop by to shop and say hello! My booth is set up and ready. We had preview tonight. I’ll be doing a Learning Center talk first thing tomorrow at 10 in the Pavilion (“the bubble”) join me as I show…Patterns and Tools to Bust a Move on Your Stash. Booth photos…left side, right side and outside “wall”….

Show tips….

  1. Give EVERY booth a good look! We appreciate you business.
  2. Have patience! There will be lines and it is worth the wait.
  3. Internet will be in high demand and sales apps may run slow. We are going as fast as we can. Wish us luck we don’t have any cell server glitches.
  4. Have fun and meet new quilters. The world becomes a much smaller place.

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Late but not forgotten

Posted on April 10, 2024 by debbiewendt

How does Tuesday fly by so fast? I have not a clue! Spring is turning things green and the colors are starting to pop…literally buds out of the ground. It seems a bit trivial to talk about the weather, but it reminds me of choosing fabric and how nature can provide so many options of color combinations.

My birthday flowers is a great example of how a red rose has so many more “colors” in it! Look at the purple, too!

My 1st tip is to go outside and take some photos of all the Spring blooms or budding trees. Look how a red can inspire so many shades/tints/ and hues, pink burgundy, purple-ish. Hue is the pure color, while shades are when black is added to a hue. Tints are when white is added to a hue. Tones are the addition of gray to a hue. Look at the color wheel I found on VistaPrint. It shows a great example of the color terminology. You can read their article HERE.

The 2nd tip is to combine all those shades, tints and tones when choosing colors for a quilt. It adds SOOOO much interest!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Quilt Sleeves

Posted on April 3, 2024 by debbiewendt

When putting a quilt in a show, you need to add a sleeve to your quilt. I will explain the process I used when I added a sleeve to my Kantha Inspired quilt. The quilt does not have a traditional binding. I turned the edges in and took my stitching lines all the way to the outside folded in edges. I purposefully tied the ends of the stitching lines with knots that would show on the quilt. Below is how my quilt was hanging at the show. These steps will include your tips for today!

First, I cut my fabric into a strip 11″ by the length I needed across the top of the quilt. I did need to sew to pieces together to get the length (this the seam.). I usually cut the length of the strip so it fits just inside the edge. This time, I made it a couple inches shorter. I told this strip in half and sew a 1/4″ seam, creating a tube/sleeve.

Then I press that seam open and place it roughly in the center of the tube I created. Also, give it a good press along both edges.

I turn in the raw edge ends of the tube to hem both ends. (only one end shown below)

I marked a line 1/2″ above the long edge of the tube. Shown with a green line on the fabric.

Carefully press along this drawn line, being sure you do not “un-press” the original folded in half crease.

Place the sleeve about an inch below the top edge of the quilt. Pin in place. The seam you pressed open will be touching the back of the quilt. this allows a smooth inside of the sleeve to not interfere with a pole being place inside the sleeve.

Hand sew across the top of the sleeve to secure it to the back of the quilt. Also sew the outside edge of the sleeve that touches the back of the quilt in place. this give the actual opening of the sleeve where the bar will go to hang your quilt.

For the bottom edge of the sleeve, lift it up so you can find the crease you created earlier when you marked the 1/2″ from the long edge of the tube. Sew the bottom of the sleeve along that 1/2″ crease across the the length of the sleeve. This will allow for a gap in the sleeve for the hanging pole. Note I’m showing you the crease to sew along. It has not yet been sewn.

Ta Done once it has been sewn! I hope you followed my simplified explanation of adding a sleeve to the top of your quilt.

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Guilds and Remix

Posted on March 27, 2024 by debbiewendt

A HUGE shout out to the Rising Star quilt guild in Lexington, MA! I was their speaker tonight and they chose Egyptian Tentmakers’ Applique. I’m always thrilled to get my pieces out and share them with guilds! I took a quick photo as I was getting set up before I spoke. Table on the left is some of my collection of Tentmaker pieces as well as the piece on my quilt stand. The table on the right is some of my cover quilts from my patterns. (The slide show on the screen is from the guild’s retreat.)

It was fun to walk into their meeting space and finding this rug on the wall. It looks totally like many rugs I saw when living in Egypt. I looked for a tag, but could not find one. It made me smile! I just wished I had taken some of my rugs that had the same look. I only packed the Tentmaker pieces tonight.

Do you belong to a guild? I enjoy speaking at and going to Quilt Guild meetings. Like mined people all in the same room!!

Yesterday marked the finish of the Yellow Tulip quilt block Designer Remix. Several quilt designers remix a different quilt block each month. I used my Hex-a-ma-jig Jr. and 2 1/2″ strips to REMIX the tulip using hexie shapes. Below are a few of the photos. First the Yellow Tulip Block as it is shown in EQ (Electric Quilt) and what we were to REMIX. “Junior” can be found on my website…Hex-a-ma-jig Jr.

Then a few of my “Sneak Peeks” and then the Reveal. I have played with a number of options to make my tulip into a pattern. Hoping to work on this after Paducah next month. Keep a look out for more to come on this Remixed Tulip!

My tips are simple again this week.

#1 – Join a guild! They have speakers, go on retreats, have quilt shows and you get to spend time with like minded quilty people!

#2 – If you are in a guild….get involved! Take a turn at holding an office, volunteer to help where needed and have fun!

And if your guild is even in need of a speaker, keep me in mind! I have a number of topics and love to share my adventures in the quilt world and quilting around the world, literally!! You can find my lectures HERE.

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Quilt Show Success

Posted on March 20, 2024 by debbiewendt

It was fun to be a part of my guild’s quilt show! I’ll keep this weeks tips short, but I want to share a few favorites from our show.

First, my Never Strikes Twice got a ribbon! An honorable mention, I’m happy that it received some love. There were so many amazing quilts in our show. Beautiful hand work and fantastic quilting. MY Never Strikes Twice is simple piecing and simple quilting. Thank you for the votes! The pattern for this quilt is on my website!

My Kantha Inspired was voted on when we did the Challenge Reveal last year. It received a third place. so we did not vote on the Challenges again. I love the colors of this quilt that is made of all hand dyed fabrics that I did in a class. I quilted it on the sewing machine but used a longer stitch to mimic the hand stitches used when making a Kantha quilt.

Here is my Bee’s Knees quilt again. The guild hangs wall hangings with pins to the drapes, so sometimes they don’t hang straight. I promise, it is straight and square! This was our Circles Challenge.

I had a few other quilts in the show, but they have been shown here before.

Now for some of my favorites from the show…..Actually they were all my favorites! But I’m only adding just add a few to this post.

Michelle C’s Lady Bug Trip… Check out her Faux Piped Binding!!!

Jane Hillard’s My Bird Dance…Hours of handwork!

Roberta C’s Circle Game…Those fabric choices are fabulous!

Donna H’s Rainbow and Stars…Her matching skills are awesome!

June S’s The Queen is 80 Redwork Gift…Soooo sweet!

Deb H’s Dance in the Rain….She did the Shibori hand dying! Also loving the big stitch quilting!

Sue Pelland’s Get Your Kicks on Rt 66…Sweet fabrics and I love this design!

I wish I had room to show you MORE! Check out our Thimble Pleasures Facebook page and website for more quilts from the show!

So how do you walk a show? Left to right or Right to left? Or do you start in the middle? I am being serious. I tend to choose a vendor booth on the edge of a show, not the middle. So this information may change how I choose my next booth (if I get a choice…often we do not.) I’ve suggested this before and I’m adding it here again…

Tip #1 – Walk a show in both directions! You will see things differently and often see something you might have missed the first time through.

Do you read all the information posted on a quilt at a show? I try to take photos of the descriptions and maker and quilter if it is different that the maker. I do spend some time thinking about what I want to say on my description. It is fun to get (and give) the insight about a quilt.

Tip #2 – Don’t be afraid to enter your quilts in a show. Especially your guild show! We all got our start as a beginner. It is fun to see how far you have come and it will bring you joy to hear how others are excited to see your work!

Please comment and let me know your thoughts on my show questions. <grin>

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Quilt Show and Flower Garden Finish

Posted on March 12, 2024 by debbiewendt

First up: One of the guilds I belong to, Thimble Pleasures, has their Quilt Show this weekend!! Thimble Pleasures has their show every two years. We will have over 200 quilts on display, a raffle quilt, boutique, raffle baskets, silent auction, vendors, food for purchase, and my favorite – the Special Project area. I love seeing how so many talented women come together to show their work, make and donate handmade items for all the different areas. Our special Project will have handmade items for sale, ALL monies brought in from the Special Project will be donated to the Doug Flutie Jr. foundation for Autism. We will also gladly welcome monetary donations.

Here is a picture of our raffle quilt with all the details!

I hope you will join us if you are in the area this weekend!

Now for another finish. Last week I talked a bit about one of the workshop attendees using one fabric for all of her flower in her Hexie Flower Garden. Here is her quilt top…

I’m so pleased to see the results, WOW!!! WONDERFUL!

This quilt was made by Jen Cannizzaro. She is a longarm quilter and has her own small business. I’m looking forward to seeing how she quilts her quilt! I’ll share her information as she sent it to me. I hope you will look her up…

“We are Cannizzaro Creations – mother and daughter – we are longarm quilters with quilting and dyeing classes, and have fabric, notions and kits for sale (we have a few hundred bolts).  We also partner with Snowy Mountain Knitting in our space.  Fran offers knitting classes and yarn for sale.  Our space is in an old shoe factory in Rockland, MA (379 Liberty St – the ET Wright building).  The building rents space to artists of a variety of mediums.  If you are looking for something to do on April 26, our building has open studios which is a lot of fun.  Come by if you are interested!”

It pays to ask questions of those in your workshop! I would not have know Jen had her own business if I didn’t listen and ask. Exciting!

#1 – Talk to those quilters in your workshops! Learn things!

#2 – Attend your local guild shows. There are so many in New England, it is fun to see what area quilters are making, vending and showing!

I hope to see many local quilters this weekend. I’ll be in the Special Project area most of the show. I’m doing a short demo on Saturday at 2:30 on my “Faux Piped Bindings”. Come sit and join me as I share how I make these bindings that add POP to your bindings. One of my Challenge quilts, “Winter Trees on a Moonlit Night” will be in the show and has this type of binding! This one is very subtle.

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Herring Run Quilt Guild

Posted on March 6, 2024 by debbiewendt

Thank you to Herring Run Quilt Guild for a great afternoon workshop and lecture beforehand. The workshop was the Hexie Flower Garden quilt. I have photos to share! I got 8 of the 10 results for the short three hours we met for the workshop. A lot was done!! Great starts with getting a couple rows sewn in class!!

We had several “Ah ha” moments. Those are the best in any workshop! The first was how exact you can get seams to match with the “lopped off” points cutting the shape of the Hex-a-ma-jig. By cutting off those “bunny ears” it helps get a perfect 1/4″ seam line. Plus, when sewing the rows together it also helps in matching up the seams to have nice intersections. See the proof below! She was thrilled, telling me those were some of the best intersections she had ever sewn. Yay!!! Well done!

Another moment … This student used ONE fabric for all her flowers. Look at the variety in the strips, all cut from the same fabric.

And then her flowers! YES, all from the same fabric as the strips above!

What machine do you take to class? The moments continue talking about how wonderful a Singer Featherweight 221 is to sew on. It is lightweight and has a wonderful straight stitch. Notice the Featherweight in the picture of her “underwater flowers”.

And a special use of old favorites. The fabrics used for these flowers are from Grandma’s clothes. She was a lover of gardening and all things flowering. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of using these treasures. A note – she used Hex-a-ma-jig Jr. as she wanted smaller flowers to get the best use the clothes she was using.

Tip #1 – Do you have a favorite machine to take to class? Mine is a featherweight for straight stitching! I’ve seen a number of smaller machine in my years of teaching. Sew on what you love. I love the great stitch of a Featherweight 221!

Tip #2 – I love the foresight of using one fabric for cutting all flowers. No decisions on choosing several different fabrics….ONE will do! And just the opposite – using many different pieces of clothing to create treasures for a lifetime!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Daytona Beach Results!

Posted on February 27, 2024 by debbiewendt

An amazing time happened in Daytona Beach! I’m so VERY PROUD of all my students. Their Flower Gardens began to grow! Their Baby Blocks were stacked and Done by Three projects got under way! The rotary cutters and sewing machine were humming!

I did not get all the names to correspond to the beautiful progress but I did take loads of pictures. So I will list the students for each class and show the work done in class. No particular order of whose is whose!

First up Hexie Flower Garden….The results from Paula, Linda, Cindy, Tracy, Bonnie, Cris,, Heidi, Katy, Michelle and Beryl….!!!

Oooh Hexie Baby….The results from Jayne, Beryl, Linda, Arlys, Joan, Carol, Robin, Joline, Karen, Kay, Dixye, Kathy Sue, Stacey, Elizabeth, Tamara, Lorrie, Paula, Kathleen and Sandy…!!!

Done by Three with Fat Quarters….The results from Cindy, Sandra, Pamela, Linda, Abby, Kathy, Lynn, Joan, Sue, Kim, Betty, Linda, Melinda, Dixye, Kathleen, Valerie, Linda, Kay, Linda, Lynn, Diana, and Linda….!!!

Tips….#1 – Have FUN in class! As I always tell my students, we have bunny rabbits and turtles. No matter which you are, you ALL ALWAYS get to the FINISH LINE!!!

#2 – If you are not sure about the technique you are learning, don’t bring your prized fabric. Try it out on some fabric you like and if you fall in love with it, then go for the gold!

Bonus – We had some happy mistakes with contrast in fabrics. Sometimes it is good to let the eye rest and add interest with low contrast!!

I took a ton of photos. Thank you to all my students and their willingness to have the take photos of their work in class. They go sooooo much accomplished and learned some new techniques!!

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Show Time!

Posted on February 21, 2024 by debbiewendt

Hello Daytona Beach! I’m here for AQS Quilt Week and the show opens in the morning. I’m excited to be teaching several classes and lectures as I posted last week! Done by Three made it to FULL! My booth is set-up and ready in the vendor area. I hope you will stop by and say HI! Booth #1623. I’ll be doing demos and talking quilting when I’m not teaching. I hope to see you this week.

Here she is….It is Show Time!

I’ve given my show tips before, but there are always more….

#1 – Bring along an EMPTY bag. I’m sure you will find some treasures to purchase!

#2 – Smile! We love seeing you walk the show and shop with a smile on your face. What could be better than a day at a quilt show with like minded quilty friends?!?

in quilting,

Debbie

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Two Tip Tuesday – Show Season

Posted on February 14, 2024 by debbiewendt

On the road again….well almost! Quilt Show Season is about to start for me. I will be AQS Quilt Week in Daytona Beach, FL next week. Will I see you there? You can register for my classes at Americanquilter.com, the exact page for Daytona Beach is HERE. Below is a reminder of the classes and lectures I’ll be teaching. My booth #1623 (one spot down from where I was last year).

Keeping this short and sweet….

Quilt Show Tip…. Tip #1 – Don’t go without eating! They will have several spots for food and snacks at the Ocean Center.

Travel Tip … Tip #2 – Bring snacks! When on a road trip, always bring snacks. And water! Plus I love to have a handwork project I can work on in the car and hotel room at night.

Yes, it is all about the food this week. PLUS bring your comfy shoes and spending money. I’ll have some show specials, so see you in my booth!!

in quilting,

Debbie

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