Nautical Flag Border

    When finishing up our Summerhouse quilt, we wanted to do something special for the border. A Nautical Flag Block had hit the dust for being overly complicated—but the potential for a border really struck us!

    It surprised us initially that they all seem to be based on quilt blocks – but thinking it over, DUH!, in the days before cellphones, radios, and even morse code, what did sailors have for communication? Not much more than strips of fabric and needle and thread. And you’ll notice, the rolling deck of a ship is not suitable for curved piecing—only ONE block uses it—can you find it? And I’ll bet they didn’t have Karen Kay Buckley’s perfect circle templates, either.

    Don’t worry—no circles in our border—and you will be surprised how easy it is to put this border together and make it fit. If you want to skip that blather, you can download our instructions here:

FREE Nautical Flag Border Tutorial

     Our Regatta table runner was crying out for a flag border. We started by adding a 1/4" navy blue border around our ships-- a flag border is nothing if not BUSY so think about it as a bit of visual protection for the main part of your design.

     

     We are using three inch blocks, the perfect size for a table runner.  We’re sticking with our teal and yellow theme, so we pulled a bunch of scraps in those colors. Most of the flags worked out to have pieces with a 2" width. So, the first thing we cut was a bunch of two inch strips—many of the flags also use a 2” x 3-1/2" rectangle, so we cross cut some of those, too. 

     

We calculated that we’d need roughly 32 blocks, so here’s our strategy. Make ALOT of easy blocks and then make a couple of very high contrast fancy blocks to add interest and get a good mix of colors and shapes. 

     First up, “K”: the simple double-striped flag-- so easy to make so we made eight of them, picking a light and dark value fabric for each and using our pre-cut rectangles. Then we made a bunch of flying geese, and stitched them to more of the rectangles.The checkerboards used strips that were then cross cut and rotated—very easy to do as well.

     By this time, the scraps were flying...  getting tracked around the office like mud... and we can only hope there are no pins in there. My husband always says in my head, “Hope is not a strategy.”

… and here is my scrap catcher strategy-- my friend Tere, who is fully acquainted with "my process," made it for me out of my very favorite Kaffe fabric.... when she gave it to me, I initially thought it was to keep fat quarters in. I don’t know why I thought that, but even as a child I was trying to put the square block in the round hole. 

    Tere graciously corrected me about its true purpose, but I’m still having trouble using it. But it looks great on our big cutting table, doesn’t it? Until filled with scraps, you might think it serves no purpose there-- but it has an important one... Its purpose is to remind me I have a dear friend who sees a void in me and tries to fill it. XOX

     Back to business... we just made of few of these types of blocks below… not that they were so very hard to make, but just because we were trying to expedite the process.

     Why use a design wall when you can have a design floor? A design wall is for people with good shoulders.... the floor is for people with good knees. If you don’t have either, try a table.

     We reached 32 blocks in no time. We first picked four of the most striking favorites for the corners. Then we just picked one by one from each row, and laid them clockwise around the piece so that none of the same fabric was adjacent—harder to do than you might think!

     

Once we had our first layout, it was very helpful to take a black and white pic with a smart phone-- you can easily see where dark and light values are congregating and adjust. We made some adjustments and this is actually looking pretty good now.

Here’s the final layout:

    We sewed together about 4 or 5 blocks at a time, leaving a space in the middle of the top and bottom borders... the space is to add a final piece to make the border fit! Our sides worked out perfectly, but could have used the same technique. If you only have a small space to fill, just remove one of your rectangle pieces and make one that's wider.

    When sewing on your borders, pin the ends to match first, then pin the middle, then in between those pins-- keep doing in betweeners until your pins are about 2" apart. Pin on the border side of the project-- that way you can better see where points are when you sew. We first added the longer borders and then the sides.

Having all those flags butted up against a binding seemed like it was really going to cramp them, so we added an additional dark border around the edges. 

    And ta-da! Photoshoot time—my favorite! We bought a matching blueberry pie and lemonade—yellow and blue! Unfortunately, it has been raining here forever, so the picture couldn’t be taken outside and was photoshopped a bit. Maybe we’ll get another pie later this week and redo it.

So that’s the nautical flag border—again, you can download a PDF here:

FREE Nautical Flag Border Tutorial

Feel free to “pirate” it—for all of your summer projects! XOX

Sedona

I did something unusual this month-- I took a vacation! Now you might think that having my own sewing business is vacation every day of the year and you'd be right, but sometimes the artist in me needs to get out from behind the computer screen! 

For my sister's birthday, we met in Sedona, Phoenix-- she picked it and I happily agreed. She was flying in from Florida and we were supposed to land within a half hour of each other in Phoenix-NOT! She had two layovers and made it on time-- my straight flight was delayed four hours! Fortunately, I have the presence of mind to always travel with hand work...

(This is a secret project I am working on-- English Paper Piecing clamshells-- more in another post, and boy, did I get a lot done!)

So getting in very late, I missed my trip to the Desert Garden in Phoenix. Sorry, no cactus flower embroidery inspiration! :-(

...and basically we were up an at 'em to drive up to Sedona the next day. 

Born and raised in the Northeast-- there's always something enchanting about cacti growing by the side of the road. And while I think of Arizona as a flat desert, its actually quite mountainous-- 99 degrees in Phoenix but we still had a snow peak up ahead.

We stopped at the famous Montezuma Castle site-- what struck me was how PEACEFUL it was there. Located by a little stream, I could just envision the Native American women of ages past doing their sewing by the lake. XOX

Then it was back on the road-- as we drove around a last mountain the red rocks came into view and they were stunning.

The first night in Sedona we went to the Tillakawapakawa Center, and trust me, it is WAY easier to spell than to say. It's a place loaded with art and galleries. Many many beautiful things to ogle and fortunately the shops closed early or my credit card would have been smoking! The buildings all looked pretty new, but everything was arranged so carefully like a little village and every spot was like a work of art, too. So my camera got the workout!!

Next day we hiked up to the Chapel of the Holy Cross. All uphill... this place does not lack gorgeous vistas! 

Unfortunately, I got distracted by this person's house that could be seen below... In a former life, I may have been a real estate agent, because a pretty property and location, location, location, never escapes my eye!

 It had a pond, waterfall, and God only knows how many bathrooms... basically, the only fault is the fact that stalkers with zoom lenses will be spying on you from the Chapel!

This is my sister--  we are blond and brunette versions of the same person and a better traveling companion you will never find. She is very much agreeable when ill-advised side trips are in discussion, also will want to buy you any and all items that take your fancy in gift shops. DO NOT wear mascara with this person, as you will soon have tears rolling down your cheeks from laughing too hard! She does need to work on her rock star hand signal though. XOX

At night we shopped at the more touristy area-- I am a sucker for a gift shop and don't mind the tourist traps at all-- I just love to take all of it in, see where all the visitors are from, and have the locals tell you the best things to do.

Of course, I assured my sister quilt shops were off the table, but this one was a mile down from the hotel, so what the heck! Taking me into a quilt shop is as ill-advised a side trip as they come.

Well worth the visit-- they had four rooms, beautiful batiks and a nice selection of red rock applique patterns.

Day Four 

we drove up to the Grand Canyon. The elevation is 7000 feet-- 

so to get there from Sedona, it is a climb-- first we went through the Oak Creek Canyon-- a narrow shady crack with trees, a creek, the most charming cabins, and as cool as the day was warm. Then you switch back and forth over a great hill-- the views as you went higher and higher were spectacular... it was my turn  to drive though, and  BOTH hands were firmly gripping the wheel, believe me! So no pictures!

While admiring the incredible sight, I thought to myself-- it's really not a big hole in the ground-- the bottom of the canyon is at an everyday type of elevation- it's the surrounding cliffs that are spectacular!

Both times I have visited the Grand Canyon it has just been for a day. I love a hike and I have vowed both times to return and walk down at least partway. This first time I went was in February and this time I noticed how much greenery there is down there-- we could not see the Colorado River at the bottom. 

Then of course you see something like this and you realize it's time to get back to civilization and... HOME.

Back at home, for the flower basket of the month, I went with this favorite mountain flower and a jar that probably seeped into my consciousness at Tillakawapakawa. Thanks for joining me!

XOX

Baltimore Album Progress...

I made a big decision after releasing the finishing instructions for the Baltimore Album BOM... 

Stitching the gridded border back and forth on my sewing machine got my rotator cuff all aggravated again, and a survey of my friends concluded that the piece needed fancier border.

So I ripped off my borders and started over... digitizing them!

That was a couple of months ago, and while not quite finished, I've made a ton of progress and it looks amazing...

First, the digitizing was ALOT of work! I took my lily and acanthus theme from the inside sashings and expanded on it. The nice thing about working on the computer is that I can actually compose the entire border to the exact size, and even add photos of the existing piece, so you'd think there'd be no surprises when it came to stitching!

 Each piece is designed for the limits of a 7" x 12" hoop and then takes approximately three hours to stitch out... most of this is working to align the sections.

This is the back and you can see how pretty it looks. I have actually gotten to be even BETTER at hooping... problem is, the parts that are already stitched out shrink down, so each successive piece has to be resized to photographs of adjacent pieces. 

I know there are others who use significant machine embroidery in their quilts, but I honestly feel that what I am doing in hooping and entirely machine embroidering this quilt is totally maverick. At least I don't remember seeing any class offered for this! So the learning curve has been a bit steep. Matching points below!

With that said, there is some comforting similarity with the process of quilting. For instance, you can bury all of your thread tails just as you would on any other piece.

Or as I thought, any crazy, obsessive thing a longarmer can do on a show quilt, a machine embroiderer can do better! Beyond that, some strategically placed crystals will help where they have to.

On a side note-- these two items look very similar but actually have a VERY different effect when used on fabric... ask me how I know. One of them has been BANNED from my sewing room, BANNED from my house!!!

Other than that, the possibility of the EPIC FAIL we artists know and fear, at this point is pretty small-- all I would have to do is take off a border and replace it if things went badly. Not that I want to do that, but it's a comforting thought, every time I press the START button on the ol' Babylock!

The end is near, and I'm really pleased with how flat this thing has remained. The reality is that every stitching project will look better after it is washed and blocked. So I tested some extra stitch outs, and the good news is, in spite of all the different threads and colors I used...no bleeding! My good friend Tere D'Amato offered to help me with some hand holding when that day comes. XOX

So without further ado...

Here's "A New England Album"!

The borders are so very large because my hoop needs all that to grip on to-- they will ultimately be trimmed to the scallop shape. Economy of materials was never a hallmark of my process!

I have the top border to go which will hopefully be done this weekend. Then binding... and then it's off to the Vermont Quilt Festival!

While everyone hopes for a ribbon, with all the amazing gorgeous quilts out there, it doesn't often happen... I am just over the moon, first of all, to be this close to finishing this, and second, I think I've created a totally new look of my own, in spite of the variety of quilts that are already out there. That may sound egotistical, but remember-- I may be the only one crazy enough to do this!

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope it encourages you to do whatever crazy thing you like to do-- nothing is better to me than when everyone is doing their thing. Go forth and sew!

XOX

How to make flowers in thread...

 Here’s a little peek of how our Flower Basket of the months are born… well bloom… the soil is the idea, the water is the work, and the sunshine is thread!

    For a monthly series, we like to follow along with what is actually blooming… so far we have the early crocuses, then the daffodils and tulips… it’s always nice to have a theme to guide you, and also for a very practical reason—we then have to find a sample to sketch! It’s a good excuse, if excuse be needed, to buy flowers. Here’s what we snagged this month, just at a local grocery store:

I resisted all the candy, (peeps are my favorite!) and bought this tiny Easter basket this month for some additional inspiration. Now how are we going to fit that huge pot of lilies into that tiny basket?-- it's easy, when you have an artistic license!

I am not actually a big fan of lilies, and Easter, besides the peeps, is not high on my list of favorite holidays, (what's to love about getting up at sunrise on a raw morning-- yes, I know there are morning people out there who will disagree with  me) but I’ve been digitizing them for the Baltimore album borders and they really are lovely flowers when considered just for their shapes. You can change the colors to turn them into any sort of daylily, too. The smell is heavenly. I still wouldn’t get up in the dark, though. 

I took lots of pictures of the lilies-- I always like to have a bud, a partly opened flower, and a bloom, from all sides.

Sometimes I just sketch, but this time I took the photos into Photoshop and cropped out the flowers I like. So I cut and paste, and make larger, make smaller, flip, rotate— Photoshop is really handy that way. You might think we then just press a button to digitize, but these are not "Photostitched"-- if such a program worked, I'd be out of business! 

The leaves are going to be sketched in—there will always be a place for the good old #2s in my studio. These pieces are in a diamond shape, and the leaves will fill our the corners and provide a nice backdrop for the flowers... I love drawing leaves.

In the embroidery software, every shape is lovingly drawn, colored, assigned a stitch type and a stitch angle. It's amazing how many "colors" you can get out of a single thread color, just by changing the angles. The different ways the light hits rayon thread is wonderful. The lilies are a challenge because they are mostly white, and beyond cream there are not a lot of thread colors to use without making them too dark. We used dark greens for the leaves, to contrast with the flowers. Then white, cream, and the palest ever yellow for the blooms, a couple of darker khaki greens for the flower shadows. The fun part was picking the basket colors-- we went all out, bright!

It's good to lay out all of your colors ahead of stitching-- if you don't like them together now, you won't later. Also, you see how easy it is to take the range of lily colors and change them to any colors of your choice-- use a series of dark yellows, orange, and then red and you'd have a Tiger Lily! And if you don't want an Easter basket,  you can change those to shades of brown or tan. 

We love to see you making these designs your own-- coloring outside our lines is definitely encouraged!

Our lily is now stitched-- as quick as it is to write about it, at this point of the process. we may have already logged sixteen hours. Now it needs to be made into a quilt block and mug rug... many hours ahead but most of the heavy labor is done. This point of the design is always a bit of a relief for me-- I did it!

Here you can see our quilt block is finished, and we're going to show the making of the mug rug because it's a bit more colorful. We decided to do something different this time and stitch on a colored background-- white flowers on white fabric is a favorite look of mine, but frowned on in this establishment because it is a BEAR to photograph!

I am thinking pink or purple, but I don't like pink... so it's purple! 

The background gingham is fabric I bought almost twenty years ago to make my toddler daughter and Easter dress... it never got made, sniff, sniff! But I'm glad I saved it because it is perfect to go with my little digitized basket. Write me if you want some-- I still have about two yards left! Here we are, halfway there...

These mug rugs completely stitch in the hoop including the quilting. And now we are finished! All told, a good 4-5 days have elapsed. It's time to make a cup of tea and have a photoshoot. You'd think that looks good enough to swallow after all the hard work... only I like my tea with milk and sugar, but lemon looks so much better, don't you think?

I hope you enjoyed the start to finish "tour"! Spring has now sprung, or at least it's trying hard, and the choice of flowers will become immense! Please comment with your favorite blooms and we will try to stitch ALL OF THEM this summer. Our next series of baskets are going to feature more than one flower. XOX