Monthly Archives: October 2008

Timtex, where have you been?

October 10th, 2008 in Behind the Scenes
By Todd Hensley

Recently we announced that Timtex will be returning to the market. I thought you might be interested in an abbreviated behind the scenes story of how this came to be. Thanks to Stacy Sews for the mention and for giving me the idea to post about this.

Travel back in time with me to the year 2003.

Before fast2fuse was introduced, most quilters and crafters used Timtex to create a variety of dimensional projects. Then in October 2003 Linda Johansen wrote a book titled, Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Bowls published by C&T Publishing. Along with the phenomenal success of the book, customers were asking for Timtex with a fusible on it to make it faster and easier to create fabric bowls. So, we started searching for a fusible product that was similar to Timtex. In October 2004 we introduced fast2fuse to quilters and crafters everywhere and it was a big hit.

What you may not know is that Timtex and fast2fuse standard weight were the exact same thing. Both were manufactured in South Carolina on the same piece of equipment. The only difference between the two products: fast2fuse came in 28 inch width and was coated on both sides with a fusible agent so that you could press fabric to it easily without adding a fusible web to your fabric beforehand. In addition, fast2fuse was available in two weights: standard and heavyweight, while Timtex was available in only a standard weight.

Both products sold well and were quite successful in the craft market, especially through quilt and fabric stores. In fact, the success of these products spawned other companies to bring forth competitive products. Quilters and crafters, however, preferred the unique quality of Timtex and fast2fuse for projects ranging from fabric bowls, boxes, vases, ATC cards, fabric postcards, art quilts, garments, bags and so much more.

In the summer of 2007, we got some bad news. The plant that produced the base stock was being sold and the giant equipment that “blended” it was being dismantled. How could this be?

Thanks, Bloggers!

October 10th, 2008 in News & Events
By Casey Dukes

Well, it’s Day Five since the blog launched, and we’re having a blast! It’s such a pleasure to join our authors and designers in sharing ideas and inspiration over The Internets. Thanks so much to Ann Butler, Blue Moon River and Crafty Moments for the shout-outs!

Like Amy said, we have big plans for our blog. Stay tuned for more projects and posts from our staff, authors, and designers, as well as peeks at the fun things that are happening around the office.

Halloween Has Returned to Haunt Me

October 9th, 2008 in Staff Pick
By Carolyn Aune

I hate Halloween. NO, NO, NO—I am not making a political or religious statement. I hate Halloween because it brings up memories of all those painfully stressed Octobers when I, a working mom, made costumes for my kids. Not only that, but my kids had very high standards when it came to costumes—no flimsy, thrown-together outfits for them!

I admit that I was the one who started it all when they were preschoolers and I was a stay-at-home mom. I had plenty of time and enjoyed sewing the wonderful Raggedy Ann costume or the silly, fuzzy Cookie monster outfit. But I set the bar too high, and I paid for it for years afterwards. After so many ballerinas, clowns, devils, vampires, walking computers etc., I swore to be retired from costume making forever.

Then 2 things happened: I discovered Sue Astroth’s book Super-Simple Creative Costumes and I had grandchildren. Sue’s book contains many quick and easy-to-make accessories, which can turn ordinary clothes into wonderful costumes.

I guess I am back to making costumes in October—only this time I have ideas of how to do things quickly and simply, and with some luck making things for my grandkids will be less stressful. Hmm, maybe tonight after work I will go home and make some crowns for the little princesses in my life.

What’s a Foofee?

October 9th, 2008 in Behind the Scenes
By Gailen Runge

When we’re working on a project, we have to talk about the project a lot. Before even a single book comes out, sometimes we’ve been talking about it for years. Some things inevitably get nicknames and abbreviations.

In one of our meetings, a staff member jokingly dubbed our fast, fun & easy® series the “foofee” series, reading the “FFE” abbreviation we use. Fortunately or unfortunately, it stuck. We have foofee books, foofee templates, foofee photo shoots.

What would a fly-on-the-wall visitor think of the editorial and production managers very seriously discussing “foofee strategy”? We did that the other day…in our Preditorial meeting. (Production + Editorial = Preditorial.)

Going Green: C&T Gets Certified

October 8th, 2008 in News & Events
By Stacy Chamness

As a book publisher, with paper a core part of our business, we are concerned about the future of the world’s remaining endangered forests and the environmental impacts of paper production. We are taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint and help fight global warming.

Todd Hensley, CEO

C&T has been doing what it can to reduce its environmental footprint, from the inside out.

We’ve been working hard to lessen our impact on the environment and have found that not only was it super easy to make some green changes, but that in the process we had a lot of fun! It’s been a fantastic process to get the entire company cooperating and making suggestions of greener ways to work. Our “Green Team” will be sharing the steps we’re taking to “go green” over the past couple years, and hopefully inspire others to do the same.

One of the biggest steps we’ve taken is to become a Bay Area Green Business. Yay!

C&T Publishing Author Sightings…

October 8th, 2008 in News & Events
By Danielle Dews

See the Ficklesticks Full Monty! Diana Taylor, author of Fast, Fun & Easy® Fabric Ficklesticks, will be exhibiting and selling her work at the American Quilters Society quilt festival in Des Moines, Iowa, from October 8-11. Go see her fantastic wire and fabric Ficklesticks weavings, baskets, ornaments, brooches, necklaces, bracelets, stick figures, wallflowers and other imaginative Ficklesticks fabrications–and get inspired to make your own! She will have her book, the supplies needed to get you started, and kits for cherry necklaces, tiny Santas, witches, and ballerinas.

Prepare to be Astonished by These Quilts. If you thought psychedelic art was dead, take a look at this online gallery of quilts by Anna Faustino, posted by The Empire Quilters Guild of the greater New York City area. (Anna was their Quilter of the Month in November, 2006.) Many of the quilts in the gallery come from Anna’s book, Simply Stunning Woven Quilts. Buy the book to find out just how easy it is to make them or check out Anna Faustino’s website.

Barbara Brackman Co-Curates Quilt Exhibit at Spencer Museum of Art. “Flora Botanica,” an exhibit of 30 historic floral quilts, co-curated by author Barbara Brackman, will be on view from July 12 to October 12 at the Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence, Kansas. From the exhibit description: “Floral images have been among the most popular with America’s quiltmakers. This view of approximately 30 quilts from the collection considers the sources for many of the classic patchwork designs.” Learn more about the exhibit

Going to New York? Let Paula Nadelstern Take You Fabric Shopping. One of the hidden treasures on Paula’s website is this mouth-watering guide to shopping for fabric, lace, buttons, and lots of other goodies in Manhattan. There’s even a list of the best places to eat and an itinerary for touring the garment district. Check it out! If you love fabulous quilts and fabrics, you won’t want to miss Paula’s stunning new book, Paula Nadelstern’s Kaleidoscope Quilts, which was released just last month.

Video: C&T at Summer ’08 CHA Trade Show

October 8th, 2008 in News & Events
By Danielle Dews

I’m very excited to post C&T’s very first Trade Show Montage Video (there has to be a better name than that). The footage was shot in and around our booth at the Craft and Hobby Association’s Summer 2008 trade show in Chicago and Christina Carty-Francis, our esteemed photographer, crafted it into this video and slideshow.

[qt:/video/CHA_Summer_2008.mov 320 240]

Bloggers, Get 25% Off Your Next Order

October 7th, 2008 in News & Events
By Christine Mann

We’re offering a 25% discount to the first 100 bloggers* who add ctpubblog.com to their blogroll! Here’s what you do:

Email us at ctinfo@ctpub.com with your link. Be sure to include your name and anything else you’d like to tell us about your blog. (We’re on the lookout for creative blogs and guest posters to feature here.)
We’ll email you right back with a special offer code for your discount.
Use the code when you place your order, either online at www.ctpub.com or by phone 800-284-1114 (US) or 925-677-0377 (Int’l). Orders must be placed by October 31, 2008.

*The fine print: Any person with an active blog related to quilting, fiber arts, needle arts or papercrafting is eligible for this offer, with the exception of C&T Publishing employees, authors, freelancers and contributors. Offer ends 10/31/08. 25% discount applies only to retail orders at regular or sale prices; one order per household. Discount does not apply to shipping, sales tax, wholesale orders, photography services, or e-clubs. Order must be placed directly with C&T Publishing, either online or by phone.

Just Arrived: Fast, Fun & Easy® Fabric Dyeing

October 7th, 2008 in Behind the Scenes
By Lynn Koolish

Hi, I’m Lynn. I’m an Editor at C&T, but I’m also an author, and my new book just arrived in the warehouse. It’s so exciting to see pallets stacked full of my books!

Me and my new book in the warehouse

The title of my book is Fast, Fun & Easy ® Fabric Dyeing. I’m really proud of this book; it turned out exactly how I’d hoped it would, and in particular the color is just wonderful.

The book gives easy instructions for 12 different techniques for dyeing your own fabric.

Here is one of the techniques—it’s called Shibori, and in this case, fabric is wrapped around a PVC pipe and scrunched in place with rubber bands. As you can see, it’s a great way to get interesting patterns and texture on fabric. By painting on the dye, you can get multiple colors in one step.

Printing dye on for shibori and the finished fabric

Dyeing fabric is a great way to create your own unique fabric and this book really does make it fast, fun, and easy. I hope you’ll check it out!

Annual Warehouse Sale is a Hoot!

October 7th, 2008 in Behind the Scenes
By Gailen Runge

One of C&T’s most anticipated events fell on September 6 this year. Our Annual Warehouse Sale. While it is anticipated by many, the mood in which it’s anticipated varies, from mild trepidation (for our warehouse staff who set up the tents, stock the books, and so forth), to percolating excitement (for the team members who get to work the sale), to just-controlled bargain hunting madness for the shoppers.

C&T Publishing is a group of quilters and crafters dedicated to publishing products tailored to our audience. This blog is where we break away from book schedules and marketing campaigns to focus on what drives us to be creative and how this creativity manifests itself in our every day lives.