Congratulations to C.L. Moxley who won last week’s giveaway. She will be receiving a package of our fabulously useful Inchie Ruler Tape.
As a special for our blog readers, for the next two weeks you can get 20% off your purchase of Inchie Ruler Tape. Simply mention discount code WG20110 when you place your order with C&T via phone (800.284.1114) or our web site (enter discount code where noted during checkout).
I got my first opportunity to use our new Inchie Ruler Tape in a class with our own Liz Aneloski. I was making a wallhanging for my boyfriend and the project required decorative stitching to finish the piece.
Well, the thought of that made me want to shelve the project as I’d not only need to stitch in a straight line, but the stitches would need to be evenly spaced (both of which are huge challenges for me). Then someone handed me a piece of Inchie Ruler Tape and off I went! The ruler tape took all the guess-work out of it and I was able to stitch with confidence. I ended up using the heck out of that one piece of ruler tape (it’s kind of like stick ‘em notes – you can remove it, and use it again). I also used it to center lettering and embellishments on a birthday card I made for a friend, and (most amusing to my co-workers), I put it on the edge of a cutting board to make perfect slices of a pound cake I baked for a party!
In a word, this stuff is FABULOUS! The repositionable adhesive strips are marked in 1/4″ increments, which makes measuring easy, and it’s safe to use on fabric. A package contains 80 – 1″ by 11″ rulers, so it’s also a great value. Inchie Ruler Tape was inspired by Charlotte Warr Andersen’s new book, One Line at a Time, so it’s perfect for aligning machine-quilting designs and hand-quilting stitches, as well as placement and alignment of papercrafting elements, buttons and buttonholes, embroidery, beadwork, and even stencils and faux painting patterns.
It’s rare that I get excited about a product, but I know that once you get the chance to use our Inchie Ruler Tape, you, too, will be singing its’ praises. If you’d like a chance at winning a free pack of Inchie Ruler Tape, simply post a comment telling us what your greatest creative challenge is. On Monday morning (March 16), we’ll pick one commenter at random and announce the winner later that day. Good luck!
*Note: Comments will be closed on Monday, March 16, at 9am PST
In early February I was contacted by Amy Shuter, a quilter who was requesting permission to use a pattern from our book, Small Quilts with Vintage Charm by Jo Morton, to make a quilt in honor of her mother that would be sold to benefit the Alzheimer Art Quilt Initiative. Now, I receive quite a few permission requests, but this is the first time someone has shared the end result with me. This message made my day, and I thought our blog readers would enjoy it as well.
Thanks so much for the permission to use the pattern. I waited till I finished the quilt to thank you for the permission–just thought you might like to see it. I have now finished the mini-quilt and turned it in so it can be auctioned. The picture shows how much I love this design. I have now made it 3 times! The largest one (with 1/2 in logs) is on my dining room table as a table topper. The middle sized one (with 1/4 in logs) is on the wall. Thanks so much for the fun pattern design and for the permission to sell the smallest one to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.
On another subject, after looking at a dozen or more books on machine quilting at the quilt shop, I purchased Machine Quilting Solutions by Christine Maraccini. I am currently practicing drawing my designs on a dry erase board and looking forward to quilting a twin size quilt soon using ideas from this book. Thanks for your help on yet another project!
Sincerely,
Amy Shuter
Quilts by Amy Shuter
For many of us, our first tangible creations were made in grade school using felt and Elmer’s glue. What a mess that was! (And don’t get me started on those bleeping safety-scissors – ARGH!) By second grade, my grandmother had more “pot holders” than she had pots – each one more bizarre than the next. But, I had fun making them, and she loved anything I made for her. Now you can rediscover (or discover for the first time) the joy of working with felt to make beautiful, sophisticated home accessories and gifts with Lynne Farris’ new book, A Touch of Felt. Learn all the different ways to work with wool felt—hand or machine needle felting, wet felting, sewing with felt fabric, even felting with silk. Lynne includes 22 color-rich felt projects that you’ll be proud to display in your home, or give as gifts.
If you’d like to win a copy of A Touch of Felt by Lynne Farris, simply channel your inner-child and post a comment telling us about your favorite childhood creation (the goofier the better – hee!). On Monday morning, February 23, we’ll pick one comment at random and post the winner later that day.
*Note: Comments will be closed on Monday, February 23, at 9am PST.
C&T is proud to unveil our new web site at www.ctpub.com. For the past couple of months, a team of us here at C&T Publishing have been working hard to redesign our main web site. Please, pay us a visit and let us know what you think. We hope you’ll like it! (If you’ve visited our site in the past, you may need to refresh your browser for the new site to display properly.)
This week we’re giving away a copy of C&T’s new book, Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur®, to one lucky blog reader. All you have to do is leave a comment below and tell us of a different, unique, or unusual item you have used in your work. On Monday, February 9, we’ll choose one comment at random and let you know the winner on Tuesday.
This new release was a big hit at last month’s Craft & Hobby Association trade show. Crafters and quilters alike were excited about the possibilities of working with Lutradur, a versatile cross between fabric and paper that is great for use in quilts, papercrafts, and mixed media art.
Author Lesley Riley presents 14 projects and 27 fun techniques for working with this unique product, and as an added bonus, 2 sheets of Lutradur are included in the book to make it easy to get started and try these great ideas in your own creations.
For those of you on flickr, we’ve created an “I Love Lutradur” group for those wanting to share what they’ve created with it.
*Note: Comments will be closed on Monday, February 9, at 9am PST.
From the book, Color From the Heart
by Gai Perry
Once upon a time in America, way before how-to books and design classes were available, women somehow managed to make quilts of remarkable beauty and color. Because it was necessary to use tiny leftover scraps and secondhand fabrics, they unknowingly employed two important rules for successfully combining unrelated fabric prints:
Rule #1: Most fabrics will blend in a pleasing manner if the size of the individual pattern pieces are small (2″ or less).
Rule #2: It is easier to combine 50 different fabrics in a quilt than it is to choose 5 fabrics that look perfect together.
