M’Liss-Inspired Fat Quarter Baby Quilt

February 18th, 2010 in Inspiration
By Cynthia Bix


Look what I made! It’s a quilt for my niece’s little son, Sammy. His parents are dyed-in-the-wool Yankee fans, so I knew it had to have a baseball theme.

As a busy Developmental Editor at C&T, I don’t have lots of spare time, and when I do, I want to work on a project that’s relatively small, simple, and achievable. As luck would have it, I was editing the latest book by M’Liss Rae Hawley—Fast, Fat Quarter Quilts with M’Liss Rae Hawley.

What could be more perfect? From the many fun and simple projects in the book, I chose one that is REALLY easy. It’s the Building Blocks Crib Quilt (there’s also a larger 12-block version). This design is so simple, but it’s fun to play with—you can use those windows to display anything from a fussy cut fabric to embroidery.  I used baseball fabric, of course.

The quilting on this is really special—it was done on a longarm by talented Ruthmary Schauer of our Sales Department. She stitched a galaxy of stars, as well as swirls around each bat and ball.

The only problem? I started this quilt when Sammy was born, and I just gave it to him for his second birthday. Because I started and stopped and got distracted by other things, it took me two years to make. Oh, well—better late than never!

3 Comments | Permalink

Long Live Liberty of London!

August 5th, 2009 in Elsewhere
By Cynthia Bix

liberty

On a recent trip to London, I stopped into the grand old West End department store, Liberty of London. It’s a lovely building—founded and built by Sir Arthur Liberty in 1875, in the Tudor Revival style with a classic half-timbered front. Inside, it features ornate woodwork, old-fashioned staircases, and open galleries with decorative wooden railings around a 4-story skylit atrium.

But I really went for the fabrics—those charming prints that just say “England” to me and to lots of other fabric lovers. They include the signature Tana Lawn florals and the wonderful William Morris-style prints, along with many others. They were there in abundance—bolt after bolt, tastefully displayed on the elegant wood shelves and nooks of the historic sewing department like works of art. Unfortunately, they were also priced like works of art (for me, at least). Around 18 pounds (about 27 dollars) a metre. I couldn’t afford to buy, but I browsed all the charming notions and small items made of Liberty fabrics. I got some lovely buttons and was tempted by the amazing trims but didn’t have time to do them justice.

So I had to be content with my little purchases and with the delightful experience of just being in that elegant building. When I got home, I rummaged in my sewing room and found Liberty items from other trips I made to London years ago. Then, the store sold lots of cute little items that I could afford. Here’s my tiny collection:

Liberty

Hankie, tape measure doll, scissors doll, my new buttons, and the prize—my sewing basket, which my Mom bought me as a gift. Now that’s a real treasure!

3 Comments | Permalink

An English idyll . . . plus quilts!

August 3rd, 2009 in Elsewhere
By Cynthia Bix

The Manor

The Manor sits comfortably in a gracious garden on the edge of the River Ouse, in the tiny hamlet of Hemingford Grey, Huntingdonshire, England. It’s a place of pure enchantment, as much because of its history and literary associations as its inherent beauty. On my recent visit I was completely caught in its spell.  I wanted to see two things: the gardens, and the patchwork quilts. Continue Reading…

9 Comments | Permalink

Quick and easy journal cover

July 29th, 2009 in Projects, Sewing
By Cynthia Bix

I wanted to cover a plain black stationery-store journal to give as a gift: Could I make it pretty but not spend hours (and dollars) on it? I consulted Fabric Leftovers by D’Arcy-Jean Milne and found a method that was just right.

cynthiasbookcover

It’s basically the pillowcase method. You measure the book’s height and add 3/4 inch, then measure around it and add 5 inches. This is the size to cut your book cover. I used a piece of pink batik from my stash. Cut a piece of fabric the same size for the lining.

Before I stitched together the cover and lining, I added decorative elements to the cover. I centered a vintage cutwork doily on the top and stitched on some ribbon and vintage buttons. You could also sandwich a ribbon bookmark between the cover and lining before stitching.

Stitch the cover and lining right sides together, using a scant 1/4-inch seam. Then make a vertical cut in the center, just enough to turn the cover right side out.

Press the cover, being especially careful to roll the edges inward just slightly so the seam doesn’t show from the front of cover. Center the binding of the journal over the center of the cover and wrap the short ends around the front and back covers, checking that the fabric is loose enough to allow the book to close. Pin it in place, then hand stitch these side pockets at the top and bottom.

Slip the book into the cover, and—that’s it!

Other easy and attractive projects in this book include greeting cards, totes, and fabric boxes and bowls.

2 Comments | Permalink

Quilter’s Chocolates Tins Redux

July 21st, 2009 in Inspiration
By Cynthia Bix

After sampling some of our scrumptious Quilter’s Chocolates, I was left with a little round tin to recycle. I thought, why not reuse it instead? It’s a perfect size for holding pins or rotary blades. Or small buttons, or needles—the list could be nearly endless.

Then I thought, wouldn’t it be fun if the tin was decorative as well as useful? And what could be more decorative then a mini-quilt?  I tried two different versions.

3Tins_1

First, I traced around the lid rim to make a paper pattern. I used it to cut out a piece of fabric that would be about 1/4 inch larger all around than the tin top. I cut out teensy pieces of fabric to make my mini-quilts. For the 1930s style quilt, I cut 4 wedges with a decorative rotary blade. For the Amish style quilt, I used a regular blade to cut out squares in 3 sizes of contrasting fabrics.

I used Wonder Under to fuse the pieces to the fabric circle bases, and then I “quilted” them by hand. The ’30s version has big stitches done in perle cotton; for the Amish version I used regular black thread.  Finally, I sewed a button in the center of each one.

Next, I cut out a circle of thin batting the size of the tin top and glued it on the tin. Then I laid a bead of glue around the rim of the top, centered the “quilt” on top, and carefully secured the edges around the rim, trimming any areas that stuck out beyond the edge.

To finish, I glued on an edging—baby rick rack for the 30s version, and blue seam binding for the Amish one.

I haven’t figured out a graceful way to cover the bottom of the tin yet, although I think it could be sanded and painted. For storing rotary blades, I plan to line the bottom of the inside with a circle of felt.

4 Comments | Permalink

Amazing Optical Illusions

June 9th, 2009 in Inspiration, Staff Pick
By Cynthia Bix

One side of the image below is a 15th century Venetian tile floor, and the other side is. . . a quilt!

compare

I know! Isn’t it amazing? When I first saw Christine Porter’s stunning quilts, I could hardly believe that they were made of fabric. They look like soft-hued, aged stone, and many of the designs really fool the eye in other ways, too. As she says in her new book, Viva Venezia! . . . “because of the placement of light, medium, and dark values, the [tiles] appear to be three dimensional.”

What a treat it was to be an editor on the team that produced this book! Not only was Christine herself the embodiment of soft-spoken British charm, but her words and photos also led me on a vicarious tour of Venice. Christine’s husband Nick took the tantalizing photos of Venetian canals, cathedrals, and of course, the timeworn tile floors, whose wonderful designs look remarkably modern.

But the best part was finding out that these quilts, which look so daunting to make, are actually within my reach as a “basic” quilter. I imagined that they would require Y seams, complicated piecing, etc. etc. Instead, the complex look is achieved in many cases using simple strip piecing.

It’s really the clever fabric and color choices that make them look so remarkable. With a full set of fabric closeups accompanying every project, it’s hard to go wrong. The secret is in the kinds of fabrics you use . . . and I’ll leave you to discover that secret for yourself in Christine’s book.

Now I’ve got my eye on this Chevron quilt:

chevron

Although Christine uses fabrics that mimic the floor tiles exactly, she also encourages quilters to create the same designs in wider selections of fabrics of our own choosing—and throughout the book are vivid examples of individual interpretations.

I’ve got some lovely hand-dyed Cherrywood fat quarters that would look just beautiful in a version of that Chevron quilt. . . .

Leave a comment | Permalink

Home Shopping: Part II

March 6th, 2009 in Fiber Arts, Projects
By Cynthia Bix

Back in December I blogged about Home Shopping, in which I confessed to having leftover sewing and crafting materials of every description all over my house and not knowing what to do with all of it.

Inspired by Rebekah Meier’s new book, Fabric Art Collage, I decided to try my hand at repurposing some of my fabric and crafty odds and ends to make my own collage.

Well, I can report that, first of all, my hat’s off to Rebekah. She is a true artist, and I couldn’t begin to create anything as complex and imaginative as her pieces in a million years! Her paint effects, especially, are beyond gorgeous. BUT–I’m not an artist, just a quilter and crafter of humble abilities. So, I decided to treat this not as a test of talent, but as a license to play!

Like a kindergarten kid, I plunged my hands into my hodgepodge of ribbon, fabric, rubber stamps, glitter, and paper, and made three little cards, ranging in size from 4″ x 6″ to 5″ x 7″. 

Piece #1:

fabricartcollage21

Base:  My version of Rebekah’s Nontraditional Patchwork–bits of fabric cut with pinking shears, fused together  with lightweight fusible, and machine stitched (a little) in random swirls. I used the “wrong” side of a couple of fabrics because I liked the muted colors. The  whole thing is mounted on a piece of our fast2fuse.

Next layer: A piece of gold netting

The next layer:  White felt dabbed with a wet teabag and decorated with scraps of yarn fibers fused on with BoNash007 Bonding Agent. 

Embellishments: Scraps of vintage lace, an old pink ribbon, and a fragment of  a vintage button card–all fused or glued on. 

Binding: A backing of fabric cut with pinking shears and fused to the back of the card, then wrapped and fused to the front.

Piece #2 (mostly paper):

sparkle-collage1

Base: Watercolor paper painted randomly with watercolor paints. 

Next layer: Random thread scraps inspired by Rebekah’s thread fabric, pus a sprinkling of glitter, covered with a used dryer sheet–fused with BoNash 007 Bonding Agent. 

Embellishments: Scraps of vintage green ribbon and pinkish bias tape, slivers of gold origami paper, and a “paper bead” (a very funky version of the ones in Rebekah’s book) tied with more random thread. All glued on. 

A few rubber stamped squares with glitter embossing powder.

Piece #3:

bird-collage

Base: Stiff paper covered with an 18th-century (I think) repro fabric

Birds and vines: Printed on fabric (using an inkjet printer) from frontispiece art found in an old book; cut out and colored with crayons. Individual birds at top: rubber stamped on fabric. 

Underlayer: brownish cheesecloth. . .not sure this was such a good look. Fused on with Bo-Nash 007 Bonding Agent.

Borders: At left, painted watercolor paper cut with decorative scissors, rubber stamped, and embossed with gold embossing powder, plus a scrap of vintage lace up top. Paper scrapbooking corners and border on right (a little funky).

And that’s what I came up with. The beauty of Rebekah’s techniques (there are 40+ in her book) is that they are so inspirational, and you can put them together in any way you want to, for any kind of effect.

Try it–it’s fun!

9 Comments | Permalink

Home Shopping and Fabric Art Collage

December 15th, 2008 in Staff Pick
By Cynthia Bix

I just discovered a fabulous new crafts and fiber arts store. And guess what? It’s right in my own house! So convenient. No parking problems, no crowds.

I discovered it when I decided to move the guest bed out of our spare bedroom and into our downstairs storage area. (Which I did because my husband and I finally got around to cleaning out the storage area—another story.)

Of course, the empty space in the guest room just begged to be filled up. My sewing machine was already on a little desk in the room. But when we moved the bed, we uncovered all the boxes underneath, which were filled with my fabric stash. I already knew about those, of course, although I hadn’t been using them because they were so hard to get at.

“I wonder what else I’ve got?” I asked myself. I began searching my house, rounding up the fabric snippets and the arts-and-crafts supplies I’ve been collecting for years. I flushed out the usual suspects—scrapbooking papers, glitter, an embossing tool, ribbon, tissue paper, old buttons, lace, gold-leafing pens, scissors with decorative edges, feathers, antique fabrics—and more. All remnants of past crazes—the Period Doll Costumes and Millinery Phase, the Amish Quilts Phase, the Scrapbook Phase, the Watercolor Painting, Rubber Stamping, and Stenciling Phases—as well as materials for projects that never got made (lots!). When I got it all together in one room, it looked like quite a haul.

Here's my stuff.

Now I was faced with a problem. Except for making quilts, I didn’t really want to do those things anymore. What I had was a treasure trove of goodies in search of a project.

That’s when I had my Aha! moment.

In my job as a Developmental Editor at C&T, I’m working on the final stages of Rebekah Meier’s glorious book, Fabric Art Collage: 40+ Mixed Media Techniques. I’ve been working my way carefully through it, page by page, trying not to drool on the images of art quilts and ATCs (Artists Trading Cards) layered with delicately painted and stamped tissue and fabric scraps, tea-dyed lace, altered ribbon, and myriad embellishments.

From Rebekah Meier's book, Fabric Art Collage

And, well—duhhhh! Suddenly, I saw my stuff in a brand new way. Those scraps of antique lace, that gold embossing powder—not to mention the bits of wrapping paper and that marvelous spiral-design rubber stamp, came together into visions of mini-collages crowded into my head.

I can’t wait to get started. Just as soon as I clear a path through all the boxes and baskets to my new work table . . .

3 Comments | Permalink

Creating an Heirloom Quilt

December 12th, 2008 in Inspiration
By Cynthia Bix

San Francisco Chronicle/Liz Hafalia

This story is about a three-generation quilt that got created over time in a pretty unintentional way—it just happened. But there’s no time like the present to intentionally start an heirloom quilt. Perhaps after you read this piece, you’ll feel inspired to start making quilt blocks that will eventually become your own family’s heirloom. (Article originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle)

Three pairs of hands made my quilt—my grandmother’s, my mother’s, and mine. The quilt, a Dresden Plate, began with a pile of fabric squares my mother pulled out of a box one day. I was just getting interested in quilting, and I was entranced. In the center of each white cotton block was a hand-appliquéd ring of fabrics in a rainbow of colors—clear red, navy blue, soft brown, maroon, grey-green. The fabrics were floral prints and polka dots, plaids and stripes, with a 1930s look to them. Recently, I looked this up in Barbara Brackman’s fascinating book, Making History: Quilts & Fabric from 1890–1970. There were the fabrics! Taken all together, I believe they span a period from the 1920s through the 1940s.

Continue Reading…

2 Comments | Permalink
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.

  • JOIN US

    C&T Creative Troupe

  • Grab our Blog Badges!

    i heart fiber art

  • New Releases









  • Coming Soon