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.
Sandy Peterson
Mixed media journal cover
One of my favorite books is Rebekah Meier‘s Fabric Art Collage—40+ Mixed Media Techniques. The pages just feel so luxurious when I thumb through, and there are many mixed-media techniques that call to me.
A while ago, our Education & Communications Manager, Lisa Fulmer, held a class to teach us newbies how to get our fingers into some of the mixed media techniques Rebekah features in her book. I made the cover of a blank board book into a real work of art (Continue Reading...)
Going with the Flow
This story is about being adaptive as a quilter, and going with the flow to make something work within the given constraints.
I needed to make a quilt as a present for my brother and his new wife. Their destination wedding was at a beach in Connecticut in 2009. Just lovely. Time flew by and all of a sudden in the spring of 2010 they told me they were coming out to California for a visit in June. Yipes, I had (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Printing Images on Fabric
Now that digital cameras are so easy to purchase and use, and the computer software has become so user-friendly, the ability to print your digital images on fabrics is just too good to pass up. Welcome to the 21st century!
Your own photos are the best source of images to print on fabric.
Crop to the good part of your photo. (No kittens were harmed.)
When printing on fabric, make a test print on paper first so (Continue Reading...)
The “Chip Away” Mentality
Ever since I went back to work 2 years ago after a 14-year hiatus, I have realized that there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything done that I would like. So, I have to prioritize my values and tasks.
It is clear to me that mounds of dog hair floating and bouncing on my hardwood floors is no big deal, I would rather take the time available and spend it with my kids and with my sewing. (Continue Reading...)
My First Encounter with Photo Editing Software
I have always wanted to learn how to use photo-editing software given that my picture-taking skills could use some help. Plus, I have some vintage photos of various loved relatives and it would mean a lot to me to clean them up and make copies for my kids and my brothers and sister. Well, one of the best things about working at C&T is the variety of artistic techniques in our books that I get to be involved with daily. (Continue Reading...)
Over-the-Top Totes
Anita G. Solomon has a favorite addage: sew on Federal holidays. Sew I did, and I was able to finish my tote bag. The tote bag that took 100′s of hours and lots of money to get “just right”.
I have a real soft spot in my heart for Baltimore Album quilts. When Ellie Sienkiewicz started writing her series of books on these quilts, I bought all of them and have made about 15 blocks so far, over 15 years. The (Continue Reading...)
Making Wearables…Civil War Style
I was working on the World’s Heaviest Tree Skirt recently, when my son presented me with an alternate project. He is reading the book Killer Angels in English, and his group needs to re-enact the battle of Gettysburg from the Civil War. With props. And costumes. Son Mark is in charge of the army costumes. This type of thing used to strike terror in my heart, before I started working here at C&T and became inspired by the creativity around me. (Continue Reading...)
