C&T Publishing Blog » Staff Pick

Staff Pick: Jane Dávila’s Surface Design Essentials

Megan Scott — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:20:52 +0000

There was a point in my life when I never thought I would be comfortable with the words “surface design.” For some reason the term carried a scary, intimidating and unachievable connotation to me. Turns out, I was being pretty silly. Surface design is totally achievable, easy, forgiving, but most of all FUN! What turned my opinion around? Jane Dávila’s Surface Design Essentials.

In preparing for the launch of the Liquitex® Surface Design Center, we had several staff training sessions where we practiced techniques from Jane’s book. There are 15 techniques in the book, and I can honestly say I can do them all, but of course I have my favorites.

One of the techniques is called sunprinting. It is so easy and I was so thrilled with the results. I don’t want to give too much away, but lets just say it involves laying your project in the sun and watching it transform with unique designs. I also loved working with the Derwent Inktense pencils, which are water-soluble and as vibrant as ink. Its like painting with pencils.

What I love most about Jane Dávila’s Surface Design Essentials is the license it gives you to play, experiment, get dirty, and not worry about messing up or being perfect. Its not every day we get to approach a project without expectations and pressure to achieve perfect results. Surface design lets you do that and it feels GREAT!

Visit ExploreSurfaceDesign.com to see all the products we have to accompany you on surface design adventure, and click here to find a shop near you that carries the Liquitex® Surface Design Center.

Kick Summer Off with Inspired! Creativity Cards

Katie Cooney — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:33:59 +0000

Now that June is in full swing, we are finding ourselves surrounded by sunshine, flowers, and inspiration. As C&T author Wendy Hill says, “You’ll find colors and textures all around you, from the garden outside to the cooking scraps in the kitchen sink.” Just by looking at the picture on the front of Hill’s card showing her quilt “Anything Goes” made up of brilliant colors, mixed fabric, and circles and squares, I can tell she really looks everywhere.

If you’re like me, I sometimes have trouble thinking of a good small gift for friends who are graduating. This year, try surprising a graduate with C&T’s quilting themed Inspired! Creativity Cards. Each of the 36 cards includes a helpful saying about where C&T authors find inspiration.

I randomly grabbed a few cards just to see exactly what kind of inspiration these cards contain. The three author cards I picked told me to play, laugh, and be surprised, and each quote was accompanied by images of daisies, maroon and yellow blocks, and multicolored fabric. I sure like these messages!

The authors’ quotes range from advice directly about quilting to positive ideas for any aspect of your day. Each card includes a picture of the author’s quilt and a special saying to encourage all quilters through inspiration, advice or a story. When thinking about what to give a graduate this year, think about giving him or her these cards that speak to creative energy, as well as passion for quilting. As a bonus, once they read the messages on these cards, they can include single cards with their own gifts to others, and in doing so will spread the inspiration to other artists and friends.

Staff Pick: Super Simple Quilts #2 with Alex Anderson & Liz Aneloski

Ruthmary Schauer — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:01:31 +0000

When my friend, Loralee Windsor, was helping me out while I was recuperating from an easy foot surgery a short while ago, she spent some time at my bookshelf and then made off with one of my Super Simple Quilts series books. She brought it back the following weekend, having made three lap- or wall-size quilts—one of each of the three designs featured in Super Simple Quilts #2 with Alex Anderson & Liz Aneloski!

She rated “So Woven” as the easiest project in the book…

“So Simple” was slightly more challenging…

And “Just So” was the most difficult…

However, considering she finished all three in just one week, they all certainly live up to their “Super Simple” name.

I love the fact that you can buy your fabric, then decide which of the three designs in the Super Simple book you want to make. Now Loralee is anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, which will make use of pre-cut fabric packs, so the quilts will be even quicker to put together!

Super Simple Jelly Roll Quilts with Alex Anderson & Liz Aneloski will be available this June

Staff Pick: Harriet Hargrave’s Quilter’s Graph Paper

Gailen Runge — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:37:26 +0000

You know what they say: Necessity is the mother of invention.* It’s true!

While working on the second book in Harriet and Carrie Hargrave’s Quilter’s Academy series (Quilter’s Academy Vol.2–Sophomore Year), Harriet and I were brainstorming how to make the content fit into the planned 96 pages. (The authors have so much to share and are rightfully unwilling to compromise on content by cutting any necessary information, which is why the book is now 112 pages. I’m not that good an editor!)

Harriet’s moment of brilliance came when she proclaimed that quilters just didn’t have access to the graph paper they needed to do it right and mentioned subtly that we should just do a separate product and sell the graph paper she wanted.

WAIT…Yes, we should!

And so it was born: Harriet Hargrave’s Quilter’s Graph Paper. Harriet had the plan for which grids quilters needed — 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 squares to the inch (and I added my own touch in the form of a 3-squares-to-the-inch grid). Some she wanted set diagonally as well as square on the page.

Ooohhh. I get chills when I think about the design possibilities! I love graph paper, I love drafting and coloring in designs. I started out at C&T as a technical editor and I just love details and the nuts and bolts of quiltmaking. I’m so excited to get my own supply of this paper!

So here’s the inside scoop: Harriet wants quilters to really get the most from the papers so she proposed making it thicker than standard copy paper so we can color on both sides without bleeding through. Our printer found us some wonderfully heavy stock (100 gsm to be exact… If you’re used to standard 20 pound copy paper, this paper is the equivelent of 28 pound paper)!

We know that some of the grids are a little more common and others are a little more specialized. (You’ll probably design more quilts that use the 8-squares-to-the-inch grid than the 6- or 7-square grids), so we put more common sheets on the back of some more specialized sheets. While you can use both sides, some people will want to stick with one side only. If you’re not interested in Square in a Square or other pattern that uses the 7-squares grid, it’s backed by a more common grid so the paper wont be wasted.

10 Squares

Here’s a breakdown of what’s in each pack (50 sheets total):
10 pieces each of:

3 squares to the inch diagonal set paired with 9 squares to the inch diagonal set,
3 squares to the inch with 9 squares to the inch,
10 squares to the inch with 8 squares to the inch.

5 pieces each of:

8 squares to the inch diagonal set with 4 squares to the inch diagonal set,
5 squares to the inch with 4 squares to the inch,
6 squares to the inch with 4 squares to the inch,
7 squares to the inch with 8 squares to the inch.

Obviously I have a thing for the 3-squares-to-the-inch grid, but I think my favorite grid will be 9 squares to the inch. I love playing around with Log Cabins and variations (particularly Courthouse Steps) and the 9 squares to the inch lets me play with 4 rounds.

I got to color in the graph paper designs we photographed for the packaging (see one of these packaging photos above)! Please let me know how you like the paper. I’d love it if you would share some patterns that work best on the different sheets!

*In this case, “they” originally was Plato but it has since been uttered by anyone who wanted something badly enough they were going to get it done.

A Variation on a Cozy Modern Quilt

Ruthmary Schauer — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:06:06 +0000

I’ve had so many of the shop owners I work with—I like to call them “my” shop owners—get Cozy Modern Quilts in their stores, then rave about it, and use it for classes, that I decided to try it myself.

I adapted the Mint Chocolate Wall Quilt project in the book (pictured below) to a runner size of about 15” x 51”, including 1 1/2” borders, by doing a 2 block x 6 block setting.

Mint Chocolate Wall Quilt project from Cozy Modern Quilts

I never worry too much about yardage requirements because, like many quilters, I have a lot of fabric on my shelves. I chose a lovely Asian inspired backing, so it can be reversible.

Then I used the easy “water” quilting design on my Nolting^® longarm machine and was done. From the time I spread my batiks out on the table, to the moment I completed the table runner top—this project took only 5 hours!

my table runner variation

Any straight-line quilting or stitch-in-the-ditch quilting would work for this table runner as well.

detail of my table runner

back view of my table runner

You could use birthday fabrics or holiday-themed fabrics and make whatever size works best for your table. This really makes a great weekend project. Such fun!

Sneak Peek: Collage+Cloth=Quilt by Judi Warren Blaydon

Amy Marson — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:59:11 +0000

I just looked through the preview pages of one of our upcoming Fall 2010 titles, Collage+Cloth=Quilt, by Judi Warren Blaydon, and it is amazing! The imagery is, in a word, rich. The concept behind the book is that artists can use collages of their own photos as inspiration for stunning, abstract quilts.

It is so fascinating to see how Judi finds just the right fabric to make things work and the quilt results are really interesting. I give Judi and her book a big thumbs UP!

I have been taking photographs most of my life–I even minored in Photography in college. I love the idea of collaging my photographic images to create something truly unique and inspiring.

Koi Pond

Irises

Flower Leaves

My thought is to combine the images of the Koi pond with the bridge and the flowers to create a really pretty landscape quilt.

The idea behind the other quilt I want to make from my photos is still a work in progress. I love the textures from both the door photo and the chair photo, and I want to somehow combine them with the leaves and flowers in the images above. I will work on it this weekend and if I make any progress I will share it.

In the meantime, I’d like to share a testimonial for Judi and her work that we received recently from Carol Gilham Jones, co-author of Tile Quilt Revival…

Judi’s process, solidly grounded in classic design principles yet fluidly accommodating of different aesthetics, fosters extraordinary creativity. She teaches you how to design a quilt by combining elements and images from your own photographs. Thus, the quilt you make is a purely individual expression of your own composition as well as of your fabric and finishing choices.

Carol Gilham Jones

Staff Pick: Inchie Ruler Tape for Papercrafts

Sue Astroth — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:43:56 +0000

When I first saw our Inchie Ruler Tape, I thought…boy I wish I’d had some of that a few years back, when I was doing all that hand-quilting I used to do. It sure would have been SO much easier to use than masking tape! But being that I’m into paper crafting these days, I thought the product wasn’t for me…. till I had a recent brainstorm.

Seems of late, paper and fabric tapes are all the rage in the scrapbook world, so why not use Inchie Rulers the same way? I played around with some – writing on it, and just to see what might happen, I also tried ink, paint and glimmer mist. The tape took all of them beautifully. In the end, I kept my projects simple and sewing related, and used the tape in it’s original form. I just love how this tape makes covering the edges of heavy chipboard super easy.

Wouldn’t the tape be a great accent on teacher gifts too!

So whether you just have a few scraps left over from a quilt project, or want something a little different, Inchie Ruler Tape just might be the ticket!

Ruthmary’s Staff Pick: Cut Loose Quilts by Jan Mullen

Ruthmary Schauer — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:08:35 +0000

One of my favorite C&T Publishing books is Jan Mullen’s Cut-Loose Quilts. It has been my go-to project and idea book since it was published in 2001, and I’ve made dozens of quilts from the projects inside.

The quilt projects in the book are fast, fun, easy, and delightful. The quilts I have made won’t win me any awards, but they aren’t meant to! What Jan’s relaxed style does win her readers is freedom—freedom from cutting restrictions and rigid construction methods. She gives the quilter room to get improvisational with their project.

Once I followed instructions for a project or two, I felt confident emulating Jan’s free-spirited style without having to keep picking up the book. This is a great exercise for beginners, or for veteran quilters who find it hard NOT to cut things precisely and exactly to specs.

Here are pictures of quilts I have made using Jan’s “Roman Stripez” project:

Like most avid quilters I have a prodigious stash, and when I don’t have a specific fabric in mind for a quilt I’m about to start, I just go and grab some fabrics that stick to a particular theme or color scheme. Leftovers work just fine and if they don’t coordinate perfectly, that’s OK with me.

Here is a detail shot of a quilt I made from the “Mainly Logz” chapter in the book.

Here is my take on “Grannie’z Fanz”—I call it “Sportz Fanz,” because I made it for my manic, sports fan son, Paul.

I still need to make a “Butterfliez” quilt, so I’m not through with this book yet.

No-Sew Fabric Animals for Grown Ups

Danielle Dews — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:45:17 +0000

Ever since I saw Mary Link’s no-sew animals in her book 100+ No-Sew Fabric Crafts for Kids I knew had to get my hands on some of my own. When the project was posted as a freebie last month, I knew my time had come. And the timing really couldn’t have been better. The holidays were right around the corner and I was eager to find something I could make for family members and friends that I could work on in front of the TV, and wasn’t too time-consuming, materials-heavy, or labor intensive. The no-sew slotted fabric animals were perfect!

Above is the “herd” of animals I made for my boyfriend’s mother which consisted of a giraffe, elephant, zebra, pig, and lion. The fabrics I used were from a stack of pre-cuts I had: Beach House by Blackbird Designs from Moda. Because I didn’t stick to the traditional appearances of the animals – for instance, my zebra is gray and cream colored instead of stark black and white – I think sticking to one fabric line helped tie them together and look like a set.

My drawing skills are non-existent but I actually made the below pig from my own design template. The cool thing about these animals is that the designs are so simple, you can easily create your own. Or use Mary’s designs as jumping-off points for other “like” animals. Next, I want to make a donkey based on Mary’s zebra design. After that, a unicorn!

Black Friday Sales Online!

Lisa Fulmer — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:00:40 +0000

Who needs to mess with parking, traffic, long lines, and tired store clerks who have been up since their doors opened at 5am? You can shop for lots of post-Thanksgiving bargains this Friday from the comfort of your own home.

Our friends over at www.CraftCritique.com are posting a special Black Friday notice that will link you to lots of online bargains from several different craft manufacturers and retailers. C&T will be there with a great sale on our beautiful gift items—and ONLY Craft Critique readers will get a special Gift with Purchase with an online order from us of sale items and all our regular-price books and products too!

Here’s whatchya need to do:
1. Visit www.CraftCritique.com this Friday to get your special promotion code for your Gift with Purchase.
2. Link to our site, www.ctpub.com, shop ’til you drop, enter your promotion code, and check out.
3. Go on back to Craft Critique and shop some more! Be sure to bookmark them for regular reading. Their reporters give valuable and unbiased hands-on reviews every day for a huge variety of craft products.

So here’s the deal…C&T Publishing will have a wonderful selection of gift items on sale for 4 days only – at 50% off! Stylish and eco-friendly tote bags, lovely note cards, fun playing cards—all featuring stunning quilt images made by our authors. Plus gorgeous blank journals, beautiful pop-out gift boxes, and more.

Visit the On Sale & Close Outs page of our website as soon as you’re done gobblin’ to see it all!

Offer is valid November 26-29, 2009 only for online orders placed at www.ctpub.com. Prices will be marked at 50% off retail; no further discount applies. Resellers welcome.

Summer Sizzler Warehouse Sale