Category Archives: Staff Pick

Author Design Tip: Lorraine Torrence and Jean B. Mills

August 11th, 2009 in Staff Pick
By Kerry Graham

Today I was looking at Fearless Design for Every Quilter by Lorraine Torrence and Jean B. Mills. This is a book that you’ll want to read cover to cover. This book teaches you how to improve your work by sharing insights in critique groups. Critiquing can be difficult both for the person critiquing and for the person receiving the feedback. The way the authors teach you about creativity and critiquing makes interesting reading. The authors set up 10 exercises or assignments that 8 real students have participated in. The students share their thoughts on their own pieces as well as on the other students’ work.

One of the lessons that I plan to use for my own work is about design sources and inspiration. The authors suggest that you start several inspiration sketch books:

shape sketch book: start with simple thumbnail shapes – circle, square, triangle – and change them minutely each time you draw them.
line library: straight, curvy, broken, zigzag, parallel
visual record: patterns, color combinations that you like
journal of quotes, words, phrases, poems, and headlines that inspire you

I like the idea of organizing your inspirations in different notebooks. How cool would that be to open a sketch book filled entirely with all kinds of different lines or shapes.

Ruler, Ruler, Who’s Got a Ruler?

August 4th, 2009 in Staff Pick
By Lynn Koolish

Rulers There are so many rotary cutting rulers out there, it can be hard to choose. A while back, I received several rulers from OLFA, and I have to say they’ve become my go-to rulers.

They are called Frosted Advantage. And the frosted back does two things:

It makes them non-slip, but still easy to move and position on the fabric.
It’s easy to see the markings on all types of fabric.

I still have and use other rulers, but these OLFA Frosted Advantage are my favorites.

Charlotte Ziebarth’s Artistic Photo Quilts

July 17th, 2009 in Staff Pick
By Lynn Koolish

Summer Heat #1 by Charlotte Ziebarth

I so admire the imagery in Charlotte Ziebarth’s new book Artistic Photo Quilts. She has a wonderful eye for color and composition. She says that “There are many useful design principles listed in art books: rhythm, balance, unity, and so on. I have found the three that were taught to me by my friend, mentor, and art professor, Helen B. Davis, to be very useful and simple to remember: Simplify, Exaggerate, and Repeat.” Charlotte uses those principles to stunning effect.

Return of the Robins by Charlotte Ziebarth

Loosening up with Piece O’ Cake Designs

July 15th, 2009 in Staff Pick
By Lynn Koolish

The Ground (As Seen From Above) made by Becky Goldsmith

I’ve been editing the Piece O’ Cake books ever since Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins became C&T authors so I know their work really well. I’m really excited about their new book Applique Outside the Lines.

It presents a new approach–more spontaneous and improvisational–and the quilts are fabulous. As Becky says in the book about making her first improvisational quilt:

In making this quilt I realized that I am so used to following my pattern that not doing that was hard. But the more I sewed, the more I found myself enjoying the freedom of not following the lines. It was not about being sloppy, it was about making more interesting lines in the quilt!

I hope you’ll take a look at this new book and loosen up with Becky and Linda.

Finally getting this top quilted

July 13th, 2009 in Inspiration, Staff Pick
By Teresa Stroin

A bit ago, I blogged about having a few UFOs. Most of them are waiting for borders. Well, I’ve decided to forgo additional borders on this one and have it quilted as is. Ruthmary in Sales and Marketing is going to long-arm quilt it for me. Hooray – one UFO down!
My inspiration for this Ohio Star came from Piecing the Piece O' Cake Way by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins.

My inspiration for this Ohio Star came from Piecing the Piece O’ Cake Way by Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins.

Over-the-Top Totes

July 7th, 2009 in Staff Pick
By Sandy Peterson

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 problem is, I don’t bring the blocks with me when out and about because I am always worried about getting them dirty and losing pieces. All those hours spent on soccer sidelines and dentist offices wasted. Then I saw the book 101 Fabulous Fat-Quarter Bags, by M’Liss Rae Hawley and realized that a custom-sized tote would solve the problem.

She has terrific ideas for 10 different types of totes in this book. I started with the instructions for the Fat-Quarter Carryall, modified the dimensions so a pillow, a block in a protective cover and the stitching tools would fit comfortably inside. There was a lot of denim left over from another project and I was itching to try more machine embroidery, so it all came together for me this weekend.

Front

Back

M’Liss recommends auditioning handles for the totes, and the current black ones shown aren’t quite right. Maybe they can be covered with more of the blue denim. Something will feel right to me in a few days and I can replace them. At any rate, I’m ready for appliqué action when I’m sitting at the next soccer game.

Jean Wells: Ahead of the Curve Again!

June 30th, 2009 in Inspiration, Staff Pick
By Diane Pedersen

I have known Jean Wells for close to 20 years, since I first joined C&T Publishing. I was impressed, then, by her best-selling book, A Celebration of Hearts. Over the years, as I worked on her books, and tracked her progress through the quilting world as an artist and businessperson, she has always been ahead of the curve in style and technique.

Her latest book, Intuitive Color and Design, is no exception. It is the next step for many quilters who have reached a plateau in their technical quilting and want both inspiration and guidance on how to take the next step into art quilting. This book is so appropriately Jean’s: It resonates with her personality, her style. The curves, shapes, colors, and textures in the quilts come naturally to her as an expression of her artistic talent. The energy inherent in this latest work shows how naturally she draws with a pencil, slices with a rotary cutter, or motions in air as she talks to a class. There is freedom in her movement and commitment in her stroke. Having progressed through the technical aspects of quilting, she moves with her intuition: creates from her mind’s ponderings and observations. The result is pure, and purely Jean.

022 As one of the photographers of her quilts, I was in awe last November when they arrived in the studio. Now I can’t wait to see the finished book in July, to see what the talented C&T team has put together as the final package. This is a book not to be missed. If your budget is thin, save up for this one. It will keep you inspired and sewing through those hot summer months. If you can take a trip to Sisters, Oregon to meet Jean and see her annual quilt show, DO IT! In the meantime, get her new book as a gift to yourself. It’s the next best thing to being there.

Gift Box Studio to the rescue!

June 22nd, 2009 in Inspiration, Staff Pick
By Kristy Zacharias

June and July are jam-packed months for my family. Between the 6 birthdays, Father’s Day, and the inevitable summer weddings and new babies, let’s just say my head is spinning.

Yesterday as we headed out the door to my parents’ to celebrate Father’s Day and my sister Becky’s birthday, I realized that I had forgotten to wrap her gift! I found her a sweet vintage stone rose pendant that is dangling from a long, delicate gold chain. The consignment shop that I purchased it from didn’t have any boxes, and I was NOT going to put it in a gift bag that was way too big for it (I’m kind of a gift wrap snob, I guess). No, I needed something equally as sweet as the gift so it would be that much more fun to receive. And then I had a moment….HELLOOOO KRISTY!

I quickly dug out one of my Gift Box Studio books (Lolli, to be specific), popped out the Cube Box, assembled it, wrapped the pendant in pretty blue lace, placed it in the box and was out the door in literally 4 minutes!

GBS_BeckyGift

I should mention that I was one of the designers that worked on developing the product, but that was a few years ago, and I was in a rush yesterday, so I feel like I was on an even playing field compared with someone who has never seen the product. Having said that, I have to say that I was impressed with how quickly the box came together and how easy it was to flip through the pages to find a cute, corresponding tag. I thought I was just biased before, but Gift Box Studio truly is a great product!

Extreme DIY Excitement

June 12th, 2009 in Staff Pick
By Megan Wisniewski

2009 is a big year for me. I am saying goodbye to my twenties, getting married and buying my first house. Before I started working at C&T, I did not consider myself a crafty gal. Let’s just say DIY was not in my vocabulary. But, after being surrounded by so much creative talent every day for more than a year, I am excited to take advantage of all the EXTREME DIY OPPORTUNITIES in my future.

Oh Sew Easy Table Toppers

My first focus is home decor. I have the summer to make what is now a big empty space, a cute and cozy place to call home. Some of my favorite C&T books are from the Oh Sew Easy® Home Decor series. From curtains to table cloths, pillows and more, I can’t wait to pick my fabrics and create some of the projects in these books.

Oh Sew Easy Life Style

After I have had my share of DIY home decor, it will be time to move on to DIY Weddings. Place cards, center pieces, favors…oh my! It can all be quite overwhelming. Luckily, my cube neighbor, Lisa, is a super talented papercrafter. She created an series of DIY wedding accessories using our line of Blank Board Products.

DIY Wedding As this is my first time entering the world of DIY, I would love any guidance or tips our readers may have, and I’ll keep you updated on my progress. Thanks in advance for sharing.

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. . . .

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.