Jean Wells is super excited about her latest release Intuitive Color & Design, and so are we! Watch the video interview with Jean below then scroll down a bit further to see some of the quilts from the book.
Five Pine 124" x 84" by Jean and Valori Wells
Ledges, 17" x 18", by Jean Wells
Oregon Fields, 28" x 42", by Linda S. Saukkonen
A few months ago, Alex Anderson stopped by to make a video of her upcoming 4-in-1 Essential Sewing Tool. It’s not unusual for authors to stop by, but I wasn’t expecting to see Alex zipping through the halls with our resident camerawoman on her heels. That lady is full of energy!
Here’s the final video with a sneak peak at Alex’s new tool.
We’ve got a new book trailer up on our YouTube channel and this time it’s for Fast, Fun & Easy® Fabric Dyeing by Lynn Koolish! You may remember Lynn’s post this past October about the day her book arrived at C&T, or perhaps her January post about the day we had our own fabric dyeing workshop out in the warehouse.
When I participated in the fabric dyeing workshop I was at first overwhelmed by the realization that the possibilities are endless when it comes to fabric dyeing. But when I saw how easy it was to get started on my way to making something that looked cool, I just dove right in and never looked back. That said, why not dive right into the new Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Dyeing book trailer…
Lynne Farris, the author of Fresh Felt Flowers, A Touch of Felt & Fast, Fun & Easy® Needle Felting shares her fresh felt flowers with the HGTV audience. Host Carol Duvall and Lynne take you through a fabulous tutorial on creating stunning tropical felt flowers. Check out part one and two of the episode.
View the book trailer for Rebekah Meier’s new release, Fabric Art Collage.
When I found out that Wendy Mathson’s new Quilters’ TRIMplates® not only make it easy to sew Storm at Sea Blocks, but also claim to help you do it with perfect accuracy, I had to get more information. I wouldn’t call myself a pessimist, but sometimes, if it sounds too good to be true…well, you know how it ends. So, I put on my reporter hat and went to work. I will now disclose my findings, but in case you feel like skipping the details, my scientific evidence concludes that YES, Quilters’ TRIMplates® really do allow you to create perfect, gorgeous, Storm at Sea Quilts.
First things first, visual evidence. Check it out. This is Wendy Mathson demonstrating how to use fast2cut® Quilters’ TRIMplates to sew a Storm at Sea block.
I’m happy to say that our new Ready-to-Go!® Blank Canvas Books are getting a lot of buzz. On this week’s episode of Fiskars TV, Fiskateer Cheryl Waters is doing a fun little project featuring a canvas book she’s called “Birds of a Feather.” Check it out here (then click on “This Week’s Episode – Birds of a Feather”). While you watch the video you can download the Instruction Sheet, which includes additional photos of the process.
The way she uses spray inks and acrylic paints with stamps on the book, make for a super easy project. This could be done with kids, and I’m always looking for fun stuff to do with mine.
Canvas books accept all kinds of media quite easily. Because the canvas isn’t primed (coated with gesso or other type of base product), acrylic paints and inks will slightly absorb into the weave giving the pages a nice textural feel. I love how the pages can be sewn, and I’ve been sewing like crazy onto the soft memory book I’ve been making for my daughter Emma.
Emma's Canvas Book
It’s all about her fourth year, and I’ve had fun printing photos on fabric and stitching them into the “story.” There are so many projects I have in mind for canvas books that it’s hard to pick which one to start next. I have to say, that this is one of the nicest things about these books—you can get started right away. There’s no need to take the time or figure out how to sew up a book yourself.
This week we’ll be giving away a Ready-to-Go!® Blank Canvas Book and a selection of fun paints and other products that will work great on a canvas book to one lucky blog reader. All you have to do is leave a comment below that briefly describes your idea for a canvas book project. On Monday morning (March 9), we’ll pick one commenter at random and announce the winner shortly afterward. Good luck!
*Note: Comments will be closed on Monday, March 9, at 9am PST
We’re all familiar of movie trailers, those great little previews that give us a sneak peak at an upcoming flick. Well, one day the question was posed at C&T said, “Why don’t we make book trailers?” What a great idea! Here was an opportunity to interview our authors, show highlights from the book, and post the videos on the internet for every one to see.
The only problem was we had never made a book trailer before. How do we do it? This is where the superstar production team at C&T steps in. Trust me, when I say superstar, I mean SUPERSTAR! Within a short amount of time, a few key people learned how to film, edit, record sound, add music and create incredible book trailers all from inside a cubicle. So with out further debut, I am pleased to present our very first book trailer starring Design Explorations for the Creative Quilter.
Spending time with Peggy Barkle at Quilt Market was a blast. Here she shows off her new technique, aptly named after her book, Blendable Curves.
And oooooh, doggies – are my feet ever yelping! As are the tootsies of most CHA exhibitors and attendees who have been standing and walking all day. But it’s totally worth it – this show is so much fun! We have met and reconnected with so many wonderful retailers, distributors, designers, media, manufacturers and more. I just love spending quality time with artists and crafters who are as passionate about creating as we are.
Some of the C&T Sales & Marketing staff—Danielle, Mary, Shirley and Lisa
As for products, we have seen more gorgeous color and creative whimsy than you ever knew could be together under one roof. Our Stay-n-Play Café was no exception! We hosted this 2-hour workshop at the crack of dawn this morning. We had close to 50 people who enjoyed exploring eleven different manufacturers’ surface design and embellishing products and techniques…using the perfect foundation, our Ready-to-Go!® Canvas Books.
A very special thank you to these manufacturers for joining us today. They were all very generous with their time and product…attendees walked out inspired for sure!
• Liquitex - acrylic paints
• Inktense - watercolor pencils
• Elmer’s – adhesives, markers and cutting tools
• Fiskars – punches and tools
• Streuter – craft foils
• Glitz – stamps and bling
• Hambly – rub-ons and overlays
• Earth Safe - environmentally-friendly paints
• Sakura – paint markers
• Stewart Superior – spray mists
• Pellon – Lutradur®
At lunchtime, I attended a very informative seminar about how crafting can reduce the effects of stress, depression and chronic pain. Many scientific and medical studies were cited that prove how crafting positively affects our mood, our brain chemistry, and our physical symptoms.
In the afternoon at the booth, C&T author Rebekah Meier enchanted customers with a beautiful canvas book project from her new book coming out in May, Fabric Art Collage—40+ Mixed Media Techniques.
Rebekah Meier's canvas book, dyed and layered with fabric, film and fast2fuse®.
She also demonstrated how to use fast2fuse® on the outside – it’s a thick, wonderfully textured substrate that can be painted and heat-embossed – why hide it between fabric?
After the show closed for the day, we popped in to the anniversary celebration reception for Two Peas in a Bucket, then had a delicious italian dinner. Some C&T’ers went on to enjoy shopping at Downtown Disney, and I went to a Mocktail Party for the Fiskateers, with lots of friends, sweet treats and fun make-n-takes…a lovely way to end the evening!
Cheers to the Fiskateers!
