By Denise Baran-Unland For The Herald-News February 2, 2012 8:16PM

Chistery by Darcy Berg

They say every picture tells a story, but that’s especially true for stories on the faces of Darcy Berg’s handmade dolls and art quilts.

For instance, the images on Berg’s quilts are of “people on the street,” individuals with an intense aura about them, whom Berg obtains permission to photograph. One doll, on display at a Southern Illinois steak house, depicts the fictional story of a woman with too many cosmetic surgeries: she has huge lips and failed breast implants.

“Her name is Delores, but she wants everyone to call her Candy,” said Berg, of Plainfield. “I have a sense of humor and this is a creative outlet for it.”

Berg teaches and displays her work at Gallery 7 in Joliet and teaches the Photography Meets Art Quilt and Nature Photography classes at Joliet Junior College. She said her artwork is the marriage of two loves she began nurturing in childhood: sewing and photography.

At the Picnic by Darcy Berg

At 5, Berg played with sewing cards, but by 7 she was hand-stitching clothes for her Barbie dolls and finery for playing “dress up” with her friends. When Berg was 10, her grandmother passed down her electric sewing machine and an aunt presented Berg with her first camera.

“It was a natural combination from me and I just built from there,” Berg said. “The title of my blog is ‘Fear is Not an Option.’ You can’t be afraid to experiment with art. I’ll try anything, just for the heck of it. I feel that, if I’m going to charge people for my work, it’s my responsibility to give them something different and unique. I try to be on the cutting edge as much as possible.”

Merge and Flow Bee by Darcy Berg

Six years ago, Berg was already designing dolls when an acquaintance invited her to join a quilting club. She started with traditional quilting, but grew frustrated with its many rules and guidelines. Art quilts grant her greater flexibility, from size to media.

“I use paint, colored pencil, water color, screen print and dye my own fabric,” Berg said. “Some of my quilts are really small, about two inches by two inches. Some people use plastic thread and attach candy wrappers. The only limit is the door to your imagination.”

Although Berg, like many people, has been affected by the recession (she was laid off in 2009 from her job as a senior environmental planner), she has used this time to focus and further develop her creative process and is pleased at the progress she is making. She hopes people enjoy the stories she tells.

“People have encouraged me to write more,” Berg said, “but I just haven’t had time to do it.”

Visit www.darcyberg.com and Darcy Berg Art on Facebook.

By Terry White

Quilters are an emotional group of people. We tend to fall in love with a thread, a pair of scissors, a sewing machine or fabric. After we love it, we defend it and try to convince everyone that, “mine is the best!” Please keep this in mind when I give you advice…I am suggesting materials for the beginner. When you get to know all the products available, then you will make informed choices.

The variety of threads available today is wonderful! I have almost never met a thread I didn’t like. However, I didn’t like the 4 for a dollar thread…it was bad thread.

The problem with too many choices is, “What do you need?”

You Need:
• Thread to sew patchwork together
• Thread to stitch appliqué shapes onto fabric
• Thread for the bobbin
• Thread to baste the quilt
• Thread to quilt the quilt
• There are even more choices when it comes to
decorative stitching on the surface of the quilt!

Sewing Patchwork

When you sew patchwork on the sewing machine, you want a thread that is of consistent high quality and will give you a good even stitch.

Coats&Clark Dual Duty regular sewing thread – this is a polyester thread of good quality that most people use. Many good clothing designers and manufacturers use this thread, also.

100% cotton thread – some people feel very strongly about piecing cotton fabric with cotton threads. This thread is also used for appliqué and quilting.

The picture shows a group of 24 colors of STAR cotton thread which I designed, King Tut, Gutermann, Metrosene are favorite threads for piecing.

I use regular sewing thread for patchwork. It is economical and because this thread doesn’t “show” in the work, it doesn’t have to be fancy. Use a thread that blends well with your fabrics so that it doesn’t show.

Stitching Appliqué

Appliqué shapes can be stitched with any good quality thread – depending on the look you want. I think that you should start with either cotton or rayon as these threads behave well in the sewing machine.

The picture shows rayon threads from several different companies. As you can see, rayon thread has a lovely sheen like silk. It actually is a silk substitute (silk thread is very expensive). Rayon thread will shrink and fade after time and it isn’t as strong as cotton. That is why many people use it decoratively in machine embroidery and to enhance appliqué.

The polyester threads that have recently come on the market are quite superior to the old polyesters and give the same look as rayon. They are very good for quilting.

Bobbin Thread

This term can be confusing…there are specific threads called, “bobbin thread”; and any thread that you put in the bobbin will be called “bobbin thread”. Threads called, “bobbin thread” are usually a lightweight thread that is used for programmed machine embroidery. For our purposes, the bobbin thread is that which is put in the bobbin.

When sewing patchwork, use the same thread in the bobbin that you will use in the top of your sewing machine, or, “the needle thread”.

When stitching appliqué shapes to the top of your quilt, use a regular sewing thread in the bobbin, even when you use a cotton or rayon in the needle thread.

When quilting, the bobbin thread should be the same thread as in the needle thread.

Basting Thread

When you baste, you are stitching the quilt top, batting and backing together with very large stitches. This keeps everything in place as you quilt. I use a very strong hand quilting thread for this. I like to use a thread that is similar in color or as light in color as the quilt.

Quilting Thread

There are many threads labeled as “machine quilting” threads…they are all good. The polyesters and cotton threads are the same as described above. Don’t use hand quilting threads, they don’t work well in your sewing machine.

For more information for the beginning quilter,
and free projects by Terry, click here.

by Terry White

Cotton Fabric
When you are new at something, it is best to use the easiest materials. When it comes to sewing a quilt, the best material to use is 100% cotton fabrics. It is very easy to find cotton fabric for quilting these days. Walk into any fabric store and they will have a whole section for quilting. Look at and feel these fabrics. The feel will be a medium weight fabric with body. This is different from lightweight fabrics or upholstery fabrics. There will be a natural feel to the fabric as well, not slippery or heavy or rough. So, this fabric is perfect for cutting out shapes for appliqué or cutting and stitching patchwork.

You will see a beautiful variety of colors and patterns in these cotton fabrics. Where do you start? My first advice is to start with your favorite colors and styles. You will enjoy the process with every quilt you make if you use fabric in the colors and patterns that you love. Here are three representative groups of fabric:


The first group of fabrics is of Japanese design and interspersed with small printed fabrics. The Japanese patterns are rather large and spray across the fabric. The smaller prints sort of contain the large prints and work well together in a patchwork quilt. The colors of the small prints also bridge the colors of the large prints. So, if you like Japanese style and bright intense colors, then this group may appeal to you.


This second fabric grouping is of more old-fashioned or traditional prints. You will find this type of printed fabric in quilts made in the early to mid 1900’s. The fabrics in the photo are reproductions of those old-fashioned fabrics. Quilters who like this style of quilts tend to like a muted color palette and traditional quilt patterns.


This group of fabrics is called Batik. Batiks are made in India and the prints are made by printing the fabric with wax and then they are dyed in various colors. The wax is then melted away, leaving the printed image. So, the prints won’t be perfect even though they are perfectly beautiful. Batik is more tightly woven then regular cotton fabric and some of the wax residue will remain, so they are a little tougher and stronger than regular cotton prints. This group is also very bright in color and appeals to some quilters.

I have shown you three different groups of fabrics, each of which is very popular among quilters. There are many more and lots to learn. You must make your own choices. The more quilts you make (or look at) the more you will learn about how the colors and prints of fabrics work together.


The pattern you will use for your first quilt will also help to determine what fabrics you choose. For example, if you make a pattern which requires high contrast among the fabric pieces, then it will be important to choose dark, medium and light colors to create that contrast. The example to the left is a detail from a Seminole patchwork quilt. The high contrast is created by using colors that contrast as well as dark, medium and light of one color (blue in this case).

Pre-wash your fabrics
There are several reasons to pre-wash your fabric before starting a quilt. Cotton fabrics are finished with assorted chemicals to make them look good in the store, help prevent wrinkles and adds a sheen.

The chemicals can:
1. be harmful to one’s skin over long periods of exposure;
2. hide the real qualities of the fabric by filling in the weave of the fabric and giving the appearance of a finely woven material;
3. be holding in dyes that may run when washed.

Backing Fabric
You want to use the same high quality cotton fabric for the back of your quilt as for the top. Some people use sheets, but this isn’t a good idea because sheets usually have a polyester content in them which causes the needle to skip when machine quilting. If the quilt is to be hand quilted, needling through polyester/cotton mix is very hard. If the sheet used is very high thread count cotton, this is just as hard to work with as the poly/cotton blend. If you have a 100% cotton sheet that feels like your regular cottons used for the top, then this will be fine to use.

Next: Quilt Battings & Threads.

For more information on quilting, especially for the beginner, click here.

Unique Exhibit on Display in Santa Paula

By Annie Eitman 10/13/2011

The California Oil Museum boasts an extensive display of local history consisting of antiques illustrating our region’s legacy in the oil industry. Soon, amid the various vintage tools hefted over the years by muscular and muddy derrick workers, the museum will be hosting a rather unusual exhibit. Just past the antique gas pumps and the authentic drilling rig built of cast iron and timber, the public will be able to view quilts crafted by men.

Red Eyed Tree Frog Quilt by Rob Appell

“Men Quilting! Quilts Made by Men,” is the theme for the 13th Annual Heritage Valley Festival of Quilts. This unusual collection will be on display from Oct. 16 through Feb. 5 at the Museum.

Influenced perhaps by our uncertain economic times, quilting has enjoyed a bit of a comeback. Quilting offers both creativity and comfort, an artful outlet while serving a functional purpose. The stereotypical quilt is often a quaint, common throwback to the days when life was simple, and when people took otherwise wasted bits of material and fashioned them back to life.

More than 200 years ago, men who quilted were a common occurrence in places such as England. Quilts constructed by English soldiers were prominently displayed during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today there are at least 21 million active quilters in the United States, but their profile has changed substantially. The average quilter is about 62 years-old, college educated and female, but there are exceptions.

Kai Johnson of Moorpark is 8 years old. This past summer his grandmother helped him piece together his first quilt, which will be on display at the California Oil Museum. His grandmother is an avid quilter, participating each year in the world’s largest outdoor quilt show in Sisters, Ore. His first quilt follows traditional patterns, but incorporates youthful colors. “My favorite part of quilting is choosing the colors and patterns of the fabrics and piecing the quilt together,” says Kai.

Today’s quilts don’t always follow the patterns of the past. Pictorial quilts often leave the rhythmic color play behind, opting instead to illustrate an event or idea. Roget Nguyen of Ventura will be exhibiting his quilts, “New York” and “Paris.” Both evoke the hustle and bustle of grand cities and remind one of modern art. Quilts in their creation, but cubist in their execution.

Bengal Tiger Quilt by Rob Appell

Rob Appell, owner of The Cotton Ball Quilt Shop in Morro Bay, will have a few quilts in the exhibit. Appell’s works showcase his varied interests in surfing, design, science and protecting endangered species. One of Appell’s quilts features a dramatic, colorful close-up of a Bengal tiger. Like many of the exhibit’s displays, Appell’s quilt offers a rhythm not seen in traditional quilting — the tiger’s stripes form a jagged but repeating pattern, its bright green eyes challenge us. The tiger is part of a series dedicated to endangered species, with a portion of the revenue generated from sales of the quilt patterns donated to the World Wildlife Fund.

Appell notes the surge in male quilters: “I must admit I feel a bit confused by the guys starting to make it public that they make quilts. When I first started years back there were very few of us guys who were brave enough to confess that they made quilts, and now it is no longer such a rare thing. I love being recognized for my art, and yes, being a young male who makes quilts helps me to get recognized.”

“Men Quilting! Quilts Made by Men,” Oct. 16 through Feb. 5 at The California Oil Museum, 1001 E. Main St. in Santa Paula. The public is invited to attend the opening reception on Sunday, Oct. 16 from 1 to 3 p.m.. Light refreshments will be served. A short gallery talk by guest curator Linda Wilkinson will be held at 1:30 p.m. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.

eitman@mindspring.com

You can make this project with fused scraps, or by selecting the fabrics that you desire from your own stash. I would suggest that you choose 6-8 different fabrics that are the same value, but have contrasting colors, so that when you make your design, the colors will pop when placed side by side.

Materials
• 1/2 yard of wool blended felt
• Fused scraps
• Mistyfuse
• Goddess sheet or parchment paper
• Thread for free motion machine quilting
• Adhesive Velcro
• 2 straight pins
• Comfort Rotary Cutter
• 8″ Havel’s Scissors for precision cutting

1. Cut 2 pieces of wool blended felt 17 1/2″ long by 6″ wide
with a rotary cutter on a mat with a ruler. Set aside.



2. If you don’t have any fused fabrics, you can use Mistyfuse – lay the fusible web on the wrong side of the fabric, making sure none of it goes over the sides.



3. Cover with parchment paper or a Goddess sheet and press with a dry iron on the wool setting. Pull the parchment paper or Goddess sheet away immediately.
Let cool, and then trim the edges with a pair of Havel’s scissors
for precision cutting, so that the fusible goes to the edges.



4. Scraps – I store all of my scraps by color in bin drawers.



5. In looking at your fabric selection, find the one that stands out the most for the 2 sticks that you will use at the end. My selection was lime green fabric,
and they are cut 2” long by 1/4″ wide, cut 8 pieces.



6. Proceed to cut your fabrics into a variety of squares and rectangles from 1” to 2”,
with either a rotary cutter or a pair of scissors.



7. Begin placing the cut fabrics onto one piece of wool blended felt. You can overlap the edges with the fabrics. When you have the design that you like, iron them into place.



8. Add the fused sticks throughout the design.



9. Flip the piece over and trim excess fabric from the edges with scissors.



10. Cut a piece of Mistyfuse to put between the 2 pieces of wool blended felt and iron into place, like a sandwich. Iron both sides to keep it from separating.



11. Press the fused fabric side with your iron, so it remains flat.



12. Thread your sewing machine with your thread selection. I used black thread for this project. Lay the fused piece under the foot, and anchor your first stitches into place,
and then proceed to zig-zag all around the piece to secure the edges.



13. With a free motion foot, anchor your starting stitch by sewing it into place,
backwards and forwards. For free motion quilting, I sewed free flowing stitches
of leaves and stems, over the entire piece.



14. See the detail stitching on the fabric side.



15. See detail stitching from the felt side.



16. Get your Kindle out, and place it on the inside (the felt side),
and measure the flap, it should fit just over the keyboard, about 2”.



17. Pin into place, remove Kindle, and sew the sides using the zig-zag stitch
on your sewing machine.



18. Cut the adhesive Velcro 2” long, and trim it just slightly lengthwise.



19. Flip the cover down towards the tab to measure where the Velcro
will meet up, and adhere into place.



20. Let each Velcro piece cure separately to the fabric for a bit, by pressing it
under a book for about 30 minutes before closing them onto each other.



Now you have a great cover for your Kindle or to give as a gift.
Here is another one that I made using silk scraps.

Jamie Fingal is an award winning artist who lives in Orange, California and the author of “Embellished Mini Quilts”. Her whimsical and abstract work has been juried into International quilt exhibitions and featured in many books. She has written articles for Quilting Arts, Cloth Paper Scissors, Gifts, and Studios magazines, and she has two instructional DVD’s. She’s been a guest on Quilting Arts TV in Series 200, 400, 700, 900, and is most known for her playful approach to quilt making with zippers, houses, abstract and faces. Her work is in private, public and corporate collections. She is also a grown up Girl Scout and her artwork is featured on an Ecco-Bag for ABC Bakers for the 2010 Cookie Sales. Her piece “Soul Sisters” won the grand prize in the contest for the Alliance for American Quilts in 2011. Jamie says, “I believe in giving back, and coordinate the “Welcome Home” house quilt project with Furnishing Hope. I also co-curate art quilt exhibits and teach at the National level with Leslie Tucker Jenison for Dinner at Eight Artists.”

Be sure to check out Jamie’s blog jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com,
and if you’d like to contact her, you may email her at jamie.fingal@gmail.com
or snail mail: 960 N. Tustin Street #253, Orange, CA 92867

To see more free quilt projects click here.

For a printable PDF of this project, click here.

– Posted: Saturday, October 15, 2011 2:30am

There’s a lot of “quilting” going on in Le Roy these days – not the kind that involves fabric – but quilt designs painted on plywood and hung on the sides of barns.


It’s the beginnings of a barn quilt trail that will help mark the Town of Le Roy’s bicentennial in 2012. About a half-dozen quilts have already been erected around town with more in the works and a goal of at least 20. The quilts range in size from a 4′x4′ to 8′x8′.

Le Roy Historical Society Director Lynne Belluscio says the project is an appropriate way to celebrate because Le Roy is an agricultural community.

The project also helps to create a sense of community pride, she said.

“We want people to feel good about the community they live in. When they hear about the barn quilt project they say, ‘Hey, that’s a neat idea.’ In Genesee County and Le Roy the agricultural heritage is so important,” says Belluscio, who has a quilt on her barn at her home on North Road.

Enthusiastic Response

She says she did not know much about barn quilt trails and how to develop them until she went online and searched for “barn quilts.”

“I was totally blown away,” she says.

Belluscio learned that barn quilt trails got their start only about 10 years ago in Ohio.

“Now almost 30 states have barn quilt projects,” she notes.

Among them, is a barn quilt trail in Kendall that began in 2006. Belluscio visited with Lora Partyka of Partyka Farms to find out how the project came together. “I had a lot of questions and I wanted to find all that out,” Belluscio says.

Armed with her recently acquired knowledge, Belluscio approached Shelley Stein of Stein Farms in Le Roy to get her reaction to the idea of a barn quilt project for their community.

“She was extremely enthusiastic,” Belluscio says.

Together, they had “a ‘quilting bee’ in my garage,” Belluscio says, to work on the first barn quilt and see what it took to put one together.

Stein, who painted a quilt for her barn on Conlon Road and is working on a second for a Gulley Road barn, says the project is a great undertaking for Le Roy. Not only does the project celebrate the town’s bicentennial and increase community awareness, but it also highlights “the history and heritage of the are through agriculture.”

It’s also a project that can carry on into the future, she says.

“The outpouring of creativity is so, so special,” says Stein. “It’s a wholesome project. It has set everybody on fire with enthusiasm.”

Quilts Tell Stories

Stein said the story behind the quilts is fascinating because each participant has chosen patterns and colors with significance for them. Stein’s first quilt, on a yellow family barn on Conlon Road, uses a pattern called “Nonesuch.” The design was taken from a quilt owned by her great-grandmother.

The project’s first quilt was up by Labor Day weekend for a family reunion at Sylvia Fraser’s home (Matthews Farm) on Route 5 just west of the Village of Le Roy. The barn is in a highly visible location on the north side of the road.

Fraser chose a pattern known as “Friendship Circle” or “Dresden Plate.”

“I like the title,” she says, “because of the many friends that are part of the Le Roy Historical Society and because people in Le Roy are so friendly.”

Fraser’s family worked together on the quilt. Her niece, who is an architectural engineer, enlarge the pattern to the 8′x8′ size.

It was a fun project, Fraser says. “I would encourage other people to do it,” she says.

A Community Project

The entire community is embracing the idea. “As people learned about it, everybody wanted to do one,” Belluscio says.

Belluscio is working to get the community’s business involved. Potter Lumber is providing plywood at a discount and Crocker’s Ace Hardware on North Road is helping with paint. Crocker’s, on North Street Road, has added a quilt block using the “Railroad Crossing” pattern to one of it’s buildings, and Potter is also planning a quilt, Belluscio says.

Belluscio would also like school kids to get involved designing their own quilts.

“Families can get involved,” she says. “It’s a postitive, exciting thing.”

History Included


The barn quilts provide an opportunity to remind people that the barns are still here. The history fo the the barns will be a part of the project, says Belluscio, who is willing to help residents do any research involved.

Belluscio is designing a community barn quilt that will feature and eight-point “Le Roy Star.” The interior of the star will include 200 diamond shapes to represents the town’s 200 years. Symbolic colors will be used in the pattern.

“Blue for Oatka Creek, red and black for the school, light blue for Ingham University,” she explains. “I would like to have community members come and help oaint the quilt, possibly during festivities that will likely be on June 8, 2012 – the date that makes the 200th anniversary of New York State’s passing of legislation creating the town.

The Le Roy Star quilt might eventually hang on the town’s Highway Department buildings after being displayed at Town Hall, Belluscio says.

Looking Ahead

Next summer’s exhibit at Le Roy House will also feature quilts and will include tie-ins to the barn quilt project, she adds.

Belluscio says she can help those interested in having a barn quilt get one up. Participants can get as involved as they like – from doing every step of the process by themselves to having the Historical Society complete an entire quilt for a fee.

Belluscio hopes the Historical Society will have some 4′x4′ barn quilts ready to auction off early next year.

There is already a barn quilt on display at the Jell-O Gallery. Appropriately named “Jell-O Jigglers” it features all the bright colors of the popular dessert invented in Le Roy.

A barn quilt trail website is active at www.leroybarnquilt.org. The website provides information about each quilts pattersn and the barns, with more to come.

“We hope to have at least 20 up by next year of the big ones,” Belluscio says, “that would make a really good driving route.”

Where to Look

Le Roy’s barn quilts can be found at:
Matthews Farm on north side of Route 5, just west of Le Roy. Features “Dresden Plate” or “Friendship Circle” pattern.
Stein Family Barn on Conlon Road. The quilt pattern and color scheme was taken from a quilt owned by Shelley Stein’s great grandmother. It is known as “Nonesuch” or “Friendship Pattern.”
Jell-O Gallery, 23 East Main St. The 4′x4′ square is named “Jell-O Jigglers.” Its colors represent Jell-O flavors of lemon, lime, grape, strawberry and orange.
Lynne Belluscio’s Northview Farm, 8148 North Rd. The barn quilt is easy to miss because of the trees, but it is the “Whig Rose” pattern. The pattern was painted by Belluscio from a quilt that she sewed for her granddaughter.
Crocker’s Ace Hardware, 8457 North Street Rd. The quilt pattern is “Railroad Crossing.”
Walters Barn, 9306 Summit Street Rd. Town Historian Irene Walters painted the patriotic “Star of Hope” or “Sunflower” pattern.
Crnkovich’s Farm Market, 8041 East Main Rd.
West Bergen Road, between Randall and Selden roads, features a red barn with a red, white and blue “Starburst” patterned quilt.

For more information, contact Lynne Belluscio at (585) 768-7433.

You’ll thank me later….

If you are a beginner to quilting, the tools you need are few. There are, literally, thousands of tools for quilting available to the stitcher…it can be very confusing. So, to simplify, here is a list of the most essential things you will need to start quilting.

Marking Tools
You will use a marking tool for appliqué, marking fusible web, placement of appliqués on fabric, placement of embellishments on fabric and marking quilt lines.

For Permanent Lines
• Micron Pigma Pen: an archival acid free pen, like the pens for scrap booking.
• Fine Point Sharpies: and when I take a hot iron to the marks they become permanent.
• Color Pencils: can be used as they can be matched to the colors of fabric used. Then there isn’t a harsh black line to worry about.
• Fabric Markers: are the best because they come in colors, are permanent and are made for fabric…however they can be expensive. So, if you buy just the primary colors individually from an art or hobby store you can save expense. Store all markers on their side to keep them from spilling ink or drying out.



For Temporary Lines
• Chalk Pencils: and markers are good.
• Wash Away Pens: however, if you live in a very humid area, the marks may disappear before you want them to.







Rotary Cutter/Mat/Ruler
The single most important tool for the quilter has become the rotary cutter. In one step, you can measure and cut perfect straight strips for making patchwork. It has replaced the need for patchwork templates and the ability to cut perfectly straight lines with scissors.
The acrylic ruler is essential to the rotary cutter. Metal rulers ruin the blade and wooden rulers dull the blade. The acrylic rulers not only have measuring lines, but marks also for cutting various angles.
The cutting mat is very necessary – it holds the fabric still, protects table surfaces from the sharp blade and it prevents the blade from becoming dull.

How to Use a Rotary Cutter
Lay your fabric on the mat, line up the edge of the fabric to the lines on the mat.
Place the ruler along the fabric where you will make your cut.
Place one hand flat on the ruler.
Hold the rotary cutter against the ruler at a bit of an angle and cut away from your body. You may have to reposition your hand holding the ruler down so that the ruler doesn’t slip on the fabric.
If this is your first time using a rotary cutter, practice on some junk fabric. It took me
several tries.





Best Scissors
• Havel’s 8” Sewing/Quilting Scissors to cut fabric
• Havel’s 5 ½” Curved Tip Sewing Scissors for appliqué
• 5 1/4” Ultimate Embroidery Scissors at the sewing machine






Sewing Machine
It should be in good working order. If it hasn’t been used in a while, it should probably be serviced.
Good working order means that the thread tensions work well. When you make a straight stitch on the machine, it is a smooth, even stitch with no puckers.
A clean machine is very important. Lint can build up in the bobbin area and wreck the timing of the machine and prevent good stitching.
Be sure to follow the instructions in your owner’s manual for the care and cleaning of your machine.
If you have a new machine, use the owner’s manual and become familiar with your machine before starting to quilt. When I acquire a new machine, I always do this. I will spend a day (or longer) learning all about my machine and go through every operation that my machine will perform so that I understand it.

If you are thinking of buying a new sewing machine:
Ask someone you know and admire and who sews beautifully – what does she suggest?
You want a good dealer. It is just like buying a car: you won’t be happy with your purchase if the sewing shop doesn’t support you with classes, service and supplies for your machine.
I use a Bernina.


Machine Embroidery Needles
Be sure you buy the sewing machine needles that fit your machine. Believe it or not, sewing machine needles come in different lengths. The company that makes your machine will have the best advice for the needles for your machine. Don’t buy cheap needles – they are bad needles.



Paint Brush
Keep a soft bristle paint brush by your machine. Clean out the bobbin area and the needle area several times a day when you are doing a lot of stitching. The lint that builds up will affect the quality of your stitches.






Quilt Pins
These are long pins with a plastic ball head. They are long to be able to go through several layers of fabric and the heads make them easy to pick up and to find.









Design Wall or Layout Area
When I lived in a teeny tiny home with no room at all to lay out a quilt, I used my bed as a layout space. I would pin sections of my quilt to a sheet (which was spread out on the top of the bed) to help me see how the quilt would look. If I needed to see it hanging up, I would hang the sheet from the top of a window’s curtain rod.
There are many fancy solutions for this need. I use flannel backed vinyl (tablecloth material) tacked to a wall in my stitch studio with upholstery tacks.




Iron
I use an inexpensive iron that gets very hot…unfortunately, I’m very clumsy and I drop my irons. I also use hobby irons and travel irons for small areas of pressing. I find that the small irons get very hot and are very easy to manipulate in small sections of work.
I don’t use steam for the most part in my work. Steam can distort the fabric.





Ironing Surface
I made a large surface that I put onto my ironing board. I followed Sharon Schamber’s instructions: I started with a large section of OSB or MDF plywood board (your local home improvement place will know what this is and it isn’t expensive) cut to the size I wanted. Layer this with low loft cotton batting and cotton duck fabric. Then, pull the fabrics to the back and secure with a staple gun. This gives me a large and very flat surface which is perfect for pressing quilts.


Pressing Cloth
Especially if you are using fusible webs, paints, or materials made with metal threads or nylon. Simply, a pressing cloth can be an old sheet or pillow case or a piece of muslin that will protect both the iron’s surface and the fabric’s surface.

Lint roller
Can be used to clean my design wall, my ironing surface and even stray threads on my quilt.




Hand needles
Hand Needles called “Betweens” work well for burying threads, use in stitching binding and rod pockets to a quilt and doing any hand stitching that may be required.

Next: Essential Materials for the Beginning Quilter

See Terry’s latest project The Happy Christmas Tree Photo Album Cover, just click here, and you’ll be on your way to making a memorable Christmas album for the whole family.

…and for a downloadable PDF of this blog, click here.

Make the Bookmark



1. Start with a piece of fabric with fusible web applied and the paper backing torn off.
In this case, I used the leftovers from the labels.



2. Fold the fabric onto itself with fused sides together. This creates a two-sided fabric
with lots of body. The double fusing adds strength to the piece.



3. After cutting the piece into a rectangle using the Rotary Pinking Blade,
I used the Rotary Skip Blade to perforate two lines down the center of the bookmark.



You can see the perforations when I pull the fabric a little. This won’t fray; the double fusing strengthens the fabric. So, this technique has all kinds of applications!



4. Use a big tapestry needle to thread purple metallic ribbon through the perforations.



5. Cut two stars from fabric with fusible web on it. Don’t fuse them before cutting them out.



6. Place purple ribbon on top of a green star (fusible side up). Place the other star on top,
then iron, fusing the purple ribbon between the green star shapes.



7. Do the same for the purple stars.

I really hope that you had as much fun making this project as I did designing it.
I would like to appreciate my supporting cast in this project…without which
it just would not be the same…the 12 days of Havel’s Scissors!

For a printable PDF, please click here.

Finish the Edge

1. Use the same thread in the top and the bobbin of your sewing machine. Choose a nice edge finish stitch. I use an edge foot because the stitch seems to look so much better with it.



Snip-A-Stitch is a great tool for any kind of work on the sewing machine. You can see the little notch in the blade…this notch gets you very close to the fabric to cut the end threads without cutting the fabric.



This is what the edge of the album cover looks like.

2. Position your album on the cover and mark where the folds should be. This cover is just like the book covers we made as kids to cover our school books. Press the folds with an iron.

Here is the album inserted in the fold of the cover.

Here is the back of the album cover.

Here is the side view of the album cover.

Next: On The Twelfth Day Of Havel’s,
My True Love Is The Rotary Skip Blade

For a printable PDF, please click here.

Make the Back Label and the Spine Label

1. Apply fusible web to fabric before cutting.
This will keep the back label and spine label from fraying.



2. When using this blade, be sure to hold it upright so that both sides of the blade cut through.



I used an archival permanent drawing pen to write on the labels.

Then, positioned and fused them in place.

Next: On The Eleventh Day Of Havel’s,
My True Love Is The Snip-A-Stitch

For a printable PDF, please click here.