INDEPENDENT NEEDLEWORK NEWS

For some time now, I’ve admired crazy quilting from a distance. I even took a class back in October, 2001, in Romulus, Michigan with the legendary Carole Samples (why does this woman not have a website?), during which my grandmother passed away and I also learned I did not get a job I really wanted and had been fully led to expect to get. 

Unfortunately, the class organizers had done a very poor job of organizing anything (for instance, there was not enough food for all of the attendees to eat, even when it was served to us instead of buffet style).  On top of it all, when I had the “nerve to complain”  I was hungry and expected something to eat, especially since we were being hosted at a Hilton, the retreat organizers demanded I leave!  Somehow my stomach growling loudly and rather angrily sounding after missing two meals had upset a couple of people in the class sitting nowhere near me who had no idea what was going on, or what was making the noise.  I was deemed to be setting a bad example and ruining the retreat for others, and so I was ordered to leave without being allowed to explain “my side,” without being able to make any appeal, without being able to inform them of my grandmother’s death, and without even receiving any portion of my money back!  Oh, and I did not get my class kits either.    My one big regret is that I did not make my complaints known to Carole Samples, who, as far as I know, would have been appalled at the treatment I received from the organizers.  As a result of this experience, I  have had a bad taste in my mouth for crazy quilting that has lasted to this day.

However, I’m still very attracted to the idea of crazy quilting. Probably not to a lot of the crazy quilting that has come into fashion quite recently — I don’t see myself using pictures on crazy quilts, for example. I’m also not crazy about things that are Victorian style, so I would be doing things which reflect an entirely different decorating style and color palette. I also think that most of the time I would tend to go for the simpler look — although the style known as “encrusted crazy quilting” (which is a type of crazy quilting just smothered with beads and all sorts of sparkly doodads and whatnots until it seems there isn’t any more space to add another bit of sparkle to a piece) is extremely popular right now, it also is really not my particular style or interest.

It’s all yummy eye candy and terrific inspiration for sure, but what interests ME, as a needleworker, about crazy quilting is having a purpose to use all sorts of lovely fancy embroidery stitches in something other than a band sampler.

However, one of several things which has held me back from giving crazy quilting much of a try on my own — besides not having my class kit and supplies from the class I mentioned above — has been wondering how I’ll ever be able to make such nice, neat stitches as all the crazy quilters seem to do. Well, it turns out that at least some of the best crazy quilters out there, including Carole Samples herself, use a little help to make everything come out looking so nice and neat. Some of us might call it cheating; others of us would call it smart or a trick of the trade.

Personally, I’m just surprised because, still being outside the crazy quilting world myself, the thought that this wasn’t all done completely by hand — and that it’s actually OKAY to use a tool to help you get things just right — hadn’t even occurred to me. Suddenly, if I could get my hands on this tool (the shops I’ve found who carry it are currently out of stock, sigh … well, perhaps they know I’m broke!), I feel like maybe I could grasp crazy quilting by myself now.

Sharon Boggon reviewed Carole Samples’ Dream-a-Seam Templates in excellent detail, and from the point of view of how they can be useful to an experienced crazy quilter. The fact that one of the most well known crazy quilters in the stitching universe thinks so highly of the Dream-a-Seam Templates tells me they are a super tool.

But read all the comments on Sharon’s post, too. Carole Samples actually posted a comment on Sharon’s review (in response to a question from another commenter) that one of her intentions in creating the Dream-A-Seam Templates was to help crazy quilters get over a hurdle preventing them from even getting started creating a piece of crazy quilted artwork. That’s pretty much where I fall, so the Dream-A-Seam Templates should be helpful and a lot of fun for me — if I can just get my hands on them in the first place! :D  Then the hardest decision left to make will be which seam to use — and from Sharon’s review, that sounds like a decision which could confound me for months, LOL …

By the way, the commenter to whom Carole was responding, Sarah E., felt using Carole’s Dream-A-Seam tool might not be all that historically accurate with what crazy quilters in days long past used to do — and went on from there to make some very insightful remarks regarding crazy quilters today having a bit of a hangup about making things perfect.  I think Sarah’s thoughts apply to needleworkers of any kind and are relevant in several types of discussions, so I will likely be referring back to Sarah E.’s comments at some point in the future — as well as trying to locate her.  (If anyone can help me locate her, I would really appreciate it!)

Technorati Tags: Carole Samples, Dream-a-Seam, templates, encrusted, crazy quilt, Dream a seam, Sharon Boggon, Hilton 

Here is another reader submission for the crazy quilters and/or dyers among us. Fabrics & Frills is celebrating their Grand Opening sale with a 20% off sale on pretty much everything they stock.

Products seem especially tailored toward crazy quilters and include dyes, dyed Venise lace motifs, Venise lace motifs to dye, and a variety of other products you will want to take a look at just because they are gorgeous. Many will make great gift items, and others will be the perfect treat for yourself!

I actually had to laugh because while reading their Policies page, not only did I notice this shop has a minimum order (which won’t be difficult to meet, as it’s $15 … although under the Checkout link, it says the minimum is $10), but they also have a maximum order. That one is $500! Is this actually necessary? I mean, why would they want to stop someone from buying more? I just don’t get it. “Oh, sorry, you’ll have to put the last $275 of merchandise back. Our maximum order is $500. Well, we like to make sure we have things in stock at all times, just in case someone else wants to spend $15. ” I must be missing something.

“We want all our customers to be satisfied, not just you.” OH … well, I do have a tendency to be a bit greedy when it comes to craft supplies. It’s not so much that I don’t leave anything behind for anyone else as that I tend to want way more than I should buy in the first place. You know how that is, too, I’m sure — “because it’s on sale!”

At this particular moment, there is a tutorial on the site called, Donna’s Method for Dyeing Venise Appliques with Ozecraft Dye. It looks handy not just for anyone who has never hand-dyed anything before, but also for the much more experienced dyer who is just trying to dye the textured nooks and crannies of a product like Venise lace for the first time.

All in all, this site looks as if it will be one to keep an eye on for the future. Payment types accepted include PayPal, MasterCard and VISA (by PayPal), and checks.

Be sure to enter the coupon code OPEN during checkout; this will discount your order by 20%! This offer is good through August 31, 2007.

Technorati Tags: Grand Opening, celebration, sale, Fabrics & Frills, fabrics, frills, venise lace, dye, dyed, crazy quilt

I’ve been informed by a reader of a new-to-me auction site primarily dedicated to fabric auctions, and apparently intended to have quilters as its primary customers based on the product listings available.

Not only is this site useful to quilters, however, but it’s also helpful to stitchers, who are always looking for just the right fabrics to add to our stashes so that we’ll have the right backing fabrics for ornaments, needlebooks, and so on. So AuctionFabric.com seems like a good resource for all of us to know about and investigate.

The only negative I noticed in browsing around myself yesterday and today was that it appears almost all of the auctions are for fabric lots — either fabric put together in a matching lot so that you can make a particular quilt, or else fabric compiled into a lot as if someone is trying to quickly organize and reduce her stash. This isn’t necessarily a negative, but if you are looking for just a small bit of fabric, AuctionFabric.com may not help you. Or maybe I just happened to be looking on a bad day for finding the particular types of deals which would appeal to me most.

Technorati Tags: fabric, quilt, quilting, auction, crazy quilt

The Thread Basket is a delightful online and mail order shop I’ve recently discovered which I’ll be finding all kinds of reasons to mention to you — the first of which is the fact that store owner Valerie speaks fluent English and French, lives in the US, carries many of those hard to obtain French designs we US stitchers are finding so attractive lately (such as Bleu de Soie, Calendula Creations, Les Creations de Chrystelle, and — my favorite so far — Tournicoton), travels to France, plans to stock more French designs, wants to know what her customers would like to see her carry, and accepts US checks and PayPal as payment.

However, today I want to let you know Valerie has recently gotten in stock a number of chillingly spooky fabrics available in fat quarters. They’re just perfect for finishing off those Halloween ornaments you’re working on for the Halloween tree competition sponsored by Wonderful XS World! Or how about a quick tree skirt for your Halloween tree?

Or if you’re not participating in that Halloween SAL, just think how charming these would be in a Halloween themed quilt or crazy quilt!

Shoot, you might need to put these fabrics on your wish list because I don’t know how much Valerie has of each in stock — and I want at least a yard of each for myself now that I’ve come up with all these ideas … Oh, but then I won’t have time for Independent Needlework News, so I guess you win after all.

Pictured here are Haunted Mansions and Dancing Skeletons, which are just two of the great Halloween-y fabrics Valerie has in her shop right now for your benefit!

Technorati Tags: Thread Basket, French, Bleu de Soie, Calendula, Les Creations de Chrystelle, Tournicoton, crazy quilt, quilt, needlework, cross stitch, fat quarter, Halloween, autumn, fall, wXSw, Wonderful XS World, ornament, fabric, finishing

I enjoy reading Janet Perry’s blog. She has a vast array of experience and shares it in a way that makes me feel as if I’m sitting in the same room with her, one on one.

Recently, she offered some wonderful suggestions for filling a section with French knots. Although she calls her technique The Lazy Stitcher’s Guide to French Knots, it’s definitely more work than I’m used to doing in French knots — but that’s because I’ve never filled a section with them. I’ve only done the scattered kind, or the kind that represent eyes and such. I’ve looked at French knots from my point of view, which is that of a cross stitcher; using French knots to fill a section as Janet does is more of a needlepoint technique than a cross stitch technique. I’ve also seen French knots used to fill large areas in crazy quilting. I admit I’m still a bit intimidated by French knots, so I’ve always tended to avoid patterns which call for a lot of them — or to replace them with beads. However, Janet’s method sounds so intriguing because of the way it creates texture that I’m actually excited to try it out. Look how great the foam on this beer turned out when Janet used her technique:

Janet mentions using this technique for fields of flowers and for sheep. I’m imagining billowing clouds … or smoke. What other ideas come to you?

Technorati Tags: Janet Perry, Nuts About Needlepoint, needlepoint, cross stitch, French knot, texture, crazy quilt

Isn’t this purse one of the most gorgeous things you’ve ever seen? This beautiful encrusted crazy quilt purse was designed and created by Pamela Kellogg. You’ll probably recall that I referred you to her wonderful collection of freebie charts a couple of days ago; as you can see, she is at least as talented a stitcher as she is a cross stitch designer. Her blog regularly has beautiful things I wish I had the talent to make, and keeps giving me the encouragement to continue practicing toward perfection.

Technorati Tags: Pamela Kellogg, Pam Kellogg, Kitty and Me, crazy quilt, encrusted, cross stitch

Did you know Pamela Kellogg of Kitty and Me Designs has lots of really nice freebie patterns available? She designed these primarily as motifs for crazy quilters, so these freebies are the perfect size for ornaments, cards, scissor fobs, and various small gifts.

To make sure you don’t miss any of these cute freebie patterns, use Bloglines or another feed reader to subscribe to Pamela Kellogg’s blog where she always notifies her readers of the new freebies — and plenty of other good stuff!

Technorati Tags: Pam Kellogg, Pamela Kellogg, Kitty and Me, cross stitch, crazy quilt, freebie, free chart, Bloglines, feed reader, blog

If you haven’t already heard about Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST), then I have a treat for you!

First, to get a feel for TAST, check out Sharon B’s In a Minute Ago. You can explore from there to see what people have done with the stitches, and you can also get a good review in pictures with the TAST Flickr group. The third way you can see what stitchers are doing is by traveling along with the TAST Ringsurf webring.

There are some amazingly creative and innovative things that can be done with a needle and various types of threads and fabrics, and the variety of expertise the stitchers involved in TAST have is certainly serving up a delectable smorgasbord for the eyes and mind. Crazy quilting and freestyle embroidery are avidly represented, but you’ll find inspiration from all different areas of needlework.

The stitches already experimented with are Algerian eye, buttonhole, chevron, cretan, detached chain, eyelet, feather, fly, and herringbone stitches. The current week’s stitch is the cross stitch.

Technorati Tags: Take a Stitch Tuesday, TAST, Algerian eye, eyelet, buttonhole, chevron stitch, cretan stitch, detached chain stitch, feather stitch, fly stitch, herringbone, cross stitch, crazy quilting, freestyle embroidery