Spring has Sprung with Janome

Did you see my recent project in the Janome Life blog? I created a quick spring project using the Janome Artistic Edge digital cutter as well as the Janome Memory Craft 500E embroidery machine. 

I kept the project really simple by popping it into an embroidery hoop.

I wanted to keep this project simple and knew that the Artistic Edge would make cutting out the intricate appliqué shapes so easy and accurate - and I was right! While I could've spent lots of time drafting up a design on my own, I opted to use a design that was already available in the Simple Cut software that was bundled with the Artistic Edge. 

Accurate cuts with the Janome Artistic Edge digital cutter

Once I had refined my design I chose some decorative stitches to use with the Memory Craft 500E to finish off the appliqué edges. It is so much fun to choose from the hundreds of stitches available in the Simple Cut software. You can lengthen or widen these stitches to create your own version of them. I had to be careful not to play around too much with the stitches or I might never have completed the project!

Just a few of the decorative stitches available with the Simple Cut software

I wrote two articles for the Janome Life blog (one in February and the follow up in March). Click on the photos to read them.

Ready to cut out appliqué shapes on the Janome Artistic Edge digital cutter

Final project looks great on my fireplace mantle

If you have any questions about this project or how to create one that is similar, post them in the Comments below and I'll be happy to help you out.

Creatively,

P.S. Please join the private Chatterbox Quilts Facebook group where we carry on lively discussions on vintage sewing machines and quilting related topics. I'll see you there!

Telecast Thursday - Breaktime!

It's Telecast Thursday and the start of my summer vacation! Yay! It's been a busy June and July for me so I'm looking forward to some downtime with my family in Ontario. Besides hitting up a few quilt shops - I think I know where a few of them are - we'll be getting together with friends and family to celebrate my parents' 60th anniversary. Quite a milestone! Thank goodness my brother and I moved out or they might not have made it this far :) Just kididng, bro! 

I'll be back in a few weeks, but while I'm away, I've reached into the archives and am posting a few oldies, but goodies, that you may have missed. 

Let's start with a not so oldie: if you haven't already heard about it, I'm co-hosting the One World Quilt Along with Keith (Uncle Gravy) from QuiltFusion. The fun starts on September 15, but you can sign up now so you're all ready to go in September. To find out more about it, you can watch the video below.

And, if you're into the Pokémon Go craze, you might enjoy this humourous take on it.

Let's take a look back at some machine videos. I use a Janome Horizon Memory Craft 8900 QCP and while it comes with lots of extra presser feet, I've also added a few more specialized feet/attachments to it. In one of my videos, I took a look at Janome's ruler foot which allows you to use rulers on your domestic sewing machine. It's really quite easy to do and opens up a lot of possibilities for free motion quilting.

Another attachment that I've been having lots of fun with is the Janome Circular Sewing Attachment. I have several videos on this little baby, but will include one of them here to give you a taste of what it can do when you combine its abilities with the decorative stitches on the Janome 8900. I think I'll be using this to add some extra embellishment to my One World quilt.

Now I want to share more than one video with you - I'm going to share a whole YouTube playlist. If you're wondering what a playlist is, it is a collection of videos with a common theme. The one I want to share with you is "Got 15 Minutes?".  We always think that we need hours to accomplish anything on our projects, but the truth is that you can accomplish a lot in just 15 minutes. Take a look at the ideas in these videos and give them a try. I'd love to hear your ideas on what you can accomplish in your 15 quilting minutes.

That's probably enough to keep you busy for a couple of weeks. I'll be back with a new blogpost and video on August 18. See you then!

Creatively,

Telecast Thursday - Reasons to Read the Youtube Description Area

It's Telecast Thursday! I know you watch my videos, but do you know that there is more information on my Youtube videos?

Watch the video below or on my Youtube channel to see what you may be missing out on if you aren't looking in the Description area of my videos.

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to receive automatic notifications when new videos are posted. You can also click on the Chatterbox Quilts logo in the lower right corner on the video itself to subscribe. If you like what you see, please share my videos with your fellow creatives.

Creatively,

Telecast Thursday - Exploring Kraft Tex

It's Telecast Thursday and this week I'm exploring some new fabric, er paper, er fabric paper. Yes, I'm looking at Kraft-Tex. This combination of fabric and paper is really more like leather or canvas to me. It is made by C & T Publishing and is available in white, natural, stone or chocolate. I grabbed some white to check it out.

If you haven't yet heard about this product, you'll want to watch the video below or on my Youtube channel to see what it's all about.

I can already think of several ways I can use Kraft-Tex, rather than creating book covers or iPad covers. I think it would be great in a mixed media project where I can colour and distress it. I'm thinking 3D flowers, geometric shapes appliquéd to a fabric background...there are lots of ways to use this innovative product.

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to receive automatic notifications when new videos are posted. You can also click on the Chatterbox Quilts logo in the lower right corner on the video itself to subscribe. Remember to like and share my videos with your fellow creatives.

Have you tried Kraft-Tex? Leave a comment below to let me know about your experiences with it.

Creatively,

Antique China, Linens and Sewing Machines at Heritage Park

Twice a year Heritage Park holds an antique and collectibles sale. I only learned about this sale in October (where I purchased a lovely Singer 128 sewing machine), but wanted to be sure make it to its spring counterpart in April. 

It's fun to go to an event in the park during the off-season as you're allowed to drive down into the park and there's no fee to get in! The antique sale is held in one of the large Chautaqua tents and you can park right behind the tent so that makes it easy to carry out your treasures (you really didn't think I'd go to a sale and not walk away with something, did you?).

Some of the items in the sale are from donations that Heritage Park has received and some are from their collections. 

The items are all sorted and spread out on table cloth covered tables. I love how the china is all set out which allows you to see it very well. In addition to several sets of china, there were dining room sets, record albums, luggage, vintage linens (yum!) and tools. Something for everyone!

While I love china, I really don't have the space or use for more sets, so I contented myself with snapping photos of some of the more appealing sets. 

There are always a few old sewing machines at the sale and this year there was a treadle in a beautiful carved cabinet as well as a very old Singer hand crank model. I don't need another treadle in the house, although it was a gorgeous cabinet, and the hand crank Singer was too rusted to be appealing to me - and priced more than I would've paid for a machine in this condition.

I did like these antique china bowls - such beautiful colours on them - but at $139.00 for the set, that was too rich for me.

While I could identify most of the items there, this one puzzled me. It's a candle wick trimmer - and I really should've bought it, but the "as is" on the label made me hesitate.

There were lots of vintage linens though and these were reasonably priced. I did pick up several of these that were in very good shape. 

Interestingly enough they had received donations of yarn and were selling these at $1.00 a skein or bag. I picked up some linen/cotton blend yarn that looked like it would work for couching. At $1.00 for two large balls of yarn, I couldn't pass it up.

It was a fun way to spend a Friday afternoon and I'll be looking forward to the next show in the fall.

Creatively,