Spring Sale at Chatterbox Quilts

Although spring hasn't officially arrived yet we've been enjoying spring-like weather in Calgary all through the month of February. We've had above average temperatures and below average snow days (only 1 so far!). This gorgeous weather makes me feel like celebrating, so I'm having a sale at the Chatterbox Quilts store. Enjoy savings of 15% on all patterns from March 1, 2016 until 11:59 p.m. March 8, 2016. That's quilt designs, embroidery patterns and soft toy designs too. Just enter SPRING2016 in the Coupons area when you check out to receive your 15% savings on your entire order. 

There are lots of great spring designs and there is still time to whip up an Easter wall hanging.

Here are a few of my favourite spring designs.

Blossoming

Baaack in Blaaack

Easter Blooms

If you need help in completing the embroidery or fusible web appliqué projects, check out my courses on Curious.com. If you'd like to save 20% off a Curious subscription, just send me an email at kim@chatterboxquilts.com for a special savings code.

Remember, the sale ends on March 8, 2016 at 11:59 p.m., so shop soon.

Creatively,

Telecast Thursday - Homemade Quilt Basting Spray

Now that I have a long arm quilting machine, I don't have to baste my quilt before quilting it ... unless I have a small project that I want to quilt on my domestic quilting machine (can't let those skills deteriorate!). I really don't like basting my quilt with pins or hand basting the layers together (does anyone do that anymore?), so I've been looking for an alternative - and I've found one!

I discovered a recipe for homemade quilt basting spray and I'm pleased to share it with you. I found this recipe at California Quilting and found that it works very well (thanks, Janet!). It's much more economical than buying temporary spray adhesive and much easier on your fingers than pinning. Here's the recipe:

3 cups water (divided into 2 cups and 1 cup)

3 – 4 Tbsp. flour

½ tsp. salt

1 cup rubbing alcohol

Watch the video below or on my Youtube channel to see how to combine all these basic ingredients to create one fantastic quilt basting spray.

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.

I hope you'll try this way of basting and will let me know if you're a convert to basting your quilts using this method.

Creatively,

Free Valentine's Project with the Brother Scan N Cut

Looking for a quick Valentine's Day project to create with your Brother Scan N Cut? I have just the one for you!

Charlie helped in the fabric selection for this project

I decided to whip up a quick wall hanging for Valentine's Day using some of the pre-loaded designs in my Scan N Cut. Here's the tutorial, so you can create your own wall hanging.

I wanted to create a vintage-y look with some scallops and hearts, so I decided to have a sprinkling of hearts on a scalloped background. This was so easy as these designs are already included in the Scan N Cut library.

Background layer was design BA-A010 in the designs already in the Scan N Cut

I chose a scalloped design for the appliqué background layer and enlarged it to be 10" x 16" (okay, it was really 10.01 x 16", but that's just a smidge off). I saved this to my library so I could use it again. Then I selected the heart motif and created four hearts; making each one a slightly different width and height.

Heart #1

Heart #2

Heart #3

Heart #4

Then the fun part began: choosing the fabrics! I decided to go with batiks for the hearts and managed to find 4 different reds/pinks for them. I decide to stick with a white fabric for the scalloped appliqué background so the hearts would really contrast with it. I also chose the patterned pink batik for the layer under the scalloped background

 Lovely shades of red and pink batiks for the heart appliqués

I applied fusible web to the back of the heart fabrics, loaded them onto my Scan N Cut sheet and cut out the hearts. Easy!

Next, I fused fusible web to the back of the fabric that was going to scalloped and cut out the layer that would be underneath the hearts. Note, that I used the 12" x 24" mat to cut this part.

Lovely scalloped background all cut out!

I arranged and fused the hearts to the scalloped background and then fused it all to a large piece (14" X 18") of pink batik. It was looking really great! I wanted to add a border around it all, so I selected a pink and red polka dot fabric and cut out 3" borders.

Hearts fused to the scalloped appliqué background

I thought it needed a bit more pizazz, so I inserted some 1" white ribbon between the background and the border – sort of like a flange. (I always save ribbons from gifts, candy boxes, etc. just for this purpose). I did this only on the sides so it created a nice linear frame before the outer border.

Next I added the top and bottom borders. Here's what the wall hanging looked like at this point.

I was pleased with it but thought it needed a little something – how about some buttons? I just happen to have a few of these in my stash… so it was easy to find several different colours and types to jazz up the hearts.

Heart #1 all buttoned up!

Heart #2 looks great with floral buttons in pink

I used tiny buttons on Heart #3

I decided to add four buttons on the last heart - just because ;}

Here's a look at the final wall hanging top.

Yes, I know that there are only 3 buttons on the last heart - which one do you like better?

Since this is a wall hanging, I've decided to leave the edges of the appliqués unfinished (I know, daring, right?!). I just have to quilt this wall hanging and then stitch on the buttons (I may get lazy and just glue them on) and I'll have the perfect Valentine's Day decoration.

There's still time to create this Valentine's Day project with your own Scan N Cut machine, so I hope you'll give it a try.

Creatively,

My Favourite Craftsy Machine Quilting Classes

As you know I have a new toy in the studio. Yes, I finally have a long-arm quilting machine. Yay! I've been wanting (lusting for) a long-arm machine for years now and I finally bought one. I purchased a Handi Quilter Infinity. It has a 26" inch throat, which translates into about 20" of quilting space. Now I have no excuse for not finishing those quilt tops that have been languishing in bags and boxes in my studio.

View fullsize

Photo courtesy of handiquilter.com

While I don't make New Year's resolutions, 2016 will be the year to learn how to quilt on my new long-arm machine.

I'm itching to use this machine and to help me out, I'm watching Craftsy classes that I've purchased. I knew that the day would come when I could put this knowledge to use on my own long-arm quilting machine. Some of these classes are done on a domestic sewing machine, but the designs translate well for use on a long-arm quilting machine too.

Here are some of my favourite Craftsy classes that I'm sure will be a big help in my long-arm quilting adventure:

A New Look at Long-Arm Quilting with Mandy Leins - In this FREE class, Mandy explains some of the essentials of long-arm quilting and gives you some simple designs to help you gain confidence for the new long-arm quilter. I like the information that she provides regarding user comfort when working on a long-arm machine.

Machine Quilting Negative Space with Angela Walters – Angela shows you lots of free motion designs on a long-arm quilting machine. She also explains how to combine the various designs and alter their sizes to create interest.

Free-Motion Quilting with Feathers with Angela Walters – Working on a domestic sewing machine, Angela shows you how to create interesting feather motifs. She also shows you how to insert these designs in borders and blocks. Angela makes it easy to create unique feathers motifs in your quilts.

Divide & Conquer: Creative Quilting for Any Space with Lori Kennedy – I've followed Lori's blog for years and was thrilled when I saw she had a Craftsy class. As in her blogposts, Lori shows you a variety of motifs that can be adapted to the desired place on your quilt. Orange Peel, ribbons, leaves, flowers, sailboats and more, you'll learn how to create all these designs and many more. This is a great class if you're looking for motifs to add to your quilt designs.

Free Motion Fillers, Vol. 1 with Leah Day

Free Motion Fillers, Vol. 2 with Leah Day

I'm sure you've heard of Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project where she created a new quilting design each day for a year (and continues to add new designs). In these two classes Leah shares some of these designs and has lots of helpful tips and information about machine quilting. Using her domestic machine (the same Janome I currently own), Leah walks you through each motif describing how to create these designs successfully.

Machine Quilting Wholecloth Quilts with Cindy Needham

Design it, Quilt it: Free-Form Techniques with Cindy Needham

Cindy Needham creates amazing wholecloth quilts and quilts using vintage linens – something I love to collect. Both of these classes show you Cindy's approach to quilting on her domestic machine and include many quilting motifs. Cindy uses stencils as well as free-motion designs to create her amazing works of art. If you're an intermediate to advanced quilter, you'll learn to create beautiful art pieces in these classes.

This may seem like a lot of classes, but I find different and helpful information in each one of them. I like to take multiple classes from the same instructor – it almost feels like they're a friend helping me with my quilting.

If you're looking for classes to help you in your quilting adventure, I highly recommend any of these Craftsy classes. Enrol and start learning today!

Creatively,

P.S. I am a Craftsy affiliate and will receive compensation if you purchase through any of the links in this blogpost. This helps me to continue creating video and tutorial content for you. Thanks :)

Telecast Thursday - Superior Thread Holder Review

I like to use thread cones in my stitching and while this works on my newest sewing machine, I have a problem trying to use cones on my vintage sewing machines. Thread for home sewists just didn't come on cones in the days when they made those machines. I've been looking for a solution to this problem and I think I've found the answer: the Superior Thread Holder, manufactured by Superior Threads.

This is the only thread holder that you'll ever need, accommodating both thread spools and cones. You can even wind thread off a wound bobbin using this holder. To see how the Superior Thread Holder works, watch the video below or on my Youtube channel.

Do you have a thread holder that works well for you? Let me know all about it in the comments below.

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. Please share my videos with your fellow creatives. Thanks!

Creatively,