Making $en$e September 2nd 2010
Making $en$e August 30 2010Making $en$e with Stacy
Next week begins the traditional “Back to School routine” for many families. The stores are filled with the necessary supplies for every child’s needs, along with the perfect wardrobe for success! I loved school and have continued to take several formal courses as well as community classes. But I think I have learned more through personal study and experience. I love to read, devouring several books a month, usually 2 at a time. I learn best by doing, and love to ask questions. So I thought it would be fun to explore several resources, especially online. This week I checked out Quiltmaker.com, click Quilting 101, then Quilt Techniques, scroll down to Free Motion Quilting. This is a great article and resource to print and keep in your sewing area. The special this week is 5% off any tool or notion, this can be combined with the Thursday 10% off purchase special, for a combined 15% off one item.
Making $en$e With Stacy August 21 2010Making $en$e with Stacy
I finished the quilt top for Emily’s baby quilt, along with a mother’s bath apron and hooded baby towel just in time for the “Family” shower, now I’m back to working on Christmas gifts. My current project is a Quilted Christmas Tradition book, made using Jean Boyd’s “Sentimental Journey” and ”Little Picture Quilt” patterns, and of course, a little personal inspiration. I love paper dolls, so I’ve added four dolls with exchangeable outfits to the book. Last night after everyone went to bed I started looking through my mother’s and my paternal grandmother’s recipe boxes, looking for any family Christmas recipes. I found several unexpected treasures of my great grandmothers on both sides. I plan on using photo transfer techniques to add the recipes to my Quilted Christmas Book, I just need to narrow down my choices! After going to bed I continued to think about several ideas using fabric, photos, and recipes. So when I woke up for my morning walk with quilting friends Julie M. and Julie T. I shared a few ideas. Well, I really got excited when Julie T. said she’s teaching a genealogy class for Saginaw Township, because I could use a little brushing up on internet/computer resources. And what makes it even better, Judy Z. will be doing a Dessert Demo in September on photo transfer. So my Tradition of giving “Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh” Christmas gifts to each of my family members is under way! My challenge to you is to pull out a few photos of Christmas past, and incorporate them into your Holiday decorations. Whether you make copies and put them in small frames and hang them as ornaments or attend the Dessert demo and learn photo transfer techniques and make a pillow or quilt, the choices are endless. Recipes can be typed and put into a notebook, along with favorite Christmas carols, and a list of holiday traditions or framed and added to the tree. My special is, each person who signs up and attends either the Photo Transfer Dessert Demo or Photo Transfer Class, will receive 20% off any supplies purchased. Making $en$e August 14 2010Making $en$e with Stacy For those of you who took last week’s challenge, I would love to hear any of your summer day trip stories, just send them to quiltedcottage@att.com, attention Stacy! Here’s another day trip idea: One of my favorite things to do on vacation is visit unique shops. I love to browse and gather inspiration for future projects. I recently visited Stacy O’s on Midland Road near Weiss, what a cute shop! They have several rooms set up on the main floor and upstairs, completely decorated with some of the newest color trends. One of our fabric vendors says he loves to check out what’s new in the men’s shirt section, giving him the heads up on upcoming color combinations in fabric. Summer is the perfect time to check out small town shops, so your challenge this week is to pull out the map and pick a small town, look it up online, and pick a few shops to visit. Inspiration this week, is 30% off existing books and 40% off existing magazines. Making $en$e August 9 2010Making $en$e with Stacy
It’s the last month of summer and I still need a little more BEACH time . . . just sitting and listening to the waves. This month is a great time to pull out a few small hand projects, put them in a bag along with the necessary tools for completion. Then pack a lunch, pull out a map, and plan a day trip to the beach. Invite a friend, jump in the car, and play the Sheryl Crowe song, “Soak up the Sun”! I promise you that on a icy, cold February day this winter, a smile will appear on your face as you remember that awesome summer day in August. When I was a child it seemed like my summers were longer, I played harder and laughed more. I walked the streets of my neighborhood with my friends after dark, laid on the grass and watched falling stars, and sat on the porch talking until midnight. WOW, I miss those days! The awesome thing is I can still enjoy each of those activities now, I just need to take the TIME. So this week’s challenge is to take time to have FUN and ENJOY your life! My BEAT the HEAT special is 20% off Batiks! Making $en$eAugust 2nd 2010Making $en$e with Stacy
There’s nothing like a little Christmas music and twinkling lights to get me thinking about my favorite holiday, our Christmas in July Celebration hit the spot! While preparing samples for the shop and Santa’s Workshop I carefully planned coordinating projects. And with one exception, a “Christmas Package” table runner, I have completed my decorations for our kitchen and dining area all before Labor Day! I am now pumped to get Halloween and fall decor planned and made. I have a favorite quote by Thomas S. Monson, “Preparation proceeds power and performance.” He is so right. With a little planning I accomplished a task quickly and with ease, and feel empowered to start the next project. I like to utilize different patterns and create NEW ideas when I plan my holiday decorations. For example, last Halloween I made a clothespin bag out of Halloween material and used it to hold candy for the Trick or Treaters! I have an awesome idea for this Halloween, so cute! I challenge you to go through your patterns and plan for some “SPOOKTACULAR” Halloween decor! Take advantage of 10% off Halloween and Fall fabric during the first week of August, 15% off the second week, 20% off the third week, while supplies last!
And on a personal note this week was really joyful because our family welcomed a NEW little one named Benjamin Evan Wells, the son of our son Chris and his wife Alisha. We are so thankful for his sweet spirit and look forward to long rocking sessions. Making $en$e July 26th 2010Making $en$e With Stacy
One of my favorite hymns is “Because I Have Been Given Much,” written by Grace Noll Crowell. Whenever we sing it in church I think about my blessings and how I need to serve others.
Because I have been given much, I too must give.
Because of thy great bounty, Lord each day I live.
I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see,
who has the need of help from me.
Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care…
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share-
my glowing fire, my loaf of bread-my roof’s safe shelter over head,
that he too may be comforted.
Because I have been blessed by thy great love dear Lord,
I’ll share thy love again according to thy word.
I shall give love to those in need. I’ll show that love by word and deed,
thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.
Christmas is the time of year that many people reach out and serve others, singing carols in nursing homes, delivering homemade cookies and candies to friends, and working in soup kitchens. The month of July is a good time to start making preparations for the holiday, including gathering recipes. I have several specialty bread recipes that I make in soup and bean cans. Once baked I place several round slices of the different breads on a plate to be delivered to friends and family. Sometimes we “Pixie” a family by leaving a wrapped treat on the porch, ring the bell, hide, and wait for the family to take the treat into their home, then we jump in our car and take off! I thought it might be fun to pick a different recipe each month starting in August and “pixie” a friend, spreading Christmas cheer over the next 5 months. If you would like to join the challenge here are a few of my recipes.
Fresh Apple Bread
1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening 1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs beaten 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped apples 1 1/2 Tbsp buttermilk
2 cups sifted flour 1 c pecans
Cream sugar & shortening, add beaten eggs, apples, soda dissolved in buttermilk, flour, salt, vanilla and pecans. Mix well, and pour into loaf pan. Sprinkle top with mixture of 3 Tbsp sugar & 1 tsp cinnamon. Bake @ 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Eggnog Quick Bread
2 eggs 2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup eggnog 1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp rum extract 1/2 cup melted margarine or butter
1 tsp vanilla 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
Heat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan. Beat eggs in large bowl, add sugar, eggnog, margarine, rum extract, and vanilla; blend well. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level off. Add flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg,, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into greased pan, bake @ 350 degrees for 45 - 50 minutes. cool 10 minutes, and remove from pan. Cool completely.
Making $en$e July 20th 2010Making $en$e With Stacy
Part 2 “Christmas In July Ideas” * Collect your favorite catalogs and bookmark any websites on which you might like to shop. * Take an inventory of your holiday decorations, check for burned out lights and broken items, schedule on your planning calendar a time to fix any items you can, or toss them if they cannot be fixed. * Look around your home, is their anything that needs to be done before the holidays, such as cleaning the carpet, if so watch for coupons and schedule a date for cleaning. * Watch for sales on items such as sugar and flour for baking. Plan to pick up in- season items such as blueberries, for jelly, a great gift idea along with homemade bread. * Start a file of recipes for holiday dinner ideas, and baking * Make a list of gift certificate ideas, restaurants, stores, spa services, or getaways such as retreats. By attending our Christmas In July event you’ll have the opportunity to purchase gift certificates at a 20% discount. They ‘re great as a gift for a quilting sister or as a gift to yourself for a future shopping spree. Or use it to create your own sale anytime between September 1, 2010 and January 31, 2011. Making $en$e July 10TH 2010Have you ever wondered why so many places have Christmas in July events? It seems like the phrase simply appeared like a NEW Hallmark holiday. So, I decided to look into it. So far I have found a few reasons for its popularity. The summer seems to be a slower time of the year, less obligations, fewer scheduled Have you ever wondered why so many places have Christmas in July events? It seems like the phrase simply appeared like a NEW Hallmark holiday
Making $en$e July 3rd 2010Making $en$e with Stacy
I love color . . . flowers, scrapbook paper, Christmas lights, and of course, fabric! I love to walk into a store that is full of sunshine and crisp colors. I mean who could resist hydrangea blues and pinks, bright yellow roses, or the blue of a Caribbean ocean beach. I like to watch women in the shop as they pick out the fabric for their next quilt project, just to see how they pick the fabric. Is it “the chicken before the egg or the egg before the chicken?” Meaning do you find an awesome “inspiration” piece of fabric to base all others on, or do you pick colors out and find a border to bring it together. I think that there are times when a beautiful piece of fabric jumps right out, and I just can’t resist, and there are times, I need to find certain colors for a certain room. Either way, how the colors are put together creates the “WOW” factor. So I did a little research on the use of color in quilts, and I found the following:
Understanding the basics of color theory can help a quilter make better fabric choices. The color wheel is organized by Primary, Secondary and Tertiary colors. Primary colors can not be made by mixing colors, they consist of red, blue and yellow. The secondary colors are made by mixing primary colors, and consist of orange, violet, and green. Tertiary colors are made by mixing a primary color and a secondary color, and consist of blue-violet, yellow-green, and red-orange.
Now for the really cool stuff, like value, tint, shade, tone and intensity. Value is defined as the lightness or darkness of a color. When you add white to a hue, or color, it becomes a tint, add black and it becomes a shade. A tone is any shade plus grey. And the intensity of a color is how bright or dull a color appears.
When we arrange colors in a wheel we can see several combinations, such as, complimentary colors, or colors that are straight across from each other on the wheel. An example of such pairs would include red/green, yellow/violet, and blue/orange. Three colors that are arrange next to each other on the wheel are called analogous colors because they share a common color. An example would be red, red-orange, and orange, because they share the color red. I have included a color wheel exercise for you to work on this week, which has its rewards! All you need to do is snip a piece of fabric from your stash and glue it to the squares on the wheel, matching the colors listed, and then bring your completed wheel to the shop, and you’ll receive 25% off one yard of fabric from the color library, (blenders). This is not a test for perfection, so don’t worry, just have FUN.
A Swiss designer named Johannes Itten studied how the ratio of color usage affects quilt design. He found the following ratios to be the most appealing, red/green at a 1:1 ratio, or both colors appearing equally within a block. Blue/orange at a 5:3 ratio, or for every 5 occurrences of blue, orange is used three times. And violet/yellow at a 6:1 ratio, or for every 6 occurrences of violet, yellow is used once. The ratio is determined by a color’s intensity, yellow and orange are the most intense on the wheel, so a little bit of color goes a long way. You will find that if you over use either one, a quilt will appear off-balanced or without symmetry. Which brings me back to a very important point, your eyes are your best tool, you can see when it comes together and creates the WOW factor, and you can see when it doesn’t look quite right.
The following information comes From The Weekend Quilter: Fabulous Quilts to Make in a Weekend.
Tonal Values To achieve interest in your quilt you need to use different tonal values, and if you are using print fabrics, the scale of the print is also an important factor. The tonal values of fabric in your quilt should include light, medium, and dark fabrics. These values are relative to each other, so one person's medium may be another person's light; the fabrics can even play different roles in the same quilt.
If you are unsure of the value of the fabrics, you can view them though a value finder, a red screen that eliminates the color and allows you to see the lightness and darkness, i.e., the value. A similar effect can be achieved by photocopying fabric and looking at the value of greyness. Another technique that you can employ is to stare at the fabric selection and gradually squint at it: the darker fabrics "disappear" first. This is a good technique when perhaps you are confused between brightness and lightness.
Scale The scale of the design of a print fabric is very important. Your quilt needs to hold interest both close to and from a distance. Try to use a variety of scales -- small prints when viewed from the distance will look like solids. Geometric designs add movement, encouraging the eye to move over the surface and allowing you to see the other fabrics. There are also fabrics on the market that are monochromatic prints or textured solids, which are good substitutes for a solid fabric, giving a softer overall finished look.
I hope you find a bouquet of colors both outside in your garden and inside within your stash!
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