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Hanging Quilts II

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Since there were no comments on this topic I assume everyone’s happy with their method for hanging quilts, or you’re just waiting to see what I have to share :-). Either way here are my thoughts:

I usually hang my quilts with a “Split Sleeve” and a 1/2″ wooden dowel:

1. Measure the width of the quilt, subtract an inch, divide this measurement by 2 and cut 2 pieces this length by 4″.

2.  Hem both ends of each strip folding 1/4″ to the wrong side and topstitching. 

3. Prior to binding the quilt, fold each strip lengthwise, wrong sides together, and pin in place with the raw edges even with the top edge of the quilt and a 1/2″ gap between the sleeves.

4. Attach the binding, catching the sleeves in along the top edge (but not on the sides).

5.  Finish binding as usual and then handstitch the bottom edge of the sleeves to the back of the quilt, being careful not to stitch through to the front.

6.  Cut the dowel the width of the quilt and insert.

The split in the sleeve allows a small quilt to hang from a single nail. A larger quilt may be hung with a nail on each end. If the quilt is quite large and heavy, an additional nail may be added for support in the middle or a larger dowel/sleeve may be needed. (tip: it’s easier to see and use the sleeve if it doesn’t match the back!)

In my last post I pictured a quilt hung “on-point”. A simple way to do this is to make a sleeve 2″ shorter than the horizontal width of the quilt and attach it across the widest part (isn’t it hard to see when the fabric matches?). Insert a dowel that length.

Stitch a Plastic ring (I find them with knitting supplies) to the top and hang the quilt with a single nail on this ring. Easy and effective!

Any other quilt hanging tips or suggestions???

Hanging Quilts

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In grandma’s day quilts were made to keep people warm. This is still a vital function, but in recent times quilts are often made for other uses and decorating a wall is a very popular one. This leads to the question: “what’s the best way to hang a quilt on the wall?”

I’ve seen many quilts made with “tabs” along the top, curtain style, so the quilt can be hung from a pretty rod. This look often has a “country” feel and isn’t appropriate for all types of quilts.

Some quilts have an unusual orientation or shape and this can be a challenge.

Parallelisms I

 I prefer to hang my fiber art as you would a fine painting – with no visible means of support. This works for more traditional wall quilts too. I’ll detail some of my techniques on Thursday. Until then, please share your favorite methods by submitting a comment.

Quilt Books II

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Books are a great source of inspiration. A dear non-quilting friend once told me that people collect many things just for the joy of owning them. Stamps, thimbles, baseball cards, even cars.

They don’t have to “use” them to justify having them. That is how I look at my quilt library. Even if I never make a project from each book, if I’ve enjoyed looking at the pictures, reading about a new technique, or was inspired by color choices,  it was a worthwhile purchase. Being an author I hope you add to your quilting library often :-).

That being said – what great organizational fixes did I come up with? Well, your comments were a big help. I realized that many of the books I own I recognize by title or subject more often than author or publisher, so I decided to make piles by category: piecing, applique, artsy, history, etc. Then I put them on the shelf alphabetically by author’s last name within the category. I also made a list in the same order on my computer. That way I know at a glance what I have. I did go to “librarything.com” and found it very interesting, but decided having my own list on my computer was sufficient. The amazing thing is the picture looks the same as in my last post(ha!ha!). Changing the order didn’t change the picture much!

I also found a few books that no longer interest me. They are in the “donate to the guild library” pile. This made a little room :-). But the best part was I discovered 2 books that have inspired me on my next project. If I hadn’t gone through the library I wouldn’t have thought of them! Hooray!

Thank you all for your input and the inspiration to do something I’d been putting off for a long time. Hopefully many of you were inspired to organize too.

I’ll try to choose a topic next week that doesn’t require so much effort!

Quilt books

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Last week, after reading my photography post, Claire sent me an email in which she brought up the topic of organizing our quilt book collections. This made me painfully aware that I don’t have all the answers (ha!ha!). My library system up until now is to put each book on the shelf wherever it will fit and then hunt through every title when looking for something I want. Now I have until my Thursday post to get my act together. I’m going to analyze my collection and see what miracle ideas I come up with.

I’m sure some of you have answers to this dilemma. If so, please share them with us by clicking on “comments” at the bottom of this post. I’d really love your insight and I’m sure others would too. Just to get things started, here’s a “before” picture of my bookshelf. Not too terribly messy and yet without organization!

Photographing Quilts II

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I did it! I put bindings on both crib sized UFO and they’re ready to donate! But, before they go I’ve decided I had better take pictures for my records.

Here are my favorite tips using a simple, point & shoot digital camera:

1. The design wall in my studio is made from two 4′ x 6′ pieces of styrofoam insulation.  Many quilters cover their design walls with flannel because the fabric “sticks” to it, but so does every loose thread. Because I want to photograph on these boards as well as design, I covered them with the cheapest charcoal gray polyester I could find on the discount rack at Joann Fabrics. The colors of my quilts read true against the gray and the threads don’t cling to the polyester and show in my pictures. These walls are easy to move outside (my next favorite tip) and when they are next to each other there’s enough surface area to hang a bed sized quilt.

2. Photograph with natural light (outside) if possible. The ideal weather is bright overcast with very little wind. Avoid direct sunlight/high noon. My garage faces north and the doors are recessed about 6″, so I lean the board(s) inside the recess to protect it from wind and the lighting is good in the afternoon even on a sunny day.

3. The camera needs to be steady, so use a tripod or, if you don’t have one, place the camera (safely) on the appropriate height step of a ladder. One extra hint that can make a big difference is to remember that the design wall is leaning and by tipping the camera to match the angle (fairly easy with a tripod), the quilt will remain square in the picture.

4. I usually take a few snaps with the flash and few without. Then I can choose the best result.

This is certainly not a comprehensive coarse in photography and I’m no camera expert, but my quilts have been accepted into some big shows using these techniques. Even if you’re just shooting the quilts for your own inventory, its a blessing to have good quality pictures.

Photographing Quilts

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Before I get to my new topic of the week, I have one more UFO comment. Cheryl Anderson and I were recently discussing Pam’s comment that she thinks of UFO as opportunities. Cheryl took this to another level and now calls her UFO – Utterly Fabulous Opportunities! I wish I’d thought of that! Please visit her blog for more of her insights (Cheryl’s Chatelaine in the Blogroll).

Now to something new: years ago my dear friend, Necia Wallace, gave me some excellent instructions for photographing my quilts. She had spent some time as a professional photographer  and her advice has been invaluable.

Some of you may say you don’t need to take pictures of your quilts, but I beg to differ. Taking pictures along the path of your quilting life is a great way to keep track of how many you’ve made and how much you’ve improved. My memory is not what it used to be and scanning through my pictures is a happy trip down memory lane.

Speaking of a trip down memory lane – this is the only picture I have of my very first quilt. It was made in 1987, in a beginner sampler class taught by Sharon Grieve (now Grinyer). I entered it in the Sun Prairie quilt show and, even though it didn’t win anything, I was so proud (can’t you tell). This was way before digital and took a bit of guts to share :-).

I still have this quilt, but it was made to be used and it’s been loved into a much shabbier condition.

Many of us also need to take pictures of our work in order to enter competitions. This is when quality photography is very important, but no matter what the reason, if you’re going to do something, I feel its worth doing it right.

I plan to share my tips and tricks for quilt photography with a simple “point and shoot” camera in my Thursday post. Until then I’d love to hear from anyone who wants to share. Do you have questions on how to make your pictures better? Do you have a simple/easy way to get good results? Please comment if you dare :-)!

UFO Musings

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FORTY-SIX! That’s how many UFO’s I had in my bins! I figured that would make everyone feel better, but Lois Jarvis beat me with 67! Lois is also a teacher and she has a delightful blog: http://rust-tex.blogspot.com.

While digging through my bins I decided to have my husband take a picture and….notice the smile. I’m adopting Pam’s positive attitude towards UFOs. They are just waiting to be needed :-). The one I’m holding is from 1991. Can anyone beat that? 

Many of my UFO’s are class samples. That’s not an excuse – just the truth.

In looking through my bins I found 2 crib sized class samples that are already quilted and only need binding. I’m stating here that I will finish them and send them off to Project Linus before the end of the month.

I also found a wall sized top in patriotic colors. I’m going to add borders until it’s the right size for Quilts of Valor and get that sent this month too! I’m writing this here so someone will check up on me and make sure I keep my word :-).

I’ve belonged to a number of guilds that have attempted to address the UFO dilemma and here’s a few of their ideas:

Years ago Linda Marcou, a member of Common Threads Quilt Guild, challenged the members to choose one  in January and bring it finished in December. As a reward all those who were successful were given one of her  handmade labels. I still treasure that special addition to my finished quilt. 

I currently belong to Patched Lives Quilt Guild. Last year they offered one entry into a drawing for each UFO finished  in a year with an exciting prize for the winner.  Many took up the challenge.

Evelyn Link is a friend who’s guild in Arizona asks members to bring 3 UFO”S to a meeting and the guild votes for which one should be finished. Let’s take that to another level – you grab 3 to show to a friend, let her pick one to finish for you and you do the same for her! I wonder who I can get to take up that challenge – hmmmmm.

So often UFO’s are just tops. If you

1. can’t afford to send them to a long arm quilter 

2. don’t have time to hand quilt

3. like free motion quilting, but don’t like to meander,

try this: quilt that next project with the design you doodle when you’re bored. You’re probably really good at it, it will flow easily and the quilt will be done without too much effort. Or, take a free motion quilting class and when you return home, practice all the techniques you learned on a UFO you aren’t really attached to. Then donate it to charity. The recipient will love it and they won’t see all the mistakes that jump out at you. By the time the quilt is done your free mo-ing will have improved!

Hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you’ve been inspired to get something done! I’m rather excited about the accountability I’ve forced myself into in this post. If you’d like to gently commit yourself as I have, feel free to write it in a comment here :-).

UFO’s

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bins, bins, bins

When a quilter uses the term UFO, it usually refers to Un-Finished Objects (specifically quilts). Now I’m aware there are some unusual quilters out there who don’t have any UFO’s, but I’m quite sure they are the exception, not the norm. In my “stash” post I mentioned I dislike bins, but what else are you going to do with UFO’s?

A year or so ago a friend showed me some UFO’s she had purchased from another quilter. She thought they looked like fun and was planning to practice her free motion quilting on them. I told her I probably had a few I’d give her for free and (can you believe it?) she was excited. This led me to dig through my collection, pick out a few to “donate” to Patricia and then to count those that remained. SCARY! I’ll share the results and some ideas I have for what to do with them in my Thursday post. In the meantime please share your thoughts on UFO’s. How many do you have? Do they cause you guilt? Have you any thoughts on what to do about it? I’d love to hear from you!

PS Wendy Rieves and I teach quite a variety of classes at Waukesha County Technical College and there are still a few openings in our Summer class schedule. My Mariner’s Compass class has been a popular one over the years and I will be offering it again on July 8th. To get the details go to:  http://wctc.edu ; click on Class Search; put a dot in Summer 2010 and type “quilting” in the Course Title/Subject box, then click on Submit. You’ll find this class plus all the others there. I’d love to have you sign up! Blessings, Chris