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Fascinating Fasteners

May 15, 2021 Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago I received an email from my friend Alice with photos of a lovely wall hanging. Our mutual friend Mary sent the photos to her and I was so pleased to have Alice include me in the sharing. If you look closely you’ll see that all of the designs were made from sewing fasteners!

Who knew you could make something so beautiful from snaps, hooks and eyes??? I contacted Mary and got this wonderful story to go with the photographs:

“Greetings, Chris!
What a delightful surprise to hear from you – and to hear that our photos had made their way to you. As a result of your inquiry, I had a delightful phone conversation this morning with the resident (Clara Bleak) who made the hanging. We met her briefly the first day we were here, but, because of COVID, I have not talked with her since.
Clara lives at Founders Ridge in Bloomington, MN. At one time she made all her own clothing, but other than mending and hemming she no longer sews. (Frank thinks she is in her 90s.) Clara designed and made the black and white wallhanging while she and her husband lived in France where he was working. She said, “I needed something to do.” (Isn’t it wonderful how creativity can be nurtured in times of isolation?) Clara has given the other wallhangings she designed and sewed at that time to her niece – said she has meant to ask her niece for photos of them. The other wall hangings incorporate embroidery and brass hairpins and other little items she found in France. She said this wall hanging “got lost in the back of a closet”, so she decided to hang it on her door. I noted that she has not signed or dated it.
You are welcome!
Gratefully, Mary”

Clara certainly has an eye for artistic placement of these utilitarian elements. What an imagination!

I was planning to put together a project for a future beading class and I’m thinking I may need to include some fasteners. Thank you Mary… and Clara!

Fabric Postcards

April 25, 2021 1 Comment

The idea of fabric postcards has been around for quite a while. Recently this topic has been brought to my attention from 2 different directions, so I had to do a post!

I taught a virtual Compass Capers workshop for the Hot Springs Village Quilters in March. It was a 3 hour Zoom class in which everyone drafted a compass and then I demonstrated how to paper piece them. It was a great learning experience for me and I think it went quite well. Grace sent me a photo of the compass she made the day after the class! Wow!

Don’t you just love the colors? And look at all those wonderful points!

Then, a little over a week later I received this fabric postcard in the mail from Patty!

It’s spectacular! The Compass is 3″ in diameter – and surrounded with cherry fabric (since I mentioned in my lecture that Kirsch is German for cherries). What a thoughtful and very much appreciated gift!!! I don’t have Patty’s email, so I’d like to send a huge thank-you to her now!

This is the back of her card:

The postcard arrived in a plastic sleeve.

I’m so glad it made it through the mail and I will treasure it.

During this time the ThreadBenders fiber art group I belong to decided to have a postcard challenge. We were to make a card and send it to the member who originated the idea, by a prespecified date. We each took photos front and back before they were mailed. Here’s mine:

I decided to make a small, simple, raw-edged landscape. Once the top was done I glue sticked it to a piece of cardstock and satin stitched around the outer edge. Bad plan. All the stitching holes allowed the card to immediately tear out along the perforations and I had to fuse it back into place. Then I added one line of stitching to be sure it wouldn’t come apart. We were all to photograph our postcards before we sent them in case they didn’t make it.

I went to our local post office and was told it needed to be weighed and hand stamped. A postage label was printed and trimmed to fit. And my postcard was on it’s way.

Eight of us participated and Cindy brought them to the following meeting. It was fun to see all the cards and hear their stories.

Cindy sent herself a card she made from a fabric printed for this very purpose.

Laura had the most “postcard making” experience and even had the proper plastic sleeve for mailing.

This card arrived at Cindy’s in great condition. Vicki said she sent an identical postcard to her son and it was badly mangled.

We really enjoyed seeing all the cards and Cindy did a great job of presenting them at the last meeting. There were many different techniques used in making the cards – and many different mailing methods. The ones that just stuck on a stamp made it as well as those who made the trip to the post office for the “recommended” way. If you look at the postage you may notice that my trust in my local PO cost me more than any of the others – and didn’t look as nice 🤣.

I enjoyed participating in this fun challenge, and I’m pretty sure Cindy enjoyed recieving all the cards.

The best part for me was finding Patty’s fabric postcard in my mailbox. Receiving them is even more fun than making them! Thanks again Patty! I’m encouraged to send out my own cards in the future and bring a smile to my friends! I think sending one to Patty is at the top of my list!

A Non-virtual Class

April 18, 2021 4 Comments

Last weekend was an exciting, busy time for me. Friday and Saturday were spent at a Christian Women’s retreat in Green Lake, WI. It wasn’t virtual! We actually got together and had a fantastic time of worship and fellowship. I arrived home Saturday evening spiritually refreshed… and exhausted. I fell into bed early so that I could get up Sunday morning and drive to the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts to teach my first “in person” class in a year and a half!!! What a blessing!

In 2019 I was asked to donate a class to be auctioned off at the museum’s fundraiser. Lisa purchased my private workshop and invited 3 of her friends (actually her mom, daughter and a friend) to join her for my Seminole Sampler class. Everything was of course postponed last year, but the museum is beginning to schedule classes and we were the first on the list! What a joy!

The quilt museum has a bright and organized space for classes, and the exhibit space is filled with fascinating works of fiber. It’s open with all the appropriate precautions in place. Cedarburg has many lovely shops and eateries also, and I highly recommend a road trip!

The ladies each completed many wonderful Seminole strips and they now have a “tool box” full of border patterns for future quilts.

Thanks to Lisa, Joy, Tiffany and Cary for a delightful day. And a big thank you to Marilynn too – for being there for the museum and to take care of our needs all day.

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In this week’s post I’d also like to share a follow up to the “Labels in the Binding” post from a few weeks ago. Camille finished her sister Ruth’s quilt and sent me these photos:

and here’s the label!

This is a portion of Camille’s email to me that accompanied these photos:

“Hi Chris, Thank you for mentioning my sister Ruth’s quilt and words on the binding project on your recent blog! She was surprised and pleased to see your article… I will definitely do words on the binding again. This was truly a learning experience. I always enjoy your blog topics. Camille”

Thanks Camille, I’m so glad we were able to see the finished quilt. I’m sure Ruth LOVED it!

Two Sided Binding

April 11, 2021 7 Comments

I came up with this method years ago when I made a small reversible table topper. There was no binding color that would look good on both sides since they represented two different seasons.

So I played around a bit and discovered a way that’s really quite easy to do! I find it works best done as a single binding.

Determine the width of the finished binding, multiply by 2 and add ¼” (ie. a ½” finished binding would be ½” x 2 = 1”; and 1” + ¼” = 1 ¼”). Choose a fabric to match each side of the quilt and cut enough strips from each (selvedge to selvedge) the above measurement in width, to go around the outer edge of the quilt. Sew all of the matching strips end to end to make a length of binding for both the front and back fabric.

Stitch these 2 long strips to each other with a 1/4″ seam allowance and press it open.

Now fold the binding in half and press again. By pressing the seam twice a sharp fold will result.

Lay the appropriate binding strip, right-sides-together and raw edges even, with one side of the quilt. Stitch in place (leaving a tail for a no-end finish). Use your binding width measurement as the seam allowance (mine was 1/2″). The distance from the edge of the quilt to the line of stitching should be equal to the distance between the two seams (note arrows below).

At the corner stop stitching at a spot a seam allowance away from the next edge of the quilt (for a tutorial on this click here). Fold the strip up at a 45 degree angle and then back down against the next edge, and continue to stitch in place.

Attach the binding all the way around.

There is nothing tricky about turning this binding to the back. Simply bring the binding around to the back (it will naturally cup at the corners),

and place the raw edge of the binding even with the raw edge of the quilt.

Fold it over flat against the quilt (the seam should lay at the outer edge of the quilt). This will create an angled corner (similar to wrapping a gift):

Carefully fold the adjacent binding over the edge of the quilt and pin/clip in place:

I like to hand-stitch the binding in place to finish – and it looks great front and back!

I hope you’ll add this technique to your “bag of tricks”. Over the years I’ve posted many tutorials on different techniques. If you ever want to find one from the past, simply type the topic into the search box on this site. If you have trouble locating what you’re looking for – please don’t hesitate to send me an email 😊. Enjoy!

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This week’s bonus! Jodi sent me this email:

“I had taken your class at Expo a couple years ago, and have been waiting to use it. Did a simple layer cake quilt for a friend because we both love this fabric. Decided to try the Seminole on it. Took me 2 days of piecing, but I’m LOVING it! Thank you for the inspiration!”

By cutting every other strip narrower, the size of the chain of squares down the center alternates and is more interesting. Great job Jodi – please send a photo of the completed quilt!

Labels in the Binding

April 4, 2021 4 Comments

I am a firm believer in the value of putting labels on our quilts. They may not be around forever, but then again they might, and with a label the story of the quilt lives on with it. Writing your name and the date on the back is an easy option. The other end of the scale is to hand-write the entire story of the quilt on a seperate piece of fabric and stitch it on.

But there are many other options somewhere in between. I often print my labels using the computer as I did for this Replique quilt I made for my first book:

When creating labels on the computer photos can be added:

A label can also be embellished in many ways, such as the one for this scarecrow runner I made with my granddaughter’s help:

She helped with the label too!

I wrote a post a few years back on a trick for attaching a label.

Then there was the post where I simply tucked a folded corner label into the binding.

Recently Camille contacted me with a quilt question – and then shared a great technique! I’m sure many of you will find this interesting.

“Hi Chris, I am making a quilt for my sister. She insisted that she wanted 2 quilts, but not separate entities. She wanted one quilt design on the front and another on the back. On one side, she chose a double Irish Chain pattern using spring/summer fabrics. On the other side, there is a more modern design using winter/snow fabrics. Her idea has me flummoxed about a label. A traditional label would spoil the effect of either side. Images are included below.

Many years ago (when I could not imagine I would ever consider the technique) I saw an article about label information being machine embroidered along the length of the binding fabric. The embroidery was done with a thread that matched the fabric closely to produce a discreet but effective label. This would work perfectly to document this quilt without interfering with either of the quilt designs.

I thought you might have written about this but a search did not reveal what I am thinking about. I have not found it with web searches either. Have you run across this idea?”

Before I could respond Camille sent me this:

“Yippee! I found a binding technique similar to what I was looking for!
https://weallsew.com/quilt-binding-words/“

These instructions are on a blog from Bernina and they look very well done. I tried a sample for myself and had a great time learning how to use the alphabets on my new machine.

Now to make a quilt that I can use this technique on. Thanks so much Camille!

Have you created a label in a binding? What was your technique?

Camille’s two sided quilt gave me an idea for another post. Next week – Two Sided Binding for a two sided quilt!

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Wishing each of you a blessed Resurrection Sunday!

From Flop to Functional

March 28, 2021 12 Comments

I’m sure you’re aware that not every project I attempt turns out well, but who would write a blog post about it? Well, as the last huge snow pile melts away at the end of our driveway

I made the decision to share one last winter story. You may ask “why would I want to share the story of a project gone wrong?” Perhaps for the lessons learned, how I turned it around, or simply because it’s nice to know we all have flops 😄. So here goes.

Over the years I have become passionate about bamboo socks, especially those hand-dyed by Wendy Richardson. I would purchase a few pairs every time I visited her booth at a quilt show.

Since I’m allergic to wool, these very warm/soft alternatives have gotten me through many winters. I love them so much that many pairs are wearing out in both the heel and ball of the foot. Because of the pandemic there are no shows to buy more (Wendy doesn’t sell them on her website).

So, during the midst of our very snowy winter I decided to dye socks. I’ve taken some classes and I love the effect of dyeing. My favorite was a class on ice dyeing Laura and I took with Cindy Lohbeck in Paducah a few years ago (click here to read that post).

Those results were great, but I usually don’t fare as well on my own and I’ve been known to say that I’d rather support those who are good at dyeing than to dye it myself. I should have stuck with that statement. But…

I found prepared for dyeing bamboo socks online and decided it was worth a try. I tend to wear blue and black jeans most often, so I decided to use those colors and make it simple. Since I didn’t plan on doing a lot of dyeing, I took the easy way out and bought Rit dye, etc. at my local JoAnns (all of you hand-dyers out there have my permission to stop reading at this point). I mixed it up and put it into squirty type bottles I found around the house.

I then set up the bin according to Cindy’s directions, soaked the socks and manipulated them for fun effects across the mesh. I even diagramed the different manipulations for future reference.

It was then time to brave the cold and I invited Frosty to help. I have found I prefer the results of dyeing with ice, but the snow was so plentiful I couldn’t resist it.

I sprinkled on a good covering of snow, squirted on the dye, and put the bin in the shed to do it’s magic. When I checked an hour later the temperature in the barn wasn’t warm enough to melt the snow or let the dye through. I was still hopeful things would work and brought it in the house for some melting time.

I was extremely disappointed when I scooped off the last of the snow a few hours later only to discover the socks were HIDEOUSLY UGLY! Barely any denim or black had reached the socks, but there were awful purply “veins” here and there over a pale gray dinginess. I couldn’t even force myself to take a photo – because I knew this would never make my blog 🤣.

Instead I went back to the store, got some more dye and overdyed them in denim blue and black. I love them!

Looking back I can see where I erred. The snow layer was too thick. The whole thing needed to be placed somewhere warm right away so the dye could melt through quickly. The snow/dye should have been removed sooner because everything got very diluted. And I’m sure there are many more. I’m really hopeful the quilt shows will return, Wendy will have socks for sale once again, and I can support a very talented artist while getting the beautiful socks I love. Until then – solid is good enough. I’m grateful for a happy ending!

I think it’s always nice to know that other people have flops too. Any of you have a story to share???

And one last thought. The photograph at the top of this post is of the cuffs of all the socks I’ve worn out. They were so pretty I just couldn’t throw them away, so I cut them off and piled them on the counter hoping inspiration would strike. I’m coming up with bupkis so far. Any thoughts???

A Quilted Theater?

March 21, 2021 6 Comments

A friend told me about an Artisan’s Market in Watertown that sells items made in Wisconsin. Mike and I decided to stop by and enjoyed the locally made woolen goods, wooden items, pottery and specialty foods (they even have fresh duck eggs!). The Artisan Market is at 111 N. 4th St. Click here for their website. I highly recommend visiting our town. Watertown boasts many delightful shops in it’s downtown, including our favorite bakery: Sweet Talkin Treats. Our favorite coffee/lunch spot is the Connection Cafe located on Hwy 19 on the west side of Watertown.

So what does this have to do with a quilted theater? Well, I couldn’t resist buying two hand-knit finger puppets, a tiger and a lizard, while at the market. I didn’t know why, but I knew I had to have them – plus they were priced at $3 each! When we got home I remembered the sweet little girl finger puppet I purchased while in Estonia. After a bit of searching, I found her and an idea struck! Sommer’s 9th birthday was coming soon and she loves to write stories. Wouldn’t a Finger Puppet Theater be “just the ticket” for her birthday? So I gathered some fun fabrics and a few sheets of plastic mesh canvas – and I was off creating!

I cut an opening in a sheet of mesh, used glue stick to cover it with batting,

and then made the cover by placing 2 rectangles of fabric, right sides together, and sewing the “opening” into the fabric rectangles, trimming it so I could turn it right side out.

I then positioned the polka dot cover on the mesh/batt theater front and fused a dark binding around the edges. To make it stand up I determined I needed to make sides for the theater while contemplating how and where to put the words “Sommer’s Finger Puppet Theater” on the project. In my stash I had a piece of chalkboard fabric leftover from a project in my second book Snuggle and Learn Quilts for Kids entitled “Rolled Up Fun”.

It’s a take-a-long toy that doesn’t require batteries 😊. I knew the chalkboard fabric would be perfect and attached it to the side fabric pieces with rick-rack. I then cut the remaining plastic mesh in half, glue sticked batting over it, and covered the sides.

In order for the theater to be folded flat for storage, I tied the sections together with pretty silk ribbon bows. And the finishing touch was to paint the words in white on the chalkboard, leaving an area open under “Now Playing” for Sommer to write in the title of her current production in chalk.

Some hearts and lacy trim were the finishing touches:

It all came together so well and, as you may have noticed, I decided the cast of characters needed to be increased. It was a great excuse to visit the Artisan’s Market one more time!

I added a fabric covered book for Sommer to compose her skits in, authored a first skit, and made a carrying tote for it all. And she loved it!

The puppets were a hit with Trey too!

Even the matching tote bag made her smile.

What a wonderful afternoon. It was a fun celebration and we felt so blessed to spend it with the kids and my parents!

Well Behaved Beads Revisited

March 14, 2021 5 Comments

Before I get to my “topic of the week”, I’m sure there are a few of you who’d like to know what name we chose for our puppy 😁. Thanks for all of your great suggestions last week. Mike and I really liked the name Noah, but he’s already hearing the command “no” a lot lately and we were concerned it might be confusing to have a name so similar to a word he won’t want to hear. We went back and forth for 2 days trying to find a name we agreed on. Since Mike is a big doggie person, and the two of them will be best buds, I gave in and agreed to the name he liked best since before we met the little guy. So, meet Koda (it means friend or bear):

He’s sweet, funny, and oh so busy; but I still think we should have named him Puddles! He turned 8 weeks old today and, in the 3 days since we took this photo, his floppy ear is sticking up just like the other one. He’s growing fast.

And now … on with the post!

I’ve been creating fiber art for many years and I often add beads to my projects.

I know many of you have taken my classes on this topic, so what I share today may sound familiar – but an email from my friend Nancy caused me to think it was worth repeating:

“Hi Chris, I have been looking through a lot of my magazines and there is one that I really liked a lot. It is the American Quilter Magazine. To be specific the April 23, 2007 issue. The article is titled “Well Behaved Beads”. I did one medium sized beaded wall hanging. And I really liked adding the beads. I thought to myself I would like to do that again. I started reading the article and had another thought, Who wrote this really neat piece about beading? I checked back to page 82 and there and behold the author is CHRIS LYNN KIRSCH! WOW!!! I like your idea. I really need something to keep my beads in place, with no train, boat, car, or no great-grandchildren around. So thank you for writing the article. Now I have a bigger motive to start a beaded quilt. Take care! Nancy”

Trying to pick up tiny beads that are sitting on a table, with a tiny needle, which is tethered by a thread to your work, can be aggravating. Years ago I came up with a way to make those beads behave and have them a lot closer to my work surface. These techniques are included in my book “Where Do I Start With Fiber Art” along with other beading tricks and information (click here to purchase a copy of that book).

The magic tool is clear mailing tape! And it’s really quite simple:

When the Lord dropped this idea into my brain, I was working on a project that was using a mixture of beads. I decided to sprinkle the beads on my quilt, near the area I wanted to bead, and placed a 2″ length of mailing tape over the loose beads. This held them to the quilt so they couldn’t run away. Once my needle was threaded and I was ready to begin, I rolled the tape back onto itself so a few beads came to the top.

I was then able to touch the tip of the needle to the hole in a bead and – it hopped right on! I stitched it to the quilt and continued unrolling and beading until I was done, or I had to stop.

If I stopped before I was finished beading that area, I simply rolled the tape back down against the quilt to capture the loose beads and went about my business until it was time to bead again.

Hint: If it’s going to be more than a couple of hours before you get back to the beading, I recommend rubbing the beads off the tape and into a container as they will get sticky if left on the tape too long (ask me how I know 😊).

After beading in this fashion for a while, a new idea hit! I could use the tape to keep the beads behaving and precisely where they’re needed by wrapping the tape around my finger:

1. Wrap a piece of mailing tape, sticky side out, around the forefinger of your non-dominant hand (i.e. left, if you’re right handed).

2. Pour the beads onto a flat surface and dip your taped finger into them.

3. Knot your thread and bring it up through the quilt where the bead needs to go, touch the tip of the needle to the hole in a bead and it will hop onto the needle. Attach that bead to the quilt and repeat.

Voila! Beading can be done in the doctor’s office, at kid’s sporting events and even in a moving vehicle. One of the best advantages of this technique is that the beads are close to the work area and so, as the thread gets shorter, the beads are easy to reach.

I hope you’ll give it a try! Please send comments or photos if you do.

Thanks for the reminder Nancy!