Month: July 2021

A New Stitching Adventure

Posted on by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in a pattern, Art Quilt Techniques, Embellishment, Embroidery, Fabrics, My micro-business, Quilt Journal, skill building, Techniques, Threads, Tools, Videos

Birds at Play Detail from Pattern

Hi gentle readers,

I am almost ready to start making and filming a fun new wall quilt that focuses on stitching…both free motion and some with feed dogs up.  It also has a small amount of appliques behind some of the stitching and 9 pieces of fabrics to make a simple style quilt background to put all this stitching with some appliques and some paint onto.  The picture above is a single tile from a multi-tile downloadable pattern with instructions and supply list. This project was inspired by a page from a Dover Publications coloring book.

I got the missing fabrics this week and they are all washed and ready to go.  I am still working on the pattern, but the hard part is done so I will be publishing that for sale at a moderate price on my website store to go along with an undetermined number of free YouTube videos to take people through the project…fun to simply watch, and fun to make with me if you want.

I will be adding a page to this blog site with links to my recommended supplies that apply to ongoing projects.  Once it’s there you can just click on “Supply links” above and you can go shopping!

Sew I am excited about making this piece.  I will be testing some products I have not used before I make it and will tell you about them as I go.  This includes some new specialty threads from Wonderfil Threads I have only briefly used and Sulky’s Sticky-Fabri-Solvy printable self adhesive water soluble stabilizer. I think it could be a real blessing for limiting the amount of marking I have to do for this project and stabilizing the stitching.  I might do a 60 second shorts video on my test of all of this just so you can see it even if I decide not to use it for this particular project.  Would you like that?

I should be publishing the first parts of this project in a few weeks.  We’ll see though.  It takes a while to film the making of a complex project like this and get it edited.  In any event, I will let you know how it stands with my next blog post.  Let me know what you are working on.  Do you have any special requests for techniques to discuss? (Please comment here.  I love comments because it helps me know if people really view and like my blog efforts here and the comments stay with my blog if I look back on them a few months later for reference).

Sew happy everyone!  Have fun in your studio!

 

Working on New Projects and Patterns

Posted on by Betty Jo's Blog / Posted in Uncategorized

I am working on a new, more advanced project for my YouTube channel in which I am also making a downloadable pattern that I hope people will enjoy either making it along with me or just watch for fun.  This is part of my experimental quilting series.

In the course of working on this design I have figured out how to get Bernina v8 design software to create a file that can be used in Electric Quilt 8.  So that means I now have a four-piece design software “suite” that consists of Bernina v8, Electric Quilt 8, Corel Draw (I have the full package, but Corel Draw Essential comes with Bernina V8), and Corel Painter where I can digitally paint a picture that can be printed onto fabric.  It’s a set of programs I have been using for years, and yet, I still feel I have much to learn.  If you didn’t know, several years ago I published a book on Bernina V8 where I provide some skill building projects. It’s still available.  Just click on the picture.

It takes time to put all this together, but the more I learn the faster get. Once I have the  pattern completed, I will make the quilt and film the making of it.  The pattern will be available for purchase on my website shop and people can work through the project following my videos.

So far, I have been watching carefully what has the most viewer interest and gets people to enjoy them.  I concluded that my approach of presenting simplified little quiltlets that are primarily intended to present techniques is ok, but it needs something more to catch people’s attention.

So using what I am learning along the way of this great video adventure, I have great hope of tailoring the site sew lots of quilters will find it fun.  I am planning on adding additional types of content…maybe visits to fabric stores, short videos answering viewers requests.  Can you think of other things you  would like to see?

Above all, I want people to become interested in making or collecting their own fabric art or at least watching it being made.

Sew if you want me to share some techniques, types of art quilting, or some discussion of products to use, please put them in the comments or send me an email at bettyjo@bjfabricartist.com.

Sew happy everyone!  Take some time to try something new and have fun in your studio!