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!

 

I spent the past couple of days designing new projects for this summer.  I haven’t finished them yet, but I have a clear concept and so it is time to start  hunting down all the supplies I need for them. I will make patterns with step-by-step instructions to be available in my website shop and, of course, videos so you can watch me make them.

Those of you who have followed my blogs for a while know I like to have at least two projects going at once to give me some variety of activities for mental and even physical changes across the days.  That helps me keep from getting too bogged down in things.  So I have three small projects I decided on, all of which are largely thread work and some have a little yarn couching and painting too.

One is a pleasant small scene of evergreen trees of various sizes showing some perspectives in distance and size of the trees, reminding me of a walk or drive through a pine forest.  Beth, my daughter-in-law likes to do pencil drawings that tend to capture her own hikes and camping experiences, and of birds, and flowers.   She did one that really shows a delightful perspective to it in evergreen trees with a path winding through.  In my mind, I can almost smell the sweet pine forest scent. It doesn’t quite work for what I have in mind but it certainly inspires me, and so I have been trying to capture a pattern of an evergreen forest that incorporates all the perspective, sizes, colors, and techniques I want to share. I am not quite there yet.  I have a couple of really lovely linen weaves (they are quilt weight cottons) that I will choose from for the background fabric.  This will include both free motion thread work and couching.  I am even considering making the forest floor using needle punch roving with my little Bernina 350 for which I have that attachment.  It’s so much fun and I haven’t used it nearly enough lately.  I bought it for travel but it has ended up being my workhorse for  several unusual attachments and precision piecing as well.

The second one is a somewhat complex piece featuring a couple of stylized birds from a  Dover coloring book of Paradise Island birds.  That will be all thread work with a little paint.  I was originally thinking that would be entirely a whole cloth quilt, but after working on the design, I decided it would benefit from a simple pieced setting that puts that scene in the focus area and has a simply pieced addition of fabric that can have some light in-the-hoop embroidery embellishment or be made from some lovely printed fabrics of the maker’s choice to set the whole thing off. I completed the design work for this little quilt and most of the pattern today, though I still have to write the workbook and a video script.  It is about 30″ x 40″ and I will be using a lot of beautiful specialty threads on it.  This should be fun, and doable for the advanced beginner or above…so stay tuned.

The third piece is a second Birds of Paradise stylized scene from the same book using thread work.  I will be making that into a pillow.  I found a really nice set of two pillow forms on Amazon recently, so decided to make them in different types of fabric art so I can use them in my home.  That may end up with a little paint too, but I will wait and see.

All three are small and light, and should be something really fun to work on when the weather gets too hot to go out or we are having a rainy day (I love rainy days…no thunder storms, just rain).  Just right for summer projects, don’t you think?

I do have some fun things in mind for fall and winter too, including a more complex pictorial appliqued wool wall hanging using the techniques I presented in my first three videos, and a scene for Halloween, among other things, but I’ll talk more about those later.

So just in case you want to know what I will be using and maybe make one or all three of these along with me, I decided to include a small list of some of the specialty threads and other supplies I like to use, since getting things shipped these days can take some time.  These links are affiliated links, so if you buy them from the links I provide it could help support my little micro business at no additional cost to you.  It is not exactly a list of what I plan on using, but I think it is a nice list of items that could be fun to add to your studio even if you don’t do my projects.  Of course you won’t be buying everything here, but I thought you might enjoy some of them if you don’t have them already.

Pillow forms (2 – 18 x 18)

Pellon SF101 Shape-Flex Cotton 20” x 10 yards

Sulky Temp Spray Adhesive

Setacolor fabric paint

Artists crayons

Light board with cutting mat

Hobbs Tuscany wool batting throw size

Quilter’s Dream 80/20 select loft batting throw

Crayola washable gel pens

Madeira Cotton Stable fusible

OESD Ultra Clean and Tear

A Sampling of Wonderfil Threads

Spageti Packs (12 wt cotton)

Splendor Pack (40 wt rayon)

Invisafil Pack (100 wt polyester)

Accent (12 weight rayon) Evergreen

Glamore (12 wt rayon with one strand metallic

Sew happy everyone!  Come fly with me through these fun summer projects, whether you just watch the progress or make them along with me.  But above all, have fun in your studio!

 

I am not sure I have adequately expressed what I am trying to do with my YouTube videos and accompanying downloadable workbooks.  I am hoping to pass along the skills and techniques I have learned and use in the making of my wall art quilts and possibly other sewing in an affordable way.  I am thinking about the advanced beginner, intermediate, and even advanced quilter or fabric artist when I am making these.  There are many many many such videos out there for the basic beginning quilter, but not so much for those who are ready for a little more.

I guess you know already that such videos and workbooks are not free to make.  There is a fair amount of technology and equipment involved–sewing machines, cameras, lighting equipment, tripods, computers, software, website maintenance fees, and then there are the fabrics, threads, paints, and other supplies required to test, practice and make the various pieces.  This does not include the hours at all.

For you, the YouTube videos are free.  The accompanying workbooks and patterns are either free downloadables, as in the first set on Wool Applique by Machine, or are or will be downloadable from my website shop normally for something under $10.  The one for my first tree project is just $5.  If you both buy the workbooks and view the videos, you have a full class.

My blogs and videos will frequently have links to products I recommend and use myself that work with a particular project I present.  Not all, but some of those products are affiliated links, where I get a small percentage of the sale if someone purchases them using that link (not if they just look at them and go buy them somewhere else…I have gotten lots of clicks but no purchases from these links so far).  The cost for the products is not increased in any way from my affiliations.  It is from the affiliations and the workbooks that I hope to make a little money to fund the continuation of the YouTube videos and give me a little play money.  Eventually, if I get as many as 1000 subscribers and 4000 viewing hours within a 12 month period, I might be able to receive a little from YouTube, but it would not cost the viewer anything.  Of course, there are ads on the videos, which is something I have no control over, but that is how YouTube funds itself.  I have had people tell me they won’t watch my YouTube videos because there are ads. I also have found out that some people think that subscribing to a YouTube requires signing up and paying money or filling in a form.  Truly, they should have called it “Follow” because all it requires is clicking the red Subscribe button.  I have had others say I should provide kits, but I have no storage space, time, and money required to do kits.  It takes hours and hours.  I did kits for my classes I taught locally in the past, so I know.  But I do have good instructions with lists of what you need in my workbooks.

I’m not begging here, but want to let you know that if a maker decides they want to contribute to this process to keep these things going in some other way than subscribing to my channel, watching my videos, buying the workbooks or linked products, there is a Donate button on the lower right side of my blogs.

I decided to give this all a good try until the end of this year.  I have a clear concept of how I am approaching the teaching films for at least the next year.  There are sets of things, like continuing working with wool fabric art by machine, learning how to make Landscape Elements (trees, rocks, mountains, water, and top it off with a larger piece using them all); Experimental Fabric Art (you can watch my video on that to get an idea of this); Heirloom Quilted Fabric Art (this is something I will explain at a later blog, but you can get the idea by seeing Out of Mom’s Workbasket quilt), and other sets. Periodically, I will show the making of a show quilt, but it will not be a class format.  So if you follow my videos, blogs, and download the workbooks over the course of several months, it is my hope you will learn or perfect a fairly sophisticated set of quilted artistic sewing and quilting skills and techniques and can go and have a lot of fun in your studio making your own.  I am trying to figure out how to open a way for you to share what you make some other way than Facebook, but haven’t gotten there yet.

Sew happy everyone!  Tell me in the comments what you think of this plan, provide me with some ideas for what you really really wish someone to teach online if you want, and come fly with me through the wonderful world of quilted fabric art.  But above all, have fun in your studio!

 

 

As a fabric artist the two things I enjoy doing the most are machine applique and thread work.  I just finished this small wall hanging:

It is a little imaginary in that I don’t know what kind of tree it really is other than it is kind of fruit tree like.  I made it up primarily to demonstrate textured padded applique for the trunk with wool batting and artist crayon highlights, and machine stitched broiderie perse  for the tree top.  I made it as part of my series on Landscape Quilt Elements and there is a downloadable workbook for just $5 with pattern and free videos on YouTube showing me making it, the first of which I just published today, the last day of May in 2021!  Isn’t it amazing how the time has flown lately?!

Sew what is next?  Well, I have the second half of this tree project video coming in a few weeks, and then I have several other things I am planning:  A similar sized project for evergreen trees scene that is mostly thread work and yarn couching, a few quick tip videos, and a whole cloth bird picture done with thread painting.  Somewhere along the way I am going to make a new show quilt, but I haven’t decided yet what that will be.

I might even slip in some clothes making somewhere, though I doubt I will film that.  I just want to make some of the nice things I have laying around with all the parts and patterns.

Sew happy everyone!  Please subscribe to my YouTube channel.  It doesn’t cost anything and you don’t have to answer any questions..it’s just a click on the subscribe button and it helps  me out. Have fun in your studio!

 

Hi everyone!  As those of you who have followed me for a while will know I really think trying things out before using them on my primary project is essential for good outcomes.  I realize this takes a lot of time for busy fabric artists.  Sew one way I’m planning to cut down on the time for this and still have the advantage such testing offers in making decisions is to make something I’m calling “Studio Guides” for techniques and products I use fairly regularly.  Making the guides will take a little time, but once done I can eliminate some pretesting and use the studio guides to reference as I go.  They can also provide something to look at to keep on track in things like balancing quilting across the quilt.  I actually got the idea from watching a YouTube video by Linda Taylor.  Here’s the link to that video:  402 Linda Taylor and Sue McCarty

Sew it doesn’t matter how experienced you are, you still may find these helpful for future reference.  These are the ones I am thinking of doing:

• Stippling Size Guide
• Most Used Basic Fills Beyond Stipples
• Paints and Crayon Types On Quilted Cotton
• Paints and Crayon Types on Quilted Silk
• Thread Weight Comparison Guide Using Decorative Stitching
• Stitched Raw Edge Applique Stitches Library

I will probably video the making of at least some these in various quick tip videos and may not make them all.  This can be fun to do!  I will start with the Stippling Size Guide. Note that you will still have to make a small test of how your specific thread, tension, batting and fabrics work together before quilting your major project, but it will only take a minute or two and could be done in the edge of your project that will be cut off when binding, for instance.

Sew happy everyone!  Have fun in your studio!

 

 

It’s such a beautiful early spring here in Ashburn, Virginia.  I have my studio on the top floor of my townhome and it includes two rooms plus a small section of my bedroom.  Both rooms face the back where there is a wooded area.  It’s lovely to have the windows.   I have been working with my foot doctor for about six months now on a foot problem I had and am finally able to take some short walks on these lovely days just as spring pops out.

I got a new small Sony ZV-1 camera designed especially for vloggers for my birthday.  It takes both videos with a fairly good microphone and snap shots. I used it for some of my last YouTube video I published about a week ago and it’s easy to use.

So I am thinking of taking it out with me when I go walking and, now that I have had my vaccine, to explore a fabric store not far from here that has expanded and even taken on Berninas as a dealership.  We have a larger Joanne’s going in nearby too.  These are great developments for me.  For some time now, all the fabric stores were miles from here over very heavily trafficked roads. I love my dealership in Rockville, Maryland, but it is about 45 minutes to an hour plus from here over very difficult roads. Anyway, I am going to investigate the near one, though I intend to keep my dealership at the Rockville store for most Bernina things.  My friend Anita, however, who has a vintage 1230 is looking for one closer by.

So this past week I have been doing some design plans for new projects and having fun in my studio thinking about landscape quilts and my history of experimental quilting while planning new videos. I have some exciting ideas for my next steps.

Sew happy everyone!  I hope you can enjoy a beautiful spring in your area (or fall if you are down under) as it develops. Have fun in your studio!

 

Hi!  I have completed the second video in my 3 part series on Embellished Wool Applique by Machine and it can be found on my YouTube Channel here.  This part demonstrates the decorative stitch embellishment that is inspired by hand embroidery on the folk art applique pieces and how to make it work the best.

I prepared this second pdf handout to use with this part 2 video for you to download and print out.

Wool Video Handout Part 2

If you haven’t yet downloaded the pattern and part 1 video please go to my blog post here about video 1.  There you will find the handouts and the blog itself provides a supply list with links to the products.

So please enjoy this second part video and subscribe to my YouTube if you haven’t yet.  It will help me if you do and if you don’t know it is basically the same as “follow” on other sites. I hope you have fun just watching, but it would be really fun if you decided to make a little piece of your own or save this set of blogs, handouts, and videos for a future project.

I would really love to have your comments.  This is the first of some exciting planned video studies with accompanying handouts.  In the future, I will sell most of my handouts and potential patterns for a small amount from my new website’s store, but the videos will remain free.

I also have every hope of getting better and more relaxed in front of the camera as I present my techniques and projects.  It’s decidedly a new set of skills for me.

Also, if you have a question about something related to the project, please put it either in the comments on this blog or on my YouTube video comments section (you have to be logged in to Google/YouTube to be able to do that).  I will endeavor to answer them.

Thanks to everyone who has been so encouraging for me on this new adventure.

Sending virtual hugs and smiles your way.

Sew happy everyone!  Have fun in your studio.

I am wishing all my readers the happiest of holidays.  May it be warm and full of love and peace.  I will be picking up my blog in January with my 2021 focus which will have the primary goal of sharing the joy and adventure of creating fabric art, and I will be providing a range of video classes and video tidbits throughout the year.   Thank you for reading my blog.  I am looking for a subscribe app that I can put on the blog as a button and be safe and secure for us.  Blessings on you all.