Fabric Easter Eggs

Happy Hop-Hop!

I hope the bunny brought you lots of yummy chocolate. Unfortunately, my daughter is under the impression that all the candy is for her. Maybe I can sneak a peanut butter egg later.

I bring you a special Easter project today. Many of you have probably already seen these. Since the pattern was posted everyone is raving about them: Fabric Easter Eggs.
You can find the pattern at Retro Mama. They are really quick and easy to make. They are also a great way to use up some of your fabric scraps that you cannot bring yourself to through away.

Snippet Sensations Technique

The snippet technique has quickly become a favorite. This is truly painting with fabric. Check out Cindy Walter's quilt gallery using snippets. (Cindy is the creator of the snippet technique, by the way.) It is so easy to create an impressionistic-like quilt. Ever wished to quilt Monet's Water Lilies or Van Gogh's Starry Night? This is the method that can pull it off. The bad thing about this technique is that the quilt is for hanging on the wall or framing. It is definitely not for quilts used for snuggling.

Tools

1. First, you need Cindy Walter's book Snippet Sensations: Fast, Fusible Fabric Art for Quilted or Framed Projects. Cindy does a wonderful job explaining step-by-step what to do and she offers her own experiences with different tools and brands.
2. Assorted fabrics. Lots of different shades and prints. This is the perfect opportunity to use up your scrap stash. Avoid large prints.
3. Two-sided fusible web.
4. Iron and ironing surface.
5. Comfortable scissors. You will do a lot of cutting.

Technique

Cindy recommends thinking of the fabric as dabs of paint. You iron fusible web to the fabric and cut lots of pieces. You can create a limitless number of picture by arranging the "dabs" on a backing fabric.

Here is my attempt at the snippet technique and the picture I used for inspiration. I call it Romeo and Juliet in Central Park.

I haven't finished this quilt yet, only I am not happy with my choice of fabric colors and prints for the statues. The great thing about this technique is that if you do not like something, you can easily redo it. I'll post a before and after picture when I complete this one.

If you have tried snippets, I'd love to see your accomplishments!

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Christine Friess-Ureel

If you do not know who Christine Friess-Ureel is, you are missing out on viewing the most beautiful and artistic quilts. The truly inspiring thing about Christine's quilts is that when she started she knew nothing about sewing. There is hope for everyone regardless of your quilting level!

Christine is an international award-winning quilter from Vermont. She combines her love of painting and quilting into spectacular pictorial art quilts. She finds inspiration from classical works of art and from the whimsical. The amazing thing about her quilts is the attention to detail. Visit her web site to see images of quilts and close up details. She prefers to use machine applique without leaving raw edges.

She also uses a technique called thread painting, also known as free-motion machine embroidery. Thread painting is the use of different colors and types of thread to create images. Use a free-motion foot on your machine and "paint" with the thread on your material, which is the canvas.

Christine will be teaching a workshop at Keepsake Quilting in April. In the class you will make a smaller version of her "Miranda:The Tempest" quilt and learn how to create the magnificent detail in the woman's hair and in the ocean. See Christine's site for a complete list of her upcoming workshops.

Have you tried quilt painting? I would love to see your work!

Technorati Tags: Christine Friess-Ureel,pictorial quilting,thread painting,fabric art,quilter,workshop,machine applique,free-motion machine embroidery,quilting technique

The Great Prewash Debate

A long standing debate in the quilting world is whether or not to prewash fabrics. The answer to the question depends on the person you ask. There are many people who never prewash fabric, and there are just as many people that always prewash fabric.

My advice is to do whatever you are most comfortable doing. I know this is not the clear-cut answer you want, but hopefully the following information helps you to make an educated decision.

Reasons Not to Prewash

Reasons people do not prewash quilting fabric is to save time, to make preparation easier, and to avoid puckering.

By not prewashing fabrics you not only save the time it takes to wash and dry the fabric, you also skip a lot of ironing! When fabric comes out of the drier, it may take an hour or more to iron it. Also, the fabric is softer and may be more difficult to fold, mark, and cut accurately.

In this technologically advanced day and age, it is not surprising to see products developed that help quilters with long standing issues. For example, many people who prewashed in the past because of the issue of color bleeding, no longer worry. Most high quality fabrics are less likely to have color bleeding because of manufacturing advances. Also, quilters can buy dye magnet products. These products go into the wash with the final quilt and attract any dye in the water. The dye magnet prevents the color from bleeding onto the lighter colored fabrics. I personally always use a dye magnet product (my favorite is Shout’s Color Catcher) when I wash my quilts regardless of prewashed fabrics.

The last reason people do not prewash is because they want a final quilt that lays flat and does not have puckers. Batting is fragile so it must be hand washed and air dried if it is prewashed. Do not prewash to avoid hassle, uneven shrinkage rates, and puckering.

Reasons to Prewash

Reasons people prewash fabric is to avoid a lot of worrying. Making a quilt takes a lot of time (and occasionally sweat and tears). The last thing a quilter wants to go wrong is color bleeding, fading, and uneven shrinkage.

By prewashing fabrics – darks with darks and lights with lights – you do not have to worry about the cute white bunny on your niece’s baby blanket, which took a month and several pin pricks to complete, becoming a pink nightmare. Even though prewashing gets rid of most color bleeding, I still use a dye magnet when washing the final quilt, especially if I used whites and reds in the fabric choices.

Prewashing not only helps avoid color bleeding, it also uncovers any color fading fabrics and resolves uneven shrinkage rates between fabrics.

I admit that I am a prewasher, but I do not take the time to prewash my batting. I like a little pucker in my quilts because it brings to mind comfort, warmth, and my grandmother. If puckering does not bother you, then you are safe prewashing your fabrics and not your batting.

The long lasting debate about prewashing fabric does not appear to be ending anytime soon, but the important thing is for you do what is best for you.

Copyright 2007 Jennifer Beaujon