Posts

First make of the year: Quiddity zipper bag

-
Image
If you’ve been following my work for a while, you’ll know that I like to share my own quilted makes in Tilkunviilaaja’s Instagram. It’s a pleasure to share more details of their stories here as well. The most recent finish is a zipper bag which I named Quiddity (or Olemus in Finnish). It is also the first zipper pouch that I’ve sewn this year. A milestone! I put together the surfaces quickly, to have a project for an upcoming quilting day with friends whom I first got to know in social media – through their blogs or Instagram accounts. And because I wanted a quick make, I just took whatever fabrics that I found on or at arm’s length from my sewing table and made “scrap-in-a-box” squares. The squares end up being of different sizes, but I trim them so that several of them are of the same width or length. Then they can be sewn together as columns (or as rows), to make a surface that is of suitable size for a zipper bag. I’ll have to share an image of another project to show you...
Post a Comment
Read more

Five colour terms that matter in quilting

-
Image
Deciding on the colours to use for your quilt is sometimes difficult. The first step to colour confidence is to be fluent enough in a few basic colour-related terms. In this post, I share a few insights on words that we use when discussing colour. If they are new to you, this is a good starting point. And if you know the terms already, you may enjoy my examples! The five basic colour-related terms that are most important for a quilter to know are  Colour Saturation Value Contrast Achromatic colours. 1. Colour  Colour refers to the generic name: red, blue, yellow. This image shows a playful array of colours: I created the piece at a whim and turned it promptly into one side of a bag that I named “Rainbow Compass”. 2. Saturation Saturation means how intensive we see a colour: whether it is strong or bright, or subdued or soft. The blocks in the following image feature saturated colours: especially the purples are intense. 3. Value Value refers to how dark or light we see ...
1 comment
Read more

21 easy quilting ideas for patchwork surfaces – from straight stitch to free motion

-
Image
When you finish a patchwork surface, it may feel overwhelming to come up with a suitable quilting pattern. How to quilt it so that it does credit to the patchwork? This post is for confident beginners and intermediate quilters who enjoy making small projects like quilted bags, zipper bags, or mini quilts, and who want practical ideas for quilting them. This post includes:  3 interesting tips before you start quilting 9 ways to quilt using only a straight stitch 6 patterns with spirals, arcs and curves 6 easy free-motion quilting patterns  Over the years, I’ve tried many different quilting patterns on bag and pouch surfaces. My go-to patterns are very easy and do not require free-motion quilting.  In this post, I’m sharing 21 easy and proven ways to quilt a patchwork surface, ranging from very simple straight-line quilting to more decorative free-motion patterns. These ideas work especially well for small projects. I’ll share photos of my actual works, so you can se...
Post a Comment
Read more