Use your camera to quilt!

| September 18, 2009

cam

Want to create something really special for that loved one in your family?  Why not use your quilting skills to create a one-of-a-kind memory quilt; not a t-shirt quilt to remember the good times, but a portrait quilt to remember that special someone.

Do you have a favorite photograph of grandma or grandpa that’s fading, never to be seen again? Convert that flat image into an extraordinary tactile expression of heartwarming love and affection with simple pieces of fabric and an easy appliqué method. Give it a try, you can do it!

A great portrait quilt begins with a good photograph. Not the subject of the photo, but the contrast and size of the image. Let’s think about the technical aspects of the photograph selection. Of course your subject is worthy of a quilt, but the photo might not work “due to technical difficulties beyond our control”.

If possible, when selecting the photograph, look for a photo with just the head and shoulders, assuring a really close up image. It’s important to find all the nuances of the face to produce a truly realistic portrait in cloth, and this can only be achieved if those subtle expressions are visible in the photograph. (more…)

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Your Applique Attitude…

| August 29, 2009

This is the first article of a six part series that appeared in Cotton Spice Magazine…

gremlins

If someone told you all you needed to complete something you thought was too difficult to try, was a pencil, scissors, iron, and a sewing machine, would you give it a try? Why not, as a quilter you’re familiar with each of the items, right?

Let’s see, a pencil. It’s not a difficult thing to use, just press on it and move your hand, that’s it! You could use a pencil to sketch, but that’s not required for the project. You could use a pencil to write, but that’s not required for the project. A really simple use for the pencil is to trace. Tracing just involves putting paper over something and moving the pencil, now that’s easy enough, right?

How about scissors? So, scissors…hmmm…another easy item to use; just put your thumb and finger in the holes and open and close, the scissors do all the work. You could use scissors for cutting hair, but that’s not required for the project. You could use mock scissors for playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, but that’s not required for the project. How about using scissors to cut out the traced paper, now that’s easy enough, right? (more…)

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Create your own stitching patterns!

| August 15, 2009

Use Adobe Illustrator (or a free drawing program) to help decide stitching patterns for your quilts.

Just take a photo of your quilt and use the [Place] command under [File] and place the photo into Illustrator. Next, use [Layers] to create a new layer above the photo. If [Layers] isn’t visible, go to [Window] and pull down to [Layers]. Look across the bottom of the [Layers] window to a small row of icons, the one next to the trash is the [New Layer] icon to choose. The icon looks like a page with one edge folded; click it. Now you have a second layer above the photo. Because you don’t want to draw on the layer with the photo, you will lock that layer.

Look to the left of the word “Layer 1” to see a small blank area; to the left of the blank area is an icon of an eye. The eye will allow you to view the layer and if you click the eye the layer will not be visible. The blank area to the right of the eye is where you will lock the layer (to prevent you from drawing on that layer); click right in the blank and a lock will appear. Both the eye and the lock are simply toggle switches, so you may switch them off and on at will. (more…)

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