Another week

Another week of playing , making work and entering pieces into the jury process. Once I get the hang of getting my pics ready for certain specifications I might as do a whole bunch. After a few months pass I usually have to learn this process all over again. My pics are much better since David taught me how to shoot them, the colour is more true to the piece. Below is a closeup of the "Water Brings Life" piece to show you how the bobbin work looks. I love the instant shot of colour you get with these Wonderfil threads. I do love them.

Then last summer some quilting friends dropped by from Manitoba and Saskatchewan and left me some fab fibre jewelry.Playing with this idea led me in this direction. Judy Morningstar made the fab turquoise piece and that was our jumping off point.
A closeup of the circle piece. I used a wash away stabilizer to make the machine lace on the inside of the circle. Much fun.

Visitors from Kemptville

Last Wednesday a group of ladies from Kemptville came out to see me to book some private custom classes in my studio next fall. This is my favourite way to teach. Classes in my studio specifically designed for the students who are coming. It gives me great freedom to take the class wherever they may need to go.

This year Marian, Tracy, Colleen and Lou came to learn how to make my "Tapestry" quilt. Three of them brought their projects with them on this visit and I am pretty pleased with the results. I love it when everyone goes in their own direction and makes their ideas happen. Look below.

Colleen's has a Christmas theme with rich dark colours and fabrics. Poinsettias were her flowers of choice.
Marian went for royal colours reminding me of spring. The waterfall is a lovely touch.
Tracy opted for a medieval horse and lion almost like a coat of arms. A lovely scene was added to the background. 

I am thrilled with all of your ideas and your hard work. Can't wait to see them finished, I just had to give you a sneak peak.

The classes I offer are

1. Beginners free motion

2. Advanced free motion

3. Butterfly project

4. Bobbin work dragonfly

5. From pic to quilt

6. Embellished jeans

7. Little bear

8. Three daisy wall hanging

9.  Funky folk art poster

10. Paint your own fabric

11.Techniques day- here you visit my studio and you decide what I will teach you.

12. Bobbin work

13. Working with sheers

14. Small projects made from your scraps

BOBBIN WORK 4

First I hope that you can make sense of the pics. This is the best I can do with my present camera, I am on the prowl for a new one.
The yarn that I am putting in this bobbin is 3ply Astra. I tried 4 ply but it was just too thick.

1. Wind the bobbin by hand until it is just full. Clip off the tail as it only gets in the way.

2. Drop in the bobbin case for all machines and bypass the tension. Then pull yarn up through the hole.

3. Stitching from the back try the following.Straight stitch different stitch lengths starting at 3mm.Top row is a plain straight stitch. It has to be fairly long so start with 3 mm. As you increase the stitch legth you increase the width of the row that you are sewing.

Now try an open zigzag stitch, the result you get will be like the bottom row.

4. In the second row above, the zigzag was too narrow and it all bunched up.

5. Free motion works fine as long as your movements are fairly large. If the detail becomes too fine it will bunch up again.

6. A little planning and you can have an interesting effect.

Have fun!!!!

If you have any questions, send me an email at catelaw@sympatico.ca

BOBBIN WORK TUTORIAL- 3

BOBBIN WORK THREE- RIBBON

1.Silk ribbon is lovely to use and you can go up to 7mm in wdth. As long as it can be wound on the bobbin so that it lays flat. This is crucial.

2. The pics are a bit fuzzy but I have found the macro setting on my camera and the next batch should be clearer. So much to learn but it's also so much fun.

3.Pull the ribbon up through the throatplate and bypass the bobbin tension.

4. Take a tailor's awl or something with a point and punch a hole where you want the ribbon to come through on the right side of the work. This takes courage but go ahead, the end result will be worth it.

5. Pull the ribbon up through to the wrong side through the hole that you have just made. and now you are ready to sew. Start with a straight stitch of at least 3mm. Hold the threads with your finger and start to sew.

5. This is what the back of your work looks like. Check out the horizontal lines on the first pic because this is the effect that you achieve. The longer the stitch length the wider the end result.

The horizontal lines are Superior 7 mm. silk ribbon and the vertical lines are Sassa Lynne. I bought both these items at the retreat from Anita Zobens.

http://www.cottonmillthreadworks.com/

Take a deep breath and give it a go.

NEW PIECE - CITY CAT + BOBBIN WORK TUTORIAL - 2

This is a detail of my new piece City Cat. This was created for the "Tampered With Show" at Paper Images Gallery in Picton which will run in June.
After using a facing to make a round hole in my quilt, I strung some washers in the hole using Wonderfill Dazzle, the same thread That I used in the bobbin in the whole piece.
You may wonder how I kept things in place while stitching, and yes you do have to do this by hand.
I used painer's masking tape to hold the sections of the washer in place as I worked around the circle with my stitching. because it is a low tack tape it doesn't gum up the thread and it is easy to reposition.

There he is in all his glory.The horizontal lines are done with 7 mm. silk ribbon in the bobbin. It is lovely and soft and worth the time that it takes to wind by hand.I bought this from Anita who was at our Art in the Islands retreat . As you make the stitch length longer, the finished result becomes wider.
I have also used a hand dyed cotton which worked very well.

BOBBIN WORK 2
Ii you tried it , you may come into a few problems. Here are some hints.

1.If you have trouble getting the bobbin thread up to the top of your work, make a small hole with a tailor's awl and then use that hole to bring up the thread. Works every time.

2.If the top thread breaks, go to a polyester as it is stronger. Generally cotton will work with cotton, but rayon thread is more delicate and you may have to use a polyester to bring up the bobbin thread.

3. In lesson one we put the thread through the tension. Now try the same excersize with the thread out of the bobbin tension. In top loading machine you put the bobbin in and then leave the thread hanging then bring it up through the throat plate of your machine. In bottom loading machines, you will pass the bobbin thread thruogh the larger hole and then bring it up.
This will give you a looser look.

Have fun and remember if your machine makes a funny noise, stop, your machine may not like what you are doing . If everything checks out with your machine,forge ahead. Just experiment and you will learn what works foryou and your machine.

YOU CAN BE AT ONE WITH YOUR MACHINE!!!

BOBBIN WORK TUTORIAL -1

This is a sample of some of the bobbin work that I demonstrated at our retreat. The regular bobbin threads don't cause too much difficulty, but the fun begins when you use three ply yarn and ribbons up to 7 mm wide.
Once I got home I have continued to work with bobbin threads and have lots to share.

If you are a bobbin work virgin this is how to start.

LESSON ONE

1.Buy some thread such as Ricky Tims Razzle Dazzle from Superior Threads, or Razzle or Dazzle from Wonderfil Threads, or a heavy rayon from YLI, and you can also use Pearl Cotton. These threads are thicker and mostly will not go through through the top tension disc of your machine.
I say most because there always seems to be an exception. When you are at one with your machine sometimes wonderfull things can happen.

2.Hand wind a bobbin with the thread and put it through the tension as always. Thread the machine with a complimentary thread and you are ready to sew.

3.Pull the thread up through the fabric and then you are ready to start.

4.Straight stitching is the easies way to begin and I like to use a stitch length of at least 3mm. This makes the thread look wonderful.

5.Then you can try a zigzag stitch.

6. If you are brave then try a little free motion.

The effect you get is fab as you get a lot of colour from one row of stitching. If you are having some difficulty email me at catelaw@sympatico.ca and I will answer.

Have fun!