Category: quilting

Sharing because this is brilliant

Sharing because this is brilliant

20170527_125003Years ago when message boards, and blogs were the social media of the day one of the tips I saw, and supported was practicing machine quilting for 20 minutes a day really adds up over time. I wrote about this in I figure I’m about 1/2 way there.

This morning Ebony Love posted Find More Time for Sewing and Quilting on Love Bug Studios. Ebony expands on the concept by giving great tips for achieving the goals of sewing and quilting. Tip number one alluded to that 20 minutes, and making good use of that time.

feather tutorial bSo head on over to Ebony’s blog read her tips and build in that time for you. Remember you’re worth the time, and effort.

And I’m going to remind every one to maintain their machines at home get that lint out, and oil it as needed – like if you haven’t used the machine in three weeks.
thread and needles from mqxChange the needle regularly, spending time unstitching because the tip if your needle is bent is frustrating. Ask me how I know – I won’t show you my thread covered shirt. The machine will have to go in for a tune up with the tech soon.
Change your rotary cutter blade regularly. One of these days I’ll re-tell the story why…but that’s much better in person so watch for a facebook live.
Sewing, and quilting are good for our mental health.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

So, there’s this!

thank you 2Maddie Kertay, and Cheryl Sleboda encouraged me to submit classes for Fall Quilt Market. After some thought I submitted three classes, and two are accepted. First up on Saturday October 28 is Creating Consumer Confidence—Machine Sales; the second is Sunday October 29th Creating Confidence in the In-Store Talent. Having worked in quilt shops on and off for the last 9 years I’ve watched, experienced, and listened to the needs of the shops, owners, employees, and the customer. Each is important, playing a key role in the success of the shop. Thank you to Quilts, Inc for seeing the value in these classes, and to Maddie and Cheryl for encouraging me to submit these classes. Maddie, will be teaching as will Ebony Love, Pepper Cory, Tracy Mooney, Dave Gilleland, Teresa Coates and so many great people. (Some will be Schoolhouse presentations or Take & Teach classes.) I look forward to seeing you there. 

Debby has shared, and we’ve talked about 1000 Postcards for Peace. I have the first one made, and decided about fifteen minutes ago, to make two more in the next few days. I don’t yet know where they are going, however I’ll be making postcards. The why isn’t as important as there are things in life that call for a moment of something (hopefully) good. Please feel free to join us in this effort.

Last week I started this Opal Dahlia designed by Jeanie Sumrall-Ajero by Hoffman Fabrics. After several false quilting starts, including thinking I wanted to stitch an overall meander, I settled on this:

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It took a little bit to get here, sometimes ya know that something simple is good, but what that simple is isn’t quite clear. With a little focus this will be finished tomorrow before I focus on a few other things.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

 

Chocolate Cake and Quilting

When you’re doing your work, when you’re creating an offering, there’s no more important question to answer than, “what sort of quality are we seeking here?” – Seth Godin Thinking clearly about quality.

20170619_202445The sunset last night was something to behold, leaving me wishing for more photos or a video, the color changed so quickly. Sunset is my favorite time of day, I enjoy, and am inspired by the ever changing color.

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Some sunsets, like this one, capture the imagination, leaving a yearning in my creative heart for the ability to produce such color in my own work. I’d be certain that going to the Pantone site this would be fairly simple, but what of the fabric and thread sites? That doesn’t really matter. What matters is the moment of incredible beauty that lives on in the photos and in the memory.

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This gazania needs no other explanation. Oh I do love color.

Then I got to thinking about character. Oh how I love quilts with character. I’ve been working on a small piece that I intend to give to Charles. I appreciated him a lot as a manager, and appreciate him as a friend even more.

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We bantered like siblings, and sometimes sounded like an old married couple (we’re both married to other people.) I love to explore thread, and what it will do. I worked with two different Tiara silk threads in this section to explore the color and to continue figuring out how to get the colors to land where I want them as I quilt. When practicing creating odd, organic, unusual shapes to fill in allows me to learn how to fill space, and modify the motif as the stitching progresses. These stitches aren’t perfect, but they’re getting me where I want to go on this piece.

Now that I have a good idea of how this thread plays in this style of stitching I know how I want to use it in a quilt later on.

Oh quilt brain is kicking into high gear! Keith sent me a piece to practice on. I’m going to do just that! Woot! Woot!

#terilucasquilts
@terilucas
@terificreations
Lucy’s Nickles
Teri Lucas Quilts

Happy Quilting!

Teri

did ya ever?

img_20161119_111224Have a night where you didn’t sleep so well for no particular reason? It’s happened on more than one occasion, being a woman nearing a certain age I’m sure this will again. This usually happens when there is something to do the next day, like get up early and be coherent. Wild and crazy dreams woke me up every two hours. Sheesh!

That was bad enough. I checked into facebook where I saw a picture of an alligator nose coming up through a toilet bowl. Not a big deal, but in my sleep deprived mind memories flooded my brain of the trailer in which we resided in North Las Vegas and someone sharing stories of scorpions being found in toilets. I was five when this happened. Five. I still remember this and shudder with fear of going to the potty without some adult making sure everything was okay.

And it doesn’t help that as I write little flashes of memory of some neighborhood teenager telling me about seeing Jaws at the movies. Okay that’s fine. The vivid imagination leading to nightmares and falling out of bed didn’t help.

What has all of this to do with quilting? Well, the trip into the City was to meet up with a friend and get a sneak peek of a quilt shop that will open. At some point there will be a facebook live, but today wasn’t the day. Spending time with my friend was important. Then I met Cathy at Sarabeths! I had pineapple and mango waffle. Oh how decadent! I’ll go back there for breakfast again.

20170614_131401The 1000 Postcards for Peace facebook page is live. Please feel free to join us. Debby shares the thought behind the project here.  And the Facebook Live vid we did. It’s a beautiful story, and a good way of adding something beautiful into the world. Will this solve the problems? No. But it is healing for the maker. It is a moment of creativity, and prayer. As quilters we know how much quilting can heal wounded hearts, warm people, offer comfort. And so we stitch on.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

 

it all started when

it all started when

20170614_190345 (1)my sweetie put the a/c in the window this morning. The last few days the desire to quilt several things has been held at bay while waiting for the a/c or the temperatures to cool down. Both happened today offering the opportunity to stitch. First up I made a postcard for the 1000 Postcards for Peace, which will be mailed tomorrow. The day was kind of icky news wise and had something of a big letdown so making the postcard was just perfect. I’m heading into the City to meet up with some friends and thought “hey, I’ll make one of them a little quilt!” Well, I didn’t quite finish but it’s giving me lots of ideas.

I chose a bit of gray Cherrywood as the front and back of the quilt; one layer of silk, and one layer of wool batting. This piece will be about 8” square, so no basting.

The quilting started with the pentagon in the center, just started stitching that to see what would happen when…per usual playing with thread was top priority. And then I have this thing for tiny stitching, though you may know that by now.

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Tiny bubbles are always a good choice in a quilt, after finding the right spot, and choosing the appropriate Tiara Silk (Superior). Wouldn’t you know it little bit of thought and watching the thread and getting the red where I wanted it was possible.

In the bobbin I have Kimono Silk from another quilt. Using the finer thread in the bobbin makes dense stitching possible.

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Opening the thread drawer I saw the Quilters Silk a 16/3 ply, grabbed the size 100 stop stitch needle because it’s thick stuff. This thread made an appearance on Shine Your Light. As this thread is very present it’s great for outlining, and allows from background stitching.

The fun part of stitching this, was hitting that creative quilting zone.

Remember I mentioned that my sweetie put the a/c in? Well, that sent the sewing room into a bit more of a tizz than necessary. Oh heck I need to tidy up again. Part of it is premarket prep when I tried making that skirt that turned out not to work so well and working on the Cherrywood Challenge, and working on a quilt for Pinwheels.  So Friday will be a bit of a tidy up before stitching.

All that’s left is binding, probably facing, and figuring out what to do with it.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

Oh! Join the fun on Lucy’s Nickles, we’re starting our next quilt very soon.

Instagram: @terilucas
Twitter: @terificreations
Facebook: @terilucasquilts

 

Gah!

dance bang head 1975

I’m not sure what happened however, all of the sudden Microsoft Office isn’t working on my laptop. So early this afternoon I handed this thing off to the in-house tech support. It’s still not working. Gah! I’m going to have to give it back to him tomorrow. He says there’s an app I downloaded and I don’t think so. The only thing I opened is a document from someone I know, that I need. It needs some work. I have an alternate plan but the look isn’t quite as nice as Word. Oh have mercy.

Tomorrow the in-house tech sets up the air conditioning in the sewing room. This will be one happy quilter. I am jonesing to sew. I need to quilt. My quilting person is deeply unsettled and has some things she wants to stitch out. But first the a/c then a wee bit of a tidy up so that I can once again function. I mean I started this tidy up then I started sewing, then I went to Quilt Market. It’s a common experience among quilters. I could bake cake and go to Debby’s for the day. I don’t really need the cake. It’s more the mental space.

My sweetie (aka the in-house tech) made dinner today. In the few minutes before I turned on the tv to see this:

Well done Ford for the commercial featuring, promoting and supporting sewing, and well done Egypt “Ify” Ufele. A little more looking around and my sweetie found this Times Ledger article on how Chubiiline was created. Gotta give it to Gramma for teaching Ify to sew, navigate some tough social interactions, and her mom for creating a space for the sewing to happen. I love that she sews for at least two hours every day. I love that she loves her body just as it is.

This is timely as I listened to This American Life podcast 589 Tell Me I’m Fat. I can’t stop thinking about the experience shared by one woman in her crusade to be thin, because from her description she’s not healthy physically, and more importantly emotionally.

2017-05-28 12.42.34After all the angst of trying to figure out who I am in the quilting world I think that craftsman (yeah, yeah language but what the heck it’s my blog) is the best fit. I get how this machine quilting works, though there is still much to learn, explore, dream, and think about. And even more to do, the ideas keep floating through my brain so quickly I wonder if I’ll ever have time to stitch them all out. Probably not, and not the point. And no, I’m not going to go around telling people I’m a craftsman this is simply personal clarity, a gift to me.

And as soon as that a/c is installed I’m quilting baby! First up a post card #1000postcardsforpeace!

PS – did you see this on Instagram today?

Working on a little wall hanging. All precuts! Simple! #sewbatik #itsallaboutbatik #precuts #precutbatiks

A post shared by sewbatik (@sewbatik) on

Sew stinkin’ cute!! Diane (or Bruce) will be at the Vermont Quilt Festival.

Happy Quilting!

Teri

PS

An educational perspective

Shortly after I joined facebook Jean Ray Laury sent me a friend request. It took a little while to learn WHO she is in relation to the quilting world, one of our Quilt Mothers. Holy Wow! She worked towards laying the groundwork for where we are now in the vast, diverse world of quilt making, and education.

Here she talks about education, and learning:

img_20170125_135424Oh this is simply brilliant, and I’ll listen again, and again. At about 5 minutes Jean tells of an experience at a quilt show in Vermont that caught my attention completely. Quilters quilt for many reasons from keeping their family and friends warm and cozy, to creating art. In recognizing our own goals for quilt making perhaps we can then reconcile our internal feelings regarding our own identity as quilt makers. This offering us the opportunity to appreciate ever more deeply the types and styles of quilt making that the other engages in. We all do different things. We approach quilt making from our own life experience, giving our quilt making endless possibilities.

I like to teach. Shocking I know. This is the path of quilting that brings great joy and keeps me on my quilterly toes.

I like to do highly intense quilting. Shocking! I know. This is the path of quilting that exercises creativity.

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I like to write. Shocking! I know. This helps clarify the quilt making process, helps me think, and is fun. I have a long history of journal keeping so…there ya go.

I like to help quilters succeed. Shocking! I know. This brings great joy to my heart. Quilters succeeding means different things for different people. It’s also frustrating, when I can’t help someone. When something goes kaflooey and doesn’t work. I know I can’t help everyone, however this is frustrating.

I like to experiment with everything quilt related because it’s fun and allows me to help my students in their quilterly success. I don’t know everything so there’s always something to learn. I like that a lot.

While you’re quilting take about an  hour and listen to Jean speak. Let her words confirm your own direction in quilt making is the one to take. If I can help in any way, please email me and ask.

Happy Quilting!

Teri