Tis the Season - A Donation Quilt

Mr. Redbird and Berries has gone mini!
Really Mini

A wee 11" x 13"
Isn't he sweet?

 He was created for the O Tannenbaum fundraising event at our local Historical Society...

with a little Moda Muslin for the background and backing fabric...

using Aurifil 12Wt cotton thread to hand stitch the wool applique... 

AND a bit of Aurifil 50Wt thread for fun free motion quilting

on a domestic machine...

It was the perfect opportunity to re-use the
flanged and mitered machine binding technique
(See the tutorial here)
using this beautiful fabric by Primitive Gatherings for Moda -- LOVE!

And yes, on that binding I used yummy Aurifil 12Wt thread for finishing with a machine.
Oh! I love that little extra touch :)

I was sure to use 2 layers of Quilter's Dream 100% Wool batting -- it provides lovely texture!

Last I checked the silent bid was up to $75 - not a bad price for a mini quilt
Bidding is open for another week though -- you never know what it will go for.

The donation quilt is considerably smaller
 than the original Redbird and Berries
created for the Moda Bake Shop.
Click here for the original tutorial and download.

Making little pieces like this are fun and rewarding...
especially for a great cause.

Sister snapped a picture of me at the O Tannenbaum event... 

I thought it would be fun to share! 

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If you've not tried wool applique and would like to learn more...

Click here and follow the links for some introductory posts.

Have a blessed weekend...

Hugs,

Karen

Social Media Details....

You can write me anytime:  

karen@redbirdquiltco.com or 

redbirdquiltco@gmail.com

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Thanks again for stopping by...

Bloggers Quilt Festival Mini - Wren in Spring

Greetings everyone!  I'm excited to be participating again this year in Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival!  Many thanks to Amy Ellis for hosting this fun event! 

If you're new to my blog -- welcome!  I hope you enjoy your look around.  
You can read more about my interests, current and future projects by clicking here. 

The Quilt Festival is an outlet for those of us that are not traveling to the International Quilt Market and Festival to show off our stuff and get feedback from our peers.

It's open to anyone who has a blog and would like to make an entry.  Please click the icon directly above to learn more about it.
Why don't you join in the fun too?   

One of the best things about the online festival is that you get to see hundreds of beautiful quilts and pieces of art!  There is tons of talent in every category.
Wait until you see!

I'm excited to enter "Wren in Spring", an original 7" x 7" design into the Mini Quilt category.  Mini Quilts must not be larger than 80" around.  Well -- this little gem is less than 30" around.
It's tiny!

I designed, stitched and quilted Wren in Spring as a challenge for local "Artfully Squared" fundraiser sponsored by the local Council on the Arts . 

The council collects and display hundreds of 7" x 7" pieces of art from local artists.  

The work is on display for the month of April and each piece of artwork is available to purchase for $20 with proceeds going directly to the local art programs.  

It's a great event and I was honored and excited to participate.  

Wren in Spring is wool applique on a cotton background.  I used Aurifil 28Wt Mako Cotton to applique the bird and the stems and fell in love with this applique weight thread!.   

I also used Aurifil 50Wt Mako Cotton for the dense machine quilting.  The 50Wt Aurifil allows backtracking without buildup.  I love that about this thread.   I used two layers of batting, one 100% Cotton (Warm and Natural) and one 100% Wool (Hobbs).  I love the way the two layers of batting allow the wren to look as though he was done with trapunto!.

I used a NO BINDING method to finish the mini - you can read more about it here.

I was very happy to learn that Wren in Spring was purchased even before the opening event.   It was gifted to a local resident who was celebrating her 93rd birthday.  

How is that for sweet? I was very honored.

Once the quilting was done, I added a label and hanging sleeve  and ta-daa!!  --  All ready to be delivered to the Council of the Arts!   You can see my Computer Printed Quilt Label tutorial here.

 Thanks for sharing in the fun -- here is the Entry Summary:

Wren in Spring Mini Quilt

7" square (for a total of 28" around)

Wool Applique on Cotton Background

Aurifil Threads in 50Wt and 28Wt

Hobbs Wool + Warm and Natural Cotton Batting

Dense McTavish style quilting on domestic (by me ;)

No binding border (fast and easy)

If you like Wren in Spring, please consider nominating it for the overall "Viewers Choice" award.  The Viewers Choice Nominees can be entered on this page.

Be sure to come back on November 1st when Voting in each Category begins.

You can vote for quilts in the Mini Category on this page.

Thanks for your support and feedback!

Karen

McTavish Review Winner!

Many thanks to all that participated in the Book Review and Giveaway of Karen McTavish's "Mastering the Art of McTavishing - 2nd Edition - Expanded and Revised" book !

Your feedback and excitement about learning to "McTavish" was amazingly uplifting and encouraging.

Machine quilting is one of my favorite things to do -- and this stitch is so very forgiving -- even if you "think" you can't do it I would love for you to give it a try.

The best tip I would share would be to use a thread that matches your background color, and that is  very fine, so that your backtracking and mistakes are nearly invisible.

Next, use the same color thread in the top and bobbin so that slight variations in tension do not show.

I always turn to Aurifil Mako Cotton 50wt thread for my top and bobbin.  Quilts like a dream!

Use a panel as a practice piece -- if you like it when you're done -- turn it into a wall hanging or Envelope Pillow (as shown below -- see the tutorial here). 

Dense McTavishing makes applique pop -- so it's an awesome background filler on applique quilts.  You can see before and after shots of Winter Apple (by Blackbird Designs) here.

And the movement that McTavishing provides in a quilt cannot be topped.  I love the way it worked out on my Redbird and Berries Mini Quilt -- a free recipe you can download from the Moda Bake Shop (click here).

So don't be shy about giving McTavishing a try -- it's versatile, forgiving, fun and just beautiful!

Now -- on to the winner of the book....   Rafflecopter chose the winner randomly and came up with

 

Marly !!  Congratulations Marly - I've sent you an email and will ship your book and DVDs out as soon as I hear from you.

** Many thanks to Karen McTavish and On-Word Bound Books for providing a copy of Karen's new book to review and giveaway **

You can order your copy of the book at On-Word Bound Books by clicking here.

Thanks again all for participating -- stay tuned for another upcoming giveaway and more fun!

Have a wonderful week.

Karen

Learn to Machine Quilt - A Great Giveaway...

Hi everyone -- I wanted to take a minute and share with you a Giveaway that the lovely and talented Wendy Sheppard from Ivory Spring Blog has open through end of Day August 6th.

Wendy is giving away one copy of her online "Learn to Machine Quilt" class that is hosted at Annie's.

I was fortunate to enroll and complete this class more than a year ago and it really improved my machine quilting.

Wendy is patient and confident, and her machine quilting speaks for itself.  Here is one of my favorite Wendy Sheppard quilts:

Image Courtesy Ivory Spring Blog

About the class Wendy says: "This class is designed to help beginning machine quilters to get used to moving their quilt sandwiches.  It remains my firm belief that being able to maneuver one’s quilt sandwich is the key to enjoyable quilting on a domestic machine."

You can see samples, read more, and enter the giveaway at Wendy's Giveaway Post.

While you're on Wendy's blog -- if you're interested in machine quilting check out the "Thread Talk" entries on the blog sidebar.  I've learned so much from her awesome FMQ Thread Talk.

Now be sure to jump over, enter the giveaway (tell her Karen sent ya), and check out Wendy's current Thread Talk post where she answers some questions about the challenges of machine quilting. 

Oh, and don't forget, you have until the end of day this Saturday, August 9th to enroll in my current giveaway for Karen McTavishes book "Mastering the Art of McTavishing - 2nd Edition". 

For those of you that have already enrolled -- thank you for your sweet comments... I know you will love to McTavish as much as I do!!  

Read about and enroll in my McTavish Book giveaway here.

Happy Tuesday...
Karen

Book Review: Mastering the Art of McTavishing 2nd Edition Expanded and Revised

Hello everyone and welcome to a book tour and review of Karen McTavish's latest release  "Mastering the Art of McTavishing 2nd Edition ~ Expanded and Revised" ~ published June 2014 and available for purchase from

 On-Word Bound Books.

Photo Courtesy On-Word Bound Books

You all know that I absolutely love using McTavishing on my quilts -- especially as a background for wool applique.

If you're looking to learn Karen's beautiful signature technique to enhance your quilts, 

this is the book for you!

I received a "review" copy from the delightful Sara at On-Word Bound Books, and couldn't wait to dive into it.  

The book is 128 pages long and includes 2 DVD/Videos (2.5+ hours) with awesome, down to earth, McTavish instruction.

The fun part of this publication is that you receive both the 1st and 2nd Edition DVD/Videos for the price of one book!   If you already own the 1st Edition you'll be thrilled with the new content and teaching approach of the 2nd Edition.

One of the finest things about this book is the inclusion of more than 45 quilts from National and Award Winning quilters showcasing a more modern use of McTavishing on these types of quilts:

Applique
Whole-cloth
Pieced
Modern
Art Quilts and Apparel
As Background Fillers
With Victorian Feathers

There are literally hundreds of full-color, beautifully photographed, McTavished pieces on the pages of the book.   Some were quilted by Karen McTavish...

Courtesy On-Word Bound Books Quilt Artist Jan McTavish - Quilted by Karen McTavish

And some were quilted by contributing quilters and modeled by Karen.  

I think it's awesome to see how other people interpret Karen's stitch.

Courtesy On-Word Bound Books... by Linda Alexander - Modeled by Karen McTavish

On the 2nd Edition DVD/Video, Karen shares a sampler of McTavishing designs that can be used for a more Modern look -- she explicitly shares these McTavishing variations:

Mini McTavishing (my favorite)

Curls and Swirls (my next to do!)

Paisleys

Clam Shell

Motorcycle Flames

Cyclone

Freehand Victorian Feathers (another favorite)

Also included in the DVDs, Karen and the contributing quilters cover McTavishing on Long-Arm machines, Domestic Machines AND via Hand Quilting...  Pretty Awesome!

While watching the videos, I jotted down a few things Karen shared that really hit home:

• Match your thread to your background fabric
• Use thin thread -- 50WT or finer - Karen uses silk and nylon (I'm a cotton girl myself ;)
• Strive to have as few stops and starts as possible!  (Love this)
• McTavishing is very forgiving -- you can backtrack, sneak around your quilt, and rework areas that need it without it being obvious. 
• When necessary, picking (ripping) out McTavishing takes forever !!  (I can relate to that statement ;)
• Think small, be relaxed and do the best you can!
• There are no rules!!

Wait until you see how Karen Stops and Starts her quilting -- I just LOVE it....   (She does a video of her stops and starts on her Facebook page too-- click here for the video).

I think what I like the best about Karen McTavish is her style -- she has a flair of her own, one that can't be mimicked.   I really enjoy her simple, honest, and laid back approach to sharing McTavishing.  

Image Courtesy On-Word Bound Books - Karen McTavish

What you see is what you get.   

Thank you Karen McTavish.

After reading the book and watching the videos I couldn't wait to get stitching.  I work on a domestic sewing machine -- so I followed the first 10 steps in my "Do You FMQ" Tutorial (see it by clicking here).

I loaded up my #Aurifil Mako Cotton 50Wt thread  {{*love*}}  with every intention of following the "New" Basic McTavishing instruction,  but found myself falling right into my favorite McTavishing stitches:  Mini McTavishing and Freehand Victorian Feathers. 

I guess I've established a McTavishMillering or McMillering style of my own.... I'll let you decide if you like it -- but I'll have to rework on a larger piece to get the feel for "The New Basic McTavishing".

I'm calling this my "McTavishMillering Milkbone" ha ha ha.  It's a 14" x 22" cut of Mini McTavishing and Freehand Victorian Feathers McTavish style.

I started with marking the feather spine (only) around the 14" x 22" muslin.   I used two layers of batting, one Hobbs Heirloom 100% Wool and another cheap medium loft poly.

Of course I always quilt with my favorite thread, Aurifil Mako Cotton 50 Wt (in the top and the bobbin).  I quilted this entire top on my Janome Horizon, using 3 full bobbins, and with NO BREAKS!!  That amazes me!!   I love #Aurifil thread.  

I stitched the inside feathers first, using Karen's freehand Victorian feather "bump back" technique (included in the DVD's), and then I stitched the outside of the feather.   NOTE TO SELF:  Next time leave a little more room around the perimeter of the sample for better control/grip as you stitch. 

I proceeded to McTavishMiller the inside of the feathers, taking care to only start and stop once.   (Well... except I had to change my bobbin twice :)

After that I started McTavishMillering the outside of the feathers and I didn't like it - I felt it needed a small border between the feathers and the McTavishing....  So I picked (aka ripped) out a 6 inch x 2 inch section...

OH MY... I can certainly tell you that you don't want to have to pick McTavishing -- especially Mini McTavishing.   Why, oh why, am I so fussy ??

I picked out the Mini McTavishing to the right side of the feathers below to add some echo stitching:

 Took me at least 2 hours.

So after the picking was done, I echo stitched the outside of the feathers twice and filled with Mini McTavishMillering...

In this picture my spines are still wet from removing the blue water soluble pen marks.  The Clover Eraser Pen that Karen uses on my wish list...  it seems to work like magic!

Generally I like the way it came out -- it was great practice and Karen's DVDs, guidance and encouragement helped bunches!!  On my to do list is to change the Milkbone to feathered hearts -- won't that look sweet ?   For those that don't know what a Milkbone is -- click here ;)

Also next time -- I will try to break my old habits and follow Karen's New Basic McTavishing instructions so the quilt will look like this !!  Isn't it just stunning ??   Love, love, love!!

Image Courtesy On-Word Bound Books

Now for the Giveaway -- Use the Rafflecopter below to gain up to 6 chances to win my copy of "Mastering the Art of McTavishing 2nd Edition Expanded and Revised".

If you don't have a Facebook account -- no worries - simply use your name and email address to enter.  International entries are welcome!!    

The Raffelcopter will give you one mandatory (blog comment) and several optional ways to win -- try it out!

If the Raffelcopter widget doesn't load right away, refresh your screen and give it a minute -- sometimes it's fussy!!

The Giveaway is open until the end of day, Saturday, August 9th and the winner will be announced on Sunday, August 10th.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

Hugs,

Karen

PS.   You can see more of my McTavishing here, here, here, here, here, here, and in this Facebook Album.

a Rafflecopter giveaway