Having recently published an ebook titled “9 Easy Steps to Beautiful Batik”, I read with interest today a great article about the creation of batik fabrics in the “Love of Quilting”.  The article has some great photographs showing the commercial process accomplished by Indonesian artisans from preparing the cloth, to adding the base colors, applying the wax as a resist, and then dyeing the fabrics.

Hats off to Bruce Magidson for a great article!

Recently I was fortunate enough to befriend an expert in batik fabrics from Malaysia, a lovely lady named Aneeta Sundararaj. Together we co-authored the book “9 Easy Steps to Beautiful Batik” that illustrates how to use basic equipment such as an electric skillet and skimmed milk to create fabrics that can be used for projects from scarves to quilts.  Our process uses equipment and supplies found around the house or at craft or discount stores. Read the rest of this entry »

Quilting in America has undergone an incredible resurgence over the past three decades and more, and the craft continues to grow into the new millennium, with a revenue increase of more than 50% in the last decade alone. This fantastic rise also means an expansion in jobs related to quilting. Among the most popular jobs as far as quilting goes is that of the quilt instructor. This is really a blanket term that applies to a broad range of individuals, but just like “scientist” or “technician”, the term instructor can mean varying levels of expertise, area of employment, and pay.

Areas of Instruction 

Private classes. The most commonly found quilt instructors are those that offer lessons in the actual creation of quilts. These instructors commonly run classes out of their own homes, to individuals or to groups of people who sign up. With a group, these classes may often take on the aspects of the traditional quilting bee, with information shared about not only quilting, but about the participants and the world at large. The lessons will generally include not only the actual quilting components, but also lesson on fabric and batting selection, matching colors to achieve the purpose of the quilt, and proper techniques.  Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s “burning question” at www.QuiltingResourceCenter is “Have you had success with a particular kind of thimble?” 

A response posted by JA was: “I’ve had trouble using a metal thimble. If I buy it big enough to fit my fingers, it just falls off. So I followed someone’s advice and bought a pair of rubber gloves (get a good, tight fit - I buy a size smaller than I would buy for comfortable work gloves) and cut the tips off them. That gave me 10 thimbles and they actually stay on! It seems to work best when you cut them about 1 1/2″ long.”

Her great reply also got me thinking about the times I’ve struggled to grip a needle when pulling it through several layers or when my fingernails often get in the way.  My solution was similar to JA’s above, except I think cheaper.  I went to the beauty supply store and bought a box of latex gloves for haircoloring. They come really cheap by the box and come in handy for protecting your hands during lots of household tasks as well as hair coloring (not that this beautiful brunette color comes from a bottle, mind you!).  I didn’t want to wear the entire glove when sewing, so I cut off the finger tips just as JA did above and wear them just on the fingers gripping the needle.

Just one thing: If you’re wanting to use these as a thimble, you might want to buy the heavier ones JA was referring to so the needle doesn’t come through. The ones purchased at the beauty supply are thinner, and thus offer less protection, but are great for gripping needles.

Try it! You’ll find that “rubber fingers” do indeed speed your hand sewing along!  Happy stitching!

The rise in the popularity of quilting as a hobby has meant a corresponding rise in the public awareness of the importance of the quilt. When anything starts to make a big impression on the public consciousness (and at a whopping $2.27 billion there is no disputing that the impression is big indeed) you can bet that a slew of informational content will begin to hit the markets. Writing for this niche is a great way to turn a knowledge and passion for quilting into a viable career.

Types of Quilting Books

No subject is limited to just one area when it comes to literary materials, and quilting is certainly no exception. There are many different areas within the topic of quilting that can be turned into engaging and informative book material. Listed below are a few areas where an aspiring author could focus their energies in order to create a book that is popular with the public.

How-to’s

This is probably the most recognized genre of book in quilting, as it is in any craft. How-to books focus on the basics of making a quilt, from materials and setting up a workspace to block and quilt patterns and stitching suggestions. The advent of the internet has meant that how-to books have fallen in popularity, as the information found within them is often easily accessible for free to anyone with a computer connection. Still, these books offer concrete steps from recognized experts, and are still important inclusions in the library of most hobbyists. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you have a great solution for laying out your quilt backing, batting and tops?

The other day I went to visit a friend. She apologized that her family’s ping-pong table took up most of the living room.  She seemed a bit embarassed, but I was thrilled.  “What a great idea!” I told her.  She had needed a large surface to do a number of quilting projects she was working on as samples for some new classes she was going to be teaching and with her back problems, well…the floor was hardly an option.

So she went to the garage and brought in the rolling ping-pong table that stands against a wall and is rarely used for ping-pong!  It stayed open in her living room for a few days, but because it was portable, she could have it only half open, or completely open. Then when she was finished with her project for the day, she closed the table up and stood it out of the way against a way.  What a great–and inexpensive–way to have a large table.  And I think of how often I’ve passed up ping pong tables for almost nothing at garage sales.

That got me thinking about other creative ideas for tables for so many quilters who don’t have the space for a large table in their homes.  Several have told me they use a bed, generally with a hard, folding cardboard piece on top to protect it. One told me she brings in a standard 4′x8′ sheet of plywood from the garage and lays it on the bed.  She’s covered it with some batting just glued on to give it a smooth surface.

Another quilter told me she purchased from Lowe’s or Home Depot (she couldn’t remember which) a couple of saw horses.  To keep it portable, she keeps a sheet of wood to lay on top of the saw horses to form the table.  As I thought about this, I knew I’d constantly be pushing the board off the horses, but I liked the portability.  I also thought it might be hard on your back to lean over to the height of a saw horse.

Another lady said she did a similar thing except that she had her husband mount the saw horses on a board with 2×4 legs under it to give it height.  He also added wheels to the underside of the board so she could move it around. 

Can you share with us an idea of how you solved your need to have a large cutting/pinning surface without using the floor?

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Jan Myers is an author and the Business Coach for the Quilting Resource Center. She is the author of the book “9 Easy Steps to Beautiful Batik” and numerous other articles and books found at www.QuiltingResourceCenter.com .
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