Thread Thursday -- FabuLux Midas Touch

Have you ever had a thread you are afraid to use?  Or that you've tried to use but can't make it work?  It's so frustrating!

I plan to spend time this year talking about thread and how to make it work for you.

This week's thread is FabuLux Midas Touch.  

It's one of my most-used threads for machine quilting.  The color blends when I want it to blend, but also gives a little zip and shine.

FabuLux is a 40 weight, 3-ply trilobal polyester with a loose twist to add lustre.  It is a little thicker than average piecing thread and works best through a large-eye needle (18 on a longarm, 90 on a home machine) when using a large stitch (9-12 stitches per inch or 3.0mm).  I don't micro-quilt with FabuLux because the small stitches and small needle can cause the thread to shred.  I don't typically use FabuLux in the bobbin; I use a matching spool of DecoBob.

 Midas Touch is a random variegated thread blending three shades of golden yellow.  I often use this thread instead of gold metallic thread.  I use it on primitive quilts, patriotic quilts, and whenever shades of yellow/gold will work well.  

I recently used this quilt on a class sample made from Dandi Annie fabric and Grunge.

It blended beautifully with the gold fabrics but didn't scream against the aqua, black, gray, lime, peach, or cream fabrics.  I didn't have a single thread break on this entire quilt.

I paired it with DecoBob Dark Gold in the bobbin. 

Visit next week for another Thread Thursday!

"Inspired Free-Motion Quilting" blog hop and GIVEAWAY!

Today is my day on the blog hop to show some love for Mandy Leins and Bill Volckening's new book "Inspired Free-Motion Quilting."

Mandy and Bill showcase quilting designs reinterpreted from antique quilts.

I loved this design:

The Double Line and Orange Peel on the far right intrigued me.

When I'm intrigued and need to experiment with a quilting pattern, I grab and orphan block and a spool of FabuLux thread and make a postcard.

I put my block on a piece of batting with no backing.

Using my walking foot, I stitched a straight line on each side of each seam.

I switched to my free-motion foot and added the Orange Peel design.

I fused the quilted block to stabilizer and a white fabric backing.

I trimmed to postcard size using my Postcard Trimming Tool.

I finished the postcard by stitching around the edge.

All I have to do now is mail it!

Would you like me to mail this postcard to YOU?  And would you like an e-copy of Mandy and Bill's book?

Leave a comment here on this blog (and link or email address PLEASE!) stating a real or imaginary New Year's Goal by Sunday the 14th and I'll pick a winner.  My real or imaginary New Year's Goal is to figure out where socks disappear to and where Tupperware lids appear from.  It might take longer than a year to learn the answer.

Visit all of the other stops on this blog hop for more chances to win!

January 7: C&T Publishing, Bill Volckening
January 8: Amanda Murphy, Kim Lapacek, Stephanie Palmer
January 9: Lynn Harris, Teri Lucas, Debby Brown
January 10: Robin Koehler, Patty Murphy, Mary Abreu
January 11: Joanna Marsh, Mandy Leins

Thanks for visiting with me today.  For more machine quilting fun, be sure to sign up for my newsletter and follow me on all social media platforms as DebbyBrownQuilts

Happy, Healthy Sewing Room Makeover -- Cleaning Up and Problem Solving

After only a week or two, my on-the-way-to-becoming-awesome sewing room is my favorite place to be!  I'm so happy in here and find myself making sure the cutting table is cleaned every night so I can come into a room where I can instantly start creating.

This week, I'm doing some more cleaning and clearing out and I solved a years' long problem.

First, the cleaning.

I'm a fan of Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  I own the book on kindle and audio.  When the book was first published, I tore through my linen closet, clothes closet, bookshelves, and elsewhere.  I started in my sewing room, but only got as far as "only keep what sparks joy" and got rid of the abandoned craft supplies that made me feel guilty.

Marie Kondo now has a short season show on Netflix called Tidying Up.  I haven't binge-watched a show in a long time (I'm more of a book girl lately) but I watched this over the weekend.  It was charmingly delightful and quite timely.  I've read mixed reviews, but I love watching homes move from chaos to calm.

I'm slowly working on the rest of my sewing room.  I cleaned out under a quarter of one of my longarms.  I swept up an entire herd of dust bunnies (RIP) and found many forgotten quilt projects, one started NINETEEN YEARS AGO!

I don't have deadlines or overall plans to clean this section on that day, but I plan to clean more under that longarm and eventually the other one, as well as attacking the shelves and buckets and stacks...

Instead of seeing what I haven't done, I prefer to show you what I have done; I've emptied a bucket:

I hope to clean and organize this sewing space by getting rid of containers rather than buying more, but I will admit that I've been checking out some IKEA storage hacks that I would love to install in here when I'm pared down and ready to make things pretty.

My biggest success of the week was solving a problem that I've had FOREVER!  I have wood floors in my sewing room and my foot pedal slides around and I have to scrunch in my chair to reach for it every time I stitch a seam.  In absolute frustration, I grabbed a cardboard box, a roll of shelf liner, and a stapler (thanks, Lee):

I cut a large sheet of cardboard from the box, stapled the shelf liner to it, and placed the cardboard under the legs of my sewing table so it doesn't move.

It ain't pretty, but it works!  Maybe someday I'll make a pretty version of this, but for now I'm just excited that my foot pedal is where I expect it to be.  Every.  Single.  Time.

Stay tuned for more photos, tips, and inspiration as I continue to turn my messy, chaotic sewing room into the room of my dreams in this my 50th year!

Quilt Retreat Wrap Up

This weekend, I went on a quilt retreat with some friends to Sturbridge Quilting and Sewing Center.

The retreat started with a little hiccup.

I kind of need these to sew (and drive and see in general).  I had a 3-year-outdated pair of glasses with me, so I managed to get through the weekend, but guess where I'll be this morning as soon as the office opens?

The first night I finished two quilts for my home machine quilting classes:

My quilt was on the right (I made two identical ones).  I used Moda Dandi Annie and Grunge. My friend is taking my class and made the one on the left.  

Saturday I made a quilt for my daughter-in-law's mother.

The pattern is from On A Roll and the fabric is a Moda line from 2008ish.

While making this one, I experimented with an alternate corner technique.  

When you see this absolutely everywhere next year, remember that you saw it here first.  I'm a trendsetter.

Sunday I finished two very old (circa 2000) identical UFOs.

This quilt was from Open a Can of Worms and the block fabric is from "I have absolutely no idea."  The setting fabrics and borders were purchased from Sturbridge Quilting and Sewing Center and I also have no idea what lines they were.  I wanted this eighteen year old project finished and I bought whatever would make it so.

Quilt retreats are about friends, and we enjoyed each other thoroughly.

Quilt retreats are also about learning about new gadgets from the other retreat attendees.  My two great finds for the weekend were a storage container for small quilt squares and a fine-mist spray bottles for pressing.

I tried to schedule another retreat before I left, but I don't have a spare weekend until June and I couldn't make it happen.  I can't wait to go again!

 

Do you have a quilt retreat scheduled on your calendar for 2019?  What is your favorite part of quilt retreats?

Happy, Healthy New Year to You!

Happy 2019!

I started this New Year's project a few weeks early when I began re-arranging my sewing room out of sheer frustration.  I've been in this space for nearly 17 years and never was intentional about how my sewing room worked for me.  So it didn't.  At all.

This year, I'm creating a Happy, Healthy Sewing Space for myself!  I have some health problems and am turning 50 this year so I have the normal aches of aging on top of my issues; I need a space that works with me and doesn't cause pain.

This isn't a big budget, sponsored sewing room makeover.  Since I started re-arranging, I've spent $0 and am incredibly thrilled with how much better my space works for me already.  I also didn't rip everything out of my room at once and put it all back in.  I don't have the energy for that type of job and I have to be able to stitch in here every single day.  This is a slowly evolving process with each small change yielding large results!

If you want to follow along, see photos, and get organization ideas, subscribe to my newsletter so you won't miss a single step of my sewing room makeover.

I plan to spend most of today quilting in my already healthier sewing room.  I hope you enjoy your New Year's Day as well!

Super-Fun Stepping Stones

In October, when I was ridiculously busy with Quilt Market and Quilt Festival prep, I dreamed of a specific quilt.  I wanted to make my Stepping Stones Cutie Pattern in Poison Purple fabrics with Acid Green background.  I went to my local quilt shop, Quilt Basket, and started looking for 16 Poison Purple fabrics since all Cutie Patterns use 16 fat eighths.  The shop had plenty of fabrics to choose from, but the quilt looked better in my mind.  All of the Cutie fabrics in one color just fell flat, no matter how vibrant the Poison Purple was.  I did what I normally do when things don't turn out the way I want them to; I screamed "Plot Twist!" and bought was the Alison Glass Road Trip collection with a Sun Print in bright yellow/green for the background instead.  It had the same punch I was going for but the variety of colors/prints made it actually work!

I usually quilt Stepping Stones with a lot of (wait for it....) ribbon candy quilting, but this time I wanted to see what it would look like if I only quilted straight lines using my walking foot.  Well -- it.  Looked.  FANTASTIC!

I took to heart the "lime green is a neutral" school of thought and quilted this using FabuLux Hint of Lime thread with DecoBob in the bobbin.  I love how the sage DecoBob bobbin blended in with the bright pink backing fabric.  Have I mentioned before how much I love DecoBob in my bobbins?  I almost want to make this quilt again and quilt it with FabuLux In The Pinks, Blue Heaven, or Wisteria thread since they would have all looked great and each looked different.  Sadly, I have too many other quilts in my mind (and in my quilt studio!) to remake this quilt three more times.

Do you like the straight line quilting in this quilt?  If you live near me (New York's Hudson Valley), I will be teaching a class at the Quilt Basket in early January on how to use the walking foot on your home machine to get this result on your quilts at home.  I designed a simple new quilt, Quilters' Hearts, for students to practice their machine quilting in class.  Each Cutie Pack will make TWO Quilters' Hearts quilts and each machine quilting class is a one-day class.  I used Tula Pink Zuma fabric for my class sample:

The new Cutie pattern is not back from the printer yet, but we will give directions to enrolled students so they can make the quilt in time for the class.

Have you ever planned a quilt in your mind that didn't look good once you saw the fabrics together?  Do you scream "Plot Twist" and do something weird when things don't work out the way you planned? 

Endings

Even though I basically embraced the New Year mentality in the beginning of December, I am still aware that 2018 is coming to a close.

I'm cleaning my sewing room and trying to finish the projects stacked on my cutting table rather than finding new homes for them.

Projects like:

Scarves to Share using Melanie Testa's Florabunda fabrics.  I participated in her fabric release blog hop back in June and a these fat eighth leftovers have been sitting on my cutting table ever since.

They are gone now, but other projects remain.  What shall I work on next?

Maybe organizing my thread racks?

If you want to see more of my clean(er) sewing room, check out a short FaceBook Live video I did last week.

Leftovers

One of my goals during my time at home this winter is "Clean the Sewing Room."  We all know that a clean sewing room is an utter impossibility, but I like to pretend sometimes.

I decided to at least try to clear off my cutting surface.  Earlier this fall, I made a quilt.  I had SO MUCH FUN quilting it!

How does this relate to cleaning my cutting table?  Well... the scraps for this quilt have been on my cutting table since September.  I decided to make something out of them just to make some space on the table.

I made the same pattern, Share and Share Alike, but used the leftover border fabric for half of the blocks and the leftover backing fabric for the other half.  Scraps from the blocks are in each block.  I pulled some fabric from my stash collection for the borders and backing.  I quilted it using my go-to FabuLux Giggle thread.

And did I make space on the table?

Some.  I think I need to deal with the fabric behind the rotary cutter next.  Hmmm..... which Cutie Pattern shall I use?  Scarves to Share?

It's That Time of Year

The time of year when I'm done traveling and tell myself "I really shouldn't drink so much soda pop."  Let the great Detox begin!

Here is this year's strategy:

When I was teaching at The Quilter's Studio in Fairfax, VA last week, a student brought me a drink from the restaurant next door -- Red Medicine from First Watch.  It was DELICIOUS!

I'm going to try drinking this when I have an urge to drink Diet Dr. Pepper.

Here's my current mock-up of the restaurant's drink:

2 Harney Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea Bags
4 cups near boiling water
2 T local honey
1/2 cup cranberry juice
2-3 T pomegranate juice

Steep the tea bags in the water and add the honey while mixture is still hot.  When cool, add juices.  Serve over ice.

So far, so good.

Wish me luck.

Super-Sweet Sweet Tooth Cutie Quilt

I feel the need for another Sweet Tooth Cutie Quilt every few weeks.

Here's one of the latest:

Doesn't this whole quilt look like spring?  I took this photo on one of the last sunny days of autumn and will keep looking at this picture throughout the dreary winter to remind me of sunnier days.

The ribbon candy quilting is probably one of the reasons I love this quilt so much.  The 1" Ribbon Candy stencil is a favorite of my students!

My Day on Jenny Lyon's Blog Hop!

I'm so excited to share a fellow machine quilting teacher's new book!

From my decade of teaching machine quilting, I know that there are many different quilters, quilt teachers, and ways to learn machine quilting.  Jenny and I quilt and teach differently and I am tickled to share Jenny's book with you.

My favorite part of her book was when she described quilted postcards as "a great place to try new free-motion quilting ideas... with minimal investment in time and materials".  I couldn't agree more!

Many quilters make too much of practice.  They think it has to be an entire scrap quilt or at least a fat quarter-size quilt sandwich.  Not so!  It can be a small postcard.  Let that postcard make you happy and then send it through the mail to deliver love to someone far away.  Jenny calls her quilting "Plactice" to combine "Play" and "Practice."  I couldn't agree more!

I recently sent a little Hanukkah love through the mail.

I stitched a Star of David in two different threads (variegated blue and variegated gray) on white fabric over cotton batting.

The fabric is wet because I took the photo right after I removed the markings on the fabric.

Then I fused it to a double-sided fusible stabilizer, added a plain white backing, trimmed using my Postcard Trimming Tool, and zigzagged the edges with FabuLux Blue Heaven thread.

I make a lot of postcards and send them in cellophane envelopes so they are clean when they arrive at their destination.

I must confess that my Hanukkah cards arrived a day late because I lost track of the calendar.  I haven't started making my Christmas cards yet and won't guarantee that they'll be on time.  Even late, no recipients have ever complained about receiving a lovely card in the mail.

So, do you want a chance to win Jenny's book?  Leave a comment here on my blog saying what your favorite thread is.  If your ID doesn't link back to you, please leave a valid email address or way to contact you.  I will choose a winner on December 14, 2018.

a great place to try new free-motion quilting ideas. With minimal

investment in time and materials

A few notes about the hop:
– You can enter each day but can only win once.
– Each blogger will leave the comments open for 8 days and then will choose a winner using a random method.
– Jenny will send winners a signed copy of her book.
– If you find a blog along the way that you find interesting, sign up to receive notices of each future posting. This is a talented group!
– International winners will receive a digital copy.

The more the merrier-feel free to pass my post on to others so that we can all play along.

Here’s the schedule:

Dec 1     Jenny K. Lyon                             https://quiltskipper.com/
Dec 2     Lisa Chin                                       http://www.lisachinartist.com/
Dec 3     Catherine Redford                 https://catherineredford.com/
Dec 4     Lyric Kinard                                http://lyrickinard.com/
Dec 5     Heidi Proffetty                          https://www.heidiproffetty.com/
Dec 6     Debby Ritenbaugh Brown   https://www.debbybrownquilts.com/
Dec 7     Libby Williamson                       https://libbywilliamsondesigns.blogspot.com/
Dec 8     Barbara Black                              http://bbquiltmaker.blogspot.com/
Dec 9     Cindy Grisdela                            https://www.cindygrisdela.com/
Dec 10   Teri Lucas                                      https://terificreations.com/

It’s that simple! Now, won’t you play along? Click on the appropriate link for the day, make a comment, and you’ll be in the running to win a free, signed copy. Wouldn’t that be nice to snuggle up with Jenny's as we enter the winter months?

Bullet Journal

My new year starts when the last trip of the year is over.  Which is now.  Today, actually.

Happy New Year!

I love everything about New Year, especially a new planner.  I'm a Bullet Journal fan, so I make my own planner.  I bought blank notebooks online and each becomes whatever I need it to be.  Blank notebooks are boring and I'm a quilter, so I made my own planner cover when I was under the weather last week.  Want to see it?

Yes, I'm teasing.  I pulled out five different FabuLux threads and started playing with my Handi Quilter Stitch 510 machine.  This is the first time I ever converted the foot and plate for free-motion quilting.  Why did I wait so long???

I quilted the entire outside cover like this:

These circles were inspired by a garment stitched by the incomparable Gilbert Muniz.

I stitched the cover:

While I'm always happen when using my planner, I think this cover is going to make me even happier!

Did you know that there is a sampler pack of the threads that I used in this project?  Check them out HERE.

If you want to know more about bullet journaling, Dot Journaling is a good book to read to get started.

I also found someone's blog post about what they wish they knew before they started their bullet journal.  Read it HERE.

Happy New Year and Happy Journaling!

Productivity Report: The Productivity Project

In case you didn't know it, I'm a productivity geek.  I love to find little tricks and fixes to help me be more organized and get more done.  Going into an office supply store is more tempting to me than a fabric store and a new yearly planner makes me weak in the knees!  New Year is my favorite time of the year because I get to start everything over again, but my New Year starts this week because today I am returning from my last teaching trip of 2018.  I leave again in February, so I try to make the most of the 6-8 weeks I'll be home by celebrating New Year early.

I just finished reading (listening to) The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey.  I listen to books while quilting, driving, and working around the house, so basically I listen nearly all of my waking hours.  This young man spent a year testing out different factors of productivity (sleep, food, solitude, etc.) to learn what impacted his productivity the most.

Sprinkled throughout the book are titles of other productivity books.  I've read some and plan to read the rest.

Getting Things Done by David Allen
I can, without risk of exaggeration, state that this book Changed.  My.  Life.  I re-read it at least once a year, sometimes more.

Eat That Frog
I read this book once, years ago.  My memory is that it was light on substance and can be summed up in one sentence:  "Do the most important task of the day first"

Getting Results the Agile Way
Haven't read it.  It's now on my list.

Work the System
Haven't read it.  It's now on my list.

I Know How She Does It
Haven't read it.  It's now on my list.

168 Hours
This book was eye-opening for me.  It was the first time I considered that doing everything myself wasn't always the best use of my time.

Willpower Instinct
Haven't read it.  It's now on my list.

Procrastination Equation
Haven't read it.  It's now on my list.

Rapt
Haven't read it.  It's now on my list.

The Power of Habit
This book made me realize that habits can be good as well as bad.

Essentialism
Haven't read it.  It's now on my list.

How We Got to Now
Watching this 6-part documentary is now scheduled as a series of date nights with my husband.  Because we are a wild and crazy couple.

The Shallows
Haven't read it.  It's now on my list.

The Happiness Advantage
This is a great book and brilliant audiobook by the man who brought me my favorite TED talk... EVER!

Mindset
Haven't read it.  It's now on my list.

Some of the concepts I noted from this book are:

• The Rule of Three -- Three goals for the day, three goals for the week, three goals for the year.
• Unplug from technology frequently
• Know when you work best (Biological Prime Time)
• Identify your low-return tasks and shrink, delegate, or eliminate them
• Time + Attention + Energy = Productivity

The author has additional resources on his website.

While The Productivity Project didn't rock my world, it was a great start to my upcoming Year of Productivity (what I name every new year).

Do you have other favorite productivity books that didn't make this author's list?  One of my weirdest (and best!) reads is Work Clean.  Seriously, your work life is like a kitchen.  Read this book.

Squared Away Cutie Quilt

The very first Cutie Pattern I designed was Squared Away.  This is one of my very favorites for that reason.

I also love it because it requires no border yardage so I can use my precious fat quarter packs.  It is also super-fun to quilt!

The areas of alternate ribbon candy quilting plus the wool batting make this a true joy to quilt.  If ribbon candy isn't your specialty, try using my 1 1/2" ribbon candy stencil.

This fabric is called Dreamfield and I've been hoarding it forever.  It looks so great in this quilt.

I already gave this quilt away and it is being loved by a lovely friend of mine.

My day on the Splendid Sampler!

WooHoo!!!! Party!!!! Today is the day my block is released from The Splendid Sampler 2 book!

Turn to page 126 and start stitching!

I named my block Ticker Tape because of the way I plan to quilt it -- with ribbons!  Ribbon candy quilting makes me so happy that I think of parades and parties and celebrations:

As a machine quilting teacher, I plan the quilting as I'm piecing the quilt.  I will only stitch in the background of the block, leaving the pretty fabrics unquilted and puffy:

Do you like ribbon candy quilting as much as I do?

You can learn to quilt ribbon candy quilting in my Craftsy Class or by following one of my new stencils.  Ribbon candy quilting is featured in several of my YouTube videos.

Sign up for my newsletter for more quilty goodness delivered straight to your inbox.

To see everyone's Ticker Tape blocks, visit The Splendid Sampler blog.

A Cozy Autumn Sweet Tooth Cutie Quilt

I can't count how many Sweet Tooth Cutie quilts I've made; the number is certainly higher than my fingers and toes can handle.  There's something about the skinny strips and alternating ribbon candy stitching that makes this quilt bring joy to my heart.

Recently I finished a cozy, scrappy autumn colored Sweet Tooth Cutie quilt:

Maybe if I cover up my entire wood pile with quilts, it will split itself and stack itself into neat little piles?

What are your feelings about ribbon candy?  I'm in LOVE and very comfortable quilting it in all directions.  My students asked for a stencil to help them with their ribbon candy, so I happily obliged.  I use a 1" ribbon candy stencil for this quilt.