The Art of Fabric

Why do we love fabric so much?

The pretty colors?

The pretty patterns?

The way if feels?

When I walk into a room of fabric it makes me happy!  But why?  Why does fabric touch our soul?

For some of us creative types, maybe it is because of the endless possibilities that lie in the piles of fabric in front of us.  Designing, creating - good or bad - its like we are young again and can say "Hey!  Look what I made!"

For some of us spiritual types, Fabric is a symbol of bigger picture of creating.  The fabric itself is woven thread by thread. Then from something as basic as a thread comes something beautiful to wear, use or just enjoy seeing.

Somtimes is it deeper than that?  Does fabric remind us that we are better - even prettier -  when we work together?  Like fabric we are each a thread woven together to make good out of little.

Isn't wonderful to think that fabric pieced together can mean so much?

So what is your story with fabric?

Summertime Quilts

Hey, if you are like me then no matter summer, winter, spring or fall, I just have to have a little cover ofer me when I sleep.  So in order to enjoy a summertime quilt, it can't be too heavy or hot! My next project is a light 100% cotton with a light weight 100% cotton flannel batting. I also, plan on cool colors and a modern open design.  Hold on to see what comes out of this project.  I would love to see your warm weather quilts. Post them to this blog so we can see what you have done.
Wish me well as I design this new project.

Don't forget to like my All-sewn-together page on Facebook!  You can also see all the cool colored fabrics that I carry on my online fabric store. Your fabric is always 20% off when you shop at www.all-sewn-together.com

How do you resize a quilt pattern?

  I was commissioned to make a quilt for my friend that she found in a quilt magazine. Of course, don't you know that the pattern was much smaller than what she would need for her queen bed with quite a long drop. The pattern was for a small throw.
  I nervously took on the challenge of resizing the original pattern. Would have been great if I could of just doubled the original dimensions, but oh no. That was not going to work since her bed was larger than half by about 20 %.   I also must say that math skills do not run in my genetic pool, except perhaps down hill.
 To even increase the challenge, the quilt would be slanted on the cut so there were no vertical or horizontal lines. Oh boy!  Last I want to say, that while I certainly have plenty of fabric as a fabric dealer; I did not to waste for the sake of my friend's budget.
  So let me show you the final results and see what you think.  By the way, there was very little waste.

Crazy habits

I finished piecing a custom quilt that I have made for a customer and now it's time to mount it on the longarm table and start another level of creating.  When I finished sewing I realized that I had chewed my inside of lip so bad that I had created a swollen bump inside my mouth. So I relaxed a bit and went back to my next steps and realized half way through that I was still clamped on the inside of my lip. What is this all about? I feel like a canible that's eating themselves.  This is crazy.  Does anybody else have trouble relaxing when you are in creation mode or is it just me?

So the outcome of my dilemma was to open up all my windows to let the fresh air in. Of course, this causes me to notice all the grime that has built up in the window sills over the winter, so now I'm drawn to clean them. It takes me a whole day (inside with windows open) doing my spring cleaning. I should have set that machine up under the shade tree with the leaves and bugs. At least I would have worked a little on my quilt, which is not really work! Oh well, tomorrow it's supposed to rain.

All-Sewn-Together: Hey, are you going through the same dilemma that I...

All-Sewn-Together: Hey, are you going through the same dilemma that I...: Hey, are you going through the same dilemma that I am?  It is so nice outside. The weather is the most welcoming it's been since, I thin...

Hey, are you going through the same dilemma that I am?  It is so nice outside. The weather is the most welcoming it's been since, I think 6 months ago. It is hard for me to decide if I should go out and enjoy the blue sky and warm temperature or stay in my sewing room and work on my latest project. ( which is a fun one ).  Maybe I could take my machine and set up outside. Ya think?

Turn your frown upside down!

If you need something to brighten your day, all you need to do is feast your eyes on our newest fabric collection, "Sunnyside" by Kate Spain for Moda Fabrics!  This new collection highlights the Silver lining in the blue, stormy skies.  

                                    "Let the sun shine into your heart"  
The theme for Kate Spain's newest collection.  In her own words, " At some point we all face challenges in our lives that force us to find strength to move through these difficult times.  Quilters have a wonderful way of using their craft to help others during hard times or to celebrate the happy times.  I wanted to design a collection that reflects the transition from stormy, rainy skies to sunshine, silver linings, hope and new growth."

Fun Custom Quilts

I love to quilt.... 

So, have I told you that I  LOVE to quilt and do a LOT of custom quilts?  Quilts for friends and friends of friends and relatives of friends and so on...  Some of my clients like to pick the fabrics and the patterns and set me to work,  some give me a general idea  like "Make me a baby quilt with a monkey on it" and some just say make me a colorful quilt!   Either way I just love it!

This is my latest custom quilt, my neighbor asked for a baby quilt with a monkey on it.  I had the cute little swinging monkey fabric on hand and I downloaded an image of the larger monkey and pieced it together to applique onto the top!   This was so much fun to make.  I love the monkeys and the bright colors. Plus on the back I used a super soft minky fabric and did a free hand scroll on the quilting.

This is one is for a friend of a friend and He asked for something colorful! So....what is more colorful than Batiks?  I designed the pattern to be masculine, yet geometrically interesting, and oh yes, VERY COLORFUL!
  

Baby Quilt with skewed squares also with a minke back!

Luke's quilt (my precious Grandson!), I love the modern twist and mix of fabrics.

Last (at least for this post) but not least... The Hope Quilt - two different color schemes one precious sentiment! I love to make these and they make great gifts for anyone who may be ill or just generally struggling with life!  Crafted from fabrics and panels on my website www.All-Sewn-Together.com!

I would love to talk with you if  you are interested in having me do a quilt for you.  Please check out the Custom Services Information page on my website for sizing options, quilting options and pricing, or email me at 

Nanette@all-sewn-together.com for more information.

New Fabric for a NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

We are so excited to see what 2014 brings!

So lets kick if off by starting with NEW FABRIC on All-Sewn-Together.com!

(sound the trumpets...)

Introducing........Lola, by dearStella.

Dear Stella is a unique fabric brand with modern style. The collection evokes an edgy freshness, combining the best of old traditions with modern influences. These beautiful fabrics will inspire both a traditional quilter and a contemporary “sewist” to reinvent their sewing style.

This is not just for quilting (although we think that would be the most fun!)  Think of all the cute things  you can do with this fabric in this color pallete.  Rich Navy/Indigo blue, Citron and Grey really push this collection toward the modern!

Check out this quilt that dearStella featured in a blog post on their web site using these Lola fabrics!  You can view the full post by clicking on the image.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! 

Check out these other fabrics from dearStella from the Honey Crisp Collection.  I needed to add some rich and creamy browns to the web site and I found these and just had to have them! Aren't they just dreamy! sigh....

http://all-sewn-together.danemcoweb.com/shop/category/fabrics/collections/dearstella-lola/

To see these fabrics and more, click the images or go to 
www.All-Sewn-Together.com.  
So stay tuned, I have some new quilts to show you that i finished over the holidays and will have more fun things to share with you!

HAPPY QUILTING!

Nanette

www.All-Sewn-Together.com

Buying for 2014

Having a great time checking out all the great new fabrics that will be coming in for the 2014 season.  Do you have some suggestions for me to consider when I start placing orders?  Colors, pattern, theme and pattern?  Let me know what you are looking for and I will try to find it.

Quilting for Christmas!

Quilting for Christmas!

It's almost time to decorate the house for the Holidays!  Every year I love to add something new to the Christmas decorations.  This year it is the fabulous Christmas table runner that I made from the In From the Cold Project Panel (pictured below left).   Using the project panel made it a quick and fun little quilting project.  Each section of the runner has a different quilting pattern.  The great thing about this particular project panel is that you can opt to make a quilted pillow or placemats instead of the table runner!  In addition, there are coasters to make out of the small squares and circles!

 

There is another project panel with this "In From the Cold" fabric collection (shown below) for making Christmas Stockings!!  I am dying to make these Christmas stockings!  When I do I will post the pics here!

P.S.  Remember that all Christmas/Holiday/Winter fabrics are an additional 10% off on our web site www.All-Sewn-Together.com.  Use code Winter10 at checkout!  And get ready to have a fabulous holiday season! 

Sharing HOPE through Quilting!

This is the hope quilt my daughter and I made for a friend that is fighting a very difficult problem with tumors in her brain  We wanted to be able to surround our friend with love and warmth and felt this would be a beautiful way to do that.

What is a HOPE Quilt?  It starts with the Prayer Shawl panel (shown below)  that has beautiful scriptures of hope and prayer. 12 verses of scripture from Luke, Ephesians, Romans, Isaiah and more.    We used the Prayer Shawl panel as the center of each square and built out from there.  This is not a specific pattern that we followed, just some basic quilting principals.   

 

Click to better view the prayer shawl pattern 

 This Hope quilt was made for another friend.........  A little lighter and brighter with the Pink Prayer panel.  I love the quilting pattern used on this quilt.  I have made quilted pillows with this panel and they make great gifts.

 If you are interested in having a custom HOPE quilt made for you or a friend, please contact me to discuss design and pricing.












Nanette@all-sewn-together.com

Blog on Luke's quilt...

Before our grandson was born, I was dreaming of what "His" quilt would look like. I had the most wonderful time NOT following rules. I came up with something totally unique,fun and colorful. The fabrics that I chose were perfect for a little boy and the minke back delivered the soft touch that a baby needs. When I finished the piecing I longarm quilted each block differently from the next.  This really made the back as unique as the top.One special touch was the border on the back. Ever tried to create a quilt with no pattern?  Let me know what your experience was like.

And the final product....

Welcome to the NEW   Blog!  We hope that this blog will be a source of information, inspiration and a few laughs for the modern quilter.  Quilting is about community - sewing our quilt, our friendships and our connections together, one piece at a time.  Because quilting has had such a significant impact on me personally, I decided to create a "different" kind of quilting store.

My husband John and I have developed a  business to serve you, the “hardworking quilter”.   We offer LongArm quilting services and with our computerized system, IntelliQuilter, we can provide a wide variety of design work and customizations.  Because I am a quilter, I know the time and effort that has been put into your masterpiece and want to provide the highest quality quilting service that money can buy. I can promise you I will treat it as if I had pieced it myself! 

But we didn't stop there, recently we have added a  complete selection of fabrics from textile companies such as MODA, Blank, Windham, Batiks by Mirah and more... We strive to offer top quality fabrics at discount prices.  For more information, or to view our great selection of quilting fabrics,  visit: 

 www.All-Sewn-Together.com 

Happy Quilting!
Nanette Fox