It's Monday, Again

It was a busy week, between lecturing and teaching  a workshop at Byrne Sewing Connection in Doylestown and the Penn Oaks Quilt Show.  The people who work at Byrne's, including the owner,  Debbie Byrne and the customers, could not have been warmer and more eager to learn.  I presented my newest talk, Turning Travel Into Treasures.  Since most of my quilts are inspired by my travels, it's a talk rich in many styles of my quilts spanning many years.

I was so cauht up with setting up my talk and having a full workshop plus a couple that I didn't take any photos. I need to remind myself to TAKE SOME PHOTOS!!!! Since I didn't take any photos, I thought I would share some photos of the quilts that I shared and the inspiration.

Called Casa Talavera, this was inspired by multiple trips to Mexico and their beautiful ceramic tiles.

Called Concentricity -  was a result of a morning walk in St. Augustine, FL.  It was inspired by a detail in the sidewalk.  Lots of different fabrics were used including organza, silk and lame.

Filigree Fantasy was inspired by the wrought iron doors and balconies in Barcelona.  The center is a motif from the children's area at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. The applique is fused and stitched down by hand with hand dyed cotton floss.

 This is a quilt top that  I just can't decide how to quilt.  On a morning walk while visiting my brother in Phoenix, there were these huge cactus plants that had these huge red bulbous protrusions, that I guess are the flowers.  While most of the circles are cotton, some are velvet, some are wool and some  are silk.

Primmitive Seasons is a fictional depiction of a flowering weeping willow throughout the 4 seasons.  I loved doing all of the handstitching.  The circles in the 3 borders are wool pennies.

 Keyfetti Fish uses my mosaic technique and was created while spending a couple of months in Key West.

Beachalicious makes me think about childhood summers at the Long Island beaches.  It's one of my patterns using Curvalicious and can be purchased from my Etsy shop.

And I just have to share that I was thrilled that Funkytown won a 2nd place ribbon at the Penn Oaks Quilt Show.  I'm a new member and am so impressed how this small guild puts on this wonderful quilt show.

It's actually my newest pattern made with Curvalicious.  It;s also available in my Etsy shop.

Don't forget to come back on Friday for the latest Stitchography interview.  This Friday, Patty Young shares how she manages to run a business and be a Mom.  You'll like to read about her experience  as a fabric designer for Riley Blake Designs and her company MODKID - where she sells high quality sewing patterns for girls, tweens and women's clothing as well as accessories.

Stitchography

Today is the launch of my blog series called Stitchography, that will post every Friday.  I thought it would be fun and informative to learn about how people entered the creative fabric business, their backgrounds and the different jobs that are availlable out theere, no matter how small or large.  It may be inspirational for some of you and interesting for others.

To kick off the series, I would like to introduce Blair Stocker:

  Please introduce yourself (actual and professional name) and describe your areas of expertise

I am Blair Stocker of Wise Craft Handmade (wisecrafthandmade.com). I am an avid upcycler and DIY'er, with a current focus on quilting as a tool for upcycling. My first book, Wise Craft: Turning Thrift Store Finds, Fabric Scraps, and Natural Objects into Stuff You Love, covers many different ways of upcycling and decorating our home with meaningful handmade things. My newest book, Wise Craft Quilts: A Guide to Turning Beloved Fabrics into Meaningful Patchwork, focuses on quilt making with meaningful fabrics from our lives. These can be fabrics we've collected in our stash simply because we love them, or fabrics that have significance in our life's story, such as a wedding dress or childhood bedroom curtains. I am a firm believer that fabrics like these shouldn't be stored away in a drawer. Cutting into them and making them into a quilt that is used daily can provide so much satisfaction and joy in our lives. (More info on my books here)

   

 What is your background and how did you arrive at your current job(s) 

I studied Apparel Design and Merchandising in college, and straight out of college began working in my chosen field, Textiles and Design, for various clothing lines and fabric mills. I loved it! I literally played with pretty colors and fabrics all day long. I did that up until I had my daughter, who is now 18. Over the years of being at home with the kids, I discovered that I missed the creativity of my former profession, and began dabbling in all kinds of projects to decorate our home, both with the kids and on my own. I began recording all of these crafty projects on my blog, Wise Craft, back in 2005. I quickly discovered the power of an online community and loved it. Having a place to keep my creative projects and write about them helped me over the past several years become very focused and clear about the things I love to make most and what my own style is. I formed Wise Craft LLC in 2013 and made clear goals on what I wanted to do moving forward, creating a little business for myself.

How many hours a week do you devote to your job?

Because I am usually creating something every day, that is somehow related to my business, I'm tempted to say 7 days a week! But I think its accurate to say 5 days a week, about 6 hours a day. I try to remember that a reason I choose to work for myself is the flexibility. I have 2 teenagers at home and get to be in "mom mode" when I'm needed.

Where do you physically work?

I have a full studio and office in our basement. 

 What do you sell and how do you sell it? 

I sell my work on my own website, wisecrafthandmade.com, on Etsy- https://www.etsy.com/ shop/WiseCrafthandmade I also teach classes both in person and online for CreativeLive, and do commissions when there is time.

What are you working on now?

In addition to doing trunk shows, teaching, and lecturing for my newest book, which just came out in March, I am launching new classes this Fall on my site, which I'm really excited about! Its a large undertaking, and I'm working a lot of the content behind the scenes. I am also having fun doing #100daysofthreaddrawing to develop the whole free motion quilting side of what I do. Its been a really fun challenge, and I need to keep trying new things or else I get bored.

What do you do when you are not working?

I probably watch way more reality TV than I should, I also love just hanging out with my family. My daughter will go to college in the Fall so I'm following her around like a lost puppy.

 Perhaps an indelicate question, but people starting out want to know - what are your income sources?

My main income sources are my books and in person teaching and speaking. Printed quilt patterns are next in line, then online sales are last.

If you could give one suggestion to someone starting out, what would it be?

The hardest part for me was the time spent making free content, visual things for my site, etc. That is all important and the pay off comes much later. Some days (or weeks) I felt like all I was doing was making free stuff (sometimes still do!) but also realize that its all a part of being an online presence. We are constantly educating the consumer about our brand.

Where can people find you and/your products? (FB, blog, website, IG, Twitter, stores

Wise Craft Handmade- http:// wisecrafthandmade.com

My Etsy shop- https://www.etsy.com/shop/WiseCrafthandmade

My Craftsy shop- https://www.craftsy.com/profile/wise-craft-handmade

Wise Craft Facebook page- https://www.facebook. com/blairwisecraft

Wise Craft Quilts Facebook Page (for fans of my newest book to meet and discuss projects)- https://www. facebook.com/groups/ 234669506942328/

Instagram- https://www. instagram.com/blairs/

Pinterest- https://www. pinterest.com/Blairwisecraft/

Twitter- https://twitter.com/ blairstocker

My YouTube channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN44M3I4p3RI-TVLDn3yaUQ

Wise Craft Quilts is available March 2017! 

Sign up for Blair's newsletter for news, inspiration, and free patterns!

It's Monday, Again

It felt so good to sleep in my own bed last night after arriving home from the BIG quilt show in Paducah. There are two not to miss in a lifetime quilt shows in the US.  One is Paducah and the other is located in Houston.  When I was asked if I would like to have a booth at Paducah to sell Curvalicious, I said yes without hesitation.  Then I found out my spot was located not in the Convention Center, but in The Pavilion, affectionately known as The Bubble.  Paducah was a whirlwind of activity.  The entire city supports this show.  As a vendor in The Bubble, my view of the show was limited.

But, it turned out The Bubble was a great place to be.  There were lots of other vendors, easy parking and a great exhibit of Victoria Findlay Wolfe's quilts.

This is a quilt she called "The Beast".  I needed to be in the photo so that you could see the scale.  It measures 9' x 30' and is really called "A Garden For All Seasons".  I saw a photo of her on Instagram stitching the binding on by hand!

The nice thing about being located in The Bubble was that there was lots of light.  I never order electricity because it costs beaucoup bucks, so I don't have electrical lighting.  This natural lighting was the best!

So The Bubble became my entire world during the length of the show. 

The crowds were crazy at some times during the day.

Whenever I am vending, I try to get to my booth early before the show opens so I can walk around and see what the other vendors have, maybe do a little shopping and to see some quilts on exhibit.

The city of Paducah is quite artsy and they really support the quilt show.  We rented a house to stay in to accommodate my travel companion, aka Bailey, so I was able to see parts of the city while driving back and forth to the show. Here is a view of my visit from the passenger seat of my car.

Paducah had Pop Up Shops  before they became the current rage. Lots of empty stores get rented by small independent business owners for the week.  You can walk down many streets and run into a sale or a specialty shop.

It's a wonderful experience and I saw lots of girlfriends shopping together and laughing together and eating together.  There was a group of 9 women who met and came together as Air Force wives.  They meet every year at Paducah and choose a challenge for the next year.  A connection happened in my booth and they decided that Curvalicious would be their challenge for next year.  I was so thrilled and excited. I told them I would supply a prize. 

 I have a year to come up with something special.  I can't wait!

We arrived home on Sunday, and I wish I could chill on Monday, but  on Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll be at Byrne Sewing Connection in Doylestown, PA for 2 lectures and a workshop.  I think there are still spaces if you're interested.  215-230-9411

On Friday, I'll be starting a new feature on my blog called "Stitchography".  I'm hoping you will really enjoy it and it might inspire your entrepreneurial spirit.  There will be interviews with various professionals in the fiber industry.  Stay tuned.

It's Monday

22" x 22"

The theme for this month's Island Batik Ambassador quilt is Adventuresome Applique.

 I think this piece definitely conveys my adventuresome spirit.  I have ridden my bike in the PA, DE, VA, NY, Utah, Florida, PEI, Spain, France, etc, etc.  It's a great feeling to have the wind blow in my face and smell the countryside.  My favorite thing to do on my bike is to ride over a bridge or take it on a ferry.  And the tired feeling that you have after being on the bike all day is empowering.

For 2 months in Key West, I try to get on my bike every day with my favorite companion, Bailey.  You'll have to excuse her fur color change.  She would have blended into the background if I hadn't taken a little artistic license.  And if I'm not on my bicycle, I'm at my sewing machine.

I originally made this quilt for my quilt guild's anniversary with a theme of what does our guild mean to you.  There was a designated size and fabric to be used as the background. Since joining this guild about 20 years ago, I went from an eager novice quilter to someone that travels the country teaching and sharing my quilts and techniques.  

So when I needed my adventuresome applique quilt  using Island Batik fabrics, I knew I had to make it again!  It was fun and easy and I'll share my quilt as you applique technique.

1.  Layer the background, batting and backing fabric and quilt.  I used linear organic quilting with Superior Threads, Fantastico, a variegated polyester thread.  I like a bit of shine.

2.  I used my original drawing to create the fusible appliques from the Island Batik fabrics.  Since you end up with a mirror image, I flipped it over and used the wrong side to create the appliques.

3.  I then placed a piece of parchment paper over the drawing, positioned the appliques and pressed. This forms an entire bicycle.

4.  I repeated the process for the letters.

5.  I placed all the appliques on the quilted background fabric, making sure I was pleased with the placement and pressed all the appliques in place. 

6.  I used a straight stitch with a free motion foot and lowering the feed dogs to stitch around all the appliques.  (Securing the appliques in this way also acts like quilting.)

7.  I also stitched the binding on by machine.

 What a fun project! And it looks great in batiks.

It's Monday

I'm always on the lookout for ways to improve my communication with people who are interested in what I do and to grow my audience.  Recently, I was reading an article about how to have an unsuccessful blog.  Who would want to spend all that time writing a blog post, thinking about interesting content and moving the photos into the right spot for uploading if they wanted to be unsuccessful? It sounds silly, but I guess the title was to grab your attention, and it grabbed mine.  I felt pretty good reading the article.  The tip that would make me an unsuccessful blogger is that my posts are erratic.

The other day, this message was brought home to me.  My husband is not really into much soial media, but the other day hes mentioned that he was looking forward to someone's blog that he reads every Friday.  That surprised me, but it showed me that people do indeed look for certain blog posts on certain days of the week.

So starting with this post, I am committing to blog every Monday, thus the name "It's Monday".  Now that I have a monthly newsletter and post frequently on Instagram, a weekly post seems just the right frequency to blog.

This is my quilt that I created with a new line of fabric from Riley Blake, designed by Betz White called Juxtaposey.  The llamas caught my eye, and I have a certain DIL that loves llamas.  I named the quilt " Llama Kisses" and I constructed it with Curvalicious both to make the blocks and to create the scalloped border.

I started out with a plan to make a 9 patch.

I wasn't happy with how it looked so I eliminated a bunch of blocks and made it into a 4 patch.

It looked a little plain to me.  Curvalicious to the rescue to create a scalloped border.  I find that it's easier to attach  the binding to the border after it is quilted and before trimming.  

The first step is to mark the border.  Any pen will work because it will end up being the cutting line.  I  like to use one that I can see easily.  

To form the corner curve, use a circular template, like a plate or plastic templates in one corner. 

Copy it onto a piece of parchment paper and use it to create identical curves in each of the other 3 corners.

Since I had a limited amount of fabric for the binding, I had to use straight grain binding, even though I would have preferred bias binding. I make double fold French binding.   I lined up the raw edges of the binding with the line I drew using Curvalicious.  The good news is that since the curve was so gentle, straight grain worked just fine.  After stitching, trim along the marked line being careful not to cut into the quilt and then turn the binding to the back and stitch it down.

I do have a video on YouTube that demonstrates using Curvalicious for binding. 

 Click this LINK to be redirected.

And I created the backing to use up the extra fabric.

 What a sweet little quilt and it looks like Spring is finally here! Check your local quilt shop for Juxtaposey and maybe you'll make Llama Kisses.

Island Batik Furry Friday

Don't check your calendar! I'm pretending it's Friday, but I know it's not.  This was supposed to be posted on Friday, but pattern writing got in the way.

Island Batik and Aurifil Threads are a big supporter along with The Quilt Pattern Magazine of The Small Kennel Quilt Project.  In February, as an IB Ambassador, I created 2 kennel quilts using their beautiful batiks for this project.  Do you remember this cute photo of Bailey, hoping her compatriots get a forever home?

There are two featured pets this month that really do need a forever home.  

Gracey
https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/37733262

Just 4 months old, adorable shepherd mix Gracey is waiting to meet you at the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley in Knoxville.

and

Pharah

This elegant young tuxedo girl at Okefenokee Humane Society in  Waycross, GA, is ready to bring her sophisticated style to a special home.

And remember, even if you don't want to bring a pet into your home or even another pet, you can always make some small kennel quilts for a shelter or even donate food or some time.  For instructions, visit  www.kennelquilts.com