Quilts – Page 8 – Jinny Beyer Studio

Posted on April 29, 2015July 29, 2022 by Jinny Beyer — 4 Comments

Cookies & Quilts: They’re More Alike Than You Think

I realized the other day that quilting is a lot like baking cookies. (I may have been a little hungry at the time.) To bake cookies, you have many ingredients that you gather together sometimes lining them all up before you even get started mixing. Imagine the disaster if you used the exact same measurements of flour, butter, salt, baking soda, etc. What makes your cookies taste good is the amount of each of those ingredients you use.

When looking at a palette of colors such as the one shown here, you might think there is too much red, or maybe you don’t like so much purple. Keep in mind that you are seeing equal amounts of each of the colors.

A quilt will look very different depending how much of each color is used. To illustrate this, I have used the Carnival fabric collection to update our popular quilts “Night and Day.” The blocks of the quilts are made with sets of fabric that are strip pieced. Once the strips are sewn, then identical triangles are cut.

When I first designed “Day” I wasn’t planning on making two quilts but I realized that the leftover triangles (B) could be used in another quilt. The only extra fabric needed would be the background. We changed our kits to include all the fabric needed to make two quilts, a “Night” and a “Day.” I decided to use a light background for “Day” and a dark background for “Night.” “Day” has so much more orange showing and “Night” has more purple.

Night and Day Carnival1 — Night (left) and Day (right)

The background can also affect how the colors look. This time I went one step further and swapped the backgrounds of Night and Day and created two new quilts called Dusk and Dawn.

Dusk and Dawn Carnival — Dusk (left) and Dawn (right)

Getting back to those cookies again, the ingredients you choose and the amounts you use is how you create a finished product which suits you. Whether you like your cookies chewy or cakelike or whether you like the colors orange or purple, it is all a matter of taste. But at the same time, don’t be afraid to tweak your recipe, experiment with different ingredients, combinations and amounts. You just might come up with something delicious.

Posted on April 15, 2015July 29, 2022 by Jinny Beyer — 4 Comments

Quilt As Desired

These three words–quilt as desired–often leave a quiltmaker in a quandary as to what to do next. They’ve faithfully followed a pattern and now they are left with a quilt top and wishing for guidance. One of the most common questions we get is, “How do I quilt my quilt?” There is never one right answer to this question and there are so many possibilities.

Your first decision is whether to hand or machine quilt. It is no secret that I do everything by hand and that includes the quilting. Today, I will address hand quilting and in a future blog I will let my staff talk about machine quilting.

If you have decided to hand quilt, you need to think about the look you want and the amount of quilting you want to do. If you are willing to take a little extra time, the result will be well worth it. Let me show you three of my quilts which include my favorite quilting designs.

Day Lilies is a tessellation quilt found in my book, Quiltmaking by Hand. Seven thin strips of fabric make up each flower petal. For most of the patches, I used my go-to style of quilting known as “outline quilting.” Outline quilting is often used for quilts that are made up of multiple pieces of patchwork because it emphasizes the shapes of the pieces. I usually quilt about ¼” from the seams in each of the pieces sewing just beyond the seam allowance so I don’t have to sew through the extra thickness of the seams. For the pieces which were just too skinny, I did one line of stitching up the middle.

Despite the popularity of Windows, I think few ever stop to look at the way this quilt was quilted. (Editor’s note: Click here to read the story behind Windows.) Elaborate quilting would have been lost on this quilt so, once again, I outline quilted each of the pieces, 1/4″ in from the seams.

The narrow border strip is actually made up of three different pieces—two narrow strips sewn to either side of a wider strip. I quilted right next to the seam line of each of the narrow strips. This is referred to as “quilting in the ditch.” I don’t use this method often but use it when I’ve incorporated very narrow strips—1/2” wide or less—of border prints in my quilts. The border pieces would have looked puffy without the extra quilting.

To complete the quilting on Windows, I let the border print dictate the quilting design. For border prints and other areas that are filled with large-scale fabrics, your quilting can simply follow the fabric designs. This type of quilting emphasizes the fabric’s unique design and gives your quilt that one-of-a-kind look. In Olde World Star, below, you will find this type of quilting not only in the borders but also in the octagons which use mirror images of the border print fabric.

With my Olde World Star quilt, in addition to following the fabric design and outline quilting, there are some significant open spaces of background. Areas such as this allow you to shine with your quilting.

There are many designs, such as feathers, which can be used to fill in a background. In the image above, I used a scroll-like design and made it stand out with stippling, close, wavy rows of tiny stitches. Echo quilting was used around the appliquéd broderie perse flowers.

All over designs, simple cross hatching, the possibilities are endless. Whatever you choose to do with your completed quilt top, remember that a carefully thought out quilting pattern is an important component in the creation of a beautiful quilt.

Posted on April 1, 2015July 29, 2022 by Jinny Beyer — 17 Comments

Craftsy BOM Students

When I agreed to design and teach a Block of the Month class for Craftsy last year, I have to admit that I had no idea what to expect. I have been quilt teacher for decades now. Even though I’ve written many books and had lessons recorded for viewing either online or on TV, most of my teaching has been face to face. I was hoping to get a good response to the Craftsy class but in no way did I ever imagine that well over 60,000 of you would sign up.

While I’m thrilled by your response, I do miss the interaction with my students. I’m fortunate, though, to have the Studio here in Virginia where I get to see several students who are making each month’s blocks and talk to them about their experience with the class. Here are just two of them and their experiences.

Margot is a frequent customer who brings cheer into the shop when she visits. If you follow us on Facebook, you have often seen her work. She is quite an enthusiastic quilter and we love when she walks in the door to share her work.

Up until January, Margot had been very busy completing large bed quilts, pillow cases and smaller children’s quilts for donation. She decided to take a break to study, to learn something new, and signed up to take my Craftsy class. She says, “It was just too good an opportunity to miss.”

Hand stitching the first block was difficult for her. The stitches were not uniform; the blocks were not the right size. But she hung in there with the project and completed the block. Each block became easier and her stitches became more regular. Not as small as she would like but acceptable to her.

As she now has the first four blocks completed, hand piecing has become a habit. This success arose from constant work and locating help on Craftsy when needed. She is happy to say that at age 77, she can still learn a new skill.

Cathy is also taking the class. I first met her on a trip to India over a year ago. Just this past month, when she expressed interest in working at the Studio, I quickly hired her.

Her quilting addiction, as she calls it, began a few years ago when visiting her sister and being told they were taking a beginning quilting class together. Having only worked on fairly simple blocks so far, Cathy decided that she needed to step out of her comfort zone and signed up for the BOM class.

“I was apprehensive and was afraid of failure. I loved the fabric and before I knew it, I was on the website, signed up for the class, ordered the kit and now I was committed. “

The first block appeared to be going well but once the top of the basket was sewn in place there was an issue–it did not match up with the bottom. She soon discovered that she had cut one set of the triangles the wrong size. After recutting and sewing, she was happy with the results. (Don’t worry. We’ve ALL been there, Cathy!)

Cathy writes: “I have discovered if you watch the video (more than once) and carefully read (and re-read) the instructions for assembling the block, you will be successful. My fear and hesitation has now turned to excitement and I am anxiously waiting for the new month so I can learn more. Bring on the appliqué and paper piecing!”

Often we hesitate to try new things when they seem difficult or unfamiliar. Learning new skills can be exciting yet intimidating at the same time. I have found, though, that with practice, these new skills become easier and, eventually, even natural. As my students have told me, the best thing to do is to just jump right in and give it a try.

Posted on February 25, 2015July 29, 2022 by Jinny Beyer — 16 Comments

Hand vs. Machine – There’s Room for Both

We are approaching the third month in the Craftsy 2015 Block of the Month. This is a project I have been working on for almost a year. It has been exciting to see the level of enthusiasm and how prolific the students are. I developed the design to cover a wide variety of quilting techniques. These include both hand and machine piecing, foundation piecing, two different methods of applique, working with border prints, mitering corners and so much more. It has been interesting to hear some of the comments.

In the first month, I introduced hand piecing. Some were confused, thinking the quilt is made all by hand. We just hadn’t gotten to some of the machine techniques. Those who gave hand piecing a try, though, seemed pleasantly surprised. One student, Tracy, seemed so thrilled with her completed block that she posted this photo of it on my Facebook page with the note, “My first ever hand pieced block; this is going to be a great challenge. Thanks Jinny!” You’re welcome, Tracy. This is just the reaction a teacher loves to see.

The second month, some people were surprised that I was introducing machine techniques. Since I do all my piecing by hand, some wondered if I have “sold out” to the machine sewers. No, no, no. Not to worry. I still hand piece and hand quilt all of my quilts. That does not mean that I can’t sew by machine. I learned to sew on my mother’s treadle machine when I was five. I have pieced by machine but find that it takes a block of time at home to do that. I never seem to have that time. I have time when I am in a doctor’s office, on a plane, in a hotel room, on a long car ride…..or watching a baseball game with my family.

I have always found handwork relaxing, and that is why I love quilting by hand. I think my very first quilt is still the one I enjoyed making the most and it was all by hand.

People have also wondered about the durability of machine piecing versus hand piecing. I personally think hand piecing can be more durable. Machine stitching is very “tight”. If the quilt gets stretched it is possible for a stitch to break and then several stitches either side of the break unravel as well. Hand stitching is a “softer” line and the thread is less apt to break when the fabric is stretched. Just look at all of the hand pieced antique quilts around us which have survived a few generations of use.

But you know, where quilting is concerned there is no “this” or “that”, but what each individual wants or likes to do. It is still nice to be introduced to different techniques because you never know if you might find something new that you will enjoy!

If you have not signed up for this free program you can still do so. Just follow this link from our home page. You can access all of the past lessons and replay them whenever you want. New lessons will come at the beginning of each month.

Posted on February 4, 2015July 29, 2022 by Jinny Beyer — 18 Comments

Simple Stitches, Exquisite Quilts

It was with a little bit of trepidation that I waved goodbye to the majority of my personal quilts I have made. They were loaded into an SUV to be taken to the Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisonburg for their three month exhibit “Simple Stitches, Exquisite Quilts.” I told my friend, Bunnie Jordon, the exhibit’s curator who was driving them down, “There goes my life’s work.” No pressure there!

Many of my longtime friends helped to hang the quilts. Since this experience has been something akin to handing over my children, this calmed me…somewhat.

As you know, I make all of my quilts by hand. People think I am crazy to do everything by hand and they marvel that I do it but wonder why.

But to me handwork is a solace. Sitting and stitching by hand and thinking about what is going on in my life spins the events of everyday life into the quilts. It is sort of a meditation – you don’t have to rush, finish, get it done. I can just relax and enjoy the moment. That is what hand stitching is to me.

I can look at each of those quilts and know where I was when I was making it, what was happening in my life at that time and each one brings back memories.

The exhibit will have 18 of my personal quilts including “Ray of Light” and “Windows” as well as 21 quilts from my charm quilt collection.

3 Quilts — Sundance, Day Lilies, and Ode to Vasarely

A quilt where every piece is cut from a different fabric is called a charm quilt. Charm quilts are usually made with pieces cut from a single shape such as a square, diamond, triangle or hexagon. Tumbling Blocks is one of my favorite designs for a charm quilt and is a great hand-piecing project. I love these unique quilts and often use their many fabrics as inspiration for my fabric designs.

My exhibit at the museum runs through April 25. I will be giving a lecture, to be followed by a reception, on February 22. I would love to have you join me. For more information, please visit the Virginia Quilt Museum website.

Posted on October 22, 2014July 29, 2022 by Jinny Beyer — 18 Comments

2014 Quest Quilt- Lotus

Last February I was asked to give a lecture at the AQS show in Phoenix. The quilt show was amazing and it was my first opportunity to see the Tentmakers of Cairo. The two men from Egypt were demonstrating the appliqué technique that they use for decorating tents. I loved both the boldness and intricacies of their designs and thought that maybe it was time that I got back to appliqué. Inspired by what I saw, I have recently been working on quilt designs that contain both piecing and appliqué.

About a month ago, I shared with you a photo of a quilt on my blog that I was designing and making for our annual shop hop, Quilters’ Quest. At that point, I had the star made and was working on the appliqué which would be in the background squares and triangles. With all the flight time on my recent trip to Japan, I was able to finish the background and I recently added the borders.

If you are in the Washington D.C. area Nov. 7-16 this year or are in the mood for a road trip, you might enjoy taking part in the Quest. We are working very hard gearing up for it, making special projects, assembling kits, and preparing demonstrations.

Each shop has designed and made a quilt using our color-coordinated 2 ½” strips. When you visit a shop, you will receive a free pattern for that shop’s quilt. The colors are jewel tones and blend well together. Our Quest quilt, Lotus, shown here, is made up of the strips that each shop will be distributing. There are ten shops and if you make it to all ten shops you will be eligible for some fantastic prizes.

We still have a few places on our two buses and would love to have you join us.

Posted on October 2, 2014July 29, 2022 by Jinny Beyer — 1 Comment

Teaching Children to Sew Part II

Passing along our love of quilting to future generations helps to mark our history and links us as families and communities. I am thrilled that my granddaughter, Polly, loves to sew and I see this sharing of our art form with my customers and staff.

Staff member Nancy discovered a willing helper while machine piecing one day. Whenever she hears the sewing machine running, granddaughter Kyra, 18 months, drops her toys and comes running. She loves to choose the fabric squares and sits on her Nana’s lap to sew. Nancy always keeps a stack of scrap squares by the machine for Kyra to help sew.

Staff member Linda always brings a project with her when she visits her grandchildren. Grandson Andy was curious and wanting to copy what Oma was doing. He holds the needle and takes stitches now on the special projects that Linda brings him.

We don’t have to sit with needle and thread or sewing machine to share our love of quilting.

Customer Angela V. and daughter Erin were in the Studio last month choosing border fabric for their quilt. Erin loves to help her mom design quilts and choose fabrics. She doesn’t do the sewing yet but you never know what the future will bring.

Jinny Beyer Club member Judy I. recently brought her granddaughter to a meeting. Caelyn, 5 ½, likes “blanquettes” as she calls them. She has not started sewing yet but loves to play with her grandmother’s fabrics. She is always cutting out shapes and they glue them to paper making quilt designs. What a wonderful way Judy is instilling in her granddaughter an appreciation of quilts and maybe an understanding of why her grandmother loves to sew.

It is no secret to quilters that children can learn much from the process of quilting. We have heard of teachers incorporating the making of quilts into the curriculum to teach subjects such as math, social studies, reading and writing. I think we, however, just want to share what we love. The Sisters of the Cloth quilt guild in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, has a wonderful motto: Each one teach one. Maybe that’s what we should all aspire to do especially with children. Just imagine all of the new little sewers we can create.

Posted on September 24, 2014July 29, 2022 by Jinny Beyer — 7 Comments

Teaching Children to Sew

I don’t remember learning to sew. It is something I have always done. I don’t remember learning to thread a needle or making a knot or taking a first stitch. I do remember sitting in a grocery store at age 5, waiting for my mother to shop and knitting. I only remember that because people were amazed that this small child was knitting. I don’t remember learning to knit either.

What children are exposed to at an early age, even if they are not adept, they still feel they “know how to do it.”

My granddaughter at age five likes to sew. She probably won’t remember learning because it is just something she knows. When she was just a baby she was fascinated watching me stitch. Then one day at age 10 months I saw her pick up two of my patches and rub them next to each other like she was sewing. A few months later crawling across the kitchen floor, she found a needle I had dropped. She held it carefully in her hand, crawled over to me and said “Here you go, Grandma”.

She was two when I had her “help me sew”. I would start a stitch and have her pull the needle through. I was using my tiny betweens 11 needle and a single thread and I showed her how to close her hand over the thread as she pulled so the needle wouldn’t come unthreaded.

At age three and a half she was cutting with small scissors. I remember one day the baby sitter came and saw her with the scissors and quickly took them away saying those were for grownups. She got huge crocodile tears and her feelings were so hurt. She said, “But I can sew. I’m a good sewer, and I can cut carefully with scissors”.

Every time I go to visit, I have a sewing project with me and Polly always asks if she can help. Mostly I’ve been working with diamonds and I give her some to sew together. The last time I went I had squares. She said, “But I like sewing with diamonds. They are easier to sew than squares.”

She has figured some things out on her own. For instance, she has a hard time putting the needle in and pulling it back out and she figured that if she pinched the fabric she could put the needle through and get her in-out stitch at one time.

September is National Sewing Month and it has had me thinking about what starts us sewing and what we can do to pass it on. In next week’s blog, I’ll share with you how those around me are helping spread their love of sewing. I’d love to hear from you about how you have sparked that interest in children: studio@jinnybeyer.com.

Posted on September 10, 2014July 29, 2022 by Jinny Beyer — 7 Comments

Enjoying My Stolen Moments

It’s been quite busy here at the Studio. Even though two new lines of fabrics have just come out, I’ve been working on several new collections for the coming year. I’ve been designing new projects to go along with all of this fabric. I’ve been traveling. And, I’ve been sewing.

I’ve had a so much fun piecing my latest design, a quilt for our annual shop hop, Quilters’ Quest, coming in November. If you read our September newsletter, you saw a little peak at it. Here is a little bit more. I should be able to show the quilt with some of the appliqué background in the next couple of weeks.

This Lone Star quilt will combine piecing and appliqué. I first started doing this about 20 years ago with soft-edge piecing.

For another Quest a few years ago, the Midnight Garden quilt and tote combined beautiful appliqué created by staff member Diane Kirkhart along with my central pieced design.

The introduction of new appliqué tools to the market inspired me to create another quilt combining piecing and appliqué. The color palette for this year’s Quest is made up of vibrant jewel tones and I’ve used these colors to create my Lone Star. In what is normally just empty background around the star, I’m adding elegant vines and flowers. I’ve had the most wonderful time working on this project, always looking forward to the opportunities when I could sit down and sew.

We have recently started carrying Apliquick tools. I’ll admit that I tend to stick with methods I’ve used for years but I do find these products really do simplify the process, making it much easier to achieve success. We have an introduction to these tools under our “Tips and Lessons” tab.

The pattern for this quilt will be available during the Quest for free. You get a free pattern from each participating shop during this 10-day period.

Maybe more than the design process, I’ve simply been enjoying the sewing. In my Quiltmaking by Hand book, I quote Rose Wider Lane from The Woman’s Day Book of American Needlework, 1964: “Then you thread a needle and settle comfortably in your chair. The needle runs easily back and forth through soft cloth while nerves relax and useless worries fade away.” So when life seems a little hectic, I’m just going to enjoy my stitching every chance I get.

Posted on August 6, 2014July 29, 2022 by Jinny Beyer — 5 Comments

Shop Hop Fun!

Every year, along with nine others shops in the area, we hold a shop hop known as Quilter’s Quest. Held each November, the planning starts months earlier. At one of our meetings this spring, we discussed another type of shop hop held during the summer known as the Row by Row Experience. Started in upstate New York just four years ago, participation is spreading across the country and we all decided to join in. We didn’t know what to expect but we have all been thrilled with the fun which has ensued.

We often get quilters from all over but this summer the quilters who have stopped by have been telling us of shops they have visited across the country and it seems that my staff, too, has caught the Row by Row bug. Here, then, are some of the places they have visited and the experiences they’ve had.

That's Sew Debbie! in Groton, Connecticut — That’s Sew Debbie! in Groton, Connecticut

Nancy accompanied her husband on a business trip to Groton, Connecticut. Visiting “That’s Sew Debbie!” she was warmly greeted by Alberta H. and delighted to find that the Row by Row patterns were on a table covered with one of my palette fabrics. She was then introduced to one of the instructors, Charlie M. Charlie is currently working on his second Moon Glow quilt (wow!) and is a great “collector” of my fabrics. I love the quilt he’s holding in the picture here and I recognize almost all of those fabrics, Charlie.

Shops in the Pennsylvania area — Shops in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area

Diane went to seven shops in two days while visiting Lancaster County, PA. Even though she has visited the area often, she discovered quilt shops there she never knew existed. One store looked so tiny from the front she normally wouldn’t have bothered to stop but upon entering was thrilled to discover it just went on and on, filled with wonderful fabric. Now it will be a regular stop on her visits there.

Kristi regularly travels between here and Greensboro, NC, and just last week decided to break up the driving with five stops at participating shops. She hadn’t been to some of the shops in years and really enjoyed seeing all the new and different fabrics they held.

Kristi with Joanne Jones, the shop owner — Kristi at Ye Olde Forest, with Joanne Jones, the shop owner

Over the weekend, one of our staff, Sharon, while visiting family in Tacoma, Washington, stopped by Calico Threads. Here she is standing with Sandy Pickering and Donna Denman who opened the shop 2 years ago. Having lived in Tacoma in her high school years, Sharon recognized the bridge in the store’s pattern – the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Sharon with Sandy Pickering and Donna Denman of Calico Threads in Tacoma, Washington

Barb stopped in at “Running Stitches” in Kent, Washington to pick-up a Row by Row pattern. She had a lovely chat with the staff and found a few fat quarters that had to come home with her (“As if I didn’t already have enough” she said). On her way out, she saw a gentleman on an adult tricycle with a basket mounted between the rear wheels. In that basket ? You guessed it, his sewing machine safely buttoned down inside its case. Too bad you didn’t get a picture of that, Barb.

As my staff visited other shops they asked themselves why they don’t do this more. Every shop carries different fabrics and has a different “feel” to it to inspire and spark your creativity. Row By Row continues through September 2^nd. After that, why don’t you consider joining us in November for our Quilter’s Quest?