Fun Things Happening Around Here – Share Your Good News, Too!

May 9, 2015May 9, 201524 Comments

I have two quick things I’d like to share!

First, I found out this week that my blog is one of the finalists in the National Quilter’s Circle blogger awards. Thanks you guys for nominating me – that makes a girl feel so great!! Click here to check out all of the finalists and vote for your favorites in all 4 categories. 🙂

Second, I just got word that my quilt, Modern Logs won a 2nd place ribbon in the modern category at HMQS (the Home Machine Quilting Show in Salt Lake City, UT). It’s an amazing show full of very stiff competition!! I have entered quilts in that show now for the last three years and attended in person the last two times. Of course, it’s one of the ironies of life that the year I am unable to attend the awards ceremony is the year I receive recognition. 😉 I have a running joke around here that I only get ribbons at the big shows I don’t attend, LOL!!

Click here for a list of all of the HMQS 2015 winners.

Thanks to Michelle Freedman (aka designcamppdx on Instagram) for the pic!

But enough about my good news – I’d like to hear about yours! What good things have happened to you or a loved one this week? (And if you are having a particularly bad week – here’s a virtual hug for ya!! XOXO!!)

Now it’s time to go sew!

My Book is Now Available for Pre-Order!!

April 21, 2015April 20, 201529 Comments

It’s real – it’s really real! My book is now available for pre-order on Amazon! So before I faint with excitement, please allow me to tell you a little something about it… 🙂

My book is called Machine Quilting With Style: From Walking-Foot Wonders to Free-Motion Favorites. That’s quite a mouthful, but I couldn’t be more thrilled! As many others have said, it really is like birthing another child, complete with restlessness, anxiety and weight gain, LOL! 🙂 The “due” date is mid-September, about a month after my own birthday, so I really couldn’t ask for a better present.

It’s been a dream of mine to write a book since I began quilting many years ago, and the perfect opportunity came at just the right time. I had returned home from the first QuiltCon on fire with the desire to share my passion for quilting with a many people as possible. Coupled with my new-found love of the modern aesthetic, all the stars aligned in the best possible way to create this book.

Promotional information by the incredibly talented marketing team at Martingale.

Machine Quilting With Style includes patterns for 12 quilts with step-by-step instructions on how to machine quilt them. It also includes a large section on setting yourself up for successful machine quilting, with plenty of motifs to practice. There are a total of 112 pages, and I’m so grateful to Martingale (aka That Patchwork Place) for believing in my vision and allowing me to write the book I was meant to write.

Now that the hurdle of writing and editing is over, I get to engage in the fun part: promoting the book, talking to shop owners about it, creating classes around it, and getting to share it with as many people as possible. I’m pretty sure I enjoy the “social” aspect of quilting just as much as the actual making. 🙂

This is what book editing looks like!

Machine Quilting With Style is available for pre-order on Amazon at a discount off the cover price, which is always nice. You can also purchase it from your local quilt shop or favorite bookstore later this summer, or ask them to preorder you a copy when they attend quilt market this spring.

If you’d like to pre-order a signed copy directly from me, it’s just a few dollars more, and I’ll ship mid-September as soon as they come in.

Ok – I’d best get started on the next one, now! (Kidding-not-kidding!)

The Beehive Quilts – Double Star Block

April 20, 2015April 3, 20157 Comments

This month I’m pleased to be a part of The Beehive, a quilt block tutorial series hosted by Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts.

My block of the month is called Double Star, which finishes at 12″ x 12″.

Be sure to hop on over to Alyce’s blog for the Double Star block tutorial, plus see what the block looks like in repeat, and check out Alyce’s version in an alternate colorway. If that’s not enough, there’s also an extra bonus for EQ users!

Click here for links to all of the Beehive block tutorials.

I Love Writing about Free-Motion Quilting!

April 6, 2015April 6, 20155 Comments

In my latest Quilt as Desired column for the National Quilting Association, I was able to explore how background fills can add depth and texture to your quilts. I love quilting textural designs that add a lot to the quilt with little to no marking.

Excerpt from Quilting Quarterly by the National Quilting Association, Spring 2015 Issue

Speaking of NQA, you still have until April 10th to enter your quilts (especially your modern ones) into their show that will occur June 18-20 of this year. I will be teaching Modern Machine Quilting, along with two other classes and can’t wait to encourage others to give it a try.

I’ve also written a series of articles for Craftsy including tips to get you started free-motion quilting and 5 ways to trouble shoot your fmq.

As I get out there more in the world of quilting, it’s been fun to share my knowledge in different venues. Sometimes I worry that I may repeat a little bit of what I have to say. But then, it makes my day when a kind reader emails me to say, “If it wasn’t for ___ (insert name of venue or website), I never would have found you. Thanks for the tips!”

That’s truly what keeps me going! 🙂

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at My New Branding

April 1, 2015April 1, 201512 Comments

Hey guys, you may have noticed my new blog design. It’s all thanks to a lot of hard work from Design by Lindsie. I asked her to join me for an in-depth behind the scenes look at what it took to make these changes. This is a rather long and detailed blog post, but full of great info I wanted to share. So take it away Lindsie….

Hi! This is Lindsie Bergevin, Christa’s graphic designer. I wanted to stop by today and share with you an inside peek of the creative process we went through to create Christa’s branding, visual materials and website update. I also hope to share a few tips for those of you who want to go through a similar process.

It starts with a brand, not a logo

We all know how important a logo is to your business — it is the essence of your business in the simplest form. Everything your business represents is communicated in the logo. But too often we business owners get hung up on this and forget that there’s something more important.

When Christa contacted me to help her with the visual aspects of their business, the conversation started with discussion about her logo. She had a wonderful illustration she wanted to keep using in her new business identity, and incorporate it into her logo. But before I started in on that, we first talked about her branding.

What is branding? It’s not a logo. Or a color palette. Or even a website.

It is a message. And it’s one that you communicate to your customers whether you realize it or not.

Before I even start designing anything for my clients, I have found it essential to discuss the message they want to communicate. Having a clear idea of what your business is all about, who the audience is, and how you are going to approach them, are essential when you are creating the branding for your business.

To start the conversation with Christa, I asked her a few questions:

Tell me about yourself and your business
Who is your audience?
Who is your competition?
What colors inspire you?
What are some words that describe the message you want to communicate, words that describe the visual identity of your business?
What elements do you want incorporated into your visual identity? What do you not want?

What message do you want to communicate to your customers? What message are you communicating right now? Are they the same?

Branding is about creating a customer experience. When you apply branding, you are developing a perception about your business. Design is part of this process, but branding also includes elements such as naming, marketing strategy, advertising, public relations, market research, customer feedback and more. All of this helps you make decisions to run your business.

The fundamental idea behind having a brand is that everything a company does, everything it owns and everything it produces should reflect the values and aims of the business as a whole.

The visual identity then, is the application of your brand onto visual materials that your customers will see. It’s how you communicate your message.

That’s why I ask all of those questions. The answers to those questions, in particular the list of words that describe the business, drive every design decision I make in the creation and execution of the visual identity. I want each aspect I design to communicate the message of the branding.

For Christa, the list of words that she came up with to describe her business were:

Modern without screaming “Modern!”
Warm
Clean
Straight
Approachable
Trustworthy (Be a coach/Best friend)
Honest and upfront
Where to go to learn all about quilting
A modern quilting cheerleader

This provided a great starting point for us as we started in on the logo development.

Creating the logo and visual identity pieces

Before (left) and after of Christa’s logo.

When you work with a graphic designer to create your visual identity, it should be a back and forth process where you, as the client, are presented with an array of options that you pick from, then are narrowed down and refined by the designer, and then you pick again. These rounds of options are important to explore the design possibilities and give you say in how the logo is developed and what variations are created in the final suite of logos.

A selection of the logo comps we explored during the development phase. First row explores a B&W logo in various placement options, 2nd: font choices, 3rd: font weights, 4th and 5th rows: color variations. Above left is her color palette based on a photo she took of a few items that inspired the colors she wanted to use.

Christa and I went through six rounds of logo development, and while she probably didn’t expect going into the process that it would be that involved, I think the end product is a testament to her dedication and willingness to explore the options and really hone in on the versions she wanted. She’s happy with her logo and it embodies her — a win win!

The final variations of the logo include 4 sizes, all in color, b&w and reverse options. This provides Christa with flexibility to use the logo in virtually any application.

I start off designing the logo and visual identity basics like fonts and color palette, and then apply that to the various collateral my clients need. Not everything has to be created, and each client has different needs.

Visual identity pieces usually include:

Logo
Stationary – letterhead, business card, envelopes, etc.
Marketing collateral – flyers, brochures, books, websites, etc.
Products and packaging
Apparel
Signage
Messages & actions
Anything that visually represents the business

A look at the comps I created for Christa’s business cards and QuiltCon button. She chose the vertical double-sided card option with matching button.

Start with what you need to get rolling, then work with your designer to develop items as needed. Your designer should also provide you with high-quality, vector files of each of your logo versions so that you can apply your identity to pieces (with and without a designer) down the road if need be.

Website updates

When I started with Christa, she already had a successful business going, with a busy shop, active social media followers and this awesome blog. Big changes weren’t in order, just a visual update. We are in the process of updating logos throughout social media and other locations online. Her newsletter got a new banner and next up is a redesign of her quilt patterns.

Friendly Threads Newsletter before and after application of the branding.

For this website, though, it needed a visual refreshening. Christa is using WordPress.com for her site, and the software has a variety of themes that allow varying degrees of customization. Prior to the redesign, the site was using a basic WordPress theme that didn’t have much personality. (It didn’t communicate her branding and message very well.)

Before: The old site used generic typography in the banner and throughout the site and dated colors in the menubar.

Before: The old site’s theme used generic fonts that didn’t pair well together, an understated title in the banner and dated colors in the menubar.

That was my task — to find a better theme that supported her message, and then customize it as well as I could. I found success in the Selah theme, and used WordPress’ Premium Design Customization options to further tweak the colors, fonts and CSS styling of various parts.

After: The new site feels cohesive in its use of typography, colors, large photos and more white space.

The new site has a wider main area, allowing for bigger photos, and a wider sidebar, too. We cleaned up the items on the sidebar, getting rid of outdated buttons and adding a widget of her quilt designs that refreshes on each visit to the page.

A new banner also was key to making the site feel fresh and new.

A few of the banner options Christa considered before deciding on the current banner that highlights her quilt Abacus.

A few tips

For those of you just starting a business, or those who want to retool their current one, congrats! Hopefully you have realized what message you want to communicate and are ready to get to work. Do you have a logo? How about a website? Here are a few tips for improving your site:

Add a custom banner that showcases your logo and communicates your branding. It’s the first thing your readers will see, so make it count.
Use the theme options and customization options to your advantage. You will be surprised what you can accomplish with the right CSS and plugins.
Test your site on multiple browsers and devices. Each show sites differently and you may not be aware something is broken until you pull up your site in different places.
A successful site can be built with either WordPress.com or self-hosted WordPress.org setups. It all comes down to theme selection and customization. You can find a way to make your site what you want. You may just need to find someone to help you get there.

If all of this seems overwhelming, please don’t stress out and feel that you have to know everything to make your business successful. Find someone to help that knows what you don’t know. I promise it will be worth your time. Each of my clients came to that realization before finding me. They each realized that their time was worth more doing what they did best (creating their products and running their businesses) than it was getting frustrated trying to figure out how to do things they didn’t know as well.

So a little plug for my fellow graphic designers and web developers out there: Hire a professional. They can help you achieve your goals and you’ll both be happier doing what you each do best.

PSA – I’m now on Facebook! (My Int’l Quilting Day Project)

March 21, 2015March 24, 20155 Comments

It’s Quilting Day today, so I’m celebrating by inviting you to follow/friend/join me on Facebook!

I’m slowly but surely embracing more social media. It started with my blog and then I branched out to instagram last year. Now, it’s finally time to join the huge quilting community that is on Facebook. I will admit that I’m struggling a bit to understand all that is available on the platform – but for now, I’m doing my best. 🙂 Here’s how you can follow me there:

My regular account where you can friend me: search for christaquilts (or by my full name Christa Watson).

My business page: ChristaQuiltscom – I’m not really sure what the advantage is for having a page, but I’ll learn pretty quickly, I’m sure. For now, it just automatically lists my daily blog posts as they go live.

My public group: Quilt With Christa – this is the one I’m most excited about. Ever since I started my quilt alongs, I wanted an easy place for followers to posts pictures and share their progress. I tried flickr for awhile, but that got to be too cumbersome.

PS – as long as you are following along, you may as well sign up for my weekly email newsletter, Friendly Threads. Although there is naturally some overlap amongst my various social media platforms, I try not to repeat myself too much. 🙂

QuiltCon 2015 Judging Results #3 – Abacus

March 20, 2015March 18, 201512 Comments

Ahh, Abacus. I finally made a quilt incorporating negative space! I also explored my love of machine applique which I just don’t do enough of. 🙂

Abacus, 32″ x 32″ by Christa Watson. It was judged as a “small quilt” although it could have easily fit into the applique or negative space categories, too. A bigger version may be in order!

Abacus is probably one of the quickest modern quilts I’ve ever designed and made. The colors and layout came together quickly and the quilting was simple to design and easy to execute. Entering it into QuiltCon was an afterthought, but I’m glad I did because it was fun to see it hanging in the show. I was also very pleased that it hangs nice and straight.

Here are the judges’ comments for Abacus, a modern wall quilt:

Quilting stitch well done.
Binding well applied.
Push your own boundaries in color and design.

Detailed quilting on Abacus – quilted with a walking foot – so fast, easy and fun!

After sharing all 3 of my QuiltCon quilts (the other two evaluations are here and here), a clear trend emerges. All three commentaries proclaim excellent workmanship and two of them specifically mentioned good binding which is usually the number one suggested improvement in quilt shows. Where I need to ramp up my game is in my design. I need to go a little more bold and a little more modern and I’m totally cool with that!

In my quilt show experience over the years, it seems that traditional shows put more of an emphasis on workmanship whereas modern and art quilt shows give more value to design impact. While both are important in a well-made quilt, I’m certainly encouraged to “push my own boundaries in color and design” for future quilts.

I will still continue to enter modern quilts into traditional shows, but there’s nothing like getting good, informative feedback from judges who have an eye trained towards modern design.

Abacus is available to purchase as a PDF pattern.

QuiltCon 2015 Judging Results #2 – Optical Illusion

March 19, 2015March 18, 201528 Comments

Optical Illusion is the second of the three quilts I entered for judging at QuiltCon. I actually made this quilt specifically for QuiltCon, so I was very pleased when it got in. I’ve been crushing on simple geometric designs in a limited color palette, so this quilt really allowed me to explore that desire. I definitely think more black and white quilts are in my future.

And yes, it moves when you scroll it! 🙂

Optical Illusion 67″ x 88″ by Christa Watson.

Most people were surprised at how big it was in person.

Optical Illusion was placed into the piecing category which includes this description, “quilts that are machine pieced and reflect a particularly strong or innovative use of piecing.” I guess you could say this quilt was pieced innovatively, although I was secretly hoping for it to be in the minimalist category. I’m still learning exactly what minimalism means. 🙂

Here are the positive judges’ comments, along with my commentary:

Quilting motif supports the design. I’m glad – since that’s what I was going for – geometric simplicity that doesn’t overpower the quilt.
Binding is well proportioned and applied. Double yay since the binding on this quilt is what stressed me out the most!

Detail of quilting on optical Illusion – free-motion boxes.

Here are the areas for suggested improvement, along with my thoughts:

Design direction lacks focus. I was afraid of this – the judges viewed the quilt so close up that I’m afraid they missed the point of the quilt. I don’t think they read the artist’s statement either, so to them it probably just looked like a bunch of black and white squares, and they didn’t get to see the effect of the optical illusion.

I had one slight disappointment in that whoever printed off the paperwork for the show got the name wrong. I had entered it as “Optical Illusion” (I went back and double checked all my acceptance emails to make sure it wasn’t my error), but the title was listed as “48”. I can only imagine that was some kind of typo or mail merge glitch. However, much to the credit of the MQG, they did fix it immediately, once I notified them. Unfortunately, it was too late to know whether or not the incorrect title had any impact on the judging. But you know what? Rather than get all upset about it, I’ve learned through experience sometimes these things just happen. Inadvertent mistakes can be made by volunteers who are doing their best, so there’s no need to beat them up about it. 🙂

The best part about sharing this quilt was seeing the reaction it generated. I’m sure I’ll enter it into more shows in the future.

Quilt should be cleaned before entering into competition – lint. I knew I’d get knocked down on this. The quilt wasn’t linty or dirty, but the batting bearded (shed) like crazy through the black fabric on both front and back. When using dark solid fabrics, I need to stick to a black batting or one that doesn’t beard, like 100% cotton. I used Quilter’s Dream Orient which I’ve used before in print quilts with no problems. The batting is a mix of bamboo, silk, tencel and cotton. I’m not sure which fiber caused the problem, but that just means it’s time to experiment and make more quilts!

I share these critiques with you so that we can learn together what makes a successful quilt.

Standing next to Optical Illusion for scale. Though I’m pretty short so that may not help much.

I have had quite a number of people asking me for a pattern for this quilt. I am in the process of writing one now, so stay tuned!

QuiltCon 2015 Judging Results #1 – Spiraling Out of Control

March 18, 2015March 17, 201528 Comments

I recently received all 4 of my quilts back from QuiltCon. Three of those were judged so I thought it would be fun to share the results with you along with my commentary. I’m a big advocate of sharing your work in local and national quilt shows and being open minded when it comes to the judges’ critiques. Because I really want to delve into this subject, I’ve decided to write about each of the three quilts in three separate blog posts over three days.

Spiraling Out of Control by Christa Watson, 70″ x 70″

The obligatory picture of me next to the quilt for scale. I’m still figuring out how to not make my quilts wavy when they hang, but the majority of show quilts do this, so I don’t feel so bad.

Spiraling Out of Control. It was placed into the improv category by the show organizers (entrants did not select their own categories this year). That category had the largest number of entries, so it was fun to be one of them. I’m still on the fence as to whether I like the idea of not having to pick a category, or if I’d rather have more say in the process. The great thing about QuiltCon is that it answers the question of “What is a modern quilt?” Just look to any QuiltCon quilt in any category as an example of at least one element of modern quilting.

Many of you may remember Spiraling from the MQG quilt challenge sponsored by Riley Blake last year. The great thing about that contest was that it challenged me to be creative while working within a limited palette.

Here are the judges’ comments for this quilt:

Well quilted
Good design choices in the quilting
Would have liked to see more variety and exploration within the blocks

Closup of the quilting using lots of straight lines for texture.

I’m really pleased that the judges thought my workmanship was well done. I was a little stressed about the quilting not being perfect because I actually free-motion quilted all of the straight lines so I wouldn’t have to turn the quilt! Getting good feedback on my workmanship makes me feel better about my efforts.

The last point is definitely valid, but this is where it’s tricky for the judge to know the full story behind the quilt. As a design challenge, my variety of colors was limited so I couldn’t explore too much there. Also, I wanted all of the blocks to give the same diagonal effect so I really didn’t want to change the overall look or feel of the block structure. So maybe this quilt would have fared better in the modern traditional category since it also looks like a modernized version of a traditional string pieced block, although the techniques I used are vastly different.

Photo credit goes to planetdorth on instagram. I love the juxtaposition of the guys’ striped tee next to this quilt. It was fun to watch people stare and get lost in this quilt!

All in all though, I’m very pleased that it was part of the show and for sure I will try to go out on a limb more with future designs. One of the best things about having this quilt in the show is that it definitely raised my profile as a quilter and several people came up to talk to me about it. It’s already been featured in a couple of different magazines and has been seen in several shows, so the time I took to make it has been well worth it. Suffice it to say that a pattern is definitely coming, but it will be a few months down the road….

My Week at the Folkschool – How to Make a Modern Quilt

March 16, 2015March 14, 20158 Comments

Last week I embarked on an exciting adventure that I want to share with you. I spent 5 full days teaching a full group of students How to Make a Modern Quilt at the John C. Campbell Folkschool. Although it’s hard to capture such a full week in one blog post, here’s a little recap:

The fiber arts building housed both the weaving studio and the quilting studio in separate halves of this beautiful structure, complete with a barn block!

Day 0 – Arrival and check in. This wasn’t a full day of teaching, but as soon as I got off the airplane (in Atlanta) I took a beautiful scenic drive through the woods of Georgia to the mountains of North Carolina. The Folkschool is located in a quaint little town called Brasstown and it was a beautiful place where time literally seemed to stand still. As soon as I was out of the car, it was time to check-in for teacher orientation, enjoy a wonderful southern dinner (the first of many delicious meals), and then meet the students.

Fortunately many of my students had been there before, and knew their way around, so they were able to lead me to the quilting studio, a huge space that was fully equipped for some serious sewing (though most of my students brought their own machines).

There was enough space for all 12 students to each have their own table, design wall and cutting area, plus plenty of ironing boards. We even had room for full-size basting tables!

Day 1-2 Cutting and sewing. Once the students had settled in and organized their supplies, it was time to cut fabrics and learn some modern quilting basics (letting go of perfection, embracing asymmetry, discovering improvisational piecing.) Throughout the week it was fun getting to know the quilters and their various styles. As a teacher, I love to share my methods but I am so happy for each student to settle into her own process and find a comfortable work-flow.

Some of the Modern Logs blocks starting to emerge. I love all the fabric choices!

Day 3 – More block sewing and piecing the backs. Throughout the class I encouraged the students to work at their own pace. Some decided to make bigger quilts, others took their time with the process, and they all seemed to embrace the design possibilities in their backing.

Isn’t this a great pieced backing?

A few of the students even made me smile by throwing in a few random pops of color to their wonky blocks. They agreed that they were channeling their inner Jacquie Gering. 🙂

Day 4 – Basting and machine quilting. This was the day that many had been waiting for, a chance to learn how to quilt their own quilts! They all agreed that they preferred spray basting hands-down to pin-basting and were pleased to learn some of my tips and tricks: such as smoothing each layer with a long ruler, applying spray to the top and backing (not the batting) and ironing the whole thing to set the glue. Each time a quilter finished her backing, several others came together to get it basted in mere minutes. It was quite the efficient process!

This combination of modern fabrics and nearly solids makes my heart sing!

Our week just happened to coincide with Southern Appalachian Modern Quilt Guild meeting, so several of the students and I were able to attend. We got to see inspiring show ‘n tell, eat yummy treats and watch a wonderful slideshow recap of QuiltCon highlights. I even picked up a couple of great ideas to share with my local modern quilt guild (LVMQG).

Pam’s SAMQG show ‘n tell – her original woven fabrics pieced into a table runner.

Pam Howard is the Resident Weaver at the Folkschool and a member of the SAMQG. She was in my class and we became fast friends. She’s experimenting with incorporating her hand-loomed fabrics into her quilts. Isn’t that a cool idea?

Day 5 – The finish and closing ceremony. I am so proud of my students! After a full week of nearly-non stop quilting, smiles were aplenty as everyone got to display their work for the entire school to see. From basketry to woodworking, to tin-smithing, photography, soapmaking, beadwork and more, just about every craft you could think of was well-represented.

Several of the arts and crafts on display at the Folkschool Closing ceremony.

If you’ve never been to the Folkschool, I highly encourage you to visit. They run week-long classes year ’round and I can’t wait to return!

For those of you near the Little Rock, Arkansas area, I will be teaching a shorter version of Modern Logs at the NQA 46th annual quilt show June 18-20, 2015 along with a few other classes. Click here for details.

I just made some new BQF’s (best quilting friends) and I’d love to meet some more!