Quilt in Progress – Exploring Ruler Work

August 14, 2017August 15, 201710 Comments

I’m currently remaking one of my quilts from Piece and Quilt with Precuts while trying out something new at the same time. After all, if I’m not constantly pushing myself to try new things, the hobby that I love can get really old, really fast!! I’m creating another version of “Starstruck” from my new fabric so that I can showcase it at quilt market in the fall right before the fabric releases. (FYI – it’s called Modern Marks from Benartex – available in November!)

Christa Watson Machine Quilting - Modern Marks Fabric

To keep a densely quilted quilt soft, I use cotton fabric, thread and batting. I’m using one layer of Hobbs Tuscany cotton and it is the softest ever. I love it!

I’m also trying out free-motion quilting straight lines using rulers rather than marking or using a walking foot. I have to say up front that it’s been a bit of a struggle and a HUGE learning curve! It’s a whole new movement for me, holding onto the quilt while also holding onto the ruler.

It’s also a bit awkward because where you stitch is actually 1/4″ away from the edge of the ruler to account for the width of the ruler toe. Like I teach my students, practice makes progress, so I’m not taking out any wobbles or wiggles in this quilt – it’s all part of the learning process!

Christa Watson Ruler Work Practice

I love combining straight lines with curvy motifs to create contrast in the quilting.

Right now I’m trying out two different rulers – one has handles on it to help better grip the quilt but the posts can get caught up on the back of the foot when I move it, causing tiny stitches to occur. I find that I get much better results if I keep the ruler on the front or side of the toe while I stitch.

Leah Day Ruler work template

Don’t you love how Leah’s template matches my fabric??? Serendipity at it’s best!!

The other rulers I’m trying out are from Leah Day’s set of Dresden Plate acrylic templates. She gave me a set to try out when we met for lunch at QuiltCon earlier this year, and I love how she so cleverly designed them to double as rulers for ruler work! I seem to get smoother lines without the handles. The smaller size is also ideally suited for a domestic machine since there’s not a lot of room on the bed of the machine.

Working on this quilt gives me renewed appreciation for any of my beginning students as they try free-motion quilting for the first time! Just as I teach my students that they will get better with practice, quilting on “real quilts” is the best way to learn and improve!

Christa Watson ruler work practice I’m having fun trying out lots of different quilting motifs in the stars!

In this quilt, I’m outlining each of the starts by first stitching in the ditch. Then I quilt the middle of each star, then quilt two lines around each star. To make the quilting continuous I’m traveling over a small line after I complete each pass around the star, rather than starting and stopping.

Then I’m quilting a different free-motion design on the outside of each star to add more texture. Most of the quilting motifs I’m stitching come from my books, and a few are new ideas I’m trying out.

Christa Watson free motion quilting Starstruck from Piece and Quilt with Precuts

I love the “pattern on pattern effect!”

To keep it somewhat organized, I’m alternating with a pairing of curvy and geometric free-motion designs in each block. I chose to use a shade of yellow 50 weight cotton Aurifil thread from my Piece and Quilt Collection. It blends in nicely with most of the fabrics and adds a fun layer of pattern on pattern in some of the contrasting areas.

There are definitely some areas of the quilt that look better than others, but I love being a “perfectly imperfect quilter!” (I’m also a perfectly imperfect photographer, but I’d rather show real in-progress pics than nothing at all!)

I’ve learned by trial and error that the best way to hide imperfect stitches is to surround them with more imperfect stitches. 🙂

Yummy Texture created with free motion quiltign by Christa Watson

Can we say “yummy texture?!”

Because I have a longer time frame in which to complete this quilt, I’m really enjoying the process of quilting just a couple of stars each day, without feeling rushed.

I’m liking how this block below is turning out, using the ruler to free-motion quilt my “wonky square spiral” design that I usually teach using a walking foot. I definitely prefer quilting straight lines when they don’t have to line up perfectly!

Ruler work practice

(If you want to improve your ruler work skills check out Amy Johnson’s Craftsy classes on the subject: Quilting with Rulers on a Home Machine, and Creative Quilting with Rulers.)

I’ll be sure and share the final reveal later in the fall, so stay tuned!! Now I just have a few more blocks to finish and then I can relax and enjoy one of my favorite steps beside machine quilting – the hand binding….

What’s your favorite part of the quilt-making process? I’d love to know!

Save

Book Reviews: Walk and Free Motion Quilting 1-2-3

July 28, 2017July 23, 20177 Comments

So by now I hope you all know how much I love incorporating BOTH walking foot and free-motion techniques in my quilts. So I thought it would be fun to share two of my favorite books on those two techniques! Jacquie Gering’s WALK is THE definitive guide to Walking Foot Quilting, and Lori Kennedy is a whiz at showing you how to create fabulous free-motion motifs step by step.

Walk by Jacquie Gering

I ran into Jacquie at quilt market last year and we both swapped copies of our books. I love how encouraging the quilting community is, even when many of us are teaching the same subjects!

By far one of my favorite things about WALK is that Jacquie shares her “wall basting” method in step by step photos. This is similar to the method I used, and it’s worth it to own this book just for this section! Of course, the rest of the book is fab, too as Jacquie walks you through over 60 different designs that you can do, all with a walking foot (or dual feed).

I love it how Jacquie sets you up for success through a series of “test drives” to get you comfortable with her process.

Walk by Jacquie Gering

Take a look at these two exercises from the book, shown in the photos above and below (photography credit Lucky Spool):

Walk by Jacquie Gering

Jacquie’s methods involve marking and are a little more precise than mine, but I love it that there are a whole range of options to explore. She gets you comfortable first with basic straight lines, and then she moves on to gentle curves, decorative stitches, and several designs you can do incorporating the reverse feature on your machine.

Whether you are new to walking foot quilting, or want to expand your horizons with this fast and fun technique, I encourage you to give WALK a try – you’ll be glad you did!

Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3

Moving on to free-motion, take a look at Lori Kennedy’s debut book, Free-Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3. Based on Lori’s step by step photo tutorials, this book is a beautiful center piece for you sewing room and I know you’ll spend time poring over its pages!

Free-Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 features over 400 photographs plus oodles of trouble shooting tips. My favorite part of the book is where she shows the difference between good and bad tension, and what to do to avoid thread buildups (it’s all about the starting and stopping point of each design). Just having a visual guide is such a huge help when you are learning to quilt!

Take a look at just two of the 60+ designs that are shared in the book (photography courtesy of Martingale/That Patchwork Place and Brent Kane):

Free-Motion quilting loops

Loops are a perennial favorite and probably the easiest design to learn! Follow Lori’s step by step tips and you’ll be finishing your quilts with a flourish!

Lori Kennedy Spirals

Once you learn Lori’s basic spirals, you can then move onto Spiral Rose, Spiral Heart, Reverse Spiral, and more! It’s like anything new: learn the basics and build your skills from there.

So whether you prefer to quilt with your walking foot, or free-motion or both, these books have got you covered. After all, even though I teach similar techniques, I always recommend that my students learn from several different sources. You ever know when someone is going to explain an idea in a different way that will resonate you!

Save

Road to California Registration Opens Saturday and I’m Teaching!

July 7, 2017July 5, 20176 Comments

I’m heading to Road to California as a teacher next January and I couldn’t be more thrilled! But before I get into the classes I’m teaching, I have to tell you a story about how this amazing show has been part of my professional quilting journey.

Road to California was the first national quilt show I attended in 2011 and was the catalyst that made me want to enter my work in national shows and become a national teacher. It was also really the first time I started getting to meet some of my favorite “sew-lebrities” like Eleanor Burns of Quilt in a Day. Like many others before me, I watched her quilting TV series on PBS when I first got into quilting, and was instantly hooked on her warm, inviting teaching style and funny television antics (such as tossing scraps over her shoulder onto the floor behind her).

Christa Quilts Meets Quilt in a Day

Meeting Eleanor Burns at Rd 2 CA in 2011 was awesome. My bangs back then? Not so much!!

When I returned the following year in 2012, I took a class from award winning thread-painting artist Nancy Prince and we really connected. I ended up helping her out during a demo at the show and she was very encouraging when I mentioned that I wanted to become a national teacher and write books.

She turned to me and said, “I bet you’ll be back here as a teacher some day.” You can imagine how happy I was to run into her 5 years later at the Vermont Quilt Festival and tell her that her prediction had come true! (She even gave me a ride to the festival one day when we were teaching at the same location – what a peach!!) It’s amazing people like Nancy and Eleanor who’ve motivated me to always be kind and encouraging, especially to beginning quilters. And their willingness to pay it forward has been a great example for me to follow!

Christa and Nancy Prince

Meeting Nancy Prince in 2012 (and sporting a sleeker, shorter hairstyle).

My Road to California Teaching Schedule

And now before I get too sappy with all the warm fuzzies – onto the schedule! I’ll be teaching a total of 4 full-day free-motion quilting classes, Monday-Thursday, Jan 15-18, 2018. Click here to book mark the site. Registration opens on Saturday, July 8th at 7 AM Pacific Time, and classes can sell out quickly.

Click each of the links or images below for more info and a supply list for each class:

Monday, 8 AM -3 PM: Fun with Free-Motion Swirls

This sample is from “Cornered,” showing how to combine swirls with other designs.

Tuesday, 8 AM -3 PM: Free Motion Designs with Lines

“Plumb Lines” includes modern free-motion alternatives to straight line quilting.

Wednesday, 8 AM -3 PM: Free-Motion Improv

“Free-motion improv” is a great way to show off all your favorite quilting motifs!

Thursday, 8 AM -3 PM: Modern Free-Motion Fillers

Modern machine quilting on “Candy Pop” means little to no marking, and tons of great texture!

All 4 classes will all be taught on sit-down longarm machines and the best part is that students will each get their own machine! I’ve taught at other shows in the past where students had to share and that’s kind of a bummer. But in these classes, you’ll have plenty of time to quilt and practice my motifs and methods. All l you need to bring are your sample swatches to practice on, and a “can-do” attitude!

Let me know if you plan to attend as I’d love to see you there!
Click here to see who else is teaching.

Save

Work In Progress – HST Remix

July 5, 2017July 5, 201724 Comments

I am so excited that things have finally slowed down enough this summer that I can get back to working on some quilts that don’t have any set deadline! I originally made my HST quilt shown below a couple of years ago, then it got ruined in the wash when the “mild” wash powder I used bleached out some of the squares. (Note to self- stick with liquid detergent only!!)

HST Quilt

The original HST quilt – I still fits on my bed and is very warm and usable!!

The Remake – Improv Triangles

However, I loved the design so much that I had to remake it. I’m calling the new one HST Remix. I’m using the same Alison Glass batik fabrics as I had in the original, but the background fabrics are different and the fabric arrangement will be slightly different. One of the problems with the original is that I used a “textured” background fabric that had a lot of stretch. I never could get the quilt to hang straight. I do much better sticking with regular cotton fabrics, but it’s always fun to try something new, even if it doesn’t work out so well!

HST Remix in Progress

Because I’m working with leftovers from the first quilt, I didn’t have enough yardage to cut the squares large enough to make the half-square triangles so I improvised. And honestly I like the new blocks even better! I cut the yardage I had into straight strips with no wonky angles, then sewed them together randomly and cut them into the squares I needed. So many of them now have an improv look which I just love!

I also decided to make the blocks slightly larger the 2nd time around so that the overall quilt would be a few inches bigger.

Improv HST's

Some of my improv HST blocks in progress.

If this quilt turns out well, my plan is to enter it into a few upcoming quilt shows. That’s the one weird thing about me. It’s hard to make a quilt just for the sake of making a quilt. My quilts need a purpose, even if that purpose is just to delight a viewer at a quilt show!

Seams Pressed Open

Pressing Tips

Because the construction of this quilt includes a lot of bulky seams, I’ve pressed them open to help the quilt top lie flat. Contrary to popular myth, this will NOT weaken the seams. My tip for pressing seams open is to press with a hot dry iron so you don’t burn your fingers. First I open up the seams with my fingers or using a handy device called a wooden seam roller. (This is a device made for other applications but is one of my favorite tools for quilting!!)

I also use a shorter stitch length (2.0 rather than 2.5) when sewing the seams together to ensure they won’t split apart while handling.

Seams pressed open and pinned

The biggest question I get asked is how do I get the seams to align when they are pressed open? I use lots of pins and pin right through the intersections where the points are supposed to match. The nice thing about pressing seams open is that I never have to worry about which way they need to go! I also like to press seams open to prevent shadowing – which is what happens when you can see a darker fabric underneath a light one.

I’m also a pressing maniac. Pressing a lot (without steam) helps me keep the quilt top flat as I make it. I will usually sew 3-4 rows together and then press a section before sewing all the rows together. That way I’m dealing with less bulk under the iron at one time. When I press, I press from both sides – back and front. I want a nice, super flat quilt top!

Pressing Quilt Top

Pressing is very meditative for me – I listen to an audio book or podcast while I work.

Victory Lap!

Whenever I’m working on a quilt without borders (which is most of my modern quilts), there’s lots of seams along the edges. To secure them from splitting open, I take a “victory lap” around the quilt by stitching about 1/8″ in from the edges of the quilt. I’ll use a longer stitch length here which then gets covered up by the binding.

Victory lap around the quilt to secure the edges

Victory Lap – aka “topstitching” around the edges to secure the seams.

Now that the quilt top is finished it’s time to make a pieced backing and start thinking about how I want to quilt it. In the original, I quilted lots of straight lines and some fun spirals and pebbles as shown below.

Machine Quilting HST

Original HST Quilting Motifs

For HST remix, I still want to utilize straight lines and create a woven effect with the quilting, but I might change up the design a bit. In the original, I quilted straight lines vertically through the HST blocks and that was a lot of starting and stopping!! So this time around I’m thinking of quilting them diagonally instead so I can start and end off the quilt.

Whenever I’m trying to figure out how to quilt, I’ll print out a copy of my EQ7 design (or a photo of the finished quilt top) and I simply draw on top of it. I might come up with several different ideas, and it can look like a hot mess. So it may take a few tries until I come up with something I like. This is the method I teach in my Craftsy class, The Quilter’s Path – if I can create a pathway for myself to follow, the quilting doesn’t seem so overwhelming, even on a larger quilt!

Possible Quilting Plan for HST Remix

Here’s the finished quilt top. The picture isn’t so great because I just took it with my iphone and it’s actually larger than my design wall, so it’s wrinkling up a bit at the bottom. That’s my next note to self – make quilts that are smaller than my 8′ x 7′ design wall, LOL!! Jason will help me photograph it when the quilt is finished, so I’ll leave it to him to help me figure out how to take prettier pictures!!

HST Finished Quilt Top

I’ll post again when I’m ready to baste the quilt. Since I don’t have a deadline to complete this quilt, it may be a few more weeks (or months) before I can get back to it, but I sure do enjoy sharing my process. Hopefully you’ve been able to pick up a tip or two!

Save

What it’s Like to Judge a Quilt Show – My Experience at Vermont Quilt Festival

June 30, 2017June 29, 20178 Comments

Now that I’m back and rested from my week at Vermont Quilt Festival, I thought I would tell you a little bit more about my experience judging the show with three other fabulous award winning quilters: Kathie Beltz, Kimberly Einmo, and David Taylor.

Judges at Vermont Quilt Festival

Kathie, Kimberly, Me and David – and no we didn’t match on purpose!!

This was my first time judging a large national show, although I’ve judged locally and online (checkout the Pantone Greenery 2017 winners here). I’ve also volunteered in the judging room of my local quilt guild’s show for many years, and I’m currently serving on the QuiltCon judging and jurying task force which is in the process of finalizing entry rules for next year’s show.

Each quilt show is unique with different rules, number of judges and methods, but they all have one thing in common: they are there to showcase a wide variety of quilts. Judges are instructed to give positive praise as well as helpful encouragement, and judges follow the rules given to them by the show.

Best Hand Quilting VQF

Best Hand Quilting – Cauterskill Rising by Janet Atkins of Athens, NY

VQF Judging

VQF is a non-juried show, which means that entries are selected by mailed in entry postmark, on a first-come first served basis until the number of quilts the show can accept has been met. (By contrast, a juried show means that you submit photos of your quilt and a small pool of jurors selects those that will be accepted for entry and judging.) For all quilt shows, judging is blind, which means that the judges have no idea who’s quilt they are judging. They may or may not have access to the name of the quilt, and the artists’ statement, but that’s it.

Best Machine Quilting VQF

Best Stationary Machine Quilting – Sapphires on Snow by Norma Ippolito of Chester, VT

For VQF, they hired 4 judges and each quilt (except for a couple of special categories) was judged by 3 of the four judges. So one person’s quilt was evaluated by judge A,B,C and another person’s quilt could have been examined by judge B, C, D etc. The entrants were not informed of which judges looked at their quilts, but each quilt received a total of 3 written judging sheets.

Example Judging Sheet for VQF

Example Judging Sheet for VQF

In this show, each quilt was given a numerical score with a total possible score of 100 points. Those that scored within a certain number were then giving a corresponding ribbon: 85-89 points – yellow (third place); 90-93 points – red (second place); 94-97 points – blue (first place); 98-100 points – purple (exceptional merit). What is unique about this show is that quilts were judged on their own merits rather than against other quilt. So this means that some categories could have multiple ribbons of the same color, while it’s possible that other categories may not receive any blues or purples, etc.

Best Mixed Techniques, VQF

Best Outside of USA – Flower Pots by Frances Firn Ceriko of Quebec, Canada

Each judge took a look at each quilt independently of the other judges, and 2 scribes were assigned to each judge to record their scores and comments. The entrant’s final score was based on the average of all 3 scores for the final point total. On the rare occasion that the three scores varied by more than 10 points from high to low, we judges got together – called a “conference” – to discuss why the variation occurred and then decided whether or not to adjust our scores. With hundreds of quilts to score and 4 judges with different voices, it was amazing how few times that happened!

Best Modern Quilt at VQF

Best Modern Quilt – It’s Universal by Anya Byam of Burlington, VT

Once we concluded judging each category, then it was time to move onto the special awards and “best of.” Some of the categories such as best applique, best use of theme, etc. were chosen based on their numerical score. Others such as best home machine quilting, best hand quilting, best piecing, etc. were chosen at our discretion. We were also able to choose 6-7 special additional awards and name those ourselves, such as “best bling, best graphic quilt” etc. And of course each of us got to choose our own “judges’ choice” which was super fun – and hard to narrow down!

Best Vermont Quilt VQF

Best Vermont Quilt – Whiteout by Mara Novak, Norma Ippolito, Dona McKenzie, Carolyn Niesuchouski, and Lynn Way of Chester, VT

Throughout the judging, we each took notes on which quilts to consider for the special awards. Other than judges’ choice, we conferred with the other judges to make our final decision. It was quite surprising how many quilts overlapped on each of our lists.

Christa Watson judges choice at VQF

Christa’s Judges Choice – Going on a Trip II by G. Wong of Wellesley, MA

Then the best part was at the awards ceremony when each winners’ name was revealed. It felt like Christmas morning, eagerly anticipating the excitement of the recipients as their names were called. Many of them were actually there at the show and there’s nothing like seeing an excited quilter run up on stage to claim his/her award!

Overall, it was a fabulous experience, and I’d definitely do it again! Here’s a couple of general tips if you are considering entering your work at a local or national show:

Quilt Show Tips

Read the rules completely and do your best to put your quilt in the appropriate category.
Pay attention to details such as stray threads and fabric markings.
Stitch the corners of your binding closed (both sides), and take extra care to ensure the quilt hangs flat and straight.
Make sure the density of quilting is even across the entire quilt.

But above all, have fun with it and realize that although judges to their best to judge a quilt without bias, it’s human nature to be drawn to a quilt that is more in line with their style. So enter a variety of shows, knowing you will receive a variety of different opinions!

Best Scrap Quilt at VQF

Best Scrap Quilt – On the Fly by Timna Tarr of S. Hadley, MA

Quilt Show Venues

The number one question I get asked is how do I find out about which shows to enter? Start with your local friends, quilt shops and guilds and start asking around. There’s no one all-encompassing listing of shows to enter, but you can start by creating a list of shows you hear about and then get on their mailing lists so you’ll get notified when it’s time to enter. Then pay attention on social media to which shows other people are entering. You can google “quilt show competition entry” for lots of great info, too.

Here’s just a small list of shows I enter regularly, or like to encourage others to enter (in no particular order):

Feel free to add additional shows that you know of in the comments for all to see. If you have any questions about entering shows, feel free to ask them in the comments and I”ll be glad to answer them to the best of my abilities!

Save

I’m Back from Panguitch Quilt Walk 2017 and I Had a Blast!

June 11, 2017June 10, 20173 Comments

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared an update after I’ve taught a class. I’m usually thinking ahead to the next one. But I got back early enough so I had time to look through my pictures and share a few snippets from my time at the Panguitch Quilt Walk Festival. No matter where I go, I always meet the same type of fun and friendly students in my classes. I have to admit, one of the reasons I love to teach is for the camaraderie!

Christa Watson Trunk Show

I arrived on Wednesday night with Jason and the kids in tow. We got settled in and each of the teachers who were there were able to quickly introduce themselves and let everyone know what they were teaching. Although my classes had filled up right away, they put me in a large home-ec classroom (all classes were taught at the local high school) so I told the organizers they were welcome to squeeze in as many people as there were seats.

Christa Watson Trunk Show

I shared about 20 quilts in my trunk show, all made beginning in 2013.

Thursday was my longest, busiest day. I started off with a trunk show of my quilts and shared a little bit about my quilting journey from traditional to modern quilter. I always like to include a little story about the making of each quilt along with some tips on how I quilted it.

Christa Watson Trunk Show

My Positive Direction quilt is always a crowd pleaser!

Then I taught two sessions of free-motion quilting that same day. I kept the classes moving at a fast pace that I didn’t even have time to stop and take pics! I like to teach ideas from all three of my books and then help the students think about them in new ways. It’s always a treat to see what they come up with!

On Friday, things slowed down a bit and I taught the first session of walking foot quilting while Jason and the kids did a little hiking at Bryce Canyon. Students usually agree that walking foot quilting is much easier to do than free-motion quilting, but several signed up for both classes and seemed to enjoy it.

Student Work from Walking Foot Quilting

Student Work from my Walking Foot Quilting Class – Wavy Grid

On Saturday I taught a second session of walking foot quilting, and then we came home. I was able to get a few pics in class and it always amazes me how students take a concept they learn in class and really run with it!

Student Work from Walking Foot Quilting

More Student Work – Shattered Linens is a huge favorite!

I’ll be home for just over a week before I head out to the Vermont Quilt Festival. I’ll be there for an entire week, judging along with Kimberly Einmo, then teaching four classes and sharing a trunk show.

As of today, there are still openings in each of my classes and my lecture. Click here for more info. Now it’s time to unpack, catch up on a few deadlines, and start packing all over again!!

Save

My Week at Craftsy – May 2017

May 31, 2017May 30, 20176 Comments

It’s been a little bit quieter around here the last few weeks, because I’ve been hard at work getting ready to bring you some new exciting things coming this year! The first sneak peek I can share is that I just wrapped up filming on my next Craftsy class that will debut later this summer.

Christa on Set at Craftsy

This was my last day of filming and I got to cuddle up with the quilt I made on set once we finished. I’ll tell you more about this quilt when the class is ready – it was so fun and fast to make!!

My new class is part of Craftsy’s debut “Startup Library” which consists of longer, in-depth courses across all of their major craft topics. They are aimed at beginners or those who may be involved in one craft, but want to try their hand at something new. I was so pleased to represent quilting!

Startup Library: Quilting with Christa Watson

I was there filming for a total of 5 days, and prior to that I worked with their great editorial team for months, honing in on the content that I’ll be presenting. In a nutshell, I got to focus on my favorite topic: teaching new students how to make a complete quilt from start to finish!

Christa with the Craftsy Crew

Christa and the Craftsy crew – we made a great team! And yes, there were smoothies….

On Set at Craftsy

My fabulous content editor, Linda Permann helped me baste on camera. I wanted to make sure I included this important step, and I love that she got to cameo as my “helper!”

Returning to Craftsy for a second time was much less stressful because I knew a little bit more about what to expect this time around, such as getting my hair and makeup professionally done each day, and knowing that we would put in long hours of work which would get edited down to just a few minutes. I love the magic of television!!

Christa Watson and Angela Walters at Craftsy

Angela Walters and I took turns in the hot seat getting professionally made up each day by the lovely and talented Danica. This is was my favorite way to start each day!

While I was there, I got to mingle with a couple of others on set who were also filming their next projects. Angela Walters happened to be there at the beginning of the week, filming the next season of The Midnight Quilt Show.

Joshusa John Russell: Man About Cake

And Joshua John Russell from Make About Cake was there at the end of the week, gearing up for the next series of episodes for his popular YouTube show. Behind the scenes fact: I asked him how much cake he ate in each episode and he told me he never touches the stuff. True story!!

Now that I’ve written three books and filmed two classes, I can really appreciate the similarities and differences between both types of delivery. A book is a longer, slower sort of project, while a video class has a much quicker turnaround, but is also more intense. I’ve realized that I love creating both types of products, and I’m so grateful work with people who have a knack for editing and polishing my content so that I can look my best!

Stay tuned for more, and in the meantime, if you haven’t purchased my first class yet, you can click here to get 50% off of The Quilter’s Path. (Be sure to add the class to your cart to see the discount.)

Save

Charity Fundraiser – Bid on My Quilt and Help a Friend in Need

April 24, 20177 Comments

Friends, I always try to stay positive around here, but now I’m asking for your help for a dear friend of mine. About 9 months ago, my friend Stacy Perry was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. She’s a young mom of 4 who lives here in Las Vegas and she’s an amazing mom, wife, crafter and all around great gal. In fact I found an old blog post where she shared 2 quilts she had made several years ago.

Stacy is strong and she’s been aggressively fighting her cancer since first receiving the diagnosis. She’s doing everything she can with the help of friends, family and fellow church members. By the grace of God, she’s already seen miracles during this fight as her tumors have been shrinking. Her whole life right now is battling cancer, traveling out of state to specialists, and enduring multiple rounds of chemo. She’s chronicling her fight over on her facebook page at Stacy Strong.

Here’s where you can get involved. Several of Stacy’s friends are holding a fundraiser to help defray the enormous expenses she and her family are having to endure as she fights her battle. They’ve rounded up a whole bunch of items that will be auctioned off over on her facebook page starting Tuesday, April 25 and running through Saturday April 29th.

It includes some pretty amazing items like vacation rentals, jewelry, airline tickets and beautiful hand-made items. There will be a live silent auction that takes place for locals on Saturday night, along with an online auction that runs all week.

Machine Quilting With Style

For the auction I’ve donated a signed copy of my book Machine Quilting with Style, along with my quilt “Ripples” from the book (together as one large prize). I chose this quilt because Aqua is Stacy’s favorite color. 🙂 I want someone special to have this quilt, and I hope you’ll consider bidding on it to help her out.

Ripples Quilt

Here’s how it works:

Like her facebook page: Stacy Strong Cancer Be Gone so you can see the items up for bid. Sneak peeks of some have already been posted and the rest will be shared on Tuesday.

Starting on Tuesday, the online bidding begins. It’s very simple: you just place your bid in the comments of each item, and all winners will pay through paypal. Items will be shipped if needed and bidding is open to all. The bidding runs through Saturday night and complete details are included in the posts on her facebook page.

The important thing is that you have to like her page so that you can see the items up for bid. In fact, I recommend changing your default preferences this week to see all posts from her page.

If bidding is not your thing, they’ve also set up a go fund me page where you can donate any amount with a credit card.

Stacy Strong

This is Stacy’s true nature: love and kindess for all, no matter what circumstances are thrown at her. She’s strong and with your help I know she will kick cancer’s butt!!

I hope you’ll be able to help her by bidding, donating, or even just sending along a cheerful message of encouragement. Stacy truly is one of the strongest people I know and throughout her fight she’s kept up her good cheer and has stayed positive through it all.

Save

Quilt Las Vegas 2017 – A Recap and a New Milestone

April 3, 2017April 3, 20176 Comments

Quilt Las Vegas is the annual quilt show put on by my local traditional guild here in Las Vegas, Desert Quilters of Nevada. I’ve been a member of the guild for over 20 years, and I’ve been entering their show for nearly as long. It’s the show that gave me the confidence to start competing nationally. I’ve also learned a lot about what goes on in the judging room as a volunteer. As my quilting skills increased, it’s been reflected in the number of times I’ve gotten a ribbon. However, the show this weekend was a new milestone for me. It’s the first time that everything I entered received a ribbon.

Machine Quilting demo by Christa Watson

One of the show highlights for me was getting to share a machine quilting demo and book signing for one of the local quilt shops vending at the show, Sew Yeah Quilting.

Most of the quilts I make nowadays are usually for a book, magazine, or individual pattern, so I think it’s really helped me focus on doing the best quality work I can. Today, I thought I’d share pics of my quilts hanging in the show, include the judges’ comments, and let you know where the patterns can be found, if you are inspired to make on of your own. Plus there are a couple more that my friends made that I thought were super cool. Enjoy the mini-show!

My Quilts in the Show

Churn Dash Slide from I Love Churn Dashes

Churn Dash Slide, 1st Place, Pieced Large – Single Entrant Category

I was actually surprised that this one got a ribbon, let alone first place because the quilting on it is really simple. It’s just an allover swirl design. But the the fabrics really make it and I had a fun time taking a traditional design and freshening it up a bit.

Machine Quilting Detail by Christa Watson

Machine Quilting Detail on Churn Dash Slide

Here’s what the judge had to say about Churn Dash Slide:

Excellent piecing technique
Well balanced tension in machine quilting
Appropriate overall quilting design
Binding is securely and neatly attached
A crisp, clean and fresh approach to a traditional quilt pattern

The pattern for Churn Dash Slide can be found in I Love Churn Dashes, a compilation published by Martingale/That Patchwork Place (my awesome publisher). I enjoy submitting ideas for their books where they usually feature 14-16 different designers’ patterns all in one collection.

A block from my quilt made the cover of I Love Churn Dashes – so fun!!

Quatrefoil Applique by Christa Watson

Quatrefoil Applique, 1st Place Applique

I made Quatrefoil Applique as a machine quilting sampler to show what some of my favorite quilting motifs would look like stitched out. I’m actually teaching how to make this quilt for the guild’s workshop this May, so it was cool to get a ribbon on it so the students could see it in the show. 🙂

Here’s what the judge had to say about Quatrefoil Applique:

Piecing and applique are neatly and precisely executed
Excellent quilting technique and multiple patterns elevate simple piecing and applique to a higher level
Very good binding technique
Well balanced colors and values

The patterns and machine quilting instructions for Quatrefoil Applique, and Swirling Butterflies shown below, are both included in the book I wrote with Angela Walters, The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting. I’m extra proud of that book now that some of the quilts are getting a bit more bling! (Last year another quilt from the book, Plumb Lines, got a ribbon at HMQS.)

The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting by Christa Watson and Angela Walters

Signed copies of this book are available from me, with both of our signatures.

Swirling Butterflies by Christa Watson

Swirling Butterflies, 2nd Place Open Category (Wholecloth, misc., etc.)

Swirling Butterflies is the only wholecloth quilt I’ve ever made, and it was pretty risky using such a high contrasting thread for the butterflies. But it also pushed me technically, and was super fun and meditative to quilt! The lighting at the show wasn’t super great, so you can see a better detailed closeup of the quilting below. I explored one of my favorite techniques – free motion improv – in the background areas of this quilt.

Detail free-motion_quilting

Free motion improv quilting detail.

Here’s what the judge had to say about Swirling Butterflies:

Very good binding technique
Excellent machine quilting with precise backtracking
An elegant presentation

Fractured Puzzle by Christa Watson

Fractured Puzzle, 2nd Place Modern

This is the second time Fractured Puzzle has been shown in a show and the second 2nd place ribbon! (It got a 2nd place in modern last year at MQX). I love how the red ribbon matches the quilt!

Here’s what the judge had to say about Fractured Puzzle:

Very good piecing technique
Well balanced machine tension but strive for consistently even stitch length
Quilting motifs fill the spaces evenly
Binding is securely and neatly applied
Strong visual impact

Fractured puzzle is my ultra modern take on the free Puzzle Box quilt pattern I offer for newsletter subscribers. I really pushed myself and went way out of the box by cutting it up and sewing it back together again. But it was a really fun exercise in “what if…??”

Puzzle Box Pattern

Remember – you can always take a pattern and make it your own!

Other Favorite Quilts from the Show

I was bummed that I had very little time to spend at the show, due to other obligations at the same time, but I was thrilled to see ribbons on many of my friends’ quilts. These two quilts really resonated with me:

Vicki Ruebel Machine Quilting

Argyle Gone Wild by Vicki Ruebel of Orchid Owl Quilts. She won 1st Place Pieced Small, AND Best Machine Quilting. I was so excited and proud of her! Click here to see more details of the quilting and making of this quilt. She does amazing work!

Viva Las Vegas by Melissa Curley

My friend Melissa Curley won 1st place Show Theme for her quilt “Lucky.” She names all of her quilts with first names which I think is pretty cool. Lucky was the name of Elvis’ character in the movie Viva Las Vegas. I love how she showed the iconic neon of Vegas, mixed with the more subtle side of “Sin City”

Machine quilting students

In addition to catching up with local quilting friends, it was a thrill to run into some former local students while I was demoing. Kathy and Ofelia shown above were some of my first students way back in 1999. It was fun to connect with them again at the show, and know that they are still prolific quilters! I told them thanks for being great students that allowed me to learn how to become an effective teacher. 🙂

Now it’s time to go make (and enter) more quilts!

Save

The Making of Diamond in the Rough Part 2 – The Quilting

March 24, 2017March 19, 20175 Comments

Click here to read about Part 1 – My design process for Diamond in the Rough.

Meeting up with Craftsy Acquisitions Editor at QuiltCon

Diamond in the Rough hanging at QuiltCon 2017. I’m with Linda Permann, my editor at Craftsy. I credit her with helping me put a name to the process I use to figure out how to quilt each quilt. It’s called “The Quilter’s Path.” Click here to register for my class of the same name.

Now I’m excited to tell you about how I quilted Diamond in the Rough, since that’s my favorite part of making any quilt! First of all, I printed off a copy of the EQ7 design on a regular 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper. (You can do the same thing by taking a picture of your quilt top and printing it onto paper – black and white is perfectly fine!!)

Machine Quilting Plan

This is the actual sketch I submitted to QuiltCon Magazine when it was accepted.

I always, always make a quilting plan before I quilt so that I can figure out the quilting path I’ll take to get it done. It’s like a puzzle – figuring out what designs I want to put where and how to maneuver around the quilt with the fewest stops and starts. I’m not too worried about scale here. I’m more interested in seeing how the texture of the quilting will look and where I may need to switch thread colors.

Of course, I have to sketch with black ink to see my design, so my quilting plan is pretty rough and quite stark when you look at it. However, from experience I know that I prefer to use a blending thread so that all you see is the overall texture, rather than the individual stitches.

Diamond in the Rough quilting detail

Overall, I’m really happy with how the quilting turned out. I’m just a little bummed that you can’t see the quilting in the black areas. I quilted a textural pebble design in the black triangles. Although I love the contrast of black and white, each time I quilt on black, I remind myself that it doesn’t show up as well as I would like. So I may need to use less black fabric in the future!!

I’m really happy with how the “Switchbacks” and “String of Pearls” quilting turned out in the white areas of the quilt. I teach how to quilt both of those designs in my book Machine Quilting with Style. It was super fun to combine them together in this quilt!

Quilting Detail on Diamond in the Rough

I used very dark gray, red, and white 50 weight cotton thread from my Aurifil Piece and Quilt collection for the machine quilting which I did all on my BERNINA. You can sort of see the pebble quilting on the top row of black diamonds in the image above.

Here’s a view from the back of the quilt where you can see the pebbles better. I normally use the same color thread in the top and bobbin so that any tension imperfections are not noticeable. However, since I didn’t want the dark gray thread showing up too strongly on the light back, I used an invisible thread in the bobbin when I quilted the pebbles. Here’s a tip: wind your bobbin slowly and only fill it half full!

Managing the quilt bulk while machine quilting

First I stitch in the ditch with the BERNINA dual feed before adding free-motion quilting.

Here’s the quilt in progress underneath my machine. I use a very technical process I call “scrunching and smooshing” to wrestle the bulk of the quilt. It’s really no more complicated that twisting and shoving enough of it out of the way so I can see what I’m doing. Here’s another tip: when working with a large quilt on a small machine, just remember you are only quilting about 5-6 inches of the quilt at any time, so it’s normal to stop and shift a LOT!!

QuiltCon 2017 Cover

Right now you can get a digital copy of my Diamond in the Rough quilt pattern in QuiltCon magazine. It includes the instructions for the piecing only, but when the rights revert back to me next year, I’ll release it on my own, most likely in multiple sizes with quilting suggestions.

I was pleased with the comments I received from the QuiltCon judges about the quilt:

Strong offset focal point.
Varied quilting motifs were well chosen and fit areas well.
Strong geometric shapes create graphic visual appeal.

I’ve had at least one quilt in each QuiltCon and have yet to win a ribbon, but it’s still fun to get them accepted. In fact, the main reason I submitted this design for the magazine was that it was a guaranteed entry into the show. Since the other 5 I entered didn’t get in, I was really happy that this one did.

Diamond in the Rough by Christa Watson, at QuiltCon 2017

Making this quilt reminds me what I love most about the modern aesthetic: strong geometric forms, minimalist designs, and plenty of negative space for fun machine quilting. Although I love ALL quilts, making those on the modern end of the design spectrum truly make my heart happy!

Save