B : Blogland Tour

Today's topic is 

B : Blogland Tour : A Tour of Some of Your Favorite Quilting Blogs that could be Motivating


Who could be a more appropriate person but the one who has a listing of over 5,700 blogs from 79 countries!!! Please welcome, Michele aka Mishka of Quilting Gallery.


And all those who have a blog please add your blogs to the linky below so that people can come and visit your blog!

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much Shruti for having me as today’s guest. I’m thrilled to take your readers on a blogland tour of some of my favourite “modern” bloggers. I’m Michele Foster creator of the Quilting Gallery web site.

On my site, you’ll find the Quilting Bloggers Directory which contains more than 5,700 quilting-related blogs from 79 countries. I started the Directory in May 2008 as a way to bring quilters together from all over the world. You can find quilters by country and US state or Canadian province/territory. There are 8 bloggers from India .

Quilting bloggers are the most generous and creative souls you’ll ever have the pleasure of visiting. Personally, I follow close to 500 blogs on a regular basis. No, I can’t possibly read them all, but I do skim them to see what’s new in their little corner of the world. I work from home, so this is usually how I spend my lunch time… visiting with quilting friends.

Around the quilting blogosphere you’ll find all sorts of fun events and projects that you can participate in. Many are free and some charge a small fee. These include: Swaps, Challenges, Blog Hops/Tours, Quilt-Alongs, Block of the Months/Weeks, and more. I host various events on my site too; I invite you to  subscribe to my newsletter to find out the latest FUN.

January always marks the start of many new fun quilting projects. Some lasting the entire year, and others are shorter. I’ll be compiling a master list of these events and posting it on my site later this month.

I hope you’ll spend some time making new friends in the quilting world through their blogs. I promise you’ll be amazed and inspired by the wonderful creativity out there. To help you get started, I’m sharing 10 of my favourite “Modern” bloggers with you below. All photos used with permission from each blogger. Enjoy!

Melissa – Sew Bitter Sweet Designs
Flying Geese with Easy Star : Geese Ruler

Heather – Olive Ollie
Sewing Machine Cover

Lee – Freshly Pieced
Hexing Around Block

 

Melissa - Lilac Lane
Basics of Quilting Series(this is a must-read for all quilters!)

Ashley – Film in the Fridge
Rectangle Squared(the tutorial is Ashley’s but the photo is of my Happy Memories quilt that I made in memory of my three cats.

Faith – Fresh Lemon
Kaleidoscopic Kites

Julie - JayBird Quilts

Binding Basics – an excellent series on binding your quilts

Jenna – Sew Happy Geek
Cheating Zig Zag Mug Rug

Erin Russek – One Piece at a Time
My Tweets BOM – while some might argue that appliqué isn’t a “modern” technique, I love Erin’s fresh and modern approach to the technique. Her free BOMs are fantastic. 

Samelia’s Mum
Mug Rug Tutorial

Thanks again Shruti. Happy blog hopping!

Michele (aka Mishka)
Quilting Gallery
Join the FUN on Facebook 

If you want to add your blog to the list, add it in the comments!

A : A Beginning of a New Journey

Today is our first post in the series.


image source

A Beginning of a New Journey : Introduction to Quilting, History and Contemporary Scene

The first post in this series is by Alissa Carlton. She lives in Los Angeles and is one of the founders of The Modern Quilt Guild. Her work has been published in Stitch Magazine, Quilters Home and Quilting Arts' Quilt Scene. When not quilting, she casts reality shows including seasons 7, 8 & 9 of Project Runway. She blogs at  Handmade by Alissa



Image Courtesy : Alissa Harlton




Through out the ABC’s of quilting you learn the ins and outs of each step of making a quilt, but to give you a brief introduction, quilting the is process of making a blanket out of smaller pieces of fabric that you sew together into a larger piece.

First the quilt top is sewn by assembling fabric into the design of your choice.  Then the quilt top is layered with batting (or wadding), and the quilt back.  The three layers are sewn through (this is what makes a quilt a quilt!) and the edges are bound.  Through out all of the posts in the coming weeks, you’ll learn the details of each step so hopefully you’ll learn to love quilting as much as I do! 



Photo Courtesy : Alissa Carlton 

Quilting has been common in the US for decades (you can read a more complete history of quilting here (link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilting)  on Wikipedia).  While quilters have a variety of styles, until recently, there have been two prevalent quilting styles.  Traditional quilting and art quilting.  Traditional quilting focuses on making functional quilts based on traditional quilt block patterns.  Art quilting focuses on making quilts that are wall hangings and feature a wide variety of design styles.  Some have abstract piecing, some feature landscapes or images of any thing else the quilter might want to show.  Pretty much anything goes with art quilting, but the connecting thread of all art quilts is that they are not meant to be used on a bed.  They are meant to be hung as decorative art. 

Recently, over the past five years or so, a new aesthetic movement has been developing in the quilting world.  This new movement is The Modern Quilting Movement.  Modern quilting has developed out of a desire to use the techniques of the traditional craft to reflect the tastes and aesthetic of our time.


Photo Courtesy : Alissa Carlton

The Modern Quilt Guild (www.themodernquiltguild.com) has a great list on their site of the traits one finds in modern quilts.

Modern quilters and quilts:

• Make primarily functional rather than decorative quilts
• Use asymmetry in quilt design
• Rely less on repetition and on the interaction of quilt block motifs
• Contain reinterpreted traditional blocks
• Embrace simplicity and minimalism
• Utilize alternative block structures or lack of visible block structure
• Incorporate increased use of negative space
• Are inspired by modern art and architecture
• Frequently use improvisational piecing
• Contain bold colors, on trend color combinations and graphic prints
• Often use gray and white as neutrals
• Reflect an increased use of solid fabrics
• Focus on finishing quilts on home sewing machines

These traits give a concrete answer to what modern quilts looks like, but one also needs to consider how the Modern Quilting Movement came to be.  The simple answer is the Internet.  Through blogs, flickr and twitter modern quilters have found each other, providing inspiration and community.  The Internet has also allowed for the movement to grow at an incredibly quick pace.  Constant quick and easy access to inspiration from modern quilt blogs has created a huge number of new quilters diving into the craft when the see quilts that appeal to their tastes. 



Photo Courtesy : Alissa Carlton

This thriving online community of modern quilters grew to want to meet in person and The Modern Quilt Guild was born! In October of 2009 the first meeting of the Los Angeles Modern Quilt Guild was held.  In no time word spread of the fun they were having and now there are more than 100 Modern Quilt Guild all over the world. 

 Hopefully you’ll like what you see over this series of posts and you’ll want to make a modern quilt of your own!

*****************************************

IMQG members invited to HV's Master the Art : Quilting - workshop

Hi All,

There is some absolutely exciting news...

Husqvarna Viking is celebrating 140 years! And How are they doing it?

By arranging a Meet in India

Here are the details of the meet that you all will require!

If you wish to participate, Please email me or Aditya Gupta for further details.

Alps Sewing Machines (www.husqvarnaviking.com) / Husqvarna Viking India 

(As On FB) is excited to announce their next Meet - 'Master the Art -Quilting!' 

and invites all fellow IMQG members to participate in the same. 

DATES - 3rd August 12:00 Noon Onwards Till 6th August, 2012 12:00 Noon 

 3 Nights 4 days on APAI Basis @ Rs.5000/- Nett per person on twin sharing basis

PLACE OF MEET - Orchid Banquet Hall, Hotel Ajanta, Mumbai

PLACE OF STAY - 

Hotel Ajanta,

8, Juhu Tara Road,

Near Juhu Beach,

Mumbai 400 049.

Tel: 022 26607878

Fax: 022 26607274

www.hotelajantamumbai.com

MEALS INCLUDED:- 

3rd August - Check In Followed By Lunch (Courtesy HV India), Dinner

4th August - Breakfast, Tea / Coffee @ 11:00 am, Lunch, Tea / Coffee @ 4 pm, Dinner

5th August - Breakfast, Tea / Coffee @ 11:00 am, Lunch, Tea / Coffee @ 4 pm, Dinner

6th August – Breakfast & Check Out

Sponsors : Alps Sewing Machines / Husqvarna Viking India (As on Facebook)

Quilt Contest with Attractive Prices Is Arranged + All Residential Conference Material / Stationery for the meet will be supplied by Husqvarna Viking India.

Under Supervision & Guidance Of : Ms.Gabriele Moosa (Germany), 

Education Consultant for SVP Worldwide

The above mentioned charges of Rs.5000/- are being collected by Alps Sewing Machines / Husqvarna Viking India / Aditya Gupta and will be paid to the hotel directly for the above meet - participants and fellow IMQG members interested in the above can contact us on email at alpssm@vsnl.net for our account details to deposit the money.

Introducing Ms.Gabriele Moosa to all you fellow IMQG members:-

Name: Gabriele Moosa

Age: 47 

Profession: Fashion Designer

Address: Germany, Karlsruhe

Professional experience: 

• Education Consultant for SVP Worldwide, conducting training, and producing advertising materials, sewing samples, and sewing kits for distributors worldwide

• Authored a book about sewing <1&1 des Nähens>, co-authored 2 other books about sewing bags

• Held training workshops for world known sewing accessories companies Prym and Gütermann

• Took part in various Creative fairs in Germany

• Having own regular TV shows in Germany (broadcast in Germany, Austria and Switzerland) – “ARD Buffet” to demonstrate creative sewing.

Here are the awesome machines we're going to get to try our hands on

The Husqvarna Viking H Class E 10 With Auto Threader- http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/global/18970.htm

The Husqvarna Viking H Class E 20 With Auto Threader - http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/global/18921.htm

The Husqvarna Viking H Class 100Q – 

http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/us/25554.htm

The Husqvarna Viking Platinum 775 – 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lGsktFZ6-aklu3vJzSPd9Xg1Rn0IIsoNdvaOzlxKOoI/edit

1st Time In India - New Launch - 

The Husqvarna Viking Designer Topaz 20 – 

http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/global/14379.htm

The Husqvarna Viking Designer Topaz 30 – 

http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/global/14380.htm

‎1st Time In India - New Launch - 

The Husqvarna Viking Designer Ruby – 

http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/global/19211.htm

‎1st Time In India - New Launch - Undoubtedly The Latest & The Most Unique Invention In The Sewing Machine Industry Worldwide.

The Husqvarna Viking Designer Diamond deluxe –

http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/global/Designer_Diamond_deLuxe.html

Also on display at the Meet will be the full range of Husqvarna Viking Optional Accessories for us all participants to try them hands on & explore the world of infinite creativity in sewing & embroidery on HV machines:-

http://www.e-magin.se/v5/viewer/files/viewer_t.aspx?gKey=03g36b4g

The theme of the meet ‘Master the Art - Quilting!’ 3rd - 6th August, 2012 at Mumbai would be - - - Celebrating 140 Years Of Husqvarna Viking.

And here's the itenary

Date	Time	Schedule
3rd August, 2012	12:00 Noon Onwards	All Participating Members Check In At Hotel Ajanta
		Followed By Lunch - Courtesy HV India
		Overlook The Arrangements For The Meet
	8:30 PM	Dinner At Hotel Ajanta & Members Get Together & Introduction
4th August, 2012	9:00 am - 11:00 am	Introduction Of 'Husqvarna Viking' &
		Ms.Gabriele Moosa & Mr.Daniel Wan By Aditya Gupta
		Introduction Of HV Machines DDD, DR, DT30, DT20,
		P775, H Class 100Q, H Class E 20, H Class E 10 - explained
	11:00 am - 11:15 am	Introduction Of IMQG
	11:15 am - 11:30 am	Tea / Coffee Break
	11:30 am - 5:30 pm	(A) Surface Embellishment Techniques Demonstration By Gabriele Mossa
	1:30 pm - 2:00 pm is Lunch	* Introduction Of 'Cathedral Patchwork' Technique - With Small
		Embroidered parts With HV Machines
		* Practical Application By Participants - They Work On Their Small
		Project Of Cathedral Patchwork & Surface Embellishment To Finish It.
		(B) Introduction Of 'Crazy Patchwork' With Small Embroidered
		Parts With HV Machines.
		* Practical Application By Participants - To work Their Own Project
		(Little Bag if time is enough)
	5:30 pm - 6:30 pm	Interactive Session By Gabriele Moosa - Q & A Session (One on One With
		Members)
	6:30 pm - 8:30 pm	Show & Tell By Members (Where Each Participating Member To Show
		Her Quilt & Work & Share Ideas)
	8:30 PM	Dinner
5th August, 2012	9:00 am - 10:30 am	Hand Embellishment & Fabric Painting Demonstration By Devayanee Kachare
	10:30 am - 11:00 am	Modern Quilting - 'The Improv Style' Demonstration By Shruti Dandekar
	11:00 am - 11:15 am	Tea / Coffee Break
	11:15 am - 1:30 pm	Hand Embellishment & Improved Quilting Practical Application By
		Partcipants Under Supervision Of Devayanee Kachare
	1:30 pm - 2:00 pm	Lunch
	2:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Introduction Of 'Mini Patchwork' With HV Machines - By Gabriele Moosa
		Participants Work On Their Mini Quilt To Finish The Same As This Would Be A
		Contest
	6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Display & Interactive Session About Finished Mini Quilts.
	7:00 pm - 7:30 pm	Results, Declaration Of Winners & Prize Distribution
	7:30 pm - 8:30 pm	HV DDD, DR, DT30, DT20, P775 - re explained to participants if any queries.
		Machines To Be Packed
	8:30 PM	Dinner

Looking forward to see you all at the meet!!! 

Lets all have some fun!!!