Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Quilters Beware! Sobering New Research

Quilters Beware! Sobering New Research: the combination of four bad habits (smoking, excessive drinking, lack of exercise, and poor diet) can prematurely age you by 12 years.


Martini Time is a fun quilt that allows you to party without the risk. The University of Oslo research showed that men should drink less than three drinks a day and women fewer than two drinks a day. This study confirms how quilting is a healthy addiction, which contributes to our health, well-being, and longevity. Viva la quilt!

"Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.” ~ Thomas Paine ~

Monday, April 26, 2010

Hot Embroidery Digitizing by Louis Saha

What a great father's day surprise, a new truck! Through the unique marriage of computer technology and embroidery machines you can get anything digitized for your embroidery pleasure.


This accordion embroidery is so detailed that you can almost hear music! Whether you love a lively polka by Myron Floren or John Mellencamp's The Lonesome Jubilee or Mexican cumbia of Policarpo Calle's La Porra Caimanera.


Custom embroidery digitizing is really getting to be awesome! It is amazing how vector artists have mastered the art of illustration with that of the home embroidery machine. Louis Saha is a Vector artist and he is available to do custom embroidery designs of any complexity. Check out his work!

If you are looking for any custom embroidery digitizing contact Louis Saha:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000946331037&v=photos#!/profile.php?id=100000946331037&v=info


You may want to incorporate a few custom embroidery motifs in your next quilt! If you know of other embroidery digitizing artists let me know and I will check them out!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Endless Knot Quilt


Liz and I have been busy in the sewing room and through the support of our friends and fans Liz and I have decided to call our latest pattern the Endless Knot Quilt. This knot pattern looks simple, but it was really difficult to design. We wanted to make it as easy as possible and after about 32 hours of designing the pattern we knew that we had succeeded. The Endless Knot Quilt pattern is based on the more than three thousand year old Shrivatsa knot design found in the endless knot of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism.
Liz and I were able to stitch this beauty in about 8 hours and it was really fun! The foundation paper pieced pattern gives you the accuracy and precision we all have come to expect from this technique, which saves quite a bit of time.
This traditional Tibetan Shrivatsa Knot geometric design symbolizes the nature of reality. According to Buddhism everything is interrelated, interconnected, and interdependent and only exists as part of a web of dharma and karma. This knot has no beginning or end and it represents the infinite wisdom of the Buddha, and the union of compassion and wisdom. The knot reflects the relativity of time and the continuity of life as it is endless. The Endless Knot is one of the design motifs found in the Buddhist Eight Auspicious Symbols which represents the different forms of the Buddha.
Robert Beer points out in his book, The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs, on page 171 that the Auspicious Symbols dates back to the Vedic Period (c.1500–c.800 B.C.). The endless knot is popular because if shares many similarities with Celtic designs.
The endless knot has inspired many designers and will continue to ignite creative designs well into the future.

Refracted Light Quilt

Refracted Light Quilt
designed by Liz Schwartz and Stephen Seifert

I absolutely love Modern art, especially the work of Josef Albers. As a passionate quilter I can appreciate his words, "Color is like cooking. The cook puts in more or less salt, that's the difference." Fabric is our choice of spice which leaves impressions so deep that they touch our hearts.
In our Refracted Light Quilt Liz used scraps of fabric for this projects. We love using fabric scraps and this project screamed for them. Liz and I choose to use black as the background fabric for this quilt to give the color wheel a stained glass effect, but a white background would have been nice too.
Fashion a quilted color wheel for your sewing studio to help you create winning color schemes every time. This wall hanging is as beautiful as it is practical! Stitch a striking blossom, Giant Dahlia, by using bright florals to make this amazing alternative quilt that resembles a blossoming flower.
Some quilters have a difficult time picking fabric for quilts and if you need an instant expert you should consider asking your local quilt shop owner or an employee to assist you in choosing the right fabrics next time you visit your local quilt shop. Trial and error will help you improve your color eye and confidence.
Color is a quilters most powerful tool to convey mood, relationship, and style. Have fun with your color wheel and trust your instincts!

Quick Quilt Tip — Ask quilt shop employees for fabric color help when in doubt ; )