Sep 20 10
Another Day with Sizzix, 2 More teaching Venues Added, and this Week’s sale
These 4 flowers are sitting on the background that I’m going to use on my next quilt. They were all made with my Sizzix machine, and I have to say, this little machine is starting to grow on me. The more I use it, the more I understand what it can do. For example, do you see all those tiny petals that surround the flower centers? Well, I needed lots more of them, so I learned I could just take tiny pieces from my remnants of the other day and place stacks of them just over the one size of petal and quickly cut many extras of one size only. I’m not throwing anything away, not matter how small, because I believe all these fusible/fabric scraps can be re-used for something.
Now here’s the next flower type I’m working on:
This die actually cuts 3 different sizes of this flower and you have the option of stacking them on top of one another to create a more dimensional/colorful flower. I cut lots of these this afternoon and my one disappointment was that I encountered many of what Kelly calls “a hanging chad.” Most of these came apart easily but a few did not and I fear they may not be useable. I need to get experience with more dies, but my guess is that the hanging chad issue may well be a function of the complexity of the cut. Here are a bunch of the 3 sizes I cut of this type of flower (colors look washed out here but they’re not in real life):
I think most of them will end up as 3-layered flowers. And here’s a bag filled with the flower centers that were punched out…I can use these fusible circles in something down the road, I’m sure:
And on to another topic, I said I’d try to be more on top of updating my schedule and I added 2 new out of town teaching venues this last week: Shipshewanna, IN in June 2011 and Sarasota Florida in December 2010. I’m really trying to keep up with this new web site!
And we’ve just gotten copies of Machine Quilting Unlimited Magazines into the store! This most recent issue is to die for! If you’ve been wondering about the magazine and haven’t yet signed up for a subscription, this is a good way to test it out. This magazine is different from all the others…articles that pertain to MACHINE QUILTING OF ANY KIND, and filled with photos that show clear close-ups of stitching! It’s a treat to read if you know how to machine quilt and a must-have if you’re trying to LEARN how to machine quilt. This magazine is hands-down my favorite quilting magazine!
And what’s on sale in the store this week? 20% off all brands of Hobbs batting. This includes the Hobbs silk batting, which is incredible! It quilts like butter and has a lovely drape to it and it doesn’t leave creases in your quilt if you fold it. Also on special are all spools of The Bottom Line by Superior Threads-all 20% off! This thread is a very strong yet lightweight polyester thread that works really well for many purposes: in the bobbin with tons of other threads in the top, for adding the handwork portion of binding onto the edges of your quilt, and I sometimes use it on top when I’m just trying to create a texture but don’t want to draw attention to my stitching. Overall, very good stuff! To get the discount on either of these lines, type hobot in the discount box at checkout. You won’t see the discount until the end of checkout, just before you pay. Sale prices good until next Monday, September 27th.
