New Logo

I spent the last two days working on a logo for all my future sewing and quilting patterns. Of course I had to include a silhouette in my logo!

I have yet to decide if I will go back and refresh my previous patterns and templates. The design geek in me is screaming, "YES." She keeps telling me stuff about branding and being cohesive. The very busy "I don't have enough time to do everything I want to do" mom in me is saying "go take a nap!"

What do you think?
~Norma

blog.petitdesignco.com

Sunday Inspiration

(Day 28 of a 31 Day Series)

1. Halloween pillow, 2. Back view of clamshell quilting pattern, 3. Scrappy Blue Charm Quilt Closeup, 4. Sydney's Quilt, 5. FMQAL Wavy Crosshatch, 6. "Up Cycled" Denim Quilt

Borders

(Day 27 of a 31 Day Series)

Today I decided to share some ideas for quilting borders. Not every quit is going to look great with an all over design. Some of the designs I showed you before can be used as border designs, although you may have to drop some elements.

Quilted Fabric

(Day 26 of a 31 Day Series)

Geometric Meander

(Day 25 of a 31 Day Series)

In FMQ when you do a stipple or meander you are basically wandering in a random squiggly fashion. You can also do a random wandering with your walking foot like this:

Giant Clamshell

(Day 24 of a 31 Day Series)

 

Ribbons

(Day 23 of a 31 Day Series)

One of the easiest free motion quilting designs is “loops.”  We can modify this design for walking foot quilting quite easily.

Topography

(Day 22 of a 31 Day Series)

This design takes its cue from a topographical map. There is no marking required because the lines don’t have to be equally spaced. In fact the design looks better when the lines are a bit more random.

To make this design you start with one free form stitching line (the inner most pink line.) Then you would echo the design inward and outward. You don’t need to echo the stitching line perfectly or equally spaced. In fact it looks great if every once in a while you throw in a slightly different element (see the outer pink line.)

Only 1.5 weeks left in the series
Norma

Stairs

(Day 20 of a 31 Day Series)
I have one more “zig zag” design to share with you this week.

If you slightly rotate the “zig zag” design you’ll end up with some stairs.
In the example I followed the edges of the blocks to form the stairs. I only echoed the design once in the middle of the other blocks. I think it would look fabulous with 2-3 echoes in between the main blocks. This design does require a lot of pivoting so I might rethink that idea if this were a queen size quilt.
~ Norma

Double Argyle

(Day 19 of a 31 Day Series)

Ok, here’s one more argyle or diamond variation. You get a whole different look if you just double the lines.

I think I like this one better than the single argyle or diamonds design. How about you?

Norma

Argyle: Mix It Up

(Day 18 of a 31 Day Series)

Don’t be afraid to play around with any of the designs I have shared with you. Here I have taken yesterday’s design, Argyle, and changed the look simply by playing around with it.

Basically I offset the next row to create illusion of an echoed zig zag between the rows.

~ Norma

Argyle

(Day 17 of a 31 Day Series)

I know these are basically diamonds but when they are on point it looks like an argyle sweater. You could easily flip this design over on it’s side for a different look to the diamonds.

HST Gems

I made up this quilt to play along with Beaquilter’s EQ tutorials. Easy HST’s and a rail fence border.
I think I would use some Kona Charcoal for the gray (it’s a bit darker) I would also mix in some different prints and solids to coordinate with Sandi Henderson's "Meadowsweet."
~ Norma

Zig Zag

(Day 16 of a 31 Day Series)
  Fill the whole quilt, quilt it in rows, do it in groups of two a la Charlie brown’s sweater, or in groups of three, wide and tall, or short and narrow. Whatever floats your boat. This simple graphic quilting pattern adds a lot of WOW to a quilt. Obviously, you can do this design on a Zig Zag quilt by echoing the block lines.
I like it! It adds movement to a quilt, up and down. Or turn it on it’s side for left to right movement. This one requires a lot of pivoting. A sewing machine with a knee lift sure comes in handy right about now :) You only need to mark your first zig zag, then use your guide bar or edge of your foot to echo your previous line. Marking is a breeze if you use existing points on your quilt (like the corners of blocks) to mark your first row.
Had you thought to use this design on a non-zig zag quilt?
~ Norma

Broken Glass

(Day 15 of a 31 Day Series)

Are you ready for another week of quilting ideas? We’re about half way through our 31 days series. I hope you have found at least one new design to try out. This week we’re going to focus on designs with sharp angles. This means there is going to be a bit of pivoting with our needle down to achieve these designs. Just be gentle when moving your quilt sandwich around to avoid any unnecessary pressure on your needle.
Think of this design as a geometric meander. There is no need to mark your quilt just go for it! There are no rules so if you get stuck in a corner feel free to cross a previous line or throw in a square or odd polygon to get out. I would quilt this from one side to the other but not in a straight row. Have fun with your first pass (black.) Then come back and start filling in spaces on your next pass (pink.) Continue until you fill the area you wish to quilt.
~ Norma
PS to get a feel for any of the designs I suggest you grab a piece of paper and a pen, not a pencil. Practice drawing the design (fill up the paper) until you are comfortable with the flow of the design. I say use a pen because you can’t erase “thread” once you start quilting on your machine. You can unpick, but who wants to do that?! I keep my kids old school papers for doodling quilt designs on the back before throwing them out.

Ottobre magazine

I have been a subscriber to Ottobre magazine for the last 2 years. It always amazes me how many people have never heard of Ottobre. My kids always get tons of compliments on their "Ottobre" clothes.

The magazine is great and every issue is chock full of eye-candy. But before you plop down your hard earned money here are a few things you should know.

1) Price: It may seem like an expensive magazine at approximately $50 (depending on the exchange rate) for 4 children's issues, however there are a handful of reasons why it is worth it.

2) The $50 includes shipping.

3) The magazine is printed 4 times a year (spring, summer, fall, winter

4) Each full color magazine includes approximately 40 different patterns. That's little more than $1 per pattern. I did that wrong! It's actually little more than $0.30 per pattern. (40 patterns x 4 issues = 160 patterns, $50/160 patterns = .3125)

5) Patterns range in size from newborn to teen. So even if you have a range of children in your home you'll have something for everyone.

6) Patterns are fun, stylish, comfortable, and modern.

7) There is at least 1 color photograph of each item if not more)

8) Patterns range in difficulty from beginner to experienced sewer.

9) Instructions are clearly written and explained, they are not illustrated.

10) Patterns are printed on 4-6 large sheets which you will have to trace out.

11) Patterns do not include seam allowances - you will have to add those when you trace your patterns.

12) The subscription is a standing subscription, which means that if you do not cancel 6 weeks before your subscription expires, your subscription is automatically renewed. This does NOT mean that they automatically charge your credit card. What they do is send you a renewal notice and then you send them payment for your renewal.


In my opinion the magazine is worth every penny, if you use it. At first it may seem a little daunting to see so many patterns but once you get the hang of tracing out your patterns it really is easy. There is plenty in each magazine to last you until your next issue! many of the patterns are timeless, so years from now when your newborn is a "big kid" you will find that the patterns are still stylish.

The instructions are clearly explained and even a beginner can make many of the patterns. In fact I find their instructions short, simple and clear as opposed to most commercial patterns! Plus if you need help with anything, there is an established yahoo group with lots of helpful ladies!