The Best of Sewing with Nancy

Often you hear the phrase, "Quilting Bee." I'm sure your mind pictures images of old. Friends, family, fabric and fun. The modern-day Quilting Bee has all those elements, plus more. Join me, as we journey outside the studio to celebrate the art of quilting at the Quilt Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. Sewing With Nancy, TV's longest-running sewing and quilting program

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Baby Lock, a complete line of sewing quilting and embroidery machines and sergers. Baby lock, for the love of sewing. Madeira, specializing in embroidery, quilting, and special effect threads, because creativity is never black and white. Koala studios, fine sewing furniture, custom built in America. Clover, making a difference in sewing, quilting, crafting and needle arts for over 90 years. Pellon, dedicated to providing sewing innovations in interfacings, battings, fusibles, home dec., and more. Amazing Designs and Klass needles. Modern quilting is the buzzword in the sewing and quilting field and with me today is Weeks Ringle, author, publisher, designer, teacher, lecturer, fabric designer... - Yes....of all things quilting, and, primarily, modern quilts. Weeks, why don't you explain to our viewers, what you think of as modern quilting? Well, you know, my husband Bill Kerr and I, began in 1999 wanting to have a new option for quilters to look at motifs and inspiration from technology and new types of fabric and tools that were available to quilters. So, we wanted to develop designs that were different from traditional designs that were motifs of the time in which we live. So, we wanted to have new patterns and new techniques and new ways of thinking about quilting that were reflective of our current day. I think a great example is right behind us and it's a design called, "Swatches." Explain how your terminology is reflected in this fabric. Yes, well, this is "Swatch" right behind us and it's all about transparency and it looks like the fabrics are actually translucent and you can see through them. It's actually very simply done with overlaying two colors and looking at the medium value between a dark and a light. So, it's only really possible with modern day fabrics where you can get that perfect color work from the variety of fabrics available. And it's not a traditional pattern. It's not a tumbler, it's not a hexagon. Churn Dash or something, right. And I have this beautiful quilt on my lap. And it has an interesting name. Right, it's called "Glyphs." As in hieroglyphs or as in pictograms. And, this was inspired by -- I lived in Japan for almost eight years out of college and studied Japanese in college and became interested in the Chinese characters and the derivations of them, because they were pictograms inspired by daily life. And this really isn't a pattern. It's an improvisational process. Exactly, exactly. So, each one is different. In modern quilting, in that "loose term," there's a lot of use of solids. Yes, yes. And importance of the background fabric. Right, you know, I think a lot of people -- My theory is that women learn about color getting dressed and decorating their houses. And so they grow up thinking that everything should match, but I think in actuality sometimes having the background color not match anything else in the blocks sets them off a little bit more. It gives it an automatic frame even though you don't have a frame. And we also love the combination of drabs and color, because the drabs make the color look so much more luminous. Sure, it really pops. The pop of color. And your stitching is also sometimes more linear than... mmm... a traditionalist form? Right, well, I think, you know, in this case this is a technique that we developed called labyrinth quilting. And so, you can see that there's a labyrinth. It's all one continuous line throughout the entire quilt, but you can see that the -- It doesn't overlap the exact block. It's an entirely different design layer. So you're not shadowing, radiating out... Echo quilting, feathers. It's a design on top of a design. Exactly, exactly. It's a different design layer. We kind of go for -- If it's a complex quilt like this we go for a simple pattern. And if it's a simple quilt, we go for a complex pattern. Well, Weeks, this is inspirational to see... Oh, good!...beautiful fabric color combinations, interesting quilting designs, and that really, there are no rules that you can't break. Other than good craftsmanship. Which you certainly have. Well, thank you for being our guest! It's my pleasure. Thanks for coming in. You're welcome. - Thanks! One of my favorite fabrics to work with when landscape quilting is hand-dyed fabrics and Wendy Richardson, my guest, is a master at dyeing fabrics. And, Wendy, people ask me if I dye my own fabrics and I say no, I leave it to the pros and I think what our viewers would like to know is some of the processes that you work with. Well, I use Procion dyes. That's one product that a lot of dyers use and I pick out certain fabrics. A lot of times it's fabrics that are already printed. So this was overdyed? - Right. That's overdyed. So, there's already either color or a design on the fabric as opposed to a solid, like muslin fabric. So, in the thing that I think is fun is I can use different colors on the same print, or multi-colors on a solid or a print. So, that's kind of also technically an overdye. Even though it's a solid, it's got more than one color. So, you dye it once and then dye it a second -- Well, in the same process, you can, so... You do this in your laundry room? - I do it in my laundry room. It's a tiny little room, but I have a system worked out. And lot of buckets and containers. So, you put the fabric in the buckets? In a soda ash solution and then wring it out and then I mix up the colors. Which is all pretty much how I feel that day. It's just kind of -- Or, what the fabric says. The prints kind of dictate colors more than a solid. So, and then, yeah. And then you dip? I mix all the colors up and pour them on and then they have to sit for a couple hours. And then they get washed a lot and processed and so at night it's like Christmas. It's a surprise! Well, not -- It's just fun. You know? Hopefully, it's not too much of a surprise. So, it's like, "It's what I wanted." Sure, but, what I find fascinating is that you overdye. We dye vintage linens and crochetsand little fun things to work with. You're not having to make a quilt. You can just embellish with these and work it small. And use them in your home or workin' on a quilt, crazy quilts. Now here are some interesting new processes, at least to me. I've been playing with shibori which is really fun.

Shibori

so it's a pleated... pleated -- just use my hands and pleat it all up and put it in a tray, and then pour the colors on. This is more of a surprise than the others. Well, it really is a striking piece of fabric. I have enjoyed doing those a lot. I'm going to reach behind me and pull out a vintage tablecloth. Now if you have some tablecloths at home that are stained, this is now a transformed tablecloth. Transformed, yep, so you don't have to worry about all the stains. This is spectacular. - Thank you. Now, our viewers might know that I enjoy landscape quilting and I have purchased many of Wendy's backgrounds for landscapes. Your new dyeing technique, you almost create a scene in those in those fabrics. Right. You have almost like the foreground, the mid-section and the sky. The landscape and the sky and the flowers or grasses and things. When you're looking at these pieces, you can almost envision a scene instantaneously. It's wonderful. Well, I want people to see that so it helps them take the next step and be creative on their own. So, I like that part of it. Well, you have done amazing work. Thank you. - Refined dyeing of fabric. Made it just -- I call this eye candy. So, Wendy, thank you for what you do for the sewing and quilting world. And thank you for being our guest. Thanks for having me. I've often said that I have the best job in the world because I get to interview and learn from leaders and innovators in the sewing and quilting world. And I'd like you to meet Lola Jenkins, a real innovator in quilting. Thank you. - Welcome to our interview and to Sewing With Nancy, Lola. You haven't been quilting or sewing all that long. No, I haven't. I started in 2004. And I made a few pieces between 2004 and 2007. But in 2007, I got serious. And I decided I was going to make me a trunk show and go on the road. And your first example that we're going to share with you is called "Back In The Day". - Yes, it is. "Back in the Day" was inspired thinking about my grandmother and how she used to walk to market so that's how I came up with it. I didn't have very much money and I was using a lot of scraps, so it was a scrappy quilt. It's vibrant and you can just see a market flurry going on in that quilt. Yes, you can. It's spectacular, and to think that you used it from scraps. I'm totally impressed. Well, thank you. The next quilt we're going to look at is called "Many Faces." And this is a self-portrait of sorts. Well, kind of. I was thinking. I went to a funeral and I was listening to the different people talk about a certain person who had expired and I was thinking how people know people in a different way. And so I said, "Many Faces" and how we put on different faces for different people. We sure do, all of us do the same. We let them see different parts of our personality. And, I love your use of color. - Well, thank you. That you have the chocolate color represents your? It represents my background. And so that's what I was thinking about. And then explain the color green. The color green is about money. And, it's not about making money, but it's about making money to receive in order to be able to give. So, you have to be a giver in order for money to come your way. And then, you're also featured in blue. Yes, I am featured in blue and the blue is about just thinking about looking at the sky and different things. Trying to get some tranquility. Tranquility in your life, and you have purple. I do have purple. And purple is the color in order for -- to show a crown or to show royalty. And so, that's what that was there for. We all have those in our lives. And we have a little hot pink, too.

Both laughing

Shibori

Yeah, we do have some hot pink.

Both laughing

Shibori

The quilt that we're holding, I'm sure almost everyone will be able to identify and this is a study in value. - Well, thank you. Wow! I am totally impressed with the color purple. Yes. This is a Miss Celie from The Color Purple movie and I just thought I would do a play on words and since it's Th e Color Purple movie, I figured I would do it in purple. But still, you were able to capture with lights, mediums and darks, and all the tones in-between that it reads like an Andy Warhol picture with the different colorations. Phenomenal. - Well, thank you very much. And the background with your landscape effect, with this imposed upon it. It's very smart. Well, thank you very much. The last quilt we're gonna share with our viewers is another inspirational quilt, and not only is the coloration, but the stippling. Your execution is great. Well, thank you. - Malcolm X? This is Malcolm X, and I wanted to -- He was a very complicated guy. A lot misunderstood. So, I wanted to do him in a multitude of colors, because he showed a multitude of personality over the years. In the quilting of... the stippling of circles, and feathers and paisley. It does make him look complicated. - He was. And so, you've expressed that through your stitching and use of fabrics. Well, thank you, that's exactly what I was trying to do. Well, Lola, you are an impressive quilter. A great person to know. - Thank you! And I know our viewers will enjoy this technique and learning from you in the future. Thanks for being my guest. - Thank you. You're welcome. We're all from Freeport, Illinois and we have been coming here for... what, six? Six to eight years. - Six to eight years. So, it's been an event that we've put it on our calendar every year and we plan and we say, "Who's gonna drive?" And usually I'm the designated driver. And we meet here and we have a blast. We have been quilting together for 11 years. And we started out quilting in the basement of our church 'cause we all went to church together. And then, oh, I guess the last... what? Four years? - Four years. Four years, we've been using my basement and my poor husband, he has lost his man cave.

All laughing

Shibori

We've done little projects for groups that need our help, so, it's not all totally about us. It's, you know, we help other people, too. So, we enjoy it. We have a blast when we get together. Everyone in the sewing and quilting world has their own specialty and Laura Wasilowski, my guest and friend, combines the slow quilting method with the quick quilting method. And slow quilting being embroidery, hand embroidery.

And quick

working with fusibles. Welcome back again to Sewing with Nancy, Laura. Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. And we're gonna give a quick little demonstration on some of your unique combinations of our quilts. And you start with fusibles? I fuse everything. When I make a small quilt, I cut, free-cut usually, the shapes and I'll fuse them and once they're fused into place then I steam set them onto batting and then I do the hand embroidery. And the embroidery really sets it off. I love the combination of the dyed fabrics and the embroidery. Let's show our viewers one of your little mini samples here where you have free-formed, cut some of the elements. Yeah, this is a small little quilt and the idea behind this is to start with freeform, free-cut shapes, and then I'm going to put it onto the batting before I stitch it. And any time I do that I always put it onto the non-scrim side of the batting. Now, this is really important. Scrim, you know -- Some batts have scrim on them and what will happen with a fused quilt, because the glue is directly touching the batting, is it will ripple the quilt. I don't know if you can see that. - Oh, yeah, not so good. That is not what you want. - There's flat. There's scrim. Scrim is this little network of fibers that goes on it. Can mess things up. - It certainly does. So you make sure you get the non-scrim side. That's right, and this little quilt is gonna have a wrapped binding

so what I'm gonna be doing is

I have a really stiff interfacing that goes behind the quilt and the batting. So, it's kind of the sandwich, like that. Can you see that stiff interfacing? - It's very stiff. Yeah, and that's gonna give it a nice flat shape. You're not gonna write on your batting...

Nancy laughs

so what I'm gonna be doing is

...but something like that. And I have 'em stacked up. And then, often, what I'll do once I have 'em stacked up is I will cut them with a wavy edge. I like kinda' that wavy edge. Yeah, it adds a nice dimension to it. So, I'm gonna cut it in that wavy edge and then I'm gonna separate that stiff interfacing from what's in the back of the quilt. - So it's only one layer.

This is what you end up with

something like this. And you can see the threads knotted because on this side -- Yeah, it's all the stitching. - All the fun stitching. And Laura dyes yarn. Not yarn, excuse me; threads. These are some of the -- It looks like size 8 and size 12 threads I dye. I do all the hand-stitching, just through the batting and the top layer. And, then, once all that's done... You're gonna put that stiff interfacing -- Yeah, I match it up. See how it kinda' matches that same shape? And, see, I left this extra fabric around the edge so I'm wrapping it. Now, this has fusible web on it? - Yeah, it does. Paper backed fusible web. And then you wrap it? I wrap it. So, I always start at a corner. I form sort of a 90-degree angle at the corner there. And you'd use an iron, not your fingers. ({Nancy laughs] I always use irons, I don't know why. And then, I'll fold it down like that and then I'll kinda' fold it and iron it, as well. So it creates the shape. Yeah, it follows that wavy shape around the edge. And I'll do each edge, and then what you do after that, Nancy, is you're gonna fill in that background. Oh, I like this part. Yeah. So, the back is filled in with -- Sometimes, I'll do kinda' of random acts like that. Often, I know you that use leftover fabrics. Yeah, leftover fabrics. I'll show you this one, as well. You could even make, maybe, a reversible quilt. Oh, cute. And the best part about the stiff interfacing is that it keeps it nice and flat, hang it up, because all you need, these little loops on top to hang them up. So, my, what a lesson in a couple of minutes.

Laura laughs

This is what you end up with

-That was fast. - Combining... fusible applique, embroidery, working with craft interfacing, batting, the non-scrim side, and then wrapping the fabric around the stiff interfacing and you don't have to do a lot of the binding techniques. Yes, it's really a nice way to trim 'em out. Your specialty is multifaceted and you execute it well. Great job, Laura. - Thank you, Nancy. Thanks for joining us.

Laura laughs

This is what you end up with

When most of us think about quilts, we think of a bed quilt, or an art quilt, or a small little craft quilt that maybe someone has made. But quilting is also three-dimensional, as well as two-dimensional. Please welcome Lorraine Torrence, who is an author, a designer of patterns, quilt patterns, as well as garment patterns, and a great educator. Welcome. - Thank you, Nancy. We're standing in your retrospective booth of fashions for several years. And this stunning outfit was made for competition and tell our viewers about this and the name. This is a quilt, a quilted garment, I made for the AQS Fashion Show in Paducah in 1998. I wanted to make something that was as spectacular as it needed to be to win something. On a runway. And on a runway, so it would project well. The name of the garment is "When I am an Old Woman "I Shall Wear Purple and Chartreuse "and Orange and Purple and Turquoise "and Four-Inch Platform Heels."

laughter

This is what you end up with

Which I never wear, really. But you could. - I could.

laughter

This is what you end up with

And so, this has hand-dyed silk in it. Yes, all hand-dyed silk from a friend. And it's a quilting pattern, but on a vest. Yes. And beneath the long vest is a typical 1990s-style, a little shorter vest, and all elements coordinate together. Right, and the reverse side of the vest looks great on the purple background as a second garment. So, it's really very, very stunning. - Thank you. And if we kind of mosey on in this booth you'll see that this is a very, another bright piece. This time, it's silk dupioni. Yes, this is commercial silk. Not hand dyed. Not hand dyed. And share the number of pieces or colors that are here. Not pieces, colors. This is 37 different colors of silk dupioni. And Lorraine is a master at piecing and then the curved piecing. And then you also used a quilting technique, but with metallic thread. Yes, this is handmade bias tape, which I also used on the last piece for all the curves. But on this one, I sewed the bias tape down by couching a gold cord on the edge. Really? Which I repeated in the covered buttons. So again, another show-stopping garment. It was also a competition piece. We'll now move into wool and wool applique. And this is a couple of years ago that you did this? 2011. And you can see the beautiful applique that's on here, more subtle in color. Love the geometric, asymmetrical look. Yes, these pieces of wool are cut with a rotary cutter in sort of ad lib curvy lines, applied to a muslin background. And lots and lots of stitching, echo stitching. Echoing the shape and the curve of the cut fabric. We can just spin our little gal around here. You can see some of the same elements. Not necessarily in the same proportion. The circle motif, a little bit larger. And you can see the lines. All hasa great theme. Thank you.

Lorraine laughs

This is what you end up with

You like this? It's like collage, making collage. Very nice. You think of a binding on a quilt, traditional quilt, where you have binding around the neckline, the arm holes. So, instead of it being, as we mentioned earlier, two-dimensional, it's three-dimensional. Three-dimensional like our bodies. Thank you for sharing a different type of quilting, different palate, and you're a master at working with this, Lorraine. Thank you. - Thank you for being with us. That's quite a compliment. Thank you. - You're welcome. I hope you've been inspired by all the fabrics, techniques, and tips we explored at Quilt Expo in Madison, Wisconsin. Remember, you can watch this episode again at your convenience, or many other Sewing with Nancy shows, online at NancyZieman.com. Plus, at this site, connect with me on social media such as Facebook and my blog. Thanks for joining me. Bye for now. Richard Zieman's biography, "Nancy

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