Hi Friends,
My name is
Sue N and I love sewing and making quilts and laundry bags for Aussie Hero
Quilts and Laundry Bags, To be honest, outside my family commitments. it is all
that I do and think about. It fills my heart and mind and I am fully content
with that.
I am writing this post because of all the lovely comments on the quilt I had on display at the Aussie Hero Dinner this year, many from those who want to get into quilting and only have a small space, or limited time to do so.
No special
skills needed for this, just some equipment that will help you do it. I will be
adding links to the Youtube videos that helped me with techniques and
measurements, there are many many videos out there, these are just what I
used.
The quilt I had on display was a Sailor Jerry inspired hand painted. All the blocks are 14 inch finished and joined in 3 columns of 5 blocks then those were joined to the middle row on each side that makes it easy to sew on a regular sewing machine.
All blocks are quilted and finished first and cut to size 14 inches square.
To view the Gourmet Quilters "Quilt as you Go" tutorial I used click Here
For painting tips and techniques, Helen Godden is brilliant. She uses Lumiere acrylic paints which are fabric paints. She has a lot of Youtube videos but I chose her "How to paint like Picasso" tutorial as it shows many techniques all in one place and is a great starting point.
To view the Helen's tutorial click Here
A lightbox is a great tool to use to transfer your designs onto fabric. Here is an example. I traces the outlines onto tracing paper and that became the lines I put onto fabric using a lightbox.
I also use on light calico a textile medium and mixed acrylic paints from Spotlight. They come in many colours and are a great way to start on this fun journey of fabric painting on a budget.
I recently bought some Aquatex fabric colours and found they are lovely and creamy and come in a wide range of colours.
Having used a light box to trace my design onto the calico I use either a black Sharpie pen to trace the design and or heat erasable pen depending on if I want the lines to show after. My big tip, is to heat set the sharpie before painting using an iron on the fabric setting.
After painting, leave for 24 hours to completely dry and then heat set with an iron. Sandwich the painting between 2 sheets of baking paper, don’t put the iron on the paint directly and iron both sides, front and back. It is now ready to quilt.
Another good tip is to use embroidery hoops to hold your work in place as you paint. This helps as you can now pick it up and paint in any direction without any difficulty. Peruse your local op shops, they come up quite frequently for little cost. I have many different sizes.
Lastly but not least, when you write your card/letter also include the following quilt care instructions.
"QUILT AND LAUNDRY BAG CARE INSTRUCTIONS.
Gently wash in cool to warm water.
Special instructions for Appliques and painted areas,
DO NOT iron without a pressing cloth, the paint may come off on the iron, (baking paper works well).
DO NOT use fabric softener."
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