Creative Expressions

E

creative

PREMIER magazine for

Machine Embroidery & Quilting

down under

Australian embroidery designs

by Lyn Kenny & Janet Sansom

Stitch

Zundt

Gerberas

Go crazy with stitches, embroideries and trims

Issue 35, 2012

AUS $10.95 US $12.95 NZ $12.95 CANADA $12.95 †Australian residents only

Glorious Yellow Roses with Jenny Haskins’ Roses for Mary

full step-by-step instructions

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EDITORIAL Editor: Deborah Segaert deborah.segaert@practicalpublishing.com.au Sub Editor: Lorraine Moran Graphic Design: Jo Martin Photographer: Joe Filshie Stylist: Georgie Dolling Advertising Sales: Nadja Kelly nadja.kelly@practicalpublishing.com.au Tel: 07 3300 4022 SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscription Manager: Linzi Wilkinson linzi.wilkinson@practicalpublishing.com.au Online: www.practicalpublishing.com.au Tel: 07 3160 9940 PUBLISHING Managing Editor: Debra Hudson debra.hudson@practicalpublishing.com.au Associate Publisher: Gavin Burrell gavin.burrell@practicalpublishing.com.au Finance Manager: Linda Constable linda.constable@practicalpublishing.com.au Group Publishing Director: Rob Wilkinson rob.wilkinson@practicalpublishing.com.au Published by Practical Publishing International Pty Ltd. The style and mark of Creative Expressions and Creative Expressions Down Under is used under license from Newlife Media Group Pty Ltd. See copyright and trademark notices on page 66.

ISSN: 1448-7888.

Head Office Australia Practical Publishing International Pty Ltd GPO Box 1457, Brisbane, Qld, Australia 4001 Tel: 07 3300 4022 www.practicalpublishing.com.au European Office Practical Publishing International Ltd St Christopher House, Stockport Cheshire England SK2 6NG Tel: +44 (0) 844 561 1202 www.practicalpublishing.co.uk Distribution Australia: Gordon & Gotch Tel: 02 9972 8800 New Zealand: Gordon & Gotch Tel: +64 (0) 9979 3000 England: Comag Tel: +44 (0) 1895 433600 South Africa: Magscene Pty Ltd Phone: 27 11 805 502 Email: tarrynf@magscene.co.za

Hello

Not so long ago I reviewed my priorities. I realised I had to find the courage to make some changes. Is there ever a good time for change? Not really, but without it we cannot hope to grow.

After 13 wonderful years publishing my own niche publications I have decided the time has come to spend more time with my family, including two grand-bubbas, and do more sewing and make more quilts. Finally, after much soul-searching, the solution became clear – the way to achieve more ‘me’ time was to offer my three magazines for sale.

Okay, problem solved! But wait, selling the magazines was one thing; I still wanted to work as an editor, preferably on this and my other two magazines. Apart from family and sewing (and a few other pastimes), being an editor is something I absolutely love to do. How would I cope without that creative buzz? It’s what I’ve done for a long time, it’s what I’ve loved for a long time, and I don’t know how I would manage to fill that void. What else could I do? Just when I thought I had given up too much of what I loved in the pursuit of a more-balanced life, the perfect solution was found.

Practical Publishing International, the new owner, has engaged me to continue on as editor of Creative Expressions Down Under.

With their experience in producing niche publications, Practical Publishing offers Creative Expressions Down Under and Down Under Quilts many possibilities. Their resources and knowledge, coupled with their focus on producing quality publications in the crafts and sewing arenas promises to take the magazines to the next level. I am looking forward to working, with their support, to continue to bring you the features you love and look forward to.

Now that I have shared my news, it is back to the job-at-hand – what’s inside this issue. There are many beautiful projects to inspire your creativity. As promised, we feature designs from talented Australian designers and others from world-wide sources, plus we take a peek at some winning quilts from France and Europe that feature both hand and machine embroidery.

I hope you continue to enjoy the projects that we share with you each issue. If you, or anyone you know, have created something gorgeous, we would love to see it.

Please send me photos at deborah.segaert@practicalpublishing.com.au I am looking forward to seeing what you are up to in your sewing space.

So, here I am, and here I stay; providing I keep doing my job well – eek. It’s been a long time since I worked for someone!

I am looking forward to the future, and as John F Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

Editor creative expressions 3

38

32 down under

Contents 6 Bits-an-Bobbins

Issue 35, 2012

16 Crazy Christmas Wall-hanging

By Elaine Raahauge

Check out the latest news in the world of machine embroidery.

Each of these blocks is unique and embellished with metallic and rayon threads, hot-fix crystals, motifs, braids and buttons.

10 Yellow Roses

24 Gerbera Bed Runner

Yellow roses from Roses for Mary and delicious cream satin are the winning combination on this amazing quilt.

Make an elegant bed runner with burgundy and platinum dupion adorned with delicate gerberas.

By Christine Boxer

4 creative expressions

By Regula Muller and Bernadette Robinson

16

46 28 Laptop Bag

56 Simone’s Hearts

Twelve designs have been set into a grid to decorate the front and back of this sturdy bag that is a perfect size for many uses.

Sweet embroidered heart designs are the centres of traditional Log Cabin blocks. They are then arranged in a barn-raising layout for this divine baby quilt.

By Jody Sutton

By Elaine Raahauge

32 Strippy Blooms

By All About Sewing

Blossom and flourishes match perfectly to a Jelly Roll in this sunny, fresh quilt.

38 Fabulous Fuchsias

By All About Sewing

The fuchsia plant can be hard to grow, but their beauty is yours forever when you stitch out these designs as a wall-hanging or lap-sized quilt.

46 Hummel & Friends

By Jody Sutton

Adorable Hummel designs have been digitised and can be stitched onto blocks to create a quilt for a favourite child.

52 Pour L’Amour du Fil

See the winning quilts from a major international quilt competition that celebrates embroidery.

Subscribe now

23 Creative Expressions Down Under 43 Down Under Textiles 63 Down Under Quilts creative expressions 5

Bits

-an- B

Bbins

And the winner is …

1930, Myra Edbrooke quilted by Lizzie Allen

Isn’t that adorable?

John Deer of adorable ideas offers free designs, tips and videos on his website – check it out! http://www.adorableideas.com/

Digitize your own designs Check out Creative DRAWings®, it is an autodigitizing program that can be as easy or as involved as you need it to be. It is great for the beginner and can still challenge the advanced user. You can easily create letters and logos in minutes. The revolutionary and professional DRAWstitch® technology has been incorporated into Creative DRAWings® to work almost as fast as the blink of an eye to create embroidery designs from images. It does much more than traditional static digitizing software. Creative DRAWings® is an interactive product with artificial intelligence that almost ‘thinks’ for you and helps release your creativity.

Creative Drawings is an Australian company – check out their website at http://creativedrawings.com.au 6 creative expressions

The Australian Machine Quilting Association once again held a judged quilt show in conjunction with the Australian Machine Quilting Festival in Adelaide during late September this year.

AMQA Inc began in 2006 to provide a network for all machine quilters in Australia. With a large membership, it has grown in its desire to develop and promote machine quilting – both longarm and domestic – in Australia and worldwide.

The show of quilts at the Australian Machine Quilting Festival (AMQF) is open to all machine quilters Australia and worldwide.

There were four special prizes awarded and first, second and third prize in eight categories. Rachelle Denneny of South Australia took out Best of Show for her quilt Golden Ivory. First prize in the Machine Embroidery category went to Myra Edbrooke for her quilt, 1930, which was machine quilted by Lizzie Allen.

Yellow Roses

If you loved Jenny Haskins’ quilt, Roses for Mary, then you are sure to love Christine Boxer’s version. Christine has repeated and grouped the designs to create a swathe of roses in the central medallion and linked smaller motifs along the borders and in the corners. Working on a divine cream-coloured satin fabric has made the end result very elegant.

Turn to page 10 to see how to make the central medallion.

Aussies Published in French French quilter, magazine publisher and book producer, Carol Viellon, is no stranger to Australia’s shores, or Australian quilters.

Carol’s marvellous magazine, Quiltmania, has been available in Australia for more than a decade, and with the English translation for the last six years.

Two of Quiltmania’s recent book releases are by Australian quiltmakers. Feathering the Nest by Bridgette Giblin and Making Quilts: the promise of Joy by Kathy Doughty. This is the new ‘solo’ book by Kathy of Australian quilt shop Material Obsession. Discover her design process with 21 gorgeous projects full of colour and energy. Oh-what-joy to International and Australian quilters who are familiar with Kathy’s past books, and crave more of her unique piecing ideas and startling colour sense.

The gentle pleasures of Bridgette Giblin’s work continues to inspire quilters to try her pretty vintage-style quilts and this, her first book, delivers 18 quilt projects inspired by historical pieces which she interprets in a palette of clear and bright colours. This book is like a ray of sunshine! Visit www.quiltmania.com to see other books they publish.

Sadie loves her quilt & her Mimi In June this year I completed a quilt for my (then) 21/2-year-old granddaughter.

Here is the finished quilt on her big-girl’s bed. She particularly likes the love hearts!

While at the Sydney Mad Quilters Gathering in August I stocked up on some new fabrics for my next project – a quilt for Myles, Sadie’s little brother.

– Editor Sadie Deborah with her Mimi

creative expressions 7

Hanging around

Garden Quilts

Everyone loves gardens, whether their own or admiring the talents of green thumbs.

Flowers and gardens are a very popular motif or design that is used in many art forms such as painting, textiles and more.

In issue 155 of Down Under Quilts there is a story showing quilts that feature gardens.

Ranging from machine embroidery, to piecing, to appliqué there are many-and-varied to admire and find inspiration from.

Send an email to letters@practicalpublishing.com.au to find out how you can obtain a free digital subscription.

Sue and Darren at Mallee Country Crafts have designed a range of wire, powder-coated quilt hangers in various sizes that are perfect for showing off your patchwork, appliqué and embroideries.

Darren hand crafts the wire hangers, ranging in size from 15cm up to 1.3 metres; they are then powder coated locally, You can see the entire range, and lots of other lovely fabric and patchwork delights too, at their website www.malleecountrycrafts.com.au The instructions for the quilt shown above will appear in issue 156 of Down Under Quilts.

At Liberty

Quilting adventures

Don’t just sit there, pack your bags and fly away on a wonderful quilty adventure! During 2013 and 2014 there will be a number of tours going to various places – France and Netherlands, England, Japan and America. Each tour is designed to embrace cultural attributes of the countries plus introduce the travellers to myriad textile, fabric and quilt-related events, exhibitions, workshops and more.

If you would like to know more about the itineraries send an email to publisher@y7mail.com

8 creative expressions

Yum! A new range of Liberty prints have been released for use in crafts, sewing and patchwork. Check them out at your favourite outlet – our favourite is Calico & Ivy in Balmain and Perth. Check out their website www.calicoandivy.com.au

as ll s e Idor a ion f as c oc

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Yellow Roses

By Christine Boxer

Christine combines the beauty of yellow roses with delicious cream satin in this amazing quilt she designed, stitched and quilted herself.

Following are the materials required and the instructions to rotate, mirror and re-position the designs to create the central medallion seen here. Once you have completed this 1.5m medallion you can extend it following the photo of the quilt, or finish it off at this size for an elegant wall-hanging.

If you look closely you will see that Christine has added styligh piping around the borders, adding even more prestige to the end result.

Materials NOTE These materials and instructions are to complete the central 1.5m medallion only. Should you wish to add borders you will require extra materials and the confidence to extend the design in the borders yourself. aE mbroidery sewing machine and accessories aD esign software and transfer device a Jenny

Haskins Design CD:

Fabric Preparation 1 Back the satin fabric completely with a fine woven iron-

on interfacing – this will help to reduce any wrinkles after stitching.

2 Next, back the whole panel with a medium-weight tearaway stabiliser. Mark the stabiliser with the vertical centre and horizontal centre lines and also with lines diagonally from corner to corner. See diagram 1.

Roses for Mary

a1 .5m x 150cm-wide (12/3yd x 59in) cream satin

fabric for the centre medallion

aL ightweight woven iron-on interfacing – enough to

cover all of the fabric

aR obison Anton rayon embroidery threads:

– 1 x wicker brown 2489 – 3 x foliage green 2542 – 2 x desert cactus green 2544 – 3 x yellow 2213 – 3 x mango 2394 – 3 x glow 2234 – 2 x cornsilk 2395 – 3 x pro-maize 2732 – 1 x pumpkin 2328 aM edium-weight tearaway stabiliser – enough to cover all of the fabric aL ightweight tearaway stabiliser – requirements depend on the hoop you use for your project, and how many hoopings will be required.

1 0 creative expressions

Diagram 1

3 Using a basting stitch, stitch on all of these lines and then around the outer edges.

Embroidery 1 Open a new page in your digitising software (or editing software). Christine uses Artista Designer V6.

2 Using the closed object tool, satin stitch, with stitch width 1.5mm, click around the inside edge of the hoop you will be