Set-in seams: Here's how!

Set-in seams, also known as Y seams, are used to make blocks that can't be assembled with straight, continuous seams. The stunning quilt shown here, Borealis by Marla Yeager, offers plenty of opportunity to practice setting in seams. The complete pattern and instructions for Borealis will be published in the September 2010 issue of American Quilter magazine, including the instructions below. Set-in seams are a skill every quilter should know, for application in classic quilt blocks such as Attic Windows and Feathered Star. (Yes, you can usually alter block patterns to avoid set-in seams, but adding more seam lines can detract from a block's visual appeal and make the sewing and quilting more complicated.)
In Borealis, most of the seams connecting larger triangle patches to pointed units must be set in. To sew these seams, you’ll stitch only on the sewing lines and not into the seam allowances. On the wrong side of the patches, mark dots, 1/4” from the edges, to indicate the beginning and end of each set-in seam (fig. 1). Place 2 patches right sides together. Use pins to line up the dots on the 2 patches. Then sew from dot to dot, backstitching at the beginning and end, and taking care not to stitch into the seam allowance (fig. 2).                

Add the next patch, sewing one seam from dot to dot and backstitching at each end (fig. 3). Pivot the patch, align the remaining edges, and sew the final seam in the same manner (fig. 4).

Averting disaster at a quilt show

One of the great benefits for those of us immersed in the quilt world is the exchange of knowledge, not only of patterns and techniques, but also of experiences. Quilter Mary Peterson recently shared with me her could-have-been catastrophic experience during a small quilt show in Shreveport, Louisiana.


“I was co-chair of a quilt show held in conjunction with the American Rose Society convention. My husband was hanging one of the quilts in the educational hall at the ARS headquarters when he encountered a small white plastic panel on the wall. (The quilt, entered by Bobbie Reed of Lawrenceville, Georgia, was created by a group of participants as a fund raiser for a future ARS event.) We asked staff what the panel was for and were told to ignore it.”

“Some hours later, a tree fell on nearby power lines and the center lost power. The mysterious plastic panel opened and two high-intensity emergency lights emerged, touching the back of Bobbie’s quilt hanging over them. In no time at all, one of the bulbs had burned completely through the quilt, leaving a charred 1-1/2" hole near the border (see photo below). Fortunately, the groundskeeper smelled smoke and pulled the quilt away from the panel before anymore damage was done. To say the least, we were devastated that one of the quilts given into our care had been damaged.”

Mary continues: “We tried to find some measure of good to come out of this, and decided that if Bobbie had used a different batting, the entire quilt may have caught fire along with the exhibition hall in which it was displayed.”

According to Mary, Bobbie was extremely generous and understanding when told about the mini-disaster. Reconstruction is already underway, and Bobbie plans to make a new label for the back of the quilt, relating the entire story. She said she thought she might rename the quilt The Phoenix, as it rose from the ashes.

Mary feels fortunate that Bobbie’s good humor carried the day and hopes by sharing this experience, other quilt show organizers can avert disaster. “Never hang a quilt over anything that might damage it, and never take ‘Don’t worry about it’ as the last word.”

Good advice, Mary! Do you have a quilt story to share?

Deidre Scherer wins Artistic Achievement Award

The Alumni Association of the Rhode Island School of Design has named textile artist Deidre Scherer the winner of its 2010 Award for Artistic Achievement. Initially drawn to painting as a student, Deidre later turned to making portraits using fabric as her canvas, and needles, thread and a sewing machine as her brushes.
“I never met a type of paint that made me as happy as the fabrics I use,” says the Vermont-based artist. “I love the artistic challenge of cobbling together narrative and figurative pieces.” For the past two decades she has been inspired to use her unusual technique to capture the poignancy of family, aging and mortality, as in Three Women and Dog (shown above with permission from the artist).

Two major traveling exhibitions of her portrait series, called Surrounded by Family and Friends and The Last Year, have introduced people across the country to her work, which has also appeared on the covers of several books and is included in public and private collections worldwide.
You can read more about Deidre in the May 2010 of American Quilter magazine. The article is also available online at http://www.americanquilter.com/ exclusively for AQS members. To see more of Deidre’s work, visit http://dscherer.com/.

Following the Flock

Back on January 28, 2010, I posted a blog entry written by American Quilter magazine pattern editor Marje Rhine. Marje came up with a clever way to creatively use small scraps. This is Marje's finished top, and here are her comments on the project:

"I finally got back to the scrap quilt I call Flock of Blocks. After sewing all the Flying Geese, I placed the pieces on a design wall and decided I like the Flying Dutchman blocks and surrounded-square blocks best. The whole quilt is quite busy but these two worked well together - using only two different scrap blocks created a calmer effect. I used a lot of the leftover geese units to make the outer border."

Great quilt, Marje! Has anyone else out there tried Marje's technique? Please send a photo of your quilt or top to chrisbrown@aqsquilt.com.



 

"Layer Upon Layer" technique

Whether used on a garment or a quilt, Scott A. Murkin’s “Strata Quilts: Layer Upon Layer” technique, published in the May 2008 issue of American Quilter magazine, is a wonderfully creative process. This spectacular layered organza and cotton gown (modeled by Tina Cherry in the 24th Annual AQS/Hobbs Bonded Fibers Fashion Show & Contest in Paducah) was designed by Ahuva Libman using Scott’s technique. It won the fashion show Viewers’ Choice award.



Ahuva, who lives in Mazkeret-Batia, Israel, calls her creation “The Beauty of Color.” Inspired by her own affection for color, Ahuva beautifully layered fabrics and colors, creating a feeling of lightness and romanticism. The dress is machine sewn and free-motion embroidered using metallic threads. It is embellished with Swarovski® crystals.


Ahuva has made traditional quilts for many years, but has become fascinated by the possibilities of quilted fashion from the basics to complete design. Her garments, inspired by the surroundings of her small rural home in Israel, are exhibited in shows throughout Europe.

Want to try Scott’s technique? AQS members can access the article online at www.AmericanQuilter.com. Sign in with your Login name and password, then click on Articles in the drop-down menu of the Site Search feature in the upper right corner of the home page. Type Murkin in the box and click on the magnifying glass icon to see a list of available articles by this author. Click on the article you want to open, and then click on Download Attached PDF of Pattern.

A Paducah Story

For 26 years, dedicated quilters and fiber artists have made the springtime "pilgrimage" to Paducah, Kentucky, for the annual AQS Quilt Show & Contest. Every year generates not only an amazing array of spectacular quilts and enthusiastic quilters, but also new events, exciting developments, and heartwarming stories. Here’s one of those stories.
Annabel Baugher is a farmer’s daughter and a farmer’s widow who just celebrated her 89th birthday. She has two sons, two daughters-in-law, four living grandchildren, and two living great-grandsons. When she was very young, Annabel was taught good hand sewing by her mother; she was so young, in fact, that she can’t remember when the needle was first placed in her hand or the thimble put on her finger. Annabel does remember her mother saying, “Keep that thimble on your finger and learn to use it or you will never be a seamstress.”
Annabel was a charter member of AQS and met AQS founders Bill and Meredith Schroeder in 1985 when two of her quilts were included in the 1985 Paducah show. That year she won first place in the Other Techniques category with a wholecloth quilt of her own design, and placed third with a different quilt in the Pieced category. In 1986 she entered a wholecloth quilt made from a Stearns & Foster pattern, and in 1991, another wholecloth quilt placed second in Other Techniques. In 1993, a quilted wedding gown Annabel made for her granddaughter received an honorable mention and viewer’s choice in the AQS/Hobbs Bonded Fibers Fashion Show. Her granddaughter attended the show and modeled the gown.
The photo here shows Annabel and Bill Schroeder at this year’s show in Paducah, one of six AQS shows she has attended over the years. Annabel and so many other wonderful quilters like her are what make the Paducah tradition so special. Thank you, Annabel, for being a member of the extended AQS quilting family. I look forward to seeing you at another AQS show soon!


Click here to view all the winners of the 2010 Paducah AQS Show & Contest:
http://www.americanquilter.com/shows_contests/paducah/2010/quilt_contest/quilt_winners.php

Paducah, here we come!

Paducah, Kentucky, site of the 26th annual AQS Quilt Show and Contest, is buzzing with activity in advance of the show opening next week (read more at http://AQSQuiltnews.blogspot.com/). By the time we offsite editors arrive on Monday, April 19th, the quilts will have been judged, winners selected, vendors arrived, and general preparations completed. All of the AQS Paducah staff and hundreds of volunteers work long hours for months in advance to pull this incredible show together. I feel privileged to be a part of this amazing tradition and look forward eagerly to it each year.

Three American Quilter magazine editors (Iris Frank, Kathie R. Kerler, and me) will be attending the Paducah show this year. (That's Iris on the left and Kathie on the right.) We'll be interviewing major award winners and doing all the write-ups on winning quilts for the next issue of AQ. But we're also at the show to find new article ideas and explore the newest techniques to present to readers in upcoming issues. Do you have an idea for an article, or have you developed an unusual or creative technique not previously published? We'd love to talk with you. Have you made a quilt from a pattern published in any recent issue of American Quilter? Bring photos or show us your digital images and we'll "publish" you on the AQS Web site.

There are a couple ways to find us. The editors' office is on the second floor of the conference center, in the hallway outside of booth 3801. To speak with any one of us about a possible article, stop by the office and leave a message if we're not there. Or, you can leave your name and cell phone number at the AQS membership desk and we'll get in touch with you. If you see us during the show, please say hello and let us know what you like about American Quilter and what we can do to improve. Feedback from readers is so important!