Flying Calico Design

2023 Work

Now that the world has calmed down a bit, my creative juices seem to be exploding. This is a good thing. I had a number of years where I didn’t really work on anything, and now I have a lot of ideas that I am working on.

This first quilt was actually done in 2022 but finished in 2023. During the summer of 2022, a friend posted on Facebook that her service dog was killed in a tragic accident. I had been following her adventures with this dog, and I was devastated for her when I read the post. I really felt that I had to do something to memorialize her dog for her. I decided to use the technique I learned from an online course with Sandra Mollon.

First I had to go through her photos and find a picture that was clear enough to use for the quilt. I chose this one of Scootie.

Once I picked the photo, I changed it to black and white, enlarged it on my computer and printed it out onto regular paper. Then I traced it onto freezer paper and ironed the freezer paper onto a base fabric.

Once this is done, I picked fabrics from my stash to use in the portrait. Then I begin to build the base picture with these fabrics.

Once the image is complete, I attached it to the background – which for this one I quilted prior to adding the image. Then I begin to thread paint the image.

Once the thread painting was complete, I added the border, hanging corners and label.

She was so surprised when she received it and happy with her gift.

When your team makes it to the Super Bowl!

The second quilt was also started in 2022, but finished in January of 2023. My friend had given me a jelly roll of beautiful green fabric – Green is my favorite color. I am pretty obsessed with log cabin quilts, so I decided to use this jelly roll to make one. The colors were all similar to the colors of the Philadelphia Eagles jerseys over the years, so I pulled some white and grey fabric from my stash to go along with it and made it an Eagles Log Cabin. I finished it just in time for the 2022 Super Bowl which the Eagles played in but sadly lost. I used my embroidery machine to quilt. Very happy with how it finished.

A Baby on the way.

For my next quilt, our extended family had a baby due in March, and I had a cute jelly roll in my stash (can you tell I really like jelly rolls?), and I needed to finish this one quickly, so I made another log cabin quilt. I quilted it with a matching quilt design to the fabric of little animals. When I received the invite for the shower, the same animals were on the invitation. I was happy that it matched the theme of the baby’s room. This was a Riley Blake fabric line.

A little handi work

One place on the internet that I tend to get lost in is Pinterest. There are so many ideas out there, and I want to make most of them. I needed a bag for a deck of angle cards that I had purchased, and I saw these amazing hand sewn bags on Pinterest, so I decided to make one. I have PLENTY of fabric to choose from, and lots of sewing supplies, so this little bag was made entirely of items I already had on hand.

I used hand-dyed fabric – some that I had sun dyed years ago and some from a friend that was destashing some of her hand-dyes. The tie is recycled sari silk. The entire bag was stitched by hand.

Donkey’s to the Rescue

Close to my house is a small farm called The Farmette that rescues donkeys. Last year, I helped sew some wreaths that they offered for sale at their annual fundraiser. After I got to meet the founder of the rescue and some of the donkeys, I decided I wanted to help them in some way with their fundraiser this year. I thought a portrait quilt of one of their donkeys would be a great auction item.

Once again, I looked through their Facebook page for a photo to use for the quilt, and I choose this one. It was clear and she had such a nice expression.

After I chose the picture, I repeated the same steps that I did for Scootie’s quilt. I changed the photo to black and white, blew it up on my computer and then traced it onto freezer paper. The color pallet for this quilt was much smaller, because the donkey is pretty much grey, blonde and white. After I ironed the freezer paper on to the base fabric, I began to “paint” with the fabric.

After all the fabric was fused, I auditioned a few backgrounds and asked for some help from my friends.

For this quilt, I chose to attach the image to the background before I started thread painting.

Once I decided on the background that I liked, I started the thread painting. The thread for the body was so dense, that I decided to quilt the background before I finished the middle.

I had been practicing a quilting technique called McTavishing, which is a dense all-over quilting filler, and I thought it would look good for the sky and give the quilt some subtle interest. I am very pleased with how this turned out.

The finished quilt.

Very happy to say that the quilt reached the reserve that was set for the auction at the fundraiser and all the proceeds went directly to the rescue.

2022 Work

As usual, I am late to post the work that I did in 2022 or any update posts. It seems like Facebook is the easier place to post what I am working on.

I actually made a quilt for me in 2022. I found a beautiful jellyroll of flannel quilt fabric in fall type colors. I used the pattern from Jordan Fabrics and quilted it with Edge-to-Edge quilting on my embroidery machine.

Flannel Log Cabin Quilt (Whoops, this was actually made in 2021)

I also made several journal books for orders for Christmas and one for a friend. I really love making these books, but my studio is a giant mess while I am making them. Paper and Fabric everywhere!

While I had all the journal supplies out, I used up some of the scraps to make up snippet rolls for future use – plus they are pretty.

I have been really trying to purge some of my stash and supplies. I have too many things that I like to do, but I need to concentrate more on my quilting. So, as I was cleaning out my fabric stash (which is still on-going), I found some Vintage fabric that I actually bought new – LOL. So I made these – they go nice with my snippet rolls.

Another In the Hoop design that was super fun to make were these lanterns. They are stitched on wash away stabalizer and battery operated tea lights are used to light them up. Unfortunately, they can not stay outside in the rain, because the stabalizer will melt.

Then in the fall, I tried making rope bowls and I couldn’t stop. They are so much fun to make, and the batik fabric is so beautiful the way it works in a circle. I made a bunch for Christmas gifts.

And in-between all of this, I made some fabric beads out of craft felt and miscellaneous supplies I had left over from other projects.

2021 Work

Earlier this spring, I watched a show on The Quilt Show (show 2810) that featured Sandra Mollon. She demonstrated a technique that she uses to create a quilt from a photo. I had done something similar years ago, but this looked easier.

I decided to give it a try with a simple image that I found on the internet. I found a sea turtle photo at https://animal-council.blogspot.com/ and decided to use this.

First, you print the photo in BW in the size that you want the quilt. I used the program paint in Windows that allowed me to print the photo on as many pages as I wanted. I printed the image on 2X2 pages.

After you print the photo, you trace the image onto freezer paper (not reversed), outlining major lines. Then you go step by step with cutting the freezer paper and finding fabric that match the color and shading.

Sandra Mollon has an online class offered on her web page for this technique at: https://www.sandramollonquilts.com/elephant-class

I had a piece of fabric in my stash that I had been saving that I thought would really work for the background, and I even got to use some of my own hand-dyed fabric.

Here are some photos of the quilt.

turtle quilt in fabric — This is the raw fabric prior to thread painting.

turtle close up — Closeup of turtle quilt stitching.

After I finished the turtle quilt, I decided to try something a little harder. My friend’s birthday was coming up and I thought I would make a quilt of 2 of her dogs. The original photo was taken by her daughter Jamie.

Enlarged drawing and beginning of fabric placement.

fabric prior to thread painting — This is after all the fabric piecing was complete, prior to thread painting.

New World

8 Months ago, when I wrote my last post, I had no idea how our lives and the world would change. So many things we took for granted (hugs, meeting friends for dinner, toilet paper), that we now realize how important they are to our well being. Life has slowed down, and we are learning to entertain ourselves without shopping, sports, vacations, etc. We also learned that no matter how rich, successful or connected you are, we are all equal during a world crisis.

My saving grace has been making masks. I have (had) so much fabric, that there was no way I would use it all in this lifetime. Having a large stash, enabled me to start working on them immediately. I had a big box of fabric that was going to be donated to a school or kids program that ended up being used for masks. The first ones that I made were for hospitals and other essential workers. Then I had a few people reach out to order some. I decided to charge a small amount, plus postage, and then use that money to buy more supplies to make more masks for the hospitals.

I donated a bunch through my local sewing store, then I had a friend who is a nurse ask for some, then I found a map that lists all the places that were asking for donations. The Navajo in New Mexico are being hit very hard with this virus, so I made a bunch and sent them to the address on the map. I plan to make more for them.

If you are interested in purchasing a mask, I don’t usually have the same fabric for more than one group. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. But I am washing new fabric every week. Send me a message at kathy@flyingcalicodesign.com , and I will send you pictures of the latest fabric.

Here are some photos of the masks that I made.

These are the first type of masks I was making for the hospitals. They have a sleeve to add an extra filter, and a wire for the nose area.

These were made for Jefferson Hospital Labor & Delivery

This is the mask that I make now. They are pleated, with a pocket in the back and the elastic is adjustable.

Busy Summer

I have been super busy all summer getting ready for my first Steampunk Festival. I was honored and thrilled to be accepted as an art vendor at the PA SteamFest 2019 in Bethlehem, PA. The event was held at the ArtsQuest site in the Steel Stacks venue in South Bethlehem on August 31st. I applied for a spot in September 2018, which is a gamble for an outside booth. But, we were blessed with amazing weather. Low Humidity, slightly cloudy and a little breeze.

What an awesome place to have this event. We were in the shadow of the old steel plant where the stacks are located. They have created an outside area for people to enjoy with a walking path that goes up to the old train tracks and has a nature trail.

The event was very well attended. So many people were dressed in their Steampunk attire and Cosplay costumes. Very impressed with the turnout.

The vendors were also very different that most of your festivals. Many artists brought out their work. One vendor makes robotic animals out of re-purposed toys. They have touch and motion sensors.

My booth had several different items, from embroidered journal covers to up-cycled clothing.

These journal covers can be reused once the journal is filled.
Designs made into patches.

Plus I had 2 Amazing helpers for the day Nichole and Alex. Many Thanks to them for helping me run the booth.

An Unexpected Excursion

I’ve recently returned from my first trip out of the country. I spent May 12 – 21 in Scotland and Ireland – my dream trip. The trip was an all-inclusive tour with GoAhead Tours. We flew into Edinburgh for 4 days in Scotland, then on to Dublin for 4 days in Ireland.

For my friends on Facebook that were following me, I’m not sure if they noticed a lapse in my photos from Sunday to Wednesday, but this was due an unexpected excursion in Edinburgh to the Royal Infirmary ER and then on to St. John’s Hospital in Livingston, Scotland.

Prior to leaving on Saturday, I was bitten by a cat (not the first time), which I let bleed and we cleaned and put an antibiotic cream on it. The wound looked fine, so I continued with my plans and flew to Scotland. During the flight, my thumb became a little swollen and hot. I figured I would end up with a bruise, since that is what had happened before. Unfortunately, by dinner Sunday evening, I was not feeling well and I had some pain up my arm.

After speaking with our Tour Director Kat, we decided that when we got back to the hotel, she would call a cab for me to go to the ER at the Royal Infirmary. Everyone felt that I would get a shot, some pills and be sent back to the hotel.

Once at the hospital, there were 30 people in the waiting room, so I found a seat and took a nap. About 1.5 hours later, I was called by the triage nurse to determine what course of treatment I needed. At this time, I had not taken my sweater off, so she asked me to, and there were red streaks going up my arm almost into my armpit. PSA NOTE: When they say for you to look for a red line, it is not a red line, it is red streaks.

The nurse took a purple marker an outlined all the red streaks so that they could watch to see if they got larger. Then she said she had to move me up in the queue, because it was a serious infection. They sent me for an x-ray of my hand to make sure that there were no parts of the cat’s tooth in my hand.

Once in the regular emergency room hallway, I was taken into a room and an IV port was inserted where they took a blood sample. I was also given a pain medication. Then I was left in the hallway in a chair, where I promptly fell asleep. Finally, at 2:30 AM, I saw the first doctor.

Luckily, the streaks were already receding and the swelling in my hand was getting better. The doctor explained to me that the bite might need to be cleaned out, and that they did not have a plastics (plastic surgery) department at the Royal, so I would need to go to a different hospital that was about 40 minutes away. The plan was to have one round of IV antibiotics, and then they were going to put me on a bus that would take me to the other hospital. A very nice nurse made me some tea and toast in the Doctor’s lounge, and then brought a bedpan full of betadine for me to soak my hand in (my horse friends know what this does to your skin).

So, for the first 24 hours of my trip, I slept in chairs.

The next morning, I was deposited in a cab with a “letter” to take to the other hospital.

Once I finally found the Plastics Department, I waited a few more hours before I saw the doctor. My case was an issue, because my tour group was moving on to Glasgow the next day, and they wanted me to have 48 hours of IV antibiotics, and the “cleaning of the wound,” was surgery.

Picture this if you can – if you have ever watched the BBC, and the scene is in a hospital ward, where there are several beds along the wall of a long room, this is where I was; along with 2 other women the first day. Surprising to me, the window was open to let fresh air in, and there are no screens. Also surprising to me was the little older women with the walker that loudly used the “F” word in every sentence. She apparently had been sick, and when she got better, they had no place to send her, so she was staying on the floor for a while. At least I had some entertainment.

My tour director Kat and friend Ellen brought my suitcase to me that night, because they were checking out of the hotel the next morning. I had to stay overnight to make sure I didn’t need surgery. Luckily, there was a shower in the patient bathroom, and I was able to get a shower before I went to sleep (I was still in the clothes that I wore on the plane). I slept with my arm hanging from an IV stand in a sling, to help get the swelling down.

The next morning, the morning nurses were preparing me for “theater” (surgery), of which I was determined not to have. My hand looked 90% better, and the red streaks were almost all gone. When the doctor come around with all the student doctors, she really wanted me to stay another 24 hours. Luckily, the head nurse knew what my predicament was with the tour schedule, and after a discussion, they decided on 1 more round of antibiotics and then switching me to pills. I would be out by 2:00 PM.

At 2:00 PM, another tour director, Austin from GoAhead, picked me up and drove me to Glasgow to meet up with my group. He gave me a personal tour of the Glasgow Cathedral while we waited for my group to arrive.

I was so impressed with the way that my tour director Kat and the entire GoAhead team took care of me. They were in touch with the hospital before I arrived to make them aware of the situation, they arranged all my transportation, kept up with my progress, and made sure I would be reunited with my group. They also supplied all the information I needed to file for my reimbursement of the medical expenses. PSA Note: Always get travel insurance.

I was also so impressed with the health care system in Scotland. Everyone, from the receptionist to the nurses to the doctors were so nice, and helped me understand what was going on. Which can be very scary when you are in a different country. (When they asked me if I wore hearing aids, I didn’t understand what they said and responded – What? – LOL)

The Hill of Tara – This is where all Irish Kings were Crowned.

Completing a project.

Making a quilt is a series of steps that you follow, in order, for every one that you make. I can honestly say that I Love every step. From choosing the fabric, to hand-sewing the binding in the end. It’s all part of the process. My latest quilt has been delivered to it’s new home. Sometimes that is hard, to send a finished quilt on it way, but when you know it will be loved and used or displayed, it makes it much easier.

My latest quilt is one of the largest I have made, and a more traditional pattern. I usually make wall hangings or baby quilts, so a large lap quilt was a challenge – but I really enjoyed making it and I was very pleased with the way it turned out.

Here are some photos of the process:

Finding fabric that in the color range of the quilt is where the fun begins. I usually find the fabric either in my stash, the local fabric store, or online. I usually like to touch what I am buying, but if I need to go online, I make sure I got to a fabric site that I know sells good quality cotton.

Fabric for Linda's quilt. — Pulling the fabric.

After the fabric is washed and ironed, they are squared up and cut in strips. Then the strips are sewn together and cut into the sizes for the quilt.

Using a rotary cutter to cut the strips that are pieced together.

Getting the intersections to line up is very important, and really just takes a second more to get it just right. Pressing the seams the correct direction helps to make the quilt top lay correctly.

Front seam left, pressed correctly below.

I use my design wall to make sure I like how the quilt looks.

Once I am happy, I get the quilt ready to be basted. The backing is ironed and laid on the table right-side down. Then the batting is smoothed over the backing. The top is ironed and laid on the top of the batting, smoothed out and then held down with large binder clips. The three layers are then pin-basted together with safety pins.

Then the quilting begins. I use a few different ways to quilt. This quilt was done free motion, which means I move the quilt on my sewing machine to create the quilting. I also use my embroidery machine to quilt designed onto quilts.

Once the quilting is done, the quilt is squared up and I make the binding. The binding is sewn to the front of the quilt, then wrapped around the edge, and hand-sewn to the back.

Then the label is added to the back.

The finished quilt.

If you are looking for a unique gift for someone, send me an email and we can talk about what you are looking for.

Kathy

Quilting Basics

For the past week, I have been piecing a quilt, and while I know that most people know that a quilt consists of pieces of fabric sewn together, I don’t know if they understand “how” these are put together to make a quilt.

Designing and making a quilt starts with math (ugh). After the design is chosen, the size of the blocks as well as any sashing has to be figured out so that you end up with the correct size top in the end. Quilting always uses 1/4 inch seam allowances, so this has to be added into the size of the cut pieces. If you want a 6″ finished block, you will need to cut the block 6.5″ by 6.5″ to end up with the correct size.

For this quilt, I have two different size pieces to make to create the finished block. One way to speed up the process and have accurate pieces is to make a long strip and cut it into the correct sizes. For this quilt, I cut a 2.5″ strip of one fabric, and stitched it to another strip of a different fabric that measured 4.5″. I made sure to iron the fabric so that the seams go in the same direction, then I lined up 3 of these strips and then cut them in 2.5″ and 4.5″ pieces.

Once these are cut, they are combined once of each size to make a finished 6.5″ block.

When piecing the block, there are 2 important things to pay attention to. One is when the block is sewn together, you must make sure that the intersections meet up perfectly.

And by making sure the seams are pressed in the correction direction, this intersection will fit together correctly. This also helps the quilt top to lay flat.

Memory Quilts

So, what is a memory quilt? There are many types of memory quilts; Weddings, Births, School Years, Sports, Pets, Loved Ones, etc. Some quilters make quilts out of clothing, t-shirts or cherished items. My Memory Quilts are made of photos that are printed on fabric and then incorporated into the quilt. These quilts are wall hangings, not bed quilts. Embroidery can be added for lettering, sayings, or designs that enhance the quilt. Sizes vary from one photo up to 6 photos (larger sizes can customized). Below are a few examples of different size quilts that I can make.

Other memory quilts can be found on the Photo Quilts page.

Open for Business!

Welcome to my new site – I am officially Open for Business!

I have been on a journey to figure out what I really wanted to do, and making things for other people to enjoy is really my passion. I have always been drawn to work with fiber whether it’s thread, fabric, yarn, wool, etc. Over the years, I have learned to sew, quilt, embroider, knit, spin, weave and needle felt. Depending on how I want to express myself, you can find me doing something in my studio almost every day.

I am available for commissioned work, and occasionally, I will be putting items up for sale. If you are looking for a one-of-a-kind item or gift, you may find what you are looking for on my site. If you have any questions, please email me at kathy@flyingcalicodesign.com

Happy New Year!

Kathy