Last week one of my students came to class with the most beautiful quilt, a little too small to be a double quilt and a little too big to be a twin.  It was a one block quilt and she used four different fabrics - one fabric and a background in each block.  She had a lot of leftover fabric.  It was one of those "Oh my Gosh - I love this fabric" purchases.  You know the kind.  You do not have a project in mind but you cannot leave the fabric in the store.

Although she had a lot a fabric left - we thought it might look a little busy if she continued adding the same blocks over and over.  They were 11 inches square and bright - so we strategized a bit on how she could make it bigger - even queen sized!

Many people might start by adding one border and then another until you lose the blocks in heavy borders.

Because we knew the size of the block - there was another option.  She could make an inner border (or two) that added up to 11 inches in total.  Once she did that - she could start putting another set of 11 inch blocks around the border.

Using the measurement of 11 inches would ensure that the next set of blocks that were also 11 inches each would meet the edge of the outer borders when adding a row to the top,

The snag in the ointment was the math to determine the size of the border(s).  It can be very confusing when you start adding 1/2 inch to each measurement and doing the math to make sure everything will fit.

So here's the trick.  Work from the finished size and once you have all those measurements in place add 1/2 inch to the length and width to any block that will be joined to another.

Have you ever wondered why we buy fabric in meters and the measure in inches? 

Most of us remember in the 1970’s that we as Canadians adopted the metric system as our means of measuring things.  However our patterns, cookbooks and scales still show imperial measurements!

It’s really not so confusing if you remember that a meter is larger than a yard.  But what happens when you read a pattern and it calls for 1 ⅜ yards of fabric?  That's where the math begins.  

The easiest way to convert inches to meters or partial meters is to multiply your inch measurement by .025. (it is actually .0254 - but we generally do not need to go to the 3rd decimal spot on the measurements we use in quilting.) 

Example: 10 inches x .025 = .25m  .025 is your magic number!  (trust me - it works)

So…. 36 inches ( 1 yard ) is actually .9 meters!   So whatever you do - if you need a yard - do not buy a meter or your stash will continue to grow and grow and grow!

Working in a quilting store gave me the insight to realize not everyone understands the imperial to metric (and back again) conversions.  I cannot tell you how many people lined up just to ask me questions like how much fabric they might need if they were adding a 3 1/2 inch border to a quilt that was 80" x 80".  If they got to the number of inches they needed - they still could not make the final leap to determine how many meters (or partial meters) to purchase.

Batting and backing posed other dilemmas.  How much do I need if I use 45 inch quilting fabric?  Is it the same if I use wide back?  My quilt is 100 inches square - can I use 96 inch batting?

The answers may seem easy on the surface - but often there are multiple formulas we use to get to the amount of fabric we need to purchase.  And then we buy extra - so we have enough.  Buying extra quilting fabric can become very costly - especially when the fabric costs $20 a meter or more!

This is what I wrote the book - Measuring Success.  It has all the formulas you need along with easy to use charts.  You may want to check it out here. 

In the meantime I am giving you a chart below that is in the book to help you get started with the measuring madness!

As a longarmer and self confessed quilting addict - I often hear from customers or would be customers that they would prefer to quilt their own quilts.  When they don't quilt them on their own - they say it feels like they didn't create it!

Let me set you straight.  Without your quilt tops there would be no finished quilt!  I have never received two of the same quilts - and I calculate that I have quilted at least 1,000 quilts.  So of course the quilt has your touch, your influence and reflects your creativity.

In many cases when doing Edge to Edge (E2E) quilting, customers will request a certain pattern that they choose for me to use - and this adds their own creative touch to their quilts. (You can see some here or choose one from this site.)

Some quilts however, NEED a custom touch.  Often a quilt has a lot of white space or is paper pieced or has a lot of applique - and these quilts really should be custom quilted.  (This is one of my favourite things to do!)  Many quilters will send a quilt top and ask for a custom job - but not know what they want. 

Here is where you CAN get creative.

Here is a quilt I created - just to practice my custom skills - and to my surprise with a little planning - I created a masterpiece.  (if you click on the picture you can see an expanded version)

AND YOU can design your own quiting pattern too - and then send it along with your quilt and request something similar.  Let me explain how.

Often whe we create a quilt, we work from a pattern and it is either digital that we can print or we can scan it. If you have designed your own quilt - you will likely already have a sketch.

Then do the following:

• Print a second picture of the finished top in black and white in draft mode - so it is lighter in colour. 
• Get out your coloured pencils ( or a regular pencil ) and start drawing on top of the picture.  Think about how you can highlight the blocks. 
• If there is white space - think about feathers - and scribble some in. 
• Borders can have scallops or you can just get linear!

​For the quilt I posted above - I will show you my process.

1st step - print out the pattern and begin sketching over the pattern.

2nd step: Isolate areas and scan them so they are larger and begin sketching on these.  This was a blank space - so I simply drew a blank square and started doodling

Then I begin making measurements so that I have some idea of how to fit my drawing on the quilt.  Graph paper helps with this

Then send it to the quilt frame (or your favourite quilter)  and - execute! 

I know - it looks complicated - so let's start a little smaller! 

​Print off a block and play around with ideas about how you might like to see it quilted to highlight the block.  Bear in mind that your drawing will look heavier than any quilting line will look - so do not let that discourage you from doodling on your quilt block.

So go ahead - add some more personalization to your quilt by drawing out how you would like to see it quilted!  Get creative - you will be surprised with how much fun it is!
​

I recently learned from a fellow quilter about the concept of Wabi-Sabi.  It is a Japanese concept - centuries in the making that is often described as the appreciation of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete". (hmmm remind you of something?) 

Like many expressions and definitions over time - the meaning of wabi-sabi has evolved and has many explanations.  Looking up the definitions from many sources led me down a rabbit hole from which I thought I might never return.  For me there was no clear understanding of the concept except that it meant “perfectly imperfect” - which leads me to tell you a story that you may have written yourself.

Last week a seasoned quilter brought me her quilt top to add backing and batting to - and then to quilt.  She was extremely unhappy with the quilt - and told me to “do whatever” with the quilt.  “I just want it out of my house”.

It’s not the first time I have heard this.  So many of my quilting friends are often unhappy with the quilts that they create.  I don’t often see the errors that they point out right away - simply because I know that the quilt is still a work in progress and the look will change once it is quilted.
I often invite the creator to step back about 3 feet from the quilt top - close their eyes - imagine that they are receiving a gift -  and after a moment I ask them to open their eyes again.  Now, I ask - “what do you see?”

It’s usually an enlightening moment when they can see their unique handmade item in a new light - if only for a second or two.  
As any quilter knows - there is much joy in creating a near perfect corner. And when the colours look perfect together - or a quilt turns out perfectly squared - the satisfaction and sense of achievement rival the feeling of the taste of your first coffee or tea of the day - or the incredible yumm of a much needed chocolate.

But I am going to challenge you on this.  A perfect corner really means nothing in the scope of life.  The beauty in life is loving and accepting the imperfections - in everything.

In our fast paced world now often directed by artificial intelligence and machine made items - imperfection can be beauty.  There is nothing more beautiful than something that is handmade.  Any imperfection could never be recreated in the same way. The expression, “I couldn’t do that again even if I tried” leads to artistic expression and is unique in its own right.  Seeking perfection in what we do can be debilitating and leads to unfinished projects and procrastination.  When we become critical and unhappy with a project it is time to close our eyes and look for the beauty in the creation.  Wabi Sabi.

In the end - my seasoned quilter friend picked up her quilt after I had custom quilted it.  I used wool batting - as it has more loft - and that helped with the look of the imperfect corner and not so straight seams. When she saw it - she nearly bubbled over with excitement (is that even possible?) and exclaimed - “It’s beautiful!”

The funniest part of this story is that she could not see what I saw.  Imperfections in the quilting I had done jumped off the fabric and slapped me in the face.  All I could see was my imperfect quilting.  Looking at her quilt though, she saw the wabi sabi.

No machine could have created what we created together.  And both of our work - as imperfect as it was - created a thing of beauty that is invaluable in a world full of artificial intelligence and mass produced items.
​
So go on….and pull out that unfinished item you have stashed away and add a few finishing touches to it.  Our creations - much like us - are a work in progress.  Appreciate its and your beauty.  Perfectly imperfect.  Wabi sabi.