Art & Stitch: Designing a Series

As part of my ongoing practice after attending Theo & Loes van der Heyden’s Art & Stitch  workshop, I decided to show you how I drew a doodle and turned it into a series or quilting designs for my quilts.  If you are interested in learning how to do this, be sure to sign up for Theo and Loes workshop, too.

Let’s start with a doodle:

copyright 2013 Carla Barrett

Then you combined 2 blocks to make this design:

copyright 2013 Carla Barrett

Notice there is a cute little critter that emerged once the blocks combined?  I love the randomness of finding surprises like this.  Next, we will combine 2 triangles to make a block design:

copyright 2013 Carla Barrett

Now add 3 more blocks to create a large block design:

copyright 2013 Carla Barrett

We are just getting started!  Let’s make a border design to match the other blocks:

copyright 2013 Carla Barrett

How about a wreath where the critters are looking inward:

copyright 2013 Carla Barrett

Or, critters looking outward:

copyright 2013 Carla Barrett

In order for this design to stitch out without jump stitches, all I needed to do is add a transition design:

copyright 2013 Carla Barrett

Can you tell I am having fun?   By the way, my Birdy Designs are for a future post….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Digitized Fun!

I promised I would share some designs drawn in Art & Stitch (ANS) software to practice what I learned in the workshop by Loes and Theo van der Heyden.  

In this class exercise, I started by drawing some feathers in a triangle block, then made a simple block motif by copying 4 times:

design by Carla Barrett

To be honest, it doesn’t ring my chimes yet.  So I decided to see what would happen when I copied more blocks designs together:

Yes, this block works for me now.  I like that you can take a ho-hum block design and turn it into a better design by playing with the program.    Once again, it only took me less than 10 minutes to create the block shown above.  I see lots of fun designs in my future!

Next up on my quilting table will be a lovely modern quilt by my friend Lyn Baker.  Lyn is a wonderful binding instructor and you can catch a class with her at High Sierra Quilters in Placerville, CA.  If you do not see a class on the website, but trust me, she has them regularly.  Contact Doug at the store if you need a binding lesson with Lyn.  Lyn is responsible for my huge improvement in my bindings.

Anyway, I plan to design some fun modern designs for Lyn’s quilt and then digitize them for practice.  I will be sharing my progress as I complete them.

Also, in my next ANS post, I will show you how I traced one of my birdy designs and made a quilting pattern out of the art.  Keep watching!

New Feather Worksheet Page!

Hello, I have added a new blog page to this site I wanted to share with you.  Regular blog readers know I ran a 10 part series on how to draw/quilt feathers earlier this year.  I had the bright idea to group them all together on their own blog page for easier access.  Did I mention that my lesson worksheets are FREE, too?

Here is a sample feather practice sheet:

Feather practice 6.1 by Carla Barrett

Want to visit this page?  Look at the top of the blog , but under the blog header art.  Look for the words, “Feather Worksheets 1-10″ and click on the words to access the page.  Alternatively, you may all click here to visit this page.

If you did any of the exercises- and are proud of your hard work, not to mention your stunning feather examples, send me pictures of your completed worksheet(s).  If you do not have my email, just click on the contact page and I will respond back.  I will be sharing these on the blog when I get a fair number of them.

Enjoy your week!  Carla

Art & Stitch Workshop

I recently attended a wonderful seminar in using Art & Stitch (ANS) digitizing software for quilting and embroidery design.  I loved this workshop and had a blast drawing designs using this vector program developed  by Theo and Loes van der Heijden.

As an incentive to practice what I learned, I thought I would share fun designs developed using ANS a few times per week.  To begin, the following designs were from a class exercise following directions by Loes.  (Carla note: For students who have taken my Tablet Design class, this is a similar process taught in designing wholecloth quilts).

You start with a triangle doodle design:

ANS example design by Carla Barrett

Repeat 3 more times to create a bock or motif.  For ANS users, you would select and then click on the magic square function in the program:

copyright 2013 by Carla Barrett

Next, you can then create a larger block using 4 of the blocks:

Copyright 2013 by Carla Barrett

Finally, you can also create a large Edge-to-Edge design in ANS, too:

E2E design by Carla Barrett

For those of you interested in the program I am using, Art & Stitch has a free trial download on their website here.

Let me know what you think?   Happy quilting!  Carla

 

 

 

Announcing Tablet Design eClass- Self Study Option!!

I am excited to try out a new class feature- the ability of students to take my Tablet Design eClass at their own pace and as a self study option!  I have jammed packed so much course content, that doing this just makes sense.

To register, click HERE.  If you need assistance registering, please watch my helpful video located on the bottom of my Schedule & Registration page here.Below is more information about this eClass:

Tablet Design Class-  Self Study**  by Carla Barrett-

Dates: Available Now!  Once you have paid, you will have up to 9 months to complete this course.  Registration starts Now Here

Fee:  $70  (Repeat Students may contact Carla for a 50% discount rate)

Class Description:  This  online self paced course by Carla Barrett teaches you how to use your tablet, pre-loaded with Photoshop Elements, to create a wide variety of designs.  Through online videos, handouts,  and creative exercises, Carla will show you how to plan and design your quilts, your quilting motifs, pantograph designs, wholecloth quilts, and art quilts on your tablet.  This self-paced class is jammed packed with design lessons and creative exercises sure to inspire any student- no matter what their drawing skill level is.

**Prerequisite:  Basic knowledge of Photoshop Elements or Photoshop CS.  Knowledge should include familiarity of tools, how to install program and open it, how to save a file, and working in layers.  If you are not sure, you may contact Carla here.

Here are just a few examples of class projects:

Quilting Design by Carla Barrett

Quilt Design by Carla Barrett

Zen Doodle Design

wholecloth design

and MORE!!!

Supply List

Tablet:  •This class uses any Tablet, Tablet PC, or Tablet Plug-in (ie. Wacom) capable of interacting with Photoshop Elements.  (Please note that this class is not for tablets running Android or Apple iPad OS software.  Why? These type of tablet Operating Systems can only run Apps, and unable to work with a comprehensive full design program such as Photoshop Elements.
Software:  • I currently use Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 10 for all videos in this class. If you already own a previous version of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, you should be able to use your particular version.
• To view the videos, you need a viewer like QuickTime or Windows Media Player.
• To view the lessons, you need a PDF viewer like Foxit Reader or Adobe Reader.
Class Level-  Previous Photoshop Elements class or basic user knowledge of Photoshop or PSE.
• This class is for Photoshop users who want to learn how to design a variety of quilting applications with their tablet. All the tools and techniques we use in this course are useful for other applications as well, i.e. digital scrapbooking, brochures, graphic design.
• You must have the programs installed on your computer before the course begins.

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Any questions, please contact Carla HERE.

Feather Practice- Part 9

In Feather Practice, Part 9, today we are going to focus on feathering small border or larger sashings spaces on a quilt top.

featherpractice9.pdf (Here is the PDF file to download;  you will need a pdf reader to view.)

Feather Practice 9 by Carla Barrett

With practice and growing skill with feathers, you will be able to quilt smaller and smaller spaces.  The blank spaces are for you to practice over and over to gain mastery.

This is Part 9 in my feather practice series.  If you would like to start at Handout #1, please click HERE.

Next lesson is fun and whimsical.   Stay tuned!  Regards, Carla

Feather Practice- Part 8

Here is the 8th part in my Feather Practice Series.  This series of handouts are intended for newer quilters or for anyone wanting to brush up on feather practice.  I happen to love feathers for feminine quilts, and feel that this is a wonderful skill to have in your quilting tool box!

featherpractice8-1 (pdf)

Today, we are focusing on feathering spines or small borders.  Right click to download my PDF file.  Note that you will need a PDF reader to view this file.

Handout by Carla Barrett

The second design in the handout I have used before in my quilting.  Here is a photo from the back of a quilt, but you can see this feather being used:

For Barb Kiehn’s wonderful Egyptian Theme quilt, notice the stylized feathers in the border.  I quilted sashing sized spaces to fill with a variation of sashing #2 in the handout:

Hope this gives you additional ideas for using this feather design on your quilts.  If you use any of my handouts on one of your quilts, I would love to see the results!  In case you missed an earlier Feather Series, here are the links for each part:

Feather Practice- Part 1, Feather Practice- Part 2, Feather Practice- Part 3, Feather Practice- Part 4, Feather Practice- Part 5, Feather Practice- Part 6, and  Feather Practice- Part 7

Happy Feathering, everyone!  Let me know if you would like more of the feather series, too, by leaving a comment.   Hugs, Carla

Feather Practice- Part 7

Today, I present the Feather Practice Series, Part 7.  This quilting feather handout shows you four different ways to feather an inset triangle space on a quilt top.  Any of these feathers, quilted in all the inset triangles on a quilt top, will flow visually from triangle to triangle.  It will also draw the eye around the quilt and provide some beautiful texture, too.

featherpracticehandout7 (pdf)  (Right click to download.  You will need a PDF reader)

Feather Practice 7.1 by Carla Barrett

Above are 4 different variations of my inset triangle feathers.  Below is the 2nd page, which is where you will practice drawing on:

Feather Practice handout by Carla Barrett

Note, too, that you can just feather the outer side of the spine for a different look.

quilting example by Carla Barrett

You may also decide to fill the blank space with curved cross-hatching or other fill, too, like I have drawn below:

feather example by Carla Barrett

Hope you are enjoying my Feather Practice Series!  I have enjoyed all the quilters who have taken the time to comment, contact me via email or tell me they are loving it.  I appreciate your kind words!  In case you missed an earlier Feather Practice, here are the links:

Feather Practice- Part 1,   Feather Practice- Part 2,  Feather Practice- Part 3,  Feather Practice- Part 4,  Feather Practice- Part 5, and  Feather Practice- Part 6

Have fun PPP- which means Practice, Practice, Practice!    Now go forth and feather!   Carla

Feather Practice- Part 6

Today, we will focus on circular feathers quilting design and how to neatly curl them into the spine.  Feathering a circular spine is a key skill for all quilters to master.  Plus, it looks wonderful quilted in a large blank area on a quilt top.

Feather Practice 6-1 (pdf)  (Right click to download, need Adobe Reader to view)

Feather practice 6.1 by Carla Barrett

This was how I created this motif shown above the chicken:

cartoon by Carla Barrett

Here are some quilts where I curled my feathers to showcase a quilt space:

Quilting by Carla Barrett, Piecing and design by Barb Kiehn

Look just outside the center of this guild opportunity quilt:

quilting by Carla Barrett

The outermost quilt texture is also circular feathers on this quilt:

quilting by Carla Barrett

Hope you have enjoyed this lesson on Circular Feathers- which is 6th in my Feather Practice Series.    Below are some links to previous Lessons:

Feather Practice- Part 1,   Feather Practice- Part 2,   Feather Practice- Part 3,         Feather Practice- Part 4,  and Feather Practice- Part 5.

As always, leave me a comment if you appreciate my free tutorials and handouts!  Happy quilting, Carla

Feather Practice, Part 5

This post is a fifth in my Feather Practice Series, and today, I share how I do my Asian-inspired feathers and spine variations.  These designs work great on Asian themed quilts, tropical quilts, and nature quilts and similar themed quilt top designs.

featherpractice5.pdf   (right click to download.  You will need Adobe Reader to view the file)

Feather Practice 5.1 by Carla Barrett

Feather Practice 5.2 by Carla Barrett

Print out and practice on 5-10 copies. Repetition is how you learn how to draw any feather type.   Practice drawing them and filling a variety of quilt spaces, too,

Freehand quilters: I suggest you mark until you can quilt this design by memory.  Now, when I quilt them free motion,   I will only mark the spine as a guideline.

I hope you are enjoying my Feather Practice Series.  If so, please leave me a comment.  My motivation for providing this free series is to provide assistance to any machine quilters who needs encouragement in their own personal quilting journey.   Happy Quilting, Carla Barrett