Guest Blogging Carla

My first guest blogging post has been published today HERE.  I hope you will read it and click if you like it and want to see more guest posts from yours truly.

The new website, iCreateFlix, has invited me to be a guest blogger on their blog, appropriately titled, Living the Create Life– and of course, I said, “Yes!” 

Yesterday and today, I was in the East Bay San Francisco area on some business, and of course, I visited the local quilt store in Concord, CA, called ThimbleCreek Quilt Store.  I left the store with some cool fabric featuring fish, sailboats and of course some beautiful Radiance Fabric for a series of wholecloths I plan to make.  I will put up some pics tomorrow since I am am bone tired from travel.

While in the quilt store, I happened to see some store samples that were quilted beautifully.  I asked for the machine quilters business card so I could share her work with you in a future post.   I also sent her a Facebook comment that I enjoyed her work, too.  I do think that quilters and artists need to know when you like their work.  What do you think?   Hugs, Carla

 

 

Holiday Month

The holidays are right around the corner.  Is money tight this year due to the economy?  Here are some free tutorials I have that would make wonderful homemade gifts.

Microwave Potato Bag Pattern

If you appreciate using this pattern, which gets hundreds of hits per day, please leave me a thank you note.  Disclaimer: Use at your own risk and please note that I am not liable if you decide to use this free pattern and fail to read all the directions, follow them, and supervise your microwave.

Directions:

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Copper Bookmark Tutorial

For the reader in your life.  This is a beginning metal project using easily attainable materials from the hardware and craft store.

This tutorial does not have any disclaimers- except maybe to not hammer your thumb, or pull a muscle in your elbow.  LOL

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Mokuba Freelace Scarf

This is a fun project using a little known product, called mokuba freelace.   If you cannot find it, then substitute 2 sheets of water soluble, your favorite brand.

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Last Tutorial I will feature is my Freeform Crochet Tutorial.  This is a tutorial for beginning and advanced crocheters, but only if you purposely crochet in a haphazard manner and let your free spirit come out!

Freeform Crochet Tutorial:

This project is for any friend or relative.  Why not make one for yourself?

Have fun!!  If you try any of these, please let me know.  I offer them free because I love to share, spread good karma, etc.

If you are a quilter, be sure to check out my site, QuiltWhisper.com.   Happy Holidays to all!!  Hugs, Carla

Artist Profile: Nina Lise Moen

Whenever I stumble onto a new blog that I really enjoy, I want to share it with all of you!  Today’s profile is on Nina Lise Moen, from the blog, “Mrs. Moen; The Not-so Secret Life of a Quilter.”

First off, I love blogs that share free tutorials, as I do. (I admit, this is a shameless plug for my free tutorial page)  Here is an example of a free tutorial; how to make a letter:

Here is a heart pattern from her site:

I also love quilty sites that have chicken/bird products to buy, as well.  Combine the two, and you have Mrs. Moen’s delightful Funky Fowl quilt pattern:

With this pattern, you receive 8 birds and 5 quilt designs.  Here are a few more birds:

Here is another birdy:

Be sure to check out her other pattern designs, too.  Here are 2 other bird theme patterns:

This pattern is called, “Sitting There.”  This next pattern is called “Lots of Yellow Ones:”

Q& A with Mrs Moen, aka Nina Lise Moen:

Carla : Tell us a bit about yourself?

Nina: My name is Nina Lise Moen, I’m 48 years old, and live in Stavanger, Norway where I share my life with my husband, our grown up daughter and our soon to be 3 year old grandson. I come from a long line of creative and highly skilled needle workers and seamstresses as both my mother and grandmothers have been avid crafters. I have been knitting, crocheting and embroidering for as long as I can remember, and have made my own designs and knitting patterns since I was a teenager.

Carla:  How long have you been quilting and designing patterns?

Nina: I am first and foremost a quilter and have designed my own quilts since I started quilting a few hundreds of quilts ago. Designing patterns is something I do on the side; I make a quilt and then write a pattern if it’s a design that I think others would like to make. Quilting is my creative outlet, so I try to keep the balance between my art work, quilts I make just for fun, blogging, tutorials, patterns and classes. With a background in finance and the corporate world, my journey into the textile arts has taken my life into a quite different direction.

Carla: What was the first quilt you designed?

Nina: The first quilt I designed for someone else was for a fellow guild member who asked if I could design a quilt for her son’s wedding. Later our guild was hosting a big quilting retreat and I was head of the event. As part of raising funds for the guild, I designed a needle cushion for souvenirs, a small flower bouquet quilt for our teachers and helpers, and a bag block for our raffle quilts. I enjoyed the process, so I designed a few more quilts and wrote patterns that were sold at the retreat.

Carla: How would you describe your style?

Nina: My style is simple, whimsical and fun. Although I use a lot of colour in my work, the designs translate very well into other styles. My patterns are suitable for quilters of all levels, also beginner quilters.

Carla: How long have you been quilting and what attracted you to it?

Nina: I started quilting in December 1998. I found a book about antique quilts while looking for inspiration for my needle point work; my daughter saw the book, wished for “one of those”, and I made one for her that Christmas. I had never seen a quilt before I made that first one. It was love at first try, and with the exception of a couple of breaks, I have been quilting ever since.

What attracted me at first was playing with simple shapes of colours and the soft and comforting result. After I discovered appliqué, I was sold. I love that you can make anything with appliqué, and I do. I took part in an art therapy group in 2002 and learned that I had the ability to express myself through art. Since then I have entered my work into both national and international exhibitions and competitions.

Carla: Besides quilting, what other interests do you have?

Nina: I read books and comics, I exercise several times a week, I still knit, embroider and crochet a little, and I spend a lot of time with my grandson.

Carla: Any other info or tidbits you would like to share?

Nina: After 11 years of quilting, I still find it challenging and fun. There is always something new to figure out and learn. It can be done by anyone anywhere, and you really don’t need much to get started.

I also love the social aspect of quilting, being part of a guild and a small, friendly sewing group, and that we all are connected across ages, styles and level of experience. Teaching classes is also fun; it’s so amazing to see how the different personalities transfer into their work.

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I would like to thank Nina for sharing her patterns and designs with the Feathered Fibers blog readers.  I plan to do a funky fowl quilt in the future, which fits in with my love for whimsical birds and chickens.  LOL!

Regards, Carla

Feathered Fibers on the Web

I thought I would share some sites which posted something about my blog, my work, or had something nice to say.

First up is Dorothy Miller’s blog, where she has a post titled, “Taxes, yuck! Carla Barrett, YEAH!!!”  I am so glad I ranked higher than taxes, whew! that is a relief!  Anyway, Dorothy drove many hours to attend one of my classes in Northern CA, and she talks about her experience prior to class.

Dorothy’s next post after taking my class is titled, “Carla Barrett”s Quilt Whisperer Class.”  She talks about her experience both in and after class.   I invited her home with me to show her some tricks in person.  I warned her my studio was a mess, but she didn’t mind and even took a picture of what my studio looks like after I finish a big product.  LOL

Next Feathered Fibers mention is on Barbara Chainey’s blog.  Barbara blogs about the post I recently wrote about her stencils and work.  While you are there, be sure to check out the stunning corded and quilted quilt she shares…  inspiring!

Vicki Welsh mentions my recently finished guild quilt on her blog, Field Trips in Fiber. Vicki compiles all the interesting items she comes across on her internet blog feeders into a weekly column called “Field Tripping the Web.”  As an FYI, Vicki also makes and sells some wonderful soap, which I use all the time.

Cold Feet Quilter, Deb H., mentions one of my many tricks for working with wonky quilts on her blog.  Deb, I hope you found it useful!  In case you were wondering, Deb lives in Alaska and also does fiber art.

Judy, from the Apron Strings blog,  took up one of my challenges and converted thrift store sweaters into useful, decorative items!  Here, she made her husband felted wool slippers and a camera case.  In this post, she made a cute Tea Cozy.  Kudos, too, for Judy’s wonderful tutorial on how to make felted wool mittens.  Terrific job, Judy!!

Talented Machine Quilting Teacher, Kim S., mentions on her blog both my Quilt Whisperer Class and my Quilt Whisperer Yahoo Group.  Thanks, Kim!!  By the way, if you want to talk about quilting design and life, you are invited to join my Yahoo Group.  The link is above.

Craft Detective shares my free Copper Bookmark Tutorial and even shows a great picture that looks based on my Tutorial.  Great job!:

Timber Hill Thread’s Angie has lots of visuals on her post where she mentions dusting off her bamboo tablet and practicing what she learned in my Quilt Whisperer Class.  She even shows off a QW example I did for her in class.

Emma from Sampaquita Quilts in Australia says that I inspired her gorgeous feathery design.  Thanks, Emma, you did a fabulous job.  Be sure you look at her quilts while you are visiting her site.  Good stuff!!

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Thanks for all the links!!  Hopefully, this helps to share the love back at some recent sites linking to me!!   If anyone blogs about me, my work, or my blog, please drop me a message so I can return the favor.

Regards, Carla

Barbara Chainey Stencils

I wanted to share a few of my favorite stencils by Barbara Chainey with you all.  I am a longtime fan of Barbara’s books (including Quilt It!, The Essential Quilter, and  Fast Quilts From Fat Quarters) and also her stencils, too.

Barbara lives in England, and is a noted teacher, author, and designer.  She lives with a batty border collie named Himself, and 3 cats in her home in deepest middle England.

I first “met” Barbara online when I linked to her site from my blog, and then she commented back.  Since that time, I have had the pleasure to get to know her a bit better through emails.  Since I love her stencil designs, sold through Stensource, I thought I would share them with you, too.  It also happens that some of my favorite stencils also happen to be on sale, too, including this favorite stencil:

To my regular blog readers, this design may look very familiar.  Here is a quilt photos where I used this design:

And this variation on Barbara Kiehn’s baby quilt for her cute granddaughter:

What I love about this design is that it is easy to quilt.  On sale at $2.84 US is a bargain!

Next is Barbara’s Scallop Feather border and block design:

You can see the border used on this quilt, with a slight variation:

If you like the design in the middle of this following quilt, Barbara has a stencil for that, too, also on sale for $2.64 US:

You just mark the quilt and then flip it aoroung for the other side to get the 4 feather design.

Here is a stencil that I own, and plan to use the border in the near future.  I love it, even if it is not on sale right now:

There are many more wonderful stencil designs by Barbara, but I thought I would show you just a few.  By the way, I am receiving no compensation to share these designs with you, I just like them and think they are worth sharing about.  Happy Quilting!  Carla

Recycled Sweater Challenge… still ongoing!

In December, I issued a recycled/reuse  sweater or quilt challenge:

For anyone who wants to participate, the details are in this post.  So far, several people have taken up the challenge, and have linked back to this blog.  I will be sharing more of the work in the future, but this week’s Challenge focus in on Judy, of the Apron Strings and Other Ties that Bind blog.

Judy, not only accepted the challenge, but she took it one step further.  She has written a tutorial for how you make mittens by using Thrift Store sweaters.  Here is a sneak peek of her wonderful mittens-in progress:

Be sure to check it her site out as Judy has done a very nice job at showing you each step in the process and yet how to save money by taking something old and outdated and turning them into a lovely, functional mittens with a bit of effort.

This next week, I will make the rounds of my local thrift stores and I will share my finds with you.  On my last visit, I found a name brand top, sized small, sold at Macy’s that I love and has become a lovely piece of my new skinnier wardrobe:

I have been dieting since the end of November, lost 20 lbs and so I need to hunt for interim clothes while I go down a few more dress sizes.  I am excited to report that I now fit into a size 10 now… woo-hoo!

Once I get down a bit more, I will go have my quilting portrait made to use  on my new website in progress and for my avatar.   I tend to be a bit shy with pictures, so I want to get over it. LOL

Ok, that’s my Recycle/Reuse report for the day.  Go forth and visit your thrift stores, and I hope you get inspired to enter this ongoing challenge!  Regards, Carla

Feathered Fibers on the Web

Many of my readers know I have a free tutorial page with lots of good stuff there.  I always love it when people use my tutorials and then link back to me.   Or see my work and want to post about it.  Here are some lovely examples of links that talk about my blog or my work:

April, from the Modern Mama blog, used my Fabric Storage Tutorial and I must say, I love how it looks on her bookcase. (Just click the link to check out her picture).  Here is my picture from my studio:

Tipnut site loves my Copper Bookmark Tutorial since they have featured it a couple of times.  Here is what it looks like:

Karen Griska, Selvage Quilting author, has featured some of my selvage projects on her fabulous Selvage blog. In fact, if you look on her right side table and scroll way down, you will see she has grouped all of them under both my name (Carla Barrett) and this site (Feathered Fibers).  Thanks, Karen!  Of course, I do have a mini Selvage Tutorial, too.

The talented Vicki Welsh has a fabulous blog feature called “Field Tripping The Web,” where she compiles all the highlights from other blogs, and websites that week. Vicki also has an etsy site, where she sells a variety of wonderful items including her stunning dyed fabrics.  I have several bars of her soap, and I highly recommend them.  They are especially nice if you sensitive skin, as well.  Anyway, in the current edition, she shares a link to my last batik quilt that I quilted for my friend, Molly seen here:

front side

back side

Last link I will share with you was for a jewelry design that I made inspired by a book on the Something Sublime blog by the talented Deryn Mentock.  This was a copper pendant and I was taking a metal arts class at the time.  This piece was made for the Mary Hetts Jewelry Challenge on Deryn’s blog:

I hope you have enjoyed  clicking on the links to some truly wonderful sites.  Regards, Carla

Guest Blogger on the Quilting Gallery!

Today, Feb 10th, 2010, I am the guest blogger over on the Quilting Gallery Blog!

I decided to share a bit of humor with the Quilting Gallery Readers, so if you are visiting my blog from there, I do hope you will  leave me a comment.  Did you like it, hate it, enjoy the humor and cartoons, or another viewpoint?  My lovely blog readers, It would be wonderful if you would read the post and comment over on the Quilting Gallery site under my post.  Thank you!

Welcome!!  Do remember to bookmark my page if you want to visit again. 🙂

I wanted to share a few recent quilting awards on quilts I have quilted.

Yesterday, I showed you this quilt by Molly (and quilted by me):

Molly dropped me an email to share that a lovely story quilt she made (and I quilted) won a first place ribbon at the River City quilt show, which is the large guild in Sacramento! Congrats, Molly!!    To see a picture of the quilt, wearing the blue ribbon, along with the entry label listing me as the quilter, click HERE.  Molly made the quilt out of a Mary Lou Weidman story class, so the quilt was featured on Mary Lou’s blog.

Also, Barb reported that the baby quilt I did for her, seen here:

and a close up picture:

won a 2nd place in the wall hanging category at her guild show.  Congrats to Barb!!

Notice I used the same border design on both quilts?  I love this design, it starts as a stencil, then I add lots of quilting to it to get the design shown in both pictures.  That is one of my philosophies… use any design, then add your own spin to it.

Last News:  Be sure to catch Karen Griska’s Selvage Blog.  She is featuring my selvage quilt I shared here on the blog not too long ago.  I love Karen’s Blog and the selvage projects she shares.

Happy Quilting from Carla

Swarovski Crystals and Beads

I have a wonderful new project that I designed underway, and I wanted to experiment with some beautiful Swarovski Crystals and pendants, etc. that arrived from ArtBeads.com, my favorite online bead store.

First off, here is the lovely Crystallized Swarovski products:

http://www.artbeads.com/swarovski.html

I especially love the faceted Teardrop pendants, they are begging to be a focal point in a beaded project.  The donut shaped “cosmic” pendants I can see in a freeform beaded project, too.

Here is a quick FYI for when you purchase the Swarovski product.  You will want to protect the foil or metal appearance backing by simply painting them with a clear coat nail polish:

and step 2:

Keep watching for my finished project.  It is underway and I’m loving how it is turning out.

What I like about Artbeads.com is that wide variety of products they carry and how they have organized their online site.  Lots of inspiration there when you have a project to do.

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Off to create!!  Carla

Double Wedding Ring Quilt finished

Had a quick quilt to do for a friend that lives on the east coast.  Only problem was that is wasn’t all that fast.  It was one of those quilts that grow as you work on it.

and here’s the back:

As always, I like to credit the designer if I use one of their stencils in my work.  The center of the DWR is a lovely stencil by Helen Squire. Anyhow, I am glad to move on now to my next project- a baby quilt for my sister to give to a friend.

Beaded Project:

I wanted to show you my next beaded project- this will be a bead embroidered fish when I’m done, totally covered in beads.  To begin, you need to make a fish plushie in the proper size and stuff it:

I started to use a wonderful free frilly fish pattern by blog visitor, Beena, then decided to adapt it and make a trout shape instead.   Be sure to take note of this wonderful free pattern by Beena, downloadable on her blog here.  While you are there, be sure to look around and see her wonderful pictoral quilts and designs!