Do you follow Carolyn Friedlander? I’ll confess – I just found her blog. I learned about her at Gotham Quilts, and then I met her at Quilt Market this year. Her quilt designs and fabrics are all very modern, and it took me a little bit to warm up to them. I’m still learning to embrace modern quilting, and artists like Carolyn make it easy.
What really blows me away is Carolyn’s work in person. Her appliqué stitches are incredible. I’ve seen her work hanging at the Schweinfurth Art Center, and I’ve actually touched it at Quilt Market. I raved about the quality of her work to her (total fangirl meltdown), and she shared some tips with me.
- Match your thread color to your appliqué.
- Use fine thread, like 80 weight Aurifil.
- Use a thread conditioner. I am loving Thread Magic with my EPP.
I have an appliqué project coming up in the new year. Between my talk with Carolyn and the fantastic hand of the Art Gallery Fabric I’m considering doing it by hand.
Anyway. Carolyn is hosting an informal quilt along to close out the year. How great would it feel to have a nice finish to start the new year? I think it is a great idea, particularly since one of my goals is to reduce the UFO pile I started this year.
The hard part for me is going to be deciding which project to focus on. Do I pick the one that is almost done, or do I pick the one that is the oldest? Choices, choices. Maybe if I stop playing with my computer I can do more than one.
I’m leaning towards getting my Scrappy Appliqué skyline of Washington, DC finished and hung up. My Kingfisher is calling my name, too.
If you are interested in checking out Carolyn’s fabrics and book, they carry a decent selection at Gotham Quilts. The Polk collection is particularly fun – it is screen printed on a cotton linen blend. The texture is amazing. Harriot is coming soon, and it is so nice.
Art Gallery Fabrics are just beautiful. They are so much fun to work with. I just ordered four fabrics for a mystery quilt, and I’m so excited to be working with them again. Carolyn Friedlander gave you some great tips (80 wt was a game changer for me). Enjoy! Can’t wait to see what you create!
I love her fabrics – so different. I think that the reason I love them is that they can easily be used in masculine quilts and often have two colors – that makes them nice for transitions in quilts. I can’t wait to see her new stuff. Good luck on your end of the year finish!
Thanks so much, Jen! I hope your New Year is off to an excellent start. 🙂