You read about Woolin Rouge - an online store selling hand dyed wool and quilt patterns - and their creators, Traci and Sylvia, on my previous post. Now you have a chance to read my interview with Sylvia Gauthier and to find out, from her perspective, what it is like to start a business based on something you really enjoy doing. Sylvia brings her own strengths to their new business venture: a passion for sewing and quilting, and her ability to turn Traci's drawings into very cool wool … [Read more...] about Turning your passion into business – Part Two
Appliqué
Turning your passion into business – Part One
Sample hand dyed wool pack from Woolin Rouge Many years ago I was a freelance translator, working with marketing materials and ad copy from English into Brazilian Portuguese. Since I loved what I was doing, was very good at it, was reliable and fast, clients were abundant. After a few years I decided to open my own translation agency. Within two years the agency was profitable, and by the time I sold it to a competitor - some 10 years later - we were translating into over 150 languages, … [Read more...] about Turning your passion into business – Part One
Colorful pineapple blocks
I've been working on a fun quilt with [real] pineapple blocks. Using mostly batiks, I started assembling a square with strips from various fabrics, then ironed fusible web on the back, cut it, and machine appliqued it onto the mottled cream background. The leaves were supposed to be cut individually from different green fabrics. However, due to all the colors I had already used on the fruit, I decided to use the guide for leaf placement in place of many leaves, and chose a single … [Read more...] about Colorful pineapple blocks
Machine applique
This is my other source of relaxation: machine applique. I can't show you the whole quilt as it is for our round robin... The colors turned out so nice, I may even make a quilt for myself with them. I am adding some embroidery on the corners, but am not sure I like the thread I am using (too thick) as the French knots are not turning out right. It looks like a do over... Applique is a great technique to use when the quilt blocks are very geometric, and the whole project could benefit … [Read more...] about Machine applique
Wool Applique Tote
Funny thing happened when I tried to turn the wool applique blocks into a wall hanging - I could not do it! As I was auditioning fabrics for sashing, I wasn't happy with any of the combinations... The quilt fairy then whispered three words: Make A Tote! And so it is that I made a wool tote. It stands on its own (I did not put anything inside it for the pictures), it is lightweight, hand finished. I added I couple of 'bees' (buttons - seen on top right of the applique block), used DMC floss to … [Read more...] about Wool Applique Tote
Hawaii on my mind
I just found these two pieces I appliqued a few years ago. There were two others, in green, but I turned them into a tote for my mother. These might become another tote, or wall hangings, or pillows. The pattern was enlarged by 200% and, compared to the one I am working on right now, they were easier to needle turn as there weren't many tricky spots. I am almost done with the first (out of nine) block on the new project. As you can see from the pictures below, since I did not enlarge the … [Read more...] about Hawaii on my mind