Fayette Fun Festival

This May, Brett helped me to set up a booth at the Fayette Fun Festival.  It was an opportunity to display my work and sell my patterns and designs.  It also provided an opportunity to meet our new neighbors, since we had recently moved into the area.

The front of our outdoor booth.

My Peacock Shawl

 

 

 

 

 

I digitized the peacock feather for machine embroidery, then I free-motion, thread painted the bird with my sewing machine.

My apron from an apron challenge and a variety of mixed media quilts.

More mixed media quilts.

This is my Peacock Passion quilt.  It is hand painted on silk, machine pieced and quilted, and decorated with a variety of embellishments. It is an original design of mine.  The other quilts are photo transfer quilts, using family photographs.

Testing out my new logo.

We met a lot of people that day, made a few contacts, and held up under a few gusts of wind.

Research and Development

As mentioned in the last post, I had plenty of time to think about my next project.  With the encouragement of my husband, I began to create more patterns to use with the classes and workshops that I teach.  My Inspiration Journal pattern combines basic quilt piecing techniques, the sewing machines decorative stitches, and free-motion quilting or machine embroidery (in a variety of formats) to complete the translucent applique.  

Inspiration Journals with translucent applique, each pattern contains PDF's and
all three machine embroidery designs in a variety of machine formats.

This project is great to introduce a variety of techniques that today's machines can do in one workshop! These featured patterns are currently available through Linda Bratten Creations.  Keep an eye out for more patterns and designs in the future.

2013 In Review

This past week I have been making plans and sewing for my classes in 2014.  However, before 2013 slips by I would like to take some time to reflect on some major and minor events that were noteworthy.  I hope to have 13 flashbacks from 2013.  So here is the first. . . .Starting off early in 2013, I took the advice of my students and began working on my Meandering Methods, a No Mark Method of Free-Motion Machine Quilting, Workbook.   After many meals in front of my computer, and with the help of my good friend Sheri, I was able to complete it!

The finished workbook!

This workbook contains the information that I present in my Meandering Methods workshop.  The feedback from my students using it has been great!   

So now I am currently finishing my workbooks for Nature Inspired Quilting Motifs and Fun with Feathers Workbooks.   

My students continue to motivate me to be a better teacher, and for this I am very appreciative. -Linda

Stained Glass Applique--Making a Bold Statement

I have been busy getting ready for my stained glass applique class.  We will be using my pumpkin pattern to develop our skills with fusible bias tape. 

I like to include other samples in my class to motivate my students.  This pattern is from Gretchen K. Hudock's book: Quick Quilts Using Quick Bias.
It will be tomorrow at Zede's Sewing Studio.  Class information is available at www.sewhere.com.

Exploring different avenues of quilting,  Linda B.

Patterns from Nature

Looking for the perfect leaf shape for your next project?  Why not turn to nature?  Take a look outside to find your next pattern.  Once you have found the perfect leaf you can take a picture of it with your digital camera. 

Next print a copy of your photo on plain white paper.  If the perimeter of the leaf is hard to discern, use a black marker to emphasize the outline.  Also at this time you can use the marker to emphasize veins or areas of color that you want to include in your pattern.  Cut the leaf shape out, now you have a pattern to use. 

I like to trace the reverse of the pattern on light weight fusible web, and then fuse it to the wrong side of the fabric that I want my leaf to be. Next I cut out the shape on the pattern line and fuse it to my quilt.  Once you stabilize the piece, (I like a medium weight tear-away stabilizer), then you can thread paint the veins and do any shading you desire.

You can even use these patterns for your quilting patterns!

Don't forget to try different types of threads, like the variegated thread on the yellow leaves,  or the metallic thread on the bottom leaf.
Of course if you don't have a camera, you can get similar results using the low tech method of doing a leaf rubbing using paper and crayons!  Hoping to inspire you to a fall project, Linda B.