Archive | December, 2019

First, Make a Hanging Sleeve

By Ellen Lindner on December 28, 2019 in Uncategorized

After seeing the post about my bedroom redo, Sandy asked how I hang my quilts. Here’s the photo that piqued her interest.

And here’s the scoop.
(If you purchase a quilt from me it will come ready to hang and you don’t need to read any of this.)

Making and attaching a hanging sleeve

First, I make a 4″ hanging sleeve. There are quite a few variations out there and this is my version.
– Cut a piece of fabric with the following dimensions:
– Length = the width of the trimmed quilt minus 1 1/2″ inches.
– Width 9″.

Stitch the sleeve together as follows:
– Hem each short end by pressing up 1/4″, then folding and pressing up an additional 1/4″, and stitching.

– Fold the fabric in half, WRONG SIDES TOGETHER, matching up the long cut edges.
– Press the long folded edge on the opposite side.
– Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, stitch along the long raw edges, creating a tube.

– Create a tuck by stitching with a long basting stitch along the opposing folded crease, again with 1/4″ seam allowance.
– Repress, so the seam allowance is pressed open and is at the center of the back. The tuck will be on the center of the other side.

Next, the sleeve needs to be attached to the back of the quilt. Leave the tuck in place and position the seam side down.

If you’re facing your quilt you can attach the sleeve to the facing before attaching it to the quilt. To do so pin the sleeve to the right side of the cut facing, seam side down, positioning it 1″ below the top. Then top stitch close to each long edge. See this article on how to face a quilt.

If binding your quilt, stitch the top edge of the sleeve into the binding as you go. Hand stitch the bottom edge in place.

– Pick out the basting stitches. The fullness from the tuck will provide room for the depth of a hanging rod or slat.

The completed sleeve will be 4″ wide, from creased edged to creased edge.

Learn how to make a slat and use it to hang your quilt.

Ellen Lindner

Fabric Wrapped Ornaments

By Ellen Lindner on December 24, 2019 in Uncategorized

Remember the ornament I showed you in the last post? The one I made for my sister?

I made several others, each using my hand dyed scraps.

This one is for my husband. He’s a big Florida Gators fan and their colors are orange and blue.

Bonus content: We have a prankster friend who loves to leave Florida State paraphernalia around our house. As you might guess, Florida and Florida State are BIG rivals! Recently this friend left FSU ornaments all around our house and yard.

And guess what I did with them?

Yep.

I obliterated the FSU logo with fabric! Go Gators!

Merry Christmas,
Ellen Lindner

Christmas Decorations Old and New

By Ellen Lindner on December 21, 2019 in Uncategorized

This year I’ve been making some fabric wrapped balls as Christmas ornaments. My hand dyed scraps have been perfect for this.

I made one for my sister, to go in her home of soft blues, greens, and greys.

Her home is beautifully decorated for the holiday. Here’s just a sampling.

She and I both have these out-of-date ceramic nativity sets.

They’re certainly not what either of us would choose now, but we love them. Not because of their appearance so much, but because we’ve each had them for nearly 40 years. I smile as I arrange mine, enjoying the feel of slick ceramic beneath my hands. Remembering a simpler time. And thanking God for the gift of His son.

Isn’t it amazing how deeply such attachments bury themselves into our hearts? I know we all have special Christmas decorations and traditions. I’d love to hear about yours.

Merry Christmas,
Ellen Lindner

New Head Shot

By Ellen Lindner on December 18, 2019 in Uncategorized

Did you notice anything different about my newsletter and blog? Both have new headers, each with a new head shot. Yippee! (It was WAY overdue.)

I had the photo taken by Bonnie McCaffery, while in Houston. She took about 100 and I picked this one, (even though I wasn’t sold on the background.)

So, I changed the background to grey and cropped it way in. Better, I think.

Then, for the web headers I cropped it even more.

See the header above. Did I go too far? I’m not sure.

Bonnie was great to work with and I definitely recommend her. She let me turn the tables on her at the end. (My out of focus photo reminded me why I paid a professional.)

All in all, a very good experience.

Ellen Lindner

Retreat Project

By Ellen Lindner on December 8, 2019 in Uncategorized

What do you get when you add a beautiful setting, great friends, and time to make quilts? Well, fun productivity, of course!

At a recent SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) retreat I took my portable design wall, my easel, and ALL of my hand dyed fabrics. I didn’t have an idea when I left home, but I got one along the way. I decided to be inspired by the colors of fall trees (which we miss here in Florida,) and to use tall vertical shapes.

First, I auditioned A BUNCH of fabric to see if I had what I needed.

Well, um, yes I did. Too many fabrics, as a matter of fact. (Or as Tim Gunn might say, “That’s a whole lot of look.”)

I quickly edited and started putting fabrics in place.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted for the “sky,” but I put some light fabrics there as place holders.

Next, I auditioned some yellow. Would one piece stand out too much? Did I need more? Could I use yellow in the sky too?

I settled on the arrangement below. In this photo many of the fabrics are still folded. I don’t cut until I’m pretty sure. (But, by the end of the 2 day retreat I had all these shapes cut, pinned in place, and a few glued.)

I knew I’d need some black to break up the bright colors, so vertical trunks and branches filled the bill nicely. And you can also see that I added more yellow/yellow-orange.