Modern Blocks Re-Cap - Week 7

A quick re-cap of our seventh week's Modern Blocks Quilt Along blocks.  We've crossed the half way mark, and hope you're still having as much fun as we are!

We're very excited to have so many of you linking up your projects with the book so we can see all the different interpretations of these gorgeous blocks. There's a quick tutorial from the Tech Goddess on how to add your project to the book.

These are the blocks we made; to see the correct professional version, click the name of the block.

On the forty-third day of the Quilt Along Jenny made Escalator by Ann Haley.  Jenny writes, "This block looked harder than it actually turned out to be, and could be laid out in a whole quilt a bunch of different ways.  I used all the 1930's prints left over from Boxed In, and it went together easily.  My only suggestion is that you lay it out on your sewing table with the directions in front of you and take your time.  It would be very easy to get a piece out of place, and those bias edges could get wonky quick if you had to rip out."

On the forty-fourth day of the Quilt Along, Allison made Binary by Angela Pingel.  Allison writes, "After doing several intricate blocks - this was a nice easy one that completed quickly! Be careful though it easily gets out of shape while pressing the strips open."

On the forty-fifth day of the Quilt Along. Jenny made Stonehenge by Amy Ellis.  Jenny writes, "This is another simple yet striking block.  It would make a fantastic two-color quilt, and Amy suggests strip piecing if you were going to make a bunch of identical blocks.  It went together in a snap, and (I think) would offer an interesting secondary design."

On the forty-sixth day of the Quilt Along, Allison made Just Jack by Lynne Goldsworthy.  Allison writes, "I drafted this one on freezer paper because I am loving this way of freezer paper! I love how it came out - those little white strips really make a difference to this design"

On the forty-seventh day of the Quilt Along Brye made Mondrian by Jamie Mailanen.  Brye writes, "I love this block - love it - love it!  It is great to put scraps together.  But I had trouble getting it straight.  It seems that my black strips were pulling in.  I think if I had a whole quilt of this block it would straighten out."

On the forty-eighth day of the Quilt Along,  Jenny made Turnaround by Monique Dillard.  Jenny writes, "This is one of the more intricate blocks, but so fabulous!  I love the motion of it, and think it would be an awesome one made into a whole quilt or used as an alternate block to create a cool secondary pattern.  My one bit of advice is to trim away the excess fabric from your flying geese units to reduce the bulk.  Also, lay it out on your sewing table with the picture.  If you look at mine and the original, you will see that I turned my center unit the wrong way.  I don't think it particularly matters, but it is easy to do.  "

On the forty-ninth day of the Quilt Along Allison made Crosswalk by Angela Pingel.  Allison writes, "Oh I had fun choosing fabrics for this one! Mary had a little... turkey! A fun block to use your novelty fabrics. The instructions were great and this block went together quickly."

Which one is your favorite?  It's never too late to get your own copy and quilt along with us!  Link up so we can see your blocks!=

Planned Site Outage

Sunday, January 29, 2011

8:00am - 1:00pm EST

We have another new page to add to the site, but I have to take it down to put it in place.  This one is calling for some big, behind the scenes, changes - so it will be down all morning.  I am estimating five hours, but if I can get it done earlier, I will.

Here is what you can expect when we go back live again.

• Under the 'Catalogs' tab there will be a new page called 'Books & more'
• The new page URL will be www.seamedup,com/publications
• This page will look like our other catalog pages, with blocks to search for publications on the site.
• One this page will also be a summary of the latest publication reviews, will a link to all the reviews.

I know. . . it doesn't seem like much this time around.  But it is just a first step to lots of new features.  I am still working out the bug to add comments to projects and I am working on making the search functions easier to use.

Thank you once again for your support and patience.

TechGoddess

=

Chat it UP - First Quilts

This week on Chat it UP, we were talking about our first quilts.  I always think this is fun at a quilt show or guild meeting, and love to see how far some of us have come in our craft.  I am amazed at some of the intricate and beautiful quilts some people attempt on their very first try!

Did you know that when you add a new project to your sewing room, you can include the category "first quilt"?  This means that if someone does a search for "first quilt,"  all of those would show up in the search results. 

Even if your first quilt was long ago, let's upload them and add this tag.  If your first quilt is already on SeamedUP, you can edit to add that category if you didn't already.

I can't wait to see them all!  Here are just a few so far:

"First Time Quilt" by 2_quilt_or_not_2_quilt

"First Quilt" by blondelf

"Suivre sa petite voix" by Mrs. Quilt

Come join the conversation!=

Modern Blocks Re-Cap - Week 6

A quick re-cap of our sixth week's Modern Blocks Quilt Along blocks.  We hope you're having as much fun as we are!

We're very excited to have so many of you linking up your projects with the book so we can see all the different interpretations of these gorgeous blocks. There's a quick tutorial from the Tech Goddess on how to add your project to the book.

These are the blocks we made; to see the correct professional version, click the name of the block.

On the thirty-sixth day of the quilt along Brye made Megan's Star by Alethea Ballard. 

On the thirty-seventh day of the Quilt Along, Jenny made the April Showers block by Kirsti Underwood.  Jenny writes, "I haven't done embroidery since I was a teenager, but have been wanting to give it another shot ever since Bari J. was on the podcast.  This was a perfect way to jump back in - no complicated stitches and a very cute design.  If you've been thinking about embroidery, try April Showers."

On the thirty-eighth day of the quilt along Allison made Selvedge Strings by Bari J. Ackerman.   Allison writes, "No selvage strings (unfortunately) and I started with the white background that was less than called for - so I added more white in the center... all that to say - I LOVE THIS BLOCK!! Sort of like a British Flag, NO?"

On the thirty-ninth day of the Quilt Along, Brye made Fractured Triangles by Jessica Brown. 

On the fortieth day of the quilt along Jenny made Boxed In by Faith Jones.  Jenny writes, "This is a fun simple block that gives you a chance to experiment with value and scale. I played a little bit with the fabric and used one 1930's print and one "modern" print in each color. I think this would make a very cute and fast baby or kid quilt in all kinds of bright colors, and I'd love to see it all done in batiks." 

On the forty-first day of the quilt along, Allison made All or Nothing by Angela Pingel.  Allison writes, "How about A little Something? I drafted this as a paper pieced block instead of using the templates provided and so.... It isn't quite round but I think the overall effect is the same! Challenging center seam..."

On the forty-second day of the quilt along Brye made Diamond Ripples by Laura Finlayson. 

Which one is your favorite?  It's never too late to get your own copy and quilt along with us!  Link up so we can see your blocks!=

Chat it UP - I Like BIG Blocks!

This week on Chat it UP, Brye wants to know your favorite block size.  She writes:

We got some interesting responses.  Scooquilt thinks that 6" blocks are the perfect size because they play so nicely with 2" and 3" components.

Darla, the Scientific Quilter, balances block size with the size of the finished quilt so she doesn't have too much repetition.

KnitNkwilt also bases her block size on the ultimate size of the quilt; she and Scooquilt both pointed out that blocks with a lot of detail are much easier to work on in a larger size. 

I (Jenny) just have to throw my two cents in here and say that I love the 12" blocks!  The pieces are easier to work with, and you can make a big cozy bed quilt out of them in no time flat.  In fact, I've been known to use 15" or 20" blocks in my quilts!

What is your favorite block size and why?  Come join the conversation!=

How to Make Projects Private

Last week we opened the site to non-members.  This means that the public can see the forum, fabrics, books, patterns, press room post, and your projects.

Although this is welcomed by most of our members, we do realize that some of you may want to keep your work private.  What if you are make a present for someone that you don't want them to see?  What if you don't want ANYONE to see it - not even members?  Well, we have added Privacy settings to help you out.

Only the author of the project has the permission rights to set the privacy settings on a project.  On this screen you can decide if member or non-member can see or edit a project.  In addition, if you close a project to members, you can select specific members to open it too.  This feature may also be useful for collaborative projects, like round robins or guild projects.

Here is how it works:

1. Open the project.  In the right corner there is now a tab called 'Privacy'. Click on it.

2. As you can see, the default settings are for members and non-members to view the project, but they don't have editing permission.

3.  To make the project so that non-members cannot see it, uncheck the 'view' box on the non-member line.

4.  To make the project so that members and non-members can't see it, uncheck the 'view' box on both lines.

5. Let's say that members do not have access to the project, but you want to show it to a member friend.  Type in the friend's username and click search.

6. Check the 'Give Access?' box and then check the 'view' box.

7. To give the member edit access - check the 'edit' box.

8. When your changes are complete - don't forget to 'Save Grants'.

=

Modern Blocks Quilt Along Re-Cap - Week 5

A quick re-cap of our fifth week's Modern Blocks Quilt Along blocks.  We hope you're having as much fun as we are!

We're very excited to have so many of you linking up your projects with the book so we can see all the different interpretations of these gorgeous blocks. There's a quick tutorial from the Tech Goddess on how to add your project to the book.

These are the blocks we made; to see the correct professional version, click the name of the block.

On the twenty-ninth day of the quilt along Brye made Stone Cathedral by Heather Bostic.   Brye writes, "I have always wanted to make one of these.  Reading the directions, I was a bit confused; but I thought "trust the pattern" and I followed it step by step.  It turned out wonderful and I really enjoyed making it.  The only downside was the amount of fabric it takes - four 13" squares to have one 12" quilt block.  But the results......OK, it is on my list of full quilts to make."

On the thirtieth day of the Quilt Along, Jenny made the Blue Lagoon block by Pat Sloan.  Jenny writes, "I adore this block, and not just because it has three of my favorite fabrics in it.  It went together quickly and easily.  I love the slight contrast of the blues.  I think if you put a bunch of them together, there would be a cool secondary design with those half-square triangle blocks and the cornerstones." 

On the thirty-first day of the quilt along Brye made Set Sail by Susanne Woods.   Brye writes, "This is a block that looks difficult but goes together easy.  The cutting instructions were superb.  The only difficult part was stitching the masts which are only 1/4" wide."

On the thirty-second day of the Quilt Along, Jenny made the Just Passing Through block by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr .  Jenny writes, "This is another fun block that really allows you to play with color.  I didn't put the darker fabrics together like the one in the book, but I think the effect still works."

On the thirty-third day of the quilt along Brye made Stuck in the Middle by Kate Henderson.   Brye writes, "Cute block that any newbie could handle.  Sometime easy blocks are just what you need.  If you make a whole quilt out of this pattern, turning each in a different direction would make it interesting."

On the thirty-fourth day of the quilt along, Jenny made Alleyways by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle.  Jenny writes, "This is another awesome stashbuster, but my sample shows exactly why I never use sashing without cornerstones.  I tried to pin and carefully piece this so that the sashing would line up, and it is still off.  I'd love to know how you get it straight!"

On the thirty-fifth day of the quilt along Allison came back from vacation and made Stargazing by Angela Pingel.   Allison writes, "I kept seeing this block all over the place and thinking 'I love it, I should make it', imagine my surprise when I found it in THIS book! I was a little nervous because piecing precisely cut pieces isn't my forte - but the instructions were great and it went together really smoothly! I love it!"

Which one is your favorite?  It's never too late to get your own copy and quilt along with us!  Link up so we can see your blocks!=

Website Outage

Sunday, January 15, 2011

10:00am - 11:00am EST

SeamedUP.com will be unavailable while we upload our latest bug fixes.  When we come back live again - here are the changes you can expect:

• fix Amazon links to actually link to Amazon - yes, we are trying this one again
• Add a new Project button on the Sewing Room Projects page
• Fix the Page Not Found errors on some sewing room menu links
• Get rid of the duplicate 'friends' showing on the Thread page
• Include the design name in the teaser of patterns included in a publication
• Make the mail from the website pretty again - we don't like plain text
• Various updates and behind the scene fixes

I am currently working on fixing the comments on projects.  Since the move, the box to add comments to projects disappeared.  If I get this fixed before the outage, I will include it with this one.

Thanks for your patience,

TechGoddess=

Member Spotlight - LauraWestKong

Our member spotlight is lighting UP the profile of Laura West Kong of the blog My Adventures of a Quilting Diva, which focuses on quilts/fiber art, crafts, inspiration, quilt shows, art shows/museums, and more.  She is also the author of Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Cover-Button Jewelry.  Laura launches her new pattern company, 2 Cute Quilts, this year. 

Laura writes:  "As much as some of us might like to, the reality is that we don't have all day to play in our sewing studios and make each one of the fabulous quilts we dream of. Last year I finished a handful of lap quilt ... tops. Hopefully I'll be able to quilt them this year. When life gets really busy, it's nice to have a small creative project that we can complete in a couple hours: a pair of fiber art earrings is one of my favorite quick and easy projects. It's refreshing to the creative soul to actually finish a project, even a simple one, and then you'll have new energy to return to that hand-appliqued, king-sized masterpiece, or whatever your current quilt-y project is. Check out my blog, Adventures of a Quilting Diva and my book, Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Cover Button Jewelry for fun tutorials for little fabric projects. Coming soon: fabric button scissors charm!"

"When I do have the time to work on quilts, I enjoy creating all kinds of quilts, from traditional to art. Here are a few of my recent favorites: No Paints Were Harmed in the Making of this Quilt (photo shows my original painting and the quilt that was inspired by the painting)... 

"...and a preview from my upcoming Kokeshi pattern (to be released in 2012).

"One feature I'm looking forward to using on SeamedUP is Projects. It's a good idea to have a place to document and keep track of your progress, even better that it's digital and you don't have to worry about losing your project log, and it's great that you can get comments and help from the other members. It's also fun to see what projects other people are working on."

Other than quilting, Laura recently started a second blog, Gluten Free Fabulous, that focuses on healthy, gluten-free cooking.  

Make sure to friend Laura on SeamedUP so you don't miss her patterns and projects.  You can find Laura on Facebook and Twitter as well. =

Chat it UP - Binding by Machine

Scooquilt started a great discussion over in Chat it UP about binding by machine. 

This sounds like a great way to get a sturdy binding on the quilt quickly!

KnitNkwilt wonders how the mitered corners are treated, and how "perfect" your blind hem stitch has to be for it to turn out well.

Come join the conversation and let us know how you do your bindings!  There's also a poll in the sidebar.  Do you use:

• Traditional binding - sewn by machine to the front of the quilt and by hand to the back
• Machine binding - both sides sewn by machine, whether the way Scooquilt does it or some other method (please share your other methods!)
• Faux binding - back, batting, and top are sewn together along the edges before quilting, leaving an opening, and then turned right side out.  The opening is sewn closed and then some quilters topstitch around the quilt 1/4" from the edge to mimic a traditional binding. 
• Other - please share!

One more thing - did you know that the Chat it UP page and several other pages of the site are now visible to non-members?  You have to be logged in to post, but anyone can read.  Invite your quilty friends to check it out - they just might learn something new today.  I sure did!

=

Modern Blocks Quilt Along Re-Cap - Week 4

A quick re-cap of our fourth week's Modern Blocks Quilt Along blocks.  We hope you're having as much fun as we are!

We're very excited to have so many of you linking up your projects with the book so we can see all the different interpretations of these gorgeous blocks. There's a quick tutorial from the Tech Goddess on how to add your project to the book.

These are the blocks we made; to see the correct professional version, click the name of the block.

 On the twenty-second day of the Quilt Along, Allison went on vacation for a week.  Jenny made the Higgledy-Piggledy block by Kate Henderson.  Jenny writes, "This block reminds me of bargello and went together very simply.  I'm having trouble picturing how I would use it in a whole quilt and would love to see the EQ version of it as multiple blocks.   A series of them would make an interesting table runner or wrap."

On the twenty-third day of the quilt along Brye made Garden Lattice by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr.   Brye writes, "I love this block and would probably make it into a whole quilt except it is too similar to the garden maze I already made.  The instructions have you cutting the strips bigger than needed and then you trim - I found that trickier than exact measurements."

On the twenty-fourth day of the Quilt Along, Jenny made the Pinball Machine block by Jessica Brown.  Jenny writes, "This is a very fun block that would make a cute quilt if you turned the blocks all different ways.  It could be a fantastic color study with a line of solids!  Cutting all the different size strips was a little tedious, but then the block went together perfectly."

On the twenty-fifth day of the quilt along Brye made Topsy Turvy Tree by Natalie Kaplan.   Brye writes, "Unfortunately, the pattern did not say anything about reversing it or it wasn't printed in reverse like the windmill block; so my tree came out backwards.  Other than that - this is a great way to make a wonky block.  I really liked the variety of the colors."

On the twenty-sixth day of the Quilt Along, Jenny made the Riverbank block by Tiffany Stephens.  Jenny writes, "This block is fantastic stashbuster, as well as a good lesson on line.  I originally made it with the center fabric's stripe going horizontally, but I didn't like it as much as the sample in the book.  I remade the block with the stripe going diagonally, which makes all the difference!"

On the twenty-seventh day of the quilt along Brye made You've Been Framed by Natasha Bruecher.   Brye writes, "This is a great block if you are on the edge of modern and traditional."

On the twenty-eighth day of the Quilt Along, Jenny made the Polaroid block by the editor of Modern Blocks, Susanne Woods.  Jenny writes, "This block spoke to me from the moment I saw it.  I love using photographs in quilts.  I decided to use my mom's favorite picture from when my brother and I were little and make it into a Valentine's Day pillow."

Which one is your favorite?  It's never too late to get your own copy and quilt along with us!  Link up so we can see your blocks!=

Maintenance Outage - Site Back UP!

UPDate:  The site is back up with these changes.  
Thanks for your patience!

Sunday, January 8th  

8:30 - 10:30 am EST

SeamedUP.com will be unavailable so that we can make some changes, fix some bugs, and make the site better.   Thank you for your patience.

Included in this update:

• The following areas will be opened up to non-member access
• Chat it UP and all forum topics and responses 
• What's UP page and all the articles
• Home page and all the information blocks
• Fabrics page and all the fabric details including projects made with it, who has it stashed and who has it up for trade.
• Patterns page and all the pattern details including projects made with it, who has it in their library, and who has it up for trade.
• Publications detail pages including patterns in the publication, projects made from it, who has it in their library, and who has it up for trade.
• Projects page and all the member project details
• The ability for members to control 'Privacy' settings on your projects - so if you don't want non-members or even members to see it, you can control that.  You can even give specific members access when all members are blocked out.
• Non-Members will have search capabilities
• Fix to the Amazon blocks - the links were not going to Amazon
• Caching changes to the Chat it UP page to improve performance and speed.

If I get it done between now and the outage time, I will also include:

• Access to non-member to
• Members projects page
• Members UP for Trade page
• Members profile picks
• (non-members will NOT have access to your profile or contact page)
• Create a Sewing Room Dashboard that shows the last 50 or so items you added/updated 
• Change to the URL for the Thread so the Dashboard can use the /sewingroom/[member name] URL

Thanks again for your patience and support

TechGoddess

=

Episode 11 with Michelle Umlauf of Sew Simplified

Our first podcast episode of 2012 kicks off another new feature on SeamedUP - the learning center.  Today Brye and Jenny spoke with Michelle Umlauf of Sew Simplified about our first webinar.    Michelle is a certified Sulky teacher and licensed Martha Pullen instructor.  She also teaches sewing classes, both live through a local community college and online through her website. 

You can find this and all the episodes on iTunes at our NEW feed
(Don't forget to change your subscription):

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/seamedup-podcast/id491941636.  

Please leave a rating and a review.

 Links we promised:

• Modern Blocks Quilt Along
• Chat it UP - "Sewing Block"
•  Zebra Patterns
• Recent collections added to the library
  
•  Georgia Quilts, edited by Anita Zaleski Weinraub
•  Reasons for Quilts by Edyta Sitar

Our pics of the week:

Tiny Tiny Hexagon Table Runner by Bragondaria

Out on a Limb by Wendy Butler Berns

MyOpic by Mirkwood Designs

Be sure to make friends with Michelle!  Her user name on SeamedUP is SewSimplified.  You can also find her on facebook and twitter. If you're interested in sharing one of her webinars or have a question about this one, you can connect with her on Skype where she's Sew.Simplified.

Don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes.=