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Archive for the ‘Downloads’ Category

Mountain Seasons Pattern

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

My quilt, Mt. Fuji Seasons or Mountain Seasons, was included in my book, ThreadWork Unraveled, at the last minute.  I realized there wasn’t a pattern included, and there wasn’t enough page space to include a pattern/drawing of the postcard in the book.  Erg.  So….. I was *supposed* to upload a downloadable PDF for those who prefer not to draw their own pattern a while back and I am, ahem….behind again!  I also discovered that as long as this little quilt has been around, I’ve never blogged about it (!!!) or shared it on my website (!!!!).  EEEK!  So belatedly:

Please click on Mountain Seasons pdf to — you guessed it — download a PDF of the outlines.  Depending on your software and printer, the images should print out at approximately 4×6 inches, the size of a typical postcard.  If the size is off by just a little bit, you can simply cut off or extend the edges to fill a 4×6 inch space.  If the size is off by quite a bit, you can use a photocopier to enlarge or reduce to size. This is what the PDF should look like:

Sorry it has taken me this long, but now it is here for all eternity or until the internet (I hope not!)  implodes or is followed by something else even more amazing and wonderful than cyberspace as we know it today!

From Sarah’s Bookshelf

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Towards the end of the editing process for ThreadWork Unraveled, my editor said “OK Sarah:  we have two empty pages and three things we could use:  the Index, Resources and the Annotated Bibliography.  Which would you like in the book?”  I chose the Index instantly, since any good reference book MUST have one.  The resources list was shorter, and I really wanted to keep the full bibliography intact.  So I suggested that we add a note at the start of the Resources page that if folks wanted, they could visit here (my blog) to download a FREE annotated bibliography:  From Sarah’s Bookshelf .

The categories include:

  • Art Quilting
  • Breaking Out and Stretching Yourself
  • Color
  • Decorative Stitch and Free-motion Embroidery
  • Drawing, Design Inspiration and Creativity
  • Hawaiian Applique
  • Machine Applique
  • Machine Quilting and Design
  • Miscellaneous Cool Stuff
  • Painting and Dyeing Fabric

You can click on the link to download the entire PDF, but when you print it (it is 14 pages long), you can select just one section to print if you only want, for example, Painting and Dyeing Fabric books.  Also, if I decide to update a section (I’ll probably be adding Melanie Testa’s Inspired to Quilt book soon to the latter category), you only need to check to see if a section has been updated and re-print that one, not the whole thing.

If you have any favorite books that aren’t on my list, DO share the information by leaving a comment.  I LOVE books (can’t you tell?).

Windows and Sketches–Exercise your Imagination!

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Download is available here: Windows and Sketches PDF.

The September issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited is now hitting mailboxes, so I thought I’d share the cover:

productimage-picture-mqu-september-2009-22_t280

My article this month is about texture:  both literal and visual texture in machine quilting.  Quilts can be old-timey puckery like the 1930s quilts we know and love, but they can also be (literally) flat, like the fabric postcards made on Timtex or Peltex (a rigid stabilizer sometimes used in cap brims).  But there is also visual texture…what the eye thinks it sees depending on the type of line created by the quilting.

One fun exercise is to give yourself 30 minutes (at most!) to fill the 12 small boxes on a page.  Fill each square with a different “something” from around your house and garden; for a change of pace, take your sheet (or another one!) into town, walk in a park or look at the downtown buildings, and look for images that might make good quilting designs.  Check out the article for more information!  It is in the September Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine (ask your local quilt shop to carry it!) or order an issue / subscribe at www.mqumag.com.

Here’s the Windows and Sketches workpage I shared in the magazine:

2009.08.Blog.WindowsSketchesFilled600

You can download a blank template of this form using the link at the top of this post or here: Windows and Sketches PDF.  This is what the blank looks like:

2009.08.Blog.WindowSketches

Leaf and Vine Motif

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

The newest issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited is out, complete with my article on Negative Space or what I like to think of as “the spaces in between.”  I promised a download of the leaf and vine motif from the feature quilt, Little Brown Bird, which I’ll share in another post.  For a full discussion of negative space, you can buy a copy of the magazine here, but here is a quick recap.  Think of a chair with slats on the back:

sasmithaprilmquxsmall009

The spaces between the spindles on the back are “negative space.”  The chair itself is the “positive” image.  Likewise, the spaces between the legs and rungs are negative (or “in between”) space.

For the article, I created some examples based on the principles of Notan.  The definitive book is Notan:  The dark-light principle of design by Bothwell and Mayfield.  The Yin/Yang symbol is the class example of positive and negative space.  Each teardrop shape is identical to the other, but one is dark and one is light.  The two are perfectly balanced, and the proportions of the small circle within the teardrop, the shape of the large end of the teardrop, and the entire circle are all geometrically related:

sasmithaprilmquxsmall002

Here is the vine motif I developed:

sasmithaprilmquxsmall001

If you like this motif, I’ve prepared a PDF which you may download for your personal use.  Since it is under copyright, please don’t sell it or use it in classes you might teach (without receiving my written OK first), or other nefarious stuff… please DO use it in your quilts, modify it, and have fun.   Also, this is my first time trying to create a down-loadable PDF, so I’m hoping it works!  To download the PDF version (with the black removed so it doesn’t eat up your ink), click here: leafandvinemotifpdf

Enjoy!