Last week, I wrote about how a quilt makes it into a magazine. This week, I start a different project but the fabric in the mail is part of the process. SO EXCITING!
This fabric collection called Ruby’s Treasures is from Paintbrush Studio for Fons and Porter, and while I can’t show you the whole quilt, I can tell you this Block of the Month is going to be so sweet. There will be yo-yos, applique and even 3-D flowers! Gasp! I confess it will be hard to ship it away…
Let me back up and tell you how projects like this happen. I will use Fernwood BOM as an example.
I got an email from Fons and Porter asking if I would be interested in making a quilt for an upcoming BOM and host videos for each of the months.
“Sure. What is your timeframe? Send me the pattern.” (Like I’m gonna say No!) Then I get a virtual of the quilt.
I must confess I felt a bit overwhelmed! “You want it WHEN?”
Then I got the fabric, always an exciting day! Each fabric has a number code. I sort all fabric by this code and make a key. Whenever I have to communicate about a particular fabric, I use the number so there is no confusion. You can’t say “I need more of the blue one.” and expect to get the right blue one.
Next is step-outs. Step-outs are those partial blocks I use when I am filming. “Now, here you can see the geese joined together.”. Sometimes, I have to make several parts for each step.
Next, there is the Hero block. It is the finished and as-perfect-as-possible block.
Lastly, I have to make the complete quilt. In reality, I make the quilt 1.75 times! For this I had tons of help. No quilter is an island!  My friend, Stefani, helped me with the step-outs, heros and piecing the quilt. She is awesome. 🙂
Here is the center on my design wall. After the quilt top is finished, it is off to the quilter. In this case, Karen Miemi did an excellent job! She also added a hanging sleeve.
I added a label and headed to the studio, at 7am, in the morning…
  
Crazy, right?
You might assume that professionals like me have it all together and finished, organized and ready to go. But you would be wrong. I will tell you a secret. The binding was NOT done. This king-size quilt hung on the wall for the entire two days of filming, unfinished! The crew taped the binding to the back with gaffer tape. After the shoot, I took it home, bound it and sent it to it’s new home with Fons and Porter.
And it is just lovely, isn’t it?
You can see me in action here. Not too shabby for 7am…in the morning…
A few months later, I opened a magazine and there it is. Still can’t believe that quilt was made with my sewing machine!
Thanks for joining me. I hope you enjoyed your peek behind the camera.
See you soon,
Jenny Kae