Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Check out new fusible quilt batting

Information on dealing with cancer and fear and using Paintstiks to embellish garments will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. and on Thursday at noon. (All times are Mountain.)

Judi Moreo is an author, motivational speaker and painter, and she knows first-hand what it is to travel the journey of cancer. She’s going to talk about her book and tell how cancer and fear can be messages to help us make lifestyle changes. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Laura Murray is a quilter, author and designer, and her business is in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She’s going to demonstrate how to use Paintstiks to embellish a variety of ready-made garments.

Information on making fabric postcards, using Fusi-boo quilt batting, and making picture frames will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” on Tuesday at noon and on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Franki Kohler has written a book about fabric postcards and she will tell how they are keepsakes you can make and mail. She’s going to show a method of finishing the edges of the postcard that enhances the design used on the front side. Believe it or not, these fabric postcards can go through the postal service and even be machine cancelled. Kohler lives in Oakland, California.

Judy Novella is in Danbury, Connecticut, and she will demonstrate how to use Fusi-boo quilt batting. It’s a new fusible quilt batting that is suitable for hand or machine quilting, and it totally eliminates the need to baste because it’s fusible on both sides.

Margot Potter will show how to alter an inexpensive wooden frame with vintage scrapbooking papers, paints, stamps and crystal and button accents to make a Pretty in Pink picture frame. She’s from Honey Brook, Pennsylvania.

Fabric postcards

There are lots of ways to finish the edges of postcards. The easiest and quickest way is to use a marker to color the edge of whatever you put inside (Timtex, Pellon, etc.). One of my favorite ways to finish postcards is with a satin stitch. Recently I've also begun adding fun fibers along the edge of the stitching. Another method that I like is a simplified binding. I'll share my techniques for satin stitch and simplified binding here.

Satin stitch is nothing more than a shortened zigzag stitch. If your sewing machine has zigzag capability, changing the length and width of the stitch will create a wide variety of satin stitch lines. Decreasing the stitch width creates finer lines. Most often, the stitch width I use is somewhere in the middle. Refer to your sewing machine manual to learn how to make length and width adjustments on your sewing machine. Experiment with length and width adjustments on a scrap of stabilized fabric to find the satin stitch line that you like. Note: The filling you use to create your postcard — Timtex, Pellon, or other — acts as a stabilizer. You must use a stabilizer when experimenting to simulate your intended outcome.

Tips for satin stitching:

1. Don't forget to use a foot that will accommodate the stitch width.

2. I like to start my stitching on the bottom left corner since we generally look at things the way we read (top to bottom, left to right). Don't rush and let the machine do the work. Stitch so that the needle falls off the edge of the postcard. This will encase the edge and create a clean finish. I simply stop with my needle on the outside edge, pivot the postcard and start stitching again. If you have threads hanging off, just cut them off.

3. There are so many threads on the market that the possibilities are truly endless! Always test your stitching on stabilized scrap fabric, especially when using variegated threads. Don't like the look? Simply stitch over what you don't like with a new thread. Remember that you can use a different color thread in the bobbin to coordinate with the address size of the postcard.

4. Train your eye to watch the edge of the postcard, NOT the needle. The sewing machine needle movement is distracting.

Simplified binding

1. Use pinking or specialty scissors to make a simple binding.

2. Cut a strip of fabric 3/4" - 1" wide by 21" long.

3. Fold the fabric over the edge of your postcard. Straight stitch to hold it in place. You can miter the corners if you like or simply fold over. Doesn't need to be perfect! It's part of the fun.

4. When you get to the end simply fold the extra fabric under so the folded edge is flush with the postcard edge.

“Creative Living” is produced and hosted by Sheryl Borden. The show is carried by more than 118 PBS stations in the United States, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico and is distributed by Westlink, Albuquerque.

 
 
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