It is so exciting to get this NEW 3 Zinnia quilt done. I hope
this class will help you through the process of making this spectacular
flower quilt.
I give a lot of tips and tricks to handling 3 flowers at
once that will help even if you are only making one flower. I have put some
chapter time stamps on this video so you can easily find something you want to review
again or if you want to skip ahead.
9:08 Numbering Your Petals
10:40 Layering the Centers
13:48 Arranging the Centers
20:53 Changing My Mind
24:09 Adding Layer #2
30:45 The Shadow Layer – Color D, E, F, G and H
34:00 Let's Press
36:03 Auditioning Background Fabrics
39:11 Free-Cutting Leaves
45:35 Arranging the Leaves
For the Thread Play on your Zinnia, you can watch my Zinnia Thread Play video here on this blog. You may also want to watch the Dogwood Finishing Class
#5, where I show how to do the leaves and there are A LOT of leaves. These
are all free. I love to use variegated green
thread on my leaves and I have some of that thread in my shop.
If you feel timid about free-motion quilting through fusible web you may want to take my online class through the American Quilt Society at iquilt.com. My class is called Renegade Thread Play and you can watch it repeatedly. There is also a DVD by the same name at AQS.
The history of making the 3 Zinnia quilt starts several years ago with me dying fabrics for my upcoming classes at the International
Quilt Festival in Houston. I had seen past students having trouble with color and values and I thought that if I
could make kits, they would all be successful and that is all a good instructor wants - for their students to be successful. So I became
a dyeing machine. Morning, noon, and night, I was in the dying studio (the garage) working on perfecting my colors. It was a
lot of hard work but it paid off. Then, fear set in and I panicked - what if these colors suck together.
I decided I'd better make some flowers and be sure the colors worked together. 100 of yards of fabric were already dyed, so I spent the remaining days before I left to teach this class making the 3 Zinnia quilt. Thank
God it all worked out. That was back in 2005 and I kept it up for a few years but I had to stop dying because I couldn't keep up with the demand and still have a life. Luckily, I found that Hoffman of
California has a Watercolor collection that looks just like my hand-dye fabrics. Okay, maybe better.
Now, everyone wants to make the 3 Zinnia and asks me when will I have a pattern for that? Good news, I already have the pattern for it. It's all the
same flower - I just changed their colors and laid them facing different ways on
the background fabric. One pattern, 3 colors, and one big 44” x 44” piece of
background fabric.
This class is about
how to make the 3 Zinnia using one pattern in 3 different colorways. I’m not
showing you how to fuse - you can go to (How I use Steam A Seam 2) or how to quilt - you can go to (Dogwood finishing class #5, Renegade Thread Play or iQuilt.com ) for all that. I will be showing you how to make 3 zinnias at once using one pattern.
If you have taken this class with me in the past and can find your pattern (and maybe an unfinished flower), this video will help you
complete that project and make even more flowers, if you want. If you need more fabrics in other
colorways to turn that single flower into a 3 Zinnia, I have fabric packs on my Etsy shop - look forJust Zinnia Fabric Packs - there are
4 colorways available.
If you want to take the 3 Zinnia class and don’t
have the pattern, go to Etsy - the link is up above on the bar. You can purchase theZinnia Kitin the color of
flower you like, then go toJust Zinnia Fabric Packs and pick 2 more colorways. Now you will have a custom quilt with your
favorite zinnia colors made from beautiful Hoffman batik fabrics, selected for
these flowers based on my hand-dyed fabrics.
Below are the colors I am using in the video - orange, berry and yellow.
What
is a Saturday without a new video post from me? I made a new video called Zinnias on
Parade - these are pictures from classes I've taught all over the country and at
big shows. I thought you might like to see students' progress in a one day, 6-hour class. These beauties are in different stages of
development and some of the fabrics used for these flowers were made from my hand-dyed fabrics (made in my garage) from back in the day. Some are the student’s
own fabrics, too, and they are all beautiful no matter what fabric they used. One of my
favorite zinnias in the video is the green one made by my friend, Pam Hough. I hadn't met her until this class and when she walked in with these green fabrics, I squealed with joy. I think I scared her at first but that's how I roll.
Now
here is the reason for this blog. There are a lot of these zinnia flowers out there in the world and some of you have not finished yours. Don't worry, I'm not going to name names. I would just like to help you finish them since we
are still in lock-down. OK, is it just me that’s still in lock-down? You never know these days. Anyways, lets
finishes these zinnia quilts.
Click the arrow to watch the video.
Now here is the surprise. I am making a new video class about how to make a 3 Zinnia Quilt out of one pattern in 3 different colorways.
I will show you how to free-cut the leaves, what size fabric to use, and how to notget confused while making 3 flowers at once. I have a few tricks for making these flowers quicker and easier than you think. Plus, we will talk about quilting your flower. So, check out the video here on this blog to get you excited. If you subscribe to my YouTube channel you will get a notification each time I post a new how-to video. Oh, and did I say this is free?
Well, here's the last class in the Dogwood series. I've has much fun teaching you this pattern and I hope you are having fun, too, making a
beautiful Dogwood quilt.
It's hard to write a post and watch a very smart and active granddaughter but I am trying.
Pool time! It's 100 degrees and the air conditioning went out...
First,grandpa has to get her out of the sink...
...then grandpa gave her a cream cheese bagel in the living room.
I will be introducing new patterns and kits in the future but the Dogwood classes will have the most
detailed instructions. You can come back
and refer to these as you work on other patterns. I will keep these available to
you on YouTube and my blog. You may want to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you will
not miss any upcoming classes or tips on future patterns. I have a lot more
to share in the future!
Click on the arrow above to watch class #5.
This video is not as long as the first four but is very informative - it's 30 minutes and chock full of information.
Renegade Thread Play on the back of the Dogwood quilt.
My wish is for those of you that watched the classes to feel
more confident in trying something outside your safety zone. Remember, you can always fix a mistake or start
over. It's only fabric.
So, if you are ready to take the next step, which is working from
your own photo, come join me in Pacific Grove (on the beach in central California) next year for the Empty Spools Seminars, February 21-26, 2021.
At Empty Spools, I will walk you through the
steps of making a pattern from your own photo, how to enlarge it, and create a palette
of fabrics. I show you how to pull out your creativity and create that next masterpiece. This is a place where you can truly focus on your project and I am there to hold your hand if you
need it. I've been teaching there since 2005 and it is so exciting for me to see students arrive somewhat timid with this process and leave with the confidence to succeed.
Thank you and I hope this series has increased your confidence in tackling that next project!
I
have been excited to make this video and show you how to finish your
Dogwood quilt or any other patterns you may have started in one of my
classes and longed to finish. I have taught a lot of classes over the
years and I know there are a lot of you wanting to finish your quilts. That is
why I am doing these videos. I know some have criticized, "she is giving
these away for free". I have had a great career and taught all
over the country and internationally.
I've
met a lot of wonderful people and they have bought my patterns and want to
finish their flower quilts. Now is the perfect time to finish that quilt since
we are stuck at home. So why not do a tutorial to help students finish their
quilts. It’s sad we can’t get together, take a class or go to a
quilt show. But we can still learn and finish those UFO's.
The Dogwood videos
has a lot of techniques that will be use in most, if not all my patterns. I can’t
make you a pro over night, but I can push you a little and give you some tricks
to make you successful. Just remember, this is just fabric, we can always get
more. No one is critical of your efforts, but you. So, stop it.
Life is too short.
Click on this box below to view Video
Supply
I use for this Renegade Thread Play class.
Sulky 40-weight Rayon
thread in an assortment of colors. Look at the fabric colors you use for
your flower. The lightest values and the darkest values.
Sewers Aid-important
Thread snip- I like
Karen Kay Buckley’s snip
Lots of bobbins- if we
use 15 threads you need 15 bobbins
Quilters Dream Batting
100% cotton- Request
Medium safety pins
Top Stitch or Jeans
Denim needles size, 80/12 or 90/14 - important
Supreme Slider
Some of these supplies
you can find on my Esty Shop. The link is on the gray bar above.
Welcome back, the link to the third class in the Dogwood series is below. There's a lot of information I need to cover in this video. I love my flower - I just got it done last Thursday and I cannot
wait to get the thread play going. This video, at 90 minutes, is longer than the first two. I did not want to split it into shorter classes because so many of
you are ready to get started. You can stop the video, work on your flower, then
start it up again.
I do want you to watch the whole video because there are
some fixes and corrections I make along the way and I want you to know how to do them. Below is a link to a page that you can print out - it lists some of the oopsies I cover in the video - you may want to print it out before you begin or watch how I make the fixes, then print it out. That is the fun part about taking a class - you get all the ins and outs plus tips and tricks.
Above is where we are before this class - after this class you will have something like the pictures below.
This is the Dogwood up on my studio wall.
For the seeds, I cut out at least 98 little circles. Relax, I'll show you a trick for cutting 4 at once.
The colors of the leaves just make the flowers pop.
I cant wait to get the Renegade Thread Play going.
This is a long holiday weekend and we are having a pool party with our granddaughter and the forecast is for triple digits by Monday(!). I will be posting the Renegade Thread Play video in 2 weeks (from air-conditioned comfort), so stay tuned!
I am SO glad you joined me for Dogwood Class #2. This video is going to cover a lot and is 45 minutes with resting spots along the way. In this video, I will cover:
How to fuse large pieces of fabric (like color A in this pattern)
Which pieces to cut out first
How the layout guide works
Adding the lining pieces to color A
How to use parchment paper sheets
Working with the first layer
How to choose a background fabric
There
is homework for next week, which is to fuse and cut out all your fabric pieces.
I discovered a new way to organize all those cut pieces, which I like better
than putting pieces in a little baggie. I saw the idea on the Fat Quarter Shop. Designer
Lori Holt made these little design boards covered in batting that hold your appliques while you are working on them. I also found that they hold my cut fused pieces until
I am ready to use them and I can stack them on top of each other so they
take up less space while I'm working.
At
the Fat Quarter Shop, they have a video on how to make these out of foam core
board. I did not have foam core, but I did have lots of cardboard boxes.
I cut my firm cardboard, my batting, and one piece
of fabric all 12” x 12”. Then I put Steam-A-Seam 2 on the back of the batting
and the back of the fabric. Next, I ironed them, peeled off the release paper, and put the
sticky side of the batting on one side of the cardboard and the fabric on the
other side and ironed them onto the cardboard. I then made 2 ¼ inch binding and hot glued
it around the edges of the exposed cardboard. Or you can just buy one pre-made for $12 from
the Fat Quarter Shop - they come is all sizes and colors.
I organized the boards by letter - 3 letters (colors) to a board. I put all my red hearts on one board and put that board on the top of the stack. This is going to help me find pieces when we do next week’s class.
Next
week, class #3, we will finish laying all the Dogwood flower pieces down and get it ready for Renegade
Thread Play in week #4.
I hope you are having fun doing this project. If you have any questions, you can
email me at melindabuladesigns@comcast.net
or leave a comment below.
If
you need supplies, kits, or patterns, you can find them at my Etsy shop - click on the link above this post on the gray bar.
It has been a different
Christmas season here at the Bula home in Bakersfield. It’s a new house, new
area and new weather. Warm and very nice. I did have to put on a sweater the
other day it did drop to 40 overnights. Problem with the new
house is you must spend time figuring out where all the Christmas decorations
will go in the new floor plan. It was quick and easy at the other
homes. OH, But I forgot, I have no decorations so you would think
this will be easy. It’s not. 36 years of Christmas decorations (or as Joe calls
it, "Christmas crap" all gone, all lost in the Camp Fire. Which I’m not really
feeling that bad about losing. Some of that Christmas “crap” needed
to be burned.
I do look forward to the
day when we hit a holiday or life’s milestone and not always be remind of what we lost in the fire. Looks like that may not happen for a few years. But
we are so blessed.
It has been a different Christmas season here at
the Bula home in Bakersfield. It’s a new house, new area and new weather. Warm
and very nice. I did have to put on a sweater the other day it did drop to 40
overnights. Problem with the new house is you must spend time
figuring out where all the Christmas decorations will go in the new floor plan.
It was quick and easy at the other homes. OH, But I forgot, I have
no decorations so you would think this will be easy. It’s not. 36 years of
Christmas decorations (or as Joe calls it, "Christmas crap" all gone,
all lost in the Camp Fire. Which I’m not really feeling that bad about
losing. Some of that Christmas “crap” needed to be burned.
I do look forward to the
day when we hit a holiday or life’s milestone and not always be remind of what
we lost in the fire. Looks like that may not happen for a few years.
With the new house comes new stuff! Which is what I’m focusing on. I wanted to share with you some of the new Christmas items I have found for our new life and house.
This neighborhood is very festive. More than 75% of the family have some sort of decor up on their homes. Some are very elegant, and few make you giggle. We have never been in such a Christmas-y neighborhood. I love it. I make Joe drive down every street to see the lights. He hates that. but doses it anyways. Everyone is in the spirit of the holiday. And of course, I want to keep up with Jones. but I don’t have any decorations and it will take some years of collecting to build back up our Christmas stash. Just like fabric. So, I did some research and found out you can rent lights and have them installed and taken down. WOW! How much can that be? Well its $1,200! I don’t think so.
So, I made some big red
bows, there are YouTube videos show you how.The Magnolia Housewifewas a great one. I bought some holly and lighted garlands (Amazon). Some
ornaments at Home Goods. love the Home Goods. I even have 2 cross stitch ornaments I made last year while driving 7 hours (one way) to visit Matthew and his family for the holidays. Now I can walk to his house. but I drive, its is 2 miles.
I’ve also been
looking to replace my Christmas china. Haven’t found anything that goes with my
house which is blues and greens. But I follow a blogger Miss Mustard Seed and she posted about
finding these vintage (1970) 12 Day of Christmas plate set on
eBay. She too was having trouble with Christmas colors. I found them! Let the
biding begin. So much fun. Then I needed a dinner plate or charger that would
go with my new finds and I found a very classic Lenox pattern
called Opal Innocence. I bought 8 dinner plates for now. I’m still
looking for a silverware pattern. But the wine goblets on the table
are the real find. Again eBay, I liked them because of their white snowy
design and a gold rim that goes with the Lenox dinner plates. They are
called, Arby's Winter Wineglasses. I did a little research on
them and found out they were a giveaway gift in the 80's from Arby fast
food restaurant. Buy a burger get a free glass. Too funny! but they
are perfect!
So, when we are having that big dinner party (ha ha) and invited the president, please don't tell
him the glasses are from Arby's!
But instead of mopping
over what we lost. Which I can easily do. I’m focusing of the future and
enjoying being able to make new memory. So, I made a video of the house to give
you a peek of the Bula's simple Christmas time.
Oh, and how can I
forget the beautiful Nativity set I’m collecting by artist Patrice’sBrewster. Love collecting. Because this is the real reason why we are celebrating with family and
friends, enjoy feasts of food and presents under the tree. Its
Christs our Savors birth. Merry Christmas!
I am having so much fun making quilts. Traditional quilts not art quilts. I been working hard and have taken some time off in Dec and Jan to just play in fabrics. Most of you know we lost everything in the Camp Fire that wiped out the town of Paradise California. Which mean for the last year I have had to replace a lot of personal possessions. One thing we are dearly missing is cuddle quilts. Which to me are the quilts you throw over the sofa and are there when you want to cuddle watching TV. And they should always go with the decor of your house. I was raised by an interiors decorator and that’s how we roll. Plus I now have a grandchild and you need quilts to cuddle your grandees in.
This first quilt I wanted to make was a kit I bought a month after the fire. My idea was to hand piece this. i lost all my sewing machines and I thought it would keep my mind busy while we where transitioning through all the fire trauma. I have to keep my hands busy or I’ll go crazy.
The kit was a pre-cut from #LaundryBasketQuilts. What a beauty. The quilt is called Alaska.
I have not pieced a traditional quilt in at least 5 or more years and I was a little rusty. I spent a lot of time with my new favorite sewing tool “ the seam ripper”. At one point I wondered how many time can you remove stitch from the same fabric and it still holds up. 4 if you want to know. I soon came to realization that I need to find my perfect scant 1/4”. Scant being the important part. My BERNINA 765 arrived and I adjusted my 1/4” and all was well with the world and my piecing. Just like riding a bike.
When Margot came over she really liked the quilt so I’m now making her a cuddle quilt. That will be in the next post. This has been so much fun. Now to decide if I will quilt these myself or send it out?
Have you ever wanted to learn how I do this kind of art quilting? Or should I say painting? Actually, there is no paint used on any of my quilts to create these flowers - it's just luscious fabrics like batiks, hand-dyes and mono-colored prints . I have an independent study class February 23-28, 2020 at Empty Spools Seminars. February is a great time to visit the beautiful beaches in central California, so fly right into nearby Monterey and get out of the cold.
This quilt started out with a photo for inspiration. I took this photo in my backyard in El Dorado Hills, CA 4 years ago. I did a drawing, then a tracing and then the most important part, selecting my fabrics. I hand-dyed a lot fabrics for this Camellia. Batiks work great, too. Avoid solid fabrics - they don't work because they are too flat. Your fabrics can have little prints on them as that gives some great texture. The key, as always, is to have more fabrics than you think you will need.
Don't forget about the values in your fabrics. You will need the lightest lights to the darkest darks. Watch me select and arrange my fabric palette in this video.
At this retreat you may want to work on your Thread Painting.
My quilting technique is called Renegade Thread Play because I had to invent a new way to quilt my flower quilts. I've been doing this a long time and back in the 90's it was pretty wild, if you can believe that. Traditional quilting did not work so I had to be a Renegade.
The threads soften the bold fabric shapes and adds details like veins in the petals and leaves. It can also add more shading or accentuate the highlights on the edges of a petal.
It's another tool for adding more color and value to finish off your beautiful flower quilt.
This is called Fresh As A Daisy. I am also showing you the back of the quilt and my thread painting.
And yes, I wind a lot of bobbins.
I'll show you how to curve your threads as you quilt to give your flower that 3-dimensional look. I'll also share a secret for how to sew through thick fusible web.
Let's say you want to relax, play with fabric, and enjoy the great venue without all the thinking that goes with creating from your own picture. Well, I have another option for you. I have many beautiful patterns you can choose from that will guide you through the complete process of creating a beautiful flower. If this appeals to you, go to my site, melindabula.com and decide which pattern you want to do. Let me know your choice and I will email you the supply list for the flower you want to make and you're ready to select fabrics for your visit to the beach. If you want, I can make up a fabric kit for the flower you select.
I hope you will join me this Feb 23-28 at Empty Spools Seminars . any question email me at, melbula@comcast.net
Video is at the bottom. So you will read the post!
Let’s get educated. Iv spent the last month working on
making some “how to”or Tips and Tricks videos on how I do my technique for
making my Art. Or as some of you may call it Quilt Art or Art Quilting! Call whatever you want but I’m creating and making stuff so I call it, Art and I use my
sewing machine so that quilting so we have Quilt Art!
I get asked a lot of question about how I do what I do,
why I use Steam-A-Seam 2 and how to handle the sticky that comes with this
product. I thought I’d answer those question by doing a few videos. They will
also be posted here on my blog so you can come back anytime and watch your
favorites.They will also be on YouTube under Melinda Bula if I do all this tech-y stuff this right!
Let’s talk about fusible webs first. There are many
fusible webs on the market today. The last time I counted it was close to 20
and growing. Here what you need to Know! They are not the SAME and are used for different fusing and quilting techniques! When your pattern or the instructor says to
bring a certain kind of fusible web! Bring that fusible! That pattern and the
instructors technique is based on that fusible web they are asking for. This is
so important! all of us so called fusers are not doing the same thing! its like we are called Quilters but under our sewing machine we are all doing different quilting techniques. Right! Same with fusing.
You can’t use just one
fusible web for all these techniques. Just like the threads we use today, you
have to buy the right thread for the technique you are doing. We now have many
choices and that may not be all good. Are you confused yet?
In this blog and my first 2 videos I’m just going to talk about the one I use.
Steam-A- Seam 2. I have tried most of them. But come back to SAS2 for my
technique. I’m always up for something new! They are all good products. But
Fusing is not the same for every creative person out there. We are doing many
different and unique techniques with fusible web.
And don't get mad at your quilt shop owner. They can't afford to carry all 20 fusible webs under the cutting tables. That is why bring yards with me to classes when I teach.

Every time you see a color change its another piece of fabric.
Ok, what’s my technique? I am laying or overlapping layers
of fused fabric on top of each other just like you lay paint on top of other
paint. That’s how I make my art quilt. Iv layered up to 6 layers and still been
able to sew through it. The threads i add when quilting are another layer of color added to the composition. Steam-A-Seam 2
allow me to do that. And of course I have developed some tips and tricks I want
to share with you.
And I don’t use the Lite Steam-A-Seam (Tip)It’s dose not stay adhered. When I’m trying to
quilt my piece it lifts up off the fabric. when peeling it off the release paper half of it stay on one paper and the other half is on the other release paper. Which makes my
students panic and have a bad experience!
First #1 video is about how to put the fusible web on the
fabric! There are tricks that make it easy to use.
Video #2 is how to deal with all the sticky and how to
clean it off all your sewing tools. That means your scissors also. Did you know there are special scissors that work better with sticky fusible web?
Hope these videos will answer some of questions? You can
leave questions below or on YouTubeand I
will try and answer them. Remember the video is just talking about my technique
and using Steam-A-Seam 2.
NOTE: no company is asking me or paying me to do this. I
just have a lot of experience with this fusible and watching 1,000's of students a year using it. I figure last
year I bought about 2,000 yards the sticky stuff for myself and student.
