imagine that... quilts

Wihp Up another Free Pattern!

peppermintpatcher — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:16:14 +0000

Today Imagine That… quilts is featured on whipup.net. Click here to see Philip does the Mowing. It is a bit of a tongue in cheek quilt about my son, who (sometimes) does the mowing, but doesn’t always manage to mow in straight lines. My husband just smiles and thanks him for his help. I found a photo where he was wearing a hat and printed it onto printable fabric. The printed photo doesn’t look too bad at all with the hat included!

Thank you so much to Kathreen who organises and maintains whipup.net. What a fabulous resource it is for all crafty types!

Another Giveaway

peppermintpatcher — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:20:48 +0000

I recently received an email from Julia B who won the very first Imagine That… quilts competition. She has decided to have a Firefighter quilt made featuring her husband – who is a firefighter! How perfect! I am currently hard at work putting the quilt togther for her, once it is finished I will need to post it all the way to England. I can’t wait to hear the reaction from his firefighting colleagues when they see it.

Did you see Imogen gives a Valentine recently featured on oneprettything.com? Rachel does a fantastic job of putting together links to beautiful craft all over the internet. Hopefully you will find a few Imagine That… quilts popping up in other places soon.

Now I think it time for another give away. So far no one has posted a photo to the gallery of the Imagine That… quilts website. Perhaps you are all just a little shy? As a little encouragement I have decided that the first person to post a photo there will be sent a free pattern. Some people have purchased patterns, but you could make one of the free downloads – Tracey is a Quilter (you must be a member of the Imagine That… quilts community to see this page) or Imogen gives a Valentine. Once you post your photo send me an email via the contact page. The first email I receive will be the winner. Good luck!

Happy quilting,

Tracey

Who is that Mild Mannered Person?

peppermintpatcher — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:22:26 +0000

Who can leap over tall buildings?

Whose red cape flutters in the wind?

Who is not afraid to wear his undies on the outside of his pants?

It’s James…

and he’s a superhero. Imagine that!

James is a Superhero. This new pattern has been added to the Imagine That… quilts website.

Please come and join me as a member of the Imagine That… quilts community.

And the winner is…

peppermintpatcher — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:29:09 +0000

The entries were placed in a bowl:

My son drew out one entry:

And the winner is:

Julia B.

Congratulations! I’ll be in touch.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered.

Happy quilting,

Tracey

Today is the day…

peppermintpatcher — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 05:08:01 +0000

Today the competition to launch Imagine That… quilts closes. Very soon I will draw the winner.

Thank you to everyone who has offered their kind words and their support. I have been overwhelmed by the positve response given to both the website and this supporting blog.

There can, of course, only be one winner. I am as disappointed about that as you are. As a gift to everyone who entered and offered their good wishes I have uploaded a free pattern for you. As it is February I have kept in theme and designed a little pattern called Imogen gives a Valentine.

It is quick and simple to make. I hope you enjoy it.

Click this link to find the pattern.

Good luck to everyone who entered the competition. I’ll be back a little later with the winner.

Printing photos onto Fabric

peppermintpatcher — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:32:37 +0000

Muppet’s Mum emailed me to ask a very sensible question – it might be one on your mind too.

She wondered if you need a special printer to print your photos onto fabric.

The simple answer is – no, you don’t. You do, however, have to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. There are lots of different brands of printable fabric around. The one I use is 100% cotton 200 thread count. This refers to the closeness of the threads that make up the fabric. This is important. The denser the treads, the better the photo will print.

I take my photos into MS Publisher and manipulate them there, but you could use any photo manipulation software. I crop the photo so that only the face is visible, then turn it to grey scale. You might need to adjust the contrast if it looks washed out. I change the size of the photo so that the face is about 5cm (2 1/2inches) wide. At this stage I usually print one off on paper, cut it out and audition it on the body just to check the size and colour. If you’re happy, then you’re ready to use the printable fabric.

The fabric comes in pre-cut sheets that can run straight through an inkjet printer. I always print on the highest standard that my printer will allow. I give it some time to dry, then iron the fusible webbing onto the back and cut out around the face.

Fuse it to the background and you’re finished.

Too easy!

Happy quilting, Tracey

Feel free to email me for any support that you need in making these quilts. I will answer here and in the forums, as well as return your email.

PS last days for the competition!!

Fairy Variation

peppermintpatcher — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:04:02 +0000

This weekend it was my niece’s fourth birthday. Imogen features on the “Imogen is a Fairy” quilt.

She just loves this quilt, but I am mean and I keep it as a sample. She only gets to see it when she comes over.

I wanted to make another one for her birthday. I took this photo of her on Friday…

Her eyes are the most amazing colour. So I decided to make her another fairy quilt before her birthday party on Sunday, using this photo. Nothing like a little last minute pressure to get you moving!

Generally when I make the Imagine That… quilts I make the photographs grey scale – just to take out any background or distraction. This one I printed onto the fabric in colour because she was wearing the fairy crown and her eyes are so lovely. I also enlarged the fairy templates and one flower on the photocopier. I wanted it to be a little bigger so she could put it on her bed or use it on the couch. I am quite pleased with how it all turned out.

Needless to say, she loves it.

In Print

peppermintpatcher — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:34:37 +0000

If you look inthe current issue of the Australian Quilters Companion magazine (volume 35) you’ll find some beautiful photos of three Imagine That… quilts.

The magazine editors contacted me in September to ask if they could write a profile about me. At that time Imaigne That… quilts was just a glimmer of an idea in my mind. I had made three quilts - my nieces and nephew – and I had ideas for more, but I didn’t quite know how the final project would look. The interview questions provided to me proved to be just the catalyst that I needed to make this a reality.

I responded to all questions asked of me using Imagine That… quilts as my focus. As soon as I had done that I went looking for someone who could make my website, started drawing, making, quilting and binding lots more quilts, making logos and writing and designing patterns. It was a very busy few months.

In the Quilters Companion article I compared the process that I use to design these quilts to the way I used to make paper dolls and their numerous outfits when I was a child. I loved the Make and Do volume of the Childcraft Encyclopedia set that we owned. There were templates in there that could be used to make the paper dolls. I fancied myself quite a fashion designer as I made a coloured clothes for my dolls to wear. I have no doubt that this is what lead me to want to make my own clothes as a teen and to buy my own sewing machine with all my savings when I was seventeen. From there I moved to quilting.

It seems these little quilts have brought me full circle. Imagine that…

PS down to the last week to enter the competition to have an Imagine That… quilt made for you. Don’t forget to enter!

You Are All Very Clever…

peppermintpatcher — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 07:23:26 +0000

I thought I was being so very tricky in revealing just a tiny part of the photo of the next pattern, but you are very clever! Lots of people know what the next Imagine That… quilt will be. I’m not going to reveal the whole thing to you yet, though. You’ll need to wait until after the competition has been drawn on the 1st of February. I will, however give you just one more little clue, one more little glimpse.

Both Joyce and Casey have introduced themselves and their blogs on the Imagine That… quilts forums. They are both new to quilting. I am always trying to ‘convert’ people to quilting. It is the most fabulous way to spend your time and I can never imagine why every one on Earth wouldn’t want to be a quilter! This prompted me to post a new topic to the forums. It is called New to quilting? Ask a question here. I thought this was a good place for new quilters to get information and for “old” quilters to share their experience.

So Joyce, Casey and any one else who hasn’t made a quilt… yet. Go ahead and ask question. Someone will know the answer.

Happy quilting, Tracey.

Buttons and Bits

peppermintpatcher — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:48:39 +0000

Yesterday the wonderful James - my computer guy – made me a button to put into my sidebar. See it over there? If you click it you will be taken straight to the Imagine That.. quilts website. If you would like a button like that for your sidebar, then you are most welcome to add one. This is the html that you will need to make one:

http://imaginethatquilts.com/” title=”Imagine that…”>http://imaginethatquilts.com/artwork/colour_imagine_that_180.jpg” alt=”Imagine that… Logo” />

Just copy and paste it, if you would like to.

Twolimesleaves is the first brave member of the Imagine That… quilts community to add a post to the forums. Well done Kirsty. She has left a link to her blog there. Why don’t you go to visit her. She is also looking forward to meeting other quilting bloggers through the forum, so why not become a member and let us know about your blog.

Two new Imagine That… quilt designs will be available soon. One quilt is finished and the pattern is being written now. The other is still to be quilted and bound, but won’t be far behind.

The first new pattern will be released after the competition is drawn on the first of February. If you haven’t entered yet, don’t forget to do so!

Here’s a little teaser from the new pattern…

Do you think you can guess what it is?