Quilt Assistant – free quilt designing software

I've been spending quite a bit of time trying a free quilt designing program for Windows PCs. Quilt Assistant is primarily planned for creating quilts from photos and drafting traditional blocks. However, hidden away is the computer equivalent of colouring pens and paper for designing quilts made up of a single shape such as squares, hexagons, triangles, and many more.

The online manual shows how to create quilts from photos and how to design traditional quilt blocks but it doesn't mention this other very useful design feature, so I've put together a few screen shots to get you started.

The single shape design feature can be accessed by clicking the “regular pattern” tab when creating a new blank project (the default tab is “free design”).

This tab allows you can choose your shape (or pattern) and adjust the size and count to create a workspace representative of the finished size of your quilt. The default setting is for squares, but there are several more exciting shapes available including clamshells and applecores.

In the workspace, you need be in “coloring mode” (the grid lines will be solid and a color selection palette will appear). This can be selected by the button in the upper right of the screen or from the "Mode" drop down menu.

Then it is just a matter of using the mouse to select colours, fill in the shapes and create your quilt design. There isn’t an eraser as such - if you make a mistake you recolour the shape using the correct colour or the background colour.

I've not tried using the program for its primary purposes of designing picture quilts or traditional blocks, but I've found it to be great for this type of designing, especially for hexagon quilts. It doesn't have advanced features such as pattern fills or importing jpg files of fabrics, but it is a lot easier than using pens and paper. The program is free from cosman.nl and while the author was at one time accepting quilt fabric in lieu of donations, this is no longer the case.

Review - Seams So Easy Madam Butterfly Wristlet

A few months ago, The Sewing Directory had a competition to win kits from Seams So Easy. I wasn’t a winner, but Seams So Easy were looking for bloggers to review their kits and I was sent the Madam Butterfly Wristlet kit. 

The kit contains everything you need to make the project (with the exception of thread for machine stitching) and the idea is that you customise the item with your own interpretation of their embellishment suggestions.

The supplies in the kit are generous – after covering the butterfly wings with sequins, there were still a few remaining. For the hand stitching on the back panel, I used an irregular running stitch with three strands of embroidery floss rather than the recommended two strands. There are yellow running stitches between the rows of pink and blue, but they are not showing on the photos. I did find it necessary to mark guide lines to keep my stitching straight, though this was not suggested in the instructions. I decided I would prefer a narrower strap so I folded the tape in half and secured with coloured stitching to match the back panel.

Floss supplies, like the sequins, were generous - there was still plenty of floss left over despite my extra stitching on the strap and using three strands not two (there is less yellow floss left as it was also used to sew on the sequins).  I did find that the needles supplied with the kit were not ideal for the embellishments – it would have been easier to thread the floss through the long eye of a crewel needle rather than the round eye of the sharp needle supplied (though a needle threader was also provided) and the needle was too large for many of the beads. 

The embellishing was the main part of this project and I did it over several evenings, but the assembly of the wristlet went together quite quickly and was completed in just one evening. The instructions tell you to embellish the front panel and attach it to the zip and then to embellish the back panel and attach it to the zip. I chose to complete all the hand stitching before starting the machine stitching. For the zip, I added an extra line of top stitching to secure the lining to the zip tape and to stop it getting caught in the teeth. The instructions make no mention of seam allowances and my printed version had no mention of the strap, so a bit of unpicking was required when it came to sewing the bag together, however, details of where to attach the strap are in the online instructions. I added a further customisation by boxing the corners of my pouch (if you wish to do the same, this should be done to the main fabric and lining before turning the bag right sides out).

 

I enjoyed making this wristlet – I like hand sewing and chose to add lots of embellishments, but the beauty of a kit like this is that you can do as much or as little as you like. As everything needed is in the kit and no other supplies are needed, it would make an ideal present for anyone who has access to a sewing machine.

Disclaimer: I was sent a Madam Butterfly Wristlet kit by Seams So Easy for the purpose of this review. All words and opinions are my own.

Review - Sewing World Magazine

Sewing World has recently been revamped and I was sent a copy of July's issue to review. I used to subscribe to the magazine, but my subscription lapsed over a year ago and so this was the first time I had seen one of the new look issues. My first impression from the cover was of a much brighter and more modern magazine.

I received the printed version of the magazine for this review, but the magazine also thinks of those who prefer digital issues and the pattern sheet is available to download from the magazine website. Each side of the pattern sheet is available as a separate file, with each file having about 10 pages to print and stick together. However, I couldn't spot a size reference square in the PDF, making it difficult to check if your pages have printed at the correct scale. A single digital issue is approximately £1 cheaper than a single printed issue.

Looking at the contents page, I was pleased to see articles relating to dressmaking still featured strongly in both the technique and projects sections as other magazines have dropped these in favour of "home" projects. This issue had 10 projects to make - two items of clothing (plus one from the techniques section), a doll, a bag, a sunglasses case, a machine cover, a quilt, cushions, coasters and a machine embroidery project.

The project instructions are presented in a variety of styles with some authors using photos to illustrate their instructions and others using line drawings. Some of the projects assume prior knowledge, for example, the quilt project just said "baste and quilt" and "bind as desired", but with information being readily available on the internet, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. I liked the mix of projects - some were quick and easy projects that could be made from your stash and others would take a little more time and planning.

The magazine also features many giveaways each month - in this issue there were nearly 40 prizes to be won, as well as a subscriber only competition. Again, the magazine has thought of its digital readers and the competitions can be entered via email. Unlike some women's glossy magazines, the number of advertisements are not over whelming and you don't end up flicking thorough pages and pages of adverts looking for something to read.

In conclusion, I was impressed by the mix of projects and articles which seemed to cater for various abilities and interests. I do hope that the magazine will continue to feature dress making as I think the UK magazine market is lacking in this area. After seeing the new look magazine, I would certainly consider buying future issues, though probably as the digital not the printed version.

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of July's Sewing World for the purpose of this review. All words and opinions are my own.