The Bernina 780 - Paintwork Leaves!

Note:  The winner of the Medallion Pillow Giveaway is Allison C, who said:

I love my grandmother's cutout sugar cookies with lots of sprinkles which I have been craving hardcore these past few days. I'm pregnant and far too sick to even think about cooking, but that doesn't stop me from craving food.  (Hopefully it won't stop you from craving fabric either, Allison!)

I sewed a lot in two weeks and still had one night left with the Bernina 780.  I decided to experiment a little more with PaintWork.  I took some of the leaves from my Bella feature print that I designed for Blend Fabrics and converted them in DesignWorks.

If you don't believe these were painted by a sewing machine just watch the video!!!

Thanks so much for following along as I explored the features of the Bernina 780.  Thanks also to Bernina and the staff of Sew Much Fun in Lowell, NC for making it possible.

Happy sewing and happy New Year!
Amanda

The Bernina 780 - Medallion Pillow

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday and enjoyed the beauty of Christmas!

I'm back with one more project that I did with the Bernina 780.  Yes, in response to an email that was sent to me, I did pretty much just sew for two weeks.  There was no cleaning or cooking.  (What a silly question.)  I had a Bernina 780!!!!

This time I did a little bit more with the embroidery.  The motif is taken from a medallion in my Bella collection for Blend Fabrics and converted using Bernina's DesignerPlus software.  You can see all the details in my video.

I used the 780's fancy stitches to add detail around the edge of the middle panel.  I also used the endless embroidery option for quilting - you can see it a little in the bright pink border.  The endless embroidery option allows you to take ANY of the hundreds of stitches on the 780 and size it up to use for a continuous embroidery design.  It is a great option for creating a unique quillting motif - particularly for borders.

I used the Stitch Regulator to go around the circles in the outer border, accentuating their shapes.

And I used the buttonhole feature - it makes perfect buttonholes every time!

Let's giveaway three fat quarters of Bella, plus a couple of patterns this time!  To enter tell me what your favoriate holiday cookie is!  One entry per person and the deadline will be this Thursday night (the 27th).

Thanks so much for following along with me and happy sewing!
Amanda

The Bernina 780 - Christmas Mantlepiece Decoration

Note:  The winner of the previous giveaway is ikceb.  I'll be back with another giveaway later this week. 

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!  I saved this post especially for this day.  I wanted to show you how to make a festive mantlepiece decoration using PaintWork and embroidery.

I thought this Christmas card design would be a perfect vehicle for that exploration.  There were certain elements that led themselves to embroidery.

While other elements lent themselves to the delicate look of PaintWork.  What is PaintWork?  I'm glad you asked!  PaintWork is the added tool that allows the Bernina 780 to paint with textile pens!!!!  Yes, you heard correctly.  This machine can paint!  (Actually, with this tool so can the 580 and the 830 - I tried it on the 580 that I used to sew Modern Holiday and it worked great!)

So I digitized some of the elements in DesignWorks - the snowflakes and the branches in particular.

I fused the completed design on heavyweight interfacing and added a border and binding for a quick Christmas mantlepiece decoration. For more details, watch the video.

Happy sewing and very merry Christmas!
Amanda

The Bernina 780 - Improvisational Photo Album Cover

Note:  The winner of the previous post is Heather K.  There is another giveaway at the bottom of this post.  

Next up in the 780 countdown?  A photo album using improvisational piecing, free motion quilting with the aid of Bernina's Stitch Regulator, couching, and CutWork flower embellishment, this time on a smaller scale.  I used motifs from Bernina's Stitch 'N Bloom collection for the embroidery.  This is a great way to try out new collections!  Keep a stack of designs ready and you will be ready for your next improvisational project...

I'm not a great quilter, but I find I do much better on a smaller scale.   It is less intimidating for me to experiment in small areas.  The Stitch Regulator makes it much easier!

When I was piecing the center I also added some couching using Bernina foot #21 and decorative thread.

These CutWork flowers were so fun to make!  It was really easy to draw them out (either by hand or in a graphics application) and convert them to CutWork in DesignWorks.

Quilting - it is fun to divide up areas and do a different pattern in each.
It is easy to see this from the back.

Want to learn more about the process?  Watch the video.

I had a few CutWork flowers leftover, so let's do another giveaway.  How might you use CutWork to embellish something you are working on?  Please leave a comment.  Deadline is this Sunday the 23rd at midnight.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Modern Holiday!

I am pinching myself!  My first book, Modern Holiday, will debut with C&T Publishing this spring.  I know it is unfair to show you Christmas projects and tell you they will be available for next Christmas, but I AM SO EXCITED!!!  And this is really the perfect time to announce it because every single project in this book was pieced (and occasionally quilted) from start to finish on the Bernina 580!

Modern Holiday is chock-full of fun and colorful Christmas projects for the modern quilter.  There are 9 quilt and 9 different types of accessories.  I hope you love it and can't wait until it is time to share more!!!

Happy sewing!

Amanda

The Bernina 780 - Fizz Pillow

Note:  The winner of the previous giveaway was Carol Ann, who said, I made Amy Butler's Frenchy Bag for my niece out of The Lorax fabric, it was so darn cute! I love your table runner!

Next up in my Bernina 780 projects is my Fizz pillow with CrystalWork accents.  It is a modification of my Fizz quilt pattern and features my "Seaglass" color story from my Bella collection for Blend Fabrics.

I had SO much fun with this project!  The crystals really brought the finished piece to a whole new level!  And they were so fun and simple to apply.  I just made a few templates using the DesignWorks software and CrystalWork tool and reused them again and again to add sparkle to the bubbles!

Like on all Berninas, the buttonhole feature is so easy to use and sews beautiful buttonholes every time!

Want to see more?  Hop on over to Youtube and check out the Fizz video!

And I think we should have a giveaway for this too, don't you?  This time I'll give away a copy of my Fizz pattern this time, along with three fat quarters of Bella.  To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me about a project in which you might use CrystalWorks for added bling!  Again, one entry per person and I'd love for you to become a follower if you aren't one already, but it isn't a requirement.  Deadline to enter will be this Thursday (the 20th) at midnight.

I have some other big news tonight.  I'll be back soon!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

The Bernina 780 - Harlequin Runner

Today is the day I can finally begin sharing what I worked on when I had the Bernina 780 for two weeks.  I tried to cram in as much as I possibly could during that time and also try out all of the special features.  (There is a giveaway at the bottom of this post too! Don't miss it!)

My first project was this Harlequin Runner, showcasing my Bella collection for Blend Fabrics.  It is based off of my quilt pattern by the same name.  You can see a video about how I made it here.  

I embellished the flower with wool flowers that I made using the CutWork tool because... Bernina also invited me to try their new DesignWorks software!  With DesignWorks, you can design CutWork shapes and PaintWork and CrystalWork to port over to the 780.  Best of all, DesignWorks is REALLY easy to use!

I also incorporated some custom trapunto feathers into the quilting!

The secret to giving the impression that one's quilting skills are better than they are is to design the feather in Bernina's DesignerPlus software!

The stippling and petal border that you can see in the upper left were done with the 780's Stitch Regulator.

This is the first of 6 projects with which I experimented.  I'll be posting a new one on Wednesday and Friday and more Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of next week.  I want to thank Bernina for providing me with this opportunity and also Sew Much Fun, my local dealer for helping make it a reality.

This is Drusilla Munnell, the owner of Sew Much Fun, and I at my presentation.

Drusilla's beautiful and fun holiday display!

They just moved into a beautiful new space, and it is huge!

My Bella designs visiting Sew Much Fun...

To see more about the process I used to make the runner, take a peek at the video I made.  If you would like to enter to win a free Harlequin pattern and three Bella fat quarters, leave me one comment at the bottom of this post telling me something special you have made to give a loved one (or yourself) this year!  I'd love for you to consider becoming a follower if you aren't already, but it isn't a requirement.  You have until really late tomorrow (Tuesday the 18th) when I post the next project to enter.

Happy sewing!

Amanda

Bella Crib Bedding by Carousel Designs

A few months ago I heard Bella, my line for Blend Fabrics, had been picked up by Carousel Designs for crib bedding!  I was so excited and am even MORE excited today to see it featured online.

I love the orange chevron rug with the Seaglass color story, don't you?  I would have jumped at the option to buy bedding and make matching accessories when our daughter was little. (Sigh...) I love the fact that Carousel Designs uses high-quality quilting cotton in their work.

Happy sewing, everyone!

Amanda