212: Skip the Borders blog tour + giveaway

A treat for you today!  Julie Herman's book is out: Skip the Borders: Easy Patterns for Modern Quilts.

If you don't know, Julie blogs at Jaybird Quilts and she's pattern designer as well.  I'm lucky enough to call Julie a friend and I'm a big fan of her work.  So I guess you could say it was highly probable I was going to like this book.  But the thing is, I like her work for good reasons...

Right off the bat, I'll tell you the title gives it all away.  The patterns are modern, simple, and without borders.  Definitely what Julie excels at is designing cool quilts that are not ridiculously hard to achieve.  And if you've ever sewn one of her patterns, you know how precise and easy-to-follow her directions are.

And there is a ton more information in the book than just the patterns.  She gives a lot of pointers on designs and helps you understand what quilts do or don't work without borders.  And a whole chapter on binding!

(notice the Kingdom fabrics?!)

Julie came up with her own interview questions to us bloggers to answer.  She answers all of these at length in the book, but here are my short replies:

Q: All of the quilts in Skip the Borders are... borderless!  Do you skip the borders on most of your quilts?

My first thought was that, yes, I skip the borders on most of my quilts.  But it's not totally true.  Looking back I see a bunch with borders and even some more recent ones have them.  I think it's most recently that I've been using them less and less, though a few in my book had them.  I like that Julie discusses some of the purposes of borders and how some quilts really need them.  And she even gives you permission to use them on her patterns if you'd like.  I'd say I'm tending towards modern designs without them for the moment...

Q: In the intro to my book I give you permission to Break the Rules.  Do you break some quilting rules?  What is the number one rule you break and why?

What rules?  I always encourage others to "sew fearlessly" and part of that is doing whatever the heck you want.  I do think technique is important to learn.  Shoddy craftsmanship is a shame because who wants a quilt that turns out sloppy or falls apart?  But once I've learned and practiced techniques, then I do whatever I desire.  Quilting is fun-time and who wants to get caught up in a debate if raw edge applique is good enough or whatever?  I love to learn and challenge myself to try new things, but I'm certainly not going to answer to anyone's rule book.

Q: It's no secret that I love binding!  In Skip the Borders I included an entire chapter on binding.  So the million dollar question, is do you use bias or straight of grain most of the time?

Mostly bias cut for sure.  Once I learned to sew the continuous kind out of a square, it became second nature and it really doesn't take much longer.  It does take a little more yardage though.  I do have a beloved quilt that had straight grain binding and t has been used and washed so many times that there are gaping holes along the edges of the binding.  Would that have happened with bias?  Maybe.  But I'd rather be safe.  Plus, I feel I can get bias binding to lay perfectly flat a little better.  And my other secret (a rule Julie would never break!): I sew all my binding on completely by machine.  Quick, sturdy, and very clean looking.  Guess I should have put that down for a rule I break! 

As part of the blog tour, I get to give away a ebook of Skip the Borders for one lucky winner to enjoy.  You all probably have ipads or kindles, unlike me (not, bitter.....no...), so you know you want one. :) 

Just leave me a comment and tell me about quilting "rules" (I use the term loosely) you can't stand, break a lot, or maybe even would never dare break. :)  I will chose a winner randomly on Oct. 6th.

The schedule for the rest of the blog tour is below.  Check it out.  If you don't already read thses blogs you're going to want to.

Sept 10th - Generation Q magazine

Sept 12th - PS I quilt

Sept 14th - Beyond the Reef

Sept 17th - Pink Chalk Studio

Sept 19th - Fat Quarter Shop

Sept 21st - Bijou Lovely

Sept 24th - Red Pepper Quilts

Sept 26th - Swatch and Stitch

Sept. 28th - Juicy Bits (me!)

Oct 1st - V and Co

Oct 2nd - Martingale Publishling

Oct 5th - Carolina Patchworks

Oct 8th - I'm a Ginger Monkey

Oct 10th - Blue is Blue

Oct 12th - Quilting is My Therapy

Oct 15th - Quilt Dad

Oct 17th - Jaybird Quilts (Julie herself!)

Good luck!

JT 

Comments

[Shawn M.]

Can't believe I am the first comment. What rules? I probably break a lot of them since I'm not even sure of all the rules. Here's one sometimes I sew over pins. only sometimes not all the time.
Shawn M.

[Mirja]

Rules? Nobody told me about any rules :)

[Margaret]

Rules? I thought there weren't any...nor any quilt police :). Other than making sure my cutting and seams are accurate, anything goes.

[Karen in CA]

I agree with the others, What rules? Just kidding. I like to call them guidelines. Most "rules" except the 1/4" seam offer alternative methods. I just choose the one right for me. Like pressing open or to the side, or how to measure borders. The more you know the better your choices. Thanks for the giveaway.

[Becky Greene]

I do not like to pin or pre-wash. Those two things would take the joy out of quilting for me!

[Dea Lowry]

I NEVER pre-wash, and I often mix 100% cottons and "blends". I use serger thread on all my seams. any other rules? not sure, but I probably break a few more too LOL

[Gill]

I only one I don't break is the 1/4" seam allowance!

[Jennie P.]

I really hate the prewashing thing. I have to agree with others. I'm pretty new to quilting so maybe I haven't learned all the rules yet, but prewashing stinks!

[Kalynn]

I have a no rule policy. If you insist on having rules I just say, "If you don't know the rules you can't break them." Love the book, I hope I win! Thanks for the chance.

[VickiT]

Don't worry ~ you're not alone as I don't have a iPad or tablet myself. My husband does but not me.

I've extensively read all that I can about quilting and all the do's and don'ts but I've also seen many variables to those things I have read and they appear to have worked as well. Because of that I figure as long as I find what truly works for me as I attempt to follow the ideas I have read then I don't feel like I'm breaking any rules.

There is one thing that I always do and that's prewashing my fabric, but I don't think that is really a rule is it? I do that because I always prewash fabrics before doing any machine embroidery and I don't want to mix prewashed and not washed fabrics accidentially in a quilt so they'll shrink differently and ruin something I've worked so hard to finish.

[Lauren aka Giddy99]

I was raised prewashing fabrics before using them in anything, but when I found out a lot of quilters DON'T, well, HALLELUJAH! I don't anymore, either.

Conversely, I've learned that cotton embroidery floss is very unforgiving, and I've taken to pre-shrinking that.

[Cecilia]

I guess the rule I break the most is I don't wash my fabric first. I really like the looks of Julie's units. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.

[Lora]

Rules? I'm sure I learned them at one point, but I really don't remember....

[Janelle J]

I don't pre-wash anything like a lot of people. I don't go by a lot of rules, but like you I do like to take care that it's crafted well and isn't going to fall apart. I am a big fan of ironing too. It makes everything lay nicer and since I do my own quilting I can really tell!

[Meghan]

I'm really bad about basting and sometimes I regret it!

[Joan]

I never wash my fabric before I make a quilt.
Thanks for the giveaway!

[Flaun]

From the annals of the quilt police: never press seams open. I find most blocks are more accurate and lie flatter if I press them open. I don't do it for every block, but most of them...

[Dee]

I love reading up and finding out how people do things, but I never think of the advice is rules. It's rare that I pin, is that rule breaking? Would love to win a copy of Julie's book. Love her work :-)

[Lisa Marie]

I seldom pin. If pinning is a rule I think it's a bad one.

[Shirley Marie]

I am an iron freak, I am always making sure my seams are flat and neat. But I'm not into pinning much...so I keep some rules and break others. Thanks for change at Julie's great ebook!!

[Anneliese]

Isn't being creative almost all the time about breaking rules? I am not good in rules so I have no clue which one I am breaking but I like what I am doing and sometimes people like what I make ... so who cares about rules *gg*

[CJ]

First of all I LOVE that white stars quilt! OY! Rules?? Don't follow many at all except for trying to sew a consistent 1/4" seam. I like that there are NO quilt police nearby.

[Sandy D]

I never prewash my fabrics so I guess there goes that "old" rule. I do pin I have tried not and I usually end up ripping out.

[Nancy R]

Most rules I take as advice. The only 2 that are really necessary--cut accurately (unless you are doing improv) and use accurate seam throughout. I actually started my self taught quilting with 1/2" seams because couldn't imagine getting a 1/4" accurately! Hah!

[Rachelle]

I don't know most of the rules so I normally sew similarly to how I do for garment sewing. I used to prewash, but for quilts I don't as I use often use precuts which aren't exactly washable. I've used a blanket for batting and will do it again and I will use sheets for backing as well.