Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts is a teacher, pattern designer, and founder of the Philadelphia chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild. Julie’s motto is “One girl on a mission to make life better with fabric!”. She accomplishes this and more with Skip the Borders, her first book for Martingale.
The theme of the book is borderless quilts, divided into 3 sections: One-Block Quilts, Two-Block Quilts and Outside-The-Block-Quilts. Easy patterns that showcase designs that stand on their own.
Keeping with the theme, binding is integral to showcasing a borderless quilt and Julie dedicates an entire chapter to selecting, making and sewing the binding.
Julie has thrown in a bit of fun to the blog tour by asking each participant to answer some quilting questions themselves. Here goes mine!
Question #1: Do you skip borders on your quilts?
I had to think about this one and in fact pulled up images of my quilts in order to answer. I never realized that I generally skip the border. In fact, I could only identify one quilt that I designed that had a border (Lollipop Forest I Spy Quilt) and I’m not even sure that one qualifies as a traditional border. I also observed that quilts I make from other designer’s pattern also do not have borders. Hmmm… guess I’m a borderless kinda of gal. No wonder I love Julie’s quilts so much!
Question #2: Do you break some quilting rules? What’s the number one rule you break and why?
I often hear this discussion and have to admit I don’t even know what the quilting rules actually are which most likely indicates I must be breaking a few if not a LOT! At the same time, when I first learned to quilt (and when learning a new technique) I pour over traditional quilting technique books. I’m very precise in my piecing and finishing. I enjoy mastering methods that help me achieve that result. In that regard, I follow tradition. If I had to identify one area where I know the quilting police are on my tail is scale, contrast and color. I do not follow any rules related to those subject areas. I totally go by my eye. It knows when it’s right and I leave it at that.
Question #3: Do you use bias or straight of grain binding?
I mostly use straight of grain. It’s a time and no-fuss preference. If the pattern on the fabric lends itself to being cut on the bias I will cut it that way. I love taking a woven check print and turning it 45 degrees!
Thanks Julie for a fabulous first book!
***
Martingale is giving away an e-book copy of Skip the Borders. Pink Chalk Fabrics is throwing in an Anna Maria Horner Field Study Fat Quarter Set (winner’s choice of color palette). Leave a comment sharing the quilting rule you most enjoy breaking!
***
See the entire collection of Jaybird Quilt Patterns and Julie’s new Hex N More Ruler at Pink Chalk Fabrics.
***
Follow the book tour on these other awesome blogs:
september 10th - generation q magazine
september 12th - ps i quilt
september 14th - beyond the reef
september 17th – pink chalk studio (your’e here, thank you!)
september 19th - fat quarter shop
september 21st - bijou lovely
september 24th - red pepper quilts
september 26th - swatch & stitch
september 28th - juicy bits
october 1st - v and co
october 2nd - martingale publishing
october 5th - carolina patchworks
october 8th - i am a ginger monkey
october 10th - blue is bleu
october 12th - quilting is my therapy
october 15th - quilt dad
october 17th - jaybird quilts
Kathy Mack
Carrie + Diana
My favorite rule to break is the “make blocks and lay them out in a grid” rule
I never mark my HSTs, if you can call that breaking the rules! I love e3very little peak we get of Jaybird’s book…and have the ruler ready and waiting! TIA! B-)
I’m not sure if this is a rule or not, but I sew all of my binding on by machine. I just made my first quilt (a doll quilt at that), but there is no way I would ever finish if I hand stitched the binding on.
I skip the borders on most of the time.
I’ve only made one quilt. The other I started is sitting in a stack of blocks. So I guess the rule I break is finishing what I start. Oh, and pressing seams – don’t do it often enough or in the prescribed direction.
I’ve never skipped a border, but I’m inspired. Thanks for the giveaway!
I’m not really sure I know all the quilting rules. So I don’t know which ones I regularly break. Probably several, I just do what looks correct to me.
love the quilts in this book! i’m not sure which rules i break while quilting – i tend to tweak patterns and never follow them exactly.
Rule I love to break? I guess pinning- I often don’t pin when the gurus say you should. I am just to impatient to pin sometimes! Maybe that’s why they are the gurus and I am not! thanks for the giveaway!
I skip the pins! Unless in am matching up points! I’m a rule breaker!
I don’t even know the rules and I’m mostly a beginner quilter so I just go with my gut and I experiment. I tell myself that not matter what I produce, it will be something that can warm a cold body and that’s worth something.
Hmmm…don’t know if it’s a “rule” but I don’t always use my walking foot when I’m straight-line quilting on my machine…thanks for chance!
I must break rules, because I like to think their are no rules. I have started trying harder to get nicer results, but I do maintain it’s a hobby and needs to be fun. It’s a stress reliever for me!
Rules? What rules?
The rule I most enjoy breaking is not measuring the borders before I put them on…I just lay the top on a flat surface and pat the border face down over it then pin in place and whatever ends up at the end gets whacked off! Yeah, I gotta go…there’s a knock on the door & I think it might be the quilt police!
Just realizing,as a beginner, that there are no “quilt police” and that learning comes from experimentation.
I’m not sure what rule I break as I am not sure of all the rules. I have heard to never use steam when you iron your fabrics and I sometimes do.
I don’t break many sewing/quilting rules…but, am known iron my seams open instead of to the side from time to time if quilt seems to be getting bulky…(that’s not too bad tho). Looks like a great book, am hopeful!!!
I like rules. In my job, I must follow rules or mistakes will insue. I am guilty of not always matching top threads and bobin threads.
I’m also new-ish to quilting so I’m not entirely sure what rules I’m breaking…I just know what I find difficult.
Thanks for the chance!
Elizabeth
lwghosts at yahoo dot com
Well I’m super lazy so I break most rules that involve effort…also I’m newish so I’m reading through these comments and just learned 30 new rules I didn’t know existed that I wasn’t following. However the rule I break most that I wish I’d figure out how to follow and apply is to include high and low value, large and small print fabric combos to a pleasing effect.
Rules what rules?
I very rarely pin, maybe only star points. ;-> Toni Anne
Well, I’ve only sewn 2 quilts so far and I don’t even know what the rules are! I’m sure I broke a few. On my first quilt I didn’t press the seems and I tried to press them open after. Now I know to just press them to on side and do it as I go.
I’m still a novice, so I am sure that I break plenty of rules! My big one would be machine binding instead of hand-stitching the binding. On larger projects, I get impatient and resort to my machine for finishing it up! Thanks for the giveaway!
I just go for a result that pleases me. If I have broken a quilting rule, it’s probably out of ignorance. No worries.
I don’t think I ever follow rules when it comes to quilting.
I’m a border skipper as well. And I machine stitch my bindings.
This book looks great!
I probably break a lot of rules but I go with what I like.
It depends on my mood. Sometimes I put border, sometimes I don’t…& I never follow the step by step rules in making quilt…I just DO IT…
Rules Shmules? I kind of just go with the flow, I probably break them all
except matching the top thread and bobbin tread. I always match my threads. Thanks for the chance to win.
The rule I enjoy breaking is that there are rules! I love Julie’s idea of skipping the borders – what fantastic designs you’ve shown us – now I want the book to see them all!!
One rule that I probably break is that I
don’t pin enough. Thanks for the chance to
win!
wigglypup2(at)yahoo.com
I guess I’d have to know what the rules were to know if I break them… I’d guess that maybe I break color rules as I use what I like, not “traditional” quilting colors.
I can’t wait to get a copy of this new book.
There is visibly a bunch to realize on the subject of this. I deem you finished a little trivial points in skin texture also.
I break as many rules as I can get away with and still have a pretty quilt. Honestly, I didn’t know there were rules. More like guidelines.
I have been sewing so long that it is second nature to me and I don’t think of it in terms of rules. I do what seems to work the best and looks nice. The wonky blocks are new to me and I am sure some “rules” get broken. I have only done a few of them. I will have to do more and see just what rules are broken:)
I think that I am a non pinner
I don’t pin unless I have to!
I love to break the binding rule! At times I’m so busy that I machine sew my binding instead of hand stitching.