"Eclipse" - Scrappy Improvisational Quilt

When my brother, Thom Atkins, visited last fall, he showed me (and a few quilting buddies) his new method for designing and constructing "scrappy improv wall quilts," a technique that turned out to be a lot of fun for me, especially given my long history with an improvisational, intuitive approach to bead embroidery.

Basically, what we did was to empty our bags or boxes of scraps onto a large table and start pawing through them, pulling out ones that appealed to us at that moment. For me it was all about color - red, magenta, fuchsia, with hints of pink, golden-yellow, orange, lavender, and dark green. All of the fabrics were in my scrap box. We had two days of Thom's demonstrations and guidance. During that time, each of us in our small group produced a unique and very pleasing "piece" or "block," measuring roughly 18 x 21 inches, the size of a fat quarter.

One of my red scraps, cut in a nice arc at one end, was the start of it all because I liked the shape and the color. Next I picked up a small strip of yellow, and held it behind the arc of red. Ooooh! Nice enough to repeat. The scrap of orange/red batik was large enough to cut a similar arc, and the strip of yellow was long enough to go behind that one too. These two arcs formed the basis of my piece.

You can see the two arcs above; the lower right was the first. The yellow strip was only about 3" wide, not enough to go all the way around the arcs, but I cut two shapes that would echo the top of each of the arcs. I layered the remaining scraps from that on top of the arcs along the vertical edges of the design. Then I put a dark green scrap behind the arcs and the yellow, which set them off nicely. The rest was just filling to the edges of the quilt with more scraps, including fussy-cut leaves and flowers.

The next step was to glue it all together along the 1/4" seam overlap, working in layers from bottom to top, and cutting away the excess fabric from the underside after each piece is glued. Cutting away the excess fabric leaves a double layer of fabric only at the seams; the rest is a single layer. The glue is Elmer's School Glue, Disappearing Purple, as shown below. It is an organic stick glue, relatively easy to sew through, repositionable, (in case you change your mind), and purple when first applied, drying to transparent (so you can see where exactly you are putting it).

Thom's method is a type of raw edge applique, typically accomplished with heat-fusible web, such as "wonder under." The typical method, given a complex, layered design such as mine, would have resulted in a thick, stiff, multi-layer surface, which would be difficult to quilt, even with a machine. In Thom's method, there is no web, and in most places only one or two layers of fabric. Like all raw edge techniques, the raw edges must be sewn down, and the resulting quilts are not very suitable for bed quilts unless there is heavy stitching over the raw edges (for example, dense, zig-zag, machine stitching).

After gluing my original (shown above) quilt top, I assembled the quilt, using a spray glue to layer the backing, batting and top. The next step was to stitch along the "seams," the overlapping, glued edge of each piece. From there, it was up to each of us as to how to finish the quilt, perhaps with machine quilting, such as stippling or contour stitches, or perhaps with beading, all of which Thom does on his quilts.

A couple of months went by after getting to the unfinished stage shown above. I liked it, but didn't know what to do with it, until one day when I was at our Senior Center, getting foot care from a trained nurse who comes a couple times a week to help those who need it. Her treatment room, about the size of a walk-in closet, has no windows. Her client faces the door to the room, a plain, wooden door.  "That door needs a quilt," I told her. The rest is history; my scrappy improv quilt, Eclipse,  hangs there now.

Only first I had to finish it. Above is the finished quilt, Eclipse. Below I'll tell you some of the finishing steps and about how I transformed it from looking flat and ordinary to sharp and textured using embroidery embellishments. Please click on the photo so you can see the details!

You might have noticed that the finished quilt is longer (better suited for hanging on a door) than the original piece. That was a challenge, although less than you might expect, because Thom had demonstrated for us how he sometimes extends the size of his quilts. In short, I roughly planned out the addition, the mock-up shown below, then created it using the same process and scraps as the original piece.

I used fusible "tape" made for butt-joining pieces of batting, to add a new piece of batting to the bottom edge of batting on the original (upper) part of the quilt. The horizontal strip of striped fabric overlaps the two parts of the quilt and the joined batting underneath. As you can see below, I added a fussy-cut flower over the striped fabric to break up the horizontal strip and visually join the two parts.

Confession time... I'm not good at machine quilting, and don't even have a proper quilting foot for my old machine (1972 Pfaff). I tried stitching around the fussy cut flowers to secure the glued edges, but failed miserably. What to do? Ah, hand-sew with embroidery stitches and floss? Yes! It took a few tries, but eventually I found stitch and thread combinations that worked.

It looked so good that I decided to add stitching and knots to the yellow arcs next. Wow! That popped the eclipse look! In the photo below, you can see bits of all the embroidery stitches I added. Not only does the embroidery provide embellishment and emphasis, it also further quilts the piece. Click the photo to see the detail and better read the stitch identification.

Here are two more detail photos of the finished quilt (without the text boxes).

Lots of fun, and I like the results! Will I do another one? Well, right now I've finally returned to my hexie project, where I'm likely to remain for many months, but after that, scrappy improv may be just what I need!

How to Frame Bead Embroidery

During the past 28 years of stitching beads on cloth, I've veered away from making necklaces, bracelets, and bags or purses, mostly producing wall art pieces. Thus, I've had lots of opportunities to experiment with various methods of finishing and framing my work, making it suitable for display.

I always leave ample fabric margins surrounding the actual beaded area, giving me lots of options for finishing or framing.  One simple finishing method is to wrap the extra fabric around the sides of a manufactured painting-canvas (over stretcher-bars), and lace the fabric snugly across the back, as in the photo below.

But the problem with this method, of course, is that the surface of the beading is exposed to dust and air-borne grime, which over the years may spoil the fresh look of the beading, aging the piece prematurely. So we look to frames and glass to protect our work.

Among the various methods for covering (and protecting) beadwork with glass, the following is the one I use most frequently, and like the best.  It's not very expensive, or particularly difficult, although it does take a bit of time. Even if you already know about frames, please take a look at the section called Preparing Your Bead Embroidery for Framing in the Tutorial below.

Tutorial: How to Frame bead Embroidery

Choosing a Frame

This tutorial assumes the beaded work has straight sides, and will be framed in a square or rectangular frame. The frame size, color, and style are important considerations.

Wanting viewers to look at my beading and not be distracted by an overly fancy, gaudy, or large frame, I generally select a plain, narrow frame in a color that compliments my beading without competing for the viewer's attention. Sometimes I choose a stained, wooden frame if it seems to fit the theme of my beadwork better than a metal frame. Depending on the size of my beadwork, I generally size my frame at 2-3 inches more on each side than the beadwork.

Frame: Often I use a painted, metal frame with a cross section similar to this.

I either buy it as a kit (pre-cut pieces and required assembly hardware), assembling it myself, or buy it from a frame shop. The advantage of buying from a framer is that you will be able to see samples. Also, the framer can cut an accurate mat, foam core insert, and backing board for you, and can supply the needed risers. If you decide to work with a framer, I suggest you print this post (to show the framer how you will be preparing your work for the frame), or take the prepared bead embroidery with you to the frame shop.

Glass: I believe in using the highest quality glass, even though it is a lot more expensive than ordinary glass. The UV resistance is good, but the primary reason for using premium glass is its clarity, which allows the viewer to see the details of your work without any distortions or color shift, as if there were no glass at all.  Note: do not use non-glare glass. It only works if it lies directly on the surface of the art. You will be putting risers under the glass so it sits above the uneven surface of your bead embroidery, not touching any of the beads; even at this slight distance from the beadwork, non-glare glass will look frosted and obscure the details of your work.

Other Framing Materials You Will Need

Mat: Choose a simple, acid-free, neutral-colored mat, either warm or cool white, depending on the emotional message and colors in your work. All those beautiful colors in the framer's palette are appealing, but for most bead embroidery, there is color and texture enough in the beads, and no value in adding more with your mat choice. If you do not have a mat cutter, a framer can cut your mat. Although I have not ever used a double mat (because I find them distracting, bringing my eyes away from the beadwork to the edges), it could be a way to gain a little more space for the glass above the beadwork.

Risers: Dense plastic rods, risers are 1/8th inch square in cross-section, with an adhesive surface on one side. Use a wire nipper to cut the rods to fit along the outer edge of the glass; remove the paper strips covering the adhesive from the the risers, adhering them to the glass along the edges, as shown above. They prevent the glass from touching your beadwork, by resting on the outer edge of the mat, thus holding the glass above the beaded surface. If the surface height of your beadwork is greater, you can adhere two rods together, making a quarter-inch of space. If the depth is more than a quarter-inch, you might want to consider mounting your work in a shadowbox frame (see this post for a good example and instructions).

3/16th Inch Foam Core Board: Since your beadwork will be mounted directly into this foam core board, be sure to use the white, acid-free, buffered, slightly more expensive variety. You can buy it at art supply or frame shops, in person or on line. You will need a piece at least 3 inches larger than your bead embroidery on each side.

 Preparing Your Bead Embroidery for Framing 

 

The piece above is the example used in the the steps which follow. It's a small piece of bead embroidery, measuring only 1-3/4 inches wide by 2-1/4 inches high. The mat is 2 inches larger on each side. Numerous folks have surprised me with high offers to buy this piece (which is not for sale), illustrating that nicely framed bead embroidery can be sold at a favorable price.

Mounting your bead embroidery in foam core board 

As per the recommendations in the frame section above, draw the frame size (which will always be designated by the inside dimensions, the size of the artwork) on a piece of 3/16th inch foam core. Use a mat knife and ruler to accurately cut out this shape.

Then, measuring carefully, making sure it is exactly centered, draw lines to indicate the outline of your bead embroidery, adding 1/2 inch on each side. For example, if your beaded area was 2 inches wide, you would draw your lines 3 inches apart (2" for the beadwork plus 1/2 inch on each side). Designate one edge as the top, and mark. Draw a vertical arrow from the top through part of the center through part of the outside margin. With a mat knife, cut out the center, being careful not to damage it or the outside frame. The cut out center will eventually be placed back in the hole by aligning the arrow segments drawn on the back.

For the next step, you will need at least a 1.5 inch margin of un-beaded fabric all around your beadwork. If you have less than a 1.5 inch margin, cut strips of any cotton fabric (re-purposed sheet or shirt fabric is fine). Using a zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine, and placing the strips under the margin of the beaded fabric (wrong side), stitch the strips to the margins, extending them to a total of 1.5 inch from the edges of your beadwork on the top, bottom, and both sides.

Center your beadwork on the cut-out piece of foam core board. Hold in place using map or sewing pins, pushed straight through the beading down into the board. Wrap the fabric snugly around the board and pin from the back. Remove the pins from the front. Check to make sure the work is still centered accurately. Re-pin if necessary. Using a sewing needle and beading thread, stitch from side to side, lacing the fabric around the foam core, as in the example below. Start with the longer sides. Knot when finished. Then do the same on the shorter sides.

Tip: I like to rest the beaded side face down on a thick, folded, bath towel while I am lacing the back.

This is how mine looks on the front after being laced around the foam core board on the back. If I had not wanted to frame this piece, I could have used double-sided, archival tape to adhere a heavy paper backing over the laced area on the back; it could then be displayed on a small stand similar to the one in the second photo from the top of this post.

This is how it looks on the back, when it is placed back in the original hole cut into the foam core board. Notice how the arrows match up, insuring a perfect fit.

This is how it looks on the front. Note: the hole in the mat will be cut exactly to the size of the beadwork, so that when it is framed, you will not see any of the fabric around the outside edge of the beaded area.

Assembling a Bead Embroidery Sandwich

Now it's time to make a sandwich with the foam core board between two pieces of acid-free mat board, one which has a beveled hole cut in the center, the other which is solid and goes on the back.

To cut my own mats, I first measure and draw the exact outline of my bead embroidery centered on the wrong side of the mat. I always mark the top, because sometimes the work is not precisely square or rectangular. Of course you can give the dimensions to a frame shop, and have a professionally-cut mat made for your beadwork.

Tip: One way to get an exact measurement of the beaded area is to make a 100% copy of it on a scanner or copy machine. Cut out the copy with a ruler and mat knife, test it by holding it over your beadwork. If it is exact, use it as a template to mark the hole on the mat board. If the mat is hand-cut, the hole does not have to be precisely square or rectangular.

Using a special, beveled, mat-cutting tool, I then cut away the center, where the beading will show.

Here is how the top and middle of the sandwich looks, with the mat placed on top of the foam core board and beadwork.

The photo above shows a piece of mat board cut for the sandwich back (on the right). Note that I've drawn around the laced beadwork, and cut away a layer of the mat board to make space for the laced fabric in the sandwich. Do this by gently cutting along the drawn lines, being careful not to cut very deeply into the mat. Then, use a knife to lift one corner of the inside area and peel it back creating a shallow empty space.

This is what the completed sandwich looks like. The beading is supported well between two pieces of mat board, and can't shift when hung. No glue or tape (to later fail or chemically alter the mat or beading) is necessary in this process. And it looks so neat and professional!

Assemble the Frame

With the more challenging steps already completed, the final assembly goes very quickly !

Assemble the bottom and sides of the frame by inserting the metal corner plates, and tightening the tension screws. Insert and tighten the corner plates into the top of the frame. Make a double-decker sandwich by putting the glass with the attached risers on top of the mat. Be sure the glass is clean and clear of any finger prints. Slide the complete d-d-sandwich into the obvious slot in the bottom part of the frame. The hanging wire can be added now or later.

Slip the corner plates at the top of the frame into the slots on the sides, and tighten the tension screws. You should have gotten metal spring strips with your frame kit. Lay them out on the back, spaced evenly around. Push down on the center of a spring and slide it under the edge of the frame, between the backing mat and the frame. Do the same with each of the springs. If you haven't already, add a hanging wire. Add a felt or rubber wall-bumper to each of the lower corners.

That's it! You are finished... your bead embroidery is ready to hang on your wall!  For those who would like a little more detailed step-by-step explanation of how to assemble this type of frame, this is a good one or if you prefer videos, this one is pretty complete.

Tip: Whether using a metal or wooden frame, the depth of the frame is an important consideration because the d-d-sandwich will be thicker than a photograph or most paintings. The measurement of the depth, or space inside the frame structure to accommodate the thickness of the artwork, is called the rabbet. The rabbet measurement on the above metal frame is 9/16th of an inch, which is adequate with a single riser under the glass. But it's a tight fit, the springs having to be nearly flat when inserted. If I had used a double riser, I would need a frame with a deeper rabbet. I've found it rather difficult to find small, narrow, simple, plain, wooden frames with a deep enough rabbet.

Here is a link for downloading this post as a printable PDF. It's a free, and slightly expanded version of what you've seen above. Free Download: How to Frame Bead Embroidery by Robin Atkins

Tips for Cutting Fabrics for a Hexie Quilt

I'm making 3/4" hexies, which means each of the six sides measures 3/4 of an inch. For these I need to cut 2" squares. (At the end of this post there is a table showing the size of fabric squares that corresponds to each of the standard sizes of hexie paper pieces.) To make each hexie flower, I need 6 squares for the petals and 1 square for the center. This is how I cut them.

The first thing I do, is sort my scraps into piles by size. The easiest to work with are strips. These I iron, sort by approximate width, and stack 6 strips high, aligning the top and right side edges. Then I cut each stack of 6 strips to exactly 2" wide by slightly more than 14" long. From each one of the strips, I will get one set of petals and one center. After cutting 5 stacks of strips (a total of 30 different fabrics), line them up next to each other as shown above, and cross-cut 2" squares through all of the strip piles at once.

Now, pick up the piles of 2" squares, and place them in stacks, alternating the orientation as shown above.

Next, use dressmaker's shears to trim the corners off of each of the piles. Each pile has 6 fabrics, so you are trimming 6 at a time. Re-stack them as shown above. Note that there are only 6 piles in each row. The 7th pile in each stack, I have set aside to use for centers. These I keep separate from the petal sets, selecting a center for each petal set later in the flower-making process.

The final step is to separate each of the piles into 6 separate piles, one for each of the fabrics. You will end up with 30 singles piles, or petal sets, each with 6 of the same cut and corner-trimmed fabric, enough to make 30 hexie flowers.

Certainly there are other, and even possibly more efficient ways to cut fabrics for hexies, but this way works well for me. Some quilters recommend using the squares without trimming the corners. I tried it that way, but went back to corner-trimming because I like not having the extra bulk toward the centers of each hexie. I'm especially glad I trimmed the corners on my Grandmother's Flower Garden hexie quilt, because it was that much less to stitch through in the hand-quilting process.

Sometimes, the fabric scraps are not strips, or would more effectively be cut as a chunk rather than strip. Basically it's the same process. I stack 6 different fabrics, aligning the top and right hand edges. From this stack, I cut a 4 x 6 inch block, and then cut that in half to make two 2 x 6 inch strips. I align the strips the same way as the 14" strips above, cross-cutting several at one time, and finish the same way as described above.

Fabric Cutting Guide for Different Sizes of Hexies

1/4" hexie  --- cut 1" squares
1/2" hexie  --- cut 1-1/2" squares
3/4" hexie  --- cut 2" squares
1" hexie ------ cut 2-1/2" squares
1-1/4" hexie - cut 3" squares
1-1/2" hexie - cut 3-1/2" squares
2" hexie ------ cut 4-1/2" squares
3" hexie ------ cut 6-1/2" squares
4" hexie ------ cut 8-1/2" squares
6" hexie ------ cut 12-1/2" squares

A very handy, and more complete cutting guide is available from Paper Pieces, which is where I get my pieces. Nope, I don't cut my own; too boring, and I really like the precision of die-cut paper pieces!

For a lot more helpful tips on making a hexie quilt, please see these posts:

Grandma's Flower Garden - 3/4 Inch Hexie Quilt - Time Study

Hand Quilting a Hexie Quilt

Hexie Quilt - Embroidery Quilting in Flower Centers

Hexie Quilt - Paper Pieces are GONE + Tips

Hexie Quilt - To Fix or Not to Fix

Hexie Quilt Top - Almost Finished

Hexies Galore - Grandma's Flower Garden

Grandma's Flower Garden Quilt - I'm Doin' It!

Bead Embroidery - How to Bead a Circle

A couple of members of the Bead Journal Project have recently commented, asking how to improve their skill at sewing beads in a circle.

The master at this technique is Amy Clarke Moore, former editor of Spin Off magazine and co-author with me of Beaded Embellishment. Here is one of her pieces.

At the time we were writing Beaded Embellishment, I was too busy doing my own style of bead embroidery with lots of surface texture to try Amy's technique. But I admire it greatly. In our book, she explains how she manipulates a photo (or drawing), prints it on paper, puts the paper on top of fabric, and beads directly onto the paper, following the shapes and colors of the print with her beads. She suggests starting the circle somewhere in a highlighted area, a place where she wants the viewer's attention to go. Then she builds circle after circle, selecting uniformly shaped beads (all size 15) in a color and finish that compliment the picture she is beading. Watching her work several times, I marveled at how many different size 15 beads she has and how carefully she selects each bead, especially mindful of the finish of the bead (shiny, matte, opaque, transparent, color lined) and the affect it will have on her "bead painting."

Here's a link to Amy's blog post where she tells how to get started, to make the design for an ornament such as "Little Star" shown below.

If I were going to make an entire bead painting using her method, I would probably try printing the picture on fabric, and beading as usual on the printed fabric with paper on the back as a stabilizer. Truth be known, I've always thought I might get bored beading a pre-printed picture, so I've never tried the technique on a full-sized piece.

However, it is a useful method for making beaded circles, and in my most recent piece, I more-or-less used Amy's method, following the sun-dyed print on the fabric to make the background world to my message. Here is the piece:

The title is "Message to Citizens of the World", and you can find out more about the meaning of it here. Basically it takes a look at voluntary population control as a means to save the earth and our species. Notice the background? It represents the world. It needed to be concentric circles. Here's how I did it.

First, I chose a point to be the center. Turning to the paper backing on my beadwork, and using a compass, I placed the anchor at my chosen center point, and drew concentric circles outward, spaced about 3/8 inches apart. Next, using a fine sewing thread in a color that shows up well on the front (fabric side), I basted a line of stitches along each circle. These stitches, visible on the front are my guide, the marks that help me keep the circle round. In the picture above, I've already started beading the circle, but you can see the pencil marks and stitches in the unbeaded areas.

Here's how it looks on the right side:

In this case, the circle started as a spiral. But next time, I'll begin with a single bead at the center point, and then start making rounds of circles around that single bead.

I use only back stitch and size 15 beads. When the circles are small (the first 2 - 4 rings out from the center), I stitch 4 beads at a time, back stitching through the last 2 beads. After the circle gets larger, I stitch 5 beads at a time, back stitching through the last 2.

Tips

1. When I get to an isolated area, as shown above, I bead along the stitched guide line first, then smooth the line by sewing back through the whole line of beads a couple of times. From there, I bead inward to meet the rough edges of the figure as closely as possible. This method keeps the circle round and the visual lines connected.
2. When the outside edge of the circle is not visible on the piece, it works best to start in the center and work outward. When the outside edge is visible, it is sometimes better to start at the outside edge and work inward (see below).
3.  Every 4 or 5 rounds, I stitch back through the entire round of beads to smooth it out.
4. Although I try to select against beads that are a little larger, fatter, smaller, or skinnier than average, or beads that have an irregular shape, I'm not very patient. Therefore, when you click to enlarge the picture, you can see a few gaps and/or larger beads. On the actual piece, which is only 2.5 inches wide, I don't notice these irregularities (thankfully).
5. This method will work with larger beads, size 11, and possibly size 10. But the detail will not be as great unless the finished piece is fairly large.
6. Sometimes a line of beads will seem a bit crowded, some of the beads popping up a bit, or slipping under other beads. When this happens, if it bothers me, I take out the lines of beads back to the problem, and re-stitch the line allowing more space for the beads. I've tried going back to couch down the beads which are popping up. Unfortunately, forcing beads down on the surface in one area, generally makes other beads pop up somewhere else. So my rule of thumb is to always be vigilant about not crowding the beads, allowing a little of the under fabric to show in places, allowing the sewing thread to show a bit. Nobody ever notices it when the piece is finished.

Here is a picture from my recently published book, The Complete Photo Guide to Beading. "Raven Moon" is one of the projects in the book (pages 188-191). In this case, I beaded the moon after finishing the raven, in order to make it appear that the raven is in front of the moon. Because I wanted the outside edge of the moon to be a sharp and accurate circle, I beaded the moon from the outside inward. Working in back stitch, trying to weed out oddly shaped beads, I first beaded the outside ring of beads in the places where it is visible. I stitched back through these beads several times, until the circle was smooth. Then I worked inward, ring by ring until the lines met and the moon was complete. If the inside rings aren't quite round, or don't quite match up from section to section, it doesn't matter, because the viewer's eye will always perceive the round shape as defined by the outside ring of beads.

In The Pink ~ Wireworking Tutorial

Maybe I'm back... Or, maybe I'm just avoiding the task of unpacking all the boxes...

Either way, as I put on my pink corduroy shirt this morning, the thought of making some new pink earrings propelled me into the studio. Yay... ignore the boxes and have some beady fun! As long as I was doing it, why not take a few pictures? OK, so here's a mini-tutorial about wire working.

This is how they look finished.

You need half/hard or full/hard wire for these, because they need to have some "spring" to them in order to be able to fasten the hook at the back. I used 20 ga., half/hard, gold-filled wire for this pair.

Cut two pieces of wire, each 4.5 inches long. File one end of each wire, so that the cut end is smooth. Use a small, round-nose pliers to make a small loop at the filed end of each wire.

Load the beads on the wire. Disc-shaped, lampwork beads work well for this style of earrings. I add a gold-plated snowflake spacer bead and a 2mm gold-filled, round bead on each side of the disc. After adding the beads, bend the wire upward at a 90 degree angle as shown in the picture. If the loop is turning the wrong way, grasp it in the jaws of a flat-nose pliers and twist to position it correctly (horizontal).

Use a felt-tip marker to make a mark on the wire 1.5 inches above the right angle bend. This mark will be at the center of the top of the earring.

Place a 3/8" or 1/4" dowel as a mandrel under the wire, centering the mark on the dowel. Bend the end of the wire downward, over the dowel, toward the loop at the back of the earring. Do this step slowly, checking your progress and making sure the bend is directly above the beads.

Cut the end of the wire about 1/8 inch below loop. File the cut end smooth, and slightly round the edges. Then I sand the tip of the wire with #400 (or finer) sandpaper, and polish it with a soft cloth to make it totally smooth.

Use round-nose pliers to round the tip upward a little, allowing it to hook into the loop for security.

These earrings are very comfortable to wear. Because of the hook at the back, you'll never cry over one lost earring!

Books - Write! Publish? Self-Publish? Rewards! - Part 5

Let’s talk about tips for writing beading (or other craft/art) books or magazine articles. Yes, I imagine there are some similarities to writing fiction or history or personal memoirs, enough so that those giving thought to writing any type of book may find useful points in this post. However, most of my experience is writing how-to books about beading, books giving instructions and inspiration to readers who want to do some type of beading themselves.

Finished manuscript! Ready to ship to publisher!

Writing is Teaching

I think there’s quite a difference between books designed to instruct and those designed to entertain. To write an instructional book, one must be a teacher. The very most important key to the success of my books is my teaching experience. Remember, I’d been teaching the methods and process of improvisational bead embroidery for 10 years before writing One Bead at a Time.

During those 10 years, I learned how to convey the techniques to students in ways they could grasp easily. I learned, by trial and error, how to draw the steps on a white board, and the exact words that work best to enable my students to learn the stitches easily. It didn’t come all at once. When students were confused or stuck, I’d try different words, different drawings, until finally something clicked.

By the time I wrote One Bead at a Time, most of my students “got it” pretty easily. I learned how to inspire them as well, how to enable them to delve into their inner creativity and let it come out, again learned by trial and error through working with hundreds of students. Ten years later, the book almost “wrote itself,” as I tapped into the drawings and words I used when teaching.

Photography Required

This is my lighting system, although I still like overcast, natural light best.

For this type of book, good photographs are necessary. As many of you know, photographing beadwork is NOT easy. Shiny, little beads, reflecting light! Depth of field issues, especially with textural and sculptural work! Here's a post I wrote previously on photographing beadwork. Even professionals are challenged by beadwork. A prospective author must decide whether they have the motivation to learn how to photograph their work. If not, they must either find a publisher with a photography department and budget, or they must have the means to hire it done.

Design Skills Helpful

A book must be “designed.” Everything about the first impression a book gives to a potential buyer is important - from the title, to the cover design, to the size of the book and type of binding, to the layout of the pages, even to the details like the fonts and paper quality. To design a book requires both technical skills and artistic sensibilities.

Prototypes (or mockups) of my books, ink-jet printer, for final proofing.

When self-publishing a book, taking on its design is quite a challenge. For me, it was exciting and fun! When working with a publisher, which employs professional designers, I miss being involved in the design process. However, I’ve also learned the hard way that it’s easy to make mistakes when doing it myself. Both of my major mistakes (not coating the cover of Nautical Highways and using dolls on the cover of Heart to Hands Bead Embroidery) have cost me many readers/buyers.

Market research, in a limited way, might be helpful. For example, I might have put several cover images on my blog and taken a popularity poll, or put the doll image up and asked what is this book about? If 7 out of 10 people had responded, “How to make a beaded doll,” I might not have used it on the cover, because doll-making is not the subject of the book.

Printing Your Book

There are numerous printers around the country that operate presses capable of printing books, fewer with the capability of printing in full color (CMYK on a four-color press). Some have in-house binding; some send the printed parts to a bindery. Publishers nowadays tend to contract with mega-printers located overseas to print their books. These are not available to or interested in the relatively small print runs of the self-publishing author.

To get my books printed, I researched printers on the internet. After talking with their sales reps, getting an idea of costs and determining my approximate budget, I asked several printers to give me a bid. Generally I asked for a bid on each of three different quantities. On thing I did not do (but should have) was to ask to talk with a professional on their staff who would coach me through the process, helping me to save money while still producing a high-quality book.

One of the sweetest things about working with a professional publisher is not having to deal with printing and binding your book.

Several fiction writers I know have turned to POD, print on demand, paying for their books only as needed. The cost per book is higher, but there’s no huge front-end payment required and no need to correctly estimate sales. However, most of PODs print electronically rather than with a press. And most of them do not deal with color, or if they do it’s very expensive. If I were to decide to self-publish another book, I would research PODs. However, I’m guessing I’d stick with an old-fashioned, 4-color press.

And don’t forget printers like Kinko’s. They’ve been a great solution for printing small runs of small, pamphlet-type books, such as Rosie, the Uncaged Hen. I can print 100 or more copies at a fairly reasonable cost per book.  This solution works well for books that have less than 20 pages. The quality? It’s not as high as books printed on a 4-color press, but not bad either.

Between Printing and the Customer

In addition to marketing, which I’ll discuss next, there’s binding, shipping and storage. The pages are printed on large sheets, 8-up, 16-up, or some other quantity of pages per sheet. These sheets are cut apart and collated by the printer or bindery. The pages and cover are then bound together. There are many binding options, the most common of which are: perfect, case and spiral. The number of pages in the book, your budget, the desired longevity of the book, and the reader’s preference should be taken into account when making a decision about the type of binding.

Once the books are bound, they are boxed and sent to your desired location. For me, it was our house. When the first printing of my first book arrived, I was shocked! So many boxes! Where to put them? Ah yes, storage. I thought about renting a climate-controlled storage unit, but didn’t want to have to go there every time I needed to ship books to customers.

At first I stored them in my studio. Every nook, every closet, under every table… boxes of books everywhere. Finally, by the time I had six of my self-published books in active distribution and the 7^th on its way, I knew we couldn’t live among the boxes any more. So we built a climate-controlled book shed, a small storage unit attached to our studio building, where the boxes are now out of our way, yet still accessible.

Marketing, Everybody’s Bugaboo

With self-publishing, much more than as an author on contract with a professional publisher, marketing is a challenge that’s easy to overlook in the excitement of writing, photographing, designing and printing a book. There’s nothing satisfying about storing hundreds of boxes of books for years and years; nothing at all satisfying about not selling enough books to pay even the expenses of printing and binding them, let alone your other expenses or earning a little profit from your labors.

For me, marketing is always the most difficult and least fun part of being an author. I’ve never enjoyed selling, which is why I never really wanted to sell my beadwork, even to become a gallery artist. Selling my books is no different. I do what I can: take them with me when I teach, make them available through my website, and offer them at a ridiculously low price to the nation-wide wholesale distributor for bead shops.

Some authors, such as Margie Deeb, are lots more active in the sales process. One of the best is Cat Bordi, who writes knitting books. It’s just not me. Therefore, I sell less books than would probably be possible if I were more pro-active.

Selling on Amazon.com

Selling self-published books on Amazon is not as easy as you might think. I’ve not tried it with my beading books. I probably should, because it’s so convenient and such a common way for people all over the world to buy books. We did try it with Nautical Highways, the book my husband and I produced.

There are several ways to sell books through Amazon. One is to list books, pay a commission and take care of the fulfillment, shipping the books yourself. We wanted to set it up so the books appeared like any other new book on Amazon and the orders would be shipped from and by Amazon. This requires joining Amazon’s “Advantage Program.”  Our experience with it wasn't very good; in fact, it cost us more to make the book available through Amazon than we earned in book sales. Not a good bottom line; so we quit. Maybe I’d do better with my beading books; maybe I should try.

Passion, passion, passion!

Who should write a book?  Well, if you’re passionate about something and want to share your passion, it’s very satisfying to put it into book form. It feels good doing it whether you’re self-publishing or not. To see and hold your passion in your hands, in the form of a freshly printed book, is like giving birth to a beautiful baby!

Can you do it on passion alone? That would be rare. If you don’t have sub-passions for teaching, photography, book design, learning about printing and/or marketing, it’s probably wise to find a traditional publisher with interest in your ideas. Perhaps begin by writing magazine articles. Practice by writing tutorials on a blog. A publisher will be far more interested in you and your book idea if you can demonstrate that you have experience writing this type of material. Contact authors in your field and ask them for assistance, perhaps for a referral to their editor/publisher.

The Money Part – Costs

When an author works with a traditional publisher, there are only minor out-of-pocket expenses. Self-publishing is a different story. Depending on how much of the work is hired out, it could cost many thousands of dollars.

Printing will be the biggest expense. Color printing a book such as Beaded Treasures will cost $5-7 per book, depending on the quantity, size and number of pages. Thus, printing 2,000 copies will cost you upwards of $12,000. If you also hire a designer, consultant, photographer, and/or editor, their services might add another $500- $5,000 to your budget. Each of the printings for my books used up all my available savings. It took a year or more of sales to build my savings back up again.

The Money Part – Earnings

Whoooeee, this is a big topic with many, many variables. To put it in its most simple terms, I’ll just tell you that writing each of my books required a concentrated chunk of time: 1-8 months, working 6-14 hours per day, 7 days a week to produce the book, get it print-ready. After that, there’s additional marketing time, of course.

In direct sales (retail and wholesale) of my self-published books, I’ve probably sold about 10,000 books, making an average profit of $2 per book after all expenses are paid. So, in about 11 years, my profit is roughly $20,000.  I’m estimating an average of 700 hours of work for each of my 7 books, or a total of 4,900 hours, which makes my earnings about $4.00 per hour. Ha! I never worked that out before. Interesting! Not much of a wage, is it? But for a labor of passion, I consider myself relatively well rewarded financially.

In traditional publishing, the author is either paid in royalties (a percentage of each book sold) or by flat fee. I estimate spending 2,000 – 2,200 hours writing, making samples, photographing, photo-editing, and copy-editing my current book, The Complete Photo Guide to Beading. Oddly enough, my “hourly wage” will be the same as for my self-published book, about $4 per hour.

I guess we can safely say that artists who write books about beading won’t be getting rich quick.

Other Rewards

Oh well, money isn’t everything. The greatest, absolutely the best, reward for me is/was the process of doing it. Exciting and fun, it’s a highly creative, stimulating, challenging way to spend my time! I love the whole process, from the conception of the idea to holding the book in my hands. Even the dreaded marketing can sometimes be interesting.

Another reward is knowing that I’ve been able to share my passions with many more people than I possibly could by teaching. Readers often tell me that working with one of my books is like taking a workshop from me, like I’m there in the room with them, helping them. That’s so gratifying to hear… a fabulous reward!

And finally, there’s the notion of legacy, of leaving something of me in the world after I’m gone. I didn’t have that thought in the year 2000, when I self-published my first book, One Bead at a Time. But now that I’m almost 70, the happy thought enters my mind that some of the books I’ve written will survive me to teach and inspire people when I'm not here anymore.

Conclusion

Maybe this series of posts will help you to decide if you want to write a book or not; maybe it will give you a few ideas about how to do it. There are some great how-to books that might help too. One that I used is Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual.

Read, ask other authors, talk it over with important people in your life… for a little while! Then get busy and start writing! All starting points are equally valid. Start with what you know best, no matter where it will eventually be placed in the book. Start with your greatest area of passion. Just do it!

Wishing you a lovely journey….

Part 1 ~ Getting Started

Part 2 ~ A Dream Come True

Part 3 ~ Return to Self Publishing

Part 4 ~ Preparing a Book for Traditional Publishing

Part 5 ~ Book Writing Tips and Conclusions

What Goes With This? The Personality Factor!

The most common question
I'm asked when teaching is,
"What goes with this?"
or
"Which of these beads goes better
with this fabric?"

Don't we all want to know what goes with what? Yep, I think we do. So sit back and play with some fabrics with me. Be prepared, it's a long post (with a lot of pictures), hopefully worth your time!

This is a God's Eye quilt made by Kitty Sorgen. Using many little scraps and left over strips of fabric, it carries wonderful memories and invites a warm cuddle. Kitty says the idea comes from the Huichol people of Mexico, who wind yarn around crossed sticks making ornaments which they believe will protect their children. (Here's great a blog post about making beaded, yarn God's Eye ornaments.) Below is a detail of a few of the blocks in Kitty's quilt.


What I love most about Kitty's quilts is the way she puts a little of this with a little of that in such a pleasing way. So, when she offered to teach her God's Eye quilt to our Guild, I instantly registered for the class, not because the technique is difficult (it isn't), but because I wanted to learn everything I could from Kitty about what goes with what! Some of what follows are lessons I learned from Kitty; some are principles I've known for a long time; some are ideas which came to me while making 100 blocks (enough for two large lap quilts) in the past three weeks.

Let's look at a few of these blocks...











Do you see how each block is a little mini-quilt all by itself? We can look at each one and ask two fundamental questions of design: "What gives it unity and what gives it interest?"

Unity. How do we achieve unity and/or harmony when putting different fabrics together? The surest way is to keep certain things constant. For example:

-type of fabric (ie. all batiks, all quilting cottons, etc.)
-color (ie. single or analogous color schemes)
-scale of patterns printed on fabrics
-subject or theme of patterns printed on fabrics
-value (lightness/darkness as measured on a greyscale)
-one consistent element (ie. black center in each block)

Variety. How do we achieve interest, variety or sparkle when putting different fabrics together? It's easy because there are so many different types, colors, patterns and styles of fabric. One could even put a block together that's basically all the same color, yet achieve interest by changing the scale of the prints. Below is a mostly red block, the varioius scales providing ample variety to make it interesting.


Balance. The important point when combining fabrics is this: There must be a pleasing balance between variety and unity. Too much unity and the work will be boring. Too much variety and it will seem chaotic and unsettling.

To play with and learn more about this concept, look at a few of your older works of art, ones you haven't looked at for a while (quilts, jewelry, bead journal projects... whatever). Ask yourself, "What gives this variety? What gives it unity? Am I bored looking at it? Does it make me feel uneasy? Is there a pleasing balance between unity and variety?" Honest answers help us fine-tune our sense of balance for future projects.

Back to God's Eye quilt blocks, the most fun aspect of balance is considering the personality of the fabrics. Think about it! Some fabrics are gentle and sweet, some are bold, some ultra-modern, some very old-fashioned, some sing along harmoniously, some are a bit off-key.

We could conceivably put very different colors and scales of prints together and still have balance if all the fabrics have similar personalities. Below is a good example.

All four fabrics are "forest girls," reminding us of things natural and organic... earth, water and plants. Although one fabric is a batik, one a woven stripe, one a plain tone-on-tone and one a quilting print, together they tell a nice little story, united by their common personality traits.

For me, the personality factor overrides all other considerations to the point where I use it almost exclusively in answering the question, "What goes with what?"

For my God's Eye blocks, I think of each fabric as a girl living in a college dormitory. Most importantly, she must get along with the other girls in her room, while also sharing slight commonality with all the other girls in the dorm. If the girls in one room are too much the same, they won't learn and grow from or be stimulated by each other. If they have nothing in common, they'll have problems getting along together.

Below, for example, are the beginnings of 7 blocks. I've selected one girl for each room and a roommate to go with her. I've sewn two sides and am beginning to see how well they get along together (click to enlarge if you like).


Here they are again, now with three sides sewn and a clearer idea of their developing friendships.


I like to think about their field of study. For example, at the top left, we have a philosophy major and a math major, both interested in solving problems. Just below (second from left in the second row) we have a boisterous theatre major rooming with a shy gal who studies geology. As opposites, they might be good influences on one another, but they may need a bridge, someone with interests in both their fields, to join them.

When all four sides are sewn, it's time to audition fabric strips for the third roommate! I pre-cut strips from my stash, using scrap fabrics from my bead journal project pieces from the past three years, most of the quilts I've made, several dance costumes made long ago and fabrics I've bought for spirit dolls, heart pins and other beading projects over the years. Here's a stack of strips.


And here's how they look spread out on the table ready to be auditioned.



Above you can see the first two of our gals have narrowed the field to four possibilities for their new roommate. They like the calming influence of Ms Earth Sciences (green) and Ms Horticulture (brown batik). Ms Math major has interests in common with Ms. Computer Programing (grey with red grid), but is concerned that she'll study into the wee hours of the night. Both think Ms. Art is fun, but worry that she might be too messy in the long run. Which do they choose?


As you can see above, they chose Ms Horticulture! And now the three of them are auditioning for their fourth and final roommate. Clockwise, from the top, we have Ms Botany, Ms. Environmental Studies, Ms. Entomology and Ms. Asian Studies. Right away, they realize they don't have enough in common with either the right or left possibilities and the choice is narrowed. Although either the top or bottom choice would probably be satisfactory, they pick Ms. Entomology because she has lots of energy, yet is fairly quiet. Below you can see how they look together.


Kitty likes to talk about the group as a choir, asking if there is a soloist, a duet or if we have a chorus of many voices singing in harmony. Take a look at this next set of auditions and see what choir situation comes to mind.




Another way to look at personalities is to think about conversations at a dinner table. One person (the first strips around the black center) talks to the second ring of strips; then a third ring joins them. How does the conversation change? Is one dominating the conversation? Is the conversation interesting? What do they need from the new (fourth ring) participant, a calming influence perhaps, a little sparkle of humor, a brighter point of view? Let's look at another set of auditions below with personality choices based on imagined conversations between the fabrics.


What conversations are happening above? What does each fabric choice contribute to the already flowing conversation between the first two fabrics? I chose the wide stripes because a little orderly reasoning seemed to compliment the more light-hearted chatting between the first two fabrics and the multi-colors complimented the floral fabric.

Below are the audition strips for the next fabric followed by the four possibilities I thought might join well in the conversation.



What happens with each of the four possibilities for the final conversationalist in the group? How does the conversation change depending on which is selected? Below you can see which one I thought would fit best into the already lively conversation. She's a good listener, don't you think?


Just for fun, I'll show you a couple of other auditions. You can look at them as conversations, roommates, a choir or in any way that identifies the personality of each fabric. Try to pick the one you think will work best and then scroll down to see if your choice matches mine.




And, two more....








Sometimes the auditioning goes very easily, intuition providing an instant decision, a choice that instinctively feels right. At other times, the process is very sticky, nothing seeming to fit. Below is a choice like that.


The first row of strips is very dark, a Hungarian resist-dyed fabric with a dark indigo background and simple paisley design. The second row is high contrast, a light blue-grey batik. That they are both hand-dyed and both have dot patterns binds them together. What do each of the four possible new fabrics, above, have in common with these two?


Narrowing it down the two above, I still couldn't decide. So I spread each of them around two sides of the block to get a better idea. The pink polka dot fabric seems cheerful and echoes the pink dots of the paisley in the first fabric. The ducks are more subdued yet add a nice sense of flow that compliments both the paisley and the colors of the second batik.


Sometimes I need to squint at my fabrics to see how the lightness and darkness (value) of them plays out. Removing all color from the picture, you can see that the pink fabric isn't as high a value as you might think from its bright personality, reading as a medium-value fabric.

Deciding the pink was too much sparkle, too dominating, I eliminated it from the running and re-auditioned the fabric printed to look like ikat along with the still-in-the-running duck fabric.


And just for kicks, here's how they look through squinty eyes.


Which would you choose? Probably either would look fine. However, I decided the ducks provided a necessary link between dark and light, while also adding flow. Below you can see how it looks along with the four possibilities for the final set of strips.


This choice wasn't quite so difficult. Although I think the purple-rose fabric with little rings of dots has circles in common with the first two fabrics, it seems too sweet, two romantic to be comfortable with them. The teal plaid would have been OK, except it seems too sombre with the other two dark fabrics. The light purple talks with the color of the duck's breast, but again seems too sweet, too much of an air-head. Stars, light and fun, lifting the spirits of the dark girls, has to be the one! Here's how it looks, finished...



* * * * *
OK, enough about blocks! Now that the roommates are all chosen, we're heading toward the more challenging decisions involving the whole dormitory. Which groups of roommates will be good neighbors?

I'm working on it! Below is a first run assignment sheet for one of my quilts. I plan to look at it pinned on my design wall for several days, checking for rearrangement possibilities.


As with individual blocks, it helps to squint at it (and/or look at it through a magnifying glass) to see where the lightest and darkest values are and if they are balanced. Below is the same picture in black and white. Do you think it's balanced yet?


And below is a possible arrangement of the second group of blocks. Again, it's an on-going process, one that requires a little time and patience.



* * * * * *
Sewing these blocks makes me totally happy... I LOVE it! I love cutting the strips and using fabrics and scraps I've had for many years, even decades. I love seeing how, with the addition of each side, the band of fabric around the center closes and joins in the statement of the block. I love auditioning!!!! And I'm loving the process of deciding how the blocks will fit together.

Guess what? I still have more cut strips, enough for one, possibly two, more of these quilts! Since I'm not at all bored with making the blocks, I see another 100 more of them in the near future.

Beads? Yes! I still bead. Working on these blocks has so inspired and invigorated me that I'm back to beading! I'm almost finished with my January Bead Journal Project piece and will post it soon... and you'll see something about it that won't surprise you at all!