with Rob Appell
Every quilter has their kryptonite. That one skill that, despite repeated practice, just never seems to gel. Me? My weak spot has always been paper piecing. Luckily, my good friend Violet Craft is basically the paper-piecing queen of the universe, and she agreed to join me in the studio for some easy-to-follow paper-piecing instruction.
Join me as I conquer my fear of paper piecing, and together we’ll learn how to make something awesome! Click on the button below to watch the tutorial!
Rob’s kiddos, Brayden and Ruby, joined him for his most recent trip to Hamilton, MO to film a new set of tutorials and fun was a blast! Check out the Facebook Live Video they did on set HERE.
Ruby worked hard for weeks leading up to the trip getting a couple of projects ready to film tutorials with her dad. She’s a natural on camera! Brayden loves making videos himself, so he had a blast checking out all of the equipment and helping to run one of the cameras. Keep an eye out for the new tutorials on Man Sewing soon (You can subscribe to the Man Sewing YouTube Channel HERE to make sure you don’t miss them)!
Brayden even made his own video recapping the Appell Family Trip to Hamilton. How cool is that? He’s got some serious video making skills (We just might have ourselves a new tutorial making team)!
We hope to make this trip as a family again sometime, it was so much fun!
Last month we took some much needed family time and traveled to Bass Lake, California. This is a special spot for the Appell Family. My parents started taking me and a few buddies to Bass Lake every summer for a few weeks as teenagers. Most of us have kept the tradition alive by bringing our own families to Bass Lake. My kids started at 6 weeks old. We use it as a time for relaxing, camping, boating, swimming and enjoying the lake.
This year we had some big accomplishments. Here’s my daughter Ruby, who likes to go really fast on the tube, all by herself.
My son Brayden has learned to pop up and ride a wake board.
I can even still get a bit of air!
My wife was on the mend from surgery, so luckily I don’t have to post the usual photos of her showing us up… just her being cute and eating watermelon this time.
It was such a fun family trip and it brought back so many memories of my younger days. I’m glad I’m able to give my kids memories at Bass Lake as well! What vacation spots are nostalgic for you? Let me know what they are in the comments!
P.S. – So I made it all the way to the lake for the family camp without my propane line for my stove. I am in charge of all the meals, so I quickly converted my BBQ into a range. I can now say I’ve BBQ’d eggs, pancakes, and refried beans (and they weren’t too bad)!
There are no words to describe the Outdoor Quilt Show in Sisters, Oregon each year. There are so many amazing artists and one of a kind quilts wherever you look and it’s just a great all around experience. If you haven’t been before, I’d highly recommend adding it to your bucket list!
Check out these photos from the 2016 Sisters, Oregon Outdoor Quilt Show back in July. I bet they’ll make you want to make the trip next year!
I’m always so thrilled to be able to hang my quilts up in this show among so many other amazing quilts and artists. Pictured with me here is my “And the Flag Was Still There” Quilt and my “Coming Home” Quilt. You can watch my tutorial for the Coming Home Quilt HERE.
Have you ever been to the Sisters, Oregon Outdoor Quilt Show? Are you adding it to your bucket list now? Leave a comment and let me know!
It doesn’t get much better than the views in Alaska, quilting, and a cruise! My recent Guys and Glaciers Quilting Cruise was a BLAST and I’m excited to share a bit of it with you (although this short recap won’t even begin to give it the justice it deserves).
I packed up all my supplies for teaching and my wife and I began our drive early in the morning. You just can’t beat more sight seeing along the way, can you?
We got to stop by the tap room that my friend Violet Craft and her husband own. She even let me tag the fridge with a Man Sewing Sticker! How cool is that?? You can check out the Christmas Tree Skirt Tutorial that Violet and I did together HERE.
It was such a good time cruising, quilting and teaching with some other awesome man sewers including Joe Cunningham, John Flynn and Luke Haynes. Best of all, the cruise helped raise money for the International Quilt Study Center & Museum (IQSCM) in Lincoln, Nebraska.
And I tell ya, there’s just nothing like having the entire Alaskan landscape as your sewing studio and your beautiful wife by your side for the week!
Check out a list of upcoming Man Sewing Events HERE. I hope to see you at one of them!
How’s your quilt batting IQ? Can you comfortably navigate the world of natural fiber, synthetic fiber, high loft, medium loft, and blend? (Did you know there’s even batting made out of recycled water bottles! We’ve got choices coming out of our ears!)
With so many varieties available, how do you go about selecting the right batting for a quilt? Not to worry! We’ve got you covered! In today’s new tutorial, Quilt Batting Boot Camp, Rob will lay it all out in a quick, easy-to-understand format so you can choose your batting with confidence. Click on the button below to watch the tutorial. You’re about to become a batting genius!
Stretching from the bottom of Oregon all the way past San Francisco, a 500 mile long forest of ancient redwoods towers above the Big Sur Coast. These ancient giants can grow to be 350 feet tall with a diameter of over 20 feet!
Recently, Rob and his 12-year-old son spent some time backpacking through this remarkable forest, and they came back with some serious quilting inspiration! (What a awesome way to hold on to the memory of a trip like that!)
And so the Sherwood Quilt was born! This is a new pattern for Rob and he is walking you through the entire process! So, check out the tutorial!
If you’ve been following along, you may have noticed that I like to approach quilting my own way. There’s no perfect method because every quilter thinks differently and prefers a unique approach that suits him or her best. This is definitely true for Free Motion Quilting! It’s supposed to be “free”-ing to do it your own way, but I can see how that might be difficult to tackle when you’re used to doing quilt piecing, which usually requires exact measurement and math.
So, if you’ve been hesitant to try it out for yourself, we’ve decided to offer a little bit of motivation… and is there better motivation than free stuff? Maybe, but this is the way we’re going!
Here’s what you have to do for a chance to win one of my new ‘High Voltage’ Thread Packs. This collection contains 12 large spools of my favorite shades of high-quality thread. (A $130 value!)
Good luck! We can’t wait to see your FMQ attempts! Let the FMQ Mania begin! We will pick a winner on Wednesday, August 3rd!
I was out meandering in Sisters, Oregon last week and I happened upon a deer eating breakfast. I tried to get a photo without disturbing her, so this is the best I could do. 🙂
It was one of those moments where you just have to stop and appreciate life… and you can’t help but feel like it’s going to be a good day. That’s what Open Meandering in Free Motion Quilting is all about. It just makes you feel better about life! Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but it definitely adds some major options and possibilities to your free motion quilting tool belt!
Click on the button to watch the tutorial and then try it out for yourself! You can do it!
I don’t know if it applies to you, but there’s this acronym in the quilting world, UFO. Heard of it? Well today’s tutorial will show you a unique way to finally put your unfinished quilts to good use! With special guest Violet Craft, learn how to make a tree skirt from an unfinished quilt!
Click on the button to watch the tutorial and learn how to make your own tree skirt!