- Today, learn a new innovative way to use the 30 degree angle on your ruler, a la the Seminole technique.

This is a cut and stitch alternate method to develop a series of mountain ranges or even beach scenes.

Then we step behind the scenes at the Land's End quilt contest, just who will be the winner?

♪ Could you imagine a more clever object ♪ ♪ Warms the body, ignites the mind ♪ ♪ A child sleeps under mother's creation ♪ ♪ Together forever ♪ ♪ The art of the heart and design of the mind ♪ ♪ Puts you to bed one day at a time ♪ ♪ The art of the heart and design of the mind ♪ - [Narrator] Lap quilting with Georgia Bonesteel is made possible in part by grants from Leisure Arts, publisher and distributor of needlework and craft publications, including an assortment of quilt books and related products by VIP Fabrics, a division of Cranston Print Works Company, America's oldest textile printer.

Additional funding by Omnigrid, the original patented black and yellow ruler, and by Bernina, delivering sewing technology and education to sewers worldwide.

- Maybe it's living in the mountains of North Carolina that has inspired all this blue and green.

If you go back in history with us, it started with a simple moon over the mountain block, then went to stars over the Smokies.

I tried combining strip picture piecing with flexor curving.

And before I knew it, I was doing just all curves, like in this little pillow or even the picture frames.

Well, the latest is Seminole skies, to the drafting board.

Into every quilter's life, templates must fall.

And this is a very easy project once you make four templates.

Now, we can make this wall hanging in three different sizes.

We're only gonna deal with one today, but let me show you.

There is a small Seminole sky, There's a large Seminole sky.

This one is made by Mary Harold from Florida.

And then there's a medium.

We will be dealing with the medium.

And of course, each wall hanging has its own size of templates, but they each use four.

And I'm gonna review those angles with you for just a minute.

Our rulers today have the built in angles, the 30, the 45 and the 60.

We all know a 90 degree angle, just a right angle.

And we know that by putting a finger on the 45, we see two lines going through.

If that line corresponds to our grid, a straight line, and then we use the edge of the ruler, we will always have a 45 degree angle.

Let's go to our 60.

Doing the same thing, lining that up with the straight line, we have a 60 degree angle.

Today, we're using a 30 degree, so find that straight line, holding onto that, and we get what is known as an acute angle.

All of these are acute angles.

Now, I wanna give you a few hints in making the initial angle moves.

And what happens here is that you will take your grid paper, and I would either use a freezer paper that you have established some crosswise and stray of the grain lines, or just use the gridded freezer paper.

These become your iron on templates, and they can be reused many times.

You will want to find your 30 degree, line it up with a grid, and then draw a line that's 14.5 inches long.

Just draw a line, move that around until you come to an obtuse angle at that 14.5 inch mark.

And line up your line, your 30 degree line again, and this time draw a 9.5 inch mark.

Come over here, and I'd like to relate all of those measurements to you for each of the templates.

You start out with number three.

And one side is 14.5 and one is 9.5.

Complete that parallelogram with another 14.5 and 9.5 inch, each time using your 30 degree angle.

I simply continue drawing that line.

And now you're going to have for your zero template an 11.5 by 9.75.

The S at the top of each one of these refers to stitch.

That's the edge that you will stitch the sky and the mountain together.

Number two, eight inches by 9.5.

Number one is 8.5 by 10.5.

And once again, note your Ss on all of these.

If you've got those measurements down, you are almost ready.

Now, there are some other measurements that I'd like you to note because these are what we call the accent strips.

Notice that each mountain fabric, and there are four different mountain fabrics, now, here, they're very close in value, but I think you can see them.

Each one has a different set of what we call accent strips, and they get smaller as they go away, don't they?

This is the larger one, and I refer to that as the A cut.

You cut that an inch and 1/2 by 33, then your B cut is an inch and 1/4 by 25, and your C cut is just an inch by 16.

Now, those measurements are all for your medium.

All right, you've got those measurements down, and that is the key, but we're missing one big ingredient, and that is the fabric.

Here's where I suggest you to dive into those banana boxes.

I liked what Ursula Kern from Switzerland did.

And just sort out all your fabrics, come out with four mountain fabrics.

I don't like all my shades exactly the same, so vary a little bit.

And you might even put some purple mountain majesty in there.

If you're working in a group situation, and it works very well when four people work together because you end up exchanging mountains and end up with a scrap quilt, then kind of coordinate so all of your greens aren't the same either.

You will want 2/3 yard each of your mountain fabric.

Then you're going to have a sky fabric, something modeled or maybe even a midnight sky.

You will need two yards of that.

And of course, you have your mountain accent, the little strips, you have those all noted.

Now you're ready to cut out your mountain and sky fabrics, cut your templates apart, and I have pressed these on the mountain fabric with the right side going up.

So you're pressing it on the right side of the fabric.

Make certain that your templates are aligned with the grid so that the grid is parallel to the selvage of your fabric.

Once those have been cut out, and I just label each one of my sets, I'll have four sets, that zero through three, then I repress those on the sky fabric.

You will need four sky fabrics, four of each one of these.

Once that's been done, then I need to think about those little accent strips.

Those measurements that I've given you have the seam allowance included.

And to give you a better understanding of that, remember number three has three accent strips.

Number two, which would be right here, that will have a mountain and a sky.

But the accent strips in between will be two.

And then number one has one mountain strip, accent strip, and then the zero doesn't have any.

So that gives you a clearer understanding.

Once you get those all cut, so you don't get them mixed up, I go ahead and, for instance, here's my coral mountain, and I just pin a piece of fabric to the end of that one.

I know that these are my mountain strips for that one.

And I'd like to give you a hint for once you line those up, go ahead and put your ruler on here and line up that 60 degree right here so that these are all even at the end here, and then you can just cut that out right like that so that these are then ready to be stacked here and here and sewn together.

You wanna keep that nice angle here.

So you've got that 30 degree here that allows you to stitch this onto your mountain with your sky up above.

Give me a few minutes, I'll get one set done and you can see what your homework is.

Your next step is to sew the sky and the mountains together.

And of course in between, you'll have your accent strips.

Let's review a little bit.

I've already gotten one set put together.

So I have three accent strips going with number three.

I have two going with number two.

And then just one accent strip with number one.

And of course, zero is just sky and mountain put together.

That one's a piece of cake.

So why not start with that one?

I've already sewn two together, and I wanted to pin and peek once for you so you'll understand that there is that dog ear that eeks out at each end.

So pin it, and you'll see it at the other end also, do you see there?

Pin it and open it up, and make sure that you've got that nice straight edge.

So then you're ready to sew.

You might put some spray sizing on your fabric when you initially pre-wash and press it because that does stabilize the fabric.

All right, then we're ready to go to number three.

Of course, you've sewn all those accent strips together.

Get that good angle, 60 degree cut here at the beginning.

And you'll notice that they are irregular lengths.

One is longer than the next.

And you'll understand that in just a minute.

We're getting ready to put those together.

And another tip that I've done here is to go ahead and pin on the accent strips themself because as I'm sewing, and now we're ready to do our stitching, by now I know you're real good at that 1/4 inch seam allowance.

All right, you're ready to start your stitching.

And as you're doing this, you'll like the stray of the grain on top, and that bias edge is just locked underneath, and I think that helps to anchor it as you're going all the way down.

Now, I know you're thinking this is a pretty challenging project, but the way I look at it is that life's pretty much a challenge, so why not just dive right in?

And I think it's gonna be well worth the results if you'll just hang in there with me.

Okay, go ahead and stitch the other side.

And I have one done, so I'm gonna just jump right onto that.

It's at this point that you're gonna do your pressing.

Notice how I press on the backside first, and I will direct those closed seams toward the sky.

Now, this is my number three.

I usually turn it over and press again, keeping my iron going with the grain line.

Do you see how that's going?

And then I get rid of any lip or overhang.

Now, this particular number three on all of them, I will direct toward the sky.

Then, I alternate.

Number two, I'll press towards the mountain, and I'm gonna show you right here so you can get a good idea.

Here's my number three.

And do you see how they are pressed towards the sky?

Then just alternate.

The next one, press towards the mountain.

And then number one, I will press towards the sky again.

And that zero one simply goes back down towards the mountain.

So then I'm ready to come and place this down.

And with my ruler and my rotary cutter, I'm then going to trim, notice how these line up so nicely?

I'm going to trim that excess.

With that trimmed, I see that now I have a number two, and the extra, oh, remember that was my code that this goes with this one, so I'll just get rid of that.

Now, you might have to pull off a little bit.

I gave you an extra insurance there, a little bit extra.

So get rid of that, and then you'll notice as I put this number three back over here that then I'm ready to come and remember where this goes.

Okay, I'm going to find my brown mountain.

This will go with the aqua, and then I'm ready to put a sky together.

Once that is sewn together, I'll do that same trimming, and then this aqua will end up going with my brown and the sky again.

So there is a system, and what you're doing is developing the four mountain ranges with accents in between.

Let's review that a minute so you'll understand what I hope you'll come with to the TV screen next week.

You'll have your threes, your twos and your one, and then your zero.

And you begin to see how with our cuts, you will begin to make each set, will have four of the same mountains.

And at that point, we'll just carry on.

This is what you're gonna be looking for, that you will have your sky, I'm doing a midnight sky here, and your mountains.

And I have a mailbag question that I think will pertain to our project today.

The question is how do I know whether to cut on the crosswise or the lengthwise of fabric and patchwork?

Most of your books today do accommodate all the quick piecing with crosswise cuts, and they usually plan on a 42 inch wide fabric to allow for the the shrinkage for a 45.

And we all know, however, that it's the stray of the grain that runs parallel with the salvage that is more taut.

It's the crosswise that has the excess give.

And I would always cut for log cabins or Bargello or things that have a lot of long length, I would probably go ahead and cut on the stray of the grain.

And especially borders, when you're sewing on wide borders, try to use that stray of the grain.

It's all right even to have the diagonal piecing in those borders.

And then for just your small patchwork, it's all right to have it on the crosswise.

Ribbons, an important part of many quilt makers' lives.

This year, Good housekeeping and Coming Home, the bed and bath division of Land's End conducted the All American Quilt Contest, capturing stories behind quilts of today.

So come along to Dodgeville, Wisconsin, the home of Land's End, as we judged quilts from all 50 states and the District of Columbia for two days.

The contest had the theme If Quilts Could Talk.

Now, like most quilt contests, the quilts were judged on design, color, quilting technique and craftsmanship.

I was really impressed by all the work that was done behind the scenes in preparation for judging, just keeping each state separate and in order took time and energy.

Now meet Rob Hayes.

Tell us, Rob, how did this start and when did it start and why?

- Well, the whole thing started about 1992, and one of the reasons why we started the quilt contest was really to celebrate handcrafted textiles that are made in the U.S. And as you know, we really take great pride in the fact that a lot of our products in our catalog are still made using hand sewing techniques, rather than the automated equipment that's prevalent today.

So it was really a way for us to celebrate again the workmanship of Americans in terms of home textile products.

- [Georgia] And just from the questions that the wonderful staff has been helping us, they always wanna know what is the feel for the future in quilting?

What are the new colors and what are the styles?

So it gives you a better idea on how to design for bedrooms, right?

- Right, it really helps us in terms of what the quilters are using, in terms of their ideas as far as the colors that they might be using in the quilt or the sewing techniques they might be using as it relates to what we can put into some of our other products that we have to offer in the catalog.

- [Georgia] For two days, I joined four other judges as we evaluated these quilts.

Let me introduce them.

It is a pleasure today to introduce the judges for the Land's End Quilt Event.

First we have Dick Anderson, who is vice chairman of the Land's End Board of Directors and former CEO and president of Land's End.

Dick is a quilt enthusiast and continues to add to his own private collection of folk art quilts, and has a particular interest in textiles.

He resides in Vermont.

Next, we have Karen O'Dowd, international editor of Quilters Newsletter magazine and Quilt Maker magazine.

You might remember Karen as being the editorial director of Lady's Circle Patchwork Quilts, and at one time owner of a very well known quilt shop, Things Americana.

Karen is the ambassador for Lehman Publications all over the world, and lives in Golden, Colorado.

Next, we have Laurel Horton.

She's a folklorist and a quilt researcher, writer and lecturer, has also been a previous guest on the "Lap Quilting" Show, and she has been president of the American Quilt Study Group since 1993.

We look forward to talking to you in a few minutes, Laurel.

Then we have Maya McMillan, who is the photo editor of Good Housekeeping Magazine, comes to us from New York City, and she's also been involved with Red Book magazine, and is here to give the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on all the quilts.

We picked a state winner, five judges' choices and three top overall winners.

The first prize received $10,000, second, $3,000 and third, $2,000.

There was also a category for the most representative of the theme If Quilts Could Talk.

We were impressed, by the children's entries and so were Land's End.

This is a reflection on the teaching staff at each respective school.

They value the art-cloth interaction with such visual results.

So often, children can simplify design and respond to color with such excitement.

Then our real work began.

It was not an easy decision.

We tried to consider each of our guidelines, but certain quilts did have a personal appeal to each of the judges.

- [Participant] In defense of this choice.

- [Georgia] I spoke with Maya McMillan and Laurel Horton.

This was Maya's first quilt contest to judge.

I asked her if she had learned from this experience.

- Well, I certainly didn't walk in an expert, but I feel like I'm walking out one.

I really, I learned a tremendous amount from other judges, and just from the constant looking and seeing the same theme done by many different people, handled many different ways.

And yeah, my eye has really been educated by this, and I've enjoyed the process immensely.

- [Georgia] And perhaps as a photo editor, now, you look at these quilts in a certain way, or, I mean, is it always through the camera lens?

Or what do you look for in a quilt?

- I think that because I'm looking at photography so much every day, and I bring a certain aesthetic expectation to quilts, and I like the ones that have a certain amount of contrast, where the pattern really speaks to me, really jumps out, and I think that I can't help but wonder how they're going to photograph and how they'll reproduce.

And that's probably where the contrast comes in, but.

- [Georgia] That's true, that's good.

Laurel, now, as a historian, I know that you have valued these quilts, and a lot of us think they're based on history.

I mean, they wouldn't be making quilts today if we couldn't depend on what's happened before us.

How do you feel about that?

- I think you're right because quilts, no matter how innovative they may be, all draw from the same body of historical work, of women and men working with textiles and recombining fabrics in different ways.

So even the ones that are considered art quilts all draw from a common body of experience.

- [Georgia] How can we get more people not to be afraid of entering quilts shows, and when there are judged?

How do you feel about that?

- It makes me sad to hear that people are reluctant to enter quilt contests because it's a wonderful way, first of all, of getting your quilt seen because most contests result in public exposure, either a quilt show or exhibition or publication.

And it's a wonderful way just to share your quilt with the world, and especially local and regional shows, I think are great ways just to say, "This is what I did, isn't it wonderful?"

And people will say, "It's wonderful."

Now, the the judging, it's very hard to be a quilt judge.

And no matter how hard we try to be objective and apply some sort of objective standards, it's always going to be the case that judges consider their subjective biases or preferences, our color.

- [Georgia] Your personal appeal has got to enter into it.

- And it's going to, and that's why there are more than one judge for so many shows, is to kind of balance that out and let us learn from each other and hear things.

- Excuse me, I was really struck by how hard it was.

I was exhausted at the end of the day yesterday, Just wiped me out.

- [Georgia] And I encourage people if they have not won a ribbon to put it in another contest because you're gonna get a total different outlook from three or five other judges or even a single judge.

- Well, the other thing is if you enter the same quilt in a different contest, you're being compared to different quilts at that moment.

I mean, a quilt contest doesn't compare your quilt to a single standard.

There's no single standard to which quilts are judged.

It's always going to be flexible.

And if you enter a second contest, you're gonna be up different quilts, and there'll be different results, different judges.

- [Georgia] That's good, very valuable thoughts from both of you.

Thank you so much.

- Laurel] Thank you.

- [Georgia] The quilt contest reminds me of a quote from Marguerite Ickis, quoting from her great-grandmother.

- [Marguerite] My whole life is in that quilt.

All my joys and all my sorrows are stitched into those little pieces.

I tremble sometimes when I remember what that quilt knows about me.

[bright music] ♪ Could you imagine a more clever object ♪ ♪ Warms the body, ignites the mind ♪ ♪ A child sleeps under mother's creation ♪ ♪ Together forever ♪ ♪ The art of the heart and design of the mind ♪ ♪ Puts you to bed one day at a time ♪ ♪ The art of the heart and design of the mind ♪ - [Narrator] Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel is made possible in part by grants from Leisure Arts, publisher and distributor of needlework and craft publications, including an assortment of quilt books and related products.

By VIP Fabrics, a division of Cranston Print Works Company, America's oldest textile printer.

Additional funding by Omnigrid, the original patented black and yellow ruler.

And by Bernina, delivering sewing technology and education to sewers worldwide.