[birds chirp] - Welcome to our summertime stitches show.

Imagine how it used to be.

Grow vegetables in the summertime and quilt in the wintertime.

Not so anymore.

Well, we would never finish all those quilts if we didn't quilt year round, so let the corn fields and the sunshine inspire you to make a corn and bean quilt.

Stay tuned.

[upbeat 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 ♪ - [Announcer] "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 Printworks 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.

- Corn fields plus sunshine yield a corn and beans quilt.

This is a true potpourri show today, maybe even a little bit corny.

After this traditional quilt pattern, we'll have a curved block called Corn Fields Forever, a lesson in strip picture piecing with some machine quilting, and then back to the corn fields as I share with you a family recipe for dried corn.

Now, the maker of this quilt is Penny Wartman.

She's from Candler, North Carolina.

It was lap quilted in four large sections, and it's a true scrap quilt but not a charm quilt.

There are some repeat calicos.

Don't forget green for the beans and some yellow for the corn.

Can you find the block in this quilt?

Well, it's made from 48 10 inch blocks and each block makes a quarter turn.

I have a schematic that helps a little bit.

You see the red at opposite sides and then it makes a quarter turn.

So as you're putting it together, you just alternate your blocks and before you know it, you have this pinwheel that gives the whole quilt a lot of dash.

I'd like to show you how it's drafted.

You start with a 10 inch block and drop in a 7 1/2 inch square in the center.

That's gonna leave you an inch and a quarter on all four sides.

Draw your diagonal lines and then on both the outside and that inside line, give yourself a little mark at every 2 1/2 inches.

And before you know it, you have all of your triangles indicated.

So you know your first step is to start with this nice large square.

That would have to be cut eight inch square, adding your quarter inch on all four sides.

Then I have this all worked out in three sections.

Your light triangles, your calico, and then your pinwheels.

Now the calicos, you do need a lot.

And a lot of you probably think, how do I make all of those collections?

Well, when you go to your meetings and share fabric with your friends, go with a whole stack of six inch squares cut.

Then you can trade and before you know it, you've built up your your calico collection.

But I think it takes a little bit of figuring to realize that all of our squares are going to be cut 3 3/4.

Remember it was 2 1/2, so you add that 1.25 and all of a sudden you've got 3 3/4.

So with that in mind, I'm going to cut these apart, knowing that I need 480 of them.

Now, I know that sounds like a lot, but if you do it in quarters, you will only need 120.

So cut out a square, that's 3 3/4.

Cut it on the diagonal twice.

And this measurement includes the seam allowance.

So you've taken care of all of your muslin when you do 120 of those.

Then to go to your calicos, and I like to stack those, your same 3 3/4 cuts.

Cut that apart, 3 3/4 and then your diagonal, or you could even use that ruler that includes the seam allowance.

Why don't we call it the SA ruler?

And as long as I have a straight edge, and if I will find the 2 1/2, all I need to do is line that up on the 2 1/2, come once and then twice, and I will have cut out my triangles.

So that works nicely too.

As for your pinwheel, you're going to put your red.

And I think about 12 different reds will do just fine.

Put your red and your muslin together, the right sides.

Remember, if they're gonna be sewn together, why not cut 'em out together?

So here I have some that are already my long line.

I've cut out 3 3/4 and then what I'll do is draw one diagonal line on the back of my muslin.

Machine stitch your quarter inch on each side, and then make two cuts, not just one.

And I like to just hold that in place, make one cut.

And then don't sneeze or cough, keep that right together, and put your ruler down again and then cut again.

And when you've cut again, you'll notice that you're going to come up with mirror images.

You're gonna have a red one over here, and it's gonna be just perfect.

The setup's gonna work just fine in your block.

Let's go over to the sewing machine so you can really see this happen.

With my calico and muslin triangles cut and then my pinwheel triangles, I'm ready to put the block together.

Now I would go ahead on these pinwheel corners and snip off, just trim off those dog ears.

It makes it easier when you put the final block together.

Notice that there are mirror images, two sets when you made that quickie system.

And I wouldn't put the same red on all four corners, so I'd go ahead and we'll switch these.

We'll put one here and we'll put one up here, so we get that scrappy look.

Now if you'll look at the block itself, it is made up of five triangles that are added on each side of that center square.

However, the opposite sides have three calicos and two lights, and then over here they have two calicos and three lights, but it's the same system of putting them together into a long band and then they're sewn.

Your final step is to add those pinwheels.

They will stitch all the way across at the corners.

Now I've come up with somewhat a speed system in putting this together.

If you'll look over at this block, I have it in progress.

And what happens is that if you'll work clockwise as you're going around, you can do that cookie piece or kite method.

For instance, these have been sewn and will go on two sides and now I'm ready to put these together.

Go ahead and, with it's pinned in place, and there'll be that extension that comes out, you can take your quarter inch and then just continue stitching all the way down.

You need that extension.

Remember, you built in, that's part of your seam allowance and it's always going to eke out.

But once that's been sewn, then you can snip those apart.

And this will go here and this will go here and I get rid of those extra threads.

And then you'll notice that opens up and this opens up and you're ready to stitch that together.

And you'll have to add on your pink at the end, and you'll have your five.

One, two, three, four, five.

So just continue with that system, and I think it'll go a little bit faster.

But it's so colorful.

It's a great, great quilt to work on.

And remember, add those corners for your final 10 1/2 inch square.

Corn Fields Forever is the name of the wall hanging, a nice little wall hanging to go with our show, complete with cornstalks, and at the top, part of the Indian Paintbrush diamond.

The inspiration, corn fabric.

Rather dull, so I painted it with some permanent marking pens.

Of course, it had to be set with an iron.

Now find the block and realize that it's just with an eight inch square and your Flexicurve.

I wanted to do a swath of corn fields, a river going through the ground, and some sky at the top.

So I decided to do all curves, went in two inches on opposite corners, and then on the other came in an inch and a half.

That will respond to the blocks when you start putting them together.

So with just a pencil at first, and then, of course, keep your eraser handy because you might not be happy.

When you finally decide on those lines, put 'em with your permanent marking pen.

And of course you can see I stopped here for the cornfield.

Then either design it on your computer or go ahead and make four up so you can see if you wanna make a whole quilt like this.

But I think it's a good way to test it, whether you're gonna use mirrors and see the reflection and what happens, or whether you're going to start with the first schematic with the small part of your corn field on the inside, or then if you're gonna start playing and maybe put the rivers to the inside.

See what happens as you start turning it around.

Now when you get a little bit further on to do what we call the MIs, the mirror images, then you realize you're going to have to cut two going one way and two the opposite way.

Do you see what happens all the way down, a little more excitement?

And that's really what I did in the Corn Fields Forever.

Two go one way and two go the opposite way.

So then if they're going opposites, cut your template out with either the wrong or the right sides together.

And when you get ready to cut those curves, remember that you can move your rotary cutter and your ruler at the same time.

Let your fingers fall off and you see how I'm moving that cutter and the ruler, keeping my quarter inch all the while, and you'll be so happy with your quarter inch.

Once that has been trimmed and ready to go into your set, you realize that you have seven templates and four fabrics.

Gentle curves.

One, two, three will go together, four attaches, and then five, six, and seven, and your block will be complete.

I'm gonna bind this with some red.

I think it needs a little excitement on the outside.

[calm music] Now some sunshine for those corn fields.

Inspired by a Martiros print, I decided to do a circular sunshine.

Not applique, but strip picture piecing.

My first step was to go to the copy machine and get the design copied.

Then I had it enlarged once and then enlarged another time.

I liked the idea of cutting away part of it and putting each one, tucking each right angle into it to see the reductions.

Well, my idea was to strip picture piece all three sections, but I just sort of wore out at this point and decided you would get just the same effect by just using black fabric.

And with white stitching, I highlighted the reflection of the face.

Where did I go from there?

Well, I had to decide how to make those templates.

And quite often, to do that, I will take my design and turn it, reverse it, because I'm going to use the grid grip and that always reverses the image.

So I'm going to trace the design on rows from the backside.

And this time I traced with horizontal rows with the image coming through.

Not all rows are the same size.

Some are 1 1/2, some are two, and I use a pencil and a ruler, and we'll simply decide where the design goes.

For instance, here, to accommodate the eye, quite often you'll see slants and images.

Every time I draw a line, I know that it is a new color and a new template.

Each row will then be coded, C-O-D-E, not only to the color change, but to the sequence of the template piecing.

In other words, row A, B, C, and D. This would be D1, D2, D3, and so forth.

To give you a better idea of that, here is part of the face that I didn't do, and you can see this is row J right here.

Well, here is the complete J one, two, and three, and I've simply cut this apart once it's coded, pressed it on fabric that was cut 0.5 or a half an inch wider than the way it was designed.

Once it's been pressed on, I use the edge of the paper as a sewing guide and it's really nice to see those lines just line up afterwards, knowing that I can continue piecing, and then it will be reversed.

There's the good side of the fabric.

Well, the other challenge with this round wall hanging is how to hang it.

And I've decided that I would make a sleeve that is circular or actually in two sections to be hand stitched on the back after I put the binding on.

I've cut foam core arcs that will go in that and we hope it's going to work.

Tune into our last show.

We will see.

In the meantime, I have a lot of quilting to do on this, so we're gonna take it to the sewing machine.

I've gotten down to here and I'm doing the face right now with monofilament thread.

As I come out to the background, I quite often test the design I wanna do by placing the design on either wax paper or a see-through paper.

And here you can see I'll do continuous maybe flame stitches to reflect the border.

To the machine.

Machine quilting is all set up here.

Now don't kid yourself.

Just because it's machine quilted, it does take time.

And I think there are three elements to machine quilting.

Space, lots of area in order to put your quilt down, elbow room, and concentration.

Other than that, I have a thread on my machine that matches the back of my wall hanging.

This time I've chosen a monofilament thread because there's so many colors going on here.

I like the narrow wooden hoops.

I've tried machine quilting without a hoop, but I find there's too much tension in my fingers and I'm not able to relax.

So I put the larger part of the hoop on the outside and then, releasing the amount that I need, I put my smaller hoop inside.

And my open toe foot, I like the smaller one, comes right through.

With one flip, I can lower the feed dogs, and then I hold onto my monofilament thread, and with one tap, pull up my bobbin thread.

Once that's been caught, I hold that in the back, so then I'm ready to start my quilting.

And make sure that you start exactly where you pulled that thread up.

And just relax and remember that as I'm coming, I'm making my own design that is reflected by the yellow material.

I'm coming back.

If I move it real fast, I'm making toe catchers.

If I go too slow, I start building up.

So just relax.

I'm covering the yellow and filling in my space.

[machine whirs] [calm music] "I have an accumulation of prize-winning ribbons.

Can I put them into a quilt?"

Well, Shirley Forez from Sidell, Illinois has the answer to that.

She's been entering county fairs for over 25 years, from everything to fudge, quilts, and even pickled beets.

And look at the ribbons that she's accumulated.

She's put them into the old fashioned string setting where they're just put diagonally with bright colors.

And she's even isolated her blues, her reds, and her whites.

I like the way she's put some rectangles at the top and all around the sides for future ribbons.

To complete the quilt, she has some conversation print on the back and a nice label.

Well, we've promised you more corn today, and it has to do with this dozen ear of corn and a family recipe that I wanna share with you for dried corn.

Come on to the kitchen.

I'm wearing my great-grandmother's apron, Charlotte Bradshaw Sailor from Ohio.

They called her Lottie and she is the one my mother learned how to dry corn from.

And I think it's something you all need to know how to do.

I usually start with five dozen ear of corn.

Today we just have a dozen ear.

You need to shuck it first.

Second, blanch it for three minutes.

I usually use an egg timer.

Make sure all the silks are cleaned off of it and then put it in your big pot for three minutes to boil.

My corn is all cooled off now and I'm going to simply cut it off the cob using an angel food cake pan as a gripper here, and I've got a very nice sharp knife.

Actually, this is a Warther knife from the museum in Ohio.

You'll be going there on one of the shows.

Just let it all fall into here.

And when all the cob is completely cleaned off, little bit of the milk won't hurt too, I spread it on a cookie sheet.

Now I like a cookie sheet with a lip around it or a Teflon coated sheet, maybe the new sheets that have the air vent on the bottom.

When it's all spread out, and I used all four cookie sheets for five dozen ear of corn, you're then going to bake it at the lowest possible temperature that your oven will go, 200 degrees possibly.

It's gonna take all day and it'll start to brown on the outside, so with a large spoon or a spatula, move it around so it will brown evenly.

Turn the oven off at night and then turn it on again in the morning.

It's not a quick process.

It takes a while.

After a day and a half, this is what you have.

I call it corn gold.

It smells delicious, very roasted and very dry.

Don't let it get too dark.

It's all ready to be stored in plastic bags.

I usually keep it in the freezer for your most special relatives and friends.

About one dozen ear of corn will give you one cup of dried corn.

When you get ready to cook it at Thanksgiving, along with your turkey, put one cup into a pot, cover it with water, let it soak for about 20 minutes, and then simmer for 20 minutes.

A pad of butter, little bit of salt and pepper and cream, and [kisses] so good.

Now we found an old authentic drying corn roasting pan up in Ohio.

It's the kind you put on a wood burning stove.

Put your water in here and it would take probably weeks to do.

Thank heavens we don't cook with wood anymore.

[calm music] How about going to the garden with your patchwork?

Norma Bradley makes earth quilts, large outdoor gardens that use the earth as their fabric and, oh, rocks and plants for their colors and even textures.

No more fabric this time.

Since 1986, this Asheville artist has worked with all kinds of students from, oh, age four to 80 to build 26 earth quilts that decorate our schoolyards, even hospital grounds, colleges, and civic centers throughout the state.

Now, many take the shapes of traditional quilting patterns, such as a formal garden, grandmother's fan, wedding ring, and flower basket.

But others take a more creative turn, resembling fish, triangles, or maybe even a mountain range.

Yes, quilters have a sense of humor.

Don Tyler has written two cartoon books with a husband's view of our patchwork passion.

Don was trained in graphic arts in Connecticut, his home state, where he used his skill in a printing business.

Once he retired to North Carolina with his wife Jan, their life changed with her newfound quilting hobby.

Don has been able to poke some fun about the many facets of our craft.

[calm music] From buying fabric... To designing... And even our lack of kitchen activities.

I feel very privileged to even have some personally drawn cartoons of myself.

What a great way to end our show today.

Check these out.

[calm music] [calm music continues] ♪ 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 ♪ - [Announcer] "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 Printworks 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.