Hi Lisa and Classmates. I'm am super excited to be participating from Mesa, AZ. This Project area for me will be very much a work in-progress that I will update along the way as I proceed. I am wide open to guidance from all viewpoints.

Winter Teach Challenge Progress

* 1/12/2021... Brainstorming: class design, project, equipment, & my profile
* 1/13/2021... Context corrections
* 1/14/2021... Added Google Doc link for annotated outline feedback
* 1/17/2021... After scouring Teach Handbook I added new considerations:
keywords, title, category, level, skills, resources, software,
music
* 1/20/2021... Added more title options & a paragraph to Class Description
rewrote About description & added to Skill Level,
added Slide Considerations & Online Software List,
added new borrowed audio equipment, & Teacher Profile
* 1/25/2021... Added Intro Script
* 1/27/2021... Settled on a title, revised Intro Script, & added a lesson
* 2/09/2021... Added new borrowed video equipment, and final Intro edits
* 2/11/2021... Intro Script deletions & modifications to reduce video length
recording; & embedded YouTube link to draft intro video
* 2/16/2021... Added script for Lesson 1
* 2/18/2021...Combined 2 lessons, added a project resource, & L1 tweaks
* 2/23/2021...Added scripts for Lessons 2 & 3
* 2/25/2021... Final edits to L1, L2, & L3
* 3/22/2021... Added draft L4

Spring Teach Challenge Progress

* 4/14/2021... Reorganized L8-L10 content, added L10 & L5 draft scripts.

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DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS:

Keyword Q&A for Title, SEO Searchability, & Script Context
* Question or Problem: accuracy, time-consuming
* Topic: quilt-along, In War Time aka Dear Jane, digital fabric cuts
* Skills: digitally cut fabrics, quilting, sewing, quilt block patchwork,
quilt layout design
* Level: easy & simple, if sewing machine familiarity
* Techniques: Flying Geese (FG), Half Square Triangles (HST), raw-edge
applique, pillow construction, wall hanging construction
* Brandnames: Cricut, MistyFuze
* Project: quilt blocks & pillow, wall hanging, and/or quilt
* Tools: digital cutting machine with rotary blade,
sewing machine, seam ripper, & pins
* Supplies: double-adhesive interfacing, fabrics, & threads
* Take-Aways: quilt design appreciation & DIY customization,
strive to reduce/reuse/repurpose.
* Audience: new & experienced quilters, troubled quilters, sewers,
crafters, fiber artists
* Primary Keyword: Quilt-Along

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Class Metadata:
Categories: sewing, creative
Sub-Categories: sewing, art, design
Skills: digital cutting, quilting, patchwork, applique, quilt-as-you-go

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Title Considerations: [30] to [70] characters; [broad-to-focused, based on project, skill level, problem solution, and/or target audience]

* How to Quilt with a Cricut Machine? [35]
* Quilt-Along: Learn to Digitally Cut Fabrics [43]
* Quilt-Along: Make Common Quilt Blocks with Digitally Cut Fabrics [64]
* Quilt-Along: Accurately Create Quilt Blocks with Digitally Cut Fabrics [70]
* Quilt-Along: Make Accurate Quilt Blocks with Modern Methods [59]
* Digitally Cut Fabrics: A Modern Quilt-Along [43]

** A Modern Quilt-Along: Create Quilt Blocks with Digitally Cut Fabrics [68]

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Topic Description Considerations: [ (keywords, biz/category links)

The quilt blocks used in this course originated from a 19th-century hand-pieced quilt named "In War Time" aka "Dear Jane". In this class project, you will create a subset of these quilt blocks, only I will guide you to use more modern techniques to do so. This updated methodology will include utilizing a digital cutting machine with provided downloadable .svg files. Additional modern quilt block construction techniques are covered within that include: patchwork, applique, and quilt-as-you-go. In the end you will be shown how to construct a functional textile of your preference utilizing the quilt blocks: a pillow, a wall hanging, and/or a full blown quilt. [112]

Then in keeping with the original quilt maker's theme, I will encourage you to label your quilting project and in doing so ponder Jane's "In War Time" impetus. For myself, I will be naming my full blown quilt version of it "In Times of Dissidents". My son had helped me with that naming 1.5 years ago while I was digitizing the patterns and adding seam allowances to the redrawn piece parts; little did we know how pertinent it's meaning would be with todays' recent political current events. [85]

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Copyright & Monetizing Etiquette Considerations:

* The original quilt was most definitely hand-pieced and resides in The Bennington Museum in Vermont. There is a paper-piecing book published 24 years ago. And more recently, both English paper-piecing templates, and acrylic cutting templates are also available for this quilt pattern.

* Given the above details, I believe I am well clear of any copy-right violations; since I changed many of the blocks slightly to work with a few modern patchwork techniques where I digitally redesigned each of 226 block designs with added seam allowances and where the fabrics are cut using a Cricut Maker or other digital cutting machine.

* I do need to pair down the content to be useful for a class and not give away all the patterns since I spent eight months of evenings in 2019 to complete the digitizing and am hoping to monetize it beyond the course. I had previously reached out to the Cricut Company to pitch them offering downloads of my files; they put me on hold for 2 hours then told me "they loved the idea but it would depended on you" and declined to elaborate saying "please view our lack of response as a polite decline for now". I took that to mean I wasn't famous enough beyond a personal Facebook page.

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ABOUT: Project Considerations

Welcome to, "A Modern Quilt-Along: Learn To Digitally Cut Fabrics".
In this course, you will quilt along with me and we will utilize a handful of downloadable digital designs that will be provided as resources for patchwork and applique techniques. The fabrics for this project are intended to be cut using a Cricut digital cutting machine, or other brand such as Silhouette, or Brother Scan & Cut. I'll also introduce a modernized three-step process which will significantly simplify construction, ensure cutting accuracy versus traditional methods, and will result in a functional hand-made textile creation of your choosing (a pillow, wall hanging, table topper, or quilt).

I will guide you through the whole process starting with introducing the infamous original "In War Time" quilt; it was made by Jane A. Blakely Stickle, circa 1863. Their is also a paper-pieced quilt pattern book that is affectionally known as "Dear Jane" from which these class designs are re-drafted from. The Class project challenge is to produce enough quilt blocks to make a custom-sized pillow, or wall hanging, and then post pictures of your work in the Project gallery hear on Skillshare to get feedback and ask questions in the Discussions gallery. Then you can reach out to me to purchase additional SVG design files; if your interested in making the entire 80.25" square scalloped-border quilt with its' 226 tiny blocks (164 center squares, 52 triangular border cones, 4 corner kites, sashing & cornerstones); all of which use the same techniques you will be taught in this course.

Skill Level: Intermediate:
Ð²Â¦Ðƒ Basic familiarity with your sewing machine is required because this course
does not teach sewing machine basics.
Ð²Â¦Ðƒ It is not necessary to have quilting or digital cutting experience because
these techniques will be taught within the course.
Ð²Â¦Ðƒ All levels of quilters may also benefit as alternative techniques are included.

Required Tools and Supplies:
Ð²Â¦Ðƒ Access to a domestic straight-stitch sewing machine and a domestic digital
cutting machine.
Ð²Â¦Ðƒ Basic sewing tools such as pins, seam ripper, neutral cotton thread, and
sewing machine needle.
Ð²Â¦Ðƒ Scrappy fabric swatches, double-sided adhesive interfacings, batting &
backing fabric; each in desired sizes dependent on your project choice.
Ð²Â¦Ðƒ Rotary cutter, rotary matt, & acrylic cutting ruler

Downloadable Resources To Be Provided:
* Coloring Sheets
* SVG Files readable by digital cutting machines
* Quilting Technique Cheat Sheets
* Online Resource Links: Jane's History & DJ Products
* Quilt Planner Worksheet

Outline:
* L00: Introduction
* L01: Who is Jane and Her Legacy
* L02: Project Choices & Color Planning
* L03: Digital Cutting Technique
* L04: Patchwork: HST Technique
* L05: Patchwork: FG Technique
* L06: Patchwork: Odd Shape Technique
* L07: Applique Technique
* L08: Finishing Techniques: Pillow & Quilt-As-You-Go Construction
* L09: Binding, Quilt Label, & Personal Documentation
* L10: Final Thoughts

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Initial Annotated Outline Link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ftw9eVAcENqbtVmQ_BDEBBgKvoYLg53P3MyG3XEfjsA/edit?usp=sharing

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Cover Image Considerations: 1280x720

* Cricut Machine with book and title overlay Vs.

** Cricut machine with fabric & quilt block, shown in this projects thumbnail, will add "Quilt-Along" overlay

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*Slide Considerations: Titles, Key Take-aways, Overlaid Top Tips, & Up Next
** Whimsey: a few seconds of guilty pleasures intro video with music in front
of each lesson title slide.
** Fonts: Proxima Nova text, League Spartan headlines, Lato subheads.
** Colors: white headings, black body text, copper backgrounds with
sepia-toned photos as background.
** Minimalistic Graphics: simple line drawing pictures of the .svg files.

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Video Filming & Equipment Considerations: Use of all formats: slides, screen capture, talking head & demonstration, animations, and music

* 2 Go Pros with Samsung Galaxy Android app with Gorilla Grip tripod
* Kodak DSLR camera (10.1 mega pixels, 12x optical IS lens) with Floor Stand

** Gray wall w/ a single framed picture behind a desk for talking head shots
** Workstations for digital cutting & sewing machine
** Greenscreen, white screen, & blue screen backdrops for workstation shots
** Shure SM58 microphone with Behringer Xenyx 502 mini sound board
** Sony Exmore HD video camera and tripod
** Both arcadia window daylight & LED lighting with white room divider
light reflection
** DRONE camera for kooky video clips

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Online Software Considerations: 16:9 aspect ratio, 1280 x 720+ resolution
* Free Slides: Canva (individual or educator), Snappa
* Free Screen capture: ShotCut
* Free Video hosting: YouTube, Vimeo
* Free Video editing: QuickTime, DaVinci Resolve, VSDC, Filmor, Lightworks,
ScreenFlow, Blender, iMovie, Final Cut, Premiere
* Free stock photos: Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, StockSnap.io
* Free music: proudmusiclibarary.com
__ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCht8qITGkBvXKsR1Byln-wA
__ https://soundcloud.com/rafi-ki
__ http://freemusicarchive.org
__ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_aEa8K-EOJ3D6gOs7HcyNg
* Free Graphics: Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, Stocksnap.io
* Free Fonts: Google Fonts, DaFont, Font Pair, Type.io

** Graphics: Adobe Illustrator, Art & Stitch, Cricut Design Space
** Free Video hosting+ Thumbnail: YouTube
** Free Screen/Audio Capture: Open Broadcasting System (OBS)
** Slides/Video Editing: Adobe (PowerPoint, Premiere, & After Effects)
** Free Fonts: 1001Fonts
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Teacher Profile: [photo, links to Social Media, showcase classes, about you, portfolio link, online shop, authoring's, testimonials, etc.

Thank you for visiting my profile. My name is Laurie Crubaugh, I live in Mesa, Arizona. I hold an Associates of Arts degree in Multi-Media, and my previous corporate background at Motorola & General Dynamics was based in desktop publishing, database administration, graphic design, proposal team coordination, and software education. Therefore I maintain a heavy affectionate appreciation for the techy side of my artistic endeavors. I also sewed garments, costumes, & quilts for my kids while they grew up. Now in my retirement years, I am the founder of a budding home-based multi-faceted business named Sonoran Quilting Garden. I created this business to fulfil my adulthood dream of becoming a professional longarm quilter, digital pattern publisher, and quilting educator. Then I first joined Skillshare as a student to learn more about surface design; shout out to Anne LaFollette for her amazing free mini Surface Design class, she can also be found here on Skillshare. My Skillshare profile of classes I've taken can be viewed here... https://www.skillshare.com/profile/Laurie-Crubaugh/986593834

A Modern Quilt-Along: Learn to Digitally Cut Fabrics - image 1 - student project

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L00 SCRIPT: INTRODUCTION: My Story, Course/Project, Expectations & Take-Away's | ~2.5 minutes | Action/Talking Head Video Clips, Example Photos & Slides

[Background Music: https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgCuyw1QZik]

[Slide: Cover image with music & sewing machine audio] [Door Bell audio & Open door footage] Oh, Hi! Welcome to my in-home studio, Sonoran Quilting Garden! Come on in.

[Conversational Talking Head @ desk footage] First I want to point out that the final results of your class project will lead to something as simple as a kitchen hot-pad or two requiring one quilt block each [Hot Pad Prop], or a couple blocks for a pillow or two [Pillow Props], or a handful for a wall hanging or two [Wall Hanging Props], or you could make enough blocks for a lap quilt [Lap Quilt Prop], a small bed quilt [Twin Quilt Prop]; or you could go all out a make a quilt, [drone footage of King Quilt prop & yelling] THIS BIG! Seriously though, how much effort you want to put into it is totally up to you. Your level of quilting experience doesn't matter either.

[Slide: Collective Examples Photo] Although these examples don't show the blocks that we will be covering in the class, they do show my quilting journey. [beginner photos and video-in-picture footage] I made the teddy bear wall hanging when I was a beginner 35 years ago for my sons nursery room, and the matching quilt a few years later, and now he's 30... oops, did I just reveal my age.... uh you didn't hear that. Enough about me, if you want to know more about my background your welcome to visit my Teacher profile.

Anyway... I'll ask you to choose one or more of the example projects to share as your class project. We'll focus on the concepts and layout design that let you customize it to your chosen project's needs. I also want to encourage you to use what fabric you have at your disposal.

[Slide: Dear Jane Quilt Photo zoom/pan animation] Now... let me show you the sampler quilt that contains the 4 blocks that I will be providing as part of the course. You'll learn more about the quilt backstory in the first lesson.

[Slide: List of... 1) Class Outline, 2) Tools/Supplies, 3) Project Resources] Then in the second lesson I'll show you close ups of the quilt blocks we will be making from Jane's quilt. In the remaining lessons we'll cover a handful of super slick modern techniques. [Inlaid Video: Technique Photos] You'll learn about Half Square Triangles, Flying Geese, Applique, & Quilt-As-You-Go Final Machine Quilting. Then to create your own textile project you'll need access to both a sewing machine & a digital cutting machine, as well as the accompanying tools & supplies, and downloaded class resource files; all of which are listed here.

[Slide: Take-Aways][Talking head @ desk footage] Throughout this course you will gain an exercise in quilt history, custom quilt design, color theory, alternative techniques, quilting community, and a little frugality. In doing so I'll will introduce use of a digital cutting machine for cutting fabrics. So join me and let your creative stitches grow.

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L01 SCRIPT: Who Is Jane & Her Legacy | About Jane, Museum, Book, & Product Stories | ~10 minutes | Talking Head & Split Screen of Slide/Photos

[Background Music: https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgCuyw1QZik]

[Guilty Pleasure Video: cat petting] Oh, you caught me relaxing. This is Socks! He's my sewing buddy. Ah, we were gonna to talk about Jane and the history of her quilt; let's do that.

[Talking Head @ desk] Quick disclaimer: In this video we will go over bits and pieces of the mysterious history of Jane A. Blakely Stickle; who is the inspiration for this course. If you're already aware, or not interested in the historical aspects, and you'd like to dive right into the demonstrations; you can skip to the next lesson.

[Split Screen Photos & Slide] [DJ labeled block] Jane made her quilt, titled "In War Time," throughout 4 years of the U.S. Civil war when she was in her 40's and living in her home town of Shaftsbury, Vermont. [Civil War photo]. At that time, the quilt's only fame came through her local county fair in 1863 [Fair photo]. She defiantly entered the patched-quilt competition due to claims by the state of Vermont that women of the day were laxidazy in creating handmade textiles to adorn their homes and communities. Jane rose to the challenge with a "reduce, reuse, recycle" mentality [RRR logo], and she won 1st place [Prize Ribbon photo], earning herself a whole $2. If you ask me that's pretty under-valued for a state fair, considering that would be approximately $60 today. Especially considering her quilt was and continues to truly be the epitome of sampler quilts. It's amazing that despite her minimal education and situation she could make something so intricate; and such an artful expression of creative skill, with so little means; being sickly, forlorn, and somewhat of a carriage maker’s fallen aristocrat.

It is speculated that after Jane's death the quilt was relinquished to her uncle's attic where it sat until rediscovered by her Uncle who sold it to the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont. [Museum photo] [card catalog photo] To this day the museum ritually redisplays it as "The Jane A. Stickle Quilt" yearly each fall behind guard rails [Rail photo]. It is only touched with gloved curator hands given it's fragile state with a linen backing which originally was upcycled from Jane's mother's hand-monogrammed tablecloth. People come from far and wide to the museum to get a glimpse at the quilt's spectacular-ness.

In spite of being displayed in the museum the quilt didn't really gain notoriety until, the early 1990's when Brenda Manges Papadakis, a quilt teacher/
historian, wrote the "Dear Jane" book. In Brenda's book, she teaches about Freezer Paper Piecing using Jane's quilt block patterns, that she had traced from the original quilt over the span several session with the permission of the museum . [Dear Jane Book photo] [HOT TIP: Credits: Dear Janeis the registered trademark of Brenda Papadakis]. She included pictures of adapted quilt layouts made by others that used portions of the designs, all of which Brenda affectionately nicknamed Baby Jane Quilts. I will be naming mine "In Times of Dissidence" which I find particularly suitable because it both honors Jane's original title and intent as well as reflects on our current environment of civil unrest.

Jane & her quilt continue to be the muse of many bloggers, quilt retreats, quilt historian presentations, & quilt makers; so much so that many other iterative products are now available just like this class on Digital Cutting. Here is a list of Row-of-Month quilt alongs that use "in War Time" for inspiration:
* Brenda herself developed 3 different optional sets of acrylic ruler templates for rotary cutting & trimming of the fabric squares, triangles & petal shapes [acrylic template photos].
* Then several years ago a set of English Paper Piecing templates became available named "Jane Goes EPP" for enthusiasts who dislike Foundation Paper Piecing [EPP photo].
* And more recently, Electric Quilt software includes either a CD or an add-on application of the DJ patterns [EQ8 Software photos] which allow custom layouts with pictures of your own imported fabrics or provided reproduction civil war fabric pictures.
* Also, full blown kits are now available for purchase including reproduction civil war fabric bundles [DJ Kit photo].
* And the latest of which will be my own upcoming set of SVG files that allow digital cutting of fabrics for patchwork & applique. I have digitized all 227 patterns of which 4 of them are provided for download here for your use; you're welcome to contact me if interested in the others. [SVG photo][HOT TIP: SVG Files Coming Soon].

[Collective Images] I encourage you to further investigate more details about Jane's particular pieces of our quilt history via searching her name online. In support of that research, I've also included 1 to 2 online links for each of these relative topics & product resources all within a single downloadable file which will fill-in the gaps between the bits of information I've summarized in this lesson.

[Hot Tip Overlay: Up Next: Project Choices] Join me in the next lesson where you will discover the decisions needing to be made for your chosen course project.

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L02 SCRIPT: Project Choices and Color Planning | Project About, Examples, Resources| >5 minutes | Show & Tell Video

[Guilty Pleasure: head phones on ] [Knock-knock audio & Knock animation]
Oh sorry, didn't hear you, I was just listening to music while finishing up your project resources.

[SLIDE L2-1 Bullet Points] In this lesson, I'll cover the choices you'll need to make for your course project. I had also promised to show you close-up's of the Dear Jane quilt blocks we will be making; and here they are... [SLIDE: L2-2 DJ Thumbnail Images] Each one of these represents a sewing technique I'll teach you throughout the remainder of this course. [ANIMATION: name text & image zoom-in, one-at-a-time] If you have Brenda's book "Dear Jane" you will recognize these 4 blocks as... "D10: Battlefield" which contains Half Square Triangle patchwork | "A2: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" which contains Flying Geese patchwork | "G6: Papa's Star" which contains Odd Shape patchwork, and | "H12: Hannah-Lou's Hearts" which contains applique shapes.

[SLIDE L2-3 DJ Block Photos] Now that you're aware of the blocks you'll be taught, before you embark on making the textile of your choosing, I recommend you do a little pre-planning which in-turn will dictate how many blocks you will be making. Then consider your layout choices, color planning, and which technique methods interest you; for example: "Freezer-Paper Piecing", "English Paper Piecing", or "Patchwork" & "Applique".

[SLIDE L2-4 Collective Examples Photo] We covered the "textile" examples in the Introduction of this course; so if you skipped that, I recommend you view it. I also want to encourage you to use what fabrics you have at your disposal. When I made those examples, I used simple old bedsheets and outgrown cotton dress clothes. They served their functional purpose, and I didn't have to spend money on expensive quality fabric that I couldn't afford at the time. That "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" attitude of Jane's; it's also a motto I've tried to live up to throughout my own life. Then within my personal quilting journey, I've also vowed to interject my own design into any quilt pattern I create in an effort to make it my own in some way or another.
[SLIDE: My fabrics] For my quilt using the Dear Jane quilt blocks, I have chosen to modify the "Color Plan" in three ways:
1) I will use three fabrics in each block rather than two, and
2) Where Jane used cream, I will use "Scrappy" grays for the background. By the way, "Scrappy", in the quilting industry, loosely means random assortments of fabrics in varying colors, prints, and shades, as you can see here.
3) [SLIDE L2-6 My Color Plan] I've also decided to use radiating rungs of color which is often termed "Trip-Around-The-World" as seen here in order by quantity of fabrics in my own fabric stash. You will only need a 12" square for each fabric color per block; but I do recommend pre-starching your fabrics before cutting them in order to avoid disproportionate shrinking in the ironing stages.

[ANIMATION: Coloring Pages] For the purpose of your own planning of "layout" and "colors"; I've provided a downloadable PDF file containing alternate quilt layouts you see portrayed here. They are drawn rudimentary on purpose because they are meant as coloring pages for color placements only. If you find one to your liking, you could use it, as-is, or scaled-down, and you're definitely not limited to these. As you can find many other inspirational colorings & layouts online, by using the search phrase "Dear Jane quilt images".

[Talking Head] There's one last choice to make regarding quilting techniques. I don't want you to think you must use a digital cutting machine, if you don't have access to one. The patchwork and applique techniques that I will be showing you can use a rotary matte & hand cutting wheel, or they can also be cut with scissors. Although, the digital cutting process will significantly reduce the time it takes to complete your project; the sewing techniques will work regardless. If you opt out of the digital cutting process you can skip the next lesson; otherwise let's go learn step 1 of the 3-step process next.

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L03 SCRIPT: Digital Cutting Technique | Cricut Machine, Tools, Software, Cutting | >15-20 minutes | Demo & Screen Capture

[ACTION: Sipping a drink] Ah hah, you're back, I was just taking a snack break. I hope you're as excited as I am because you are going to be broadening you're quilting experience with the newest of modern techniques.

[SLIDE 3-1: Bullets] In this lesson, you'll be introduced to a digital cutting machine specifically for cutting your patchwork and applique shapes. Although fabric is only one of many materials that can be cut digitally. Other materials such as from card stock, to plastic stencils, & vinyl, iron-ons, thin woods, and many more. These machines can even do more than cutting; such as draw, emboss, score, perforate, print-n-cut & engrave; where each functionality has its own add-on blade. They are in-deed as versatile as the end user's creativity. Each of three major brands have different strengths and weaknesses.

[SLIDE 3-2: Cricut Workstation] I'll be demonstrating using a Cricut Maker, which is the most advanced Cricut model made and the only model in the industry that accommodates a tiny rotary wheel blade. [SLIDE 3-2a: fabric tool collage] Other Cricut accessory tools you'll need to cut fabrics include the Pink Fabric Grip matte, & Weeding Utensils. [SLIDE 3-2b: Retail collage] All of these items either come in the original box and/or are available to purchase from JoAnn Fabric & Crafts, Michaels, some Walmart stores, and Amazon, or directly from the manufacturer's website, but www.cricut.com is more expensive than the others. [SLIDE 3-2c: Design Space collage] Then the necessary "Design Space" software is free and available for any viewable WIFI or Bluetooth device. And subscription based Cricut Access software offers a plethora of pre-designed projects for varying mediums where many are free and others require a nominal fee if you don't have a subscription. They do though make a new free downloadable design every Friday.

[SLIDE 3-2d: older fabric tool collage] Please note that older Cricut "Explore" models, that are still sold by the manufacturer will cut fabrics as well, only you will need Heat N' Bond interfacing, a bonded fabric blade, and the green standard grip matte. Cricut Models older than the "Explore" Family are not compatible with Design Space which is the only software now supported by the Cricut company since 2018 I believe and going forward.

[ACTION: Wind blown hair] Yup, I breezed through all those terms; not to worry though; I'll be demonstrating up close next so you will understand purposes and uses of all fabric related tools . [SLIDE 3-3a: Fabric collage] From start to finish, we will cut our patchwork & applique fabrics on the Cricut Maker including blocks, sashings, & bindings. [SLIDE 3-3b: SVG collage] So be sure to download my SVG files from the Project Resource area below via a desktop or laptop, and I'll be showing you how to upload them to "Design Space" online after which you can access it via a "Design Space" app downloaded to any viewable mobile device as well.

[ACTION: Cricut workstation demo] [PROP: Cricut machine] So, this is the Cricut Maker. Its sleek aesthetic has a few functional design features that are really nice. The spring-loaded lids open and close with ease and protect the innards from dust and debris. The multiple-function bottom lid contains storage of accessory tools, I store my scrapers and blades in there; it also doubles as the mat delivery tray. Next the revealed recessed groove at top is handy for propping up our mobile devices. It even has an extra USB plug on the side to keep our mobile devices charged, smart huh! Then lastly commonly used utensils and pens can be stored in the on-board bins here.

[PROP: Rotary blade] Moving on to accessory tools: The "rotary blade" that I mentioned earlier comes with the purchase of the Cricut Maker and this is what it looks like. It's gold gear at the top gives it a lot more capability to navigate curves and pin-point turns than the Cricut Explore fabric exacto-knife blade. And the tiny rotary wheel allows us to cut non-bonded fabrics which means fabrics that do not have to have an interfaced backing or lining on the back to stiffen it as previously was required with older models. You can use fabrics straight out of the package right onto your mats or you can opt to starch fabrics beforehand if they have been pre-washed. You may also want a "washable fabric pen" to draw 1/4" seam lines if you are new to quilting or simply have trouble sewing a consistent seam allowance. After sewing, you spritz or wash the fabrics so that the drawn lines will magically disappear.

[PROP: Tweezers] A utensil tool I like to use is the Cricut "tweezer" weeding utensils. I use them to pull fabric off of the mats after the cuts have been completed; it's best to avoid physically touching the matte adhesive because the oils in your hands will break it down and you won't get as much use out of it. [PROP: 12" pink matte] A 12"-square fabric grip matte does come with the initial Cricut Maker purchase. Although, if you will be making larger quilts, you may want to also purchase the 12 by 24 inch matte for use with longer border strips that won't fit the smaller 12 inch mat. How does one care for the fabric matte? Inevitably, loose threads will be left secured to the mat after each fabric cut. It is not necessary to clear the matte of them unless it affects proper adhesion or pen bumps. [PROP: Transfer Tape] In that case, most threads can be removed with "tweezers" and the remaining stubborn threads can be picked up with purchasable "strong-grip transfer tape" that is designed to work like a lint roller wrapped in loop around your fingers where the sticky tape is then thrown away once it no longer picks up stray threads. more importantly the use of the "transfer tape" picks up intricate cuttings to be deposited to an alternate surface.

[Screen Capture Demo] Now let's go to our computer to access the software, open your browser and enter www.cricut.com in the address bar. At the far right of the upper menu ribbon, click "Design" which will prompt you with two options "Open" & "Download". "Open" will lead you to the online version of Design Space and "Download" will install a version to be able to work offline until you're ready to connect to the Cricut Maker machine. Go ahead and open up the online version for now.

* Import the sashing.svg file that you had downloaded from the Project Resources area of this course. If you see ... that's the one we're looking for.

Click "Make It" on the "Design Space" screen. Choose our material as "Cotton Fabric", which will in-effect recognize the proper cutting pressure to apply to the blade. It then prompts us to ensure we are using the required pen, blade & matte options for our selected medium. You can toggle the "Pen" feature on & off here.

[ACTION: Cricut demo] To install the "Pen", simply remove the cap and insert the "Pen" with tip downward into the left-hand holder and firmly push down to seat the "Pen" securely, then replace the cap on to the protruding end of the pen. Why? Because the buggers have a propensity to roll or walk away, never to be found again.

To install the "Rotary Wheel Blade", open the clasp of the right-hand holder and align the gear with the fitted molding on the machine, then re-latch the clasp to secure the blade in place. The rotation of the rotary wheel will be automatically controlled throughout the automated cutting process.

Next, we are ready to load our fabrics onto our "matte", I've got my pink
24"-length fabric grip matte, and sashing fabric which is hand-trimmed to 12"-widths. Note here, that if you opted to draw seam lines you need to position the fabric right-side down since the stitching will be done with fabrics right-sides-together; therefore you need to be able to see the lines on the wrong-side of the fabric. In this instance, I'm using a solid fabric for my background sashings, which does not have a right-side or wrong-side; that will not be the case with my printed fabrics.

To adhere the fabric, hang any selvage edge or excess fabric off the end edge of the matte, line up the upper raw-edge of fabric to the upper grid line of the matte. Gently drape and hand-smooth the fabric in place. Flatten any wrinkles so they stick to the adhesiveness of the matte; most wrinkles will just press right out. Then either use your fingers, "hand scraper", or "hand roller" tool to firmly rub along the edges to ensure they are secured. The reason this is important is because during the cutting process the machine's roll bar drops down and it's "advancement wheels" tend to pick up loose fabric edges. All right, now we proceed to tuck the fabric adhered matte underneath these two white tabs and hold it in place while pressing the on-board "Load" button which activates the roll bar. It's all set to go now! Press the blinking Cricket button to activate the machine. Notice it's pulled the rotary wheel blade over to the side and spun it to ensure the right blade is in place; if I'd left the another blade in here it would signal up a warning notification saying "hey the wrong blade is installed" which provides an opportunity to switch the blade out. This smart feature keeps you from using the wrong blade to cut your fabric, or from using the rotary blade to cut paper. Similar to sewing tools where we have dual scissors and rotary blades each dedicated to fabric & paper. Now, watch the machine start to draw our seam lines and then cut the SVG shapes. I'll speed this portion of the video up for you. [OVERLAY: 4x speed]

Now that the cut function is complete, I first "Unload" the "matte", and remove the "Pen" to replace it's cap to prevent it from drying out too soon. I like to keep my "Fabric Pen" in the deeper on-board bin for ready access when I need it. Proceed to peel the fabric cuts off of the "matte". Grab one corner of the perimeter fabric and carefully peel away the swiss cheesed fabric, simply trim & toss away any stringy pieces, and set aside the larger fabric scraps for later use. Next, use the "Tweezers" to gently peel up the cut fabric shapes; take care not to simply rip the shapes off of the adhesive to avoid fraying of the threads.

We'll follow the exact same process for the remaining cuts of fabric. A few things to keep in mind between separate cutting sessions. [SLIDE 3-4 Outro Notes] 1) Pre-plan to cut larger shapes first so as to not run out of any one fabric intended for smaller shapes as well. 2) If you need more cuts from the same SVG file, do them one after another because the SVG images remain previewed on the screen ready for another run or waiting for you to clear the screen for opening of a separate SVG file. 3) You can cut multiple fabrics on one "matte" from a single SVG file with groupings of separate shapes, just take care to ensure that each fabric placement respectively corresponds with both the markings on your matte and the measurements on your Design Space screen; I'll demonstrate a fail safe way to do so in our block lessons.

[SLIDE: Next Up] Whew, Congratulations! You have now accomplished your first Cricut Maker fabric cuttings. Join me in the next lesson to cut & sew our HST blocks.

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L04 SCRIPT: Patchwork: HST Technique | >15-10 minutes | Demo Video & Screen Capture

[Guilty Pleasure: Headphones Head-Bop][Knock-knock audio] You startled me, I was listening to music while finishing up your project resource files. Are you ready for your first patchwork block?

[SLIDE: 4-1] [Talking Head Intro] This next lesson will introduce a Half Square Triangle technique. [Video in Picture] You will commonly see this technique referred to by it's acronym, HSTs. There are many methods to accomplish this task depending on how many of the patchwork units you need to make from the same set of fabrics as well as your preference. I'll be showing you two different HST methods; "2-at-a-time" and "accordion fold". First though, we'll do our CricutMaker cuts, then we'll use a sewing machine to stitch our patches and quilt block together. The provided electronic block cuttings are designed for use of 3 separate, yet coordinated, fabrics of your choosing for each block. To start with, we are going to starch these fabrics and rotary cut our fabric swatches for digital cutting.

[Slide 4-2] [Starching Video] [PROP: spray starch, & fabrics]
For starching, I am using a spray can called, "Faultless Ironing Spray Starch". This is a Heavy Finish version, only because that's what I was able to find locally; although I do think I would prefer the Medium Finish. I spray my fabric outdoors until everything is damp but not necessarily soaked. Then indoors, I drape smaller pieces over a towel, and larger pieces over a bathtub curtain rod. And then I repeat the process for each of my fabrics. [Speed-Up Clock Ticking clip] We do this because it helps with accurate cutting, and reduces loose threads throughout the patchwork process. Once the fabrics are dry, we are ready to rotary cut our fabric swatches.

[Slide 4-3 Rotary Cutting] [Talking Head] Brenda named this block "Battlefield"; for my version, [titled fabrics pic] I'll be using a gray print as my neutral background, a dark-green print for the foreground, and a light-green print for a secondary foreground. The trick to accurate rotary cutting involves paying particular attention to both ruler and matte measurements. The first rule is to align the fabric squarely on the matte, and remove any selvage edges which are the tighter-woven sides at the fabrics' left/right. The second rule is that the first cut is always to achieve a straight edge to measure from. Then the third rule is that when aligning the ruler, each and every time, ensure the ruler line clearly sits on the fabric edge and not on the matte. [fabric/ruler align pic] Again the fabric sits on the matte, and the ruler sits on the fabric. Together with pre-starching fabrics, this 3-step rotary measuring method is another process that helps ensure accurate quilt blocks. It's also important to note hear that it is not necessary to rotary cut fabric swatches for digital cutting unless you want to cut multiple fabrics on a single Cricut cutting session as we will be doing here. [SLIDE 4-4][Animated measurements]
* Gray Background fabric cut to 2.75" x 3.25"
* Dark-Green Foreground-A fabric cut to 3.5" x 10.5"
* Light-Green Foreground-B fabric cut to 2" x 10.25"
With our fabric swatches now rotary cut, we can turn our attention to Design Space.

[Slide 4-5] [Design Space Screen Capture] On screen, we still have our previously cut border on the matte preview; so we'll delete that and "Upload" the HST.svg file. Press "Continue". Ensure our machine tools match the screen. [ACTION: Cricut Demo] Notice from the last cutting session that threads became stuck to the matte's adhesive; they just get pulled away with either tweezers, and/or with a bit of transfer tape. With the matte cleared of fabric threads & fuzz, we are now ready to position our fabric swatches onto the matte aligned to match the measurements shown in Design Space. [Screen/matte ruler highlights]

[ACTION: Cricut Demo] Now, we, press the Cricut Maker's "Go" button and make sure that we're pulling this pen out and putting it away since we don't want it to dry out. Again we watch the cutting proceed, unload the matte, and weed the fabrics by first pulling off the excess fabric pieces. I'm just going to trim and toss away these stringy bits and then I'll set aside any larger excess pieces for later use. Then I use my tweezers again to slowly pull the shapes off to avoid causing loose threads. Lastly, we replace the transparent matte covering to keep it protected from any lint or dust; and tuck the matte away in a spot where it can lay relatively flat. I hang mine on the side of the cart using a Command Hook. Now, on to our sewing needs.

[Slide 4-6] [Sewing Machine Video] [PROPS: Neutral threads, fabric swatches, 222K FW] Along with your cut fabric shapes, you are going to need some neutral-colored cotton or poly-blend thread in a color that will coordinate with your fabrics such as a cream, light tan, or gray. Next, let's talk about sewing machines for a little bit. If you haven't done a lot of sewing there's no need for a fancy thousand dollar sewing machining just yet; maybe wait until you've outgrown a cheap basic straight-stitch machine before investing in more fancy features. Patchwork is a simple straight-stitching process so any sewing machine, modern or not, will work nicely. I'll be using a sweet little Singer 222K Featherweight made in 1963. Next, I want you to notice that my machine surface sits flat with the table it sits on; this is not a requirement, although it is a very nice to have feature. There are custom made table models for different machine sizes, like this Featherweight card table, or if you are or know of a woodworker hobbyist, you can make your own DIY version like this desk with a recessed cutout. [Prop: Studio Sewing Machine Desk]

[graphic zoom ins] Our quilt block construction will entail both Half-Square Triangle patches, Square-in-Square patches, and borders with HST cornerstones; let's start with the HSTs. [graphic zoom ins] [Action: Sewing] The border "cornerstones" consist of four HST's for which we'll use the smaller dark-green foreground fabric & smaller gray squares. [PROPs: acrylic 1/4" drawing tool & drawing utensils] Grab a drawing utensil such as a chalk pencil, or air/heat/water-erasable ink pen, or even a mechanical #2 lead pencil. What is important is that whichever drawing utensil you apply is visible from a sitting distance, yet does not bleed through the front side of the fabric. Draw one or two diagonal lines on the back of both lighter-colored fabric squares. You can either draw a single centered line from corner tip to opposite corner tip like this; or draw two lines each offset a 1/4" from the center diagonal, like this. Note we could have also done this drawing on the Cricut Maker but I wanted to show you how it's done manually in case you don't have a digital cutting machine. Next with the drawn line facing up, layer the fabrics RST into 2 paired sets; for me that is green & gray squares with "right-sides-together" and gray on top. You will often see that right-sides-together term written as an acronym "RST". Now with the single drawn line aligned with the inside edge of your 1/4" presser foot and/or aligned to the throat plate's 1/4" etched line, keep the drawn line aligned as you proceed to sew from one corner to the opposite diagonal corner. Then without lifting the presser foot, I'll feed the second pair of green & gray fabrics behind the first pair which is known as "Chain Piecing". For this second pair though I drew 2 lines for demonstration purposes, so I align the right-most drawn line with the needle. Since each of these sewn pairs will produce two HSTs, which equals the four we need; we are ready to turn the chain around to sew a second seam line on the opposite 1/4" offset from the center diagonal. We trim our start/stop excess threads and between sewn pairs to separate them. Now, using either scissors or a rotary cutter, we can cut the threads between the sewn pairs apart, and cut through the diagonals between the stitched lines. Lay the separated patches on an ironing surface with darker fabrics facing upward, and press the seam lines to heat set the stitches. Then press the patches open so that the seam allowances fall to the darker fabric side. The little over hanging seam lines are known as "Dog Ears"; they need to be trimmed away to avoid bulk when sewn into the final block construction. You've just accomplished the "2-at-a-time HST" method. [Prop: Design board] I will place them here on my small design board so they won't get lost while working on the remainder of our patchwork.

[PROP: seam guide] Now we need 8 additional HSTs for which I will demonstrate the "Accordion Fold" method; also rather than drawing lines, I'll use a seam guide and an alternative trimming tool. We will use the mid-size squares, stacked into two sets of eight alike fabrics; for me that is dark-green and light green. Grab one from each pile and pair RST. Using my seam guide, I align the diagonal corners with the seam guide line that is 1/4" to the right of the needle. Then I keep it aligned as I stitch to the opposite diagonal corner. This time I will not be chain piecing; instead I am going to clip my threads and open the sewn patch. [highlight "V" in video] Notice the V-shape at each end of the seam. I am going to now layer an opposite color square on top of the rightmost square, again with RST. Then I am going to sew another seam, again aligning the "on-point" diagonal corners with the rightmost 1/4" line of my seam guide. I again clip my threads, and this time, I am going to pick up the square I sewed last, opening it to the right, and folding all other layers under and to the left with "right-sides-up". This is the right-side, this would be the wrong-side. Now I continue to repeat the process. Start by pairing another opposite-colored square with RST, stitch the seamline, clip threads, open right & fold under & left with RS-up, repeat until all squares are used. Then in the same manner, sew the last square to the first square to form a circular tube, and again clip the threads. Now notice where the HSTs are formed, and with a scissors cut the tube apart cutting between two diagonal corners. Lastly, either continue using the scissors, or use a rotary cutter to cut between all of the diagonal corners to produce eight Accordion Fold HSTs. [PROP: HST acrylic ruler templates] Now, that alternative trimming method I mentioned earlier is called the "Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmers" which are intended to be used prior to pressing the HST open. It is a 2-set acrylic ruler system with whole-inch measurements on one ruler & half-inch measurements on another. What you do is line-up the seam line with the applicable dimensional line on the ruler that equates to your sewn patch size, which in our case is 1" (just one size smaller than the ruler accommodates; although I've marked the 1" measurement with grip tape which also helps the ruler not to slip while cutting any excess fabric). If you find the fabric does not meet or extend beyond the sides of the template then you need to re-stitch a slightly smaller seam line. I'm ok with my seamline, so I proceed to trim the sides. Now normally I could leave the ruler in place and slide my rotary cutter into the side slots to trim the dog ears; but in this instance where I tricked the ruler to accommodate 1" sizing, I just slide the bottom of the ruler up to the bottom of the seam allowance to replicate the diagonal angle of slots in order trim my dog ears. Next we simply finish-up by pressing in the same manner as before; heat the seam lines with dark fabric facing upward, press the dark fabric open. We are now left with perfectly sized HSTs.

Proceeding with our patchwork, we lay out the squares in the same direction; and we are going to sew them into 4 pairs, then sew the pairs together forming two 4-patches. Because we pressed the seams similarly, we are now able to do what is called "nesting" our seam intersections together, where you can feel them butt-up next to each other as they should. I like to pin these matched seam intersections to help keep them aligned during the sewing process; but I do take care to remove the pin before the needle sews over it in order to avoid causing a broken/bent needle/pin.

Next we need two Square-in-Square patches; to do so we will need the remaining small squares. First, rotary cut 2 of the squares in half diagonally. Then sew them to each corner of one of the large Neutral Background squares. Again press with seam allowance towards the dark fabric. This traditional method required cutting triangles then sewing. For the second Sq-in-Sq patch method, I am going to use the remaining squares to show you what is known as "flipply corners" which reverses the order. We are going to align one small square to each corner of the larger block, and sew the diagonal; either pre-draw the line(s), or use a seam guide as we did earlier for the HST. Now press the corner triangle open to ensure it aligns correctly before trimming the seam allowance.

With all of our patches sewn, we are now ready to sew the block together. Sew one "4-Patch" of HSTs to one "Sq-in-Sq Patch", repeat with the second set, then sew the pairs together in opposite paired directions. Again we want to nest & pin our aligned seam intersections. And to help get the patchwork to lie flat, it may be helpful to iron these row seams open, like this. This is the center of our block. Now we sew the inner borders, first to left/right & second to top/bottom. Now we are ready for the outer border, again first sew to left/right, then sew the small HSTs to each end of the two remaining border strips before sewing them to the top/bottom which completes the patchwork. So we give the seam allowances a good press and ensure the front of the block is pressed flat; then lastly, we re-check and trim it's sizing if necessary. Isn't it exciting to have completed the first quilt block of your project?

[Outro Video with quick recap video clips ending with the finished block] [Slide 4-7] [Talking Head Pic-in-Pic]
* You've learned valuable industry terminology and acronyms.
* You've learned accurate cutting methods with a rotary cutter/matt/ruler, as well as with a digital cutting machine.
* You also learned modern patchwork techniques including chain-stitching of 4-Patch HSTs, Sq-in-Sq Flippy Corners, Sashing Borders & Cornerstones.
* And you learned there are often several ways to accomplish the same task dependent on your preference in any given patchwork scenario.
These take-away schools of thought will be reinforced throughout the remaining lessons as well; and next up is another patchwork technique called Flying Geese.

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LESSON 05: Patchwork: FG Technique | Step-by-Step How-To| >5 minutes | Demo Video

[Guilty Pleasure: Headphones Head-Bop][Knock-knock audio] You startled me, I was listening to music while finishing up your project resource files. Are you ready for your first patchwork block?

[SLIDE: 5-1] [Talking Head Intro] This next lesson will introduce a Half Square Triangle technique. [Video in Picture] You will commonly see this technique referred to by its acronym, HSTs. There are many methods to accomplish this task depending on how many of the patchwork units you need to make from the same set of fabrics as well as your preference. I'll be showing you two different HST methods; "2-at-a-time" and "accordion fold". First though, we'll do our CricutMaker cuts, then we'll use a sewing machine to stitch our patches and quilt block together. The provided electronic block cuttings are designed for use of 3 separate, yet coordinated, fabrics of your choosing for each block. To start with, we are going to starch these fabrics and rotary cut our fabric swatches for digital cutting.

[Slide 5-2] [Starching Video] [PROP: spray starch, & fabrics] For starching, I am using a spray can called, "Faultless Ironing Spray Starch". This is a Heavy Finish version, only because that's what I was able to find locally; although I do think I would prefer the Medium Finish. I spray my fabric outdoors until everything is damp but not necessarily soaked. Then indoors, I drape smaller pieces over a towel, and larger pieces over a bathtub curtain rod. And then I repeat the process for each of my fabrics. [Speed-Up Clock Ticking clip] We do this because it helps with accurate cutting, and reduces loose threads throughout the patchwork process. Once the fabrics are dry, we are ready to rotary cut our fabric swatches.

[Slide 5-3 Rotary Cutting] [Talking Head] Brenda named this block "Battlefield"; for my version, [titled fabrics pic] I'll be using a gray print as my neutral background, a dark-green print for the foreground, and a light-green print for a secondary foreground. The trick to accurate rotary cutting involves paying particular attention to both ruler and matte measurements. The first rule is to align the fabric squarely on the matte, and remove any selvage edges which are the tighter-woven sides at the fabric's left/right. The second rule is that the first cut is always to achieve a straight edge to measure from. Then the third rule is that when aligning the ruler, each and every time, ensure the ruler line clearly sits on the fabric edge and not on the matte. [fabric/ruler align pic] Again the fabric sits on the matte, and the ruler sits on the fabric. Together with pre-starching fabrics, this 3-step rotary measuring method is another process that helps ensure accurate quilt blocks. It's also important to note here that it is not necessary to rotary cut fabric swatches for digital cutting unless you want to cut multiple fabrics on a single Cricut cutting session as we will be doing here. [SLIDE 5-4][Animated measurements]
* Gray Background fabric cut to 2.75 " x 3.25"
* Dark-Green Foreground-A fabric cut to 3.5" x 10.5"
* Light-Green Foreground-B fabric cut to 2" x 10.25"
With our fabric swatches now rotary cut, we can turn our attention to Design Space.

[Slide 5-5] [Design Space Screen Capture] On screen, we still have our previously cut patchwork design on the matte preview; so we'll delete that and "Upload" the FG.svg file. Press "Continue", and ensure our machine tools match the screen. . [ACTION: Cricut Demo] Check our matte is cleared of fabric/fuzz, , and we position our fabric swatches onto the matte aligned to match the measurements shown in Design Space. [Screen/matte ruler highlights] Then press the Cricut Maker's "Go" button, watch cutting, unload, weed & tweeze our shapes. And gather them for sewing our blocks together.

[graphic zoom in's] Our quilt block construction will entail...XXX

Proceeding with our patchwork, ...XXX

With all of our patches sewn, we are now ready to sew the block together. ...XXX

[Outro Video] [Slide 5-7] [Talking Head Video-in-Picture]
* You've learned a few more industry terminology and acronyms.
* You also learned a third modern patchwork technique called Flying Geese
* And you again saw varying ways to accomplish the same task dependent on your preference in any given patchwork scenario.

In the next lesson we learn how to accommodate Odd Shapes as opposed to squares and triangles.

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LESSON 10 SCRIPT: Final Thoughts | Recap, & Pep Talk Encouragements | >5 minute

Laurie Crubaugh

Longarm Quilter & Surface Designer

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