Balzer Designs

Two Small Art Quilts

I'm diving into a new area of artwork. (What an exciting sentence to write, btw!) If you've followed this blog for a while, you know that I love to make quilt tops, but I hate to quilt them. Case-in-point, this one has been in my drawer for more than a year (and has the wrinkles to prove it): I also love hand embroidery. Well, I'm mushing the two together: quilt tops that aren't quilted + hand embroidery. These are 8x8 "canvases." In essentials, I made a mini quilt top, added batting, and then wrapped it around a canvas. I'm really... Read more →

I Made an Ugly Monster Doll!

Check out how cute this fleece ugly monster doll is! This is a project that Michaels hired me to do and by their request I have the full tutorial in my instagram stories (follow the link and click on my face). I hope you'll check it out! Thanks for stopping by! --- P.S. The Member Livestream is tomorrow (Wednesday) night and ScanNCut: CanvasWorkspace for Mac is on Thursday night. Read more →

Sarah Bond Workshop: Coming Full Circle

Back in November I took a one-day live online class with quilter, Sarah Bond. It was called "Coming Full Circle" and it was all about making different kinds of super cool circle designs, as in this photo from her instagram: Or this one of my laptop during class: I decided to use fabrics and rules from the Modern Quilt Guild QuiltCon Together Floral & Vine challenge while learning how to make these circles. I figured that way I could kill two birds with one stone: learn something and make something for the challenge. It didn't quite work out that way,... Read more →

From the Archives: Zipper-de-do-da!

This post is from February 2014. Learning to put in a zipper is one of the best skills I've ever learned. It's extremely useful and easier than you think! Given that it's New Year's Eve, what crafty skill are you hoping to learn in 2021? ---- I've been wanting to learn how to put in a zipper forever. I find the whole thing very intimidating. But, last weekend I was bound and determined to make it happen! I googled a million tutorials and finally found one that made sense to me. It's from a woman named Debbie Shore: Of course,... Read more →

Two Art Quilt Collage Classes with Deborah Boschert

As I mentioned on Friday, I took two classes with Deborah Boschert over the weekend. I had a lot of fun. They were exactly the self-care I needed. This is the palette of fabrics that I chose for myself: Interestingly, I posted a picture of this palette to my instagram stories and asked people if they thought it was a cohesive palette. About half the people (including Deborah) said, "No." I find that fascinating. To me, it looks super cohesive and fun to work with. But we are all different artists and I'm sure it looks like a hot mess... Read more →

My Weekend Plans: Two Classes with Deborah Boschert

I have a fabulous weekend planned for myself. I am going to take two one-day classes via Zoom with Quilt Artist, Deborah Boschert. Here's a short video she put together about one of them -- it's called "Captivating Compositions": And here is a video about the other class: I will be sure to report back next week, but I thought I'd share a few of the videos from Deborah's YouTube channel that are related to class. This one is about how to prepare your fabric for fusible collage: I've ironed plenty of Wonder Under to fabric, but I had no... Read more →

A "Woven" Quilt

I belong to a quilt guild called The Cambridge Modern Quilt Guild. Recently, they issued a challenge to the membership: Quilts should represent what modern quilting means to each maker. Ideas of techniques that typically appear in modern quilts include: Negative Space Improvisational Piecing Minimalism Alternate Gridwork Modern Traditionalism (Updating a traditional quilt block or theme in a modern way) Quilts must include a piece of Enchanted, the Kona Cotton 2020 Color of the Year. We were each sent a small piece of "Enchanted." I started sketching and came up with a design. It actually came together quite quickly. But... Read more →

A Pen Bag Made From Paper

I made this fabulous pen bag from...PAPER!! I have always looooved cut paper, but it's fragile. It's hard to make anything long lasting from it. But then I figured out that I could sandwich the cut paper between two sheets of iron-on vinyl and turn it into a much more durable material. I cut two pieces of pink cardstock, sealed them between layers of iron-on vinyl and was then able to stitch together this pen bag... ...including putting in a zipper! One Note: You do have to be careful when turning the bag because the paper will crease if you... Read more →

Quilt Block Pillows

I don't know about you, but summer weather mixed with social distancing means we spend a lot of time on our porch. I discovered that an easy way to jazz up my outdoor furniture -- and make it feel more homey -- is with some throw pillows. As you can see, I made two throw pillow covers from the same quilt block pattern. But even though the pillow covers are both made from the exact some pattern, they look quite different! It all comes down to fabric choice. As you can see, I made one with solids and the other... Read more →

Two Magical Rings are Great Sewing Tools

I've been working on a lot of Make It Artsy projects lately. Last night I was sewing up a storm, putting together quilt blocks. When I sew, I use two magical rings: a pin ring and a cutter ring. They make everything quick and easy. I do have a tutorial on making your own pin ring. Find it HERE. I bought the blinged out cutter ring years ago at Quilt Festival in Houston and you can buy your own HERE. It's an easy way to have scissors with you, without having scissors with you. Thanks for stopping by! Read more →