| About Our
Products - FAQ
Our product line
includes a variety of items. Most of the questions we
receive
concern our bag/purse/tote patterns. This list addresses a
few of those. Contact us directly if you have other
questions.
There's no 'there'
there. Why don't your patterns have pieces?
Our patterns are primarily found in the quilt industry and are
written in a quilter's language, for use with a rotary cutter,
cutting ruler and mat. That means our patterns do not
contain pattern pieces (unless needed), but rather have
dimensions of pieces written for rotary cutting. Almost
all of the pieces are rectangles, squares or strips. To make pattern pieces, tape a few sheets of paper together, draw
the dimensions of the pieces needed and there you go.
Why do so many of
your patterns call for fat quarters of fabric?
We have quite a few patterns that use fat quarter cuts of fabric
(18" x 22") because
this cut is common in the quilt shops and allows you to cut
larger pieces from the same one quarter yard. You don't have to use
fat quarters, you can always use yardage off the bolt. If
you do, get a bit more than you think you need.
Your new patterns
are in color - will you redo the old in color too?
Over the years our patterns have transformed from hand-drawn
illustrations, to computer drawn illustrations, to black and
white photo directions, to our current format of full-color
photo step-by-step instructions with added computer graphics
where needed. We'd love to re-do all of our older format
patterns to the current jazzy style, but we'd rather spend time
creating new designs.
Your designs are so
simple looking and lack detail.
Exactly! Thank you! That's exactly what I'm trying
to achieve, and your question wasn't a question. My
patterns are a direct reflection of me and my needs in a
project. I have criteria I use when I pick a pattern to
work on and it comes from years of garment sewing angst dealing
with tons of pattern pieces and construction obstacles at every
turn. I think quilting and sewing should be enjoyable. This means every
step from start to finish, including ease in selecting fabrics
and supplies, to step-by-step construction, to usability of
your final product. And give me room to bloom with every project.
I consider my designs to be more classic than trendy. I
offer simple design lines, rather than detail you may not be
interested in. I try to remove any obstacle that might
stop you from enjoying and finishing the project. Think of
our patterns as soup stock recipes. There's just enough in
there to call it soup. If you want veggies/meat - you add them,
you know how.
If your patterns are
so simple, what's in there to get excited about?
Excellent question, I'm glad you asked. If I was doing the
same old thing from pattern to pattern, I'd get bored. So,
I try to find shortcuts and innovative ways to incorporate
elements from the apparel industry into the quilt industry.
I try to put one new idea or technique in each pattern.
Sometimes there's more than one new thing, but if the overall
project remains 'Lazy', then it's okay.
These are quick and easy patterns and I find that many
of my customers make these designs over and over again. My
suggestion is to make the pattern once according to the
directions. Then if you want to make any changes, or add
any details, you know exactly where and how to do that.
Several of your bag
patterns show a zipper. How can a zipper be easy?
You walked right into that one - I set you up! If I show
something in a design that you would normally think of as being
hard or having a low rate of success with, be sure that I've
found a 'Lazy' way to do it. I have three different
techniques for installing a zipper. And you won't find any
of them in the package the zipper came in. I call these
'No-Fear', 'Sew Easy', and 'Zip-tastic'. A bit corny, but
it sounds more interesting than technique #1,2 and 3.
Can I make any of
your patterns out of fabric other than quilter's cottons?
Absolutely. Quilter's cottons are a very specific grade of
cotton fabric and are quite thin compared to other fabrics used
for bag designs. Our patterns are written for the quilter
and use items commonly found in your local quilt shop.
That means we call for batting rather than interfacing for
example. Keep this in mind if you are substituting a
heavier weight fabric. Many of our designs are constructed
by sewing through many layers of fabric and batting. Keep
this total thickness in mind and make adjustments as necessary.
Can I make items
from your patterns for sale?
No, making items from our patterns for sale violates the federal
copyright law printed in each pattern. In order to protect
our business, we don't grant permission for our items to be made
for sale.
Gee, Joan, after
reading all of this, I think I'm a Lazy Girl, too.
Excellent! There's a little 'Lazy' in all of us and we're
glad you found us. Again, not a question, but we'll let it
slide. |
