| Blog series by MyChipCarving | updated 351 days ago | 18 parts | 48174 reads | 369 comments total |
Part 1: Class Description
Hello and welcome to the first (of many ;-) LJ Chip Carving Class.I’ll be leading you step-by-step through this class which is sure to be a lot of fun. Skill level: All levels! I will provide instruction every step of the way! Beginners are my specialty :-). Advanced chip carvers are welcome too. Who knows, you might learn something along the way. Age level: 12 years and up Tools, equipment needed: Chip carving knife (If you need a knife and order one from the My Chip Carving S...
Part 2: Supplies
If you need supplies for class, I’ll be glad to send them to you.I’ll be posting the first session on Monday, March 7th, but you can always start anytime during the week. Order as many squares as you like. I’ll be providing plenty of patterns to choose from.Send an email to Marty@MyChipCarving.com to let me know what you need. Shipping is Priority Mail. Swiss cutting knife w/free sharpening $24.95 6” basswood square – $1.50 4” basswood square &...
Part 3: Lesson 1: Surface preparation
Chip carving quilt squares, lesson 1 I have a couple of items to cover before we get started with the first lesson. How many quilt squares should I complete?This is completely up to you! I hope that everyone will be able to complete one square to send to me for our LumberJocks Class Quilt. If you would like to send me more, that would be fantastic. How many quilts will we make?I will assemble as many chip carved quilts as possible depending on how many squares you send me. From the l...
Part 4: Lesson 1, Part 2 - Knife Sharpening
Lesson 1, Part 2 – How to sharpen your chip carving knife As a kid, did you ever grab that old hand saw hanging in your dad’s garage and try to cut a board with it?I know I did! No wonder my dad didn’t do any woodworking. I would’ve be better off taking karate lessons and breaking the board with my fist. A dull tool in the shop leads to burn marks, ratty edges, and wandering cuts. Not only that, but it requires a lot more force on your part which can lead to inju...
Part 5: Lesson Pacing (reply requested)
This class is new territory for me and for LumberJocks. To help me pace the lessons properly, please reply to this posting with one of the following: REWIND – slow down, I need to look at Lesson 1 PAUSE - give me a day or two and I”ll be ready for the next lesson PLAY – I’m ready for the next lesson FAST FORWARD – crank it up! I’m ready and rarin’ to go! Marty LeenhoutsMy Chip Carving866-444-6996
Part 6: Lesson 3: Pattern Development
Lesson 3: Pattern Development The project we are tackling in this class is a chip carved quilt. Quilt patterns lend themselves very well to chip carving. Geometric in nature, various elements of a quilt pattern can be removed to create a carved version of the fabric quilt. If there is a quilter in your household, no doubt there will be a book, magazine, or quilting journal in the bookcase, magazine rack, or under the bed (maybe only in my house). Get one out and page through it thinking...
Part 7: Lesson 3: Pattern Development, Part 2
I know that drawing and working on patterns is not enjoyable for many chip carvers. With that in mind, we will start carving tomorrow. I’d still like to encourage many of you to give pattern development a try.I’ll provide some patterns for you to carve. Adding your patterns to the mix will give our finished project more variety. Also, there’s a great sense of satisfaction knowing that the pattern you are carving is one that you came up with on your own. Here’s an...
Part 8: Lesson 4: Pattern Transfer
Lesson 4: Pattern Transfer The goal of pattern transfer has got to be to get the pattern on the wood as quickly, easily, and accurately as possible. That should be our goal. In this video I’ll show you three methods for pattern transfer. The first two methods work fine and I used them exclusively for many years. But they are slower, more difficult, and not as accurate as the third method – which is using the Pattern Transfer Tool. I suppose you can tell which method I pre...
Part 9: Lesson 4: Proper Technique
Lesson 4: Proper Technique Needed in this lesson: chip carving knife, basswood practice board, mechanical pencil, t-square We’ve all heard many times that “practice makes perfect”. But really this is faulty advice. It’s not “practice” that makes perfect, but rather, “perfect practice makes perfect”. This is very true when it comes to chip carving. Developing proper technique from the start will lead to good results in short order and a ...
Part 10: Lesson 5: Chip Carving Square #1
Lesson 5: Chip Carving Square #1In this lesson you will apply what you learned in Lesson 4. This first quilt square is made up entirely of three corner chips. Here’s the pattern: Right-click on the image and select “Save Image As” and save it to your hard drive.I hope the pattern size will remain the same so you can transfer it directly to your square.If you need to resize the image, this can be done with a photo editor or in Word after inserting the picture. Practi...
Part 11: Lesson 6: Chip Carving Square #2
I know you’re going to love carving this tulip pattern!All three-corner chips, two different sizes, makes a dazzling quilt square. Here’s the lesson: I’ll post this pattern and others later today. Next lesson: Chip Carving Square #3
Part 12: Lesson 7: Chip Carving Square #3
Why this quilt pattern is called “Geese on the Move”, I sure don’t know.But what I do know is that it makes a great quilt square chip carving.I’ll show you how to carve two-sided chips in this lesson. Here you go: Next Lesson: Applying a finish
Part 13: Pattern Downloads
I’ve created 9 – 3-3/4” patterns and 6 – 5-3/4” patterns that you can pick from to chip carve. Creating your own patterns is encouraged too. Here’s a glimpse of one page of the 3-3/4” patterns. The easiest way I could come up with for you to be able to download these quilt square patterns I’ve prepared, is to post them in the My Chip Carving Member area. If you are already a member – log in and go to the Pattern Vault and look...
Part 14: Lesson 8 - Applying a Finish
Applying a finish to your completed chip carving is a “make or break” step. Do it well and your chip carving comes to life and is something wonderful to behold. Do it poorly and your carving loses the beauty and the finish detracts from the chip carved design. Follow this lesson closely from start to finish and you’ll find success with each chip carving you complete from here on out. I call this the My Chip Carving Quick & Easy Finish Step 1 – Remove leftover...
Part 15: Send me your square(s)
Just in case you missed this earlier post, below is where to send your completed square(s). I’d like to have these in hand by the end of April. If you can’t quite finish by then, let me know and I’ll save a spot for your square(s) on a quilt. Send your square(s) to meI will be assembling the square(s) you send me into a chip carved quilt(s). Each quilt will be auctioned or sold with proceeds going to the My Chip Carving Foundation. I will post a blog entry showing you ...
Part 16: Post pics of your square(s) HERE!
Please post pictures of the square(s) you carve here. Also, please tag them as “quilt square”. That way Debbie can provide a link to all the carvings. Here are a few that I’ve done (one is almost done):
Part 17: There's still time to send me your squares
I wanted to let you know that you can still send me your carved quilt squares.The end of April goal was not a hard deadline. Would you kindly reply to this posting if you will be sending me some squares? I need to plan ahead when it comes to assembling the quilt(s). Thank you!
Part 18: Quilt project is done, ready for auction
I’ve assembled the chip carved quilt with the squares that many of you sent my way. My apologies to those of you who don’t see your square in the quilt. I tried my best to get as many as possible in the space and finally had to leave some out. So sorry. Now, please go to Ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190542019969) where I’ve posted this quilt on the auction block with all funds received going to the My Chip Carving Foundation, to help tho...
