Another one bites the dust -

Even though Saturday was possibly the worst day of Holly's life as she road the emotional rollercoaster of quilting, it all turned out okay because Holly is now going to quilt her own quilt! Yes, its true. And, to make matters even more rosey, she's going to be artistic - outline flowers, make circles, and just be creative. She certainly has turned this lemon into lemonade. Congratulations, Holly!

The Machine

I love this bit on sewing - thought you would enjoy it too!

From Knit n Tonic - here she is.

Lessons Learned

Today was a lesson learning kind of day.

To date, the majority of discussions regarding finished quilts has focused on hand-quilting, hand tie-ing, and machine quilting.

Some of you are ready to have your quilts professionally quilted.

Here's a few pointers:

* the backing needs to be 4 inches extra on all sides

This is so the quilter can wrap the backing around the rollers on the quilting frame.

* don't pin the quilt; just trim threads, press nicely (both front and back) and provide the quilter with the quilt, backing, and batting

* don't forget to square the quilt up the best you can

* make sure the backing and batting is the correct size (see above about extra on the sides, top and bottom)

Here's a nice example of using odd pieces for your backing at Old Red Barn see the reverse side of her rainbow quilt.

Here's a nice overall summary of quilting, in general.

Machine quilting for dummies, very informative.

You might ask, what's wrong with the quilt above? To read from the quilter's perspective, visit flickr.

It appears that the store we've been using near our work says sheets are bad. I'm going to call them next week and find out what's up with that. I do disagree. More information soon.

Update 4/26: I just called the store we've been using - sheets are fine for the backing; the store owner suggested that the weave of the sheet (which is tighter than fabric) "may" break needles but otherwise 100% cotton sheets are fine; also, she suggested that the quilt "may" wear differently, quilting cotton lasting longer than the sheet.

Good Luck everyone!

A tale of two Saturdays...

Dear quilting friends,

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. As I recount my tale of two Saturdays, one happy and gleeful, and one sad and lamentable, remember friendly quilter, take heed!

For the last two days, husband-less and free of class work, I happily sewed. I added extra rows, ironed and seamed and finally created a totally fab back piece using left over fabric and a 400 count sheet. At 2:30 pm I telephoned our fearless leader, the quilting queen, and happily announced I was on my way to the quilt store. Amid happy thoughts and congratulations I drove through the streets of Grayslake.

Upon my arrival at the quilt store the woman at the counter said, "how can i help you?" Smiling largely I proudly announced, "I brought in my first quilt to be quilted." The ladies in the store congratulated me and said, "bring it to the table so we can look at it." They brought out two binders of design options and a thread book, detailing the differences between the craftsmanship of the two quilters that i could choose from. As they chattered I pulled out my quilt and suddenly the chatter stopped. "Oh," said one, "you have to take out the pins, they cannot work with those." "Oh," said the other, "you didnt leave 8" of pure and natural around the quilt for the rolls to grab onto." "Oh," said the first one again, "you can't use a sheet for the backing, this will not work."

I will not detail the rest of the ohs that followed (there were 8 more) but suffice it to say, i was devastated. After the barrage, one of the women said, "oh chin up- think how lovely it will be when it is completed! We will be so pleased to see it, the colors are wonderful! "

So in an effort to not immediately run out of the store, I browsed fabrics for a secret project, and returned to the counter of defeat. "Oh, I didn't know you were still here," said the first woman. "You will really be happy with your quilt when it is completed." So i purchased the binding for the quilt and my new secret stash of fancy fabrics!

Out the door, I ran to the car, whipped out my phone and called our queen leader. She was, of course very supportive, and came up with the perfect solution! I am going to hand quilt my quilt! All was not lost and in reality, much was gained! I cannot thank Michelle enough for her guidance and support in my time of need :-)

So, dear reader, thank you for following me through my tale of two Saturdays. If you must know, the poopy deets are available upon request. :-)

Thank you and good night!

Danger: Serious Eye Candy

I went to the International Quilt Show in Chicago this weekend. If you're interested, there's more pictures here.

Fall 2010 quilt?

Tonight, after returning from the conference i needed a happy boost. As is often the case, I found myself in the sewing/craft blogosphere vortex.

I found this awesome pieced quilt on the comfortstitching blog. I love the variations on a theme of colors!

and for my next trick...

The baby's room is going to have a modern/nature theme with an orange, teal and brown color scheme. I'm planning on making a crib skirt, bumper and window coverings out of some great Amy Butler fabric I found online.

The wall behind the crib will have a mural of white trees over a brown background. So, one of the projects I'm working on is a bird mobile that will hang over the crib in front of the trees to add to the 'forest' feel of the room. I got the idea and pattern from the Spool website. I made the first bird tonight. Hand sewing is definitely not my strong suit, but my guess is that by the time I finish with 10 birds I'll be much better at it. P.S. if any of you would like to donate your talents to assembling a bird for the project, just let me know ;)


Here's a picture of what it should look like when it is complete.

the non-sewer that could...

Once upon a time, there was a lady who longed to make a quilt. She wanted to know what all the hubbub was about but her life got in the way - she had children, jobs, a husband to take care of and then, she decided to go to school. Alas, it seemed that she would never find the time to learn to sew let alone quilt.

Then one day, the princess of the library (ahem), declared there would be a quilt group formed and the jubilant lady did a dance all around her cubicle, for now she had time. Her husband was gardening, her children were grown, and, she was FINALLY done with school (what about a PhD?)

So, the lovely lady went out in the world searching through all the fabric in the land until she found just the right ones. Proudly, she brought her fabric home and started to learn to quilt.

She learned to rotary cut and to sew. As she learned, her confidence grew. She asked questions and the merry ladies of the group eagerly stepped forward to advise and console when a stitch went astray.

She found that she had wonderful color sense and that it was okay that her rows were not always completely straight. The lady learned that sewing can be relaxing and she placed love in every stitch of her very first quilt.


Congratulation, Linda! You did it.

Happy! Woot!

ok i have one more row but love, love love this! WOOT! p.s. don't look too closely! its not up to beckwith/carter standards hah!

Spoonflower: Custom Printed Fabric

I've been doing a lot of searching for fabric online lately in my quest to decorate the nursery. I recently ran across a site that will print fabric based on your own designs. It's probably not somthing the average quilter would be interested in. But, they will print swatches for $5. I was thinking it would be an easy and inexpensive way to get a professional looking label made for a quilt without all the hassles that come along with trying to make one at home. Also, they sell other people's designs, including some professional artists like Heather Ross.

Spoonflower: http://www.spoonflower.com/welcome

Artistic Inspiration

Take a look at what patterns influence artist, knitter, quilter Kaffe Fasset.

Click here.

A new blog

My cousin and I are starting a new blog... click here, if you're interested!