Anatomy of a Sewing Machine

Ever wondered what a throat plate is? What about a flywheel? Well, here is the answer to your anatomy questions my dears - check out Craft's Anatomy of a Sewing Machine. This 'zine has great projects by the way - take a look around, lots of eye candy too like the ultra mini skirt tutorial. Anyone up for making one?

Bumming with Jo

Jo and I went "bumming" as my mom and grandma would have said, yesterday. What a great time we had. We stopped at the wonderfully brilliant and shall I say very well stocked Quilter's Heaven in Northbrook, Illinois. Here is Susan, she was happy to see us!

This is the front of the register area - behind me are oodles and oodles of Kaffe Fasset and Amy Butler fabrics.

Do you need to see closer?

Here's the batik room - over 500 bolts of batiks!

And, upstairs is the 25% off room - and, it too had a great selection.

Worth the trip! Quilter's Heaven.

new fabric store in lake villa

While surfing the web for charm packs this morning I ran across a website for a new fabric shop in Lake Villa. Their blog says they opened in March of this year and specialize in quilting and heirloom fabrics. They also have a consignment program available. Might be a place for a future field trip (they only take cash and checks).

address: 19020 W Grass Lake Road, Lake Villa, IL 60046
phone: 847-612-1644

First try quilted bib (sorta)

I asked our fearless leading about using pure and natural for bibs because it seems like it would be absorbent. She said as long that as i quilted it, all should be well. I used the Martha Stewart pattern from this book.

It was fun to create and was not as difficult as I imagined it might be! The next one I will add a contrast fabric to the middle because it does not look like it is pieced! I will also make it a tad smaller... onward and forward!

Amy Butler

Who is Amy Butler you might ask? Well, she started out as a pattern maker, purse maker, and fabric designer. She worked at Country Living as an editor. Now, she runs a company named after herself, in Ohio.

Here is a sampling of her patterns...

Click here to find her website

Something you might like

Looking for a little bit more instruction? You may want to take a look at the tutorial over at I Have To Say... she does a lovely job of explaining the quilting process from beginning to end particularly the putting everything together sections.

Chelsea's quilt

Hi Quilters! This may look familiar. It is a bigger version of the quilt I made for my new niece. Chelsea loved the colors, so I am making her a queen-sized version. I got all the squares sewn together, and now I just have to attach the rows. Chelsea is not sure if she wants a border or not, so we still have to make that decision.

Happy quilting/sewing!

Color color everywhere

At our last quilt meeting for the spring term, our fearless leader talked about color, hues and the color wheel. In the collection this afternoon I found ColorSense! Its totally fab! Check it out - literally and figuratively!

What's happening with the baby?

don't forget to check out the progress on the baby's room....

On the agenda for summer

I think we reached consensus today on doing a 9-patch quilt for the fall semester.

Here's another colorful example:

For the most part, nine patches are fairly easy. The challenge for us will be matching up the corners. You cut a bunch of squares of equal sizes out of coordinating fabrics, shades of light and dark, use up scraps - the possibilities are endless.

To make ourselves s-t-r-e-t-c-h just a little - Kathleen will be helping us with a little mini talk about color sometime this summer.

Here's a tutorial on constructing a 9-patch.

Summer Project: Totes

Don't forget to post pictures of your tote progress over the summer!

It's the end of another beginning...

Once again, the quilters of CLC have amazed and delighted each other with their lovely creations! From left to right: Jo, Kathleen, Linda, and Jen; Holly, center front. Unfortunately, Anne had to work but her blocks were lovingly ooh'ed and ah'd over! Everyone did a fabulous job!

And, what a wonderful surprise for me when I was presented with the totally cool quilt bag below:

What a great surprise! The best part of the bag (besides its beauty and utilitarian nature) are the quotes on the black and white fabric: "When I learned to sew, I forgot how to cook!" "If I sit here long enough maybe they will fix their own dinner!" "I sent my son to college so I could keep my fabric in his room!"

It is so wonderful to watch each person bloom in their creativeness - what a great ride! I can't wait for fall!

New fun blog for moms or grandmas to be!!

I found this awesome blog, Homemade by Jill a mom who makes very interesting baby things... just for people who like to make things for children and babies!

Michelle's Tote!

Here's a photo of the tote bag I made for Michelle. I will bring in the pattern on Monday. Anyone who wants to make this tote is welcome to borrow the pattern. Michelle's is the largest size, which will accommodate a quilt inside. There are also yardages given for 2 smaller sizes. A couple of the nice features were the button "feet" on the bottom of the bag to help prevent dirt, wear and tear to that area. Also, there's a removable foam core insert (with lining slipcover) to make the bottom keep it's shape.

speaking of totes

I have been wanting to make one for a while and just haven't gotten around to it. I'm very much looking forward to our summer project. Here are a few free patterns available online that I wanted to pass along to the group as we prepare for the summer project:

• Sew Mama Sew's market tote (with French Seams!)
• Amy Butler's Yoga Bag
• Pink October tote bag
• Pillow Case tote bag
• Reversable Summer bag
• Buttercup Bag more of a purse than a tote, still very cute.

(pictured: Sew Mama Sew's market tote)