Our youngest author, 14-year-old Sara Trail, has been featured on the news. Her book and DVD introduces teens to the fun of sewing. Her talents as a seamstress are awe-inspiring.
Click here to watch the video on ABC Action News. (Sorry we had to un-embed the video as it was slowing down page load.)
Congratulations Sara. We are so proud of you and can’t wait to see what the future holds for you.
Anita G. Solomon has a favorite addage: sew on Federal holidays. Sew I did, and I was able to finish my tote bag. The tote bag that took 100′s of hours and lots of money to get “just right”.
I have a real soft spot in my heart for Baltimore Album quilts. When Ellie Sienkiewicz started writing her series of books on these quilts, I bought all of them and have made about 15 blocks so far, over 15 years. The problem is, I don’t bring the blocks with me when out and about because I am always worried about getting them dirty and losing pieces. All those hours spent on soccer sidelines and dentist offices wasted. Then I saw the book 101 Fabulous Fat-Quarter Bags, by M’Liss Rae Hawley and realized that a custom-sized tote would solve the problem.
She has terrific ideas for 10 different types of totes in this book. I started with the instructions for the Fat-Quarter Carryall, modified the dimensions so a pillow, a block in a protective cover and the stitching tools would fit comfortably inside. There was a lot of denim left over from another project and I was itching to try more machine embroidery, so it all came together for me this weekend.
Front
M’Liss recommends auditioning handles for the totes, and the current black ones shown aren’t quite right. Maybe they can be covered with more of the blue denim. Something will feel right to me in a few days and I can replace them. At any rate, I’m ready for appliqué action when I’m sitting at the next soccer game.
OK…not sewing related, but still this has got to be a highlight as my husband and I are clock collectors:
Garage sale price: $30!
Here’s another excerpt from our Quiltmaking Basics. Once you’ve basted together and quilted the 3 layers of your quilt (backing, batting, and pieced top), you’re ready to finish it with binding.
After the quilting is completed, trim excess batting and backing from the quilt even with the edges of the quilt top.
If you want a 1/4″ finished binding, cut the binding strips 2″ wide and piece them together with diagonal seams to make a continuous binding strip. Trim the seam allowance to 1/4″. Press the seams open.
Sew from corner to corner.
Completed diagonal seam
Press the entire strip in half lengthwise with wrong sides together. With raw edges even, pin the binding to the front edge of the quilt a few inches away from the corner, and leave the first few inches of the binding unattached. Start sewing with a backstitch, using a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Stop 1/4″ away from the first corner (see Step 1), backstitch one stitch. Lift the presser foot and needle. Rotate the quilt one-quarter turn. Fold the binding at a right angle so it extends straight above the quilt and the fold forms a 45° angle in the corner (see Step 2). Then bring the binding strip down even with the edge of the quilt (see Step 3). Begin sewing at the folded edge. Repeat in the same manner at all corners.
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Congratulations to Ruth Hockett Patterson who won More Elm Creek Quilts in the Weekly Giveaway! She left a comment where the Weekly Giveaway post appeared on our Facebook fan page and told of her inspiration to contribute to the Project Linus effort. Project Linus’ mission is to provide love, comfort, and warmth for ill and/or needy children in the form of blankets, quilts, and afghans hand made by members of the hundreds of local chapters and thousands of volunteer (“blanketeers”) across the country.
I have seen flyers posted around my community that raise awareness for this effort and have also often wanted to get involved. Seems like a great opportunity for quilters wanting to volunteer their time for a worthy cause! Thank you Ruth for raising our own community’s awareness. And thank you to all of you who left a comment about what motivates or inspires you to make positive change in your world. Of course your responses ran the gamut from heartfelt to hilarious (thanks for the laugh, Vicki W).
As a special thanks to our blog readers, for the next two weeks you can get 20% off your purchase of More Elm Creek Quilts. Simply mention discount code WG10567 when you place your order with C&T via phone (800.284.1114) or at our web site (enter discount code where noted during checkout) on or before July 20, 2009.
Have a hankering for a cupcake? Get your no-calorie ones here. We’re giving you another cupcake project–this one from Karen Flamme. For more cupcake fun, projects, and recipes, check out our book Cupcakes!
Made by: Karen Flamme
Finished size: 10” x 12 ½”
Image source: LIFE magazine (February 1950)
I know many people belong to quilt guilds and quilt groups. But I don’t. Not yet. Every day (week… month…) I have every intention of joining. But between work and the not-quite-school-age kids, every “day, week, month” becomes every year. One day soon, I’m sure, I’ll join my local guild (the active and fabulous East Bay Heritage Quilters) and find a quilt group that will have me.
For now I’ve resigned myself to lone quilting.
This weekend I got to be a guest and my neighbor’s quilt group meeting! I rang the doorbell with excitement. I don’t have a portable quilt project working right now, so I was carrying a fleece dog pad I wanted to stitch up around the edges (here’s the recipient). I couldn’t stay long—just through the rest of my kids’ nap time.
Neighbor Julie and her three quilting partners welcomed me with open arms and closed rotary cutters. My timing was perfect… I had enough time to whip stitch the pad before snack time! (According to the ladies, snack time is a popular element to their quilt group gathering and crankiness before snacks is understood, although no one seemed cranky this time.)
I also had time to dip into the projects and conversation: Silk combined with batiks, stripes and dots (should the stripes all go the same direction or different?), pieced backs versus solid pieces, an upcoming trip to Long Beach, and myriad thread choices.
Ahhhh. Heaven. While I’m surrounded by quilts and quilting 40 hours a week at work and we discuss quilting processes and the projects in upcoming books, it’s not the same as really talking about quilting — as in the tangible and beautiful quilt next to me or ideas for the next quilt I could actually work on. It’s the simple difference between talking in theory and getting your hands dirty, if only in conversation.
I think that will be my favorite part of joining a quilt group. What’s yours?
(P.S. – Thanks, Julie! I had fun and the buttermilk blueberry cake hit the spot!)
Who doesn’t love a good grab bag? We have a huge surplus of unopened sewing and craft supplies from various manufacturers that we have partnered with on past projects. So we want to pass these goodies on to you!
We have 16 bags up for grabs—each one is full of all kinds of cool stuff! I saw some adorable pink Exacto knives, pretty threads, nifty scrapbooking stickers, and I was tempted to snag a couple of the stamp pads. But alas, all these incredible products are destined for you, not me!
You have up to THREE chances to win a grab bag—here’s how to enter:
Get in once—post a comment here and tell us what project you’re working on right now. Are you sewing, quilting, knitting, scrapbooking, painting?
Get in twice—post a second comment here and tell us that you have signed up to get our e-newsletters – if you haven’t already, sign up here!)
Get in 3 times—tell your friends about our grab bags! Post a third comment here with a link back to your own blog post about this give-away. You might want to grab one of our beautiful blog badges while you’re at it!)
This contest will be fierce, so get ready! The deadline to enter is midnight, July 12, 2009. Winners will be chosen at random from the comments and announced on our blog during the week of July 13th. If you choose to post comments that are not linked to your own online profile, be sure to include your name and email in your comment. Contents of grab bags vary – it will be a surprise!! Good luck!
Today’s Follow Friday blog recommendation is Quiltstock – the online home of Woodstock Quilt Supply in Woodstock, New York. Their short-n-sweet posts keep you up to date on the latest books and fabrics, as well as what shows they’ll be in – and they have a nice video tour of their store. Btw – we love where their books are displayed – right up front! :-)
Check them out!
Have you seen our new book, Cupcakes!? We’re kindred spirits with all the cupcake fans out there, so we’re bringing you yet one more cupcake project: a “Cherry Cupcake Dolly” from Gladys Love! Check out the book for another project by Gladys: the “Eat Dessert First Postcard.” Happy creating!
Made by: Gladys Love
Finished size: approximately 4 1/2″ tall
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