Monthly Archives: July 2011

Free project—insulated hanging tote

July 15th, 2011 in Free Projects, Sewing
By Tristan Gallagher

BowersWalkerTote Judy Bowers, a member of our Creative Troupe, designed and wrote the instuctions for this adorable tote using Insul-Fleece^® Metalized Mylar Insulated Interfacing in the beverage holder strap inside, to keep drinks at preferred temperature.

Insul-Fleece has metalized mylar layered between polyester fleece to create a high-quality barrier that reflects heat or cold. This special combination of materials is very flexible and easy to sew through. Once you have sewn it into your project, you can machine wash, tumble dry, and iron with no bunching.

The underside of these tote handles also have a non-slip surface stitched in to assure no spillage during journeys. What a thoughtful gift or donation this would be for anyone who uses a walker.

Materials

18 x 22” Insul-Fleece
3/4 yard – exterior fabric
5/8 yard – lining fabric
1 fat quarter (18 x 22”) contrasting fabric for water bottle sleeve
½ yard fast2fuse^®
3″ x 6” non-slip gripper fabric
8” length of 2” wide velcro closure set Continue Reading…

Wednesday Night Live – replay!

July 14th, 2011 in Wednesday Night Live Replay Links
By Lisa Fulmer

xmas sox Tonight we had Christmas in July!

Laura Lee Fritz showed us this really fun way to use sections of her quilting designs from 250 New Continuous-Line Quilting Designs to create reverse appliquéd Christmas stockings. Click here for the replay of her demo on YouTube.

Then I shared a super easy no-sew fabric ornament project from an oldie but a goodie, Fast, Fun & Easy Christmas Decorations using fast2fuse^®and Silicone Release Paper. Click here for the replay of my demo.

Join us again in TWO weeks for Anelie Belden’s demo from her book, Thoroughly Modern Dresden. Click here for the full schedule.

We are on summer vacation next week – no show on July 20.

But you can still get your Wednesday fix with the replays! Visit our archive and you’re sure to find a fun episode you missed.

How much thread do you need to quilt?

July 12th, 2011 in Staff Pick
By Lynn Koolish

I am personally a big fan of Superior Threads. I like their products and I like the people who run the company. While reading their June 2011 newsletter, I came across the following article. I have never seen this information presented so succinctly, that I wanted to pass it on (reprinted with permission).

I also highly recommend that you sign up for their monthly email newsletter, it has great educational information, good deals on thread, and a “superior joke” every month from Bob Purcell.

We often are asked, “How much thread does it take to quilt a quilt?” It depends on the size of the quilt and the type of quilting to be done. Everyone’s technique is different, so the following are only averages. Of course it is possible to use much more or much less thread. These numbers are for the top thread only.

—————– Light Quilting – Medium Quilting – Heavy Quilting
Lap/Crib Size: 200 yds…………………400 yds……………………….600 yds
Twin Size: 400 yds………………..800 yds……………………..1200 yds
Queen Size: 600 yds………………..1000 yds…………………….1600 yds
King Size: 800 yds………………..1400 yds…………………….2000 yds

Used with permission from Bob Purcell—www.superiorthreads.com

Now that you know how much thread you’ll need, take a look at these great books and many more, for quilting patterns and techniques!

Monday is giveaway day!

July 11th, 2011 in Contests, News & Events
By Tristan Gallagher

Crazy-Quilted Memories book cover

Woohoo—our weekly giveaways are back! Every Monday you have a chance to win one of our most recent releases, like Crazy-Quilted Memories by Brian Haggard.

I have a wall that’s reserved and waiting for family mementos. It is blank at the moment and has been for some time. Why? Because I couldn’t wrap my head around an idea or plan for incorporating old family photos, stories and mementos, while at the same time creating something unique and keepsake.

How happy am I, that Brian Haggard has already embraced this mission and successfully written a gem of a book?

First and foremost, Brian’s desire is “to show you how to start with something you really love and let it build from there. Measurements don’t matter. Design as you go – let the piece grow organically and let your imagination take you where it will.” To me…that is the license and encouragement to just start and go with it as it comes.

Looking at his work, you can anticipate the joy each and every stitch will bring as you think of your ancestors and let their story unwind under your hands.

Squares with charm

July 10th, 2011 in Inspiration
By Ruthmary Schauer

I realized I had a pretty big assortment of charm squares, from numerous packets I’ve accumulated at fabric trades and give-aways here at C&T or bought at quilt shops and shows. These 5” squares are a great way to sample fabric lines.

Sorting out squares with similar colors or designs, and finding I had 220 of them, I tried to think of a creative way to combine them with something in my over-the-top stash.

I remembered a wonderful quilt on the wall, at least 10 years ago, at ThimbleCreek Quilt Shop, now located here in Concord. I had a vague memory of Trip Around the World or Irish Chain or some relatively simple design. But the reason I went back several times just to see this one – a class sample probably? – was because, instead of muslin as the ‘neutral’ fabric, the maker had used a blue chambray, making it unique and charming. Perfect for charm squares!

I cut chambray I’d purchased back then to make the quilt (aw come on, you have fabric you bought 10 years ago in your stash too) and gleaned about 120 5” squares. I decided to use C&T’s nifty new tool, fast2sew® Ultimate Seam Guide, to combine pairs of print with chambray without spending time marking the diagonal line, as you usually need to do when making half-square triangle units.

Even though the 5” square is bigger than the recommended 4” max, it was simple – you just place your diagonal-point (center line) on the guideline and your needle will stitch the correct ¼” seam, then turn the square around and come back with the opposite ¼” seam line. Slice each square in half, between your stitching lines, press the perfect ¼” seams to the chambray side, and, voila! Your unit is ready to trim and use. Continue Reading…

My great granddaughter’s first quilt

July 9th, 2011 in Behind the Scenes
By Shirley Montano

Ruthmary, my friend and co-worker here in the office, surprised me with a lovely quilt for my beautiful new great granddaughter, Leilani. Unfortunately I am not a quilter, but I am blessed to have friends who are. Thank you, Ruthmary…and Leilani thanks you too!

Spring cleaning bonanza

July 8th, 2011 in Behind the Scenes
By Lynn Koolish

Production Editor Michele looks through the goods

Every year we do spring cleaning at the office. This year we barely made it–cleaning day was June 15th, one week before the official start of summer. Everyone is responsible for cleaning their own office or cubie plus helping out with all the common areas.

The counter in the reception area becomes the “dumping ground” for anything you don’t need, but think some one else might be able to use.

Would you believe that almost everything you see here was snatched up by the end of the week, with just a few straggling items remaining? We do love to share here at C&T!

Wednesday Night Live – replay!

July 6th, 2011 in Inspiration, Wednesday Night Live Replay Links
By Lisa Fulmer

Monogrammed napkin by Roberta Birnbaum

Happy TAPpers unite!!! Don’t miss these super creative ideas from two of our Creative Troupe members, Ann Butler and Roberta Birnbaum, for using TAP^® Transfer Artist Paper tonight for customizing things….like burp cloths and bibs for new babies, party napkins, guest towels and more. Click here for the replay.

Join our Happy TAPpers group on Flickr and share your creative ideas for using TAP!

Next week, Laura Lee Fritz brings us Christmas in July with a reverse appliqué demo on Christmas stockings.

Click here for the complete schedule – see you soon!

Do quilters journal?

July 5th, 2011 in Staff Pick
By Teresa Stroin

Yes, quilters use journals to capture lots of information. Fabric samples, sketches of ideas for future quilts, and quilting designs are three things that come to mind. Being a technical editor, I also use mine for math. Whenever I come up with an idea for my next quilt, I graph it out to scale, then calculate the piece sizes and yardages in my journal. That way everything is in one place instead of on lots of little slips of paper floating around my studio.

C&T makes the best journals that I’ve found. It has graph paper in the back and hand-made sketching paper in the front. I’ve been using one of these journals for my quilt-making life for some time now and thought I’d share a couple of pages from it.

These are examples of some feather quilting designs that I’ve been doodling. I find the better I can draw something, the easier I can free-motion quilt it. (And as you can see, I need all the practice I can get!)

It’s easy to work out potential glitches in construction ahead of time with the graph paper that is in the back of the journal. Eventually, I chose a different layout from the two that I graphed below at the right for my “I Spy” quilt. The visual helped me decide.

Here’s fabric from the latest quilt I’m working on. I took this with me to my local fabric store this weekend and added some green to the mix!

Other uses for a quilting journal: It’s a great tool to have with you at all times for whenever inspiration strikes. Documenting an idea in a journal keeps it from being forgotten. One quilter I know keeps track of all the different machine settings she uses for a project, whether it is needle postion, stitch length and type, or necessary tension changes. With all the wonderful threads on the market, remember to write down the settings you changed to get a smooth stitch from each different thread.

Finally, a journal can be a quilt-making bucket list: that is a list of all the techniques, processes, and projects that have caught your eye and you want to try. I know I’ve got a list a mile long!

Happy 4th of July!

July 4th, 2011 in Inspiration
By Amy Marson, Publisher

I try to walk every day when I travel and take pictures of my surroundings. In 2001, I took the above picture in the winter time in NYC outside the Publishers Weekly building and was really happy with how the image turned out.

Salt Lake City

Since then I have gotten a few others that I think are kinda cool, so on this anniversary of our founding fathers signing the Declaration of Independence, I would like to share my favorite flag pics with you.

New York City

Happy 4th of July. Enjoy!

C&T Publishing is a group of quilters and crafters dedicated to publishing products tailored to our audience. This blog is where we break away from book schedules and marketing campaigns to focus on what drives us to be creative and how this creativity manifests itself in our every day lives.