Awesome Class

I had a wonderful quilting experience this week as I had the privilege of taking a class from Lisa Snipes.  Lisa is a truly wonderful longarm quilter with many awards to her tallent.  Her most recent award was a Best in Show quilt at QuiltCon which was pieced by Victoria Wolfe and quilted by Lisa.  Lisa is a spokesperson for Gammill Quilting Machines in Missouri.  Her tallent is amazing and if you are going through any quilting magazines and see an ad for Gammill Machines you may well be looking at some of Lisa's quilting expertise.

It is amazing to me to be able to look at some of the work she does and realize that she has quilted on a piece of white fabric or black fabric and has used different colors of thread to create amazing designs.  If you check out the QuiltCon Best In Show Quilt at Victoria's Blog (Bumblebeansinc.com) or on Lisa's Blog (That Crazy Quilty Girl) you can see the totally awesome triple line crosshatch that adds so much deminsion and movement to the quilt.  Victoria has used a Double Wedding Ring type pattern, but the quilting truly makes this quilt and even more awesome thing to behold.

Being a longarm quilter and quilting for other people makes each quilt a really unique piece of art.  Without either person the result would never be the same!  The piecer and the quilter each bring a unique talent to the table.  When you get two people, both with amazing tallent in their own right and put those together you get truly amazing awesomeness!

At any rate I hope to be able to put some of the new techniques to work in my own quilting room.  I've already been practicing the triple straight line stitching and some of the different fills that she brought to our table in the class.  In my opinion, every quilter needs an infusion of new thought at intervals or they are prone to get into a rut and none of us want to be in a rut.  The same holds true with people who piece quilts.  Take a look at your fabric stash and you will see what particular colors that you tend to purchase.  The majority of people will gravitate toward one hue, light, medium or dark in addition to purchasing a lot more of one particular color family, green, yellow or red or anywhere in between.  I found that I typically purchase medium hues and when I would hunt for lights or darks I would wind up back at the fabric shop.  Now, I try to keep it changed up and one day when I am going to visit the quilt shop for nothing in particular I make it a point to pick up a light color, and then again I may decide I'm going to pick up a dark and those pieces are just for my stash.  Because I discovered this some time ago, I can now go upstairs to my stash and pick out all of the fabrics necessary for a quilt and I will have a good mixture of lights, mediums and darks. 

I have also found that I frequently tend to not purchase any geometric patterned fabric and therefore sometimes I just make it a point to pick up a geometric, when I have an extra dollar or two and this is just for my stash.  There is nothing like diversity to keep your mind fresh and your stash varied and that variation will make for some really interesting quilts if you allow that to happen.  You would have really had a laugh if you had been with me when I was trying to find fabric for a wall hanging nativity scene that I have been working on and I had very specific requirements for those fabrics. 
I needed flesh colored fabric, but I wanted one of those to be European, and one Asian, and one Moor.  In addition I needed fabric for hair for the European and Asian and the Moor in addition to fabric for the hair of Mary, Jesus, Joseph, the Shepherd and the Angel.  I did not want to use the same hair on two figures in the scene and I needed hair for a beard for at least two of the men.  Then there was fabric with the pattern of fur for the cattle, sheep and camels.  You would never believe how many shops I visited and how many hours I spent on the computer looking for exactly the right fabric.  Now those type of quilts will bring a new dimension to your stash that is truly wonderful. 

All of the above also applies to longarm quilting.  Not only do we have the patterns but we have the different colors of threads and the different textures in addition to the embellishments that are readily available to dress up the quilt.  Rickrack, ribbons, buttons and gems are truly only the beginning of what can be used to embellish a quilt. 

All of this being said, I strive to be a little different, but not overly out there because that just isn't in my nature.  Lisa, however is out there and I am so happy that she is.  Without those people who step outside the box, we would miss so very much!

A wonderful picture of some of Lisa's quilting!  I told you she was awesome. 

 

 

 

Picture of Lisa and I at the class.  It was a wonderful class.

 

While I aspire to be a quilter that produces work like Lisa, I'm afraid that I'll never quite make it that far, but I can still practice, practice, practice, as long as people continue to bring me practice pieces for me to quilt.

 

 

For a wonderfully entertaining hour check out Lisa's blog and look at her fab work.  Oh be sure and get a Kleenex before you start to keep the drool off the screen!  Hope you all have a wonderful quilty day!

 

What do you mean Christmas?

Well folks, Halloween is gone, Thanksgiving will be here in just a few more days and then comes that wonderful Holiday Christmas!  While we never want to forget the reason for the season, this is a time when crafting abounds as we crafters search for ways to provide presents for all on our list!  This is the time that I am making lots of lap quilts as you have seen in previous blogs, pillows, aprons, napkins, potholders and this year I'm making some pillowcases also!  This past week has been my pillowcase week and the cases I have made have been made from stash, so dig through that stash for your larger pieces of fabric  and even your 3" strips.  There are so many pretty fabrics available with kid themes that you also have a wonderful selection at the fabric stores.  One thing I really strive to do is get 100% cotton material so it is all very much washable and easy to get stains out of if necessary!

 

 

Well on to how to make these wonderful little gifts....

 

What you will need:  Fabric for the body of the case 27" x wof (width of fabric)  Now we all know that fabric comes in different widths but this is talking about your standard width of approximately 42 to 45 inches.

 

Fabric for the cuff: 9" x wof

Accent piece of fabric:  3" x wof

 

How much simpler can we get.  3 pieces of coordinating fabric.  Now if you go to the fabric store to purchase the fabric and you know you are going to make more than one pillowcase and you want to stretch those dollars, if you purchase 1 yard of fabric, you can get a body and a cuff from that fabric so you can make coordinating pillow cases by getting 1 yard for the main fabric on one pillow case and have the cuff for the coordinating pillowcase from that 1 yard of fabric without waste!  If you purchase the same accent piece of fabric you will need only 6" x wof for both pillowcases, but switch it up any way you want and you can even use the same accent piece for 4 pillowcases and just purchase 1/3 of a yard of accent fabric.  (Just be sure that your fabric store is cutting the fabric straight)  Sorry but I have gotten home after purchasing 1/3 yard of fabric and found it was 12 inches on one side of the cut and 9 inches on the other!  Did not make my day I can tell you.  Actually took some back to the fabric store because of it, and that was a major hassle!

 

So cut your fabric....

 

1.  The body of the pillowcase

 

2.  The cuff of the pillowcase

 

3.  The accent piece for the pillowcase

4.  Fold the accent piece in 1/2 so it is 1 1/2" wide and press with wrong sides together.

5.  Layout the cuff of the pillowcase, right side up.

6.  Lay the accent piece with the raw edges aligning with the raw edge of the cuff on the top edge.

7.  Align the body of the pillowcase fabric wrong side up with the raw edge also along the top edge.

8. Fold the excess length of the body of the pillowcase up so it is smaller than the cuff piece.

9.  Fold the bottom part of the cuff up matching the raw edges forming a tube and pin the raw edges together catching both edges of the cuff, both edges of the accent piece and only 1 edge of the body of the pillowcase.

10.  Sew a straight seam down the length of the tube you have created.

11.  Turn the tube right side out.

12 Press being sure to turn the accent piece toward the cuff.

Don't worry that all of your fabric has not been the same width.  Just try to keep it as straight as possible on 1 side.

13.  Trim the edge of the case to remove uneven edges and selvedges.

Now you have a nice straight edge to sew.

16.  Fold the case in half , right sides together matching the cuff and accent pieces.

15.  Making sure to pin your edges at the accent piece so they will stay straight then sew a seam around the two raw edges of the pillowcase.

16.  Those pesky corners need to be trimmed so you get a nice corner. 

(TIP:  When getting ready to turn a corner stop a couple of stiches early and turn you material half way around the corner, take 2 stitches and then lift the pressure foot and turn the rest of the way around the corner.  You will have a sharper corner that is more easily turned after trimming.)

17.  Turn the pillowcase right side out and press.

18.  Now to make a nice finished seam once again sew around the two edges where you made the previous seam and all raw edges will be encased so there is no raveling when it is being washed.

 

As you can see I have made several of these pillowcases for gifts for family.  Kids seem to really love them because this labels the pillow as their special pillow.  Parents love for kids to get them because they don't require batteries and they do not make noise!

 

 

Now if you really want to share the Christmas spirit you can make up a few extra of these and donate them and particularly now with the hurricane Sandy victims items like this are needed as well as making them for your local childrens hospitals (check with them first) or you can give them to any of your shelters, because they can always use bedding items, or some of your other organizations like the Salvation Army or Red Cross.  Just call and check with them and see what they tell you before making up a large number.  You make even want to talk with your local guild and see about a community project.  I wish you all a wonderful day and hope you enjoy the preparations for the holiday season.



 

 



Very busy week

Once again I had to go out of town this past weekend.  My wonderful friends came over and sat with my fur babies.  They said they were going to go and drool on my fabric but I don't think they even made it upstairs to my sewing room.  Gosh, no drool to wash off!  Oh well.

Of course any time I travel I have to stop at quilt shops out of my normal area.  Once again went to Florida and stopped by the Lake City, Fabric Arts Store.  They do have some lovely fabric!  What can I say.  I did pick up a few pieces.  My excuse to my hubbie was that I had to bring my buddies back a couple of pieces of fabric for their stash.  I always love it when my friends bring me pieces of fabric!  It is nice to be thought of and even nicer to figure out ways to use those pieces that someone else purchased with you in mind. 

When I have the wonderful fortune of having someone bring me a piece of fabric, I typically find that is is not anything I would have bought myself.  Not that it is ugly but it is just somewhat different from my normal taste and let me tell you, these are the best stash builders you can get.  I will always find ways to use them and typically they are the stars of the piece when I throw them into the mix.  Why, for just that reason, they are not what I normally buy!

If you check it out with your own buying habits when purchasing fabric you will find that you tend to lean toward one type of fabric or one shade of fabric when you have extra money and just pick up something because you like it.  I will typically pick up a medium shade of some color that is typically a fairly vibrant color.  Peggy loves florals and most of her fabric  that she picks has flowers.  Other friends do other things consistently.  We do purchase other things when we go to the store particularly to purchase a border or sashing or something in particular we are hunting but if we aren't looking for that one particular piece we revert to old habits. 

Take a look at your stash of fabrics that contain fabrics you have purchased and see what you find.  Leave out those others have given you and what you won at the guild meeting and see if you can pick out your typical fabric purchasing habits.  Is anything wrong with doing this.....noooooo.  Absolutely nothing is wrong with this.  What does happen is when you do decide to reach into the stash and try to pull out fabrics for a quilt you wind up with fewer choices than if you make a real effort to change up your purchasing habits.

I will typically try to do this a couple of times a year.  When we go on a shop hop or just a few of us get together and go visiting a few places in the area, I will decide that today I am only going to purchase light colors, or dark colors, or maybe kiddie prints.  You can make it anything you want except what you normally purchase.  I can't do medium shades of vibrant colors because I have so many of those already.  I have found that this works very well for me!  I just make a conscious decision before leaving home that today the only fabric I can purchase will be neutrals and I stick to it!  That's my real problem, sticking to my decisions when I am in a fabric store, I always find other things I want to buy and they are medium vibrant colors! 

This really does help my stash.  This way, when I want I can go to my stash and usually pull out fabrics to complete a quilt except for the borders!  To me this is just awesome.  It's like getting something for nothing.  It also makes it wonderful when I have decided to do some quilt gifts for Christmas or birthdays or weddings.  It helps me keep my budget in control and that is something we all have to watch these days.

Now back to my trip, or really before my trip.  This week was our local quilt guild meeting that we hold each month.  Jackie had the program and she had spoken with some people at the Ronald McDonald House in Chattanooga about a donation of some type of thing they could use for the kids and they pointed her to Chattanooga's Childrens Hospital and said they had a need.  When Jackie talked with them they told her they like to have each room made up for the kids with something special, like a pillowcase that is bright and cheerful, or a stuffed toy (I think she said) or a little quilt or blanket.  This was given to the child being admitted to the hospital and the staff said this was really a great thing for the kids.  Jackie brought the project to the guild and brought alone some fabrics to make some pillowcases with along with directions on how to sew a pillowcase and several members also brought pillowcases they had sewn to give to the cause.  It was really nice because Jackie had figured out that purchasing 1 yard of 2 different fabrics meant you could make a couple of pillowcases with the main body of one being the same fabric as the cuff on the other pillowcase.  Sort of neat really that you could make two pillowcases that coordinated.  This would be wonderful in a room with twin beds or bunkbeds for boys or girls.  Also a great ideal for Christmas or birthday gifts.  All of this in addition to if you want to give some to a charity.  I think this would also be a wonderful gift for a womens shelter or a homeless shelter.  There are so many ways to use this really simple thing that it is amazing. 

At any rate, I stopped at this little quilt shop, where I have been a couple of times before and it was a really great place and the staff was so nice and friendly.  Of course being about 350 miles from home, I don't make it down there with any regularity.  I found fabric that I wanted to purchase and had it cut and went to check out and at the check out counter they started handing me a ticket for me to save to get so much off my next purchase or you can bankroll them to use several at once to get a bigger discount.  Well gosh I was just there a month ago and I already had one in my purse, but they would not go back and redo anything so I just couldn't use it on the day I was there.  They said don't worry, they never expire!  Gosh, that wasn't what I wanted to hear.  I guess that will teach me to get my ducks in order before I stop at these shops that are not in my area with people who don't know me!  Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter to them because they are not going to be doing a lot of business with me because I'm so far away.  To my way of thinking this is really very poor service.  And while they may be nice to their customers that they feel may be repeat business if you are from out of town they don't have to treat you as nicely.  Sad if you ask me.....  So beware when visiting out of town shops, and get your ducks in a row before you go.  Also you may want to ask before you have them cut anything or ring up any purchases about store policies and prices if you purchase all the fabric at the end of bolt, is there a special discount?  Do they give a discount for people who are members of a quilt guild?  Do they have special savings cards or bags that give you extra discounts?  Why ask?

Well there are certain fabric stores that give a 10% discount if you belong to a quilt guild and can prove you belong to the guild.  JoAnn's does this.  If you are purchasing a backing or several pieces of fabric this can mount up fairly quickly and mean you are able to get some extra fabric or even batting at no cost.  Those are good days ladies!

One store gives you a 30% discount if you purchase all the fabric left on a bolt!  If you are purchasing borders or backing, again that 30% discount means you can get an extra yard of fabric for every 3 yards you purchase.  This adds up quickly.  Check out the discount tables or shelves at your local shops.  You never can tell what you may find.  I ran across some Jenny Beyer Fabric at one quilt store on the discount rack at 50% off.  This is a deal!!  I got all they had.  

Discount racks are also a good place to add to your stash when you can find some neutral colors or some kids prints that you can use at Christmas or for birthdays etc.  I love discounts!

Many stores will have discount cards to be used when you have purchased a particular amount and then you can use the card on your next visit.  Depending on how far out of town I am, I may or may not bother to get one.  Chances are if I do, I may not remember it when I'm back in the store many weeks later.  Sort of like the Florida deal and it always frustrates me no end when I miss something like free money!!

I hope you all have a great night and I'll try to get some more pictures posted next week.  Got several things going on right now that I think you will all love!

Happy quilting.

Some quilts take longer than others!!

Some time ago I was asked to teach a short program on and provide a pattern for a block.  I was very excited that people I know had actually asked me to teach.  Well that didn't really last too long.  I struggled over what pattern to teach that would be somewhat easy to piece and yet go together in a fashion that made it appear to be a more difficult block.  I looked through book after book and searched online and it seemed that I couldn't find anything I felt would be a good project.  Finally, just a couple of days before I was scheduled to teach I found what I thought would be a great block!!  After looking at about a thousand patterns this was the one.  The blocks were relatively simple.  It was a square in a square pattern that extended out to another border around that and then an accent along each outer border.  The pattern was called Garden Path and the directions for cutting were simple.  There were no 7/8" or 3/8" to make things more difficult.  I took great pains to copy the pattern down correctly and made my sample.  I presented the program and everyone admired the block.  I was greatly relieved that it had gone so well....until......  The following week I had a telephone call from one the people and she literally blasted me that my directions were not right and there was no way anyone could make a block out of that pattern.  I thought I had been so careful, but not careful enough.  I had left out one line in the directions.  Now what is that saying about "the best laid plans of mice and men...."

Well, I decided to go ahead and make a quilt using the block pattern that I had demonstrated.  First I had to decide on fabric.  Just prior to these events a friend, knowing how much I loved oriental patterns had given me a piece of fabric that she had that did not match anything in her stash.  She was trying to whittle down her fabric stash to more manageable proportions.  (Something I have never, ever, ever had the urge to do.)  This particular piece of fabric was an oriental garden complete with pagodas.  Well the name of the pattern was Garden Path so why not use that oriental garden fabric to make a garden path, and then I pulled out some more oriental prints from my stash that contrasted with the piece I was given and then I picked a very neutral background.



This is the garden path block  and some of the fabric
I chose to go with the piece of fabric I was given.

 I decided that I really didn't want to go with a traditional sashing pattern, that this quilt should have some special quilting and I wanted room to do that quilting.  At the time I was thinking about ferns and feathers.  Oh well, it wasn't time to quilt just yet, I had to finish putting it together.  I had 12 blocks and I wanted to make a quilt that was larger than a lap quilt and smaller than a bed quilt, and I did not want to use just a 2" sashing around the blocks so I decided to do some math.  Gosh, who would have thought that math would have come in so handy.  Well actually I loved math so it wasn't a hardship.

You can see in the above picture there is a variation in the spacing between the blocks, and in the picture below.


This picture gives a better picture of the different block setting.
You will notice the points are closer to the border for some blocks.
The points on the blocks are not in a regimented line.

 Quite simply I decided how wide I wanted the inter portion of the quilt and basically I decided that I would use the 2 1/2" sashing measurements and I would typically use 4 of those for a total of 10" of sashing.  Instead of cutting 4 - 2 1/2" strips, I cut a 1" and a 4" and a 2" and a 3" and that was my 10" of sashing and then I just put those in different places in the row.  I sewed a strip on each side of the first block and then on 1 side of the other 2 blocks.  Then I carried it a step further and used the same technique for the sashing on top and on bottom.  The final result was to give my quilt a very unique appearance in the setting and it is not one that you will find in a pattern book.  I like things simple, but I like things unique.  I guess this is all part of the reason I love freehand quilting on my machine.  Every quilt is different.  Even if I tried I could not exactly duplicate any quilt.  That is part of my love for quilting, the creating of something unique.

Well I got the blocks and sashing together, in much less time than you would imagine.  Just about 2-3 hrs and I was ready for borders.  Borders are really special things.  You simply don't want to forget the function of the border.  The border functions to stop the eye.  It says "Okay that was the quilt and that is the extra special portion, take time to look again."  Really the border is not there because you want to make the quilt bigger and so you just added borders until it was the right size.  This particular quilt, I felt, was to have very special quilting, so I didn't want a first border that would overwhelm, just a little pause and then we will see what's next..  My choice was a very narrow, green and black geometric that really looks almost like a solid black with a little texture.  Turned out to be just what I wanted.

Now I was ready for a final border and I wanted the oriental fabric again, but it needed to be a fabric that combined many of the colors I had used in the blocks.  The cards were the perfect choice as far as I was concerned.  I did make sure that the fabric was cut so the cards were all correctly oriented to the person viewing the quilt.  On top the cards are all with the top of the cards toward the outside top of the quilt and down the sides they cards are all with the sides of the cards on the outside of quilt and still with the top of the card toward the outside top of the quilt and the bottom border has the top of the cards against the border and the bottom of the cards pointing to the outside edge of the quilt.

This picture of the bottom left corner of the quilt shows
the fabric orientation of the border.

It was actually hard to tell where the fabric was seamed together which was an accident on the first one and then I started striving for that look on the second one and it worked out very well if I do say so myself.

Well now it's time to pick out the backing and of course I had to go with another oriental fabric.  This is one I really loved and I had to piece the backing.  I learned a long time ago that when you were having to piece a backing the correct way was to make all 3 pieces the same size or put a larger piece in the center and identical smaller widths on each side.  It is not preferred to just place a seam down the center of the backing.  Well since I had gone to so much trouble with the rest of the quilt, I needed to go all the way, and since I had matched the pattern so well at the seams on the border I wanted to see if I could do that on the backing also.

                           !                                         
It really is difficult to tell where the seam is in this picture. 
I put an exclamation point under the seam and the seam is not at the end
of the wooden post but going through the center of the second flower
from the end of the post.

All in all I think the quilt turned out very well.  I did do some special quilting, but not what I had originally envisioned.  I actually love the quilting and how it goes along with the whole theme, but I'll give you a look at that next week. 

Happy quilting.

Scrap quilt?? or Kit???

A friend recently brought me a quilt to quilt for her that I think is just really a neat little quilt.  A very simple little quilt.  (In case you haven't guessed.....I love simple.)  This particular quilt was simply half-square triangles with a couple of borders.  What made it so neat was the  play of light and dark across the quilt.  The simple use of color made it a striking quilt.

As you can see the color is the highlight of this little gem.

Isn't this just a lovely little quilt!!  I really enjoy the way she used the light fabrics opposite from the darks and then in a few places there are the random pieces of medium thrown in for variation and it makes the light colors pop even more.  All this with simple half square triangles. 

Now the finished size of the square is 3" so the square had to be 3 1/2".  In order to make a half square triangle you can take two 3 7/8" squares, place them right sides together and cut them diagonally (corner to opposite corner) and sew along the diagonal cut and you will have a 3 1/2" square.  It's really a very simple trick that makes all your half square triangles the right size.  From the two original squares you will have 2 - 3 1/2" squares which will be 3" finished size in the quilt.



Just a little closer look at the individual blocks.

 Hummmm.  I just wonder if I have enough scraps to do one of these?   Of course, I know I do, but what about you?  If you are like most people you tend to lean towards a particular color scheme and you can pick out those colors from you scraps and wind up with a really great scrap quilt.  Just remember to use a variety of colors unless you want an all blue with the alternating lights or maybe you are into light blue and yellow, with alternating darks instead of the lights.  So many possiblities and what a wonderful way to use up some of those scraps.  Of course you could use any color combination, and you could use any size half square triangles to make up this neat quilt.

If you want to change the size of the half square triangles here is the easy way to do the math.  Just add 3/8" to the unfinished block square, or add 7/8" to the finished block size, either way works and while it may be just a tad aggrivating to cut on the 7/8" it is better than having off sized blocks.  Know how to do this little math step means you can add in half square triangles to any of your patterns and get them to fit properly with nice little corners.  So if I need a block that is 4" finished and I decide I want to toss in a half square triangle then I just add 7/8" to the 4" and cut my squares 4 7/8" for a perfect 4" finished block.

Now I know several people who routinely cut their left over fabric into strips and that is how they organize their stash.  I think they all cut different sizes too which makes it interesting.  If you are one of those people then you may have to trim your precut pieces to get a standard size.  If you cut your fabric in 2 1/2" strips then trim down the strip to 2 3/8" and cut those into squares.  It is really better to do the trim first and then cut your squares.  You will have a finished 1 1/2" half square triangle when you finish your quilt.  Whatever the size you have cut, remember to trim off that little 1/8" and then cut your squares and have fun sewing.

It can really be a headache to try to sew long strips of the half square triangles into rows and little errors in seam allowances can add up over the width/length of the quilt giving you something you really don't want to deal with, so the best way to do this quilt is sew the blocks into larger blocks and then piece those together.  For example, use the half square triangles to make a 9 patch block (3 blocks long, 3 blocks wide), or a 16 patch block (4 blocks long x 4 blocks wide) and then sew those squares into the larger sections.  This will help keep any errors in seam allowances spread throughout the quilt so you will have a quilt that is easier to square, and your machine quilter will like you a lot more!!

Speaking of machine quilting.....I really didn't know what I was going to do with this particular quilt because I didn't want to do an overall pattern that would detract from the lovely piecing.  What I finally decided was an outer border of "ocean waves" pattern, and an inner border with stars and then a special little pattern in the blocks.  I did a stitch in the ditch and then put a little design in the dark fabric.


One of these days I'm going to take a class in
photography!!.  You can see the ocean waves
pattern at the top and then the stars in the second border,
and finally the design in the dark triangles more clearly
on the backing.

I used a maroon thread both top and bobbin and the quilting really doesn't show up on the front of the quilt.

I think this is a better picture of the design on the dark triangles
and the freestyle stars on the inner border.


Quilting should enhance the quilt, not take away and this quilt really didn't need anything that would make it appear busier, so I felt the maroon thread was ideal for this little quilt that already has plenty going on with the play on the light and dark fabrics and the many pieces. 

I hope you all have fun reading this and it inspires you to try out this pattern.  If you do, please let me know and if possible send a picture.  I love seeing what others are doing.  Each quilt is a unique statement of our own taste, desires, and love of quilting. 

Take time this July 4th Holiday weekend to thank God for the independence we have in the United States and our wonderful men and women in the military who fight so we can keep those freedoms.  We have a wonderful country!!  If our leaders are not doing what you think they should, pray for them.  If they are doing what you think they should, pray for them.  Prayer works.  Have a great day!!

My Retirement Collection

For years now I have been telling my husband that I am collecting all my fabric and patterns for my retirement.  Since I will not be bringing home a weekly pay check, I decided that I would have to squirrel away for those days when I would have lots of time to sit around and quilt and I very patiently explained this to my husband.  This has given me a handy excuse to purchase much more than I should at any given time.  It has also provided fabric to donate to worthy charities over the years.  I have also been able to share my abundance with friends and family.  The only problem is finding places to store the fabric and making sure the fabric is cared for so it does not become unuseable.

A few years ago, my stash had grown to such proportions that I was forced to find a new way to store the fabric.  My stash had grown from having a few pieces put back in a drawer with assorted patterns and thread and other sewing "tools" to taking over the drawer and then my fabric alone filled a drawer.  Next I tried stacking it on a very deep shelf.  That shelf would hold the contents of 3 drawers and the stash kept growing!!  I kept reading articles in magazines about the perfect sewing room and seeing pictures of rooms that had lots of room for enormous amounts of fabric.  I didn't have as much fabric as they had, yet, but I really did want one of those rooms.

Then my dream came true and I actually got a wonderful room 16' x 24' for my sewing.  I had lots of room, and was even able to store some other things in my room.  I loved piecing quilt tops and I was a purist and felt every top should be hand quilted.  I just didn't have the time.  It was taking me about a year to quilt each bed sized quilt.  That is when I started thinking about a longarm quilting machine.  I started checking on prices.  This was about the same time my husband decided he wanted a bass boat.  Well I was behind him 100%.  I mean he worked hard and he deserved to have some relaxation time.  So we bought his bass boat and just a few weeks later I pitched my ideal for a quilting machine.  How could the man say no after we had just spent all that money on his hobby and I could actually make a little extra money with my hobby?  I got my machine which took up almost half of my wonderful sewing room.

My sewing room became an ocean of fabric.  It didn't all stay in the sewing room either.  There was fabric in the guest room, fabric in the living room, fabric in my bedroom, fabric in the storage room, and I don't mean just one or two pieces in each place.  I could never seem to find what I was hunting.  I would know that I had some beige fabric that I had used for another project and now when I wanted to use the rest of that fabric and not have to buy more, I simply could not find it no matter how hard I looked.  I had to have a better way to store my fabric so I could find what I wanted without spending a week and still not finding the particular piece I was hunting.

Finally at Christmas I decided, no more.  I have been deligent for years about packing away my Christmas ornaments and decorations in large plastic tubs so they would not get damaged from year to year.  Now was the time to organize my fabric just like I did my Christmas.  I took my Christmas gift cards and headed to the local Walmart and purchased plastic containers with lids.  I think I actually purchased 6 on my first trip thinking I would not have enough fabric to fill all the containers but could use the extra ones to store some of our out of season clothing.  I actually had a plan.  I love 40's fabric, Aunt Grace especially and I had purchased fabric of every different pattern I found.  I purchased a minimum of 1 yard of fabric, unless I really loved it and then I purchased 3 yards just in case I wanted to use it for a border.  Well I could fold the 1 yard pieces much like a fat quarter and they fit perfectly in those lovely containers.  Each container would hold about 40-50  1 yard pieces all nice and neat.  I arranged them in order of colors, I had blue, yellow, red, green, orange, brown, pink and right on down the line.  I believe I made about 4 trips back to the Walmart for more containers before I finished, but the end product was my fabric, gathered from the four corners of the house, was now all in one place.  And I had neatly labeled the ends of the containers with what color fabric so I now could find that elusive piece of fabric that I knew I had somewhere. 




Nothing fancy, just labels and writing with a felt tip pen. 
As you can see it has changed some over time.






The really great thing is how well they fit and I can actually
tell what the fabric is without pulling out the piece and unfolding.
Makes it easier to take the piece of cloth I am trying match and just
hover over the different color to see what goes best!


Since that first sorting many new pieces of fabric have been added and many of the old pieces are now in quilts somewhere, but I have continued using my lovely containers, with labels on the ends.  At times I have many pieces of fabric pulled from those containers as I audition them for their place in the current project, but the ones who don't make the cut are eventually put back into the containers to await their turn in a new project.

I would like to encourage each of you to decide on a way to store your extra bits and pieces of fabric unless you are one of those wonderful people who are able to have only 1 project at a time and dispose of any leftovers immediately.  If you are more like me and save and keep your scraps in hopes of one day putting all those pieces together into a wonderful quilt, then try to pick a system for storage that works for you.  At least that way if you want a particular piece of fabric that you know you have, you will be able to find that fabric without the frustration I used to experience.

Another thing that you will really need to watch out for in leaving your fabric folded or creased for very long periods of time.  These creases can become permanent and cause you to lose some of your fabric or have to cut around areas.  If you have fabric that you have stored, take it out of the drawer or container and refold in a different manner so your creased don't become permanent.  Sometimes I will actually take a container and shake out each piece and toss it in the washer on a rinse cycle and then dry and refold and put back in the container.  This keeps the fabric fresh, prevents permanent creases and your fabric won't dry rot. 

Really the same thing goes for your quilts.  They must be taken out and shaken and refolded to prevent those permanent fold marks.  When storing your quilts, please don't store them in plastic bags as this will damage your quilts causing dark brown spots and streaks through the quilt.  Storing your quilt in a pillow case works wonderfully well.  It keeps your quilt clean and neat and you won't have brown spots.  If you have fabric left over from making your quilt you may want to sew up a couple of pillow cases to match the quilt and then an extra for storage.  Putting your Christmas quilt in a Christmas pillow case makes it easy to find without pulling so many things out of the linen closet in your search. 

However you decide to store you fabric and your finished projects, make it as easy as possible for you, and pick a design created to decrease wasted time looking for a particular item.  These are just small steps to make your life easier and decrease stress and give you more time for quilting.  If you have a special way you have stored your fabric or sewing supplies, please let me know and I will pass your tips on to others to help make their lives easier.  Over half the fun comes with sharing.    I hope you have a wonderful day.
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