I just completed a quilt for Judy W.  She chose a design that was one of the very first I owned when I first started long-arm quilting. It’s a design by Linda Taylor called Feather Meander. It’s an oldie but a goodie.

This was a big quilt 94 x 104 and has Hobbs poly-down batting & mauve color thread. It will look great on her bed.

Another quilt I have started is a custom Trellis Quilt for Kathy. I’ve been setting a lot of flowers.

I get asked a lot about taming wavy borders and my best answer is to avoid them in the first place.  You may already know what ‘squaring up’ means and may want a refresher. If you don’t then I want to offer a link to the best example of squaring up blocks I have found. Its a short video by Bonnie Hunter. In this video Bonnie shows how to square up a small square in a square block. http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2015/02/5quaring-up-square-in-square.html

Squaring up the blocks before putting them together will help avoid the excess on the outside edge of your quilt.  Fullness issues generally begin in the center of the quilt & amplify the problem until it gets out of control right before adding a border.

As you put your blocks together continue to lay the quilt out on a flat surface, the floor works great, and see if things are laying flat as you go. If not, fix the problem. If you don’t it will only get worse the farther out you go.

In addition, I like to suggest using some spray starch or sizing when you press your fabric before cutting it out. This will help keep the fabrics from stretching when cutting & piecing.

Enjoy the video & if you haven’t been to Bonnies blog you are in for a treat!

It may be too cold to go out, but its never too cold to quilt!

I know its supposed to be March that is “In like a Lion & out like a lamb”, but February seems to be the Lion so far.  Last night it finally stopped snowing & left 15″ of snow on the deck & more in drifts. Today all quilt drop off & pick ups are canceled unless you like pushing your car. That also means I’m not leaving home for a couple days but will still be working on the customer quilts I have in house.

I just returned from retreat yesterday. Its always a lot of fun & nice to get to work on some projects and see what others are making. The Kettunen Center is a nice place to stay in and sew. The work room fit about 22 of us comfortably and our sleeping rooms are just down the hallway. The center is a 4H complex. This weekend was also Winter Fest. The kids were enjoying a lot of fun activities both inside & out. I saw a few classrooms that looks so interesting I almost had to stop sewing & join them. There was snowshoeing, cooking outside, archery, photography, even dog sledding classes.

This is one new quilt I’m working on. The quilt is Amish Squares which is in the book Amish Quilts the Adventure Continues by Lynn Koolish. I saw this quilt hanging in Lolly’s at Shipshewana this summer and had to make it. This is one of 9 colors that will be paired with black.

The other project I worked on was a Disappearing Hourglass pattern from Missouri Star Quilts. I was using a layer cake fabric by Moda called Kahuna. Its a very pretty variety of Hawaiian prints. I’m about halfway finished with the blocks.

Who knows I might just get a little chance to work on these this week since they are predicting more snow on Weds.

Have a great day & sew on!

I sent out the first customer email for the 2015 year. I hope it arrived to all that I have emails for. I would be happy to add anyone to this list that would like to hear about quilting updates & any specials that I run during the year. I won’t be filling your inbox, but hope to stay in contact and share anything new I run across throughout the year.

I’m not enjoying the cold but I am happy I don’t have all those summer tasks like mowing the lawn. It frees up time to sew & with this cold weather its been really nice to sit & bind with a quilt over my lap. I just finished up a quilt that I’ve been working slowly on since 2010 & hope to get a photo up to share with all.

Stay warm friends & sew on!

Christmas will be here sooner than we know it. If you have a quilt you need for a holiday gift please don’t wait, get them to me as soon as you can.

My current turn around is 1 to 2 weeks depending on the number of quilts in house at the time you drop off.

If you know you have one coming that you need for the holiday please send me a note to let me know or call & I’ll add you to my holiday list, which fills up fast.

Happy Sewing!

I saw this great video on spinning seam intersections. Now the video is a little bit long because she also shows how to glue baste her pieces together before sewing. If you have never spun a bulky intersection this is a great thing to learn. Spinning helps those bulky areas from popping up & is just a great habit to get into so all your seams are well pressed & knit together well.  The glue basting is an interesting way to keep your fabrics from slipping when sewn, its very accurate.  In this longer video she also prepared for spinning by starting 1/4″ at the start & end of the seam & back tacks. Doing this you will not have to snip a couple stitches before spinning. Purple Daisies also sells the glue tips at their website.

http://purpledaisiesquilting.com/blogs/sewmuchlikemom/16688627-how-to-spin-your-seams-video-tutorial

The second video shows a simple 4 patch & how to spin a seam so the intersection lays nice & flat. This was first shown to me at a guild meeting. I had never been shown this before & was amazed how easy it is. In this quick video you have to snip a couple stitches before spinning. Also they fail to mention you know you have it right because you will see a small pinwheel where all the seams come together on the backside.  This is especially important on quilts where more than 4  come together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfy7ow4ID1E

Hope these are helpful tips – sew on! Nancy

I get asked a lot about attaching sleeves for hanging a quilt. Depending on what kind of quilt hangar you are using, you may or may not need a sleeve. If you are using a Hang it Dang it or a basic curtain rod or dowel system you will probably need to add a sleeve.  Since I switch quilts a lot I often only pin on a temporary sleeve but if you are planning on hanging a quilt for some time you will want a stronger & more evenly attached method.  I found instructions for this today posted by Bernina USA.  This site show’s how to create a sleeve & how to attach it to your quilt using the blind hem stitch with your sewing machine.  It’s a great little tutorial.   Hanging sleeve 

Enjoy!

I recently quilted a memory quilt that was for a retirement. I thought it was a much nicer gift than a plaque, watch or clock. I think from the pic that John loved it too. This was pieced, designed & bound by Martha Stewart for a Co-worker & CEO for Best Source Credit Union. Congrats to John on his retirement & I hope he enjoys his quilt. Its a nice one!!

If quilting were baseball today would be a game delay!  Thunderstorms are rolling through the southeast MI area today & I like to play it safe with my equipment and keep it unplugged until it all passes by.

Hopefully this will all be gone in time for tonights ballgame. Detroit vs LA Dodgers tonight at Comerica Park. I’ll be quilting and watching the Tigers play if the weather cooperates.

I’ll be finishing up some circles design & then adding some cows to the quilt border. I hope I can get a good pic to share.

Have a productive Tuesday!

The holiday weekend is sadly over but it’s nice to get back on a schedule. The storms rolled through last night & today it’s clear & sunny so no threats & I’m able to plug in my machines & get busy.

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July!