It's time for our second Mystery Pattern contest! The prize is a free copy of Jess' new 2010 Fall Mystery pattern for the upcoming Mystery Weekend on September 18th & 19th!
For the next week and a half, all you have to do is post a picture of a quilt that you have completed during 2010! If your quilt is completely finished, as in quilted and bound, then your name goes into the pot twice for that entry. If your entry is of the completed quilt top only, then you still get a chance with your name going into the pot once. Only ONE picture per entry but you may enter as many photos as you like to this blog posting as well as to the Quilt & Needle's Forum thread and our Facebook status - however, you can only win once!
So get your photos out and posted by midnight CDT (that's central daylight time) September 10th! Jess and I will draw the winner's name from all comment entries and let y'all know on Saturday, September 11th. We will contact the winner on September 11th to get their email address to send their prize on the Mystery Quilt Weekend.
We are looking forward to mucho eye candy!
By the way, if the chosen winner has already purchased this 2010 Fall Mystery pattern, the winner may select one of the previously published patterns from the Quilt & Needle webstore
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Tonight's Discussion Session - 1/4" Seams and Proper Stitch Lengths!
Join Jess and me tonight as Jess gets back to the basics of piecing quilt blocks! Jess is going to discuss 1/4" seam allowances and stitch lengths and why these techniques are so important to the construction of a great quilt! We encourage ALL quilters of every skill level to join us tonight (Friday, August 27, 2010) in the Snug Chatroom at 6:00 P.M. Central as our more experienced quilters will have the opportunity to share their wealth of knowledge, hints and tips with other quilters who have yet to have as many quilty moments with their craft. This promises to be a lively and informative Discussion Session! Looking forward to see you there!
Cindy
a/k/a MisisipiMenace and Ms. Tassels
Cindy
a/k/a MisisipiMenace and Ms. Tassels
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Frustrations...and turning it around
Ever have one of 'those' days? You know, the days when nothing you do is right...when Mr. seam ripper is your best friend.
My dear husband made me a sign for 'those' days. I used to have it hanging over my sewing table, but it got packed away and I haven't unearthed it yet. I need to though, as it reminds me :
"BAD DAY? Go away, not here should you play!"
That's what the sign says. LOL. And it reminds me when I'm having one of 'those' days, the best thing to do is go and read, or blow up balloons for my 6yr old, or anything else but sew.
I was having one of 'those' days last week. And stupidly decided that this scrappy stars pattern that I found here: http://stashmanicure.blogspot.com/2010/08/scrappy-stars-tutorial.html would make the perfect pattern for one of our charity groups. Our Snug society group, where we make lap quilts for a Veteran's organization.
So, I got out some strips that I have and happily pulled all the red, white and blues out. Then I cut the strips 8" long and happily sewed them together......and this is where it went all wrong. Even though I had printed out the tutorial, I figured I didn't need to look at it, as I pretty much understood what I had to do...that was the first mistake. I clearly failed to read the part that said "Each rectangle (that you cut) will be 4"x 7 1/2"!
But I still hadn't realized this....I merrily sewed whites to blues, and two different reds together, then put three of the strips together so it went white/blue...red/red....white/blue I wanted to make sure that the whites where in the 'corners' so that they would make a white star.
Luckily I only sewed about 15 strips together, before I had to lay 4 of them together in a square to see the star......and that's when I realized the mistake I made! My strips were 2" wide...and I cut them 8" long. So that when the three strip pieces were together, they made a 4.5"x11" rectangle....and you can't put those dimension rectangles together in the proper way to make this work! Your 3 strip block has to be a square, so that you can turn every other one horizontal.
That's when I knew it was time to pull out my sign....
Fast forward to today. I decided that I would cut the length of the strips that I already had pieced together down to match the width. So that I now have 4.5' squares, and when you put 4 of those together, you come up with a star....
Can you see the star?
So now, I have strips that are 3" wide and some that are 3.5" or 4" wide. What I plan to do is make different sized scrappy stars, and still put them together into a lap sized quilt. I think it will look great!
******
Now that my Australian friend recieved her table runner I made, I thought I'd show it all to you.
So put a sign on your wall, and when you're having one of 'those' days....go do something else instead of sewing.
Have a great day.
Dorian
My dear husband made me a sign for 'those' days. I used to have it hanging over my sewing table, but it got packed away and I haven't unearthed it yet. I need to though, as it reminds me :
"BAD DAY? Go away, not here should you play!"
That's what the sign says. LOL. And it reminds me when I'm having one of 'those' days, the best thing to do is go and read, or blow up balloons for my 6yr old, or anything else but sew.
I was having one of 'those' days last week. And stupidly decided that this scrappy stars pattern that I found here: http://stashmanicure.blogspot.com/2010/08/scrappy-stars-tutorial.html would make the perfect pattern for one of our charity groups. Our Snug society group, where we make lap quilts for a Veteran's organization.
So, I got out some strips that I have and happily pulled all the red, white and blues out. Then I cut the strips 8" long and happily sewed them together......and this is where it went all wrong. Even though I had printed out the tutorial, I figured I didn't need to look at it, as I pretty much understood what I had to do...that was the first mistake. I clearly failed to read the part that said "Each rectangle (that you cut) will be 4"x 7 1/2"!
But I still hadn't realized this....I merrily sewed whites to blues, and two different reds together, then put three of the strips together so it went white/blue...red/red....white/blue I wanted to make sure that the whites where in the 'corners' so that they would make a white star.
Luckily I only sewed about 15 strips together, before I had to lay 4 of them together in a square to see the star......and that's when I realized the mistake I made! My strips were 2" wide...and I cut them 8" long. So that when the three strip pieces were together, they made a 4.5"x11" rectangle....and you can't put those dimension rectangles together in the proper way to make this work! Your 3 strip block has to be a square, so that you can turn every other one horizontal.
That's when I knew it was time to pull out my sign....
Fast forward to today. I decided that I would cut the length of the strips that I already had pieced together down to match the width. So that I now have 4.5' squares, and when you put 4 of those together, you come up with a star....
Can you see the star?So now, I have strips that are 3" wide and some that are 3.5" or 4" wide. What I plan to do is make different sized scrappy stars, and still put them together into a lap sized quilt. I think it will look great!
******
Now that my Australian friend recieved her table runner I made, I thought I'd show it all to you.
So put a sign on your wall, and when you're having one of 'those' days....go do something else instead of sewing.
Have a great day.
Dorian
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Procrastinating...
How many of you do that? Procrastinate...that's what I am doing right now. I should be doing this:
But I hate trimming! Anyone else hate the process too?? I KNOW that trimming my blocks is the best thing, as then they are all prepped and pretty so they sew together more easily. But honestly, it is a B-O-R-I-N-G task.
So, instead I decided to come and do some chatting, and surfing. I need to update the album on our forum, for the Sweet Child charity quilts that we make. I love making quilts for those who need some extra love.
We have 3 different charity organizations that we donate to. Every month we make a quilt or two, all blocks, backing fabric and batting are lovingly donated by our members, and lovingly put together and quilted, by which ever member has the time and want to do it.
So far this year, we have made 20 quilts!! HURRAY!! We decided to take January off, to catch up. As last year we had SO many tops made. We needed to give the quilters time to catch up. We also decided that the months of Nov. and Dec. will be our catchup months from now on. As those two months is so busy for us crafters.
So back to my procastination....I've been having fun out in blog land lately. There is so much inspiration out there! Not only from other quilters/crafters, but also from nature, buildings, home decor, etc. I was looking on this blog http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/ AMAZING pictures of buildings in Europe. Look at all those patterns. Just gets the mind whirling with all the possibilities.
Another great blog for inspiration is http://lizzyhouse.typepad.com/cherry_house_quilts/ Has anyone bought Cherry's book, City Quilts? I haven't seen it yet, but there are lots of photos of her quilts, on her blog, that got inspired by the city around her. Just fantastic!!
I am slowly starting to see patterns everywhere I look. I don't have a quilt program for my computer yet. But I love to draw, so I keep a few sketch books and pens/pencils handy for any ideas.
Ok, I've procrastinated long enough....back to the cutting board!
Till nex time....
Dorian
But I hate trimming! Anyone else hate the process too?? I KNOW that trimming my blocks is the best thing, as then they are all prepped and pretty so they sew together more easily. But honestly, it is a B-O-R-I-N-G task.
So, instead I decided to come and do some chatting, and surfing. I need to update the album on our forum, for the Sweet Child charity quilts that we make. I love making quilts for those who need some extra love.
We have 3 different charity organizations that we donate to. Every month we make a quilt or two, all blocks, backing fabric and batting are lovingly donated by our members, and lovingly put together and quilted, by which ever member has the time and want to do it.
So far this year, we have made 20 quilts!! HURRAY!! We decided to take January off, to catch up. As last year we had SO many tops made. We needed to give the quilters time to catch up. We also decided that the months of Nov. and Dec. will be our catchup months from now on. As those two months is so busy for us crafters.
So back to my procastination....I've been having fun out in blog land lately. There is so much inspiration out there! Not only from other quilters/crafters, but also from nature, buildings, home decor, etc. I was looking on this blog http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/ AMAZING pictures of buildings in Europe. Look at all those patterns. Just gets the mind whirling with all the possibilities.
Another great blog for inspiration is http://lizzyhouse.typepad.com/cherry_house_quilts/ Has anyone bought Cherry's book, City Quilts? I haven't seen it yet, but there are lots of photos of her quilts, on her blog, that got inspired by the city around her. Just fantastic!!
I am slowly starting to see patterns everywhere I look. I don't have a quilt program for my computer yet. But I love to draw, so I keep a few sketch books and pens/pencils handy for any ideas.
Ok, I've procrastinated long enough....back to the cutting board!
Till nex time....
Dorian
Friday, August 6, 2010
Table Runners
It looks like the year of the table runner in my house. Since table runners are smaller versions of quilts, it's much easier to get them finish and displayed, than a bed sized quilt :)
Here are some sneak peaks at the three I've been working on this Summer. One of them is one it's way to Australia. My table runner swap partner lives there. I don't want to show the whole thing off yet, as I don't want her to see it till she gets it.
The other two are for some good friends of mine. Again, I don't want them to see the whole thing yet, so that's why the sneak peeks only.
Looks like I still need lots of practice in the applique area...I'm sure my friend will love it anyways....don't friends always?!
One of these days, I'll make one or two to go on my own table :) I just enjoy making things for others.
I like flower fabrics, can you tell? The top runner is made with the Roses line of fabrics by Jackie Robinson. I just love this line! The roses are so beautiful.
The second runner also has some Maywood flowers, some from the He Loves Me Too line, and some from Little Lulu. Maywood is one of my favorite manufactorers.
The bottom runner has some of my favorite fabric in it also. Connie, from here at the Q&N, hand dyed the blue and green fabrics. They are SO lovely and soft!
What do you have on your table?
Till next time...
Dorian
Here are some sneak peaks at the three I've been working on this Summer. One of them is one it's way to Australia. My table runner swap partner lives there. I don't want to show the whole thing off yet, as I don't want her to see it till she gets it.
The other two are for some good friends of mine. Again, I don't want them to see the whole thing yet, so that's why the sneak peeks only.
Looks like I still need lots of practice in the applique area...I'm sure my friend will love it anyways....don't friends always?!
One of these days, I'll make one or two to go on my own table :) I just enjoy making things for others.
I like flower fabrics, can you tell? The top runner is made with the Roses line of fabrics by Jackie Robinson. I just love this line! The roses are so beautiful.
The second runner also has some Maywood flowers, some from the He Loves Me Too line, and some from Little Lulu. Maywood is one of my favorite manufactorers.
The bottom runner has some of my favorite fabric in it also. Connie, from here at the Q&N, hand dyed the blue and green fabrics. They are SO lovely and soft!
What do you have on your table?
Till next time...
Dorian
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