Tie One (apron) On Tuesday - Donut Apron

Look at what I got for Christmas!

My younger daughter made this fun donut apron for me for Christmas! She used my apron book

to make it.

This fabric is part of the Timeless Treasures line, called Got the Munchies?

I think this is just the most fun fabric! We are listing this donut fabric, along with other fabrics from this line

in our Etsy shop. And there are other great food fabrics, as well:

Yum!

Picture This quilt from the Happy Hour book is done!

I never showed you my completed Picture This quilt, from the Happy Hour book, did I?

You might remember me showing you this picture below, in which I rented time on a long arm quilting machine at a local quilt shop, and I did the quilting myself. It is virtually impossible to see, but it is a meandering pattern; it is probably a bit too large to be called stippling.

The quilt is huge; it can just about fit our king size bed. The pictures don't really show just how lovely this quilt is.
I think I'll be trying this out with other fabrics and colors. I really like this pattern.

Since I am determined not to be on this computer tomorrow, I want to take the time today to wish you a Merry Christmas! Now, you, too, get off the 'puter, and go spend time with those you love. :)

Tie One (apron) On Tuesday - Turkey Apron

As we approach Christmas, let's talk about a...turkey apron??!!

It just occurred to me, I forgot to show you the aprons we made for Thanksgiving! We found some apron panels reduced at our local fabric superstore, so we bought three (one for each of us girls). The panels are nice; they make it easy to cut out the pieces and assemble them.

Hope you are enjoying your Thanksgiving, um, Christmas season. :)

Scraps

A little earlier this month, I received a gift of scraps from a new quilting friend, E. She has been quilting for decades, so she has several large bins full of nothing but scraps. She brought one out to me, and I filled an entire tote bag, without even making a noticeable dent in the contents of her bin.

Once I sorted the scraps, I counted over 137 different fabrics. It took three shots to get all of the fabric in; it filled up my entire dining room table!

Now, here's the thing: All of these "scraps" were not exactly what I would call scraps. They were sizeable pieces; some were as large as a fat quarter. I asked E what she defined as a "scrap." She said anything up to the size of a fat quarter, and that she throws away anything smaller than 2 inches. Wow. I think my definition of "scrap"

may need to be redefined.

Tie One (apron) On Tuesday - Sweets Apron

We love the gathered half apron style around here.

Can you see the two little pink strawberries on the pocket?

Deliciousness.

Yellow Brick Road quilt: Finished!

By the way, I never showed you pix of the Yellow Brick Road quilt that I finished:

For this view, tilt your head 90 degrees to the left. :)

It came out really bright and cheery. I have gotten SO many compliments on this quilt.

I won a fabric bundle!

Guess what? I won a bundle of fabric!

photo source: Hawthorne Threads

I never win anything, but I won this!

It all started when I was looking at some pictures of Houston 2009 Quilt Market, and drooling over some of the new fabric lines. Among many beautiful ones, this one caught my eye:

What a stunning quilt!

So, now that I am coveting the Paula Prass Woodland fabrics, I am visiting all sorts of blogs that make mention of this line. One of the places, Hawthorne Threads, is having a giveaway for a bundle of the fabric. So, not really expecting anything, I entered.

And I won!

Go run over to the nice people at Hawthorne Threads to see it for yourself; there are three great colorways for this line of fabric. Woot!

Tie One (apron) On Tuesday - Peppermint Candy Apron

Here is my Peppermint Candy apron! What do you think?

Angry Chicken had an open invitation for anyone who might be interested to join her in creating a Peppermint Candy apron. Here are photos of all of the aprons that were created for this. They are just adorable!

Mini Quilt Monday: A red heart applique quilt

In my early quilting days, I attempted a mini quilt for my husband for Valentine's Day. It was appropriately red, and had four hearts. This was a lesson for me in may ways, in a variety of different techniques and issues.

I learned about applique. I did not do it the traditional way, but I have seen this method used in quilting books stressing quick applique techniques. I sewed a heart to fusible interfacing, cut a slit in the interfacing, and turned the heart right side out. I fused it to the backing fabric, and then I used a zigzag stitch with coordinating thread to sew it down. Slightly unorthodox, but it works.

I also learned about sashing and the window effect. I sewed strips to the tops/bottoms of the heart squares, and then sewed these columns to more strips.

I discovered the visual appeal of multiple borders. Even though these are rather narrow, this mini quilt has two borders, in addition to the sashing.

Instead of binding the edge, I turned the backing fabric forward, then turned it again and sewed it down. I mitered the corners.

I discovered the fun of choosing coordinating fabrics, and I learned about color values and contrast.

Now, if I had only put a label on the back to date it (it was created sometime between 1997 and 2001)…

The importance of supporting your local quilt shop

It is of the utmost importance that you support your local quilt shop (LQS).

Yes, I am aware of the fact that your LQS fabric is usually more expensive than the fabric that you can purchase at your local fabric superstore. Also, your LQS will not be open for as many hours during the day, or as many days during the week. If you are not able to do your shopping or run your errands during the week and during the day, sometimes it is virtually impossible to get to your LQS. The variety of fabrics, notions and tools, books, etc. will be more limited at your LQS. Your local fabric store looks more and more attractive, in light of the reasons mentioned above, and probably even more.

Yet let’s discuss the importance of your LQS. Take a look at fabric, for example. While your local fabric store may have more affordable fabrics, either off-the-bolt or in fat quarter cuts, they will not always be of the same quality and caliber. While fabrics at both may say 100% cotton, we all know that not all cottons are created equal. Consider all cotton sheets, and Egyptian cotton sheets. Enough said, yes? Think of the fabric at your LQS to be the Egyptian cotton sheets, and the fabric at your local fabric store to be the common, 200-thread count variety. As with sheets, the fabrics show their quality by the way they feel and how long they last.

Another reason that you should support your LQS is because of the level of expertise that you will find. The salespersons at your local fabric store may not even sew, let alone quilt, let alone be able to answer your specific questions. The LQS employees, who are sometimes the shopowners, can answer all of your questions and even offer very helpful advice. After all, they are, almost without exception, always quilters themselves. Case in point: I ran into my local fabric superstore one day (out of sheer desparation) and asked if they had any layer cakes or jelly rolls. The salesperson said, “go down the street to the grocery store.” Need I say more?

I believe that the most important reason that you should support your LQS is because of the sense of community, camraderie, and belonging which they create. When I enter my LQS, I am not just a customer. I’m greeted by name, and I’m invited to have coffee, tea or juice. I’m asked how my latest project is going; did I make any progress with either of those two patterns I purchased the last time I was in the shop? Patterns, I might add, which are sold almost exclusively at local quilt shops. Long arm quilting services are frequently offered at your LQS. When I bring in a completed project, I’m properly oohed and aahed. There is always a list of classes, trunk shows, fabric previews, etc. being offered. Past and future quilt show trips (i.e, Houston) are frequently discussed. Color combinations are debated, and fabric designers are regarded as good friends (have you seen the latest Amy Butler fabrics?).

It is of the utmost importance that you patronize the hardworking, underpaid owners of local quilt shops, even if only for some of your fabric. The difference that you might pay in fabric prices is more than worth it, for what you will get in return. Perhaps it helps to think about it this way: What would you do if there was not a LQS within 100 miles of your home? Or, if you live in a rural area, within a four-hour drive? Hopefully, this is a question you will never have to ask yourself. Save up if you must to pay the difference in price, but know that you will be investing it in higher quality, longer lasting fabric. And relationships.

A fresh start

My blog, http://how-to-quilt.org, has been compromised one too many times. It is down even now as I type this.

I'm done.

I'm starting over with a clean slate. I will import blog entries one by one (sigh), postdating as necessary, until they are all here.

More to come.