Making Chenille and Using your Old Table Cloth

Susan Wood gave a presentation at the Shelly Library on making and using chenille. It was so fun to see what she did with this art form. It is a sure bet that many of us went home and really did give it a try.

Her little quilt was just so cute and for those who were fortunate enough to attend, she offered a free pattern of the quilt shown here.


Susan Nelson also shared many of her great ideas.....
She took a vintage table cloth, added some borders and ric rac and made the cutest little quilt you may have ever seen. Susan and her sister have published several books, all of which are very good.

This charity will pull on your heart strings

Here is our friend Dawn Ramirez. She is sharing her quilt from Heartstrings. Heartstrings is an online group of quilters who have joined together to make and donate String Quilts to local charitable organizations.

You can make one block and send it to them or you can make a top and send it. If you are really feeling the love make the entire quilt and send it.... everyone needs a warm quilt. If you know of a person who is in need of a quilt you can contact Mary and she will help you out. You can send Mary money for postage as she does all of her angel work at her own expense. Visit her blog you'll enjoy the read.

One last tip from Dawn. Cut your scraps into strips of any width. Then cut a bunch of muslin squares, set one next to your sewing machine along with a bag of scrap strips. Each time you sew off, don't use that little that little fabric piece, instead, sew another strip onto your string block. You'll finish a block before you know it and you won't waste ANY thread.

Scrap Management

As Dawn Ramirez told us in her presentation at the Shelly Library, scrap management is always a big problem.

Undoubtedly the QUEEN of scraps is Bonnie Hunter. You will love reading about her adventures and you will get so inspired by all that she does. When you have finished reading her blog, go to Bonnie's website where you will find the best FREE patterns for using up those scraps you have hanging around. You will find her patterns accurate and easy to follow. Next let's talk about getting a move on in regard to that stash that is taking over your life. Bonnie has some great ideas for you to check out.

Bonnie tells how she folds her fabric (brilliant).....

What I do....is take the fabric...and fold it selvege to selvege..the way it comes off the bolt at the store. Bring the folded edge to the two raw edges so it is in half again, and do it once more so the length of fabric is only about 6" wide.

Measure the depth of your shelf and subtract an inch or two. This is the measurement that you are going to use to fold your fabric into "mini bolts". With my cabinets, I fold my fabric over at the 15" measurement. I just lay a yardstick on the table, find where 15" is, measuring that from the left end of the folded fabric piece towards the center of the length. Begin to fold over and over and over at that measurement until the fabric is in one small bundle.

It doesn't matter how many yards are in the piece. The fabric "mini bolts" will end up being the same depth and width on your shelf, even if longer pieces of yardage are thicker. You can still see by looking at the stacked fabric, just exactly what you have on your shelf. All raw edges go towards the back of the shelf so all you are looking at is neatly folded fabric! It is really easy to pull ONE stack out, get the fabric you want out of the stack, and slide the stack back in place. Try it!

New at Moda

Moda Bake Shop is available on line and has a bunch of new items coming out, as well as free patterns. Read the blog created by the pattern designer for the quilt shown.

We all know about fat quarters, charm packs and jelly rolls. Guess what? There soon you will be able to purchase dessert rolls, honey buns, layer cakes, sweet box, turnovers and scrap bags.

They have many free patterns at this site as well as a bunch more here.

Blackbird Haven gave a great demo at the Shelly Library and Debra has a 20% off your entire purchase coupon from Blackbird Haven. The coupon expires Feb 28. If anyone wants it just call her and you can have it.