Thursday, March 26, 2009

Snow Dye


Okay.... I'll bet some of you are wondering.... "What the heck is she talking about, what is snow dyeing?" Here is a blog where you'll learn more about this process. I'm going to give it a try and then I'll post the results.

http://bunks.wordpress.com/category/fabric/

Scroll to the bottom. Remember you have to read the last post first if you want to keep it in order.

Here is something fun

Try this out and see what color your rainbow is. Here is what I found... from Debra

Your rainbow is slightly shaded gray.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

What is says about you: You are an elegant person. You appreciate tradition and wisdom that comes with age. You depend on modern technology and may feel uncomfortable without it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.


Send the html code to me in an email and I'll post you findings too.... It's FUN.

Need to get Inspired ?

I know, I know....... I need to be posting the pictures from our last meeting BUT, truth is I am easily distracted and this morning I came upon this information while doing a search on how to do snow dyeing. So if you are looking for some new ideas for quilt tops take a look.

1. Block of the Month (AZPatch)

http://www.azpatch.com/bom/index.htm

The archives go all the way back to 1999 for pieced blocks, with some paper piecing patterns as well. Nice colour drawings, too.

2. Citrus Belt Quilters of Redlands, California

http://www.citrusbeltquilters.org/blockmonth/blockmonth.html

They are currently featuring some cute “boy blocks” of trucks and cars.

3. Delaware Quilts

http://www.delawarequilts.com/BOMs/index.html

Free block patterns, with full quilt patterns for sale with proceeds being donated to the American Cancer Society.

4. Ellie’s Quiltplace - Country Calendar

http://www.elliesquiltplace.com/EBOMCountryCalender.html

Adorable folk art blocks in both embroidery and applique versions.

5. Empire Quilters Guild

http://www.empirequilters.net/pg/bom.html


A variety of cute designs, including an Easter Bunny.

6. Forever Green Quilts

http://www.forevergreenquilts.com/free-quilt-block-patterns-BOM2009.html

Pretty “house” quilt with trees to make a proper village!

7. Illini Country Stitchers

http://illinicountrystitchers.com/Guild%20Activities/BOM2008/BOM.html

A series of Stars for 2008.

8. Naragansett Bay Quilters’ Association

http://www.nbquilts.org/MemberServices/BOM.htm


A variety of techniques: pieced blocks, applique, paper piecing, redwork.

9. Northwest Quilters, Oregon

http://www.northwestquilters.org/bom.html

Some pretty landscape blocks and scenes of Oregon, with archives going back to 2003.

10. The Quilter’s Cache (Marcia Hohn)

http://www.quilterscache.com/

Hundreds of beautiful quilt blocks.

11. Quilting Arts Forum

http://www.quiltingartsforum.com/

Lovely blocks, with 14 years of archives.

12. Uncommon Threads Quilt Guild

http://www.ucquilts.com/archives/archives.htm

Lots of nice blocks and good instructions.

Thanks for the info..... http://rosewillow.org/2009/03/18/some-favourite-bom-sites/

Monday, March 23, 2009

Get Ready For our April Meeting

Our next meeting will be April 6th. The topic will be how and why to make quilt labels. It will be interesting and educational to say the least. Just to get your creative juices flowing, here are some Label Verses to peruse.

The best kind of sleep / under heaven above... is beneath this quilt / handmade with LOVE!


This Quilt will link generations by the golden threads of love and Devotion.


Those who sleep under a quilt, sleep under a blanket of love


I wish you health/ I wish you wealth/ I wish you gold in store/ I wish you Heaven after death/ Now what could I wish you more.


Keep my blankie near, so I will not fear, or shed a tear, when I hold here, my blankie dear.


Every child should feel the love that is shared by a handmade quilt.


A piece of my heart is being shared with you through each piece of this quilt.


"Remember me from this you see, A quilt of love from me above."


A quilt sewn together / with utmost care / quilted with love / is a treasure to share.


"Dear old-fashioned quilts with your patches so gay / You retain all the charm of an earlier day / Like the old-fashioned garden our grandmothers grew / Our love never wanes for them or for you."


Friendship is a tapestry woven through the years with threads of joy and laughter, happiness and tears.


I count the stitches line by line; And watch the thread record the time.


Love and memories we impart to quilt the fabric of the heart.


May the colors of your life be bright and the threads in your life very strong


May you be free from cares and woe when ‘neath this quilt you seek repose.


May your sorrows be patched and your joys quilted.


Piece, piece, piece, and lo, a counterpane / May each person resting here / Find peace, sweet peace / And ne'er encounter pain


Quilts, like friends, are / different, colorful, fun, / warm and comforting-- / And you can never acquire enough of either.


This quilt, wrought with so much love, Each tiny stitch you see, Will be there when I am gone, Reminding you of me.


When I give to you / What I make with my hands / I share with my heart

I was thinking warm thoughts / of you day after day,/ As stitch upon stitch in this/ quilt I was taking./ And I hope that the pleasure / you find in it may/ Be as great as the pleasure/ I found in the making.

.

Quilting is a scrap of Happiness!


May all of your lifes ups and downs happen underneath this quilt

A store-bought blanket warms the body, a handmade quilt warms the soul.


Many faces, many smiles, remember me across the miles.


Wherever you wander, wherever you roam, be happy, live healthy, and be glad to come home.

A package of joy, a bundle of bliss. This quilt for baby was sealed with a kiss.


Blessed are the children (daughters, sons) of quilters for they shall inherit the quilts.


Friendship is a tapestry woven through the years with threads of joy and laughter, happiness, and tears.


May your sorrows be patched and your joys be quilted,


Quilts, like friends, are warm and comforting; and you can never acquire enough of either.


Stitched with affection, quilted with care. I made you this quilt with love to spare.


Friends are like quilts, a great source of comfort.


In the crazy quilt of life, I'm glad you are in my block of friends.


A good friend is like a warm quilt wrapped around the heart.


Friendship is sewn with love and measured with kindness.


Friendships are sewn one stitch at a time.


Quilts are like friends, a great source of comfort.


A friendship (family) stitched together with love seldom unravels.


May this union be blessed with love


Joined together in friendship, united forever in love!


New love in bloom now fills your life, as you become husband and wife.


Marriage is like quilting, it takes some work but is worth it.


Congratulations on going from "bachelor puzzle" to "wedding rings".


Families are like quilts, stitched together one piece at a time.


The more you invest in a marriage, the more valuable it becomes . . . Amy Grant


Quilters hang out on the "seamy" side of town.


A messy house is the sign of a happy quilter.


I'm creative! You can't expect me to be neat too.


If I stitch fast enough does it count as aerobic exercise?


A fat quarter is not a body part.


Like pets, quilts bring joy to our lives


This quilt has been cat inspected (tested) and approved.


I count the stitches line by line and watch the thread record the time.


Life is a patchwork of memories.


This spring quilt blooms with flowers and life.


I'm not crazy, I just make crazy quilts.


Quilts are like love, they keep you warm.


A quilt will warm your body and comfort your soul.


When life throws you scraps make a quilt.


This quilt was stitched with love.


When I give to you what I make with my hands, I share my heart.


The planets were aligned on the day that I met you.


A quilted star lights up the night, It's made with love and shines so bright.


A quilted bouquet of vivid shades, colored with love that never fades.


A colorful garden of every hue, is just like this quilt made for you.


Quilts are like hugs from the ones you love.


Those who sleep under a quilt sleep under a blanket of love.


Love is the thread that binds us together.


From my hands.....to your heart.


Quilting connects the past with the present and the future.


If you judge people, you have no time to love them .... Mother Teresa

Asking a quilter to mend is like asking Picasso to paint your garage

Blessed are the children of the piecemakers for they shall inherit the quilts.

I am a material girl. Wanna see my fabric collection?

Friends are like fabric - you can never have too much.

Quilters affect eternity: they can never tell where their influence stop

Sew on to success!

Constant use has not worn ragged, the fabric of their Friendship

My husband lets me buy all the fabric I can hide!

One yard of fabric, like one cookie, is never enough!

Blessed are the children of the piecemakers...For they shall inherit the quilts!

Friendship is like a bank account...You can't continue to draw on it without making deposits!

Friendship, like old quilts, stand the test of time!

Good friends are like quilts, they never lose their warmth.

A day patched with quilting seldom unravels.

Ask not what your fabric can do for you, but what you can do for your fabric.

She who dies with the most fabric wins.

Asking a quilter to mend is like asking Picasso to paint your garage.

Our lives are like quilts bits and pieces, joy and sorrow, stitched with love.

Quilts are like friends a great source of comfort.

My husband said if I were to buy any more fabric, he would leave me. I'm going to miss him!!

A quilt is something you make to keep someone you love ... WARM!

Anytime is stitchin' time.

LOST: Husband, dog and sewing machine. Reward offered for sewing machine

Touch these scissors and die!

Memories are stitched with love.

"Fabricologist Resource Centre"...that sounds more impressive than "fabric stash"

Good friends are like quilts, they never lose their warmth.

In the crazy quilt of life, I'm glad you're in my block of friends.


Quilters never cut corners

I don't need to get organized, I just need a bigger sewing (craft) room.

I love sewing & have plenty of material witnesses

I'm going to be more assertive!! if that's OK with you...I'm in therapy and Sewing is cheaper than a psychiatrist.


Never let a sewing machine know you're in a hurry.


Sewing and crafts fill my days not to mention the living room, bedroom and closets.


I'm in therapy and SEWING is cheaper than a psychiatrist.

I am a material girl. Wanna see my fabric stash.

I am a quilter and my house is in pieces.

I've spent most of my life making quilts.The rest I've just wasted.

My soul is fed with with needle and thread, my body with chocolate.

May your sorrows be patchwed and your joys quilted.

In the crazy quilt of life I'm glad you're in my block of friends.

Quilts are like friends - a great source of comfort.

Behind every sewer is a huge pile of fabric.

So many quilts, so little time.

Quilters affect eternity;they can never tell where their influence stops.


You're SEW SPECIAL!


From my hands --- to your heart!


Buttons and patches and the cold wind blowing...the days pass quickly when I am sewing!


Love is the thread that binds us.


Friendships are sewn one stitch at a time.


A family stitched together with love, seldom unravels.


Blessed are the piecemakers! Blessed are the daughters of the piecemakers for they shall inherit the quilts.


Old seamstresses never go crazy, they just stay on pins and needles!!


Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to sew we go!


My soul is fed with needle and thread.

Take your needle, my child, and work at your pattern; it will come out a rose by and by. Life is like that-one stitch at a time taken patiently and the pattern will come out all right like the embroidery. --Oliver Wendell Holmes

She watched and taught the girls that sang at their embroidery frames while the great silk flowers grew from their needles. --Louis Jordan Miln The Feast of Lanterns

When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt. --Henry J. Kaiser

Button, button - whose got the button? Buttons and patches and the cold wind blowing, the days pass quickly when I am sewing.


The love of sewing is our common thread.

A family is a patchwork of LOVE.

Quilting with a friend, will keep you in stitches.


Quilters never grow old, they just go to pieces.

I love sewing and have plenty of material witnesses.


You may admire my dust, but please don't write in it!


I got a sewing machine for my husband! Good trade, huh?

May your bobbin always be full!

We should have nothing in our houses, which we did not either know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. --William Morris The Beauty of Life lecture, 1880

Some may wonder if handsewing, with its seemingly endless stitches, has a real place in today's busy home. Just as comfortable a place, we reply, as the rocking chair in the nursery.

Make the process of sewing a pleasure for yourself, so that you hum and smile to yourself as you sew.

I cannot count my day complete 'til needle, thread and fabric meet.

Really I don't dislike to cook, but what you cook is eaten so quickly. When you sew, you have something that will last to show for your efforts.

All my scattering moments are taken up with my needle.


Embroidery is a very personal art, its charm lies in the individuality expressed by the worker.


We have to trust our own choice after all, and end with the simple belief that what pleases us is beautiful. Indeed, no other rule is of any use to us, and if we do but honestly please ourselves, and make forms which genuinely give us pleasure, we shall find ourselves credited with the power of designing beautiful things.

It requires as much ingenuity to adapt a design as to invent one, and the needle worker who can adapt a pattern from another source is half way along the road to being a successful designer.

It is a fallacy to think that original design can only be achieved after years of training.

Needlework is an outlet for the creative instinct.

" ...Methinks it is a token of healthy and
gentle characteristics, when women of
high thoughts and accomplishments love
to sew, especially as they are never more
at home with their own hearts than while
so occupied."

Really, all you need to become a good knitter are wool, needles, hands, and slightly below-average intelligence. Of course, superior intelligence, such as yours and mine, is an advantage.

Our lives are like quilts - bits and pieces, joy and sorrow, stitched with love.

Those who sleep under a quilt, sleep under a blanket of love.

Quilters know all the angles.

Grandma quilts have love in every stitch.

A bed without a quilt is like a sky without stars.

Quilt 'til you wilt.

Needlework is a way to capture Love, Beauty, Peace & Time...

"Success is often a series of failures that you didn't allow to stop you!"

Embroidery is the art of enriching a fabric with stitchery.

There are only a handful of basic stitches which are the Adams and Eves of all the others...stem, satin, chain, cross, back, weaving, and filling--upon which untold variations have been built.

Embroidery has a natural affinity for flowers. It can also, of course, represent nothing at all.

Embroidery has continually played an integral part in the history of man and woman. It not only signified certain status and wealth through the ages but it has also given countless hours of satisfaction to those who could create something of beauty with a needle and thread.


Embroidery, like every other art--or sport, for that matter--needs to be understood to be enjoyed.

I got a sewing machine for my husband! Good trade, huh?

When I learned to sew, I forgot how to cook.

When life throws you scraps, make a quilt.

Any day spent sewing, is a good day.

A quilt will warm your body and comfort your soul.

My husband is a human pincushion.

Sewing: A creative mess is better than tidy idleness.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

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!