Various & Sundry 2018 #9

I got my spreadsheet working again and have used 50.99 yards of fabric net. Will I get to 100? I don’t know.

Projects & Patterns

Gotham Quilts has an organizer of the month project club. It has already started, but you can still join.

RainbowHare has some great patterns in his/her Etsy shop, I like the sewing machine cover caravan.

I don’t know what possessed me, but I bought this Westchester Dolman top pattern and video pack.

There is a Disaster Quilting Project. It’s not what you think. “The purpose of this site is to showcase the amazing artists who have transcended extraordinary circumstances through quilting.”

Splendid Sampler Sew-a-long is going on. Use the FB page to follow along.

If you want to make a pet bed after seeing my post the other day, I have two tutorials. One is regular and one is simplified. These were written by Amanda.

I do like this Basket Tote pattern from Sew Can She. It has a great shape.

Quilt Class & Other Tutorials

I was horrified to realize that I had posted the wrong size patterns on the Quilt Class lesson for curves called The Dove. I am really sorry! I realized this error when I was putting the Aqua-Red Sampler together. It is fixed and the directions themselves are correct and haven’t changed.

All People Quilt has a closure technique they call the Magic Invisible Closure. Others call it the ladder stitch. If you need to hand sew something closed, this is a technique for you.

Inspiration

The International Quilt Study Center has a quilt of the month feature. This month’s quilt is the Soldier’s Quilt, a piece made from military fabrics.

The MQG has a new website.

My friend sent me a link to a blog post about the 1718 quilt. This is the complex kind of sampler that I like. Even though I have no space for new quilt books, I bought a copy of the book anyway. You can too!

Apparently, the Smithsonian has a national quilt collection and has made a video about it. The video starts talking about the first quilts in the collection.

After watching the Smithsonian video, a video on the history of the Dear Jane quilt came up, so I watched that as well. I have read the book, but why not get a refresher? It was a lecture at a quilt show by someone who made (and finished!) a reproduction of the Dear Jane quilt.

I found a link to a book of Japanese wave and ripple patterns. It has been sitting in my inbox for weeks, but I decided to share it here since many of you look for free motion quilting (would work for hand quilting, too!) patterns and these would be great. Be sure and page through the book on the top of the page. It is awesome!

Other Artists

Sarah Goer has some doodles for free motion quilting on her blog post. I like those little pieces of paper.

Charlotte talks about block printing on fabric in a recent blog post.

Exhibits & Contests

Entries for QuiltCon are now open and will close on November 30 (the YM’s birthday, BTW). The QuiltCon Charity Quilt Challenge is now taking applications. This year’s theme is small piecing.

  • QuiltCon registration is now open — there are still plenty of great workshops and lectures, including Sherri Lynn Wood’s featured lecture. Check out the catalog and schedule here. Changes for QuiltCon 2019 include the Awards Ceremony moving to Wednesday evening, and the addition of Sewing Lounges!

Scott Fortunoff, the new owner of Free Spirit Fabrics ( and other great brands) has a contest posted on his blog: visiting quilt shops!

Books, Fabrics, Supplies & Notions

I get an email from Paintbrush Studios about various things. Today I got one about a new fabric line called Launch Party. I don’t have small boys at home, but this fabrics makes me want my 10YO back (for a few minutes, at least). The robots, aliens and rocket ships are fabulous. One of the robots looks like Rosie from the Jetsons. Also the dots companion print are wonderful.

I found an article on Philip Jacobs. Sigh! I love that man’s designs so much.

Janome is releasing sewing cards every few days. These have useful sewing information printed on them. The first one has yardage info. the second one is all about needles.

You know I love Judy Martin. I do. You should, too. She has recently embraced online publishing, so her books take up less space on your shelf and may come faster. She says she can also publish on more esoteric quilt subjects without worrying about recouping her printing costs. While I like printed quilt books, I am a fan of esoteric quilt topics as well. Judy writes in a recent newsletter (though not the latest, I don’t think):

BORDER INSPIRATIONS
I’m a strong proponent of pieced borders. It wasn’t always thus, but since 1994 when I wrote Pieced Borders with Marsha McCloskey, I realized almost every quilt is made better with a pieced border. Since that time a quarter century ago, I’ve designed a pieced border for most of my patterns.

For a while I’ve had a hankering to gather a bunch of my designs and talk about what the borders bring to the quilts and what I considered as I planned them. So with the prospect of e-books removing some of the publishing shackles, I sat down to write Border Inspirations.

Border Inspirations isn’t a pattern book. You won’t find a single pattern in it. It is, however, an idea book and, as the title suggests, an inspiration book. And the ideas and inspiration aren’t limited to borders, though obviously that’s the focus. You can look at the quilts in this book and find color schemes and fabric choices you like, or quilt types or specific quilts that call to you. I don’t know about you, but seeing a lot of beautiful quilts all at once almost always gets my patchwork engine revving. I see beautiful quilts, and I want to make a beautiful quilt, too.

You don’t have to be the sort of person who can simply add a border to an existing pattern all on your own. Not everyone can do that. With Border Inspirations you can decide what border qualities impress you and then seek patterns that possess those qualities.

Border Inspirations won’t take any room on your shelf. It is 96 pages and sells for just $7.95. It has 82 large photos of quilts with pieced borders, with the pattern source listed in the caption. Download your copy today and get jazzed up about quilts with pieced borders!”

I don’t get many emailed newsletters since they just pile up in my inbox until I delete them unread. I think Judy’s newsletter is worth reading. Here are the instructions for receiving your own subscription:

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO JUDY MARTIN’S NEWSLETTER
If you’re reading a forwarded email and would like to sign up for your own free copy, use the link and enter your email address under “Subscribe.”

Author: JayeL

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

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