Various & Sundry 2021 #3

I updated the Tutorials page to include the Folded Corners Ruler tutorial.

10" Clammy
10″ Clammy

Another late birthday gift came in on February 6. I love getting late gifts, because it makes my birthday last longer. This latest gift came in on February 6 and it totally made my day. The bad part was that I didn’t know who it came from. A week or so later, Gerre contacted me and told me she was my fairy godmother! 😉 What a fabulous surprise! Another bonus is that now I have 3 Clammy sizes. I need to try them out!

I have seen people’s work using on the Parallel Universe mystery quilt. Reviews are good, so I am not afraid. I just need to make some time.

Articles, Media, Exhibitions and Shows

One of my students told me about Gyleen Fitzgerald’s Butterfly Seam technique for Y Seams. You can see this technique demonstrated on The Quilt Show #1403. While I think the way I teach Y seams (inset seams) is valuable, Gyleen’s technique is revolutionary. Gyleen’s technique is a lot easier to understand if you understand my method first.

You know that 1″ square for printing patterns? My nemesis? I know for many it has become despised during the pandemic, because we have no or fewer options for getting patterns. Help is here in the form of a post about adjusting the size of your patterns and blocks by Barbara Brackman.

The Craft Industry Alliance has an article about Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness and her video add-ons.

Floors are a great place to get inspiration. This article about the world’s best libraries shows a number of tile floors that could be used as quilt settings.

Books, Fabrics, Notions & Supplies

Barbara Brackman has a new line of fabric out called Ladies Legacy. It is based on a sampler quilt from the Civil War. In conjunction with this new fabric, on her Civil War blog she is leading an appliqued block of the month based on New York albums. The first block will be up there as a free pattern on March 31st. Some of the money from the fabric goes to support the Quilt Research Center at the University of Nebraska Special Collections, which includes a comprehensive collection of vintage quilt patterns and papers from some of today’s best-known quiltmakers. 

Friend Julie wrote about her adventures in pre-washing Jane Sassman Hand-Crafted solids by Free Spirit. Julie writes “They are advertised as “hand-dyed” with mottled surface imperfections. I found that the hand of the fabric was truly lovely, with a slightly nappy softened surface, called peached.” Don’t avoid them; just make sure you pre-wash!

I am not left-handed for rotary cutting, but I know some of you are. I saw the Left-Eze tool on the A Left Handed Quilter blog and thought you might be interested. It is described as being used to trim the selvedge, cut Half-Square Triangles (HST), cut Quarter-Square Triangles (QST) for Hourglass Blocks (and others), Flying Geese units, and Squares. Let me know if you try it out.

I watched a Facebook Live presentation with Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably. It was fun and I found out about Zappy Dots, where Kaffe Fassett Studios has a ‘shop’ various products using their designs. Nice gifts.

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

Quilt & Surface Design Symposium has released their catalog of classes. I would love to take another class with Rosalie Dace or a class with Jane Sassaman.

Remember that I recently made a composition notebook cover? After that I found that Sara of Sew Sweetness has a 10 minute version. It’s 10 minutes because she doesn’t have to worry about raw edges. In the Sew Sweetness FB group one member made the notebook cover and wrote ” Just finished this notebook cover using alligator cork, based on Sara’s pattern. I read quite a few comments that the pattern was too small for most composition notebooks, so I did some measuring and came up with cutting the cork to 10.5” tall by 16” long, and cut the 5” wide panel covers to 10.5” as well. I also added the inside pocket, the bookmark and the pen loop. So much fun to make and feels really high-end. I’m going to make some extras to have on hand for gifts. ” I am thinking that if I made another composition notebook cover, I will use the 10.5 inch measurement and see if that works.

A friend asked me to make a skirt or curtain for her kitchen bar. I don’t have the time right now, so I pointed her to a sink skirt pattern. I haven’t tried it, but it was the concept I thought of when I read her message.

Sharon from Color Girl Quilts is hosting a quilt-a-long using the Rise Above pattern by Charisma Horton. I love the layout of this quilt. I do not love all of the blocks, but changing them out would be easy enough. I like the alternative setting for a sampler quilt.

Kerry Goulder (KidGiddy on IG) talked about the Sew Plush Mini Planner. This is an organized needlecase pattern available on her Etsy site. I thought it looked a little like the Floral Supply Case from Clover and Violet, but smaller and made specifically for needles.

The guild will be making Japanese aprons. We will all be working on our own projects, but helping each other. Right now we are sharing pattern options. Maria found a list of multiple patterns in this style. The good part about the article is that it gives a mini review of each pattern as well as a download link where available.

The Zenaida backpack is a really interesting bag. I like the shape, though I might put a cross body strap on rather than the backpack straps. I worry about the requirement for leather. I wonder how it would be with canvas or quilting cotton?

Other Artists

Susan Carlson talks about sorting out her fabric.

I thought about including some of Friend Julie’s Cornucopia links. It’s much easier to point you to her post. 🙂

Recently, Roberta Horton died from Lymphona. Roberta Horton may be an artist that modern quiltmakers haven’t heard of. She was an author, teacher and an amazing quiltmaker. Her books, especially An Amish Adventure** and Scrap Quilts** were really inspirational at a time when quilt books weren’t as prevalent as they are now. I used to belong to EBHQ and I still follow them on Facebook. The current President wrote a post, which is how I heard about Roberta: ”

The sad news reached me today that our beloved Roberta Horton passed away Thursday afternoon, February 4th.  I don’t have any more details at this time, but I want to reflect a moment on what a gift her life was to us.

It’s impossible to overstate her impact on our guild, on quilting nationwide and even worldwide.  Roberta made her first quilt in 1972.  She was an important bridge between the quilters of the Depression, who carried the craft with them for love through the post-war prosperity that suppressed the craft.  Roberta caught the baton, and passed it to us. She was there, already teaching, when the Bicentennial revived interest in quilting. She taught the first state accredited adult education classes in quilting back in 1973! I know of a number of long-time Guild members who learned to quilt from Roberta.  Roberta and her sister Mary Mashuta were EBHQ founding members.

Roberta stretched beyond tradition.  There had been Story Quilts before of course, but her exploration of her European heritage through her quilts helped popularize the form.  Her exploration of ethnic fabrics, and the design influences of artists worldwide helped make EBHQ in the early days, before the Studio Art Quilters Association (SAQA), a welcoming home for the burgeoning Art Quilt movement.  And she taught all of this, through Albany Adult Education and beyond. She wrote 5 books on quilting, donated some of her most important quilts to the then new San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, and was honored nationally and internationally.

She was also an avid gardener, and two years ago at the East Bay Mini Maker Faire I had the honor of teaching a Woman Of A Certain Age, who had known Roberta for decades from the Garden Club, how to piece a nine-patch, as we shared stories of our beloved friend from different contexts.  

Roberta was unfailingly gracious, welcoming and kind to me, a much younger MAN, encouraging my sometimes strange quilts!

Keep her memory close, and I challenge YOU to challenge yourself, as SHE did; learn, this year, a new technique, use some unfamiliar fabric, and always, always, teach whomsoever you may.

“And gladly wolde she lerne, and gladly teche.”  -slightly altered from Chaucer, “Canterbury Tales”

I have asked the Web Support Team to create a Forum Thread on the Discussion Board where we can share our memories of Roberta.

May her sister, Mary Mashuta, Be Comforted In Her Loss, along with all of Roberta’s family. And May Her Memory Be For A Blessing.  I’ll pass memorial details as I get them.

You can read and remember at http://www.robertahorton.com/

– Ryan Young    -EBHQ President, 2020-2021″

 

 

 

 

 

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Author: JayeL

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

2 thoughts on “Various & Sundry 2021 #3”

  1. So much good stuff! I’m glad you’ve got the Clammy rulers, I was tempted to buy them while taking Latifah Saafir’s class as she had a lot of the quilts made with them displayed.

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