For Sale
$60+ shipping: La Passacaglia papers and acrylic cutting templates. PayPal cash only. This set includes:
- Complete Piece Pack Includes ALL the Pre-Cut Papers, approximately 2900 pieces, to make La Passacaglia.
- 5 Piece La Passacaglia Acrylic Set includes shapes A, B, C, D, and E and is available with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
I updated the Minikins page and the Supplies page.
Articles, Media, Exhibitions and Shows
Sara Lawson’s Sewcial Sunday from a few weeks ago included an interview with Megan Doherty. Some parts of it made me laugh out loud.
The 2021 Quilting Trends survey is out. According to the survey, “…there are now 85 million “active creatives” in North America, meaning people who have done at least one creative project in the last year. Crafts generate $35 billion in annual sales. There are currently 10-12 million quilters and the quilting market is expected to approach $5 billion by 2026-2027. In 2020 there was a more than 12% increase in the number of new quilters. The quilting market is expected to grow to $5 billion by 2026.” Can you believe the increase in 2020? I guess people had to do something with all their free time during the shelter-in-place orders. I’m glad it was quiltmaking.
I know most of you had crayons when you were a kid and probably, like me, coveted the giant box of colors. I also jealously guarded my box and refused to share with my sister, because she would break the points. I never delved into the history of the humble wax implement until the other day. I read the LAPL newsletter, which had a brief history of the crayon. It was so interesting. Did you know Crayola LLC is now owned by Hallmark? Did you know that Mr. Binney’s wife helped create and name crayolas? Another woman nobody ever heard of until now. Did you know that Binney & Smith bought the Munsell Color Company in 1922?
Barbara Brackman recently posted about an interesting wreath quilt on her Material Culture blog. It is the first picture of a square wreath quilt and it is really interesting. I love the woven and squarish look. I’d like to think I would make one, but I probably wouldn’t.
Sharon at ColorGirl Quilts shows you, in her newest video, how make Flying Geese and half circles using her Classic Curves Ruler.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
Michelle Graham, one of the moderators of the Sew Sweetness Facebook group mentioned Sincerely Jen, a pattern company with a lot of bag patterns. They do not have as many patterns as Sew Sweetness, but some are interesting. I particularly like the Rossatron.
I have been contemplating different methods of organizing my Sew Tites. Funnily enough a new pattern designed by LillyElla Stitchery for a folio that holds Sew Tites along with needles, etc was advertised in the most recent SewTites newsletter. It is like a needlecase, but includes storage for Sew Tites as well. Pattern is a free download.
Because I think Im ight become a great knitter some day, I look at some knitting sites and newsletters. As you know, I do knit a bit, but I struggle. One thing with which I struggle is the organization of my circular needles. I prefer circular needles, but they don’t really fit in a conventional bag. I saw one by DellaQ in the Maker’s Mercantile newsletter recently. It turns out that DellaQ has quite a few knitting needle bags. Because I can’t leave well enough alone, I went hunting for a pattern. I love the DellaQ versions, especially the one in turquoise, but I have a lot of fabric here, so can’t I just make one? I found one pattern from Charlotte Copper that looks reasonable. I also found a pattern by Olga (@zaudalcreates )on Etsy that I really liked. You can see a video tour of the case on IG. She has a website, too. I found a nice tutorial for a large shopping/travel tote, which I think would be good for the guild officer gifts. She uses a lot of canvas. If I make the circular needle case, I may have to use quilting cotton and Soft & Stable instead of canvas to make something I like. I don’t really want to get into buying canvas, but I understand the need for stability.
I am tempted by Olga’s Oslo Pouch (different from the Sew Sweetness Oslo Craft Bag). It looks like a cute little handbag. I am trying to be restrained as I just bought the Minikins 3 and have only made 3 projects from that set.
If you need to match a binding in various places to specific designs in your quilt, A Quilter’s Table has a tutorial.
I saw the Bubba Bowling Bag in the AGF newsletter. There are some nice photos on the page, but none of the inside. 🙁 I even checked IG and didn’t see any. Of course, I could put whatever pockets I wanted inside, but I still like to see what others did.
A few weeks ago, I talked about cross body/Japanese aprons. Alison, a friend from the guild, mentioned a pattern I had found before from Purl Soho.
Books, Fabrics, Notions & Supplies
Recently, in various patterns I have had to press pattern pieces a certain amount (usually 1/4 inch). This is such a hassle as it is a small amount and I have to keep my fingers out of the way. I have a weird double headed stiletto type thing that I use, but it doesn’t help with the measuring. I found a ruler by Clover that I am considering called the Clover Hot Press Perfect Ruler **. Keep in mind that I haven’t used this, but it looks like you can lay this down on the fabric, fold over the part you need to measure and then press. That would be perfect, if it works and isn’t too thick. I Like Clover products and think they are high quality, so fingers crossed that it is a good product. Let me know if you have one or if you have tried it.
Check out the Tatter Journal, a quarterly publication “offering of original content, which explores our relationship to cloth through a quarterly theme.” The first issue is about isolation.
I am still on the hunt for a chart of zipper sizes and descriptions. I found a comprehensive blog post about zippers, which is really interesting and helpful. It only gives a brief description of what size zippers to use for what project. Not helpful for my purposes, but interesting. It also says that a zipper foot is a must. I have never had good luck with zipper feet. I use my 1/4″ foot. Perhaps it’s my machine?
I found a yardage converter page on the AllPeopleQuilt site. My only question, because it is not readily obvious, is 4.5 inches x what equals 1/8 yard. I presume 42 inches or the fabric width from selvedge to selvedge. The chart does implicitly say.
Other Artists
My friend Nancy created a website recently to showcase her artwork. She is much more deliberative in her work than I am. Thus, the pieces she shows are carefully selected.
**I use affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item link in my post. There is no additional cost to you for clicking or purchasing items I recommend. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
