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I updated the Minikins page.

I also updated the Ends Donation Quilts page with the new quilts.

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

I am fighting a dearth of tools, books, fabric, notions and supplies this week. I just haven’t had the time to go shopping and, aside from the Sew Tite Magnums**, which you do really need if you are serious about EPP, I haven’t found any new tools, etc this time. I thought I would tell you about Notion. Notion is a personal knowledge management / productivity tool that I have been using at work – or mostly for work. Since it is not approved for use at my office, I have a personal account and haven’t downloaded the app to my work computer. I just use it on the web. Since it is a personal account I have decided to start using it at home. I mostly use OneNote for my random thoughts and notes, but I may switch to Notion. It is taking a lot of time to ramp up, because of the possibilities. I have been watching YouTube videos and that has helped.

If you don’t have anywhere to save your random bits of information (have you heard of Zettlekasten??), then Notion might be right for you.

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

String & Story has come a long way since I met the founder at QuiltCon some years ago. She used to be active in the Twitterverse and with the podcast crowd when that was a high point. I was following some links on one of Friend Julie’s posts and landed on a new project on the String & Story site, Garment Sewing Academy. The classes are ongoing and you can signup for the next cohort using the waitlist. Julie will take us through her journey, I think and has her first couple of posts up, including selecting fabrics and the terribleness of PDF patterns.

Julie posted some excellent links in her June Cornucopia. I forgot to include a link in my previous V&A post. One such link was a tutorial / informational post on sew-in magnetic closures from Clover & Violet. I have tons of these and never seem to use them, though, in fairness, the patterns I use mostly require zippers. Still, this will be useful post to which to refer. One particularly good piece of advice is “Mark your magnet with washi or masking tape. If you’ve placed your magnet and intend to quilt the project afterward, stick a piece of tape over where the magnet is, then you won’t accidentally sew on it.” You could use blue tape also.

While I was looking at the sew-in magnetic closure article, I saw Clover & Violet’s Ultimate Zipper Guide. Another useful tool. She includes my favorite zipper shops, Zip-it and Wawak. I buy a lot of handbag zippers, she calls them 4.5,  just to have on hand when I need them. I also shorten zippers if I don’t have the right color in the right size. I don’t buy 8 or 9 inch zippers anymore. I have a lot on hand and rarely use them. I suppose I should use them for some inside zipper pockets.

I saw a FB video showing the Sewing Space Station. This is essentially a sewing machine mat, but it looks eminently useful because of the storage features as well as the ability to roll it up. It is created by Arabesque Scissors. Check out the features in their blog post. You get a lot of information if you purchase the pattern. They have a series of YouTube videos showing how to make the Space Station. They have a number of interesting patterns.

Vanessa of Crafty Gemini has a YouTube video talking about increasing and decreasing the size of a bag. It starts at about 4:30-13:15. Very helpful information. Completely logical, too.

Riley Blake has a whole page of free patterns. One was called the Taco Pouch, which I thought looked like the Persimmon Dumpling pouch from Sew Sweetness.

Lindsay shared the Ice Cream Soda EPP quilt with me. It is from a site called Tales of the Cloth, which has a fair number of EPP projects. Tales of the Cloth has some free patterns including a needle book, which would make a great gift.

Country Cow Designs has some interesting bag patterns. One of Adam’s designs is featured in the Emmaline Bag of the Month club.

Media, Books and Articles

Frances from the Off Kilter Quilt has a relatively new writing project about life with quiltmaking during WW2. The blog is in diary format, one I love. Under the content tab, she has all of her other writing and media projects.

Remember the Great British Baking Show? There is also the Great British Sewing Bee. This is a commentary on a TV show for which I couldn’t find a link. Still, the video from the The Fold Line is entertaining and there are a lot of good garment patterns in video’s description.

Events, Exhibits and Shows

Souls Grown Deep, the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers, will hold their ‘airing of the quilts’,

• Quilt displays and sales
• Beginner and advanced quiltmaking workshops (space is limited)
• Guided tours of the Gee’s Bend Heritage Trail (space is limited)
• Panel discussions at the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy (space is limited)
• Exhibitions
• Food
• Music

The Gee’s Bend Airing of the Quilts Festival is free to attend. A suggested donation of $25 will support the Gee’s Bend quiltmaking community. You need to reserve a spot.
 

**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and small businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need there, I use Amazon affiliate links and may be paid for your purchase of an item when you click on an item’s 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.