I LOVE this box of zippers from Sew Hungry Hippie. They are super fun colors. I’d love to find a project where I could use a bit of all of them.
I decided to use Modern Background Colorbox by Zen Chic – Bermuda Crosses on White for the background of my La Passacaglia quilt. I have 2-2.5 yards. I am almost sure that is enough, but did a web search to see if it was still available. I ended up finding some at Quilted Thimble Cottage and ordered it. Better safe than sorry, right? I have to say that I was thrilled with the service from Quilted Thimble Cottage. The owner called me to check something about my order and then gave me a free yard of the fabric! Their stock isn’t completely up to date on their website, but what they have is interesting. If you need some Half Moon Modern, they have a few pieces left.
Sue Spargo has a wide variety of labels in her shop. She has a wide variety of generic ‘made by me’ type labels as well as labels with images and icons. One group is called the Sweary Sewist. Lots of f**k on those labels!
Last month, Lynette gave a demonstration of various interfacings for bags. She used a pattern she bought at the Fat Quarter Shop. I was looking for one that might work for such a project (despite the fact that I have 5 million pouch patterns!). I kind of wanted to try a pattern with a template. I have been seeing some of these pop up as advertisements in various social media feeds. I found one from Quiltd that wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but I thought looked interesting and useful.
As I was looking through the Center Street Quilts videos on IG, I saw a video of the Stella Pouch with a clear back. A second video shows a lot more of the steps, if you aren’t hung up on sizes. I hadn’t heard of the Stella Pouch, but, seriously, there are about 2 million pouch patterns and I think I am attracted to the charcoal grey with the rainbow Flying Geese. The samples shown in the pattern are not as interesting. I do think the fact that a short video of the finished pouch is included in the shop listing is interesting. This shop does love quilting their fabric and foam and then binding the inside raw edges. I do not love that technique, but the rainbow Flying Geese pouch with one side made from vinyl wouldn’t be possible without using that technique.
Need a gift or a scissor holder for yourself? Check out this YouTube tutorial. It holds three pair!
While I was chasing Chasing Tigers links, I came across a tantalizing picture of a “Little Busy Bag“. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the inside and it looks like a regular cross body bag. I think the Sew Sweetness Daytrip cell phone wallet from Minikins Season 2 might be a more useful option. Smaller, yes, but more organized.
Media, Books and Articles
I talked with Cyndi about her Parallel Universe quilt, which got us on to the topic of Gyleen, Ebony and Latifah’s second joint mystery quilt, The Elemental Mystery Quilt. We looked up a picture. They have a choppy design sense. I don’t mean this in a bad way. The elements are put together into chunks. Later, I looked up a podcast about the project.
Events, Shops, Exhibits and Shows
One of the good things about being in a guild is that you hear things. One thing I heard is that there is a new shop, Coastside Quilt Studio, near me. It is actually on the way to my favorite grocery store. I haven’t been there yet as the shop hours are not very convenient for working people, but I’ll go take a look when I am able.
**N. B. : 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.
I took some time to trawl through IG for bag patterns. I do not, mind you, need more bag patterns, but I am still looking for the perfect ‘take my tools to Sew Day’ bag. Also, I can’t help it. Previously, I had done a search for bags on IG, which is a stupid search and librarians worldwide are cringing at my lameness. Obviously that didn’t work, so I went away and thought about how I could improve it using a moron-based search engine (e.g. no Boolean, no filtering). I came upon a solution quite by chance, though I am convinced my subconscious was working on it and came up with the solution.
As I was trawling through IG, I saw a new bag pattern announced that I had never seen before. I clicked. Then I went to the pattern company’s website and looked through their bag patterns. Thus I discovered Country Cow Designs. I wouldn’t name my company with a cow, but it isn’t my company, and cows aren’t terrible. They come across as sweet, if a bit large.
Country Cow has some basic tote bag and purse patterns. Nothing earth shattering. One of the bags I like and thought might work for a ‘take my tools to Sew Day’ bag is the Deskasow (why not deskacow? Is a deskasow a thing or it just a surefire name that nobody else would think of?) bag. It is a new pattern and a couple of videos on YouTube. The pattern (£7.50) comes with SVG files and an AO file. The size seems to be about the size of the Kit Supply Tote.
I also like the Kedemouth (is that a cow disease?) messenger bag even though it has no inside pockets. The company has a variety of patterns: bowling shaped bags, backpacks, pouches, etc. They even have a couple of free patterns, which will tell you whether you like their directions.
Next, I came up with SincerelyJen. She has the Rossatron Bag. This is another one that could be THE ‘take my tools to Sew Day’ bag. This one is also about the same size as the Kit Supply Tote.
This ad has a good number of pictures of the inside of the bag, which, you know, is a must for me. It looks like a Kit Supply Tote with a Superbloom top and Take a Stand pockets. Links to videos are included in the pattern. I also like the How YOU Doin’? Bowler Handbag. I like the shape, but probably wouldn’t use it. She also has a variety of interestingly shaped pouches, which would make great gifts.
I also saw a shop called K.Dill Handmade that has bag patterns. I didn’t see anything I had to hold myself back from buying. I did think that the Jot it Down Ultimate Bundle could be interesting for gifts. It is unclear from looking at the listing whether the pattern includes a size for a composition book**. If so, I can see this as really being a useful pattern, however, I can’t tell where the company is based.
Mary C shared an IG reel with me that is very interesting. I like the shape of the pouch shown, but also the ease of making it.
Happy Sew Lucky pincushion
This is a pretty cool and useful pincushion plus from Happy Sew Lucky. Her shop also includes a number of quilt blocks with positive messaging. It would make a great gift. Note the flap for WonderClips** She also has some free tutorials.
Sew Hungry Hippie has a video for installing turn locks. I haven’t had a chance to watch it, but her stuff is good. Sew Sweetness has a purse hardware video, which includes a little information about turn locks. The Oriole Bag from Sew Sweetness is free and has a turn lock, so part of the video will tell you how to install it.
I am not interested in making a Hallowe’en quilt, but I might make a Hallowe’en table runner out of this eyeball pattern from Happy Sew Lucky.
Tools, Fabric, Notions & Supplies
Friend Julie has a good review of the Marcia Baraldi Quilting Grips. They are like gloves, but allow you tie knots as you quilt.
Zippers from Wawak
I needed some more double slide zippers the other day and went on to Wawak and was pleased to see what great prices they had. I bought several 30″ double slide zippers for $1.89 each. In the 30″, they had quite a few colors. They didn’t have as many colors for the 36″ and up – just basics like black and white, which is a shame. 30″ works very well for a number of the Minikins projects. For projects that require a longer zipper in a color, I can always go to the Sew Sweetness or ByAnnie site.
They are not ByAnnie brand, which are really great products, but they are YKK, which is another good brand.
You can find them by searching for double-slide zipper, but they are listed as “YKK #4.5 30″ Nylon Coil Long Pull Two-Way Head-To-Head Bag Zipper”. This tells me that they have a good taxonomy behind their search engine. That’s your librarian reference for the day. 😉
ByAnnie and Sew Sweetness have zipper tape by the yard for projects that need a zipper longer than 40″. I haven’t used much of the zipper tape, but it should be just as easy to use as cutting a 30″ zipper to 26″, for example. I have some and I should try it.
Still, take a look at Wawak for your zipper needs.
Media, Books and Articles
If you are interested in Bay Area quiltmakers, check out the Quiltfolk issue n.27 featuring a variety of quiltmakers. Many of them I have mentioned here.
I have a library card at the Los Angeles Public Library. I usually glance through the newsletter. The other day I saw that they now have Craftsy on Libby. I imagine that other libraries will follow suit. If you go to LA, get an LAPL library card!
Nicki M made a quilt from various bits and pieces our charity team put together. Many of the 16 Patches are blocks that I made! I am so pleased when someone uses my work to make something for kinds in need.
**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.
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.
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.
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.
I recently read a blog post about the Classic Curves plus ruler. I have the regular Classic Curves ruler** and am slowly collecting pieces for a quilt. You know I love a good specialty ruler, so I looked carefully at this article and the specs for the ruler. It allows quiltmakers to create the same shapes as the Clammy. Since I have various sizes of the Clammy, I probably won’t be buying this ruler. The Classic Curves ruler does not take training to use, unlike the Clammy, so if you don’t have the Clammy rulers already, this might be the ruler that helps you create inset circles, Orange Peels, half circles and Drunkard’s Path blocks. Take a look and help support a small, woman-owned business.
There are other specialty rulers that create circles, Orange Peels, half circles and Drunkard’s Path blocks. One is by Creative Grids, the Circle Savvy** ruler. I don’t have this ruler. You can find a few different rulers by searching around. In addition to Sharon of Colorgirl Quilts and Latifah, creator of the Clammies, Jen Carlton Bailley has her various Drunkard’s Path templates. Daisy of Warmfolk, Papper, Sax, Sten and many others want you to make curved quilts.
I struggled to butt the pieces of my La Pass quilt together so I can sew them as i sew more of the top together. I have some of the Sew Tite HDs**, which are great, because they are really strong. The problem is that they are not long enough. At the guild meeting the other day, Lindsay told me about Sew Tite Magnums**, which are longer than any of the other Sew Tites. They are on the pricey side, so we’ll see if I buy them, but they look really useful.
Events, Exhibits and Shows
The North East Ohio Quilt Show will be held in Wooster, Ohio July 20-22, 2023. No, I won’t be there, but I’d love to see what you see there! There is free admission and free parking. They have a raffle and over 40 vendors. Check out their website!
There is also the Delta Quilters Guild 2023 Quilt Show being held in Brentwood at 35 Oak Street on August 19-20, 2023. There is a $10 entry fee, which is good for both days. See quilts, demos, vendors and take part in their boutique and raffle. Take a look at the Delta Quilters website for more information.
Media, Books and Articles
This isn’t quite the chart I was looking for, but I found a guide to interfacing from Threads magazine. I found a chart from the Cotton Patch in the UK, so some of the information isn’t relevant to all of the interfacings US quiltmakers have available, but it is somewhat useful. Pattern Pages has an article on choosing interfacing. Kayapapaya blog also has an article on various types of interfacings. They occasionally mention equivalents as well. They have a brief equivalency chart for those of you who live outside of the US and can’t get Pellon products.
I talked about the Sew Tites magnetic cutting system last time. They are still taking pre-orders (no affiliation). The Sew Tites team went to Utah and talked with Annie Unrein of ByAnnie fame about their system. They recorded the show.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
I may have posted this tutorial before. I am making another EPP ball, so I had to look it up again and I thought you might want to sew along with me. The last one I made was in 2020.
Sara of Sew Sweetness sent out her monthly newsletter last week. In it she reminded readers of her free technique videos. She says “The FREE technique videos that we have on the website are designed to enhance your skills as bag makers and can often be adapted and applied to many different projects. The video on “How to add a divider to a bag” can be used on any bag pattern that has a side panel. You can even add a divider that functions as a pocket. What a great place to add a fun bright zipper!” You can sign up for the newsletter on her site. The newsletter offer usually comes up when you open the page. You also get a free pattern for the Oslo bag. No affiliation; just a happy customer. Also, the Oslo Bag is great for organizing your tools and supplies.
**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.
Emmaline Bags has Giardini Edge Paint. This product allows you to color the edge of your leather, cork or similar products in cases where the inside is a different color. You can find more information on the Giardini website. I haven’t tried this product myself.
Emmaline Bags has quite a few new fabrics as well, including some solid colored canvas. Good for the knitting needles bag I mentioned a few months ago.
I talked about taking out the EPP papers a week or so ago. Reader Glenna mentioned her friend’s invention, a water pen for removing EPP papers. I don’t know that this is exactly what I need for removing the La Pass papers, but it is interesting. I think it is more for foundation paper piecing.
I happened to see this Baby Diaper Caddy Organizer** and thought how great it would be for tools. That is, if you don’t make your own bags. This one looks a little like the Oslo Bag.
I was pleased to see that Natalie from Sew Hungry Hippie now has purse chains. One that I purchased a few years ago broke while I was gone and I didn’t want to deal with finding where I bought the old one.
Julie reviewed a product called the Magic Carpet, a holder for your sewing machine foot pedal. It works in rooms with carpet. I have to keep looking, but it might work for you.
Jessica and Jamie from SewTite have a sneak peek of their new magnetic cutting system. See how it works in their video.
Media
Vanessa of Crafty Gemini tells you how to change the size of bag patterns in a recent WIP Wednesday video.
If you haven’t looked at the Strawberry Quiltcake IG feed, do it. Yes, it is a Tula-fest, but SQ’s fussy cutting is so great, you will be inspired to make some of the projects that have been lurking in your pattern drawer. Her work looks impeccable as well. I always appreciate that.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
Bonnie Hunter has a new pattern called Right Way Round (and Wrong Way, too). The pattern is great and it looks like one I could sink my teeth into. I signed up for the giveaway, but didn’t win. I ended up buying the pattern.
**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.
Posts may be intermittent during the next few weeks. Just some stuff going on and nothing to worry about.
Media
Tula Pink talked about choosing fabric using her new Everglow fabric line in a recent video. It is a great discussion about what fabrics she uses together and why. Listen for ‘pattern first’ quiltmaker and ‘fabric first quiltmaker’. Which are you?
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
Polka Dot Chair’s posts show up in my Google Feed most days. The other day I saw a needle tutorial and guide. The YM recently received a sewing machine, a Janome HD 1000BE**, as a gift and I have been feeding him bits of information. Check out the printable guide.
I decided to make a hat for a trip we are taking in the summer. That meant going to the web and searching for different hat patterns. One pattern is from Spruce Crafts. It has a very large brim, which I like. Another is from Heather Handmade. This is also a pattern with a large brim. It also shows you how to measure your head and provides a few different sizes of hats. I also found one from Apple Green Cottage. It comes in 5 sizes and it’s free. The pattern says that the brim is just the perfect size for keeping the face from direct sun, however it looks a little small to me.
At the guild meeting the other week, someone brought in another Jelly Roll Race quilt. This one was a little different. It is called the Exponential quilt. It might be worth a try for those donation quilts you want to make.
I found this site, 4my3boyz, which has a great number of interesting novelty prints. I don’t buy a lot of novelty prints, but this shop has some that I would buy for pillowcases. She has the Jetson’s and Scooby Doo fabrics as well as Disney Villain fabrics.
I keep seeing different solids pop-up. Recently, I saw that Friend Julie posted some information about Century Solids. A few years ago I saw Northcott solids at QuiltCon in 2016. These are beyond the regular Kona Solids, Pure Elements and Bella Solids. I finally found a source for Northcott solids.
Exhibits & Events
Souls Grown Deep is having an airing of their quilts on October 7, 2023. Join the Gee’s Bend community in this annual celebration of its generations-old quiltmaking tradition, featuring quilt displays and sales, workshops, guided tours, food, music, and more.
**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.
Like many other Californians, we have been experiencing a lot of rain. We have, fortunately, had no leaks or flooding or any other problems. We have been stuck inside, which is great for sewing, but not so great for exercise. I hope this is the worst thing I have to deal with.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
Take a look at this cute pie themed pincushion from the Sewing with Scraps site. I remember my godmother baking mini cakes or brownies in our play baking supplies. For some reason, this project reminds me of that.
There is a free pattern for little triangle pouch. It good for a a little bit of hardware or earbuds or some cash. The pattern comes with a video as well. The site has a lot of free patterns on the free pattern page.
Rosie and David have a project bag that could be used for a tools to-go bag. It has a free video tutorial.
Apple Green Cottage has 30 free bag patterns. Most of them are tote bags, but there is also a Messenger Bag, a tablet bag, a jewelry pouch and a couple of drawstring bags. A few of the free patterns are from Sew Sweetness.
Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies
Friend Julie talked about a hand sewing aid called a Lap App. She described the features and functionality very well.
If you need organizer sheets to keep your projects in order the Sewing with Scraps site has a bundle called the Sewing Planner & Organizer Bundle Pack for $14.95.
You might remember that I received a HuRTy ruler for Christmas. I tried to use it the other night with only the printed directions. That doesn’t usually work for me, so I went looking for a video. Of course, I found several. The one I watched was called 3. The HuRTy™ 1 – Cutting HRT Pieces. There are 3-4 videos about the HuRTy ruler, but I just needed to know how to cut. Remember to check my HRT tutorials and resources posts about HRTs in general.
One of the interns with whom I work told me about her visit to the Basel Kunstmuseum. I looked it up and found that they have a great website where you can see a lot of their art. Good inspiration.
I have been making a plethora of Minikins patterns lately, so I updated the Minikins page. I definitely have favorites and Minikins Season 2 isn’t a favorite. I have only made one project from that season. I have one on my mental to do list, but it remains there.
Media
Sara of Sew Sweetness posted a video of the top 10 items you need for intermediate bagmaking. This follows the “Beginner Bagmaking Toolkit”
I got some great thank you notes at Collage in Portland. They are from Seltzer, which is a great name even though it makes no sense for stationery.
A friend went to Denver and visited Gallerie Quilt. She bought a quilt there. I looked at the website and was shocked at the prices. I can’t believe anyone can make any money at those prices. I would be reluctant to encourage them to sell quilts at those prices. It depresses the market for everyone else.
Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies
My friend Carrie told me about a shop called Mashe Modern. It has an interesting selection of bagmaking supplies and quilt fabric. They already have Tula’s Everglow!
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
Tula has a fabulous version of the EPPic case on her FB page. It uses Everglow and I love the look. It reminds me of my childhood bedroom. The EPPic case is by ChasingTigers on Etsy. I saw that they have a bundle of two bag patterns with multiple sizes.
I promised myself not to buy more bag patterns, but occasionally I get tempted. This Zip & Grip bag is awesome. This bag is by Sew Yours LLC. I am reluctant to buy the pattern as I haven’t heard of this company and have no idea how well they test their patterns. I’ll think about it and see after I make a couple of patterns I have in the queue.
My friend Maureen is teaching at the Collage Lab Virtual Retreat in April. Sometimes making a mess is really fun. Even if you normally don’t create collages, save some junk mail and do it.
I am trying to reduce my use of one-time use plastics. As a result, this bowl cover tutorial is of interest. This tutorial shows you how to make cute, reusable, washable bowl covers to protect your food. I am not sure it would work in my fridge if the bowl was not see through. That is asking for a science experiment.
Quilting Jet Girl, Yvonne Fuchs, has a quilt-a-long called Diatom. Check out the blocks on her website.
In a recent video, Tula Pink talks about how to highlight specific pieces of fabric using features of ByAnnie’s patterns.
Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies
The IronEZ seems to be the current popular gift. I received one and am most excited that there is a holster to hold it on my ironing board. I was concerned about adding Best PRess or Flatter to the bottle and clogging up the mechanism. Scott H got back to me quickly when I put a support request in. He said ‘The bottles have worked well with other liquids. If they ever clog just fill the bottle with warm water and spray it through to clean it out. It has only happened a couple of times that we are aware of but the warm water has done the trick.’ Excellent customer service based on my one interaction! 😉
Media
I receive Deanna Raybourn’s newsletter every month. It is in a weird format, so I often don’t read it. I did in January and was glad to be introduced to Domestika. It is a site with a lot of different online courses, many of them creative. They have a number of craft courses, but I didn’t see any quiltmaking courses. However, if you want to make puppets, dollhouse furniture or learn woodworking, check out these courses. There are also a number of courses on making and embellishing garments.
Martingale is closing. They were never one of my favorite publishers, because their books were almost strictly project based. Still, I have several of their books and there are some authors I really like in their line.
I decided I needed to see what Sewline said about refilling their pencils. I found a video that helped. It’s only one minute, too.
Health update and ‘The Butt Club” from Alex Anderson.
NQR
As you may know, I am an audiobook fiend. I listen while I sew. I listen while I cook dinner, when I am doing boring cut and paste or data entry at work, in the car and whenever I can. I don’t buy print books any longer unless they are 1) quilt books or 2) books to which I have listened multiple times on audio. Recently, I listened to Thank you for Listening** by Julia Whelan. Stop what you are doing right now and go buy the audio version and listen to it. Not only is it narrated beautifully, but the story is great, too.
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops and other small or indie businesses. However, if you are too busy or can’t find what you need at the smaller suppliers, I use Amazon affiliate links. I 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.
I received a whole shedload of “your posts go against our community guidelines” messages from Blogger about my old Blogger blog. Since I moved my blog here in 2009, I decided not to spend time telling them their algorithm had screwed up (or someone decided to cause me trouble) and just delete the blog. It doesn’t need to be there anymore. If you want to see any posts pre-2009, they are all here. You can either search or check the sidebar. It’s really annoying to have to deal with something like that, but easily remedied. Hope you had a great New Year!
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
For those of you playing along with Chilhowie, the 2022 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt, be sure reprint the Part 3 PDF. Bonnie made some corrections and posted them right away. Just make sure you have the correct pattern. Find all the different parts on the Chilhowie page, but be sure to download what you need before Bonnie removes it.
Bonnie Hunter has also posted a block webbing tutorial. Block webbing is a method of sewing blocks together so they stay in order. She uses a 16 patch block (like the donation blocks I make) as an example. Very clear and very useful.
Jaybird Quilts has a Temperature quilt project that looks different from others. It’s more like a braided quilt.
Persimmon Dreams, in association with another quiltmaker has Project Quilting challenges. I think each week brings a new challenge.
Media
The Tula Pink video from early December is fabulous! She made a bunch of stuffed animals from her Everglow collection. They are adorable.
These paintings look like awesome quilts. I don’t want to get into a big discussion about art vs. craft, but how much would this painting cost vs the cost of a quilt with the exact same design?
Friend Julie has another great Cornucopia post from December. Some of the links in this post originally came from Julie’s post. It is so interesting how we see different things on the web.
I found an interesting bag while scrolling through Instagram. It is called DIY Magic Twist Zip bag. It has a template for the shape included, though I don’t know what the template is made from. It comes from a shop called Dremmie.com, which appears to be just a shop to sell patterns and templates. There is no information about the shop except hidden in the About us on certain screens and that doesn’t even say that much, such as where they are located and the location from where they ship.
Crafty Gemini has a video on choosing bag interfacing.
Natalie from SewHungryHippie has a free tutorial for a see-through pouch called the Comet Case. In the tutorial, she shows you how to make it with vinyl.
The first clue for Bonnie Hunter’s FREE 2022 Mystery Quilt came out this morning. If you want to join in, take a look at the introduction and first clue. All the information is on the Chilhowie tab on her website. I have made two of her mysteries, En Provence and Frolic!. Lots of piecing, but it is broken down into manageable stages. I don’t always do the quilts, but I always save the clues.
Bonnie’s mystery quilts are great scrap busters and also a great way to hone your precision piecing. She gives lots of tips and tutorials on making your pieces fit.
I tried to teach myself to use the pliers I bought to add snaps to a project. I even found a tutorial that was helpful in getting me to understand what I was doing. It didn’t help. I rummaged in my tools pouch some more and found the Snapsetter tool. It was in an unlabelled box, so I had forgotten about it. Apparently, I didn’t end up using it for whatever project needed snaps. I do remember that Sew Sweetness has them, so I checked the tutorials link on her site. There, I found a video on how to use it. I did a few practice snaps then went for it. I am pleased with the way the snaps came out. Stay tuned for photos.
Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies
Need colored elastic? Check out ElasticBytheYard. They have polka dot foldover elastic!
Media
I watched a GREAT Tula Pink video where she showed A LOT of bags made with her new Everglow fabric line. She showed a Bionic Gear bag that finally made me want to make one of those.
I updated the HRT page to include basic information about Latifah Saafir’s new HuRTy ruler.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
Just in time for Christmas and Hannukah, I updated the gift bags tutorial to include French seams.
Rock Star Block Finished
Whole Circle Studio has a pattern for an interesting quilt called Big Island Sunset. The shape is a kind of elongated Drunkard’s Path. Someone pointed out to me that the studio has templates available to make the quilt. I think it could be made with one of the Sew Kind of Wonderful rulers since the shape is similar to the top pointy one in the Rock Star block I made using the Wonder Curve ruler**. Whole circle has a couple of rainbow/color wheel free patterns in addition to their other offerings.
Tansy Designs has a great pattern weight pattern called Zen Blocks. The solids Tansy uses make them seem super fun. I saw a link to this site on the FB Sew Hungry Hippie page. Maybe they would make good toys, if the seams were well sewn?
Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies
I recently received the latest issue of QuiltFolk. My sister gifts it to me for Christmas or my birthday every year. It is a fantastic gift. In the package were some ads for books from Schiffer Craft. Really interesting quilt books, e.g. not just the project books we are have become resigned to seeing. One is the large coffee table type book by Rod Kiracofe, Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar, 1950-2000**. They publish books in other areas besides quiltmaking. There is a book called Wellness for Makers**, another about weaving**. I also saw a book called Deeds Not Words**, which celebrates the centennial of the 19th amendment through quiltmaking. Schiffer Craft describes their business as “Schiffer Craft publishes to help energize maker and craft communities worldwide. We are dedicated to publishing high quality books and kits that inspire, instruct, and educate. We enrich lives through craft”. Their catalog covers paper, metalwork, jewelry making, ceramics and other media. Take a look at their catalog and some of their high quality books.
Tula Pink talks about her new fabric collection, Everglow in a fun video. The introduction of the new collection can be found in another video, which explains the whole concept behind the new additions to the True Colors line.
I saw the Carolyn Friedlander seam guide on the Sewtopia site. Friend Julie sent me to the site for something else. I was sure what this was and how I would use it. The Sewtopia site describes it as “This hand-held guide is helpful for measuring and marking all sorts of stuff while you’re sewing. Measurements start at 1/8? and go up from there. Use for marking seam allowance, appliqués, hexagons, hems, corners and much more.” I don’t think I will buy one, but will keep it in mind. Let me know if you use one and how you use it.
Confused about what zipper numbers mean? Sara of Sew Sweetness has a video discussing the topic
**Obviously, you should shop at local fabric, knitting shops or quilt shops. However, if you can’t, please know that I use affiliate links. I 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 do not recommend items I don’t like. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
My friend Mary C really likes the projects provided by Jo Westfoot, the Crafty Nomad. Mary C has sewed along with several projects including Glitter Ball. I confused her work with that of GnomeAngel. Still, it is fun to explore new sites, especially when they keep their blogs up to date. I found that GnomeAngel has a lot of block tutorials. In the course of finding all of these links, I also ran into a site for Jo Avery. I love her voice. Check out the pirate chest pincushion. I would have loved to receive that as a swap gift!
The Crafty Nomad has a recent post describing/explaining a ‘scant quarter inch’. She also has a ‘Quilt Hive’ membership. Each month members receive video content as well as some live sessions. Good option, if you don’t want to work with me live. 😉
If you want to check out Jo’s teaching style, check out the Crafty Nomad tutorials. There are a wide variety, including different types of binding, sewing a variety of bags, cleaning your sewing machine and making holiday decorations.
FreeSpirit posted a video of how they fill bolts. Big machinery, but interesting.
FreeSpirit has a list of projects on their website. Not all of the projects are free, which I thought was odd, but not a deal breaker. There are a few free ones and information on where to buy the non-free ones.
Linda and Laura Kemshall have an English Paper Piecing series of 2 videos called Millefiore Patchwork. They show one of my favorite blocks, Jack’s Chain, in the example. Only 3 English pounds.
I got an email from Emmaline, which I read too late. It included a 20 bag pattern bundle from Sew Modern Bags. I have never heard of this bag company and they may be a resale type operation as most of the patterns were from a variety of pattern designers. As I said, I missed the sale, so I can’t tell you the cost, but if you sign up for their newsletter (no experience on how annoying) you get notified of future sales. I looked at the bags included and some were really cute. Do I need more bag patterns? No. Were some of them similar to bag patterns I already own? Yes.
Sew Modern Bags has a number of free patterns. Most aren’t that interesting, but all seem to come with videos, so if you haven’t made many bags, they might be useful learning tools. And the holidays are coming.
I have the Aunties Two Poppins Bag pattern. I am still seeking the perfect quilting supplies travel bag. I started reading the directions (shocking, I know) in anticipation of having Colleen quilt the panels for me. I found that they have video tutorials on YouTube. This is a good thing, because I couldn’t understand the directions. The first one, which I watched and is very clear, is about the center and side panels. I’d advise buying all the supplies as a group. I got the stays, the bottom interfacing panel already cut, the Bosal foam and the pattern as a package deal. Aunties Two also has free patterns. You can buy their patterns at Wingspan Crafts.
I was reminded of pattern weights recently when I was updating the gift idea list on the guild blog. I found a pattern for them at Tea Rose Home.
Torie Jayne has a Craft Organizer Bag Pattern with a great shape and style. The pattern is free, but it is not easy to download. She also has a book about home sewing.
Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies
Latifah Saafir has a new HRT ruler called the Hurty. She is running a special right now with patterns and the ruler. Check the ruler’s webpage. This ruler is not included in the information I provided on making HRTs. I’ll add this ruler to the list when I have a moment. If you want to review the instructions, there is an instructional PDF available.
If you haven’t seen the Gray Muse website, take a look. Rubeena has pins and stickers for crafters and artists and anyone who likes a little ‘making’ humor and support in their jewelry. I went there the other day as the result of an email I received. I like to get things from this site for stocking stuffers. One series of interactive pins I saw was called Bold Affirmations. I wonder what to do with pins beyond giving them as gifts. The site has a blog post called ‘What to do with Pins’! One of the ideas encourages me to put my color wheel pin on my inspiration board so I could see it when I sat at my computer. It will be helpful, too, in class, because I haven’t found my color wheel after the workroom reorganization and that is a real problem.
Tula Pink has a new machine embroidery collection, Moon Garden. She talks about it in a recent Tula Talks Tuesday. I love the flowers, but could do without the snake. Find all of her embroidery collections at Scissortail Stitches.
I got a tip about a tabletop power strip. It is by Odom** and, while I haven’t bought one, the idea of not crawling under the table or sewing machine to plug things in is very appealing!
I found a new online fabric store called Hummingbird Lane Fabrics. Lots and lots of modern fabrics from all of the current designers. Fabrics are around $10.40 per yard. They have an interesting variety of notions, including some hard/impossible to find items from Tula Pink, such as her limited edition black and gold scissor tin. I like that it is very clear what is sold out. The shop has a good selection of bag making supplies including hardware, zippers and pulls, Sew Tites, mesh and Soft & Stable. Products from bagmaking companies such as Tula Pink (webbing), Sallie Tomato, Sew Hungry Hippie, Emmaline and ByAnnie are available. They are located in Arizona.
Articles, Tips and Other Information
The Rainbow of QEII
I was saddened to hear of Queen Elizabeth’s death at the beginning of September. At that time, I read a number of articles about her and her legacy, including many about her wardrobe. I know newspapers would never write about prominent male wardrobes and I probably shouldn’t encourage them by reading the articles, but I loved her style. I’d love to dress with a suit, hat and Launer handbag everyday. I’d need a dresser, though, like the Queen had, which isn’t practical for this middle class California girl. I did go look at the Launer website, thinking I would get a Launer handbag next time I visit London. I think others were shopping online, because beyond seeing handbags on one page, I kept getting error messages.
Check out the Fons & Porter Reader’s Choice Award winners. From sewing machine to fabric, cutting tools to furniture, the survey results tell you what tools and products people selected as the best. I think some of it is true, but I think the categories in the Furniture and other section are name recognition mostly. Perhaps I am just disappointed that my favorites (clearly the best 😉 ) were not selected.
Someone shared a Washington Post article with me called “It’s time to appreciate domestic artistry like sewing and baking”. Finally, I thought, when I read the title. The article points out all the ways the author’s grandmother was artistic. Rather than a general article on ‘women’s work’ it is the observation by one granddaughter of her grandmother’s work. It is a really nice article and might make us think about other’s work, but it is not generally useful for the greater world. Maybe non-quiltmaking people will read it and look around at artworks by people they know, but will it change their views? Will it make them accept and pay higher prices for quilts or knitted sweaters? Will it increase the value the general public have around textile work done at home and not for profit?
Sarah Ann Smith asked about learning embroidery software? One answer was a reminder to me of DesignTV by the Kemshalls. I wrote a review of their Thr3fold Journal a few years ago. They have some modules on using embroidery software as well as some samples.
Global Quilt Connection is a teacher directory. If you are looking for teachers for your guild, check their list.
SFMOMA Bay Quilt
I am very disappointed in the SFMOMA, because they have a quilt for sale for $375. This is an amazing applique’ work of art and $375 not only undervalues the hard work of the makers, but undervalues the artistry and work of American quiltmakers. Very disappointing.
I took a class the other week and the teacher mentioned Allie from the Exhausted Octopus. Great name, huh? She has a very visual blog.
The teacher in the class also mentioned Pride and Joy Quilting. The artist creates amazingly complicated foundation paper piecing patterns and quilts.
Aneela Hoey has a rebranded website. She is the author of Stitched Sewing Organizers and has a lot of great patterns. The new website is a little easier to navigate, though her blog is gone.
Every Sunday, Caroline Hadley at Geometri Quilts posts a picture of a quilt she has designed. I like the way she includes different color ways in her designs so you can see how choosing different fabrics than the designer chose is not a bad thing.
Exhibits and Events
Souls Grown Deep is Proud to Sponsor the Inaugural Gee’s Bend Airing of the Quilts Festival on Saturday October 8, 2022.
I totally missed Quilter’s Take a Moment 2022. It took place September 13-18, 2022. Friend Julie told me about it so I went and looked. The live portion of the event has concluded. New ticket purchasers will receive recordings of each event by September 20, 2022 or within 24 hours of your ticket purchase. There is a Tula Pink interview.
**Obviously, you should shop at local fabric, knitting shops or quilt shops. However, if you can’t, please know that I use affiliate links. I 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 do not recommend items I don’t like. I appreciate your clicks and purchases as it helps support this blog.
Admin
I am working on updating all of my old posts that link out to my old Blogspot blog. I went through 2007 the other day and updated a bunch of links. I used to create really clever titles. Hope I am not boring you now.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
Help Uvalde
If you want to help the people affected by the shooting in Uvalde, here is one way. Click on the photo to see it larger.
My friend and I did some paper folding the other day. In the course of teaching her to make a Mette Ring, she told me about the Woven Stars she makes at Christmas. I found a tutorial, which she said was the way she makes hers.
Vanessa of Crafty Gemini has a new mini-bag club with cute patterns. The early bird pricing is over, but you can still join and get your holiday gifts finished.
If you want to see a quick video on changing the look of zippers, I found a post on IG.
Another friend, Mary C, finds all the good quilt-a-longs. Mostly I admire her work, but I signed up for the Harmony and Light QAL. Sign up is free through October and I wanted to look at the pattern. Not sure I will actually sew it, but you never know. Also, I have a long to do list and need to get it whittled down.
You may have seen that I took a knitting class. One of the items I learned about was a double pointed needle keeper. I found a tutorial for making them from The Nome Knitter.
Not that I would ever do it, but I liked the horizontal FMQ sampler lessons provided by Lori Kennedy. The reader quilts she posted are interesting and exciting.
Sherri Noel has a tutorial for a simple needlebook. The needlebook shows a lot of optional embroidery so get out your Perl Cotton.
She also has a tutorial called Bento Lunch Bag. I like the shape, though probably wouldn’t use a lunch bag. The inside of the bag is not shown.
AllPeopleQuilt Pool Noodle Basting
AllPeopleQuilt had an IG post about basting using a Pool Noodle. I haven’t tried this technique, but thought it might be worthwhile to watch the video and try the technique.
Interesting collection of 12 patterns for $72 from Swoon. It’s a good deal even if you don’t want to make all of the bags.
Need to jumpstart some UFOs or WIPs? Take the My Creative Corner3 10 Day quilting challenge. Start with the PDF.
Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies
Renaissance Ribbons are fantastic. I have found them hard to use, thus hard to justify buying. Tula talks about her new Tiny Beasts ribbon in a recent video, but also how she uses ribbon. I used some of her tips on my A Place for Everything v.2.0 bag and LOVE the detail. It makes me so happy to see the ribbons there. It also gives me ideas about how to use ribbon going forward.
Friend Julie has finished her Orange Bullseye top. You can see the full top and some details on a recent post.
Friend Julie’s August Cornucopia post is up and has some interesting links.
**Obviously, you should shop at local quilt shops. However, I use 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.
