Month: June 2008

Blue Alchemy

The current exhibit at the Textile Museum (near DuPont Circle Metro) is called Blue. It is all about indigo. They have a variety of examples, but no quilts so far. The film they are showing as part of the exhibit is fantastic! I especially like the words of the indigo composter. He says he ”is having a conversation” with the compost. He also says that ”something cared for with this much love and affection” should last forever. I think that is a beautiful thing to think about your work. Film is from New Deal Films-www.newdealfilms.com. Perhaps it is posted to YouTube?? Look for it.

More Tote Bags

Margi, over at maverickcrafter.blogspot.com, sent me over to Canton Quiltworks where I saw she had made a tote. You might be thinking that this is no big deal except that I bought this magazine while I was in Seattle and TFQ and I were scrutinizing the pattern. We seem to do that with all the totes we see now.

I was pleased to see that this pattern actually worked when made up. I am still not a fan of the hard handles, but I do like the look of the bottom of the bag. I especially like the way there seems to be one bag inside another. The colors on this rendition are quite appealing as well.

A Bag, A Cat, and A Giveaway!!!!

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June Inspiration

I am trying to wean you all nicely as I won’t have a reliable Internet connection for the three weeks starting on Friday. Here are some inspiration photos for your viewing pleasure.



I should also say that I will be thrilled to post the quilt (or visual journal page) of anyone who makes a piece using one of the photos I post as their inspiration on this blog. Have fun!

FOTY Progress

I sat down today and sewed together all of the FOTY pieces I had cut. I had two batches from a number of sources. The one belowwas from my Memorial Day Weekend travels. The rest of the fabric was from a rip or wo to new Pieces, the fabric I bought while TFQ was here for EBHQ in April and miscellaneous online orders.

The above batch is much more cheerful than the group below.
Now I am only behind on the fabric I bought in Seattle over the weekend. At least it is washed.

PS I don’t know what is going on with the size of my photos. Ever since I got the new version of Photoshop Elements, I can’t adjust the size like I used to be able to in Photoshop Elements 3.0. I may have to breakdown and buy the book THEN go through it. I’ll work through. Thanks for your understanding.

New Online Fabrics

Some of the fabrics came from eQuilter. Once again I was annoyed to see that I already have the pink dots. Something about their site makes the fabric look different. Oh well, at least it isn’t brown. I can use the pink, but I would like to get something new for a change. The Basix dots on the bottom are just replacements for fabrics I have almost used up. I need to get back to those Pineapples.

Additional Seattle Fabrics

TFQ and I went to Angie’s AKA the Quilting Loft. We both made a beeline for the bolts of dots (upper lefthand corner above) when we saw them. Neither of us had seen them before. The mags are mostly patterns, but I am feeling the need to soak in quilt-everything. Fast and Fabulous has a fabric box that I might try to make sometime.

Timtex is Gone

In my travels I came across the fact that the manufacturer has stopped making Timtex. I have only used Timtex once to make a bowl, but I have been thinking about making more bowls and now I don’t know what I will use. The Craftapple has reviewed various options for stiffening boxes and bowls.

Ah, the Demise of Timtex – Updated

In the wake of the demise of Timtex I’ve been doing a little stabilizer research.  I purchased a several online nd played around with some from JoAnn’s and I’m posting my findings here.  The contestants:

1) Peltex 70.  Available at JoAnn’s for under $5/ yard.  It comes in 22? width.  This is a nice product, but thinner and more flexible than Timtex.  When I use this in the bottom of a bag, I’ll often sew 2 layers together for the stability that I want.  Peltex 71 is fusible on 1 side and Peltex 72 is fusible on 2 sides.  They get thicker and pricier as you add a layer of glue.

2) Stiffy.  This is not a comparable substitute for Timtex.  It is very similar to Peltex 70.  It is so very cheap at less than $2/yard but you’ll have to pay shipping if you can’t find it locally which brought my order to about $4/yard.  It comes on a roll and is about 20? wide.  One drawback is when I ironed it, my sewing room started to smell like a barnyard.  :(

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New fabrics

I have no Internet connection at the moment (shocking , I know), so here is a photo via cellphone of the additions to the fabric family. We spent time at Quiltworks Northwest, where the people were very friendly. There were a number of fabrics I remember from my February visit, but some new ones, too. I’ll post a better photo later. Thanks for reading.

Red Coffee Tote


red coffee tote
Originally uploaded by kanokwalee2

I have totes on the mind this morning!

I love the graphic nature of this tote and the cup images are perfect. I would love to see this fabric somewhere and make my own tote out of it. I am not that fond of the ribbon breaking up the middle image, but fighting with my sewing machine over buttonholes makes me understand how a ribbon would be so much easier to apply.

CatyLou Tote


tote bag
Originally uploaded by catylouquilts

I saw this tote on Flickr this morning and thought that it looked similar to the Eco Market Totes that I have been making. One of the attractions of the Eco Market Tote is the shape of the bag part, which this bag shares. I will have to look around and see if I can look at the pattern in person. Let me know if you have made one of these totes.