Various & Sundry 2024 #2

Admin

The Minikins page is updated with new Bluestem pouches, a new Piebald pouch and new I Spy pouches.

The Quilt Class and Teaching page has also been updated. Get in touch if you want to learn a wide variety of techniques. I am hoping to start a class at the end of July.

The Quilts in Print page has been updated with one new book.

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

My friend, Carrie, is always sending me different tutorials and pattern ideas, mostly for bags and pouches. She recently showed me the IG feed of AtelierCoraCaoEmRetalHos. She has some great bag shapes and some clever ways of putting them together.  Very inspiring.

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

The Quik Hang Magnetic Quilt Hanging System is the new product from Sew Tites. As I have said before, those women are on fire! The product enables quiltmakers to hang quilts and wallhangings using magnets. I haven’t tried it, but it does look interesting. “The system has 4 metal strips with pre-drilled holes to install permanently onto your wall and 6 super-strong SewTites magnets. You can leave the strips white or paint them to match your walls before installation. You may use all four strips, spaced however far apart you would like them, or just use two or three to accommodate all of the sizes of quilts you make.”

Media, Books and Articles

The MQG has a catalog of QuiltCon quilts for purchase. Pre-orders are available now. Note: I could only find the link to purchase on the MQG’s IG page. It was not on their website.

Events, Shops, Exhibits and Shows

Women’s Work 1 is in a show called Women’s View, March 1-April 26, 2024. The page for this quilt has been updated as well.

There is an interesting exhibit at the deYoung called Lee Mingwei: Rituals of Care. It includes a part where the artist and/or his assistants will embellish torn clothes for you. The information about the exhibits is evocatively written in the article.

Other Artists

A friend of mine has become a master glass artist. Check out her website, Glass Art by Tracey, to see some beautiful pieces, such as bowls, cake stands (or footed bowls?) and wine racks.

Various & Sundry 2024 #1

Admin

I updated the gifts post as I received something recently.

I also updated the Color Strip & Chunk donation top page. I have made 16 of these tops!

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

zipper pulls
zipper pulls

It is so much easier to open a zipper on one of my bags when I attach a zipper pull. I have been trying to find nice zipper pulls in packages of several. I found some on Amazon**, but wonder if you have ever bought them? These look easy to use and have a nice design.

I heard about Felt Right Tiles, which some quiltmakers are raving about. I almost went ahead and bought a set to replace the ‘new’ design wall. I am not happy with the current large design wall, because my fabric pieces don’t stick to it. I am glad I read more about the Felt Right tiles before I took the plunge. One of the FAQs on their site says “Will quilting fabric designs stick to Felt Right tiles without pins?
Some quilters choose to apply batting or flannel to the tiles before placing pieces of fabric. Without batting, you will need to use pins or thumbtacks to hang fabric.” Having to add felt or batting kind of defeats the purpose for me, though they would be snug against the wall, which would be convenient. I’ll keep looking.

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

The guild had a pincushion swap for the holiday party. This set my mind to thinking about pincushions, which I looked at on Instagram and Pinterest for a few days. Carrie shared a pincushion image with me, which sent me off to the blog post about it. It is from Anna Graham’s (Noodle-Head) book, Handmade Style**. I am also sharing the tutorial for a Wagon Wheel pincushion, another one from from Noodle-Head. I like round pincushions.

I am working my way through various Quiltfolk issues. One for Illinois has Mary Fons’ Little Black Dress Quilt on the front. I might want to make this quilt. It looks interesting, so I went hunting. I found a picture of it straight on. I also found that you can buy the pattern from Quilting Daily.

Jane Sassaman has a virtual class coming up in January and February. I want to take it, but the time is inconvenient, so I have to think about it.

K Azcona Designs has some interesting shaped bag patterns such as Y-fronts, stars, ice cream cones and hearts.

Quilter’s Color Mixer is a live, virtual event with ten expert quilting instructors happening on February 3rd, 2024. Join this live event for a multiple classes where you’ll learn about color theory, the history of color, creating custom color palettes for your quilts, stash-busting techniques, ombré designs, designing with prints, and so much more! Come for the mini masterclasses and stay for the giveaways, a virtual swag bag, and an opportunity to connect with makers worldwide! Lynn Koolish’s session is all about how to transform your stash with paints & dyes while learning about color mixing. Save $20 off your ticket with Lynn’s code MIX24LYNN. The cost when I clicked on the link was $59.99.
 
Julie has a short tutorial on using fusible batting.
 

Media, Books and Articles

The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles is looking for volunteers! In 2024 The Museum will be launching a new community program; our very own Social Needlework Circle. We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to offer support during our drop-in hours. We are excited to grow together and welcome you to our fiber community. If you’re interested in joining our team, please fill out their form

I recommend the Sewcial Sunday video from Sew Sweetness, if you are interested in waxed canvas. Sara interviews a friend who is an expert in using waxed canvas.

Events, Shops, Exhibits and Shows

Jonathan Shannon’s quilts are at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles through April 7. He had at least one quilt at an EBHQ show where I also displayed a quilt. At the beginning of my quiltmaking adventure, his quilts were VERY controversial because of the themes of some of his quilts. Seeing his quilts inspired me to make some quilts commenting on political situations. Seeing what he experienced gave me the courage to express bottled up feelings about situations where I was powerless. I am thrilled that the museum has 20 of his quilts. The link above shows several that I remember seeing in person.

I stumbled across the site, Abandoned America, on Atlas Obscura. It has a lot of interesting photos, though I am not 100% in love with the old, decrepit, and broken places. There is a kind of beauty in the photos. Also, it dovetails with a book I read last year, They Disappeared**, which features a lot of abandoned buildings and urban explorers. It is a good book with a lot of layers, a murder mystery, of course.

Other Artists

I have a soft spot in my heart for felt food. I have no idea why. I just think it is wonderful and a great toy for kids. You can imagine how thrilled I was to Lucy Sparrow’s work discussed in a local paper. I went looking at some of the links and saw this amazing spread for the Queen’s Jubilee. This UK artist’s website is full of wonderful images, too. I saw in one blog post that she sews on a Janome!

Julie wrote a post about the Hackney Bag I made her.

Creative Process
Creative Process

This is how creativity and working on some projects is for me. I didn’t make the difficult bags and quilts I make now when I started out. Even now, when I know a lot more, I go through this process.

Thanks to @mounika.studio for a great drawing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**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.

Various & Sundry 2023 #13

Admin

If you care about pouches, I updated the Minikins page again.

I am tempted to put all of my donation quilts on one page and all of my other quilts on a different page.

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

Janome came out with the Continental M17. I was sort of interested when Sarah talked about it. She also wrote a post about the embroidery function, specifically. I saw that the price is almost $20,000. I am not going to do enough machine embroidery to justify that price. The M7, I thought was the same, but the non-embroidery version. It isn’t the same, but is ‘only’ $8000. The M8 is $9000 and also not what I was thinking about. Hhhmm. Maybe they don’t sell the one I was imagining. Or maybe I imagined it! Or I don’t need a new machine.

Ironing board as desk
Ironing board as desk

I do not recommend using your ironing board as a desk. How would you be able to iron your quilt projects? The good thing is that you can raise and lower the height to suit your body’s needs.

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

Natalie from Sew Hungry Hippie has a tutorial on using the printed vinyl she sells, like the glitter vinyl I swooned over.

Check out Sarah’s tutorial for Lapped and Felled seams.

Sweetseamz has a great version of the Retreat Bag from Emmaline. Her modifications make it much more useful! The Retreat Bag is a free pattern, though you do need to buy the frame, if you don’t make your own. I have made a few of these, like the Sugar Skull version, and like the open wide design.

If you want to learn rotary cutting, a video that Carrie shared with me is pretty good. Jennie at Clover and Violet talks about using Creative Grids** rulers and the same kind of Olfa rotary cutter** I like. Her point about not using the cutting mat lines to measure is excellent. Please note that pressing your fabric before you cut improves accuracy

Bonnie Hunter has started her annual mystery quilt again. Check out the tab on her blog or go to Part 1.

 

 

 

**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.

Various & Sundry 2023 #12

Admin

I updated the series page. I also updated the Works in the Series menu to include a lost page. For some reason the improvisational page was never included in the Gallery of Series quilts. Now it is. I haven’t worked on this series in awhile, but since I finished the Tarts, I have been getting the itch. If I make another of this style of quilt, I WILL NOT quilt it myself.

I also updated the Minikins Series page with some of the new Minikins projects I have sewed recently.

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

Sara from Sew Sweetness has a new tutorial for turning a bag into a sling style bag. I have had the Widget bag pattern for awhile . I have even had some fabrics chosen and this tutorial has reignited my enthusiasm for the design.

Bonnie Hunter’s introduction to her winter mystery quilt, Indigo Way, posted the other day.

Tools, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

The Sew Magnetic Cutting System I discussed a month or so ago is now shipping. A recent email from Sew Tites shared some links to unboxing videos. Take a look at the Crafty Gemini video to see what she thinks. Julie of Jaybird Quilts (remember the Sew-a-Long I did?) also demonstrates how to fussy cut her shapes using this new system. I have not bought one of these cutting systems. If you buy me one, I’ll tell you what I think. Unfortunately, this system is larger than my cutting table.

The women at Sew Tites are on fire! They now have an aid for sewing the flatback stitch, which is my favorite stitch for EPP. There is a video that goes with it. I am putting it on my Christmas list. They also, now, have a stand for Sew Tites. I don’t have horizontal space for a stand like this, but I think it is good that they are thinking about organization.

Tula Pink introduced her new fabric collection, Roar! Before I saw it, I thought it was more lions. Nope! It’s dinosaurs. I sent a text to a friend that read “Dinosaurs? Really?” Hey, Tula has magic fabric design fingers, so I am sure the line will be a success. Some of the prints have cameos where the dinosaurs can be seen clearly. In other prints, they are hidden. She includes some interesting border prints in this collection. A number of the background prints can be used in a variety of ways. Pink Door has the Big Bang quilt, which is pretty interesting. The line will be shipping in May 2024.

I had high hopes for this article, Ten Fantastic Places to Donate Excess Quilting Fabric, but the article says they are fantastic and my experience says Meh. These sorts of articles are helpful if you have NO idea, but most of us know that places like the Goodwill and Salvation Army aren’t great with craft supplies. I, personally, don’t know of a Craft focused Goodwill type organization, though there is a place in Berkeley where teachers can go to get supplies. I can’t remember the name. There is also FabMo. Let me know if you know of any other specific places to donate fabric.

Media, Books and Articles

I was kind of surprised at the article on the best sewing machines I saw in Southern Living. I tried to find the criteria they used for evaluating the machines. The closest I could find was “We tested 24 sewing machines in our Lab so you don’t have to. We unpacked, plugged in, threaded, and stitched to come up with this list of the best sewing machines. ” Not much of a description, but they talk about why they liked each machine in the individual sections. At least they talk about Janomes and Jukis. A ‘splurge’ machine at $2000 made me laugh. $2000 is a lot of money, but have they seen the really high end machines?

For you knitters out there, I found a video on how to knit the textured ribbon stitch. I have no idea if I will ever try this stitch, but I liked the look of the video. Let me know if you try it.

Events, Exhibits and Shows

The Oregon Quilt Festival will be held 15-17 February, 2024 at the Oregon State Fairgrounds. The details are:

Show Dates: February 15th – 17th
Show Hours: Thursday and Friday 10AM-5PM, Saturday 10AM-4PM

Columbia Hall
Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center
2330 17th St NE, Salem, OR 97301
(855) 938-1610

Check back for admission prices

This show is coming up SOON! Quiltopia Oregon presents Sew Happy Together! Quilt Show at the Mill. It is a fundraisers for Helping Hands Resources of Oregon.

3-4 November, 10-4
Willamette Heritage Center
Salem, Oregon

I hope some of you will be able to attend and tell me about these shows.

Other Artists

Check out Friend Julie’s efforts at dyeing fabric.

Various & Sundry 2023 #11

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

Sew Hungry Hippie Fun Zippers
Sew Hungry Hippie Fun Zippers

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!

SewGirlieFun has a lot of different Disney fabrics.

Have you seen the new Aurifil Swatch book?

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

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.

Various & Sundry 2023 #10

This is just a short bag edition.

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.

Various & Sundry 2023 #9

Admin

I updated the page showing the Color Strip & Chunk Donation quilts. I was shocked to realize I have made 11 of these tops so far.

I have updated the Policies and Procedure page.

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

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
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.

Julie shared the Butterscotch Bag pattern with me.

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
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!

Events, Exhibits and Shows

Joy-Lily has a scrap quilting class at the San Francisco Public Library

Other Artists

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.

Various & Sundry 2023 #8

Admin
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.

Various & Sundry 2023 #7

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

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.

Pellon has a series of guides about how to use the interfacing.

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.

Various & Sundry 2023 #6

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

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.

Carolina Moore also has a template for cutting out the boxed corners of bags.

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.

Various & Sundry 2023 #5

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 like the way the Polka Dot Chair tutorials are arranged. Very appealing.

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 a chart for calculating continuous bias.

Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies

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.

 

Various & Sundry 2023 #4

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.

I like a little coin purse on the McCain Tailor site.

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.

Andover Fabrics has Century Solids.

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.

Media

Mrs. K shared the Francesquilts site with me. Frances showed a number of photos and thoughts about QuiltCon recently.

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.

 

Various & Sundry 2023 #3

Admin

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.

Definitely check out Friend Julie’s cornucopia post. She found some interesting tidbits I did not find.

Check out the QuiltCon winners for 2023.

Shop

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.

 

Various & Sundry 2023 #2

Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials

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.

Various & Sundry 2023 #1

Admin

The Minikins page has been updated again.

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.