9/11 Quilt Blocks

Visit the 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt Project which is dedicated to the victims of September 11, 2001. On September 8-11, the exhibit will be showing in Staten Island, New York.

The huge quilt consists of 142 panels, each containing 25 blocks. Each block measures 18" square and is dedicated to each victim of September 11th. Take a peek at some video clips from previous tours.

If you can't visit in person, take a tour online of the many unique and beautifully constructed quilt blocks. It's facinating to see all the different ways each block was created!

Quilt Binding

Your quilt top is stitched together and quilted with the batting and backing; it's time for the finishing step - the binding!

Actually, the binding is one of my favorite steps in quiltmaking for several reasons! Number one: it is always fun to experiment with different widths and fabric choices for the binding. Number two: I love handwork, so stitching the binding down by hand is a joy to me. Number 3: If I'm stitching the binding, it means my quilt or project is almost complete! :)

How can you create a simple, quick and easy quilt binding? Take a peek at the method I use to finish my quilt edges! You can achieve a professional binding by following these steps for cutting & stitching fabric strips, attaching the binding to the quilt, mitering the corners and finishing it by hand!

You can view the instructions online here.

Color Wheel Techniques

Selecting colors for a quilt can leave me stumped for hours. The fewer color choices I have, the easier it is to make a decision. Sure, I can select matching colors and colors that do not clash with each other for clothing, but when it comes to quilts...that is my weak area.

About Quilting gives some helpful tips on the color wheel and choosing color combinations. Deciding on your quilt theme and choosing the color scheme for it greatly depends on what look you are trying to achieve. Keep the color wheel in mind when selecting color combinations.

Monocramatic quilts are basically one color quilts. But don't think that just selecting one color can make a boring quilt....imagine the possibilities in blues, reds, greens or purples??!!

Monochromatic, or one color, quilts don't have to be boring. Pull in dark
shades of your chosen color, tints and tones. Add neutrals for a restful
backdrop.

Analogous quilts are created with colors that are beside each other on the color wheel.

Analogous is a complicated sounding name for quilts made from colors that
are side by side on the color wheel. Analogous colors look good together because
their color roots are similar.

Complementary colors are colors located directly opposite from each other on the color wheel. These colors are the hardest to assemble together and need to be used in small quantities.

Red and green
Red-violet and yellow-green
Red-orange and blue-green

Remember there are no "bad" combinations or mistakes in quiltmaking. Trying new color combinations could result in your favorite quilt you have ever made! :)

A Garment Sewing Tip

I usually keep to quilting and embroidery related posts, but I came across this article I had written several years ago. It has been very helpful to me when cutting out set-in sleeves to create more room around the armhole. So for those garment sewers out there, I hope you find this useful! :)

If you are needing more room for arm movement for jackets with set-in sleeves, here is a tip for adjusting your pattern before cutting the pattern pieces.

When a garment armhole is cut too low, movement will be restricted. On a jacket with a set-in sleeve, raising the armhole to fit closer to the underarm will give you more movement.
Try on the pattern to determine the amount needed to raise the underarm. Generally, ½ to 3/4 inch will be sufficient.

Tape pattern tracing paper to the front and back underarm patterns and redraw the underarm curve, raising the desired amount and tapering back to the original armhole. Make the same adjustment on the sleeve pattern.

Mark and measure the new armhole and sleeve stitching lines. They should be equal length at the underarm area below the notches.

I'm Ready to Sew

I have done little sewing over the last few weeks and I am ready to sew, quilt, embroider or do something having to do with fabric and thread!

I have been making my rounds in the blogging world this evening to get caught up on what everyone is doing. It has been getting me in the mood to sew!

I still have alot of business work to catch up on since I have been gone, so that must be done first. I'm teaching classes on Monday, so that day will not lend itself to sewing anything. Perhaps on Tuesday or Wednesday I can catch some time at the sewing machine.....hopefully.... :)

Take the flower poll...

I am a Violet What Flower Are You?

Some New Ideas

I paid a visit to the county fair today! I actually had the job of judging the Decorated Purse Contest. It was tough to choose first, second and third place out of some many creative purse ideas!

After judging, I strolled around and peeked at all the other craft items, quilts and garments entered in the fair. I wish so much that I had brought my camera along! I discovered so many ideas that I want to use somehow, somewhere.

One such ideas happened to be a cute little pillow with a chocolate saying hand embroidered on it! I should have written down the words in the saying used; it was so neat! Thankfully I know the person who made it, so I will be able to ask her at our next quilting meeting in August!

I found several items entered by several ladies in my classes that I teach! It was fun to see the projects again that they had created!

If you haven't done so, visit your county and state fair sewing and quilting exhibits! Take along a camera and store those ideas for future use! It is definitely well worth it!

Block Party Sale

Embroidery design lovers, here is the sale you have been waiting for all summer!! OESD is having a Block Party sale through Monday, July 24th.

Buy one embroidery design, get one free. Buy one embroidery design pack, get one free. I almost always make a list of the designs I need or want (usually it is just a want--but I never know when I might need that cute design in the future, right?!) over the last few months. When block party time rolls around, all I need to do is select the designs and packs I need!

Several times I have ordered the design your own cd special. This weekend I can save $100 off the regular price and get over 500 designs all on one cd. The best part is that I can choose which designs I want! I need to go find my list and see what I need to order! :)

Home to stay...

After being gone for the last two weeks, I am ready to be home and back into my normal schedule!

My sisters and I had such a fun and exciting time at camp this year! We were able to catch up with friends who we only see once a year! It was very thrilling to be able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the impact He can have on your life with many young children!

Now I need to get back to planning the classes I am teaching in the next couple of months. But it feels nice to be able to sleep in my own bed at night and wake up knowing I have computer work or sewing projects to do! :)

New Embroidery Design Packs!!

OK, I couldn't stand it!! It's the first part of July and of course OESD has posted their new embroidery design packs for the month. Many designs greet your eyes in the 15 new packs that are posted! Here are some of my favorites! Take a peek and see what you think!

Garden Bunnies Collection 1
Winter Wonderland
Quilting Bees Collection

Home for a day...

I am home for a day and then leaving again tomorrow to return to a second week of camp. I will try to post a couple of notes today before getting on the road again.

Last night I was able to catch up on all my email and some of my snail mail...what a pile!! I have a beginning sewing class to teach this morning, a quilt to finish this afternoon and repacking to do before tomorrow. Better get busy... :)

The mistake on my quilt...

I meant to post the answer to the mistake on my blue & yellow quilt yesterday, but it totally slipped my mind! Leah guessed correctly and reminded me that I hadn't given the answer. And you are right, Leah, it takes a little looking to find it! :)

The fabric is a one-way directional print and the corner blocks are upside down compared to the center panel. I noticed this while I was stippling and there was no way I was going to change it at that time! :)

I'm making progress...

So far, my goals are being met on time! I have the 5 shirts cut out, stitched and finished that needed to be done today!

The 15 embroidered shirts are finished also!! Aren't the colors beautiful together! I used some shirts from Broder Brothers and they worked extremely well. A lower quality t-shirt will be more likely to pucker and stretch when stitching. I was very pleased with the result of the Anvil t-shirts.

Here are the two littlest shirts...cute...cute...cute!!

Now I just have a quilt to finish, car to wash, shirts to deliver, clothes to pack and the list goes on.... :)

Mountain Load To Do

What a morning it has been already...my day started at 5:30 and will continue until late tonight I am sure!

My sisters and I will be leaving Sunday to go to camp where we will be teaching and counseling and will gone for a week, so I have many things to get done before I leave! 15 shirts to embroider (which I happen to be stitching at the moment, while also checking my email - multi-tasking is a necessity!), several shirts to make and a twin size quilt to cut out, stitch together and quilt!

Since I stitched the blue and yellow quilt last week for me to take to camp this next week, my sister needs a quilt to take also. My plan is to do that tomorrow.

Today is shirt making and embroidering day! The embroidery on the shirts is a simple design, but it is turning out really neat!

Better continue my stitching! As soon as one shirt is finished in the machine another one is ready to start stitching!

Stippling Techniques

I usually don't have any trouble stippling smaller projects that are 45" square or less. It is when I get into larger quilts that the stippling gets tougher to do! I have to keep the quilt free and not binding on anything so I can get the curvy stitches I want.

I usually start in a corner or on an edge and throw the rest of the quilt over my shoulder. This allows me to create a little slack around my needle so I can freely move the fabric around. I continue stippling from left to right and down. Sometimes I will move in different directions so I am not creating stitches that look like rows.

I try to allow plenty of slack in the fabric around my machine. It is so easy for some of the quilt to get hung up on a table corner or part of the machine. I will bunch up the quilt all around, so I can easily move the fabric as I am stitching.

Anyone else have any ideas for quilting or stippling techniques?

Blue & Yellow Quilt

Here is a photo of my finished blue & yellow quilt I have been working on. I did the last minute pressing this morning and decided I needed to take a photo. My sisters are both working today, so I had to take it by myself!

I kept thinking, I can do this. Just push the 10 second timer on my camera, run to the other side of the room, pick up the quilt, jump up on the stepstool and hold still! Guess what??!! It worked, although as soon as I held up the quilt, the camera flashed. If I only had a 9 second timer, it wouldn't have worked; I was that close! :)

I wanted to make this a quick project, so I decided to stitch in the ditch for the borders and corner squares to hold it. Then I would stipple a few areas in the center panel. Well, of course, once I got started stippling I kept thinking how it needed stippling here and here and here!

So I ended up stippling around the blue flower bunches, keeping in the yellow background. This worked great! The stippling allows the nonstippled flowers to puff up from the fabric. The corner squares are the same way; afterall, I can't do the center and not the corners! :)

I knew I shouldn't, but I did! I took 2 more hours and stippled the solid yellow borders! I am so glad I did. It adds so much texture; I would not have been happy with a plain, unstippled border.

Can anybody find the mistake in this quilt? I discovered it as I was stippling! :)

My Sister's Blog

My youngest sister, Krissa, now has her own blog! I think I influenced her with mine!! No, she is not interested in sewing or anything related to it. She is home from college for the summer and needed another outlet to write her thoughts.

It has been so much fun having her home. We can get together on our computers and talk html code, blogger language and software lingo and no one else in our home has a clue what we are talking about! I'm planning on her help with some website editing in the next few weeks before she goes back to school! :)

A Quilting Cat

I only had one side of binding to finish stitching down on my yellow & blue quilt. So last night I laid the quilt on the floor by the tv, left to get my thread, pins & scissors and came back to find a little black tail peeking out of my quilt!

My cat loves to be close to where I am working. She discovered I was moving from the sewing machine to the floor and left her previous post to join me. She looks a little stunned as I lifted the cover of her hiding place. What is it about cats that they love to sit directly on what you are stitching? :)

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!!

What Am I Working On??

Well....one of my projects over the weekend has been this quilt. I just needed a lap size quilt for traveling over the next two weeks, so I decided to whip something up quick that I could finish in a few hours time.

This photo just shows the top, but it didn't take long to put together. Just a couple blocks and borders with a large block of fabric in the center.

I have the whole thing quilted, binding stitched on and most of the handwork on the binding done. Almost completed!! I'll share another photo of the finished quilt.

Shrinking Smarts

Keeping track of which fabrics have been pre-shrunk and which ones haven't can be difficult when your shelves are overflowing with fabric!

To keep track of which fabrics in your stash have been pre-shrunk, serge the raw edges before washing. When you are ready to begin a project, the serged edges are a reminder that the fabric is ready for cutting.

Make it a habit to shrink all fabrics before you store them. It saves time when you are ready to start cutting. Serging before pre-shrinking also keeps fabric from raveling and saves your washer’s agitator from the abuse of the loosened threads.

Another method is to attach a safety pin in the selvedge on each end of the fabric. With the pin in the selvedge, it won't ruin any yardage by rust marks or pin holes. Don't use a straight pin; it can catch on other fabrics as they are stacked and carried and can rip or snag the threads.