Aligning the Quilt Sandwich I have finished the Mini Quilt and in doing so have also prepared a simple tutorial to show you how I go about aligning a pieced quilt back with the quilt top. The back for this quilt was pieced with a horizontal strip of small squares of fabric and was at least three inches larger than the quilt top. To baste the quilt the backing was taped right side down on a hard surface. This image shows where the backing, batting and quilt top were marked for both the top and LHS and RHS. The next step is to place the batting on top of the backing ensuring it is centered. Each edge of the quilt top was then also marked with its center point using a pin. Guide lines for quilting The plan for quilting the Mini Quilt was always going to be a squared off spiral, starting in the center of the quilt and spiraling out to the edges of the quilt. I then pin basted the quilt and commenced quilting using a walking foot. I hope this answers the often asked question as to how to align the quilt sandwich.
DIY Gift: Terrarium Kit November 30th, 2012 It’s widely accepted that terrariums are awesome, which means they also make awesome gifts. It’s hard to wrap a terrarium though, so a DIY kit is the perfect solution. It would be easy to whip up a whole bunch of these kits if you need a lot of inexpensive, creative gifts. Or wouldn’t they make amazing party/wedding favors? I designed some free printable cards with planting and care instructions for you to download and include in your terrarium kit. To make your kit, first put about an inch of small stones in the bottom of a jar. Print a 3 1/2″ x 5 1/4″ terrarium instruction card on card stock, and cut it out (download printable cards here—for personal use only please). If you’re feeling ambitious you could make a few polymer clay mushrooms to include in your terrarium kit. Tie some twine or ribbon around the jar, and you’re done.
Quilting 101 - Quilt making tips and resources Fun with stripes- Quilting Tutorial Probably many of us like using strip piecing in our quilts. But how about using striped fabrics ? Instead of piecing strips use some striped fabrics... The fabric I used for this tutorial is a heavy cotton canvas from Ikea. I always prewash these fabrics because they shrink. So, what can we do with these fabrics ? ------------------------------------------------- Cut a square then cut it on both diagonals From two squares we can make two blocks like these Using 2 green squares and 2 red squares from half of the triangles we can make these 2 blocks or these ones and using the other half ( see the placement of the white stripes on these triangles) we can make one of these three blocks ( hard to choose just one ! ---------------------------------------------------- The next two methods apply for fabrics with stripes of the same width. From a long strip cut rectangles; the width of a rectangle = the width of a strip +0.5" (for seam allowances) ; offset the rectangles and sew them together. Geta
miteredbordersworksheet Rotary Cutting The WWQP How-To's Equipment Rotary cutting offers the quilter the ability to cut a large number of fabric pieces quickly and accurately. The basic equipment needed for rotary cutting is a rotary cutter, a special mat designed for use with rotary cutters, and a heavy plastic ruler. Rotary cutters come in two sizes. Safe Rotary Cutting Rotary cutters are extremely sharp and caution should be used when rotary cutting. Preparing the Fabric for Rotary Cutting All fabric should be pressed before cutting. Once the ruler has been placed, the quilter should carefully place his/her left hand on the ruler to hold it in place being careful not to shift the postion of the ruler. Rotary Cutting Basic Shapes Strips - Take the finished width of the strip and add 1/2" for seam allowances. Squares - Take the finished size of the square and add 1/2" for seam allowances. Right Triangles - Take the finished length of the straight side of the right triangle and add 7/8". Further References on Rotary Cutting
Day Style Designs: Online Quilt Shop Dedicated to Free Motion Quilting information, tools, and supplies. Turn Denim Pockets into Fabric Art Gift Bags - Cloth Paper Scissors Today If you follow this blog, then you know I have an abundance of denim pockets culled from my husband's jeans, and I'm always looking for fabric art projects to make with them. One of my favorite denim recycling projects was this Patched Pocket Panel that combines art with storage. Another way to use denim pockets creatively is to turn them into gift bags. You can make them as simple or as elaborate as you like. Just decorate the front, stitch on a fabric backing to make the pocket, and attach (or sew in) a handle. My colleague Barbara Delaney fell in love with this project, created by Melony Bradley, when it first came out in Cloth Paper Scissors Gifts 2011. Barb described her adventures in pocket art in a post last year about starting holiday projects early. Barb says, "While I was making these holiday pockets, I realized they can really be designed for just about any occasion and, dependng on the size of the pocket, can hold a variety of goodies. P.S.
Quilt Dad: orbc quilt-along Thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback you've been leaving me on my last tutorial. I am so glad to hear that I've been able to help so many new quilters (and even some older, but new-to-wonky quilters!) get started on this new project. Before moving on to today's tutorial, I wanted to take care of a few pieces of business. There are, however, two points of clarification that I want to call out here. You can also begin to introduce pieced strips to make longer usable strips out of too-short ones, a technique I'll be introducing in this post. Second, I also want to comment on fabric requirements for the quilt along. Finally, I made the block from the first tutorial into an adorable little quilted pillow for my giveaway winner. I tried something new on this one: a quick binding sewn on to the edge of the back flap. The random number generator picked #46, and the winner of the pillow is Nichole, who said: Congrats, Nichole! OK, are your ready for the second block variation? Uh oh.
Cupcake Onesies Gift Idea If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our mailing list. Thanks for visiting! Ever since I saw this video from Oh Crafts! If you know me, I love to gift homemade gifts. I started with the following supplies: cupcake gift box (I found mine at my local Michaels store)colorful cupcake linerscupcake sleeves (optional)4 onesies (I used a pack of Gerber ones from Target)2 pairs of baby socks (also found at Target)Scotch tape Here is a visual of how I made the cupcakes: Fold each onesies long ways twice in on itself, so it is a very thin long piece.Then take one sock and let the top of the toe area of the sock pop above the onesie.Roll the sock tightly in the middle of the onesie to create the cupcake shape. UPDATE: After making over a dozen of these cupcake onesies boxes, I realized if I let the end of the baby sock hang down, I could fold it up around the onesie roll to secure without the use of tape, just like this: Looking for another homemade baby gift idea?
GLQC Quilt Care Tips on Storing and Caring for Your Quilt Have you ever wondered whether or not your should wash your Great Grandmother's silk and velvet quilt? Does that antique quilt you've stored in the attic worry you? Have you ever wanted to display your quilt on the wall in your living room? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Storing Your Quilt 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Labeling Your Quilt Part of maintaining good care of your quilt involves keeping with it any information you have (such as maker's name, date, pattern name, MQP#, etc.). Cleaning Your Quilt There are two accepted ways of cleaning your quilt, but generally speaking only one should be used: vacuuming. Washing (the wet-cleaning method) a quilt can be done but only with great caution. If however, you have determined that it is desirable to attempt washing your quilt, first test wash a small section to make sure that the dyes are stable and won't run. NOTE: Historic textiles should NEVER BE PRESSED with a hot iron. Displaying Your Quilt 1. 2. 3. Exhibits
Finished Paintbox Quilt The Paintbox Quilt is finished! This quilt is made with 64 - 6.5" blocks in 32 color combinations (8 by 8 blocks with 1.5" sashing). Each combination is a Kona cotton solid and a monochromatic quilting print. One of the blocks in each combination is made with a printed center and outer ring and the other is made with a solid center and outer ring. I had a hard time deciding how to lay out the blocks for the quilt. I alternated the orientation of the squares so the "pulled" corners were going in opposite directions. On the back, I made a pieced panel with a little rectangle of each of the Kona cottons. The letters on the back are just simple Kona cotton appliques, made using this technique. The washed and quilted linen is so incredibly soft, which makes this a very comfy quilt too! I originally had a black and white binding on this quilt, but it was a little "too much" so I ended up going with this gold and white stripe from Kaufman's Pimatex Basics, which I really like.