Quilt Block Swap Frenzy!!

I'm swapping like crazy!! Here are the Puss in the Corner swap blocks I did for QATW.

This is the color scheme that "Bookworm", the swap hostess asked us to use: earthy reds, warm browns, and golden creams and tans.
I haven't used this color scheme before. It's beautiful and I had all the colors in my stash already, so I guess they're colors I like. I just needed a little nudge to combine them. I love when I find a swap that teaches me something.

I'm also working on 2 more swaps. These swaps are on Blockswappers, a subgroup of the Stashbusters group that I've belonged to since 2002. The first is a mini nine patch swap. The blocks finish 3 inches. I don't know what I'm going to do with them but they're so cute I couldn't resist. Any suggestions?

I signed up for 4 sets of 10 and I have one set done and the other 3 sewn into strip sets. I'm hoping to get those finished today. If I do I think I'll sign up for a few more sets, like maybe 6......that would give me 100 swapped blocks and the 5 extra from each set that I make. I'm using up some of my fat quarters and if I cut 5 dark 1 1/2 inch strips and 4 light 1 1/2 inch strips I get 15 3 1/2 inch nine patches. Here's a picture of my progress so far:


I'v also signed up for 2 sets of 9 inch nine patch blocks. That will give me 20 swapped blocks and about 8 that I've made for myself. For some of the blocks I used the "leftovers" from the fat quarters I cut my mini 9 patches from so I have a lot of different blocks.


I found that 2 FQ'a will make six 9 inch 9 patches and 5 dark and 4 light 3 1/2 inch strips cut from the width of the fabric will make 12 blocks. Ten to swap and two to keep.

This swap isn't due until May but these blocks are so easy and I was in the mood for some simple piecing yesterday that both sets will be finished today. So far I'm the only one who's signed up for this swap. I hope as the due date gets closer more people will sign up. It would stink to have all my blocks made and have the swap canceled.

Any one else interested? in joining? Go to Blockswappers and sign up. Here's a picture of some of these blocks:

Now what other swaps can I join................

How to save money on QUILTING for new Quilters

How to save money on QUILTING for new Quilters

Join your local Quilting Guild. You will find lots of support and information there. Don’t be shy about being a beginner; we all were at one time.
When you’re starting out resist the temptation to buy every tool, gadget and book on the market. The basics will be enough to get you started and keep you going for a long time. See my list of “Basic” quilting tools.

3. Check out your local Library – borrow books before you buy them. I love new quilting books, but much as I would like to I just can’t have them all. The library is a great way to stretch your budget. My library has quilting magazines and lots of the latest books.

4. Buy Used and discounted books and magazines. For books try half.com, Amazon, Mackenzie books and Ed Hamilton books. For magazines, E-bay, Craig’s list and Quilter’s Flea Market are my favorites.

5. Save batting scraps and cut them up to use as pillow stuffing. I
use some of my ugly fabric and make a pillow form, leaving one side open. I fill it as I go so I don’t have a big pile of batting to cut up all at once.

6 . Buy your piecing thread by the cone. I use a thin, lint free thread in a neutral color for piecing. Lots of benefits to this, first, the cost, you’d have to buy about 11 spools of thread to equal 1 cone of Bottom Line or Sew Fine, my current favorite piecing thread. I figure I save $10 to $15 on thread buying the cones. These threads make much less lint, which will save wear and tear on your machine Also fewer spools of thread makes for less clutter.

7. Find patterns online for FREE! See my list of favorite pattern and BOM sites. (coming soon)

8. Don’t know how to do something? Go online for free tutorials, but you knew that already didn’t you?

9. Buy your backing fabrics from the clearance bins of your favorite quilt shops. I always look at the discounted fabrics and when I find something I like I buy enough for a backing. Do you really need to spend $8.00 a yard for the backing? My local shop sells their older fabrics for $2 -$3 a yard and they have a good selection.

10. Shop for fabric online. Here area couple of my favorite discount shopping sites:

Quilter's Flea Market and Hancocks of Paducah.

Saving money on your quilting hobby is just like saving money on anything else. Buy only what you need, don't waste your "leftovers" , buy quality because it lasts and makes your job easier.

Basic Quilting tools

Must Have Quilting tools
Here's my shopping list of quilting tools for the beginner. If anyone see's something I've missed, let me know and I'll add it.

Rotary Cutter- buy the Olfa brand, I like the 60mm ergonomic one for cutting up to 8 layers. if that’s not in the budget, the 45mm one works well also.

Extra blades – a sharp blade will make your cutting much easier and more accurate

A cutting mat – but the largest one you have room for, it will speed up your cutting and get you to the fun part sooner.

Sharp scissors – I recommend the Gingher brand 8” sheers and a pair of 4” embroidery type for clipping threads. I keep my small scissors on a lanyard around my neck; otherwise I spend a lot of time looking for them.

An Iron – I like an iron that is a bit heavy and that will get very hot. I don’t worry about steam because I use spray starch. Your iron should be comfortable to use because you will be using it a lot.

A large ironing surface – I made a big ironing surface by taking a scrap of plywood , stapling a piece of cotton batting and an ugly piece of fabric to the underside of the plywood. (No stapler? Use duct tape, a girls best friend LOL) Then I cover it with an old beach towel that I can throw in the wash when it gets stiff with starch.

Rotary cutting rulers – I LOVE my ruler collection, probably have too many, but they really make the cutting and sub-cutting much easier- I like this brand the best because I can see the markings very well.
http://www.quiltknit.com/rulers/page15.htm
Olfa makes a good ruler also. Buy the brand whose markings are easiest for you to see.
I would start out buying a 6 1/2” by 24” and a 6 ½” by 12”. I would add these to my collection as I went along – a square ruler in the size block I make the most, i.e. a 6 ½”, 9 ½”, and/or 12 ½”- these are great for squaring up finished blocks. Then an easy angle for cutting triangles.
http://astore.amazon.com/quiltville-20

Notions – needles, pins, (buy good ones, cheap pins are not sharp, frustrating to use and can ruin your fabric) a pin cushion, extra bobbins, (wind a bunch of these before you start to sew) oil and a brush for your sewing machine, (it’s very important to clean your machine after), a seam ripper, I like this type the best:
HAVEL'S ULTRA PRO II SEAM RIPPER
http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/Item--i-C-18935
Or this one:
HAVEL'S SEAM RIPPER WITH Handle
http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/Item--i-C-18933


Thread – buy good thread, cheap thread is not worth your time and money. I like to use a thin thread like Bottom Line or Sew Fine in the bobbin, both produce very little lint and more thread will fit on the bobbin, saving you time.

Sewing Machine – again not a place to skimp; Buy the best you can afford.
I would focus on quality rather than features. Lots of stitches and options are nice, but I’d rather a sturdy, reliable simple machine than one with a lot of “bells and whistles”. The reason for that is quilt making uses simple stitches.
The features you will need are a straight stitch, the ability to lower the feed dogs, and an adjustable zig- zag stitch. The accessories you will need are a ¼ inch foot, a darning foot and an appliqué foot. You will be happy with these features for a long time

BABY QUILT

It’s time to make a baby quilt again. The baby shower is next week and as you can see by the picture, the baby quilt is not ready! I don’t know what I was thinking; I just started the quilt last week. I should have started it much sooner. Oh, well, this won’t be the first time I’ve been late with my quilt giving.

I don’t have the right fabric for the inner border, but I do have a nice blue and green multicolor fabric for the outer border. I am planning on using the green fabric or something similar for a thin inner border. I believe the green I used was a Patrick Lose fabric which I bought at Safftlers in Whitman, MA. Hopefully they will still have some.


I seem to be going fabric shopping a lot lately. So much for my stash busting efforts! I think I’m buying as much fabric as I’m using!
I really hate it when I have to stop sewing because I run out of fabric or supplies. It really ruins my momentum. Part of the reason I’m having this problem is because my stash is all packed up ready for my much delayed move. If I had known the seller’s bank was going to take so much time to get their paperwork done I would have left out more of my UFO’s, WIP’s and fabrics. I can’t get the quilting done because I don’t dare load a quilt in my quilting machine in case I have to move before it’s finished, but I could have finished more tops. Well, I shouldn’t complain, I really have gotten a lot done lately and it really isn’t a hardship to go fabric shopping.

Floral Quilt

I'm still not in the mood to challenge myself, but I do feel like quilting. Here's what happened when I dug out a HUGE bag full of 6 inch nine patch blocks that I've collected in block swaps, or made when I felt like sewing but had no project in mind.

Instant (almost) lap quilt! This took me about 4 hours to piece.
It has no borders yet because I don't have a stash to shop right now. It's all packed up waiting for my move to the new house, Sure wish the bank and attorneys would get thier paperwork done so I can move and get my life settled again. Needing border fabrics was a good excuse to go to the quilt shop. You can see by my photo of my "loot" that I did buy a little bit more than just the border fabrics!!

I think having sets of blocks made up is like having a brownie mix in the pantry, much faster than starting from scratch and will always come in handy. I've made 3 other quilts from my bag of nine patch blocks and they're all different.

Here's the last one I made. This was a gift for a friend, Joe Cavana,who has since died. I'm so glad I made this for him, he really loved it and it gave him a lot of comfort.

Having some blocks in the "pantry" enables me to make a comfort quilt up real quick when I need to.

QUILT SHOP TRIP

I needed some fabric for a couple of baby quilts and the borders on a floral patchwork quilt I'm making as a gift. I also wanted a pattern to make a fabric handbag or tote. Since most of my stash is packed in preparation for my move I thought a trip to the local quilt shop was in order.
I always have a great time shopping for quilting fabric, patterns and tools, but today was an exceptionally good time.
I shopped at Emma's Quilt Cupboard in Franklin, MA. From the outside it looks like a tiny shop, but inside it's packed with fabric, patterns, tools, notions and books.

Hung all over the shop were beautiful quilts showcasing the classes being held and patterns that they sell. As soon as I walked in a Piece of Cake design, "Stars in my Garden" caught my eye. I've wanted to make that applique pattern for years, but had forgotten all about it. Maybe I will dust off my book when I get settled into my new house...... we'll see
I thought that the two ladies who were working were the best sales clerks I've ever met. They were very friendly, knowledgeable and knew when to help me and when to leave me alone to browse. I took up a lot of their time, asking for this and that and they both made me feel as if they were really enjoying helping me. Now that's a rare experience in the retail world.
I got everything I needed and then some. I splurged a little (it's my birthday after all) and got the EQ6 upgrade. I found some very nice fabric for backings for $3.33 a yard, that's a real bargain for quilt shop quality fabrics. Emma's sends everyone who signs up for their e-mail birthday gift, a discount coupon good for a % off your total order. So I'm trying to justify buying all this quilting stuff because it was a good buy!
I highly recommend Emma's Quilt Cupboard http://www.emmasquiltcupboard.com/
The shop has a great selection, great service, great classes and reasonable prices. Well worth the trip.
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Carolina Crossroads Mystery Quilt

My all time favorite quilting site is Bonnie Hunter's :

http://quiltville.com/index.html.

She is a very talented, generous and prolific quilter. I've used her patterns many times. I don't always use the exact "recipe", but her directions are easy to customize so you can avoid that cookie cutter look.

When she announced her Carolina Crossroads Mystery Quilt, I was eager to join in the fun. I don't make mystery quilts anymore because I've been disappointed with the results too many times.But I knew if Bonnie had designed it, the quilt would be well worth making.

Well, I looked thru my stash of pre-cut strips but didn't have enough pre-cut 1 1/2 "inch strips, but had a draw full of 2 in strips so decided to use those. I knew I could figure out how to convert any of the other measurements if it became necessary, which it did.

Lots and lots of stitching later, (and more cutting), I've solved the mystery and am very happy with it. I just have to cut and sew the borders on and quilt it.

That will have to wait until I get into my new house. Right now I'm waiting for a closing date on my new home and my current one is full of boxes. I thought I was going to be moving on June 1st, but the attorney ran into a glitch and I'm still waiting.

The only reason I'm able to sew at all right now is because a friend has very generously let me set up a temporary swing room in his spare room

Enough about me.
If you'd like to try your hand at a mystery quilt check out Quiltsville's latest mystery "Orange Crush". Get right over there before it disappears.