Do you wonder what happens when you enter a quilt show? Some smaller shows hand out ribbons, some you're awarded a ribbon and cash prize. Some of the big quilt shows will give out thousands of dollars in awards. When you want to enter a quilt show go to their website and print the entry form and rules. Different shows have different rules. I've never entered a show where you don't need a 4" hanging sleeve. The hanging sleeve I like is called a "D" sleeve. When you lay the qui

I entered it into our local guilds quilt show and was awarded a first place ribbon. I still wanted to do a little more work on it so I could enter it into the Unusual Material Catagory at Machine Quiling Expo in New Hampshire. By using some unusual material for flower stamens it would qualify for that category. What unusual material could I use as stamens? The first thing I thought of was coiled covered wire with a bead on the top. My husband helped me with this and coiled

I looked at the piece and decided to add some more elements. I tore apart some silk flowers and used the leaves to add and variety of texture and fibers. My fiber art quilt was finally starting to come together. I arranged the stiffened doilies on the flowers. I had smaller ones for the littlest flowers and larger ones for the larger flowers. I had to think about how I could sew those on. I was thinking about the binding too. Did I want a binding or a knife edge facing? I G

I bought a black/grey Grunge fabric for the background of my Hippy Dippy Flower quilt. My choice black Grunge was to make the bright yarn flowers "pop". I layered black fabric, batting and my Grunge fabric on my longarm to quilt the background. I quilted just straight lines about ¼ " apart. Fancy quilting might have distracted from the flowers. My couched flower and leaf appliques were dried so it was time to figure out how I wanted to arrange them onto my quilted backgroun

Growing up in the late 60s and 70s I was a little bit on the hippy side. I loved my moccasins that just had leather for the soles. I loved my hip hugger bell bottom blue jeans that I had embroidered all up the legs and had patches of fabric covering the thread bare butt. I sewed even back then. I was always drawing and painting. My parents were very supportive and even allowed me to paint on my walls. When I turned 16 I drove an old VW bug painted orange. It was a stick shift

I have a very hard time pinning with straight pins. I'm left handed and really can't feel much or pick up much with my left hand. I try to pin with my right hand but that's not easy either. I can barely feel the pins. That's why I started to glue baste almost everything. One of the first things I learned in quilting was paper piecing. I would have sections of paper with fabric sewed onto it. Then you're supposed to pin the sections together to sew. I couldn't pin the sections

Do you lose your quilting and creating mojo in the months of January and February? Here in Pittsburgh it's usually gloomy and cold. Covid along with the gloom and cold has made it even worse. I tend to want to curl up on the couch with a quilt and do nothing. This past week a group of six of us got together to sew on our guilds raffle quilt. It was so much fun to be with others sewing. My first suggestion for this time of year would be to invite a few friends over to sew. Th

My first experience as a guest on a podcast happened this week with Susan from the podcast, "Measure Twice, Cut Once.” I survived and actually enjoyed it! But while discussing my quilting journey I realized that I'm a handicapped person! I know my hands don't work like most people's hands, but because I really don't let that limit me, I never consider myself handicapped. I just think of myself as a person who has to do things a little bit differently than everyone else. Sus

You've probably heard teachers say or read in books to cut your binding on the bias. Do you understand the reason for this? Have you ever looked at a vintage or antique quilt and thought to yourself, "why did they do the binding that way?" On most of my vintage quilts most of the binding strips have been cut straight of grain. Straight of grain is the weft and warp threads are horizontal and vertical. One reason they might have cut the binding on the straight of grain is b

When do quilters start calling themselves quilters? Have you ever thought of when you decided that your were a quilter? When I took my first quilt class I would tell people, " I'm learning to make a quilt". I have sewn since a very young age. My older sister bought me my first sewing machine for Christmas when I was 10. I had a very small bedroom with no room for a table and I would sew on the floor. I would sit with my leg bent and work the foot pedal with my knee. If I coul

Reading on Factbook, I see a lot of posts where quilters make the resolution to not buy any new fabric this year. They're only going to use the fabric from their stash from years past. Is this even possible? I will never make this resolution because there's always a need for me to buy fabric. I know for sure I will buy backing fabric. Piecing fabric together from my stash to make a backing is something I just don't like doing. I think a pieced back looks nice. I just don't l

I love saving vintage textiles. I find old, vintage and antique items comforting. My husband and I go to a lot of auctions, flea markets, and yard sales. I think about things I can create from the treasures I find. I've followed Kelly Cline on Facebook for quite a few years. She quilts vintage items like doilies, tea towels, pillowcases, and other vintage textiles. I met her at a local quilt shop where she taught a workshop. She inspired me to give it a try. Over the years I

Folding Work Surface Supplies Needed ▪︎2 boards 9x12x1/4 ▪︎1 sheet extra fine grit sandpaper ▪︎1 Omnigrid cutting mat 8x10 ▪︎ pretty fabric 2 pieces 13 x 23 and 1 piece13x2 ▪︎3 pieces of batting 9x12 ▪︎ Elmer's or fabric glue ▪︎ staple gun ▪︎ pencil A few years back we could make a project at our guild meeting. We were given a list of items to bring to the next meeting if we wanted to make a folding work surface. This is a picture of mine. Instructions 1. Apply glue o

Have you ever had that one quilt where things just don’t go right from beginning to end. I’m not a miniature quilt making person. I would rather make a big quilt. A local quilt shop had a go sew along for miniature quilts. One of my quilting friends talked me into doing it. I'm a very social person and it meant I would meet new people, so why not. My seems kept twisting because I didn't use my stiletto to help the fabric through the feed dogs. Question is do I use “Jack the R

Quilting tools can be very expensive. I try to use my money wisely for tools I want and need. Finding another use for a tool or a way to use parts differently is a bonus! I use glue sticks a lot for many quilting and crafting projects. The empty glue tubes were laying around and I thought there has to be a use for these. The tubes are perfect holders to safely store your needles. You can write on the tube with a Sharpie marker, the type and size of the needles. I store my han

When you take your #quilt to a longarmer, do you discuss the batting? A discussion with your #longarmer is important because batting makes a difference in how your quilt will look and feel. It can make your quilt look flat or puffy. It can shrink and make your quilt look crinkled. There also are battings that will not shrink. There are different thicknesses of the same type of batting. Depending on the type and thickness of the batting, it can drape softly or be stiff like a

I'm just starting to decorate for Christmas. Getting hardwood floors during the holidays is not recommended. It'll be awhile before life feels normal again. Stuff and I mean lots of stuff is still everywhere! But here's a little rug tip.

I'm always looking for gifts I can make for my sewing friends. This one is pretty and useful! It's easy to change it up with various trims like; ribbons, rick rack and lace. Materials you need to get started. • little jar with a lid • batting • lace • items for in jar • scissors • glue gun Let's get started. I cut strips of batting about 2" wide and the longer the strips, the better. Fold the strips in half lengthwise and start rolling it as tight as you as if you were rollin

I have a lot of men's ties, I mean A LOT! People give them to me and I needed to find something to make with them. One day I pulled out a box of ones that were already dismantled and pressed. I thought why not just sew them together wide end to narrow end to make a larger piece of fabric. Then the idea of making an infinity scarf popped into my head. It will work! I pulled up a YouTube video on how to make an infinity scarf. I cut my tie fabric piece into a rectangle and se

I got on the band wagon of English paper piecing. That's where you use cardstock paper shapes that you sew or glue fabric around. Then sew the shapes together, starch and press. The scary step for me is when you take the papers out. I'm always afraid it's all going to fall apart. It doesn't, but I just have that fear after all that hand stitching. I have found the best thread for EPP and the stitches just sink into the fabric and are invisible. The thread I love is by Wonder