In the Beginning….Which Came First?

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Quiltmouse

The Beginning of a Quilt

Which comes First?  The Pattern or the Fabric??  Well, the not so simple answer is….Both or Either.

The Pattern:  Whether it is a classic ‘oldie’ traditional block pattern, a free pattern or a purchased pattern, this can be your starting point.  If you have chosen a pattern you like, then it has an influence on what fabric you want to use. 

Many quilts are made of individual blocks, which are often made of a number of other blocks.  The Internet is a wonderful place to look for blocks and patterns.  Here are a few sites I’ve found.

  • Quilt Blocks Galore – has a list by block name or size
  • Quiltville – This site by Bonnie Hunter shares information and patterns for using scraps to re-purpose clothing or left-over fabric to make quilts.
  • The Fabric Cafe has some simple, 3-one-yard bundle Quilt Patterns – if you buy one of their prepackaged fabric bundles, you get a pattern free.
  • Lazy Girl – Lazy Girl, Joan Hawley, has created a number of patterns she sells which use her special ruler when creating the blocks.
  • Moda Bake Shop – Blog sponsored by Moda Fabrics shares patterns for quilts & more.  Primarily, they are ‘designed’ to be made from Moda Fabric, specialty cuts like Jelly Rolls & Layer Cakes, but can be made with the fabric of your choice.
  • Henry Glass Fabrics – Another site sponsored by a Fabric Manufacturer.  Click on the tab for Free Projects.  These patterns have been created to show off their fabric lines, but there is no law saying you have to use these specific fabrics.

The Fabric:  Either Store-Bought or Scraps can be the beginning of a quilt.  This can be either a Focus Fabric – a fabric that has a medium-to-large print and a number of colors.  This fabric can be used for a large outer border or a significant block, or maybe not even used.  Focus Fabric can just be used to help select colors — the mixture of colors look appealing in the one fabric, then you know a mixture of the same colors in separate fabric will look good, too.  Or you may just be inspired by the color of a combination of fabrics.

There is good quality, 100% cotton quilting fabric and there is less-than-good quality, 100% cotton fabric.  If you are spending your time to make a quilt it is worth it to get as good a quality that you can find.  Shopping wisely, watching for sales and coupons can help save money.  Some fabric shrinks more than others, and some fabric can feel stiff, even after washing.  Care should also be taken with dyes that may bleed — nothing can be more frustrating than a beautiful quilt that took time to make, and the first time it is washed that red fabric runs all over!

See information regarding fabric at Patchwork and Quilting (dot) Com –

Some of the sites I like for purchasing fabric include the following:

What’s Next?  Supplies….

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My Thoughts About Quilting

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Quiltmouse

Back when my Mother-in-Law began quilting, ‘all’ you needed to make a quilt was some old shirts, scissors, needle & thread & some batting (and maybe not the batting!).  Now quilting has become more of a hobby or art-form and less of a necessity.

There are a lot of sites out there that go into the history of quilting, so I won’t really go into that.  Let’s just say that somewhere in the mid-1980’s Quilting started to become something people wanted to do, not ‘needed’ to do. 

There are many people that create Quilts that are literally ‘paintings’ made with fabric.  That is a wonderful talent, but not what I like to do.  I like to make quilts that are to be used, and hopefully look pretty, too.  I also like the more ‘traditional’ blocks, but enjoy some of the ‘modern’ variations.  I enjoy the creation of something, and the completion – the chance to say “Ta-Da!” look what I finished!  [OK, I do have a number of UFO’s – Unfinished Objects or Flimsies – Tops completed, but not quilted, but that’s another story!]

My quilting journey started because my Mother-in-Law wanted to make one more quilt for each of our two grown children, but due to her failing vision she did not think she could finish them.  She asked me to finish them for her.  So began my quilting experience.  Before I could finish a quilt, I needed to know how to make a quilt.

I researched on the Internet, and got some books and read a lot.  I went to Quilt Shows and took a few classes.  I learned that Quilts could be made by Hand – no sewing machine involved, or they could be made by Machine (or a combination). 

One of the best learning experiences came when I joined a group of lovely ladies that meet once a month and make Baby Quilts for a clinic in DC to give to the new mothers that use the clinic.  The group is called Quilting For Good and meets at G-Street Fabrics.  Thanks to the leaders and members, I’ve learned so much!

Another experience I have enjoyed has been Quilt Camp.  Quilt Shops or Quilt Guilds will put together a long-weekend at a conference center or other such location.  Meals are provided, lots of space for setting up sewing stations, cutting stations, ironing stations and eating/snacking stations.  Sometimes classes are provided, other times a project, such as a Mystery Quilt is available for the group to do, and sometimes it is just a great time to get-away and stitch on your own projects.  But there are lots of quilters, with different degrees of expertise and everyone is happy to help everyone!

What I discovered was that to make a Quilt it required a number of steps: 

  • Choosing the Pattern & Fabric
  • Buying the Fabric (or gathering old clothes, if repurposing fabric) for the Top, Backing and Batting
  • Cutting the Fabric (Maybe washing & ironing it first – a debated step)
  • Stitching the fabric back together according to the Pattern to make the Top
  • Cutting & Piecing Fabric for the Backing (if the quilt is larger than purchased fabric)
  • Assembling the Quilt Sandwich – Top + Batting + Backing and Basting it by Spray, Pins or Thread.
  • Then actually Quilting the Quilt – This can be done (1) by Hand with lots of tiny stitches, or (2) by Hand with individual threads knotted all over, or (3) by Machine using a Domestic Home Sewing Machine, or (4) by Machine – either a Short-Arm or Long-Arm Quilting machine (some of these are big enough to fill my living room!).  There are people that have invested in these large pieces of equipment and will quilt the quilt for you.
  • Depending on how it was made, the quilt may require a binding – a small strip of folded fabric stitched to the back, folded over and stitched to the top, giving the Quilt a finished edge.
  • Finally, quilters today are encouraged to create a label to include on the back of the Quilt to leave a ‘history’ of who made it, who it was for, why it was made and when it was made.  Early quilters would sometimes stitch some of this info into the quilting.

Is there a right-way or a wrong-way to make a quilt?  The answer is Yes & No.  There is no Quilt Police that enforces the rules!  Many Quilters have strong feelings about certain steps and what needs to be done and how it is to be done.  On the other hand, many Quilters have shared their experiences of steps that make it easier — so why re-create the wheel.  I enjoy finding Tips & Tricks and if they work for me, I use them!

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Just One Star: Moda Challenge – 100 Quilts in 100 Days

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Quiltmouse

The goal is to have 100 Quilts Pieced, Quilted & Bound by Flag Day – June 14, 2011.  Moda Fabrics has issued a Challenge:  to have 1,800 Star Quilt Blocks pieced and mailed to them by May 1, 2011. 

Flag of Valor Quilt

Moda Free Quilt Pattern: Flag of Valor

Using the Flag of Valor Pattern by Minick & Simpson, the Star Quilt Blocks will be used to create 100 Quilts (52″ x 66″) to be coordinated with the Simper Fi Fund to donate Quilts of Comfort to service men & women injured in the line of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Each Quilter is asked to sign their block.  “Then we can truly say…..the hands of a grateful nation comforts our soldiers!”

See this blog entry for some more info – http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/2011/03/just-one-star.html

I just got two Star Blocks done.  One Blue and One Red  —

Blue Star Block

Blue Star Block for the Flag of Valor Quilt

It’s not hard to do, even if you are not a quilter – Consider making Just One Star!

Red Star Block

Red Star Block for Flag of Valor Quilt

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Quilt Show – Hampton, VA – 02/24-27/2011

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Quiltmouse

Fun – Fun – Fun!  Lots of Quilts, Lots of Vendors, Lots of People! The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival is billed as ‘the largest quilt show on the East Coast.’  There were 250 vendors from all over the US & Canada: Fabric, Notions, Threads, Batting, Sewing Machines, Short & Long-arm Quilting systems, Patterns, Woodwork/Quilt storage-display systems, and much more.

Also, a very large display of completed quilts: Traditional, Contemporary, Antique, Art, Small Wall-hangings to King-size Bed Quilts.

There were demonstrations, classes and you could even have your quilt evaluated by a certified appraiser.

The entrance fee allowed re-entry on multiple days — it took multiple days to see it all!

Here is just a sampling of quilts both on display and samples by vendors:

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Enjoy!

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Singer Featherweight 221

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Quiltmouse

Some people name their Featherweight sewing machines.  I suppose, if I would name mine, I would call it Beth.  After all, it belonged to M’s mother.  She got it for her birthday in 1951.  It’s ‘birthday’ was May 10, 1951 (along with 50,000 ‘siblings’) and was ‘born’ in Elizabethport, NY.  This one has the special Centennial Badge – in celebration of Singer’s 100th Anniversary.

Singer Featherweight 221-1 Centennial

The standard Featherweight 221 was, for many years, Singer’s top selling sewing machine.  It is often said that this machine is a favorite of many quilters today because of it’s portability.  There are many who also collect these machines. 

I used the machine a bit last spring, but felt it needed to be checked out. This past fall I took the Featherweight to the Sewing Machine Shop in PA to have it checked out, cleaned and oiled.  I now have pulled it out of its case and started stitching with it.  I have to get use to how it sews.  It is a very sturdy machine, but is definitely different from the computerized Bernina 630E that I’ve been sewing on for the past 3 years.

I had the Bernina set up for quilting, and I needed to do some plain stitching.  So I thought I would take this time to learn this machine.  I decided to use it to assemble a simple panel quilt – just a large cut of fabric with borders added.  This would give me some practice with the 1/4″ Seams without the problems that I would encounter if I were piecing blocks.

So, here is my Featherweight 221 along with a quilt top that I stitched using it — My 1-2-3 Quilt is 40″ x 45″.  It is just a Flimsy – a quilt top that has not been layered with batting & backing and quilted.

Featherweight 221 and Quilt 1-2-3

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