If you click on the pictures, you can get a closer look.

Friday, October 28, 2011

October meeting

Here we are at the end of October going into November!  We survived the brutal heat and now we are finally getting some cooler weather.  Yay!  I was thinking about moving out of Texas to someplace cooler but I'd have to load up my sewing room and I knew that would be way too much work.  So, here we are and now we are getting ready for the end of the year and finishing up projects.  We are coming to the end of our Row by Row quilt and this has been alot of fun.  I don't know exactly how many are doing this little project but the ones I've seen are great.  Here's Martha showing off the next row.  She passed out two rows for us and her quilt just has one.  Next month, you will get finishing instructions.  Get busy and do  your two rows and bring them and show them off next month.


Bottom row is the next one we received...Autumn leaves, so appropriate for this time of year, don't you think?


Me, Sharon and Martha showing off our quilts.





This month, we did not have a program. We had a question and answer session. A few questions were asked. 

 One of them was:  What is a good way to put pieces of batting together? 
 There were a few answers to this.
 Some said they just  zig zag it together. 
 Some said they use heat and bond or steam a seam and bond the batting together.  There is a new product out that is a bonding product in a 3" or 4 " roll, and you bond the batting together. 
One other way is to lay the batting peices together on top of each other and use your rotary cutter to cut and make a straight cut through both the layers then use a loose zig zag to sew together.



Ok, girls, isn't this cute. See, I told you this year is going fast. Christmas is just right around the corner and this is just a sample of what you can make with those cute Christmas blocks. Rita and Joyce still have a few if you want to purchase some more blocks. 

This one is Rita's quilt.




This is Joyce's quilt.



Now, for some show and tell.  Diane showed us her quilting bag.  It's a great little fishing bag.  See, I keep telling you you can get quilting/sewing supplies at other places besides quilt shops. She got this at the sporting goods store. It came with three or four little plastic boxes to store stuff in.  Plus, it's in pink and gray.  Everything is not green camouflage or black anymore. These places are catering to women now so go check these out....





Helen's beautiful Farmer's Wife quilt. 



This is a quilt Helen made from a 9 patch swap we had a few years back.   Sorry, I guess I didn't get a full picture of it, but it was great...



This is a bag Rita made for her husband.  I think she said the mesh came from Home Depot...




Rita had a blast doing the embroidery on this shirt.  Well, she did when her machine was working!  I think she said she paid $1.65 for the shirt,  $20.00 for the embroidery card and $40.00 worth of thread.  Putting the smile on Rita's face, priceless.....

BTW, you're looking good girl!  We are proud of you for losing all the weight!




Marcella's big and beautiful Sue and Sam quilt.



A few close-ups.





Karen's big bag.  Very nice! 


Karen's using up all the fabric.  This is her little selvedge quilt.  I'm loving these....



Here's some embroidery work Judy B. is doing.  I can't wait to see the finished project!



Judy will be working on this one soon too.





This one is Bev's.  She said she didn't get enough fabric to begin with and just kept on ordering it.  She end up with so much she used it on the back too.




This is one of Martha's cute Christmas quilts. 



Martha's cupcake quilt. The ruffled edge is so cute on this quilt.



Here's Martha's beautiful  Wheel of Fortune quilt.  This was our fabric swap this year.  Alot of us are still working on this one and a few of us collected the fabric.  These swaps are great!



Martha likes to knit too. She made this knitted scarf and says it goes together very quickly.  She is also sharing the pattern with us.  It's called a Potato chip scarf, cuz you can't make just one!




Potato Chip Scarf
You need 200 yds. of a worsted weight yarn.
size 9,10, or 11 needles
Cast on 20 stitches
Row 1.knit 8, turn, knit back to beginning.
Row 2.knit 6, turn, knit back to beginning
Row 3. Knit 4, turn, knit back to beginning
Knit across all 20 stitches.
Repeat these rows until desired length is reached. End off.


This is Dee's little Cupcake quilt.  So cute!  There were ten of us that did this exchange and every quilt turned out cute but so different.




Another one of Dee's but I don't remember the name of this one or who the pattern was by....


Dee was in charge of the summer blocks and she fell in love with this block.  Quick and easy block to do. 



Dee's One Block Wonder Quilt.




Here's my One Block Wonder.  I love these OBW's, they are so much fun to do!  They look hard but are so simple to do.

Here's my Noel Christmas card holder.  This was alot of fun to make. 



Here's a tip I wanted to share. This is the back of the little Noel Wallhanging above.  Instead of making a full hanging sleeve, this is what I did...it works great.  I learned this at retreat. (Every time I go on a retreat I learn something new...)  You take two squares, fold them in half diagonally and press. I used 4 inch squares for this step. Put them at the top on each corner of the wallhanging. Be sure and place the raw edges against the outside of each corner, the fold will be toward the body of the quilt. When you sew your binding on, you sew these at the same time. Then hand stitch your binding down and your wallhanging has it's little hanging sleeve done at the same time. It's only good for small things and wouldn't hold a big quilt but I love this method for wallhangings. It's so simple to do.



This one belongs to Sally.  


Another one of Sally's quilts. She made this one as a gift. She's also teaching this one. 


Sally showed us some of the cutest cat blocks too. I took pics of all of them but some were blurry. 


Doesn't Sally look great?  So glad to have you back with us! 



This last one is a Covers for Kid quilt being finished up by our new member, Cynthia, hiding behind the quilt!


We have so many talented women in our group. If you missed coming this month, please come back next month or as soon as you can.  Get busy and bring your show and tell. We love seeing what everyone is working on and we sure like telling you what a good job you are doing!  Next month, the program will be about wool so come on and join us. 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Interesting lists of websites

Judy B. told us about these websites at the September meeting. These are now on the sidebar for you to get to easier, but I also wanted to put them here for you so you could see more detailed info.  You can click on them from here or from the sidebar and it will take you to their website.  Go check them out and see what you can find.  If you find any more interesting sites and  want me to put these on the blog, just email me...have fun.


SELECTED QUILTING WEB SITES
www.connectingthreads.com  low cost on own lines of American made fabrics, book discounts, excellent threads, free shipping over $50

www.fabricshack.com   sale prices on favorite lines--Moda, Andover, Hoffman, Windom, etc.

www.thousandsofbolts.com  low cost name brands, organized by color

www.quilterscache.com  thousands of free blocks, patterns, lessons and links

www.batiks.com  thousands of batiks, Asians, and Australian fabrics as well as other well known lines.  Wide backings. Not particularly low prices.  Handling and re-stocking fees.

www.fatquartershop.com  wide selection of well-known lines, not discounted but good sale prices.  Preview new fabrics, many college fabrics and wide backings, books, free patterns, also ribbons, trims and buttons

www.oldcountrystore.com  low cost on designer basics such as Moda, Hoffman, P & B, Andover, etc.  Preview new fabrics as they come out

www.keepsakequilting.com  many fabric packs, cute patterns and kits. Good ideas, especially for using batiks.  Guaranteed satisfaction or return free.

www.equilter.com  original Electric Quilt site, huge selection of fabrics by categories, many sale items.  Also carry books, notions, patterns and thread.

www.everythingquilts.com  lay away for $75 and over. Elm Creek products, fabrics sorted by manufacturer, color, themes, wide backings.  Huge choice of patterns.  Not a bargain site.

www.quiltersquarters.net   interesting fabrics not seen on other web sites

www.bluebamboo.com  specialize in Japanese fabrics, including kimono and obis.  Wide backings and other fabrics, patterns, notions and kits, good sales

www.quiltedfox.com  Japanese fabrics, batiks, foreign fabrics and other unusual items.  Not discounted

www.itsastitchonline.com  large inventory of Modas, Hoffman Balis, Benartex, Northcott and other well known names.  Lots of patterns, including wool work and embroidery.  Good sale prices.

www.quiltshops.com  links to the largest group of independent quilting sites on the internet.  Also books, patterns, kits, notions, etc.

www.wishuponaquilt.com  well known brands at reasonable prices, free patterns, discounted Kaffe Fassett.

www.Marshalldrygoods.com  many college prints, fabrics prepared for dyeing, many @$3.99 a yard.  Can buy wholesale if qualified.

www.fabricworm.com  contemporary newer fabric lines, many Japanese import lines, sewing patterns

www.spoonflower.com  design your own fabric, free shipping.  Seven base fabrics.  Will send a sample pack for $1.00

www.findmyfabric.blogspot.com  locate fabrics no longer available in quilt stores

www.stitch-in-frame.net  excellent, well-organized fabrics from 49 manufacturers, discounted 10% or more.  Books discounted 5%.  Thursday specials, free patterns and free recipes

www.inaminuteago.com  definite instructions for a myriad of hand embroidery stitches, classified as to difficulty.  Links to embroidery books, pillow kits and tapestries for sale.  Crazy quilt projects

www.thimblecreek.com  latest fabrics, not discounted, stitchery, original patterns and kits