On the Road Again!

Getting packed to go to my niece's wedding in Cocoa, FL this weekend.  This is also the annual Cocoa Village Arts and Crafts Festival!  I am hoping to be able to take in part of this event, in addition to the wedding on Saturday afternoon.

I am planning a short "shop hop" on Saturday morning in Merritt Island and Cocoa.  Should be a fun weekend.

When I get home from Cocoa on Sunday, I will repack for an extended stay with my daughter, Dawne, and her family in Council Bluffs, Iowa (in the Omaha, Nebraska area).  I am taking my sewing machine, fabrics and all the supplies I can think of, but I am sure I will have to buy something while I'm there.  Iowa is THE quilting state, you know.  

I am also planning to get in a visit to the Quilt Museum at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.  I have always wanted to go, planned the trip many times, but just never did make it.  Maybe this time!  

I hope to still be able to post while in Iowa, so be on the lookout for lots of good photos.

Happy quilting!

Gwen
  

Quilting Tip of the Day

Who says that "quilt in the ditch" and grid design stitches have to be plain?  Get inspired by all those neat decorative stitches on your machine.  Use one (or more!) of these fancy stitches with your walking foot or even feed foot.

Practice first on a quilt sandwich using the same fabric and thread as the actual quilt.  Be sure the width of the stitch is not wider than the needle opening of your presser foot.   

Not all stitches will look the same when stitched with an even feed foot.  Make samples, adjusting the width and length, until you get the desired stitch.  

You can use specialty embroidery thread or metallic thread to spice up your next quilt project.  This technique looks especially nice on a crazy quilt using your scraps left over from other projects. 

Happy quilting!

Gwen
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Why I Make Quilts

This is why I make quilts!

This is Meadow, a friend's granddaughter.  She loves her child's version of Modern Cathedral Window Quilt.  In the windows are mermaids (or Bubble Guppies), ducks, kitty cats, and Sponge Bob!

Why do you quilt?

Happy quilting!

Gwen

Embroidered Crazy Quilt

Have a sewing/embroidery machine?  I  have a small format Husquvarna with the 4x4 inch hoop.  Not very large, compared to the newer machines on the market today.  Great for embellishing ready to wear and craft projects.  I collect nursery rhyme designs and have worked a dozen or so onto white muslin squares.  And, there they sat, on the shelf in my quilting barn, waiting for inspiration.  That inspiration came with the birth of yet another little grandson.  

I loved the idea of incorporating the nursery rhyme designs into a baby quilt for the new arrival, but was concerned that it would look too "girly."   Looking through my fabric stash, I came across several fat quarters and 5" squares of reproduction 1930's juvenile prints.

I wanted to get the quilt finished before the baby started kindergarten and decided to use the "flip and sew/quilt as you go" method block construction in a crazy quilt design around the embroidered squares. I made scrappy binding using leftover bits of the reproduction fabrics.  I machine stitched the binding. 

The result was a bright and cheerful quilt that will be enjoyed for many years.

I hope this quilt inspires you to make your own Embroidered Crazy Quilt.

Happy quilting!

Gwen

Quilting Tip of the Day

I purchased some "glow tape" for marking the cutting line on my ruler.  I had been using this on top of the ruler and still had trouble getting the correct placement on the fabric when cutting.  Tip:  Put the glow tape on the bottom of the ruler next to the fabric.  Putting two or three layers of tape creates a "bump" that fits snugly up against the cut edge of the fabric.  Viola!  Correct ruler positioning!

These "stacks" of tape can be peeled off, repositioned and used again and again.

Happy quilting!

Gwen

Quilting Tip of the Day

Taking a photo of block arrangement helps find mistakes in block placement.  Also, step away from the blocks and come back later.  It is amazing how many times I have realized that one or two blocks  were turned the wrong way.  This is especially helpful with log cabin patterns.

The hidden wells blocks below have errors.  Can you see them?  The top corner triangles should be the mirror images of each other, as should the bottom corners. Hint:  The bottom corner triangles on the left block are wrong; the top corner triangles on the right block are wrong.  

Happy quilting!

Gwen

Tip of the Day

Use the same ruler when cutting all fabrics for a project.  Each ruler can be a shade different in size and can make a big difference in accuracy when sewing pieces and blocks together.