1) This morning, I spied a quilt on a YouTube stream that I liked. I used it as inspiration for my own quilt, which I designed in EQ8:

It finishes at 50″x60″ – which is my preferred size for a throw quilt. I’ll make one to use during our R.E.A.D. sessions with Sadie, plus one from scraps to donate to my guild’s community service. If you don’t have EQ8, then you can always draw by hand or research any number of quilt design apps (free & paid) available online.

2) You can also use the Google Lens feature with the Chrome browser. Simply download the app/extension and add it to Chrome. It helps when trying to identify the pattern you saw in a FB post. Non-quilting related – it helped me identify the silverplate patterns on some serving utensils my mother sent home with me recently. They were my great-grandmother’s dating back to around 1910. Mom said they hadn’t been polished in at least 50 years. I believe her. It took almost an hour to get them back to the original silver.

3) Special interest groups on FB are full of helpful information. Machine specific groups help one another troublehsoot sewing machine issues, designer enthusiast groups often sponsor QALs using previous books/patterns and still others offer a way to destash items directly to a target audience. I rarely post on FB anymore. Instead, I use it to follow therapy dog, quilting and vintage sewing machine groups. I learned this morning of an upcoming Lori Holt QAL sponsored by an enthusiast group I follow. I know I have the book and I think I have the templates. If not, I know someone who does!

4) Apps like Libby allow you read quilting books and magazines for FREE on your device with only a public library card. Quilting apps like the QuiltingCalc app from Robert Kauffman Fabrics helps you figure out how much fabric you need for a project. Chances are, your favorite online quilt shops also have an app available for download. If not, you can bet they are over on Instagram. Pinterest is also a great app for keeping track of projects and tutorials that inspire you.

Lately, I’ve been limiting my use of social media on purpose. It’s just easier this way. I’m still in the loop as to what’s going on in the world, yet I am more productive and sleep better.

This is one of the projects I set aside to work on at Friday Sew Days. Today, I finally finished sewing all of the HSTs into 4 patch blocks. For me, pressing and detailed cutting are best done at home away from all the chatter that results when we get together.

I spent this stormy Friday night doing exactly that. All of the blocks will be cut and flipped according to the pattern instructions. Here, I’m stacking them up on a design board. Everything will be ready to transport to the next Friday Sew Day.

Our guild meeting is next Friday, so it’ll be a couple of weeks before I attend Friday Sew Day again. Honestly, I’m likely to continue sewing in the interim so I can get the blocks done. It’s been fun to see the few blocks I’ve sewn together take shape. The completed top is going to be so pretty. The FMQ double loopy meander I plan to quilt will also complement the design. This particular quilt will actually be donated to a specific charity through my quilt guild.

If you have some free time this week, head over to the Quilt2024 site and register for a free, 5 day virtual summer camp for quilters that starts Wednesday, July 17th. There are six sessions that go live every day at 11 AM EST and remain available for 24 hours. Should you need more time to watch the replays or want to view everything on the first day, you can sign up for a paid registration. Free is fine for me!

I watched a little bit from each of today’s sessions, then went back and watched the replays that interested me. Yes, there’s a bit of a sales pitch involved, but the two sessions that I went back and watched were well worth my time. I made sure to download any free patterns and tutorials that were available. I was very pleased to discover that my local library system actually has multiple copies of Carolina Moore’s bag making book. I quickly placed a hold on that one!

Five additional sessions are on my watch list for Thursday and Friday. Hopefully, they’ll be as informative as the two sessions today were. Some of the instructors participating in this event also teach similar, more in-depth classes at regional and national quilting events. Watching them in action here helps me decide if I want to take a F2F class with them in the future.

As much as I like in-person classes, I find myself attending “YouTube University” more often these days. It’s convenient. Replays allow me to pause and review the instruction as needed. It’s also more cost effective. Unless the class is local, I have to factor in travel costs. I usually opt to stay home and make certain projects along with the corresponding YouTube video(s). I’ll sew along with a friend or join a group sponsored by a local quilt shop. Lately, all of the classes I’ve wanted to take are in Utah and Idaho. Can’t justify the cost of the retreat nor the travel costs in this instance.