Tag: Quilting

Some much needed vitamin sea

October 21, 2024
Sunrise in St. Mary’s, Georgia

We spent a long weekend on the Georgia coast exploring St. Mary’s and Cumberland Island. A four day dose of vitamin sea is exactly what my spirit needed. I’m so thankful Hurricanes Helene and Milton did not cause extensive damage to Cumberland Island. Can you believe it’s been almost two years since I last laid eyes on the Atlantic Ocean or the waters of the Gulf of Mexico? Much too long!

Visiting Cumberland Island National Seashore has long been on my bucket list. This long-time Georgia resident has been to the islands of Skidaway, Jekyll and St. Simon’s, but never ventured this far south. We spent a full day on the island, which was plenty of time for us. The National Park Service also allows tent camping for up to 7 days (not me!). The island’s history is so rich and the day long tour only began to scratch the surface.

Of course, I visited the two quilt shops in Kingsland – The Scrappy Rooster and Beyond Fabric. The Scrappy Rooster is strictly a quilt shop while Beyond Fabric does everything from quilting to garment sewing to crafts to home dec. Honestly, if you need some off-the-wall, obscure sewing/crafting doo-dad, chances are Beyond Fabric has it! There’s also a wonderful bookstore in St. Mary’s – Once Upon a Bookseller.

I’m thinking a trip to the Quilted Cow in Gulf Shores, AL and a trip to the 2025 AQS Show in Daytona Beach are in my future!

Never apologize for your sewing machine

October 13, 2024

Yesterday, my guild hosted a charity sew day. There were several new faces at this event. One person set up her machine next to my friend and me. While we were chatting, the newcomer apologized for her sewing machine. She said it wasn’t fancy like others she’d seen in the room, but she liked it. Her particular model of machine (a computerized Brother machine that retails for $250.00 at Wal-Mart) is one I often see at retreats and in classes I teach – not much different from my Elnita EC30 or my friend’s Janome 740. I assured her that her opinion of her sewing machine was the only one that mattered.

Our conversation brought back memories of when I first joined a sewing group. I had a mechanical Kenmore 30 stitch machine that I loved. I walked into a room of ladies with expensive Pfaff, Viking and Bernina machines. I knew exactly how she felt. A kind lady noticed my discomfort and told me that it’s what I can do with the sewing machine that counts, not the brand of sewing machine. That’s always stuck with me.

I scanned the sewing machines in our room. Yes, there were a couple of Berninas and high-end machines at the event – including an aqua Kaffe edition Bernina 475 (retail $2,999). Most attendees had brought either a vintage machine or a small modern machine that probably cost less than $450.00. This is typical of what you’ll find at classes, retreats and sew days. The travel machine might be grandma’s Singer Featherweight, their very first sewing machine or the $100.00 big box store special they had to buy to finish a project because their main machine had a hissy fit. A straight stitch only machine is usually fine unless you are taking an appliqué or decorative stitching class. This is why so many quilters have a Singer Featherweight or a 301 as their travel machine.

Remember, it’s what you do with the sewing machine that counts – not the label on your sewing machine. Chances are, the serious stitchers with the vintage and budget friendly machines at the retreat have an upper tier sewing machine or longarm at home. (As did our newcomer with her Brother machine – she had recently purchased a long-arm.)

A budget-friendly Elnita EC30 sewing machine that is my go-to machine for classes.

Want to sew, but not in the mood to make a quilt?

October 5, 2024

Quilting is fun, but it takes time to complete a quilt. Occasionally, I want a quick finish project to keep me motivated. Yes, I have patterns/tutorials on hand for placemats, potholders, bowl cozies, coasters, drawstring bags and zipper pouches, but sometimes I want something different. Thought I’d share my go-to websites for quick project inspiration (usually free to download).

Moda Bake Shop – use the buttons on the left sidebar to drill down to the type of project you want

Riley Blake Designs – go to the Free Patterns tab and then Sewing Patterns to access project patterns.
(Tip: check the updates tab to see if there are any pattern corrections to your project)

Fabric Editions – click the Projects tab and scroll down to the category of project you want to make.
(Tip: sewing and fabric shops use many of these project ideas in their classes)

We All Sew (sponsored by Bernina) – click on the Projects tab to access different project categories.

Sew 4 Home (sponsored by Janome Canada) – click on Inspire tab and then Sew4Home (also look at Project and Canadian Designers tab for some great options).

JKQuilts – click on Resources and scroll down to Free Patterns to find a wide variety of projects
(Tip: sign up for their monthly newsletter to get free, well-written patterns designed by the shop’s own staff).

Sewcanshe – click on Free Patterns tab.

Apple Green Cottage – close out the pop-up window and scroll down the page to access free patterns.

There’s also Pinterest, Etsy and probably your fave YouTube sewist/crafter that I didn’t mention here. One caveat about Etsy: some patterns are poorly written. If you aren’t familiar with the designer, read customer reviews and see if the pattern is available for sale elsewhere, as well.

A series of three storage pods made using a free pattern from Fabric Editions.
Storage pods made 3 different ways using free pattern from Fabric Editions.

Left – fusible fleece on outer fabric only with SF-101 fusible interfacing on lining.
Center – one piece of lightweight foam in middle (non fusible) – came as a kit with pattern
Right – fusible fleece on outer fabric only

My fave version is the one with the foam; however, I’d use single sided fusible foam to reduce fabric slippage when sewing. If you are a beginner sewist, I highly recommend using the fusible products in the LEFT version. It’ll be much easier to sew and you’ll be very happy with the results.