Tag: quilts

Support your local quilt shops

May 19, 2024

Times are tight. Craft and sewing retailers – from Joann’s to the local mom & pop quilt shop – are suffering. Several weeks ago, I posted that the Kennesaw Joann’s looked awful due to the bankruptcy filing. It literally had no merchandise in key areas. Sadie and I stopped in earlier this week and I’m happy to report that key sewing supplies and notions have been restocked, yet quilt batting and quilting rulers remain in short supply.

Today, Sadie and I visited our friends at Cabin Fever Quilt Studio in Ellijay. This shop had the additional yardage I needed for a project in stock and was also running a 30% off sale on most of the Lori Holt inventory. I was not prepared for the owner’s response when I casually asked when she was expecting the new Autumn collection from Lori Holt. She said she hadn’t purchased any of that collection because she still has plenty of the current lines to sell through and what she has in inventory will coordinate nicely with the How To Build A Scarecrow sew along. She’s 100% correct. This is also not the first shop in my area to skip an entire Lori Holt collection or two, but the first time this shop has. BTW, I’m not doing the scarecrow quilt. I’m making my own version of Autumn Love using templates and some vintage LH fabric gifted by a friend. I also picked up some Lori Holt sale fabrics in fall colors today.

Instead of one or two collections per designer each year, it seems as if major players like Moda and Riley Blake are introducing new collections of 40+ skus from each designer every three months. It’s too much for most quilt shop owners, let alone quilters, to keep up with – especially when most of the fabric lines now look so much alike. I have wholesale credentials, but I haven’t ordered in a while because the order minimums have been raised and the fulfillment rate isn’t the best. I’ve been kitting all of my classes and lessons using existing inventory. If I do need something, it’s usually cheaper for me to buy it on sale or with a coupon locally.

2024 Quilting Trends Survey Results

Creative substitutions

May 16, 2024

Quilting is similar to cooking in that we sometimes have to make creative substitutions to a pattern (recipe) because we don’t have a specific item (ingredient) available. In this case, I downloaded a pattern from the Accuquilt site only to discover the pattern calls for a specialty die, which I don’t have. Said autograph die is also part of a companion cuts kit that retails for $160.00 – which is not exactly in my budget right now.

Hmmm – what are some options? (1) Call the local quilt shop offering die cutting equipment rentals to see if they have the needed die. (2) Call my quilt bee friend Emily to see if she has the die in her vast Accuquilt die collection or (3) Figure out a way to make the unit using the dies and equipment I already have.

Let’s do Option #3!

After reading the pattern and doing a little research, I realized that the companion cuts kit dies essentially streamline the Stitch & Flip or Folded Corners method of block construction. It’s similar to making Flying Geese units where you draw a diagonal line on the back of a smaller square, place it in the corner, stitch on the line and cut away a 1/4″ seam allowance. I can use the square and strip dies I already own to cut the fabrics needed to make the required units. No worries here! My sewing kids can draw diagonal lines and cut away the seam allowance using scissors since they do not use rotary cutters in my classes. I’ll be using my trusty folded corner ruler to trim the corners so I don’t have to draw lines! The end result looks the same.

Here are my recipe substitutions for the 4-1/2″ unfinished block units called for in my pattern:
Note: SNF = stitch and flip

Unit Recipe
Signature: (1) 4-1/2″ square plus (2) 2-1/2″ squares (SNF on opposite corners)
Bowtie: (1) 4-1/2″ square plus (1) 1-1/2″ square (SNF on specified corner)
Chisel: (1) 2-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ rectangle plus (1) 2-1/2″ square (SNF on specified end)

I use a Sizzix Big Shot Plus die cutting machine with a mix of Accuquilt and Sizzix dies. Yes, you can use many Accuquilt dies in a Sizzix cutting machine with an Adapter G shim and a pair of Sizzix cutting pads, but not the other way around. Accuquilt writes patterns using “finished” size rather than unfinished (or cut) sizes. Merely add 1/2″ to the “finished” measurement to figure the correct size squares to cut for your particular size SNF units. Even if my substitutions don’t exactly match the original, no one is likely to notice since my substitute unit will be used throughout the quilt.

Nothing like a good challenge!

Optimizing Quilting Productivity: Project Completion and Summer Plans

May 12, 2024

I have so many PhDs (projects half done) at the moment. The vast majority fall into “finish assembling quilt top” or “to be quilted” categories. Instead of making blocks at this week’s library sew day, I focused on “completion tasks” I could accomplish with a smaller sewing machine. This meant adding and stitching down the binding (by machine) to a throw size donation quilt, plus making binding for two other quilts. I had hoped to complete the two “Layer Cake Shake” quilt tops currently under construction, but that was not to be. The collective eyes of my sew squad noticed I had one HST of a Friendship Star block turned the wrong way in my Christmas version of the Layer Cake Shake pattern. I completely missed it. You can actually see it in the previous photo collage of my retreat in Boise. It took a while to unpick all the blocks and correct my mistake. However, I’m glad they noticed it before I added the borders!

Most of my sewing time this week was spent finishing the foundation paper pieced Roses/Marigolds for Mother mini-quilt that was one of our retreat projects. It turned out so pretty! Backing and binding came from my stash. I machine quilted it using a loopy meander. While at the retreat, I made a single flower and leaf unit using a borrowed add-a-quarter plus ruler. The quilt shop had sold out of them, but my trusty friends at Amazon were able to supply me with one once I returned home. The finished project will be gifted to my mom on Mother’s Day.

It felt really good to complete two projects this week. Tracking project progress in a small flexible notebook (currently a Leuchtturm1917 B6+ softcover purchased in 2021) has been helpful. I used to do this when I was working full-time to make the best use of my limited sewing time. I pack it to take to classes and retreats, as well. A 5″ x 8″ (or A5 size) notebook would also work; however, coils on a spiral binding tend to get caught on stuff in my tote bag. All my sewing related notes, tasks, ideas, etc. go into one of these notebooks. When it gets full, I go through and transfer the information/items I want to keep to a separate 3-ring binder. This only takes about 15 minutes. I keep original design sketches, teaching notes, inspirational quotes, and any tips/tricks/product info I may need later. It usually amounts to less than 10 pages per notebook that I keep.

I plan to spend the hot summer months in the quilt cave practicing my FMQ skills on several charity quilt tops in my PhD pile. I should feel confident enough after 10 charity quilts to tackle FMQ on a two important personal projects. I won’t be spending my entire summer in the basement, however. Summer quilty plans also include helping out at the quilt show, mentoring at the SQTM quilt camp, a trip to Missouri Star and the International Quilt Study Center in late June, plus hosting a summer CraftLAB camp in mid-July.

August and September will bring the return of quilty travel in the form of a quilt retreat at the Koosa Mountain Lodge in August with my Friday sew squad and visiting the Asheville Quilt Show at the end of September.