Tag: quilts

Not feeling it

September 15, 2025

I’ve been in kind of a “meh” mood the past week. Nothing seems to be going as it should from quilting projects cut wrong to therapy dog events still in limbo to estimates to repair a leaking master bath shower that are coming in a lot higher than anticipated. I won’t even go into recent events in the news. Makes me want to hole up in my house and not go anywhere. However, I made commitments to certain folks. Sadie & I must appear for those events, but I can opt out of the rest.

At this week’s R.E.A.D. visit with the public library, the librarian’s expression matched mine. I remarked she must not be feeling it either. She agreed. By the time our last reader left 90 minutes later, I was in much better spirits. So were several patrons and library staffers. All due to the simple act of sharing my dog with others.

Thursday morning, we presented a program on therapy dogs as community helpers to a local kindergarten class. Several upper elementary students were waiting in the lobby as Sadie & I stepped off the elevator. Their faces lit up when when they saw us. Everyone had to come say hi. Big Girl was definitely in her element. After the kindergarten class, we found the 2nd grade classroom where many my former Monday enrichment regulars are now learning. It was wonderful to see them again.

Still showing up even when I wasn’t feeling it pulled me out of the funk that was starting to settle in.

I finally figured out where I screwed up on the Aloha Mystery Quilt – and am extremely grateful I had another jelly roll of the same fabric line in my stash. I spent most of Sunday fixing my mistake and getting the different bits color coordinated to make a controlled scrappy version of the Aloha Spirit design. There’s a celebration at the sponsoring quilt shop on October 11th. I plan to be there to share my completed quilt.

Now on to making pillowcase for my guild’s community service program.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Quilt Backing Fabrics – Thrifty Edition

August 25, 2025

Quilt shop fabric in my area is now $14.00 + tax per yard. For charity or donation quilts that require 4 yards to make a quilt back, $60 per quilt isn’t sustainable for my budget over the long haul. Nor does it seem to be sustainable to those in my quilt bee group. Those ladies are a thrifty lot! Many only buy backing fabric for a donation quilt if they absolutely have to.

Sources of free to less expensive quilt backing fabric:

1. Free table at quilt guild meetings.
2. Community service fabric donations (sometimes batting is also available).
3. Shopping your quilty BFF’s fabric stash or scoring big at a destash sale.
4. Pieced backing using fabrics from your own stash.
5. Flat sheets (twin or full size) from big box stores or thrift stores.
6. Fabric cuts from thrift shops (like Mostly Mutts or Scraplanta).
7. Hobby-Lobby when quilting cottons are 30% off.
8. Michaels – Fabric Editions prints that are $3.99 per yard. Order online for store pick-up.
9. Wal-Mart – Waverly precuts are available in 2 yard bundles for less than $10.
10. Mark-down section at your favorite quilt shop.

Me? I check the free table, ask Community Service or see if I can piece odd fabrics from my stash to make a quilt back that coordinates with the top. If not, I’ll usually hit Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart for suitable backing fabric. I can usually get the fabric I need for about $20-$25. That fits my budget.

For personal projects, I’ll buy full-price fabric from the quilt shop if the project calls for it. However, I still shop Hobby Lobby and the clearance sections of nearby quilt shops to find coordinating backing fabric.

Had to buy a replacement rotary blade for my Cricut Maker. Michaels in Alpharetta had them in stock. This location will be the big cut-to-order fabric store on my side of ATL. Saw some of the cherry fabric I’d bought on sale at Joann before they closed. Same fabric bolt is now $8.99 per yard. Michael’s rarely puts fabric on sale and it is usually excluded from coupons. Still adjusting to my new crafty shopping options and sorely missing Joann’s.

Photo by Digital Buggu on Pexels.com

Asheville Quilt Show

August 18, 2025

This time last year, Sadie and I were excited about our upcoming trip to Asheville. It would mark my first overnight quilting trip with Big Girl in tow. I had reservations at a pet-friendly hotel. A local kennel had even agreed to a day of drop-in doggie day care so I could attend the show. Hurricane Helene changed all that.

On Thursday, I made the trek to Asheville, North Carolina while Sadie stayed home. I’d originally penciled the event in my calendar as a long day trip, but hubs suggested I make it an overnight trip instead. He’d been to the area back in the spring and noted there were still some areas where the roads hadn’t been fully repaired.

It was the right call. The trip to Asheville and then back to Atlanta was definitely longer than the average “3 hr 10 min” each way quoted in the GPS app. I spent five hours at the show, so that would’ve easily been a 15 hour day with quilt show attendance, time for meals, breaks and commuting round-trip between Atlanta and Asheville.

As for the show, it was definitely worth the drive. I saw many gorgeous quilts, attended informative lectures and had my 1936 Featherweight looked over by a well-respected Featherweight service technician (the main reason the show was on my radar last year). There was excellent shopportunity, with several familiar faces who’d also vended at Mountain QuiltFest back in June. I purchased very few souvenirs to take home with me – a copy of the tech’s FW service/repair manual, a Bev McCullough pattern on my list and pink & blue bobbin weight thread for FMQ.

There were a couple of exhibits devoted to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. This quilt was a thank-you to all of the volunteer organizations who helped out after the devastating hurricane hit the area. My husband spent several weeks up there clearing debris with Team Rubicon. I sent him this picture along with a photo of the artist’s statement. Very moving.

After the show, I explored the area a bit before heading to my hotel. I had dinner at a local restaurant and spent the evening back in my hotel room stitching the Week 2 Mystery 5-0 units on Jane. The next morning, I explored downtown Hendersonville before heading back home.

I can definitely see bringing Sadie with me to a future quilt show in Asheville. It’s a very dog-friendly town and there are options for doggie day care while you attend the show.