Adding Photos to Your Creations

I have made three quilts that I have sewed pictures into. The fabric stores and quilt stores carry a line of printable fabric sheets that can be put through your printer and then sewed into your quilt or whatever project you want to add pictures to. The only problem is that not all printable paper is really washable. The first one I made was for my sister Susan and her husband Dick. They live out on a farm in Sullivan, Mo and you may be able to see, All the fabric in the quilt has pictures of deer, fruits and vegetables, one has the Lord's Meal Prayer on it, all things rural. Incorporated into the fabric are pictures of their animals, their spring, front gate, house, etc. They used it as a wall hanging in their entrance to the house. Well, one of their sons was house sitting while Sue and Dick were in Europe, and decided it looked dusty, so he washed it. Well needless to say, the pictures faded. Luckily, I had a copy of all the pictures I had added to the quilt. There also is a new printable paper available at JoAnn Fabrics. It is called "Printed Treasures" and make sure it has the word "New
 on the front. It is not cheap, running about $23 for 5 sheets but has gotten rave reviews because it is washable. When we consider all the time, work and money that we put into our quilts, it only makes sense to get the best. The other quilt I did is a Memory quilt I made for my mother-in-law who is now 98. Sister Susan and I also made a quilt for our oldest sister for her 70th birthday. All these quilts can be viewed to the right of this blog, if you click on the quilt (Susan and Dick's quilt). You will be able to check out all the quilts we have made plus zoom in for a better look. One word of caution, to prevent wasting printable sheets, when you go to print your photos, once you click on print, go into your printer settings and make sure you have chosen photos for the best prints. If you will be printing words with the photos, such as a word caption under the picture, you will want to chose text and photo. It really makes a difference. I was a copy and print manager at Office Depot for many years, so I know it will make a difference. Until next time, happy quilting! 

                                                                                                             

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Well it's hard to believe that our holidays have come and gone already. I got so behind in my blogs as I was quilting till the wee hours on Christmas eve. Two weeks before Christmas I decided to make a band quilt for my grandson Noah who loves marching band. My friends from QOV (quilts of valor) suggested a design and I ran with it. After he received it, one of my kids said, "Mom, why did you put swatsikas on Noah's quilt.  Sure enough, there they were. He said he loves his quilt and don't change it and I feel like taking it apart and fixing it. I'm trying to figure out how I can change it. I also finished a quilt for my girlfriends husband who fought in Viet Nam and was wounded. So now I have been feeling like I need to be sewing so I came up with two projects that I have been meaning to do for years and I do mean years. One is a wall hanging of a Christmas tree and the ornaments are pictures of Christmases through the years. I printed all these pictures on fabric and they actually survived the fire so it was meant to be for sure. The other project is the Choir of Angels mantelpiece which I put on our blog. Then I will have them by next Christmas! Be sure and pop into Allpeoplequilt.com. They have some great organizing tips. I definitely need to go there and read them. Will this be the year I finally get organized? Who knows but it definitely will be another year of trying to get organized. Send me your organizing tips so we can share with everyone. Until next time ladies....happy quilting! Don't forget to check out Noahs quilt.

QUILTING: IT'S NOT JUST FOR WOMEN

Until recently I never even gave it a thought that men quilted. When I think of the history of quilting, I think of women and quilting and  that it was originally a necessary art form years ago and then as it progressed it became more creative and competitive. A women in my quilt group has a son Kenneth who is an engineer. Awhile back, Cynthia, Kenneth's mother, had back surgery and he would bring her to quilting and stay until she was ready to go home. He started helping our by cutting and pressing and before you know it he was quilting. We have our meetings at a quilt shop and two of his quilts are hanging up there. He is an incredible quilter. I was in awe of his quilts. My grandson Evan has shown interest in learning to quilt. He decided he is going to start on a quilt project soon. He has made pillowcases and even did a speech at school on how to make a pillowcase. I went on line today to google men and quilting and found some amazing stories and pictures of men who quilt. A man by the name of Joe Cunningham wrote a book called Men and the Art of Quilting plus there are pictures of his quilts. Also a gentleman by the name of Luke Haynes did a fantastic self portrait quilt. Thomas Knauer is another quilter. I'm sure there are loads of men who quilt. Every year there is a big quilt show here in Houston. I have  never gone but will go this year and also work in our booth. Don't forget to check out our quilts and see Kenneth's quilts. Until next time, happy quilting!

Batting: Which is the best batting to use for your project?

When you go to pick out batting, there are so many different kinds and

different lofts of thickness it can be really confusing. In the old days, the women were more concerned about warmth and comfort and often would choose wool blankets, old clothes, or raw cotton from the fields to line their quilts. They didn't have the choices we have today. There is 100% cotton, 100% wool, 80/20 which is 80% cotton and 20% polyester, or 100% polyester. Then you have the added confusion of the low, medium and high loft. There is also now bamboo which I haven't tried yet but would like to order some just to try it. I checked JoAnn fabrics and they carry a fusible batting made of 50% natural fiber and 50% bamboo. Hancock Fabrics doesn't carry it at all but it can be bought on line. Even if you don't quilt your quilt top yourself, picking out the right batting can make a real difference on how you project feels when its done. For instance if you make a wall hanging and you use polyester batting, it will stretch after a time. For wall hangings, 100% cotton is the best choice. For table runners and place matts, 100% cotton will lay flat better than polyester. I've made quilts with 80/20 which is 80% cotton and 20 % polyester and more recently have used polyester low loft and a high loft. It you are going to be doing a lot of top stitching then you may want to choose an 80/20 or a polyester low loft. My last project I used a  high loft which is more suitable for tying a quilt than machine or hand quilting. I have found that while I like 80/20, the quilts feel heavier than with the 100% polyester. I intend to make a sample booklet to keep in my sewing room of the different kinds of batting sandwiched between two layers of fabric to get the real feel for the battings effect. Don't forget to look in our quilt collection and see my latest creation. I call it Peace, Love and Tranquility. It is the quilt I made for my son. I even took a picture of the back. The grandsons held the quilt up for me and the back is showing sideways.

Backing Your Quilts With Creativity

 Every quilt pattern goes into detail about the design but have you ever seen a pattern that included hints on what to put on the back of your quilt? Considering the time and money that we all put into our quilts, I finally concluded that more thought should be put into the back.Until recently, my quilt backs have consisted of sheets I bought at Walmart. Not very creative, I know, but at least I used color sheets! I recently completed two different quilt tops. One is for the husband of a friend of mine who is a Vietnam veteran.   I had a 12 x 17 inch panel of the American flag and that became the center and the rest is rows of red, white and blue prints and solids. You don't have to go to great expense and you would be surprised how far scraps can go.  I haven't decided on how to do the back of the other quilt  but it will not be a Walmart sheet. On Craftsy.com they have a video on creative quilt backs. Be sure and check it out. I'd love to hear how you all do your quilt backs also. Be sure and check out our quilts because there are some new ones added. I added 2 of mine and 1 of cousin Mary Lou. Until next time ladies, happy quilting!

The Drunkard's Path

I was introduced to the Drunkard's Path quilt block awhile back by 2 of my sisters, Barbara and Susan, who made a wedding quilt for our niece Stephanie. I wanted to make a quilt for one of my son's as I have made both of my daughters quilts and it was time to work on quilts for the boys. The sisters created a beautiful medallion quilt using the Drunkard's Path template.  This is the most versatile block I have ever seen. It is simply a square with a concave cut out. You make the block and which ever way you turn the block, you create wonderfully different designs.

                 

                                                 
  On the left is Stephanie's quilt and on the right is an example of a Drunkard's Path block but turned a different way. I can't wait to show you the quilt I'm making for my son. It is so easy to do. I printed up a template for the Drunkard's Path and then enlarged it to the size I wanted. In the middle of Stephanie's quilt is a large 12 inch square. The Drunkard's Path is used around it to create the medallion. To get your free template for the Drunkard's Path, go to mccallsquilting.com. Search for the Drunkard's Path and download your free pattern. McCalls has a ton of free quilt patterns and is a great website. Until next time ladies, happy quilting!

Quilting on your Home Sewing Machine

When I first started quilting, I made the decision to quilt my own quilts on my machine or by hand. Not only do you save money as having your quilt done by someone who owns a long arm is quite expensive, but  you have the personal satisfaction of doing it yourself. I have quilted all my quilts on my home sewing machine with exception to one that I hand quilted. There several different ways to quilt on your home sewing machine. One method is to buy design stencils, trace them on to your quilt top and sew following the design. You can also stitch in the ditch, stitch 1/4 inch in from the seam line, or do free motion quilting. I always use my walking foot when doing the stitch in the ditch or sewing 1/4 inch from the seam line. I also always use basting spray that you buy at the fabric stores. You can use pins also, it just depends on what works for you best. With the basting spray, you need no pins and your layers stay in place. It also does not gum up your needles or your machine. With free motion sewing you will need to use your free motion or darning foot and raise your feed dogs. .I searched on you tube for some free videos on free motion quilting and found the following by Patsy Thompson. She has a 4 part video you can watch and she really is good. I also went to her website patsythompsondesigns.com. You can view all her videos on quilting. Free hand quilting takes practice.  .