It’s hard to believe that we are already into the second month of 2012! Christmas is over, the New Year has passed by and we are well underway with a new quilting year.
Spent part of the holidays down in Melbourne, catching up with our son David and my sister Marcia and her husband, as well as daughter Gail and son-in-law, so it was a real family reunion. Marcia has retired and will be moving up to the Toowoomba area soon so I am looking forward to having them in close proximity and hoping to convince her to take up quilting!
Currently I am working on a baby quilt for my friend’s granddaughter and have used some gorgeous Peter Rabbit fabric, purchased on a shop hop with the Mt Isa girls some time ago. Yes my stash cupboard nearly always yields something I can use! I am up to the quilting stage so have included some pictures of the work in progress. I have quilted bunnies across the sashings (with the help of quilt & tear paper) and plan to do carrots on the vertical sashings.
As you are no doubt aware, Queensland is getting lots more rain in many parts and some towns in the west of the state are experiencing their third flooding in as many years. This time Toowoomba has been spared the worst of the weather, and in fact many parts are quite dry. In spite of this we have had a great show of zinnias in our garden which have grown into a veritable forest, with flowers as big as dahlias! In Pauline’s garden we also noticed this rather special rose!
Well, more next time, with hopefully the finished baby quilt! Gerry
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February 2012
08 February 2012
07 February 2012
Who stole January?
I'm sitting here wondering where it went. Last year we were back on the road mid-January. This year we took a bit more time at home but I'm still surprised that it's February already. Over the last month we've visited with family and friends, and got to enjoy time with our grandkids, Lannah and Dean. They're growing so fast.
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I had a lovely time being able to sew in my sewing room, it's much different to life in a caravan. I'd had some ideas that I was able to take from inspiration to finished project. One quilt is Butterfly Blossoms and it's full of fun techniques for texturising and manipulating fabric. Another quilt I designed, Dresden Gone Crazy turned out gorgeous.
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These quilts have been added as choices to my hands on workshops. They'll also be turned into tutorials for the Academy later on (where did January go?). Now it's time to pack up the caravan as we'll be heading back out on the road soon. How time flies!
Pauline
Special Offers
The Binding Tool may be just what you need to finish off your quilt, while the Ruching Edge makes adding a bit of interest to your projects an easy task. Both these tools sell elsewhere for $20 each (our reg price is $15) but we've bundled them up this week and took an additional $5 off the price. You can get both for just $25. For a lesson on binding visit here. Visit Quilters World for this special.
Time Savers
Don't you hate stopping to change needles and fill bobbins? Superior Needles are titanium-coated to stay sharper longer than any other brand, while pre-wound bobbins hold more thread than a bobbin you wind yourself. Save time and money with our Time Savers bundle - You get two packages of the Superior Topstitch Needle Assortment and a dozen bobbins ( 4 each of parchment, granite & canvas) . A $39.10 value Only $25.00 Visit Quilters World for this special.
Regular Price $3.95 Special $1.95
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Quilted Scissor Case & Pincushion Pattern
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Chenille Heart Tutorial eBook The Chenille Heart ebook is a step-by-step tutorial that you download straight to your computer, so you can start learning right now. Mastering the design used in this applique project will open up many creative possibilities. Regular Price $9.95 Special $4.95 |
05 February 2012
Superior Needles
Having a good needle in your sewing machine is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to improve your sewing projects. You can have the most expensive machine available but if you’re using a cheap or worn out needle you’re not likely to get a great result.
Due to it's strength and resistance to corrosion titanium is used in aircraft, naval ships and spacecraft. It's also used in Superior Topstitch Needles giving quilters a sewing machine needle that will stay sharp far beyond other brands.
For years titanium coated needles have been available for industrial machines and now home sewers can enjoy the benefits of a needle that will last on average, 5 to 8 times longer than a standard needle.
And since they cost a mere fraction more than regular needles you'll actually be saving money and changing your needle less often.
You can pick up an assortment pack of Superior Needles Topstitch needles (#70/10 (1), #80/12 (1), #90/14 (2), #100/16 (1) online at Quilters World.
For more information on Superior Titanium-Coated Topstitch Needles watch this video.
A Little Convenience - Pre-Wound Bobbins
Sewing machines use two threads - the top thread that comes from a spool or reel and the bottom thread from the bobbin. When your bobbin thread runs out you have to stop sewing to replace the bobbin. If you don't have any bobbins filled you'll have to set your machine up to wind the bobbin, then rethread your machine before you can get back to stitching.
You can quit wasting time by having pre-wound bobbins on hand. Not only will you not have the nuisance of having to wind a bobbin when you're in the middle of stitching but since pre-wound bobbins are wound by high tech machines which provide a smooth, uniform wind you're less likely to run into problems with your bobbin thread. Pre-wound bobbins generally hold muc more thread then a bobbin you wind yourself, and that also means you’ll have to stop less to change bobbins.
Some machines seem to work better with the cardboard-sided bobbins because the cardboard sides provide more friction but if the bobbin fit is too snug to rotate freely, remove the cardboard, as it won’t affect the function of the bobbin. If backlash is a problem you may want to try Magic Genie Bobbin Washers.
Whether you use pre-wound bobbins or wind your own you should keep in mind that it's important to choose a quality thread. Bargin bin threads may be inexpensive but are of poor quality and will cost you in frustration.
Check this video out for more information on bobbin thread from Superior Threads.
04 February 2012
The Ruching Edge
Beautiful 3 dimensional flowers from strips of fabric or ribbon are easy to create with the Ruching Edge.
This plastic guide ensures you come up with lovely scallops and petals making it simple to make ruched flowers. The most important thing about ruching is to sew at the exact angle on each zig zag and this tool makes it easy to achieve.
The Ruching Edge provides three edges - small, medium and large to make different size ruching
This clever tool has formulas printed right on it so you can see at a glance:
- How much fabric or ribbon to use for each edge;
- How much thread to use in the needle and what kind of thread so you will never run out and have to take a knot; and,
- How long the finished ruched strip should measure in order to make a perfectly round flower.
If you would like to try ruching you can purchase the Ruching Edge online at Quilters World.
If you love the look of fabric flowers check out "Into the Garden: Realistic Three Dimensional Flowers - Faster By the Strip" and "The Enchanted Garden: Miniature 3-d Flowers From Fabric & Ribbon" by Cindy Oravecz, the designer of the Ruching Edge tool.
The Binding Tool
When it comes to finishing off your binding you need a nice angle seam to reduce the bulk.
Getting the part where you finish and start to work out nicely can be a hassle.
The helpful Binding Tool simplifies the measuring and cutting, so you get the perfect join.
The makers of this tool even printed instructions on the tool itself.
Check out a demonstration of the Binding Tool.
You can purchase The Binding Tool online at Quilters World.
Lesson on Bindings
Quilt binding is the finishing touch to your quilt. Once your quilt top is pieced and quilted it's ready for you to sew on a binding... or is it? Here are a few steps you'll want to take to successfully bind your quilt.
Trimming Borders after Quilting
When you're finished quilting you should even up your quilt edges, as borders can stretch quite badly during the quilting process.
Use your long 6½” ruler, lay the edge of ruler in the last seam line and find a measurement you desire to use and mark with marking pencil on outside edge of your quilt. We recommend the Karisma pencil for marking as it glides smoothly on fabric. Trim back to this pencil line. Measuring Your Quilt
Using a tape measure, measure the length of your quilt in three places – centre, left side and right side. Make a note of these measurements.
Let's pretend we measure a quilt and what we have is: Left = 68 ½”, Centre = 67 ¾” and Right = 68 ¼”. Your binding for the quilt should be the same as the smallest measurement. So you now know you need to make your left and right hand borders 67¾” long.
Next measure the width of your quilt in the same way and write the measurements down. Our pretend quilt has these measurements: Top = 43 ½”, Centre = 43” and Bottom = 44”. This means the binding for the top and bottom needs to be made 43” long.
Adjusting Border
Now that you know what size to make your binding you need to adjust your border. To do so find the half way and the quarter location of your quilt and mark with pins.
Using a sewing needle and thread, start from the middle. Wrap the thread around the centre pin in a figure 8. Now run a small gathering stitch to the next pin, unthread needle and re-thread. Wrap around next pin in figure 8 as before, repeat to end. Then repeat from centre out in the opposite direction.
You now use each of these threads to pull your border into the chosen measurement (67 ¾”), repeat on other side. Repeat on top and bottom until this measurement is 43”. When you pull up each section, wrap the thread around the pins in a figure 8, this will hold the threads very secure while you stitch the binding on.
Preparing the Binding
Cut your binding 2 ½” wide across the width of the fabric. The length you need is twice the length and twice the width of your quilt plus ten inches. The extra ten inches accomodates all the joins, and the start and finish.
For this example you would have:
67¾”+67¾”=135½” and 43+43”= 86” for a total of 221½”
Plus the additional 10" for a grand total of 231½” of fabric.
How much fabric do I need to buy?
We know we need to make our binding 231½” long. To calculate how much fabric you require, depends on the wide of the fabric. We'll use 42" for our calculation as it is a common width for quality quilt fabric.
Required length divided by width of fabric equals the number of strips you'll cut. For our example: 231 1/2"/ 42 = 6 strips
So we'll be cutting six strips 2 1/2 inches wide. There's just one more quick calculation to make. The number of your strips times the width of the strip.
6 x 2.5" = 15"
If your quilt shop sells fabric by the meterage you'll want to convert from inches to centimetres. You can use an online conversion tool to do the math for you or multiply by 2.54.
For our example we need 15" of fabric, which is equivalent to 38.1 cm. Therefore we'll purchase 40cm of fabric for our binding.
Making the Binding
Sew all your 2½” strips together into one continuous length, using a 45º angle join. Trim seams and press open. Fold one end of binding strip over at a 45º angle and fold and press the entire binding fabric in half down the length, wrong sides together.
Adding the Binding
On most quilts you'll stitch your binding to the top side of the quilt. Begin at the center of one edge of your quilt top. Place the binding so its raw edges meet the raw edges of the quilt.
Stitch through all layers using a ¼” seam. Stitch to a quarter inch from the corner and turn the corner. To do so leave the needle in the down position, lift the presser foot, rotate the quilt, lower the presser foot and backstitch ¼”, fold the binding back to the corner so that the folded edge is at the top and the raw edge lines up with the raw edge of the quilt. Repeat this process at each corner.
Turn your binding to the back of quilt and hand stitch using a blind hem stitch. Don’t forget to add a label to your masterpiece.
