Year: 2017

Dear Fellow Quilters:

It’s that time again.   It’s almost the beginning of the New Year, so it’s time for me to give my yearly address concerning The State of The Quilt.  I do this every year.  It gives me time to think about what happened in the quilting world during the previous year and make predictions about the upcoming trip around the sun.

So, I have my glass of 19 Crimes Red Wine and the latest statistics from The Quilting in America Survey 2017. The DH is snoring on the couch.  This is a perfect time for Sam and me to crunch numbers and make predictions.  First, let me explain the details of the survey as given by the Quilting Company itself, because we all know numbers are beautiful things.

In October 2017, the Quilting Company and Quilts published a survey that was independently conducted by the ORC International and Advantage Research.  The Quilting Company is a division of F+W Media, LLC.  This is the eighth in a series of studies they’ve conducted since 1994 to track the amount of time and money spent on quilting.  The study was conducted in two phases:  Phase I, administered by ORC International in January 2017, involved surveying an on-line, national panel of households to measure incidence of participation and the dollar value of the quilting industry.  When 6,105 completed surveys were received, ORC closed the survey for tabulation.  This information along with new sources of market data that were not previously available, were used to present the 2017 findings.

Phase II was conducted by Advantage Research in April and May of 2017.  Survey invitations were sent to a total of 415,104 quilters over a series of weeks.  I received one, perhaps you did, too.  The invitees were comprised of customers from APQS, The Quilting Company, Hobbs Batting, Northcott Fabrics, Quilting Treasures, and Quilts, Inc.  When the survey closed, a total of 21,347 completed surveys were received.  This means that Advantage Research had a yield response of 5.1%.

Now that we have the details about how the survey was conducted, let’s look at what all this data is and keep in mind that the last survey was conducted in 2014.

Who is the average survey participant?  These were the quilters that The Quilting Company defined as Dedicated Quilters.  That means that their households spend more than $500 per year on quilting-related purchases.  They represent 16.4% of all quilting households and account for 72.2% of total industry expenditures.  This group spent an estimated $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion in the quilting market.  The typical individual dedicated quilter is female, 63 years-old, well-educated (70% attended college), affluent ($95,000 was the average household income), she has quilted for an average of 19 years, spends on average $3,363 per year on quilting, and 85% of the dedicated quilters prefer traditional quilting, 20% art quilting, and 37% modern quilting. Ten percent of this group defines themselves as beginners, with 6.9 years experience; 59% considers themselves intermediate quilters with 16.8 years experience; and 31% consider themselves advanced quilters with 26.6 years experience.  It was also determined the more years a person quilted, the more hours per week are spent on the art.

How many people are actually quilting?  This is a complete number, not just the dedicated quilters – 7 to 10 million.  This boils down to 6 million to 8.3 million quilting households, spending an estimated $4.7 billion.  The average household spent $442 in 2017, up 48% from 2014.

What are we buying?

• Dedicated Quilters spent an average of $136 on books, magazines and DVDs. They read an average of 3.4 magazines regularly, and spend about 6 hours a month reading about quilts, quilting, and quilters.  The top reason they read is to learn new tips and techniques (88%), inspiration (75%), find out about quilting products (63%), look at photos of quilts (62%), and find patterns (60%).
• Sewing Machines. Ninety-five percent own a sewing machine, up slightly from 2014.  Most (86%) own a traditional machine, 45% own a serger, and 18% own a long arm machine.  Long arm ownership is up 11% from 2014.  In 2017, 26% purchased a new, traditional machine at an average price of $2,212, and 9% plan to buy a new machine in 2018.
• In the past 12 months, the average, dedicated quilter has purchased 99 yards of fabric at an average cost of $9.34 per yard (total of $925).  Fabric favorites are batiks (72%), small floral prints (65%), holiday prints (64%), print solids/blenders (64%), and tone-on-tones/neutrals (58%).
• Thread and Batting. The majority of us plan to purchase more thread in 2018.  Most will purchase 100% cotton thread (83% — up from 79% in 2014), 44% plan to purchase cotton/poly blends, 30% will purchase polyester, 15% plan on buying pre-wound bobbins (up 9% from 2014).  Over half (54%) have batting on their spending list, purchasing that in queen form.  A slightly smaller group (43%) purchase batting in roll form.  Out of all that batting, 66% is natural cotton and 55% is a cotton/poly blend.

Where is the internet and social media in all of this? I am very happy to report that 97% of all dedicated quilters are still purchasing the majority of their quilting needs through brick-and-mortar stores.  If you read my “Woe Is Me” blogs at the end of 2016, stating my concern about a lot of LQS closing, this gives me great comfort.  On-line sales are steady with 68% of quilters choosing to purchase some or all of their quilting needs on-line.  Quilting-based websites were sited as good sources among 64% of dedicated quilters, up 28% from 2014.  And a whopping 52% enroll in on-line classes and videos, up 30% from 2014.  Approximately 7.9 hours were spend surfing the web through Google searches or recommendations from other quilters.  Fifty percent use social media sites such as Facebook and Pinterest – up 14% from those surveyed in 2014.

So, what do all of these numbers really mean? I have thrown a lot of numbers at you.  And I know by now with some of you, your eyes are glazed over.  But as a former chemistry and physics teacher I can guarantee one thing:  numbers don’t lie.  Words can lie, but numbers never do.  This is what all those percentages mean in a nutshell:

More people are quilting.

More people are spending more money on the art.  Most of this is in the LQS.

More quilters are taking advantage of the falling prices of technology. Long-arm sales are on the rise and the price is dropping.  More quilters have discovered the beauty of pre-wound bobbins.  More of us are taking advantage of on-line classes.

 

However, there was also a curious side-bar to this survey.  The number of younger quilters is on the rise (Halleluiah!).

The average age of this younger quilter is 45 and she is an occasional quilter – that is defined in this survey as one who spends less time on the craft than the dedicated quilter.  But since this number is growing, I think it’s really, really important that guilds and quilt groups pay attention to this younger quilter.

This average, young quilter:

• Is well-educated, with 35% having a four-year degree and 23% having a post-graduate degree.
• Is affluent, with $98,000 the average household income.
• Devotes an average of 10 hours per week on quilting (which if you consider exactly what was going on in your life at 45, this is an amazing number). The average total sample was 13 hours per week.  And this group is twice as likely to be employed full time.  Awesome!  We have our next group of quilting addicts.
• Though most of these folks consider themselves beginners, they are hardly “newbies.” Most of them are really intermediates.
• Most (26%) have traditional sewing machines and 26% have attended a quilt show in the past 12 months.
• In general, they spend less than Dedicated Quilters, but only by about 10%. And this is driven by lower spending on machines and equipment.
• Websites (75%), and on-line video (63%) play a stronger role for information and inspiration than the total sample.
• Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are important resources for this group.
• In addition to internet search and social media, blogs are also very important to this group.
• Modern Quilting is more prevalent in this group.

Guilds and quilt groups – put some effort into your website and social media presence to attract younger quilters!

These were my predictions for 2017:

• There will be fewer large shows.  They’re just not cost effective. I was wrong on this one.  The year 2017 had more shows and they were going gang-busters because more brick-and-mortar stores closed and went to on-line and show sales.

 

• Fewer guilds will have shows with vendors, too.  They can’t find the people to organize them and they’re not particularly cost effective.  I do think they will continue to have judged shows for their members’ quilts, though.  I was wrong on this, too.   Guild shows are going strong. 

• More and more publications will go to e-versions only. I was correct.  More and more magazines went to e-versions and completely stopped printed versions.

• More local quilt shops will continue to either close or go to on-line sales only. Sadly, I was also correct on this, too.  More quilt shops closed in 2017 – at least the brick-and-mortar locations.

• There will continue to be more and better on-line classes available for quilters and the cost of these will remain reasonable. I was correct on this one, also.  And more and more quilters are taking advantage of them. 

• Instead of quilt shops, I see a rise in the number of “Quilt Studios.” I was kind of right on this one.  While I could find no hard numbers, I have found that quite a few of the brick-and-mortar stores have gone to this concept.

Now I know what you all have read through all of this to get to – my predictions for 2018:

1. That younger group of quilters will make their voices heard.  I predict more Modern Quilt Groups and more quilt shows with modern quilt categories or completely comprised of modern quilts.
2. More on-line classes will be available for quilters of all levels.
3. I think that there will be a revival of brick-and-mortar quilt stores/studios. I believe we’ve learned the error of our ways.  I think the support for these stores will be tremendous and they will not be taken for granted this time around
4. I see a new group of quilt teachers. Quite a few of our nationally known instructors are reaching that point in life where they are ready to slow down just a bit.  And unfortunately, we’ve lost a few of the wonderful quilt instructors this year.  I think within the next several years we will see a new group of younger quilt instructors on the rise.
5. Quilting is not a dying art – Thank God. It’s always worried me that the art and craft of quilting will die out with my generation.  The fact that there is a rising group – a growing group – of younger quilters out there warms my soul and makes me happy.  We need to feed and nurture and support them in every way possible.

 

And after all of this, I have to ask myself (as I imagine you will, too), “Where do I fit in?”  I’m kind of an in-betweener.  I’m far younger than the average dedicated quilter, but older than the younger quilting group.  I’ve quilted 29 years, so that puts me in the advanced area and during 2017, I averaged about 15 hours a week quilting or involved in quilt-related activities.  So, since I’m not in the age-range of the dedicated quilter, nor as young as this rising group of quilters, I’m calling myself a “Bridger.”  I’m working at bridging the gap between the two groups.

I really, really appreciate you wading through all these numbers.  I hope this was informative.  I hope you’ve found either where you were on the charts of 2017 quilters or that the amount of money you spent on fabric was nothing out of the ordinary.

The year 2017 is quickly drawing to a close and with it our Year of Quilting Fearlessly.  I will sum that up next week as well as introduce our theme for 2018.  I’m excited about 2018 but 2019 will be even better.  However, it’s going to take me a year to get everything nailed down and put into play.  But 2018 will form the foundation for that!

 

Until then, quilt fearlessly!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

 

It’s difficult to believe that next week this time, Christmas will be over and done.

I don’t have to tell anyone (especially wives and mothers), how much work goes into making this 24-hour span of time a particularly magical, warm, and loving event.  And then boom!  It’s all over but breaking down the boxes and eating up the leftovers.

Months and weeks of preparation…. for this.  It’s a bit of a letdown.

But since this blog is not just about quilting, let me share an event from my Christmas Past bag way past bag  that just about topped off the eggnog in my Christmas history.  The time period is somewhere in the early 1990’s.  My son was either in his late preschool years or early elementary.  My daughter was three years older than this.  They were both young enough that as a parent, you moved heaven and earth to make sure they had what was on their Christmas list, just so you could push that I’ve-Stopped-Believing-in-Santa back as far as you possibly could.

Let me insert at this point, my daughter is a lot like me.  She’s a list maker and a goal setter.  When I asked for her Christmas list in September, she went to her room, wrote it down, and promptly gave it to me, penmanship and spelling correct.  Then she asked me if I had any questions, so when I did talk to Santa, I could be very clear on what she wanted.

Nope.  I was good.  And luckily already had most those things on her list.

My son…well…let’s just say he was flexible.  He was still pretty young, so I offered to write the list for him if he would just tell me what he wanted.  This worked for him, so he went into dictation mode and I wrote down everything.  Most of it I was aware of…some of it was news to me.

It took two trips to a couple of big box stores, early in the morning before work, but by December 1, I had it all and even had most of it put together and well-hidden.  And suddenly, they were out of school for the holidays and staying with their grandmother while I was finishing up at work.

Then it happened.  My phone rang one afternoon at lunch and it was my mother-in-law.  “Matt needs to talk to you,” she explained.  “He’s having a fit…”

A second later, the young voice of my youngest child said, “Mom…you know that list you made for Santa?”

Yes. Indeed I did.  Everything was crossed off and I had done the duty of a good mamma.

“Well,” he continued.  “I left off something.”

Panic ran through my veins like a fever.  He was my youngest and I wanted to keep that Santa magic with him for as long as I could.  My daughter was already getting suspicious.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I want a guitar.”

Relief flooded over me like a warm shower.  I could pick that up on the way home from work.

“A green one.”

Panic again.  My heart couldn’t take much more.

“Does it have to be green, son?”

“Yes.  Green is my favorite color.”

These were the days before Amazon.  Internet shopping was a distant blip on the horizon.  So, there was no point, click, and Prime next-day delivery.  No sir.  You got out in the trenches and braved the crowds and fought for what you wanted.  Naively I thought to myself, “This shouldn’t be too hard.  I mean, how many kids would want green guitars?  I bet the stores are full of them.”

Guitars, yes.  Green ones, no.  Apparently, my kid was the only one who wanted a green guitar.

Ever.

Bill traveled a lot, so he was on the lookout.  A good friend of mine who was nearly a professional shopper pulled in all her resources and couldn’t find one.  I happened to mention this quest to a lady I worked with.  Patricia, mother of four children who had been exactly where I was, rolled her eyes at me and said, “The Lord will provide.”

And He did.  Through Patricia’s husband, Chester.  Who found me a green guitar with three days to spare.  It was in Virginia and he drove up there himself to pick it up.

And a little boy’s belief in Santa was kept intact for a few more years.

I had a chance to be a “Chester” this year to my own grand darlings.  My oldest, Evangeline, will be five in January.  And she’s smarter than even her mother was.  She’s already getting that Santa-suspicion.  It started when we went to Graylyn for Breakfast with Santa and Santa did not spend adequate time with his facial hair.  His black locks could be seen under the hat and through his beard.

Which, of course, Evangeline did not miss seeing.  And commenting on.

“I don’t think that was the real Santa,” she told all of us.

To her credit, Elli look at Evangeline like her older sister had lost leave of her senses.

“Of course that was Santa,” we all told her.

The look on her face told me that she was way too smart for that, but she let the matter drop.

Last week, my daughter sent me a text and said the girls wanted a Doc McStuffins All-in-One Nursery Playset.  Two issues here – the girls just let Meg know that they wanted it and it is the hottest item out there.  We searched online for several minutes and the best thing we could find was a December 27^th delivery.

And then … a miracle.  A Christmas miracle.  The Disney Store had two left.  I’m not sure where this particular Disney Store was, but for $97, plus the code JINGLE I had next-day shipping to my front door.  Bingo, bango, bongo, point and click and it was on my front porch on Monday.  It sounds as if there are 90 million pieces in that box.  I am so very, very glad I don’t have to put that thing together.

And hopefully, I’ve pushed that I’m-not-so-sure-about-Santa deadline back a year or two with my oldest granddaughter.

 

Have a Merry Christmas with your loved ones…

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

PS—An epilogue on the Green Guitar.  Unfortunately, it didn’t last long at my house, as Meg accidently stepped on the guitar neck and broke it.  Strangely enough, Matt never really took up the guitar as an instrument.  He became a drummer and played in several bands in high school and college.  I purchased a set of Pearl Drums for him during this time and they sat in his Man Cave until recently. 

Funny how kids grow up…

 

It’s December 15^th.

Ten days until Christmas.  My shopping is done and I only have two presents left to wrap.

Seventeen days until the New Year.

Those of you who have either read my blog for a while or know me well are already clued into the fact that I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions.  Resolutions – the word itself – seems exceedingly pushy.  Kind of like if you don’t perform the resolutions, there’s some kind of punishment waiting for you, just beyond the horizon.

I have enough stress in my life without dealing with resolutions.   However, I do make New Year Suggestions which has a much more positive spin on it.  Suggestions connotates that if one performs the following list, life may be a much better place for you; however, if you don’t – no harm, no foul.

That said, I think 2018 will be a year of transition for me.  This will be my last year as President of The Applique Society.  I originally signed on for only two years, but we couldn’t find anyone to take my place for 2018.  I agreed for one additional year, but after that, we really need new blood and new ideas.  If you’re not a member, but would like to find out a little bit about us, we have a great open forum Facebook page.  Go there and take a look around.  See if you’d like to join.  Better yet, see how you could be of service to your other quilters.

I now hold no office or real committee leadership with my local guild, which is okay.  There is not another show until 2019 and I have no desire to chair the entire thing.  I’m in charge of the quilts, which are my first love anyway.  I will still serve in a support capacity, assisting other chairs.  This is a good thing.  No organization needs the same people in the same positions year after year.  Change is needed and vital for any organization to continue to grow and become a better place or its members.

My year of Quilting Fearlessly is drawing to an end.  I have learned a lot and I will go more into details on that and what I want to do with 2018 in my next blog or two.  There are some plans looming on my horizon for 2019, but other than the classes and workshops I’m scheduled for in 2018, it’s a blank slate.

Now those of you who know me, remember that I’m a list maker and a goal setter.   I function well with these two mandates.  I like to steadily make progress in life a step at a time.  I am one of these people that does not work well with the stress of a last minute deadline.  Give me a deadline that’s a few weeks or several months or even a year out on the calendar and it’s a done deal.  I will give you what is needed in fine form.  Give me a deadline of 24 hours and you have a hot mess.  I fall apart.

But 2018 holds no clear cut goals or deadlines other than finishing the quilting projects and preparing for my classes and workshops.

Am I discouraged?  Not really.  I’ve realized that during these quiet times that God is usually preparing the next step for you to take – it’s just going to be a little while before He lets you know what that is.

So I’m waiting.  Fearlessly.

 

Have a blessed Christmas Season.

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam… and the grand darlings.

 

So, I’m through with my first finish on my Quilt Club’s mystery quilt (remember, there are three finishes in quilting:  finish the top, finish quilting, and finish binding).   To recap, remember that we were given six blocks to make.  We could make them either as 6-inch blocks or 12-inch blocks:

 

Then to those, I chose ten additional blocks that were similar:

 

We could choose any way we wanted to set the blocks.  I decided to use mine as border blocks.

 

To this I added an applique center and some heavy-duty cornerstones.

And finally, three borders.

Now my top is done.  We’re supposed to reveal the final quilts at our January guild meeting.  However and unfortunately I don’t think I will be finished.  This quilt is obviously pretty large.  I didn’t have enough fabric for the backing, so I ordered additional Firenze orange and black from Connecting Threads.  I didn’t receive it until this week.  With the holidays and other activities (we have a wedding and a birthday party on top of Christmas and New Year’s), I’m not sure I will have time to get her completed.  As if December wasn’t enough by itself, Loretta needs some minor upgrades.  I’m switching out the Red Snappers for a zipper system (due to the fibromyalgia).  When I pulled the leaders off to disengage the Snappers, the Velcro that came with the Grace Frame came off.  I’ve purchased heavy duty Velcro to replace the old, but as with most women this time of year, free time is virtually non-existent and I haven’t had the free time I need to get everything up and running on my long arm.

 

I’m waiting on that sweet spot of time between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day to have a few hours to myself.

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

It’s that time of year again…the time where we bounce from one holiday to the next.  This week will find me boxing up all the pumpkins and fall leaves in order to replace them with trees and garland and all things sparkly and covered with bows.  The creche will take the place of the cornucopia in the entrance way and I will count down the days until Christmas with my two excited grand darlings.  Children do revive the Christmas spirit in the even the most curmudgeon person.

 

Speaking of kids, I had the chance to work with Evangeline over the weekend.  At our guild’s show in August, I bought a quilt kit from U Can Quilt.  It was all pink and had Minnie Mouse on the fabric.  The great thing about quilt kits from U Can Quilt is that they are completely cut out and they include backing and batting.  Sewing with Evangeline is kind of hit and miss. Sometimes she wants to really work on it and other times she could care less – but such is the life of a four year-old.  Sunday, she really wanted to work on it.  Since I had moved her sewing machine into my closet, she settled down on my lap with my Janome 7700 and we made some blocks and some memories.

My Daughter, Meagan and Evangeline (left) and Elli (right)

She finished two blocks and that was plenty.  This is a small cuddle quilt, just her size, and when we get the top done, I’m going to set her up with my long arm so she can see how Loretta works.

A few short days after Christmas, we’ll usher in the New Year.  This past year has gone by in a blur.  2017 was our year of Quilting Fearlessly.  I’m thinking about a couple of themes for next year…and will let you know soon what that theme will be.

Color and value have also been on my mind a lot.  Color gets the credit with a quilt…we instinctively gravitate towards some colors (in my case it’s purples and pinks) and run away from others (in my case, it’s brown).  Most likely if we see a quilt in colors that appeal to us, we begin to think about making that quilt – not necessarily because we even really like the pattern, but because the colors invoke some kind of emotion in us.

But it’s value that does the work.

I’ve talked about value before and will again in 2018.  Most quilt patterns will call for so many yards of a light, and a medium, and a dark to make the quilt sing.  These light, medium, and dark descriptions are dealing with the color value of a fabric.  For instance, you could have three, lovely purple fabrics in a quilt – a lavender (light purple), a medium purple, and a dark purple.  Unfortunately, nearly all of us tend to use too much medium valued material and this leads to a very dull quilt.  I encourage my students to lay out the fabric they have chosen and take a picture of it with their phone.  Then convert the image to a black and white one.  This black and white picture clearly shows the values – the mediums will appear gray, the darks black, and the lights almost white.  If you have a range of gray, black, and nearly white, you’ve got a terrific color value range for your project.  And it will draw your eye around the blocks and then around the quilt.  Take a look at these two blocks.

 

Where does your eye go?  Most likely it’s to the dark every time.  The dark pinwheel in the middle of the first one draws your eyes into the center.  The block with the light pinwheel nearly “pops” out at you, since the dark outer patches draws your eyes around the block.

Now let’s throw in a medium in the mix.  In this case, the pink polka-dot is the medium.

Where does your eyes travel now?  For most folks, the dark triangles, regardless of their size, is going to draw your eye to them.  When the center pinwheel is dark, your eyes zeroes in on the center.  When the dark is used for small, outer triangles, your eyes travel around the edges of the block.  When the large triangles are dark, suddenly the medium-valued pink pinwheel nearly disappears as a large, dark triangle grabs your attention.

So not only is color placement important, but color value also must be given real consideration, depending on what kind of statement you want your quilt to make.

 

Mull this over for a few days…

 

The next few weeks will be busy ones for all of us.  My shopping is done, but I need to clean the house and then decorate it.  Address the Christmas cards.  Wrap presents.

So much to do…

Let me encourage you to make time for yourself during the Christmas season.  If you wear yourself out trying to make Christmas perfect for everyone else, it won’t be much of a holiday for you, and you deserve a joyful one, too.

 

Love and Stitches…

 

Sherri and Sam

I love this time of year.  I love the leaves changing colors and the temperatures edging lower.  The sky is so blue it nearly makes your eyes ache to look at it.  I love that it’s nearly Thanksgiving.  When I was growing up, my mom’s big holiday was Christmas.  She and Dad would pull out all the stops on presents and on decorating.  Jingle bells jingled and the tree was always huge.  There were tons of presents and tons of relatives and Christmas is still that sweetest of sweet spots in my childhood memories.

In 1983 I married into a huge family.  My husband had two sisters and two brothers and nieces and nephews nearly as far as the eye could see.  And Bill’s mother’s big holiday was Thanksgiving.  The family was too big and too spread out for everyone to get together at the same time for Christmas, but by-golly-gee when Thanksgiving Day dawned, Lena had pulled out all the stops for her favorite holiday.  Turkeys.  Dressing.  Cake.  Green Beans.  Pie. And her potato salad.  Oh, my goodness could that lady cook.  Don’t even get me started on her biscuits….my beloved paternal grandmother could not even rival Lena’s biscuits and gravy.

Probably unbeknownst to her, she transferred her love of Thanksgiving to me.  I love that holiday because it’s a little slower than Christmas and it is a wonderful beginning to the holiday season.  I love it because there’s a little more time to linger at the table and talk.

And it’s also my birthday…which is pretty darn sweet.  My birthday falls on the 24^th, so it’s right around Thanksgiving.  As I was waltzing into the Thanksgiving season this year, I was thrown a loop by my tribe of Sit and Sew buddies – they threw me a little surprise birthday party.

I’ve never had a surprise birthday party before.  It made me just a bit teary.  My best bud Janet made me this cake…

There’s a story behind this cake.  See, Janet is the Hospitality Chair for the guild.  When we had our Quilt Reception after the judging this year, I asked her to make a cake for the occasion.  And I kept texting her pictures of all these 3-D sewing machine cakes that I thought was just perfect for the reception.

She quickly let me know she didn’t do fondant.

I have no clue what that is…but evidently it’s important on a 3-D cake.   “Fine,” I huffed.  “Then how about a long arm cake?”

She said no to that too.

Hence the reference on my birthday cake.

I got some nifty presents…these girls know me too well.

I have gotten some work done this week.  I finished my pinwheels for Halo.  I had forgotten how much I love those little blocks and enjoy making them.

I was deeply saddened by the death of Nancy Zieman on November 14.

She had been seriously ill for a number of months.  I never had the opportunity to go to Beaver Dam, WI, or sit in on one of her classes.  But back in 1985 when a young 24-year old woman discovered she was pregnant with a baby girl and wanted to learn to sew, Nancy’s programs taught her how to do just that.  I watched her show every Saturday and subscribed to her lessons by mail.  At that time, I knew I couldn’t afford to buy Meagan the dresses I wanted her to wear, but between Nancy Zieman and Martha Pullen I learned to make them.  Those were sweet, precious times as I discovered not only could I sew, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I grew more and more confident as I read through their information and taught myself how to sew.  I am one of many that count myself as part of Nancy’s legacy.

With Thanksgiving next week, there won’t be a blog the week of November 23.  My big birthday plans are to clean out the closet next to my studio and move some project boxes into that and straighten my studio.  Right now, it looks like a hurricane has ripped through it.  I also have treated myself to some zippers for my long arm.  Those will also be installed.

 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving….

 

Still quilting fearlessly…

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

It is really hard to believe that there is so little time left in the year 2017.

I mean, it just seems like yesterday that I put up a new calendar and cleaned up after Christmas.  This past week I deep cleaned the house for Thanksgiving and put up my decorations for that holiday.

In a couple of weeks, all of that will go back into boxes and the tree will come out along with the twinkling lights and greenery.

And suddenly 2018 will dawn.  A New Year with new possibilities.

All of which means one thing for me:  I gotta finish our Quilt Club’s Mystery Quilt.  It’s supposed to be shown at the January guild meeting. That quilt and Sue Garmin’s Halo have been front and center on my machine for about  a month now.  I will show pictures of Halo’s progress soon, but wanted to share what I’ve designed for the Mystery Quilt with this blog.

As I’ve said before, we were given six blocks with the option of making either 12-inch or 6-inch blocks (finished).  I didn’t want to make the large blocks, and was more than happy to make the 6-inch ones since I love making small blocks.   The problem with that is six 6-inch squares makes for a very small quilt, even with setting triangles and setting blocks.  After working with a layout,  I made ten additional 6-inch blocks to form a border with the quilt squares and decided to use a medallion in the middle.

I had hoped to come up with an original design for the middle, but I ran out of time before I ran out of imagination. So, I chose one Esther Aliu’s flower designs on her newest pattern, On My Window Flowers Bloom.  I love her designs and never seem to have enough time to work with them.

I wanted to make it look as 3-dimensional as possible, so I decided to do all sixteen leaves with two colors of green, as well as make the poppies (I think they’re poppies) in two colors of coral.  I introduced a floral black in the cornerstones and will echo that again in the final borders, so I used it again for the vase and a green that is not in the leaves but used in the blocks.  My goal was to use only the fabrics in Connecting Thread’s Firenze collection, and I am happy that I’ve been able to do so.

But let me tell you, getting all of those leaves and stems down was no easy task.  The flowers were much easier.  I think I ended up pretty close to the original pattern, so I ironed everything down and laid out what I had done up to this point.

 

I am fairly pleased.

And Sam seems to like it.

And yes, he will make an appearance in the quilt….just wait….

This is raw-edge applique, so the next decision that needed to be made was thread.  Fortunately, my mom gave me this thread kit (also from Connecting Threads) for my birthday and the greens and corals match perfectly.

I pulled a black from my Mettler connection.  As soon as I get through making the pinwheel set for Halo, this will be under my needle this weekend.

The High Point Quilt Guild had an awesome meeting last night with the quilter that designed the Harry Potter quilt, Susan Owenby.  She is a powerful quilter with a powerful message.  More on her later.

Until next week, take care and quilt fearlessly!

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

Every once in a while, I find myself at the right place at the right time…

In last week’s blog, I told you that I was spending the weekend with my mom in Graham.  She had a follow up appointment with the hematologist and I wanted to go with her.  First things first, the doctor’s appointment went wonderfully great and Mom is well on her way back to normalcy.  No more iron infusions are required now and there is another follow up appointment in three months.  Everything is holding steady, but if she gets to feeling “puny” again, she needs to call the doctor’s office immediately.

THAT has been a year-long, hard journey, my friends.  I am so very thankful that her health is better.  And a huge “thank you” from me to all of you who emailed, texted, messaged, or called to ask how she was doing and to tell me you all were praying for her.  I appreciate that and you all more than I can say.

 

So anyway, back to being at the right place at the right time.  One of Mom’s friends needed my help sorting through some sewing machines.  This lady’s mother-in-law had to move into assisted living.  And she was a quilter.  Her machines and sewing supplies were moved from her home to a storage unit. There were a couple of Pfaffs that I was to look at as well as sort through some boxes of thread and miscellaneous sewing supplies.  So, Friday, before Mom’s appointment, she and I went over to the unit to kind of get a “lay of the land.”  There were boxes of notions, the two Pfaffs, and to the side of them sat a very inconspicuous black box.  It was not very big, but I immediately knew what it probably housed…a Singer Featherweight.

I have been drooling over these machines for years.  Several of my quilting friends have one and I’ve always been just a bit envious of this link to the past of our sewing history.  I opened the case up, saw what was inside, immediately shut it and asked what was the asking price.   A little eBay research later and I walked away with a Singer Featherweight.

What is so special about Featherweights?  They were made to last, for one thing.  The last Featherweight rolled off the line in 1964 and the first one was produced in 1933.  Adapted from the Standard Sewing Machine Company’s SewHandy (bought out by Singer), this little machine was touted by Singer as the “Machine you will sew on, teach your daughter to sew on, and your granddaughter to sew on.” And they are.  They are little work horses that although they only sew a straight stitch, can sew through miles of fabric without a whimper.

Ironically, the Singer Company never called them Featherweights.  Yes, the name is on the manual and like a lot of iconic ladies such as Madonna and Cher, she’s well-known by only her first name – Featherweight.  However, the title Featherweight is nowhere on any of the machines.

From 1933 until 1964 this little jewel was mass produced and shipped all over the world.  It traditionally came in black, although there were a few variants.  Some of the later ones were kind of a cross between white, cream, and mint green.  During World War II, the military had their own Featherweights with a special “crinkle” paint that was mil-spec black to prevent glare.  Those beauties had a leather case that was Army green with military issue numbers on the box.  As a matter of fact, the only thing that stopped the production of the Featherweight was World War II, when metal was in short supply.

Back to my purchase.  Most Featherweights are a 221.  Mine is a 222K – which means it’s kind of an odd-ball Featherweight.

My machine does a few things that the other Featherweights can’t.  For instance, it is a freearm machine, meaning the bed is detachable.  This made sewing cuffs and darning easier.  You can also drop the feed dogs on mine.

The serial number is located on the bottom of the machine and you can use that to find out where the machine was made and the date it was manufactured.  My machine came from Clydebank, Scotland and her birthday is March 14, 1955.  She was one of ten thousand 222K’s made that year.

She doesn’t have a scratch on her and she came with a lot of feet and other gadgets.  I even have a Little Foot made specifically for Featherweights.

Look at these prices!

And a really old packet of needles

The case is in excellent condition and the keys came with it.  I don’t know how many hands this machine has passed thought, but she has had excellent care.  The only thing I’m not sure of is what the clamp-thingie is on the side of the case.  The apparatus in the top of the box is where you slide your foot control into to hold it.

I think Sam approves…

I am happy to have this little baby as my new addition to my ever-expanding sewing machine family!  She has found a good home and I look forward to spending many hours with her in the future.

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

 

 

 

So, I’m back from my guild’s sixth annual “Drop Everything and Just Quilt!” Retreat.

I am tired, but I’m feeling accomplished!  I finished the top of my Farmer’s Wife!!!  Go me!  Why is it ever a good idea to make a quilt top with 111 six-inch blocks, set on point with cornerstones?  Please tell me…

 

All of the blocks were completed before I left, and I had all the setting triangles, sashing, and cornerstones cut out before I set up shop at Haw River State Park.  But even with all that preparation, it still took me from Wednesday night until Saturday morning to finish.  And that was all I worked on…believe me.  I did start a jelly roll quilt afterwards and managed to make all the half-square triangles for that.

Saturday after I had sewn myself silly with the Farmer’s Wife, several of us snuck off to Madison, NC to Stitch Party Quilt Shop.  If you’re in the area, do yourself a favor and go there.  Kathy  (the owner) is a sweet heart and a real help.  The shop is truly awesome!  I came away with these…

To go with this yardage I purchased several weeks ago from Sewingly Yours in Lewisville, NC.

 

At my guild’s quilt show in August, I purchased a basket with red, white, and blue fat quarters.  I got this to go with those…

This piece of fabric spoke to me, so I came away with three yards of it…

 

Now I have to decide on the borders for the Farmer’s Wife.  The book has plain borders, but I think that really underwhelms the quilt.  After all the work that is put in piecing those delightful blocks, I think the borders should be a little more intricate.  Carol Doaks has a wonderful book, Carol Doak’s Creative Combinations,  that gives wonderful border options that are paper pieced.  It comes with a CD that allows you to resize the border blocks and print them out.  This is a great addition to your quilting research library – by the way.  The holidays are coming.  You may want to put this on your gift list for yourself.  I’m browsing through this resource to get ideas and finalize my border design.  Stay tuned – I’ll keep you informed.

I’m unpacked and prepping for the applique class I’m teaching next week.  This weekend I will be in Graham with Mom.  It’s time for her follow-up appointment with the hematologist after her iron transfusions.  She’s doing so much better and is back teaching her stained-glass classes.  I’m hoping and praying for the best.  She’s so close to normal again!  And I am exceedingly thankful.

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

 

 

 

 

I am trying to break free from my stripes addiction, but the pull is strong! I need help buying non-stripes.

–Gillian Jacobs

 

I like stripes.

I also realize some quilters don’t.

And I’ve never understood why.

I do have an affinity for fabric that tends to give a quilt “movement.”  So, material with swirls and irregular motifs or paisleys play a prominent role in my quilts and my stash.  These fabrics tend to make the viewer’s eyes move across the quilt and then up and down it instead of focusing in on only the center.  They also go a long way to help disguise any quilting mistakes.

However, for me, striped fabric is one of the most versatile materials that has movement.  There’s just so much a quilter can do with it.  You have to be careful when you use it, but to me, that extra-step in fabric layout is more than worth it when the quilt top is completed.  Some folks may fear that extra step, but if you think about it, quilters have been dealing with stripes on some level all the time.  Made a Log Cabin quilt?  That’s working with stripes.  Made a Rail Fence quilt?  Again, you’ve worked with stripes.  Sewed two strips of fabric together and then sub-cut into squares to make a four-patch or nine-patch?  Stripes.

Trust me.  You’ve played with stripes before and you will again.

The first issue that must be dealt with is that striped fabric is that it is directional and directional fabrics are not always suited for all quilt blocks.  A directional fabric is defined as fabric that has an obvious an up and down and/or left and right on the outside of the material due to the manufacturing process.  It does require some extra planning and additional care when cutting the quilt out.  Blocks that are strip pieced may not work because segments cut this way often have to be turned and flipped, so all the stripes may not run the same direction once the block is completed.  You must think through the layout and cutting before grabbing that rotary cutter and ruler. In other words, that glass of wine you may have while your quilting?  Leave that alone until after everything is cut out.

Another issue you have to think about is the scale of the stripe.  In many ways, this is the same characteristic you must consider with any fabric – we know large-scale prints can lose much of their beauty and definition when confined to blocks comprised of small pieces.  If the stripes are large, cutting them into two-and-a-half inch blocks may make their beauty dissipate; however, if the stripes are narrow, those two-and-a-half inch blocks can take on great movement and character.

Most stripes are printed to run parallel to the length-wise grain of the fabric (parallel with the selvedge).  There is some that will run on the cross-wise grain, and occasionally the stripes will run diagonally on the 45-degree bias angle.  The easiest way for me to begin to plan my quilt pieces is to take myself back to the very basics of quilting and use templates.

Yes.  Templates.

Most of the time when we read the cutting directions, they will ask us to cut out strips and then sub-cut these into squares or rectangles.  With a little practice, we can usually cut those out without templates and have all the stripes running the same way (at least with the squares – I would still recommend templates for the rectangles).  If your pattern has setting triangles, often the directions will tell you to cut out a square and then cut the square on the diagonal once or twice.  This is where your stripes can get really wonky.  They can run horizontal across two ends of your quilt and vertical across the other two ends.  If this is the look you’re going for, you’re good to go. But if it’s not, try this – cut out templates the unfinished size of your setting triangle and use this as the pattern to cut out all of them.  This takes longer, but it assures you that all your stripes will run in the same direction.

My favorite kind of striped fabric are the border prints.  Border prints are fabric with wider stripes that can be used to frame your quilt.  It gives the borders more pizazz and looks like you’ve spent tons of time planning that part of your quilt, when it really all it consists of is carefully cutting the stripes apart on the length-wise grain of fabric.  It’s really great if you can miter these stripes in the corners so that everything matches up.  If not, use cornerstones and go with that.  One quilt and pattern designer that takes using border fabrics to a whole new level is Jinny Byer.  Go to her website and be prepared to be awed.  Border fabric is also great to use with kaleidoscope quilts or for creating columns between vertical rows or sashing for horizontal rows.

Yes, I  have used stripes for borders!

 

I like narrow-striped fabric, too, and not just for pieces of my quilt block.  I love to cut the narrow-striped fabric on the bias and use it for binding.  This makes the stripes run diagonally along the bias and add that last bit of movement to the very end of the quilt.  It’s just another “zip” in the “do-dah” of the quilt.

 

Give stripes a whirl.  You may love them or hate them.  You may want to reserve them only for borders or binding.

Or you may find yourself like I do myself: the pull for the stripes is strong…

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

 

PS… There will be no blog next week as I will be at the High Point Quilt Guild’s “Drop Everything and Just Quilt!” Annual Retreat with 33 of my closest quilting buddies…Sam’s minding the  quilt studio while I’m gone.  I know I’m leaving it in good paws.