Quilts, Quips, and other Nearsighted Adventures

I’m not sure what happened but I checked my calendar today and somehow it’s now Wednesday.

I’ve been writing a blog for several years now and I do have a plan of action for each week’s post.  I normally keep a list of topics I want to explore in the notes app of my iPhone.  This list covers everything from quilters I want to interview to things that inspire me to quilting problems I have faced down and solved.

I pick three topics and begin to write on all three, starting and stopping until they’re finished.  I normally always have three weeks’ worth of posts “in the can” at any given time. Sometimes it’s more but never fewer than three.  The weekend before the blog post on Thursday, I take the pictures and edit them.  They are then loaded up into my media files on WordPress.  Generally, no later than Tuesdays about lunch time, I have this week’s blog completed and after an additional round of editing on Wednesday it’s loaded up and scheduled to post on Thursdays as soon as I turn on my laptop.

But if you’re a regular reader, you know that my life has been the perfect storm for the entire month of January.  Between no heat, home renovations, stomach flu, and bad colds, I’m just proud of the fact that I haven’t missed a weekly post.

However, I have depleted my backlog.  Hence, my dismay when I looked at the calendar today, realized it’s Wednesday, and the “can” is empty.  So, this week’s blog post is simply a show and tell of what I’ve done in my studio this week.  I have a couple of very serious handwork projects going on at the moment, but I am not ready to show those at this point.

In January, I set some goals for my studio.  One of these goals was to go through all of my thread, separate it, discard the old thread, sort it by hand piecing/hand applique thread, colored machine thread, and regular piecing thread – then come up with a better storage system.  Until now, all of applique thread (both hand and machine) was stored in a spare project box.  While that did keep it all together, it was difficult to see exactly what I had.  I decided to invest in three of these boxes:

Not terribly expensive, these can be found at Joann’s and of course through Amazon.  These make it easy to see everything that I have.  I have my hand sewing thread in one of these and the rest of the thread in two additional ones.  The only spools that do not next inside these boxes are my Superior Thread machine applique thread and my larger spools from Connecting Threads.

Not only did it make my thread easier to see, I also got rid of some super old stuff.  Thread does have a shelf life, and although today’s thread remains viable for a number of years, eventually like everything else, it will show its age and begin to break as it’s fed through the machine.  If it’s older than 10 years or so, toss it.

At the beginning of 2018, my guild’s new first vice-president, Matthew Emerson, issued a challenge.  This challenge is to make a small quilt/quilt block, approximately 12-inches square, finished.  Do one for each month of the year and bring to the guild meetings to show off.

The only thing I could think of when Matthew issued the challenge was “What fun!”  Several months before Dragonfly closed, I purchased a tabletop quilt frame from the store but had yet to make a single quilt to put on it.  By the end of the year, I’ll have a dozen.  This is what I came up with for February.

I planned.  Honestly, I did.  But sometimes even when you’re paying attention to the details and the basics, making your work as excellent as possible…stuff like this happens.  I know this picture is poor quality, but can you see what happened?

YUP.  A binding seam showed up at the corner.  Oy-vey.  But I managed to get my way through it without too much trouble.

I already have March’s small quilt laid out on paper.  And I know what I’m pretty sure I’ll be designing for April and May.

Until next week…Quilt with Excellence!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

I seem to attract Jelly Rolls…

Not the confection – the roll of cake with the sweet filling – but the fabric jelly rolls.  If you’re not familiar with that quilty vocabulary, let me explain.  A few years ago, fabric manufacturers decided to make pre-cuts of some of their most popular lines.  These are called layer cakes (10-inch squares), charm squares (5-inch squares), and jelly rolls.  Jelly rolls are 2 ½-inch x 42-inch strips.  There are usually 40 to 42 strips of these in a roll, two of each of the fabrics in a family.  They are cut in the factory-setting (hence, they are pre-cut before purchase).  Sometimes they are cut accurately, and sometimes not so much.

The thought was, that because these sizes were some of the most frequently used in quilting, quilters would purchase them in large numbers, especially since the cutting was already done and the variety of fabrics was excellent.

Yup.  Pretty much right on all those accounts.  I have an entire bin of jelly rolls – over a dozen.  Of all those, I have purchased three.  The others I have won either as guild door prizes, as a contest winner, or were given as gifts.  They are all beautiful and I have immensely enjoyed looking at them on a shelf in my quilt studio…because frankly I had no idea what to do with them.

Until recently.

A friend of mine who was at the 2017 Drop Everything and Just Quilt! Retreat suggested that since so many of us had such a variety of pre-cuts, we should form a group and sew through as many as we could which always frees up space to buy more.   I was all for that, except the only pattern I had ever seen using a jelly roll was that strippy one from those Jelly Roll Races, and to be honest, that pattern did nothing for me.

So, I Amazoned jelly roll patterns and within 2.5 seconds, this book, written by Pam and Nicky Lintott appeared on my feed.

I purchased it and a couple of their other jelly roll books.  These ladies have been working with those 2 ½-inch x 40-inch strips for a while and they’ve come up with some great ideas.  They have also discovered that you can use this ruler:

 

And cut 2 ½-inch triangles to make half-square triangle units.  I love Creative Grid Rulers.  They have the non-skid patches on them that really help you keep your cutting accurate.

I am currently making the Lintott’s Circle of Friends Quilt from Jelly Roll Quilts in a Weekend.  The squares are large – 18 ½-inches unfinished – and there are nine of them in this quilt.  I’ve finished four, nearly through with the fifth, and will hopefully have the top put together before our jelly roll group meets again in March.

My blocks for Circle of Friends.  The safety pin at the top indicates that this is the top of the block and that I’ve oriented it correctly when I lay my quilt top out.  Since these blocks are symmetrical, it really doesn’t matter, but putting that pin in is a habit I’ve had for almost 30 years.

The meteorologists are predicting snow and ice for here on Sunday.  I’ve got a mini-quilt I need to finish as Halo and I need to have some serious “us” time.  I’ve filled the bird feeders to the brim and purchased three bottles of wine.  Let it snow!

 

Until next week, Quilt with Excellence!

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

We’ve all heard it a million times – keep a consistent quarter-inch seam when piecing quilt blocks.  That was the first quilting “rule” drilled into me as I started quilting nearly 30 years ago.  And at that time, it was really important for me to remember because I also sewed my children’s clothes, and those seams were 5/8-inch seams.  Quilt seams, compared to those clothing seams, looked so small.  I had to be careful, too, because during those days of machine piecing, there were no quilter’s foot or any type of quarter-inch foot available.  You either eye-balled it or used a seam guide.

That quarter-inch seam appears to be one of the few Holy Grails of Quilting…

 

Except it isn’t.

 

So now that I’ve just blown a gasket in the quilting part of your brain, let’s look at this in detail.  Remember, this is our year of Quilting with Excellence.  A large component of this is paying close attention to the basics and that quarter-inch seam is truly one of the basics.  Let’s first begin with the sewing machine.

 

Even the most avid hand quilters and piecers usually have a sewing machine.  Most quilters I know have several.  I have five that take up residence in my quilt studio:  A Juki 2010Q, a Featherweight, Janome 7700, Juki 810, and Loretta the Long Arm (who really doesn’t enter into this conversation of the quarter-inch seam).  All of the machines are used for different purposes, but the Juki’s, the Featherweight, and the Janome are used primarily for piecing.  All but the Featherweight were designed with quilters in mind.  Each has a quarter-inch foot.  But you know what?  Each of their quarter-inch seams are a little different – even if it’s just by a thread or two.  That’s why most quilting instructors will tell you to start and finish a quilt top on the same machine – so your blocks will remain a consistent size.

So, what does a thread or two matter?  On one block, certainly not a great deal.  But if you carry that difference over the entire quilt top, it can add up to as much or more than a half-an-inch difference in your rows coming out even.  And that is frustrating beyond belief when you’re putting your top together.  Even a walking foot can’t ease in so much difference.

However, if you’re like me, I’m not always able to start and finish a quilt top on one machine.  Big Red, my Janome, is my primary piecing machine.  I love that machine.  But she is a big girl and highly computerized, so she doesn’t get out of the house much unless I’m going on a quilt retreat that lasts several days.  If I’m attending an all day Sit and Sew or a class, I take my Marilyn (the Featherweight) or Jenni (my Juki 810).  Marilyn’s and Jenni’s quarter-inch seams are different from each other and different from Big Red’s.  I may begin a quilt on my Jenni and then finish it at home on Big Red.  How does one handle the seam difference?

Let’s consider the quarter-inch feet first.  These feet are also called quilting feet, although a better name for them would be piecing feet, since you don’t actually quilt with them.  Most sewing machines made with quilters in mind come with one of these feet.  This is the foot that came with Big Red.

 

It has a phalange on the right side.  If the fabric is lined up touching the side of the phalange, and the needle is in the center position, I should get a quarter-inch seam.

 

Which I do.  The blue tape in the right-hand side of the ruler is at the half-inch mark.  When I press the seam open to check to make sure I have a half-an-inch seam allowance, it measures correctly (1/4 + 1/4 = 1/2).

There is also a seam called the “scant quarter-inch.” This simply means that the seam allowance is actually a thread or two less than an entire quarter-inch.  Some quilt patterns call for this seam allowance and there is a foot made for this.  The Little Foot Quilt Shoppe (littlefoot.net) makes this scant quarter-inch foot for all makes of machines, including Featherweights!

If you check out the seam below that has been sewn with the Little Foot on Big Red and then pressed open, you can see that it’s just shy of that exact half-inch mark.  It is a true scant quarter-inch.

 

All of this leads me to one conclusion:  That if I sew either a true or a scant quarter-inch seam on my Janome 7700, it is a true or scant quarter-inch.  But like I said earlier, I don’t always start and finish a quilt on Big Red.  So, what’s a girl to do?

 

There is a “test” you can run – and should run – on each of the sewing machines you piece with.  First, rotary cut three strips of fabric.  Two of these strips should be of the same color and the third of a contrasting color.  Make sure they measure 2-inches by 7-inches, they are of the same type of fabric, and they are cut on the crosswise grain.

Sew the three strips together, using what is deemed by your sewing machine as the quarter-inch foot, with the contrasting strip in the middle.  Press the seams to the darker fabric.  Now measure the strip.  It should measure exactly five inches in width.

The middle strip should measure 1 ½-inch across.

If the middle strip is wider, then your seams are a bit less than a quarter-inch.  If the middle strip is narrower than 1 ½-inches, then the seam allowance is more than a quarter-inch.

I ran into this problem on Jenni – my little Juki that I take to class and day-long sew-ins. Her quarter-inch foot’s seam is several threads larger than a true quarter-inch.  I would have run into serious trouble switching a quilt top from her over to Big Red.  The first thing I had to do was figure out exactly how much I needed to adjust Jenni to get that exact quarter inch.  There are several different ways to do this, but the easiest and most convenient way I’ve found to deal with this problem is a notion called Perfect Piecing Seam Guide by Perkins Dry Goods in Bloomington, MN (perkinsdrygoods.com).  This little notion is also sold in many quilt shops.

I’m not sure if you can see it clearly or not, but on the rim of this small, yellow ruler there is a tiny hole.  I put a piece of green fabric under the ruler, hoping it would make it more visible.

Raise the presser foot up on your machine and position the tiny hole so that your needle can go directly through it.  Please do all of this manually.  Do not try to do this by depressing your foot pedal or using the sew button on your machine.  You will break a needle.  When the needle can go cleanly through the hole, lower your presser foot to keep the ruler firmly in place on your machine.  The right side of the Perfect Piecing Seam Guide is exactly where the edge of your fabric will need to go in order to get a perfect quarter-inch seam.

At this point, you can either mark this location with a permanent marker or use something like a strip of moleskin to use as the fabric guide.  Whaaaala….perfect quarter-inch seams.  I use this method on Jenni and I have had no trouble transferring anything over to Big Red and keeping consistent quarter-inch seam allowances and block size.

Now I know what some of you are saying…”I have the option of changing needle positions on my sewing machine.  Isn’t this just easier?”

Big Red has that option, too, and I’ve used it sometimes.

And this is a viable choice, just remember to do two things.  First, do the strip test to make sure you’re getting an accurate quarter-inch seam allowance and second, if you have to change your needle plate position when you move your needle, be sure to remember to change it back to the normal factory setting or you’ll break a needle, which can play with your machine’s timing…which is never a good thing.

Now all of this brings me back to when I blew the quilting gasket in your brain as I told you the quarter-inch seam is not the Holy Grail of Quilting. 

While it is important to keep a consistent seam allowance, what’s even more important than this is making sure your blocks all come out the same unfinished size called for in the pattern.  And while I grant you that most of the time a quarter-inch or scant quarter-inch will be adequate in this construction, it’s not always true.  That’s why it is oh-so important to make a test block of any pattern before starting on the actual quilt.  If the test block comes out exact using the standard seam allowance, you’re good to go.  If it doesn’t, there are a few things you can do:

1. Check your foot.  My Little Foot looks amazingly like one of my applique feet.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve grabbed the applique foot thinking I had my Little Foot.
2. Did your foot “bobble”? Sometimes feet aren’t attached securely, or they tend to wiggle a bit.  Make sure you’re feeding the fabric through the machine slowly and steadily.  For as long as I have been quilting and teaching quilting, I do not think anyone can sew an accurate seam at full-throttle.  Remember, it’s not a race.  Slow and steady makes for much more accurate piecing (and way less ripping out).
3. Check your thread. As odd as this may sound, if your seam allowance is off just a tad and you’re sure of your accuracy, the thread may be the culprit.  If the seam allowance is just a bit too narrow, go with a finer thread.  If it’s just a thread or two too wide, try a thicker thread.  Re-test and see if this works.
4. If none of the above work, you may need to significantly alter your seam allowance until the block comes out exactly the unfinished size that the pattern calls for. Don’t be afraid to do this.  Remember, the ¼-inch seam allowance rule can be broken.

 

Again…standard disclaimer….I do not work for the Little Foot Company or Perkins Dry Goods nor do they underwrite any portion of my website.  I recommend them in this blog because I’ve used their products and found them consistently stellar with their products and their customer service.

 

And an update on my heating situation, since I’ve gotten emails and messages…I finally got heat today.  There still are a couple of more repairs to go on the unit, but the thermostat now registers a wonderfully warm 72 degrees.

 

Until next week…Quilt with Excellence!

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

So, let me tell you about my week…

The fun started last weekend, when I started feeling the symptoms of the stomach flu that has been going around in this area.  Feeling puny, I decided to forgo the fun of the upcoming Sanford Quilt Show and stay home.  No sense in sharing all this “fun” with my quilting buddies. After all, of all the things I do in my life, I really do try to be a good friend and good friends do not share germs and viruses.  This was Thursday.  Remember that day.  It’s important in this timeline.

And the house was feeling cold.  Really, really cold.  For a while I chalked it up to the fact that I was probably running a fever and things would even out in a few hours.  Nope.  There was cold air blowing through the heat vents, despite the fact that I had the heat pumped up to 90.  Hoping and praying for the best, I flipped the thermostat off, left it that way for an hour, crossed my fingers, and turned it back on.

Still no heat.

Since we had been through this same scenario fairly recently, I called the HVAC service company and talked to the office manager.  “You know that burner unit the tech said we would need sooner rather than later?  Well, it’s sooner now.”

Bing, bang boom – simple fix, right?  Should be up and running on Friday, right?  Nope.  Part won’t be here until Tuesday.

Now it’s Thursday night and it’s cold and it’s raining.  We’re running space heaters and the kerosene heater.  It’s kind of toasty, in a chilly kind of way, and I’m ready to haul my sick self onto my Memory Foam mattress and sleep.  So, I begin the same ritual I have performed since I was 11 – wash my face, brush my teeth, and moisturize.  I turn on the hot water and busy myself with other things waiting for it to warm up.

Let me stop right here and explain something about the Fields Family Household Dynamics.  The DH and I live in a one-level 3,000 square foot-ish house with an ancient hot water heater and equally ancient plumbing.  We liked this house from the moment it was built, even though we didn’t purchase it at that time.  The purchase came in 1995, when the kids were younger.  Part of the charm was that it was on acreage, so they could have all kinds of animals and there was plenty of room for them to run and have go-karts and golf carts.

The other part of that “charm” was that the house has its quirks.  And one of those quirks was that it takes for FOREVER to get hot water from one end of the house to the other.  For me to turn on the hot water, walk away, go fold a load of laundry, and return to the bathroom to wash my face was nothing out of the ordinary.

Except 10 minutes later when I returned to wash my face, I still didn’t have hot water.

The propane tank was empty.  Dry as a bone.

Since I am on the monthly budget and maintenance plan with one of the local propane companies, I called the 1-800 24-hour emergency service number and explained to the sleepy person on the other end of the line that I needed propane and I needed it now.  There was a slight rustle on the other end as I heard a mouse slide across a surface.  “You’re scheduled to be checked tomorrow,” the service person said.

“What a coincidence,” I replied.  I admit it, by this time and under these circumstances, I was downright snarky.  “I need it tonight.” This was said emphatically.

“I’m calling the on-call delivery guy now.”

I guess my snarkiness carries some weight.

Ten minutes later, the delivery guy calls me back.  “Can’t come tonight.  It’s dark and raining and I won’t be able to see the tank.  I’ll be there first thing Friday morning.”

Now it’s Friday morning.  Remember that day.  It’s important in this timeline. Gas tank is filled.  One hour later I have all the hot water my heart desires and still no heat.

Friday bleeds into Saturday.  Remember that.  I’ve been without heat since Thursday. By Saturday night, I was feeling exceptionally poorly.  So poorly I even told the DH, “I feel really sick.”  Putting this in the perspective of the Fields Family Household Dynamic, you must understand one thing – when I complain about not feeing well, it’s serious.  I’ve been known to power-through teaching labs while having pneumonia and bronchitis.  It takes a lot to get me to slow down, give up, and go to bed.

At 4 a.m. Sunday morning (remember now it’s Sunday), there was no doubt that the stomach flu had taken up residence in my digestive system.  It was there, full-blown and ugly.  I have no heat, I’m throwing my guts up, and I’m living on Saltines and ginger ale.

Sunday passes by in a stomach-flu induced haze and turns into Monday.  Remember that.  Now it’s Monday.  And I’ve been without heat since when?  That’s right.  Last Thursday.  Miracle of miracles and despite the fact that Monday was a federal holiday, the HVAC repair guy shows up a day early with the part!  We’re good to go now, right?

Nope.

Burner unit goes on, we flip the thermostat to heat and … nothing.  Repairman goes back out, looks at the propane tank, and delivers this assessment: “Regulator’s froze up on the tank.  Get the gas company back out here and have ‘em put a new one on it.  It’s their tank.”

One more call to the gas company.  Their tech guy gets to my house after 5 p.m.  He replaces the regulator and gets my ancient gas logs going because you know what?  The regulator wasn’t the problem.  It was replaced and still no heat.  He plans to come back the next day and advises me to call the HVAC guy and have everybody meet up at 9 a.m.

Tuesday arrives (remember that – it’s important) and I’m feeling better.  Gas guy shows up about…..10:30 a.m.  I didn’t see the HVAC tech until nearly 3 p.m.  Gas guy has replaced everything he can at the tank and at the unit.  HVAC guy comes out and checks the control valve.  He lifts up the top of the unit and looks it over and delivers this assessment: “The inside looks like brand new.  I haven’t run into anything like this before and I’ve been doing this for 33 years.”

Seriously?

So, he’s ordered another part and promises me I will have heat by Wednesday.

It’s now Wednesday.  WEDNESDAY.  I’VE BEEN WITHOUT HEAT SINCE LAST THURSDAY.  And we woke up to this:

Needless to say, I won’t have heat today, either.

I’ve always been taught to try to find the bright spot, the positive note, the lesson learned from the hard times in life.  And I have learned one very important thing about myself during this trial:

I AM NO LAURA INGALLS WILDER.  I’M NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRARIE LIFESTYLE.

On the bright side, I do have a space heater in my quilt studio (because God forbid that those computerized machines get too cold) and I managed to get my floaters and pinwheel borders on my Halo Medallion.  Me and my two bottles of 19 Crimes plan to retire to the Quilt Studio shortly for a fine time of sewing and quilting the rest of the time away while I contemplate life without central heat one more day.

 

Still trying to Quilt with Excellence despite lack of heat…

 

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

As I walk through my quilt journey, I have always been inspired by other quilters and their quilts.  This year, it’s my goal to introduce you to some of the quilters that inspire me, challenge me, and love me despite all my flaws.  Two of these quilters are Karen and Sarah Tooley.  I met Karen before I met Sarah and I was drawn to Karen for a several reasons.  First, she was an awesome hand piecer and hand quilter; second, every time we got together the fellowship was warm and supportive; and third, she was retired from the field of education – we talk “shop” a lot.

After a couple of years, I was introduced the Karen’s children.  She and her husband, John, have two daughters and a son.  Pete, the youngest, lives in the DC area, but her two daughters were local – at least at that time.  I met Elaine, who can knit just about anything she looks at, and Sarah, who is the other quilter in the family.  I can honestly say at this point, I’m a little envious of Karen having a daughter that quilts.  I can only hope…

I wanted to introduce you folks to these two, because it seems that there are fewer and fewer mother/daughter teams that quilt.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

–“She (Karen) can make something out of absolutely nothing and does not need patterns or instructions.   I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve asked about how she did something and her answer has been, ‘I don’t know, I just tried something new and it worked out…’”

–Sarah Tooley speaking about her mother, Karen

 

Karen Tooley lives in a neat house, tucked away in a subdivision of Jamestown, North Carolina.  A retired special education teacher, Karen has sewed for 54 years, starting at age nine.  Before that, she watched and helped her mother while she sewed.

During the time that Karen grew up, she had the wonderful opportunity to see her great-grandmother’s quilts on the beds as well as everywhere else all over her house and her grandmother’s house.  At age 25, she decided that she wanted to learn to quilt.  Her goal?  Quilt as well as her great-grandmother.  “Her stitches were tiny, close, and uniform in size,” Karen states.  “Also, the large amount of quilting on each of her quilts was phenomenal.  She has been my sole role model.”

Armed with one of her great-grandmother’s quilts as her “teacher” and a McCall’s basic beginning quilting booklet, Karen taught herself machine piecing and hand quilting.

 

Miles away in an equally neat apartment in New York City, Sarah Tooley, a social worker and Karen’s oldest daughter, resides.   Sarah quilts and like her mother, she hand pieces and hand quilts.  Why does she quilt? “My mom always believed I would enjoy quilting and told me that throughout childhood and young adult hood.  I had always admired her work and the beautiful quilts she regularly entered in our county’s fair each year.”

However, the “quilting bug” didn’t bite Sarah until later.  “I did not have a desire to engage in quilting until she (Karen) presented her antique quilt program informally at her house one summer.”

Moved by the presentation, the meticulous nature of construction, and the story behind each quilt, Sarah asked Karen to teach her to quilt.  The only stipulation that Sarah had was that she wanted to start with handwork – something that not a lot of beginner quilters want to undertake.  “I had not gotten along with a sewing machine in the past,” Sarah explained.  With Sarah having no desire to machine piece at that point, Karen immediately started Sarah on a whole quilt project and Sarah fell in love with quilting.

Karen and Sarah Tooley

And the mother/daughter quilting fellowship began.  For Karen, it’s a chance to be creative.  For Sarah, it allows her to decompress, de-stress, and recharge after a long day at work.  Both women enjoy hand piecing, hand quilting, and hand applique.  However, there are other similarities and a few differences between the two.  When asked what their favorite tricks, tools, and tips, both of them like the Cindy Blackberg’s hand piecing stamps.  Introduced to them in 2012, Karen admits at that point, she became a dedicated hand piecer due to the stamps’ preciseness and easy instructions.  When Sarah asked to learn to hand piece, Karen pulled out these stamps to teach her daughter the process.

 

“I love the Cindy Blackberg stamps,” Sarah said.  Because Sarah’s background in sewing was limited, she had to start at the absolute bottom in terms of learning basics, vocabulary, and techniques.  “The stamps hooked me right away because they offer a certain simplicity,” she explained.  Since that time, neither woman has stopped hand piecing.  Both carry a “stamp project” with them just about wherever they go.

 
Similarities can also be found in their project boxes.  Size 10 quilting needles are found in both, as well as thimbles, although Sarah prefers a leather thimble and Karen likes the “Cheap, plastic ones – the ones that were used for advertising stores or passed out with election candidate’s names on them,”  Karen explained.  Karen also makes sure beeswax is in her project box and Sarah likes Gutterman thread in hers.  Karen also favors a 24” x 6 ½” ruler with a rotary cutter attached to one side of it for cutting accuracy.

From there the similarities between the two disappear.  Karen is a relaxed quilter and tolerant of mistakes.  “It may be because of my age or stage in life,” she said, but she works through trial and error and doesn’t get flustered if the project doesn’t work out.  “If I don’t like it, I change it,” she admits, “and my biggest challenge is speed.  I do not produce a product very quickly.  Even when I do machine work, it takes me a long time.  I get stuck on details.”

For Sarah, the challenge is a bit different.  A perfectionist by nature, she wants an exact formula for her quilt blocks.  “I am extremely structured and do best when I can follow exact instructions.  I’ve had to learn that every stitch does not need to be perfect.”  This realization has offered Sarah some growth opportunities in “letting go” of the self-imposed pressure to be perfect.

Both of these attitudes have been the biggest challenge each faced when quilting together, too.  When Sarah began quilting, she wanted to rip everything out all the time and start over.  “Mom patiently handled this by telling me, ‘People will not be able to tell,’ or ‘If you start everything over all the time, you’ll never complete anything.’ I must drive her nuts when I get frustrated over the lack of perfection.”

For Karen it was equally challenging.

“The biggest challenge (for me) is convincing Sarah that every stitch, seam, etc., does not have to be perfect.  It should be an enjoyable activity, not a perfect specimen,” Karen said.

Their shopping habits are also dissimilar.  Karen faithfully shops her stash, and leans towards the more traditional florals, patterned, and colored fabrics.  Her current favorite colorways are blues combined with greens or strong yellows.  However, because she is steadily using up her stash, she admits, “Scrappy may be my favorite colorway!”

Realizing that putting colors together is her greatest weakness at the moment, Sarah looks at what other quilters are using and tries to emulate those.  She seeks her mother’s opinion, but leans towards the bold/contemporary look.  Her current favorite colorway is rustic orange and dark gray.  “And I collect all supplies, fabric, and instructions (before starting).  I must have everything in order before I will even complete one stitch.  Once my plan is established, fabric cut, and materials prepped, then the true fun can begin!”  Very, very different from Karen’s trial and error, relaxed method.

There is another challenge these two are facing now.  Recently Sarah moved to New York City from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Winston and Jamestown are only about 20 minutes apart.  Now separated by hundreds of miles, do they still carve out a way to quilt together?  The answer to this question is “Yes.”

“We talk on the phone about projects, and last year we both participated in an on-line ‘Block of the Week.’  We discussed problems and progress over the phone,” said Karen.

“I FaceTime my mom with questions,” said Sarah.  “And I really enjoy showing off something I’ve finally finished.  Also, when Mom helps me with a new skill or technique, I video tape her narrating the steps while doing it, so I can refer to it at any time,” Sarah told me.  As a result of this, Sarah has many teaching videos of Karen she can refer back to when she gets “stuck” on a project.

In the future, both Karen and Sarah see themselves becoming more skilled in machine piecing and quilting.  Karen just recently machine quilted a Modern Quilt she made for her son, Pete.  “There’s a lesser amount of time involved (in machine quilting),” said Karen.

Sarah desires more of a “quilting routine.”

“My hope is that I will be able to quilt more often and regularly.  Work and life can sometimes get in the way.  I also want to have a more regular routine of taking classes.”

Time…distance…challenges…it’s nice to know that none of those hinder this mother/daughter quilty fellowship.  Both of these women are wonderful humans on top of being talented quilters.  I count myself fortunate to know both of them and value their friendships.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

A little background on Karen’s quilting heritage…

Evidence that we can hold in our hands of my family’s quilt history goes back to my great, great grandmother, Ellen Jenkins Willis (1847-1938) of Jackson, Ohio. Our family still has at least two quilts she made in our possession.  

Her daughter, my great grandmother, Mary Matilda “Birdie” Willis Banker (1877-1970), made the majority of our family’s quilt collection of almost 30 quilts, now classified as antiques. Some were from kits.  Some were scrappy from family members’ clothing, and some were just utilitarian, made from what was handy at the time. She was a master quilter.

I remember my great grandmother well, but she had stopped quilting by the time I was born.  We don’t have any quilts made by her after 1950. I did know as a child, though, that she was the one who had made the treasures that were spread on practically every family member’s bed!

My grandmother, Bernice Banker Myers (1906-2003), was not a quilter, but sewed, knit, and did many crafty things. She can be credited with caring for the family quilts.  

My mother, Barbara Myers Conner (b.1931), did not quilt either, but is a very good seamstress, knitter and dabbled in art.  I remember her drawing paper dolls for my sister and I and we would cut them out and spend hours creating clothes for them.  She taught me to sew, knit, crochet…anything that came along. 

My aunt, Kathleen Myers Coe (b.1941), is a musician, artist, knitter, sewed and has done some quilting.  She has made a variety of quilts, mostly made by machine. 

I, Karen Tooley (b.1954) loved the quilts we grew up with and after I was married I decided to try hand quilting.  I learned from a basic book on quilting, McCall’s How To Quilt It! (1953) and by studying several of my great grandmother’s quilts. 

My daughter, Sarah Jane Tooley (b.1980), has taken up hand piecing, hand appliqué and hand quilting, inspired by the quilt legacy left by our great grandmothers.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 If this has peaked some interest in hand piecing, and you’d like to know more about the Cindy Blackberg Stamps mentioned in this interview, please visit her website at http://cindyblackberg.com/.  I use her stamps, as well as other items offered on her website and have always been very pleased with the quality and longevity of the products.  And her customer service is about the best out there.

 

Please note, I am not employed in anyway by Cindy Blackberg.  This recommendation is free of influence and provided strictly by my own experience with the product.

 

Until next week —  Quilt with Excellence!

 

Love,

Sherri and Sam

It’s well into 2018 at this point…my tree is down and the halls are undecked.  My house has been cleaned.

Hello New Year and good-bye old one.

I hope, if nothing else, 2017 prompted you to think outside of your quilting box, try patterns and colors you had never thought you would, and not be afraid to Quilt Fearlessly.

Since 2018 is a bright, shining, brand-spankin’-new trip around the sun, it’s time to announce this year’s quilting theme:  Quilt with Excellence. What does this mean and why did I choose this particular theme?

Let’s start with the “why” first.  Part of this reasoning is that I’m feeling rushed.  Everyday I am overwhelmed with advertisements for quilting gadgets and gizmos.  I am inundated with patterns that claim to be “fast and easy.”  Are we feeling pushed through one project so we can move onto the next new one?  I believe (and I am seeing in quilt shows and on the internet) that we are moving so fast that we quilters are forgetting what makes a quilt really good:  a strong background in the basics, accuracy, and (dare I say it?) patience.  Last year I wanted folks to become comfortable getting themselves out of their quilting comfort zone and trying different patterns, harder patterns, different color ways, and new techniques.  This year I want us to slow down, pay attention to the basics and become proficient in them, and become unerringly accurate.

Basics in anything are important.  When I taught chemistry and had to supervise the labs, you would think it would be the Chemistry I students that drove me nuts – trying to mix things they shouldn’t and not follow directions.  But it wasn’t.  It was the Chemistry III and IV classes that were the worst.  Those kids had taken just enough classes to feel pretty smug and sure about what they were doing.  Directions?  They didn’t need to read no stinkin’ directions because they thought they knew it all.  If there was an accident that was going to happen, it was going to be with this group of kids.  The younger chemistry students at least were aware enough of their  ignorance to slow down and read through the lab before starting!

I think that’s the way some quilters are – we’ve quilted so long that we tend to ignore the basics, and it’s this excellence in the basics that make everything in the quilt work out well.

So, the “what” in this theme is this:  We’re going to revisit basics a great deal of the time.  I promise to make it fun and funny.  That won’t be the only thing in the blogs.  I will keep you updated on my projects and I have some interviews coming up with some quilters.    I mentioned before that in my personal quilting life, this seems to be a year of transition.  I also feel that this is a year of transition for my blog, as 2019 has lots of great plans on the drawing board and 2018 will move us into those things.

 

Sam and I are excited about this year!  So until next week….

 

Quilt with Excellence!

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Sam

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