Quilts, Quips, and other Nearsighted Adventures

Since this year’s theme is embracing tradition and technology, the blogs will vary from time to time from very traditional quilting topics to the latest and greatest new tools in the field.  This week, we’re taking a closer look at the backbone of all quilts – the fabric. 

Fabric – or rather choosing fabric – is one of the most fun parts about quilting.  There’s such a wide range of colors and prints.  There’s truly something for every quilter in every color way imaginable.  And today’s quilter tends to lean towards 100 percent cotton fabrics or perhaps flannels.  There are good reasons for these choices, but you have to ask if it has always been this way.  Have quilters always reached for the cotton fabrics over anything else?

Well, no.  There have been times when they couldn’t access cotton fabrics because there were none available.  Remember the Seventies?  Polyesters were in abundance.  Cottons weren’t.  So quilters made quilts out of polyester.  For quilters, it’s been this way throughout our history.  While we are fortunate enough to have quilting cottons and flannels, our quilting foremothers sometimes had to use whatever was available to make bedcoverings for their families.  When we look back at antique quilts, we find them constructed from linen, wools, canvas, silks, ticking, and any other fabric available.  Today, we can still find these fabrics and if we wanted to, we could use them in a quilt.  The question we need to ask is how well these fabrics would hold up and how easy would they be to use in quilt construction?

Historically, most quilts have been comprised of cottons, batiks, wovens (homespun), flannels, linen, minky, rayon, canvas, and muslin.  Visit any large fabric store and most (if not all) of these are still available.  Let’s take a brief look at each of these and what are the pros and cons about them if we decide to use them in a quilt.

Quilting Cottons/Cotton Fabric

Generally speaking, quilters tend to lump all cotton fabrics into the category “Cotton.” Technically, we can get away with this.  However, for quilters there are subtle differences. Cotton fabrics are made from 100% cotton fibers; however, the thread count on these cotton fabrics can vary from a nice 60 threads per square inch to a low 40 (or less) threads per square inch.  The lower the thread count, the thinner the fabric.  The thinner the fabric, the more difficult it is to piece and it can be a  nightmare to quilt. 

We can thank the wonderful Marti Michell for quilting cottons.  Marti began her quilting journey during the time when it was impossible to find any cotton fabrics in the store.  She worked with polyesters and cotton/poly blends until she talked a couple of fabric manufacturers into producing a line of cotton fabrics specifically for quilters.  This was about the time the Bicentennial sparked a quilting revival, and Marti assured the manufacturers that there would be a market for these fabrics.  The difference between cotton fabrics and quilting cottons is the quilting cottons have a higher thread count than 60 threads per square inch and, as a result, are thicker.  They tend to needle better, are less linty, and don’t fray as much. 

On the flip side, they are usually a bit more expensive than regular cotton fabrics.

Overall, whether you pick cottons or quilting cottons, both are stable fabrics, have a good weave, are available in almost any print or color imaginable, and are sold by the yard and in a huge variety of pre-cuts.  When I teach beginner or intermediate quilting classes, cotton fabrics are on the supply lists.  They are easy to handle, easy to needle, and easy to take care of.

Batiks

Batiks add an organic edge to quilts.  Typically, even if a batik is a solid color, the shades and tints will undulate throughout the fabric.  For instance, if you purchase a red batik, chances are you will see dark, medium, and light reds – maybe even borderline pinks – in a yard of red batik.  Most batiks have some kind of pattern in them, varying from leaves to flowers to just about anything else you can think of. 

Batik fabric is created by using a wax resistant dyeing process.  A pattern is drawn on the fabric with wax and  the fabric is dyed.  Then that wax may be scraped off, more wax in a different design added, and the dyeing process is repeated.  This can occur several times, which means the batik fabric is frequently introduced into a wet environment.  Each time causes the threads to shrink just a bit, making batik fabric a tightly woven material, with a stiffer hand than cottons.  So, batiks won’t shrink a great deal when they’re washed because they have already been wet and dried several times.  However, because they have been put through the dyeing process more than once, they are prone to bleed onto other fabrics when washed – especially the darker batiks. 

The tighter weave of batiks makes them wonderful choices for raw edge applique and paper piecing.

Wovens/Homespuns

Technically these are two entirely different fabric entities, however since we can treat them so similarly, I tend to lump them both into one category.  Wovens are yarn-dyed fabrics – meaning the threads are dyed and these are woven into a fabric.  The material is pretty identical both on the right and wrong sides. This is different from both batiks and cotton fabrics, which have their designs printed on them. Wovens/Homespuns have a looser weave than regular cotton fabrics, which means they do fray.  However, don’t let the fray factor discourage you from using them. There are a few steps you can take to stabilize the fabrics.

1.  Starch the fabric well.  Using regular spray starch (this type of starch works best for this application rather than a starch substitute), lightly spray one side of the wovens/homespuns and press the starch in with a hot iron.  Continue this process until the fabric feels like a sheet of paper.  Then cut and sew as normal.
2. Stabilize the pieces of fabric with a light interfacing such as Pellon SK135 White Knit Fusible Interfacing.  This adds very little weight to the fabric (and it’s easy to machine quilt through), but it will stabilize the loose threads and help the quilt block maintain its shape and not fray.
3. While I am a huge proponent of pinning, pins generally don’t work too well with wovens/homespuns because the weave is so loose the pins fall out.  I have found using a glue stick to hold fabric seams together while you sew works wonderfully.

Flannels

Like wovens/homespuns, there are two types of flannel.  First there is the cotton flannel.

This flannel is used for pajamas, baby blankets, quilt backs, clothing, and sometimes as batting for summer quilts when regular batting would be too hot.  The weave on these flannels is loose and if you do choose to make pajamas or any type of clothing for young children out of cotton flannel, be sure to look at the end of the bolt and read the label to make sure it’s fireproofed. 

The second type of flannel is what I call “Quilting Flannels.”  These are a bit thicker than regular cotton flannels because there is some spandex and/or rayon thrown in the manufacturing process.  This means that quilting flannels have a bit more stretch than cotton flannels but don’t fray as much.  They are also thicker than cotton flannels and the surface is slicker – so slick that pins have a difficult time keeping everything lined up as you sew your pieces together.  It’s a good idea to use a glue stick instead of pins with this fabric.  Quilting flannels come in a wide variety of colors and prints and work wonderfully in quilt tops or as a background for wool applique.  They also hold up well for raw-edge applique because they don’t fray like 100% cotton flannels. Unlike the cotton flannel, quilting flannel is often sold in precuts.

One word of caution about cotton flannels and quilting flannels – they both tend to shrink a bit more than cotton fabric, especially the 100% cotton flannel.  In some circumstances, you can lose as much as ¼-yard of flannel fabric to shrinkage.  So depending on how you use your quilt, it may be a good idea to prewash flannel. If it’s in a wall hanging, pre-washing may not matter.  However, if it’s in a play quilt or bed quilt which may be washed fairly frequently, pre-washing the flannel to get the shrinking out before sewing it into a quilt top is a good idea. 

Linen

Linen fabric is hundreds of years old.  A product of the flax plant, linen fabric is used because it breathes, has great drapability, and is durable.  Often it’s blended with cotton to create a fabric with a bit of texture.  Because it is so much like cotton fabric, it can be treated the same way as cotton fabric is and used the same way, too.

Minky

I have a love/hate relationship with this fabric.  Minky or Cuddle is ultrasoft and warm.  It’s used in toys, blankets, robes, scarves and as quilt backing.  Honestly, there isn’t anything more snuggly for a winter-time baby than a baby quilt backed with Minky or Cuddle.  Some of the Minky has raised dots to give it a bit of texture. 

The issue with Minky – and it’s really not a huge issue, it’s just somethings you have to keep in mind if you decide to use it as a quilt back – is that it’s a polyester fabric.  It stretches, in addition to being super soft and super slick.  If you’re quilting on a domestic machine, make sure you baste your quilt well, so the Minky or Cuddle doesn’t slide out of place.  If you are long arming your quilt, you may want to load your quilt sideways, so the selvedges are to the right and left of your long arm instead of at the top and bottom of the rollers.  This allows you to quilt along the length of grain which is not as stretchy as the width of grain.  Do not put so much tension on the quilt you could bounce a quarter off the top – allow it to have a little “give” when you quilt Minky.  With both a long arm and a domestic machine, you may need to use a different needle.  A ball point needle may be needed if you find a standard 90/14 (for domestic machines) isn’t working.  For most long arms, a size 16 is standard and sometimes this works fine.  If it doesn’t you may need to move to a size 18 or 20.  I have also found cotton thread tends to give me fewer problems with Minky than a polyester thread.  Cotton thread kind “grips” the Minky, whereas a polyester or polyester blend may be too slick.

Finally, I have found when I do use Minky or Cuddle as a quilt back, I avoid the kind with the raised “dots.”  Those are just another issue I have chosen not to deal with.’

Rayon

Rayon is a lightweight, soft, slick fabric that we tend to classify for use in garment making.  Rayon is not considered as durable as other fabrics, but is a great alternative to silk because rayon will not fade as quickly, it’s less expensive, and it’s easy to maintain.  Typically rayon is made from wood pulp, cotton, or bamboo. I have seen rayon used as quilt backing for light weight quilts, and I have used it in applique.  Because rayon shrinks at different rates than cotton or flannels, some prewashing would be wise.

While typically rayon isn’t a fabric most quilters would think about using, I have seen it used quite effectively in church banners.

Canvas

Canvas is by far the thickest fabric on this list, and it’s normally not used in quilts, it is used in lots of quilted items, such as bags, jackets, oven mitts and other kitchen accessories, and some upholstery.  Because it is a heavier weight fabric, remember to use a topstitch or jeans needle and a thicker thread than your normal piecing thread weight – something around a 40 or even 30 weight. 

Muslin/Quilting Muslin

Muslin is a plain-weave, lightweight, 100% cotton fabric.  There is unbleached muslin, which is beige/ecru in color and then there is bleached muslin, which is white.  For years, most quilters who did not want to piece their backs, would pick muslin as their quilt back, because it came in extra-wide widths.  Like cottons and quilting cottons, muslin comes as generic muslin and quilting (quilt-quality) muslin.  General muslin has a bit of a looser weave than quilt-quality muslin. 

As quilter with a long arm, I’ve found it handy to have a few yards of either muslin in my studio.  If I need to practice or try something new, I load up a yard or two of muslin and stitch away. 

If you need several yards of white or beige for a quilt top, a quilting-quality muslin works well.  When I was gathering fabric for my Grandmother’s Flower Garden, I needed a lot of white material for the hexies which separated the flowers.  I purchased quilting quality muslin for that and it has worked great.

Digitally Printed Fabric

This is the latest fabric to be added to the quilting world.  Digitally Printed fabric is fabric which has been printed by an ink printer instead of by standard printing repeats.  This means a digitally printed fabric can have nearly any size of design, with limited repeats (or none at all).  Digitally Printed Fabric also has nearly any color option. 

The colors do tend to bleed a little – especially the dark inks.  A thinner needle is needed and a slicker thread – cotton thread tends to “grab” the fabric and leave “runs” (white lines where the underlying fabric is exposed).  When quilting it on a long arm, don’t keep the roller tension too tight. 

Digitally Printed Fabric is beautiful, but be aware it generally requires more care than standard cotton fabrics or batiks. 

To Prewash or Not to Prewash, that is the Question

I will start this section out by stating I am a prewasher.  Partly because that was a component of my beginning quilting curriculum.  My teacher prewashed, she told us to do it, and like a good, little student, I did and still do.  However, there are some valid reasons (other than the teacher told me to) for you to seriously consider prewashing your fabric. 

•  The fabric may be dirty. 

Sure it looks all nice and clean as it sits on the shelf at your local quilt store (which itself may be spotless), but where was it before it arrived at the LQS?  How long was it in the warehouse?  Was it shrink wrapped from the moment of manufacture?  Or if you’re purchasing online, do you know anything about how the fabric is stored?

• You may want a soft fabric to work with. 

All fabric has finishes sprayed on them.  These help the fabric maintain its shape as it is wrapped on a cardboard bolt and kept on a shelf.  They give the fabric a “crisp” hand.  However, if you plan on hand piecing or/and hand quilting, you may not want your fabric to feel crisp, as it could be difficult to push a needle through. 

Batiks are known to be pretty stiff, due to all of their exposure to the wet dyeing process.  If you need these to be a little softer, try prewashing them in hot water.  It won’t shrink the fabric much, if any at all, but it does remove a lot of the dyes and their components which make them feel so stiff.

•  You may want a smooth quilt.

All fabric shrinks at different rates, even those from the same fabric manufacturer, under the same label and family.  So if you’re making a quilt and you have fabric from different families and manufacturers, and different fabric types (such as cottons, batiks, and wovens all in the same quilt), you can imagine the shrinkage difference which may occur in the quilt once you wash it.  If you want your quilt top to have a smooth appearance instead of a puckered one, prewash all your fabrics.  This will remove the shrinkage factor so your quilt won’t pucker.

•  Prewashing will get rid of most allergy irritants.

This is the primary reason I prewash.  All those chemicals sprayed onto fabrics to make them look pretty and keep their shape can flake off and make you sneeze.  And if the fabric has been stored for a while, there also may be dust and dirt on its surface. And who wants to sneeze all over their pretty, new fabrics?

•  Prewashing can indicate if the fabric will bleed.

Notice I said “indicate” not necessarily “prevent.”  If the bleeding is light, a couple of prewash cycles will probably button up the problem nicely.  However, if the fabric is hand dyed, a dark batik, or simply a dark fabric, prewashing may not completely take care of the issue.  You may need to use Retaine or Synthrapol to completely take care of the problem.

There are also compelling reasons not to prewash, too.

•  Non-prewashed fabric is crisper.

It has a crisp hand and it’s easier to cut out, it sews easier, and presses nicer.

•  You want an antique look for your quilt.

If you love the puckered look of antique quilts, don’t prewash your fabrics and use a cotton batt.  Once the quilt is complete, throw it in the washer on a gentle cycle and then let it air dry or toss it in the dryer.  You’ll get that sweet look of an antique quilt.

•  Maybe your quilt will be one of those which is never washed.

If you’re making a wall hanging, small or miniature quilt, or an heirloom quilt which may never see the inside of a washing machine, it’s fine not to prewash.

•  Time.

Prewashing is an additional step in the quilting process.  Most quilt patterns will not include this step.  They begin their directions with how to cut out the fabric pieces.  Prewashing is a pre-construction step you opt to take on.  And unless you’re willing to give it the time, you may really not want to go through the prewashing process.  Quilters argue that with the invention of Color Catchers, prewashing is an outdated step, but that’s not necessarily true.  If the fabric additives irritate your nose, you want a smooth quilt, or you want a soft fabric to work with, Color Catchers are of no use.

Finally, there are a couple of things I’d like to throw in on a personal level before we end this blog.  First, if I am making a quilt for a child or infant, I prewash my fabric and then wash the completed quilt, too, just to be safe.  Second, it’s less confusing if I have a system.  I’d safely say 98 percent of my stash is prewashed.  When it comes in house or arrives in the mail, it’s tossed in the washer and then air dried.  After it’s ironed, I clip a corner off to indicate it’s been prewashed.  If for whatever reason I haven’t prewashed it, I will realize it once I can’t find the clipped corner.  Third, there are no quilt police.  To prewash or not to prewash is your decision, no one else’s.

In case you’re curious, there are two situations where I absolutely do not prewash.  The first situation concerns precuts.  I do not prewash my precuts because most of the patterns used with them assume you don’t prewash and there is no fabric shrinkage. If I prewashed the precuts, they could shrink and may not work with the pattern.  Second, I do not prewash the background fabrics I use for hand applique.  The reason is this:  When the applique quilt is complete and I wash it, then the background fabric will shrink a bit.  This shrinkage gently pulls my hand stitches beneath the applique fabric and makes the applique pieces look as if they are really floating on top of the background fabric.  Of course, your hand stitches should be small enough for this.  And I don’t recommend this if you use silk thread.  Silk thread becomes weaker when wet and the washing process may cause your stitches to pop. 

Definitions

Retayne — It is a color fixative intended specifically for commercially dyed fabric.  This can be purchased at most quilt shops and big box stores.  Follow the manufacturer’s directions completely.  The material must be agitated in hot, hot water (read 140 degrees) for 20 minutes, rinsed in cool and dried immediately.  Since the water must be so hot, use not only the “Hot” cycle on your washing machine, but also cut the cold water off in the back of the machine – just in case.  Treat the fabric before putting it in the quilt.  After treating with Retayne, use only cool water on the finished project.

Synthrapol — Synthrapol is a surfactant that is usually used in the hand dyeing process.  Chemically, it’s a cool product.  It keeps the unattached dye molecules suspended in the wash water instead of allowing them to settle back onto the fabric.  You may use a surfactant every day and not realize it.  If you wash dishes with the blue Dawn dish detergent, you know the power that a surfactant has.  It’s the surfactant that doesn’t allow the grease molecules to settle back onto your hands or your dishes.  And the surfactant is only found in the blue Dawn.

Could you use blue Dawn for small pieces of fabric as a surfactant?  Yes.  But if you’re stabilizing yardage, you will probably want to stick with Synthrapol.  And keep in mind that neither Synthrapol nor Retayne are 100 percent effective 100 percent of the time.

Fabric Families — When most quilters think about fabric families, their minds drift towards precuts, which are certainly made from fabric families.  However, as you’re building your stash or considering fabric for a quilt top, you may want to seriously consider fabric families, which may be better defined as fabric lines – a group of fabrics which use the same dye lots and have different sized prints, solids, focus fabric, and blenders.  The best illustration for this is a line of fabric called Kansas Troubles by Moda. 

This particular line has been in circulation for several years, and frankly, it’s one of my favorites.  But the reason I like this line goes far beyond the harvest oranges, dark reds, and indigo blues.  Each time Moda adds to this line, they use the same dyes in the new fabrics, which means the Kansas Trouble fabric you purchased six years ago will go well with the newest additions to the line.  Fabric families/lines such as this (and there are a few), are smart purchases for your stash.  You won’t be left with that odd fabric out you can’t really match up to anything. 

There are hundreds of fabric families, but not all of them continue production using the same dye lots in a line for years and years.  A bit of research can pay off value-wise as you’re building your fabric inventory.  Michael Miller and Robert Kaufman also have several fabric lines which repeat dye lots.

I know this is a great deal of information for one blog, but I couldn’t find a good place to split it in half, so you got the entire kit and caboodle this week.  Fabric/choosing fabric is one of the most fun parts of quilting!  Have a great time with the process and fall in love with the fabric you’re using for your quilt.

Until Next Week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

Let’s pretend for just a few minutes.  Let’s pretend someone you’ve always wanted to meet is coming to your house for dinner.  You have a week to plan.  How do you know what to do first?  If you’re like me, you begin to make a list of things you have to do and then you begin to number those things in order of importance or how long a task may take.  Sanity is found by following that list and when the day finally comes and that person arrives for dinner, you know everything is spic-and-span and the meal is delicious.

Now let’s transfer that same line of thinking over to your quilt studio.  While the end result may not be dinner with your favorite, famous person, the outcome is still sanity:  You know what projects have a high priority listing and which ones can wait.  Knowing which projects are the most important (if to no one but you) and which ones aren’t, allows you to know what to focus on when you are in your studio.  I have a four-point priority system in my studio and one hard, fast, self-imposed rule:  There can only be one quilt per priority level.

• Critical/Urgent – These are the “fire alarm quilts,” and generally the quilt which falls into this category either has a “hard” deadline or is so close to completion I can taste it.  However, a quilt can also occupy this priority level if I need to learn or brush up on a skill set, I need to make some design decisions, or it employs a particular time-consuming technique (or one I don’t particularly enjoy – I’d rather get that out of the way first).
• High Priority – These are important quilts, but generally they don’t have a “hard” deadline (unless it’s a quilt show/gift quilt a year or two in the future).  The finish line may be in sight, but there’s still several steps to complete. 
• Medium Priority – These are the quilts I work on as “escapism.”  After several sessions with a critical/urgent quilt or a high priority quilt, I turn to these for a change of pace – especially if they require “mindless” sewing, such as strip units, half-square triangles, etc. 
• Low Priority – These are the quilts in project boxes.  They are quilt kits or quilts I may have cut out and are ready to start the next time a priority option opens up.  If I get tired of the other three priority options, I will open the low priority box just to give myself a little emotional “boost” about the goodies which are in my quilting future.  Often that’s enough to spur me to completion. 

Each of these priority level quilts can be broken down into steps, and if a couple of these quilts need the same action, I may work on both at the same time.  For instance, if I have two quilts I need to stabilize blocks on before doing machine applique, I generally will opt to cut out all my stabilizer and press it onto the wrong side of all the blocks instead of breaking it down into two separate actions for two different quilts.  This actually saves time in the long run. 

Once I have four projects prioritized, I try to remove any other “someday” projects from my line of vision.  This includes kits, designated fabric for a project, patterns, etc.  This is an important step for me.  For as focused as I can be about most things in my life, sometimes it’s easy for me to get sidetracked, especially if I run into a snag on the quilt under my needle. It’s easy to turn away from my problem and instead focus on something “shiny and new” and in the future. 

I also tend to have designated sewing times.  This was not so easy to do when I had kids living at home full time.  At that point, I tended to keep some portable hand sewing in the car to work on while I waited for Meg to get through with dance lessons or Matt to finish up music.  But now, with the kids grown and gone, and my non-working time my own, I can usually count on a couple of hours in my studio each night.  I always work on my Critical project on Monday’s.  I’m rested from the weekend and my mind is fresh, so I have the most mental energy for those projects.  The other three quilts get phased in and out Tuesday through Thursday.  On Fridays and weekends, depending on what’s going on in the Fields household, I may have some additional time to throw at my Critical project.  However, I love to find a good movie or TV series to binge on and work on my hand applique over the weekend.    

This is what works for me.  It may also work for you, or you may find you need an entirely different system – which is totally fine with me.  The most important thing is to know yourself as a quilter.  Know how many projects you feel comfortable working on at one time.  Know when you can spend time working on those projects and which ones are the most important.  Each step taken is progress, and all progress leads to finished projects – which is so important.  There’s something about taking the last few stitches in the binding that’s deliriously joyful.  You picked a project, worked on it, completed it, and now you can enjoy it and start something new. 

It’s equally important for you to realize if you’re not a multiple project quilter, and that’s also completely fine.  If you feel you’re at your best handling one quilt project at a time, that’s great.  Know what works best for you and everyone needs to remember there are no quilt police and very, very few hard, fast quilting rules. 

Some final thoughts about prioritizing projects.  I have also found it’s important to be semi-organized with your projects and sewing space.  Now let me assure you, most of the time my studio has the “There seems to have been a struggle” appearance.” My studio will not make the Top 10 List of Most Organized Quilting Spaces – ever.  My projects are out.  There are items on my ironing board.  However, I’ve always been a huge fan of project boxes.  Every project has it’s box and it that box are all necessary notions, specialty threads, fusible web, and the pattern – everything I need to make that quilt except for general quilting tools such as seam rippers, marking tools, pins, etc.  My general quilting tools are in caddies by my sewing machine.  This way, I don’t have to go digging through drawers and boxes to get to any special notions.  They’re in the project box. 

It’s important to think seasonal, too – primarily if you quilt by checkbook.  If you have Christmas or Halloween quilts you want to display, have a conversation with your long arm artist.  Ask him or her what their deadlines are for holidays – especially if you want custom quilting.  You may find you need to get a Christmas quilt to them four to six months in advance depending on the size of the quilt and the level of customization.  The same goes if you’re making quilts “hard” deadlines such as anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, or quilt shows.  This information may move such a quilt to the Critical or High Priority category. 

Don’t be afraid to give all of your projects a critical once-over.  Just because a project appealed to you a year ago (or longer), that doesn’t mean it may still hold your attention.  If you find it doesn’t, there are a few things you can do.  The easiest step to take is to give the project away.  Find it a new home.  If you belong to a guild, put it on the free table.  Find a Goodwill, Salvation Army, or some other similar organization which will take it.  There is no shame in this game and your discarded project may be just the very thing another quilter needs.  You can also divvy it out for the fabric.  Suddenly the pattern may not appeal to you, but you still like the fabric.  Give the pattern away and keep the material.  Finally, if the project still appeals to you, but you really don’t want to justify all the time involved, see if there is a way to make the project smaller.  If it’s an applique quilt, only make the blocks you like.  If it’s a pieced quilt, make fewer blocks.  The point is, make the project work for you, not you for the project.

Last, if possible, separate your stash from your projects.  I would love to be able to do this, but I can’t.  I would love to have a room for my stash separate from my quilt studio.   I am of the “quilting generation” which was encouraged to have a stash (it’s my understanding a lot of our new quilters don’t keep a stash – at least one as large as we were encouraged to have).  Most of that stash is out in the open on shelves.  I would really like to be able to get that out of my line of vision, as it turns on the “clutter” signal in my brain.  It may be helpful, if you can, to keep your stash out of the line of vision if possible.  This will help keep you attention on your projects, not the possible quilts you see in your stash. 

I hope the last two blogs have help you learn how to prioritize your projects as well as identify which kind of quilter you are – a multi-project one or a one-at-a-time quilter.  Learning how to manage your quilts, your time, and your personality is important for both quilting progress as well as your quilting sanity!

Until Next Week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

This week’s blog is moving into a really gray area:  How many ongoing quilt projects are too many or is it better to finish one quilt project at time before moving onto to a new one?  I realize there are quilters who squarely fall in one or the other camps.  However, as someone who has quilted almost forty years now, most of the quilters I associate with have numerous projects underway at the same time.  Whether this is just “the way quilters are” or whether it’s just the crowd I run with, may be difficult to define. 

Honestly, I have never given this thought too much of my brain-space.  I have numerous projects currently and consecutively under my needle, but I always have.  While the number used to be two (one for machine work and one for handwork), the number grew just a bit as my life changed – the kids grew up and I had more time for me.  I assumed this was just the way things were, and I am just fine with it.  Until a few weeks ago at my regular weekly Sit and Sew when someone mentioned that she had read that having numerous projects underway at the same time is actually bad for you. 

Mentally, this made me back up just a bit and go, “Huh?”  And since the person who made this comment wouldn’t have made it if indeed she hadn’t read it, I felt I needed to research this area to see where the truth was – did it apply only to certain circumstances or certain types of quilters or was it kind of a universal truth which had just come to light? 

My first point of reference was the 2024 Quilters Survey from the Craft Industry Alliance.  Every year this CIA (not the other CIA) distributes a survey to hundreds of quilters of all levels – professionals to the hobbyist.   Information is gathered, gleaned, and posited out for industries affiliated with the quilt market, as well as for quilters themselves.  The 2024 Quilters Survey shows that the average quilter starts eleven projects a year, completes nine of them and they work on these projects an average of six hours a week.  Granted, the size of these projects can vary – most of them are small to medium sized, with a large quilt or two thrown in.  However, this still indicates most quilters are probably working on more than one project at a time and successfully completing 75 percent of them. 

So it seems quilters are quite adept at handling more than one project concurrently.  However, the question which remains is this: Does it cause any issues?  Well, sure.  It’s possible.  Any action taken has the ability to cause an equal and opposite reaction.  Below are a few probable issues which could crop up when dealing with multiple quilt projects.

• Having too many projects underway at the same time could make you feel overwhelmed.
• Too many large projects can also make you feel overwhelmed and perhaps even bored.
• If a number of these projects require a great deal of attention, you may feel drained.
• If you haven’t accurately determined the amount of time needed for each project each week, you may feel frustrated or anxious.

After scouring the internet and other quilt resources for a few days, I didn’t discover a source designed specifically for quilters which would help us decide how many projects are just enough, how many are too many, and how few are not enough.  But what I did discover was this:  a project, is a project, is a project – no matter if it’s part of a corporate restructuring, a project contributor, a project organizer, or a quilter.  A project – any project – is anything which can be broken down into steps to be accomplished.  So with that in mind, let’s take a broad look at what it means to have multiple ongoing projects and to have only one project in process. 

The one word which kept cropping up with the above bullet list of issues dealing with multiple quilt projects is overwhelmed.   It can be easy to become overwhelmed with nearly anything in life – more than likely most of us are well-acquainted with the feeling.  Call it overload, overwhelmed, or over-committed, there are some tipping points which make us feel that way.

• Resource constraint: When you don’t have enough time or materials needed to complete a project
• Complexity of tasks:  Projects involving intricate tasks or requiring specialized skills.  In our case, it may be a quilt, and while it is absolutely lovely, it may need a skill set we’re not proficient with yet. 
• Tight deadlines:  In my mind, quilt deadlines can be “soft” or “hard.”  Almost every project I start has a deadline – I want to be finished with it by a certain date.  This is a “soft” deadline.  It really exists only in my head, and I can alter that deadline with no major consequences other than the fact I may be irritated at myself for missing it.  A “hard” deadline would be a gift date – such as a birthday or wedding – or the date the quilt needs to be finished so I can enter it in a show.  These deadlines are not in my head and are pretty non-negotiable.  A tight, “hard” deadline can definitely make you feel like you’re overwhelmed.
• Lack of prioritization:  I may appear as a fairly laid-back person (and in many ways I am), but there’s a lot more type A personality in me than you may realize.  Everything – I mean everything – I do in my life generally has a priority sticker on it.  Without it, I feel as if I’m walking in total chaos.  For this reason, I’ve been a stickler of a list maker since I was in middle school.  If I don’t put some kind of priority on at least three of my quilt projects I get kind of lost in my studio.  It all is so much fun and so pretty, but what do I really need to settle down and concentrate on first? 

For some quilters, this would seem to suck the joy out of quilting.  And you may be one of those folks and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the way you feel (remember: there are no quilt police).  However, I feel if I’m working on what’s important or what’s almost finished first, it helps me feel less overwhelmed when I look at the next five projects I have lined up.

• Constant Interruptions:  Interruptions can disrupt workflow, no matter if you’re working on a corporate budget, cleaning the house, or making a quilt.  And these interruptions impede the progress of existing projects. With most of us, I am assuming we’re not “professional” quilters – we don’t make a living from producing our wonderful works of art – we are hobbyists.  So, generally our quilting takes place during the time we carve out for it.  Since that time may be limited, any interruptions can reduce the time we have to put in some stitches and that, my quilting friends, not only can make us feel overwhelmed, but also frustrated.   

Right now, let’s all enter into Sherri’s Zone of Truth.

Stop reading this blog.  Right now.  Just for a few minutes.  Stop reading and go to your quilting space and take a long, hard, non-judgmental look around.  Ask yourself how many projects you currently have in process and how many do you have tucked away in project bags/boxes you plan on completing?  Now let’s both of us honestly answer the following questions:

Does looking at all of these make me feel overwhelmed?

Can I prioritize these projects?

Can I finish these on my “soft” deadline? (don’t consider any projects with a “hard” deadline).

Am I having difficulty focusing or concentrating on one project at a time because I have so many?

Does looking at all your projects increase your stress levels?

If the answer is “Yes” to three of these questions, you may need to reconsider what the “comfortable” number of quilting projects is you need. 

How Many Quilting Projects Should You Handle at Once?

This is one of those quilting preferences which is entirely up to you.  In a corporate setting, most project managers dislike their employees to handle more than three or four significant projects concurrently.  But that’s a professional setting and a lot depends on corporate structure.  Quilting is your hobby and hopefully your stress-relief.  You may feel quite comfortable handling between five to seven or more projects at the same time.  Psychologically, working on multiple projects simultaneously can increase productivity and foster creativity.  But there are those who also argue that focusing on one project at a time leads to better quality work and less stress. 

So who is right?  What is better?  Let’s explore both sides of the argument.

Advantages of Working on Multiple Quilt Projects at Once

• Switching between quilt projects can keep your mind fresh and prevent the boredom which can come from focusing only on one project.
• Working on a different project can broaden and develop your skill set and expose you to different challenges.
• You can make progress on multiple projects simultaneously, potentially speeding up overall project completion.
• If one quilt project is stalled, you can shift your focus to another project and keep on making progress.

Disadvantages of Working on Multiple Quilt Projects at Once

• Constantly switching between projects can lead to decreased concentration and productivity on each.
• Handling several quilt projects at once can be mentally taxing and may lead to feeling overwhelmed and stressed if not managed properly.
• Splitting your attention across multiple tasks may result in lower quality work compared to focusing on one project at a time.
• Sometimes – especially if there are multiple “soft” deadlines in your head – it can be more challenging to determine which quilt project deserves more priority and attention at any given time, leading to delays.

Ultimately, whether it’s “bad” to have several in-progress quilt projects at one time depends on you – your ability to manage them, prioritize them, and still balance productivity and quality.  And let’s be honest.  Some quilters are better at this than others.  There is no shame in either game.  All quilters are people and all people are different.  I have quilting friends who can easily manage five or six projects at once.  I know award-winning quilters – those who really live for the ribbons – who wouldn’t think about working on more than two projects at once, if that many.  And when I look at myself, I see a quilter who at one time could handle four to seven projects at the same time, but as I’ve aged, I’m much happier with three.  Just out of curosity, I asked my daughter, Meagan — who has a MSML in Organizational Psychology and is VP of Operations for NFI — how many projects does she give the employees on her team and still expect them to keep up with the rest of their work load?

“No more than 30% to 35% of their time should be dedicated to projects,” was her answer.

Go figure.  With quilting, as with a lot of things in life, it pays to know yourself well.  We have 24 hours in a day. Eight of these (generally) are for sleeping. If you are employed, deduct those hours, too. The remaining time is yours. And perhaps only 35% of that should be invested in quilting. The following chart may help you decide if you’re a multiple project quilter or a solo project one.

Working on Multiple Quilt Projects Simultaneously Can:

Offer more variety and stimulation

Promote higher efficiency and skill development                  

Have better resource allocation

Risks of Working on Multiple Quilt Projects Simultaneously Are:

Fragmented focus

Increased stress

Quality compromise

Difficulty in prioritization

Working on One Quilt Project at a Time Can:

Increase focused attention

Keep clear priorities

Reduce stress

Better adherence to both “soft” and “hard” deadlines

Risks of Working on One Quilt Project at a Time Can:

Increase risk of monotony

Can delay finishing other important quilt projects

Limit skill exposure

Limit adaptability

At this point, I hope you have some idea of what kind of quilter you are – either you’re comfortable handing multiple projects at once or you strongly favor the one-at-a-time process.  Taking into account that according to the CIA’s Quilt Alliance 2024 Survey, most quilters work on more than one project at a time, next week we will delve into a few ways to possibly prioritize projects and keep them moving along at a reasonable rate. 

Until Next Week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

It’s that time of year again.  It’s the New Year, so that means we get to revisit my quilting predictions for 2024 and decide how well I did (or how badly I blew it) for the past year’s trip around the sun.  Then I throw in 2025’s quilting predictions and announce our theme for this year.  So without further ado, let’s see how well (or how badly) I did with my 2024 forecasts.

• Kiss the “normal” neutrals/background fabrics goodbye.  Okay, 2024 was the year which completely blasted our normal, staid background fabrics out of the quilting water.  I’ve seen every hue and shade of blue, pink, red, orange and every other color involved in the rainbow considered a neutral.  Pick a color.  Declare it a neutral.  Run with it (without your scissors, of course – safety first). 

• Look for more animal prints, geometric prints, textured fabric, and fabrics with metallic accents.  Each and every year brings such a smorgasbord of new fabrics, this one was really difficult to keep up with, but I do think I was correct on this prediction, too.  While we still retained our beautiful florals, I did see a broadening of the fabric horizons.  It does truly seem like quilters can find any fabric with any theme.

•  Most fabric will have cleaner hues with less shades.  Yes.  This was the year for lovely hues which I think was one of the reasons we have neutrals in all colors.  Those clear colors are just too lovely to hide.  However, remember we need shades, hues, tints, and darks to make beautiful quilts.  Even if you’re enamored with the hues, you need the other colors to give your quilt depth and sparkle.

• Batiks will remain a strong fabric player in the quilt game.  I think this has proven true.  Batiks have been a main stay in our fabric world since the Fifth Century and a part of our quilting world since 1918.  I honestly don’t believe they are going anywhere.  However, while the batik manufacturers continually amaze me with their prints, they do have competitors entering their fabric field.  With my foray into three T-shirt quilts this year, I assumed I would be pulling out batiks left and right to construct three Harley Davidson quilts.

I didn’t.

Grunge, Drybrush, and several other fabrics are eating into this world.  While I think Batiks will always be a part of our quilting domain, I do think they will need to continue to develop new prints (which they are doing).  I still would much rather work with Batiks for raw-edge applique than any other fabric.

•  Digital Fabrics will still have a presence in quilting, but it will not be as big.  I think I was about 50/50 with this prediction.  Digital fabrics have remained a part of our fabric structure; however, I don’t think it took up as large of a part of the fabric world as it wanted – but the area it did take was bigger than I wanted it to encompass.

In short, I’m not a huge fan.  While digital fabrics are beautiful, a quilter still has to jump through hoops to work with them.   Slick threads, thin needles, plus the fact some brands are notorious for bleeding, make them particularly difficult to deal with.  And that’s just with piecing.  Quilting is an entirely different story.  Since digitally printed fabric has not proven as inexpensive to produce as hypothesized, it may or may not continue to be an active player in the fabric field.  If future technology lowers the cost, probably.  If not, it may only be available for specialty fabrics.

•  Poppy Cotton Fabrics is an up and comer.  Delightfully true.  Their prints continue to thrill my quilting soul.  Last year I could only find their fabric on their website.  When I did a quick web search before this blog, I found them on Etsy, Shabby Fabric, and Hancock’s of Paducah.  I’m sure they’re in more brick-and-mortars and web sites than just these three.

•  Quilted Clothing will be popular.  While I don’t think quilted clothing was as popular as it could have been, I do think it definitely made a blip on the fashion radar.  I saw more “cutter quilts” (old quilts, even antique ones, which were too badly damaged to be of any worth), cut apart and made into jackets and vests.  I also saw more quilted jackets and coats than I have in several years.

•  Quilted Bags will be popular.  While I did not get a chance to delve into this quilting craft, boy are the instructions, fabric, notions, and accessories out there!  I have purchased several patterns as well as all the supp;ies.  I plan on sticking a toe into this quilting ocean soon.

• Paper piecing is making a strong comeback.  Numerically, it’s impossible to say how many paper piecing patterns were sold in 2023 or so far in 2024.  However, marketing trends do show that this technique has a large following and remains a popular quilting method, and sales of paper piecing patterns are high. Marketing trends also note that paper piecing patterns are sold across all quilting platforms. 

  2024 was the year for great block-of-the-months.  My debit card can faithfully witness to this fact.  You know BOMs are kind of hit and miss.  There have been years when none of them were interesting and then there are years like 2024 when you have to make some serious decisions about which one(s) you’ll participate in because they all seem so lovely.  After 2024’s hit on my quilting budget, I’m almost afraid to peruse 2025’s. 

With 2024’s predictions behind us, let’s look ahead to the New Year and see where it may take us.

•  Eco-conscious Florals – While 2024 introduced us to geometrics and metallics and other prints, 2025 may bring a lot of us quilters back to our “safe zone” – florals.  However, I’m talking about updated florals with a purpose.  Floral prints will include those of rare plants, fabric which uses all-natural plant dyes instead of chemicals, and material which promotes plant conservation. 

• Welcome to the World of Abstract Geometrics — The abstract geometric trend is set to evolve in 2025, moving beyond simple shapes to more complex mathematical concepts. This fusion of math and art will result in stunning, thought-provoking designs, which will include optical illusions and odd shapes, sacred geometry inspired motifs, and fractals (reoccurring shapes ranging in size from impossibly large to incredibly small).

• Get in Touch with Your Inner Mythical Being – As our worlds – even our quilting world – becomes increasingly digital-bound, we all will need some kind of escape hatch.  Enter fabric with unicorns, mythological creatures from all cultures: Dragons, phoenixes, mermaids, and sea monsters.  Not only will these whimsical fabrics give our minds a break, they may also let us tell our own quilted fairytale in the process.

• From Atoms to Galaxies — The fascination with both the infinitesimally small and the vastly large will influence quilting designs in 2025. Expect to see fabrics that explore microscopic patterns inspired by cell structures and DNA, cosmic prints featuring nebulae, galaxies, star clusters and designs that play with scale, juxtaposing tiny elements with grand cosmic scenes.
•  Cultural Fusion — As global connections deepen, 2025 will see a trend towards quilting designs that celebrate cultural heritage with a modern twist. Look for traditional motifs from various cultures reinterpreted in contemporary color palettes, fusion designs that blend elements from different cultural art forms, and fabrics that tell stories of migration, identity, and global community

•  Eco-Friendly Fabrics — Sustainability will be at the forefront of quilting trends in 2025, with a focus on eco-friendly materials and production methods. Expect to see organic cotton prints with low-impact dyes, fabrics made from recycled materials — including plastic bottles and discarded textiles, and innovative textiles created from sustainable sources like bamboo, hemp, and algae. These sustainable options will allow quilters to create beautiful projects while minimizing their environmental impact.

•  Technology-Inspired Prints — As technology continues to shape our world, it will also influence quilting designs in 2025. Look for fabrics that feature glitch art and pixelated patterns, circuit board inspired designs, and augmented reality elements that come to life when viewed through a smartphone app.

•  Finding Your Zen — With an increased focus on mental health and well-being, 2025 will see quilting designs that promote mindfulness and relaxation. Expect fabrics with mandala patterns for meditative piecing, Zen garden inspired prints, and calming color palettes and soothing textures.

• Quilting Cottons That Go 3-D — 2025 will push the boundaries of what quilting fabrics can do, with a trend towards interactive and multisensory designs. Look for fabrics with raised textures and 3D elements, thermochromic prints that change color with temperature, and glow-in-the-dark and reflective elements for added dimension.

•   The Possible Rise of Custom Fabrics – This prediction hinges on a 2024 prediction:  While the technology is there to print nearly any type of fabric we want, digital fabrics still have a few “kinks” to work out of their system.  If technology improves and the cost of digital fabrics comes down, advancements in digital printing technology will make personalized fabric designs more accessible than ever in 2025.  And if that happens, we can expect easy-to-use platforms for creating custom fabrics, options to incorporate personal photos and/or artwork into quilt fabrics, and AI-assisted design tools to help quilters bring their vision to life.

With 2024 predictions examined and 2025 predictions listed, now it’s time to reveal this year’s theme.  I struggled with this for a while until I re-read my 2025 forecast and realized that this upcoming year may show the biggest change in our fabric world.  So, with keeping that in mind, the 2025 Yearly Theme Is:

Embracing Tradition and Innovation

2025 has the unique possibility of shaking up our fabric world.  However, no matter how lovely or thought-provoking the fabric is, without adherence to good technique and a solid set of quilting skills, all you have left is a pile of pretty fabric with half-wished dreams.  So while we explore the new, we will also re-visit tale-as-old-as-time technique and guidelines.  And while yes, you must remember there are no hard, fast, forever rules in quilting, techniques are there for a reason.

And finally, it was last year I had the wonderful opportunity to introduce Felix to you folks.  For the year he’s been with us, it’s truly been a beautiful journey.  He loves to play, will stalk you down for a cat treat, has no inhibitions towards catnip, and has just settled in our family like he’s always been a part of it. 

However, this cat has big dreams…

His picture was submitted to PawPrints for their 2025 Cat Calendar, and (drumroll please), I’d like to present Mr. December Cat

Felix

He has a list of agents he wants me to call. 

Until Next Week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

I quilt with a lot of non-native North Carolinians.  I took stock of this a few years ago.  Granted the Network Needlers group I meet with once-a-month hail from all parts of the United States and other countries.   I am the sole North Carolina girl among them.  As far as my local High Point Quilt goes?  Probably 14 out of 35 members were born in the Old North State.  In my Tuesday night Zoom and Sew, I’m in the minority.  Only four of us have North Carolina on our birth certificates.

Everybody else is from “up North” – which in my world can range from Ohio to Michigan.  My BFF Janet hails from Indiana.  My other BFF Susan is from West Virginia.  All great folks.  And the one thing they definitely do better than I do is drive in the snow.  North Carolina rarely has snow, and when we do, it is such a typical southern cliché – everything shuts down (even if it’s only a dusting) and there’s a mad dash to the Teeter or the Pig for milk, bread, coffee, and wine.

But I do love a good snow.   Not so much one that shuts everything down for days or threatens my electrical current, but I love the peace and quiet it brings, blanketing our world in an icy insulation of peace.  It lands softly and unpretentiously, unlike a noisy thunderstorm which announces its arrival from miles away.

There’s a Christmas carol called Winter Song written by Chris Tomlin:

You could’ve come like a mighty storm
With all the strength of a hurricane
You could’ve come like a forest fire
With the power of heaven in Your flame

But You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the Earth below

Oh, You could’ve swept in like a tidal wave
Or a big ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things that we’ve scarred

Oh, but He came like a winter snow
So quiet, so soft, so slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the Earth below, oh-oh, oh-oh

Ooh, no, Your voice wasn’t in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn’t in a rushing wind
It was still, so small
It was hidden, ooh

You came like a winter snow
So quiet, so soft, so slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the Earth below, ooh, oh
You came falling
From the sky in the night

The Christ-child’s arrival took many by quiet surprise.  Instead of being born in a palace, He was born in a manger, an unlikely place, in a humble dwelling outside of Bethlehem.  Instead of sweeping in like a new, future king, attended by government and palace officials, He was welcomed by shepherds and sheep, cows and goats, attended by a young, inexperienced mother and a somewhat bewildered but loving earthly father.  Instead of having unlimited palatial wealth, his parents could only afford the cheapest sacrifice (two birds) when they presented Him at the temple. 

It was the prophet Isaiah who foretold Jesus coming in this manner.  Isaiah prophesied the coming Savior would “not shout or cry out” nor would He come in power like a hurricane or raging fire.  Instead Jesus came gently in order to draw us to Himself with His offer of Peace – a peace still available to anyone who believes the story of a Savior born in a manger, who announced His arrival with a baby’s cry, made salvation available when He declared “It is finished!” and sealed our eternal life when an angel announced, “He is risen.”

Merriest of Christmases from My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

Here’s the scene.  Technically this is almost my last blog for 2024, but I’m writing it on November 14.  The holidays are upon me and all the responsibilities they entail.  Since November is also my birthday month, this is the time of year I spend a lot of time with my wonderful family and friends.  I like to finish up my yearly blogging (except for the last round of editing before I hit the publish button) so I can enjoy my time with them as well as allow myself to take a break from writing. This lets me come back creatively strong in the New Year.  The last few blogs of the year are usually somewhat reflective, somewhat encouraging, and can edge on the side of technical if I allow it.

They’re usually not written under the influence of drugs.   Allow me to explain.

I’m rarely sick.  Ever.  Even if I do catch a cold or anything slightly worse, if I can allow myself a day in bed, generally I’m good.  Even my fibromyalgia is a lot milder than some folks I know who have it.  But this week was different.  I’m not sure it’s because I am getting older or my body has decided to make up for lost time, but last week, I began to have a few issues.  On Friday I woke up with a sinus headache.  I got up, got dressed, ate breakfast, took some Sudafed, and galivanted off to Janet’s for our weekly Grilled Cheese and Wine Club meeting.  By Friday night, I felt worse, but no fever. Saturday was no better.  I took a Covid test just to be safe, and it yielded strong negative results.  By Monday morning I was short of breath and felt so poorly I let Bill drive me to the doctor.  The diagnosis was bronchitis, a sinus infection, and asthma. 

Bummer.  Was my childhood asthma making a repeat appearance?  The doctor wasn’t sure, but it does happen with some former asthma patients as they get older.  I’m prescribed Amoxicillin, Prednisone, and an Albuterol inhaler.  I slept the remainder of Monday away, determined by Tuesday to be back to normal.

No dice.  I knew enough about myself to know I probably wouldn’t make it to Guild Meeting on Thursday.  Sure enough, by Wednesday evening I still didn’t feel right and found myself back in the doctor’s office for chest x-rays and another doctor’s appointment Thursday afternoon.  This new diagnosis included two strains of pneumonia and I’m now on so many drugs I had to make a chart to make sure I took the right ones at the right time.  Currently I have eight medications I’m responsible for taking at different intervals.  Some with food.  Some without.  And I had to buy a nebulizer for albuterol breathing treatments.

Thus this 2024 blog is written under the influence of drugs.  I’m feeling a bit woozy and still am coughing at times.  Therefore, I’m taking the easy way out of this last blog.  I’ve collected some questions my readers have sent me this year and will proceed to answer them (under the influence of said drugs).  I just hope this whole thing makes sense.

Question One:  You have probably said a thousand times “There are no hard rules in quilting.”  If you had to make one absolute quilting rule, what would it be?

Have fun.

Yup.  That’s it.  And I know at this point a good number of you may be rolling your eyes.  But hear me out.  Yes, there are some important guidelines in quilting.  However, none of them are do-or-die-if-you-don’t-follow-this-you’re-quilt-is-ruined rules.  But I do believe that each and every time you sit down to work on a quilt, you should have fun.  It should be something you look forward to and not something you dread.  It should delight your soul and relax your mind.  Otherwise, you don’t want to quilt or be a quilter.  And life is just too short for that.

With that said, let me also add, the whole “Keep a consistent ¼-inch seam allowance” actually is pretty darned important.  May want to keep that guideline front and center.

Question Two:  Do you have a quilting pet peeve?  And if you do, what is it?

Yes, I do: Inaccurate patterns, incomplete patterns, and poorly written patterns.  There are two types of quilters.  There are those who rely on a pattern the same way I rely on my recipe for Angel Food Cake – as long as I follow the recipe, my cake turns out great.  But deviate the slightest bit from it – miscount the egg whites or don’t add the Cream of Tartar – and I have a hot mess.  These quilters follow the patterns to the letter.  They trust the instructions to allow them to make a great quilt.

Then there are those quilters for whom the pattern is the starting point… the suggestion.  They quilt the same way I make spaghetti sauce – I throw in what I have and alter and season it to suit my taste at the moment.    The recipe is a jumping off spot only.  For quilters who are like this, it’s a bit easier for them to take an incomplete, inaccurate, or poorly written pattern and make some sense out of it.  But for quilters who religiously follow the directions, a poorly written pattern can be the death knell of a quilt or possibly their hobby (see Question One). 

There are a couple of ways to avoid bad patterns.  First, if you know other quilters, ask them what their favorite quilt patterns are or who is their favorite quilt designer.  Along with this answer will usually come some key information – such as this person writes really good quilt patterns.  If you don’t know other quilters, Google the pattern.  This information will give you lots of answers.  Read the reviews about the patterns — both good and bad.  See if you can work with the bad.   But the kiss of death my quilting friends is this:  If no one but the designer has made the quilt, put the pattern down, and run.  This means either the designer or the pattern is so new that no one else except the designer has made the quilt or the pattern is so poorly written, incomplete, or inaccurate no one else wants to make the quilt.

Question Three:  What’s Your Favorite Thing About Quilting?

Quilters.  Hands down, no punches pulled, it’s the people.  I met and talked with quilters several years before I started quilting.  It was the quilters who led me down the beginning of my quilting journey, not quilts.  I interviewed several in conjunction with a research project I worked on and decided I still wanted to have a relationship with these marvelous women.  The easiest way to do so was to have them teach me to quilt.  Nearly forty years later, I’m still quilting, and I still love quilters.

Next to quilters, it would have to be all the colors – but not necessarily the fabrics.  I tend to fall hard for certain color schematics, and then seek out the appropriate fabrics, not the other way around.  The pictures of quilts I’ve saved on my phone are not necessarily because I particularly like the pattern, but because I like the colors.  This is one I am particularly interested in:

I’m not sure why, I just think it kind of makes my heart remember Christmases past. 

I wonder if the reason I am attracted first to color and then search for fabric is due to the fact I’m primarily an applique quilter?  More often than not I look at a piece of fabric and consider if it could be used for vines or leaves or the part of a flower petal the sunlight drapes itself over.  My stash is even organized differently.  Yes, I have focus fabrics and blenders sorted by color, but the rest tends to be categorized by texture. 

Question Four:  Big or Small Blocks? 

Totally depends on the quilt and the technique.  I’m not a super fan of heavily pieced blocks (but then again, I am that quilter who sewed 72 pieces in a  6-inch block, so I have that going for me).  If there are a lot of pieces involved, I prefer the block to be a larger one.  For instance, Bonnie Hunters new pattern Moonflower is lovely, and I adore it.  The best thing for me is the block size.  The blocks have lots of pieces, but they are large.  I think I’ll have a great time making this quilt.  If the pieced block is small (anything 6-inches or less) I prefer fewer pieces or have a paper pieced pattern to go by. 

With applique, I don’t mind so much about the block sizes or number of pieces.  Applique is one of the most forgiving quilting techniques out there.  It’s really kind of fun to challenge yourself to see how small you can get.

Question Five:  How Long Have You Quilted?

I made my first quilt when I was pregnant with my daughter and my second quilt when I was expecting my son – and those kids are three years apart in age.  After they were born, I made their clothes and my own for a number of years until they began growing too fast for me to keep up with.  So somewhere around 1995, I turned to quilting as a hobby and by 2000 I was seriously making quilts as well as researching them. So in total, I’ve quilted nearly forty years, with almost 25 of those years of sewing exclusively quilts.

Question Six:  Do You Make Quilts Exclusively Now?

For the most part, yes.  Occasionally I will dally with the other sewing arts, but primarily quilts are my heart-song.  But I do have this super-cute gnome kit on my ironing board that just happened to arrive in the mail….

Question Seven:  Any Chances Your Blogs Will Turn Into a Book?

I get asked this question a lot.  And I would absolutely love to write a how-to-quilt book for beginners and another one covering the esoteric quilt topics not covered in other quilt how-to books. 

So what’s holding me back?  First, time.  I still work full time at my “other” job, am actively involved in a couple of guilds and The Applique Society, have an aging parent, etc., etc. – a lot of the same things many quilters my age deal with.  Once I retire, I hope the “time” issue readjusts itself and I have the book possibility in front of me. 

Second, book publishing has changed a great deal.  Many of the responsibilities (such as photography and graphics) fall squarely on the shoulders of the writers.  And there is no guarantee you’ll even break even with your contract.  So if I do ever publish, I will self-publish.

Question Eight:  What’s On Your Cutting Table and Under Your Needle?

Currently, I’m putting in the last stitches of the third T-shirt quilt I’m making for my Aunt and her family.  I am prepping the raw-edge applique borders for The Colors of Spring.  I’m sewing the two pieces of my Grandmother’s Flower Garden together, so the center will be complete and I can begin drafting the borders.  And I’m hand appliqueing Birds in the Garden. 

Blooming Bouquet is on my cutting table.  This quilt uses  Jodi Barrow’s Square-in-a-Square technique and I began the kit at quilt retreat.  I can’t wait to re-start this one.

Question Nine:  Any Ideas of What’s Coming in 2025?

Nothing firm yet, but keep a sharp eye out for the first couple of January blogs.  Some good decisions need to be made.  I just need to make sure I make the right ones.

Question Ten:  I heard you say that each quilt you make is unique and should be approached in the way which best suits the construction method chosen.  Is there one thing you do consistently with all quilts, regardless of the type?  And if there is, what is it?

Yes, there is one thing I do across the board with all my quilts: I starch my fabric.  Regardless of if I’ve pre-washed the fabric or not, each piece of fabric gets starched with regular spray starch (although I do not starch my applique fabric as heavily as I do the fabric I piece with).  I find this extra bit of stiffness in the fabric helps with my cutting accuracy.  And if I have any bias cutting to do, I starch the fabric until it feels like paper, so I know the bias is stabilized. 

How you starch is just as important as the starch itself.  Instead of soaking the fabric with starch, I find it more effective to lightly spray the wrong side of the fabric, press the starch in, and repeat if necessary.

Some other things you may be interested in:

I’m an avid reader.  Currently I am reading through Romans as part of a Bible study.  I am also reading Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear and listening on Audible to Eleanor Roosevelt:  The War Years and  After by Blanch Wiesen Cook.

I also knit and crochet.

This year has quickly come to an end.  I hope you’ve enjoyed our trip around the sun together and I’m looking forward to sharing with you even more next year.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

When we began 2024, my theme for the year was “From my studio to yours.”  This phrase implied I wanted to share with you tips and tricks I’ve learned throughout my quilting years.  Some of these tips I shared before and had updated the process.  Others were new. 

However, I feel in many ways, I haven’t exactly lived up to the theme – at least not 100 percent of the time.  In many ways 2024 was different from other years.  Those of you who have consistently read my blogs know I’ve dealt with some difficult issues.  My mom’s health.  My daughter’s cervical cancer.  My brother’s Multiple Myeloma diagnosis.  Thankfully all three of those wonderful folks are doing well now.  The doctors (finally) got to the bottom of where mom was bleeding and fixed it.  Her hemoglobin and iron levels are really good nowadays.  My daughter’s surgery was as perfect as it could be.  Her margins were clear and now at the six-year mark, she remains cancer free.  My brother had a successful stem cell transplant and is doing well. 

All in all, I have so very much to be thankful for.  However, December 2023 was not kind to us.  Amid the Christmas trees and gift shopping, I had a cousin who was hospitalized.  His name was Kemp.  Kemp, like too many members of my family, had   cancer.  Follicular Lymphoma.  He was diagnosed sometime in 2017 or 2018.  This wasn’t a curable cancer, but it was treatable.  However, he developed Covid Pneumonia in the fall of 2023.  Whether his body was too weakened by the new cancer treatments he had just started, or the illness was just particularly severe, he passed away December 8 from complications of Covid Pneumonia.

I know it’s common for people to be remembered as “The life of a party,” or “He/She lit up a room as soon as they walked in it.”  Since there was a bit of age difference between us, we never partied together, but I can say Kemp – he was the cousin you sought out at a family reunion.  He was fun and he was positive.  He didn’t let his cancer diagnosis get him down.  He continued to work full time, take care of his three fur children (rescue dogs), and work on his house.  He took care of his mother.  And he was probably the closest thing to a brother that my brother had.  When Eric and Kemp were young, they stayed at each other’s homes for part of the summer (Kemp lived in South Carolina and Eric here in North Carolina).  The boys grew apart, but reconnected when Kemp moved to North Carolina for work.  After this, they kept in close contact.  When Kemp was diagnosed, Eric was one of his support systems.  When I learned of Eric’s Multiple Myeloma diagnosis, Kemp was the first person I called, knowing he could tell me how best to support Eric.

The funeral was surreal.  Eric gave the eulogy.  Kemp’s father spoke and so did his sister.

So many people, so many good things were said.

We miss him so much.

My paternal aunt (Kemp’s mother) is my dad’s baby sister.  And if I were honest, she is my favorite.  Normally upbeat and quick to laugh and smile, burying her son almost killed her.  I think it would have if she didn’t have the blessed assurance Kemp really is in a better place.  It was difficult to watch her (even if it was from my cell phone back in North Carolina) sort through Kemp’s things.  Finish the house repairs he was in the middle of when he died.  Sell his household goods and truck…and then his house.  Funny how life continues, and the world still spins even when we’re falling apart. 

You feel helpless to help.  There’s really nothing you can do or say to ease any of the hurt.  Since I’m not local to them, I couldn’t help paint or clean.  But what I could do, like most quilters, was make a quilt.  Or three.  Kemp was a Harley person.  He owned and rode one.  And at many of the Harley shops and events he went to, he’d buy a T-shirt.  He had a closet full.  So I asked my aunt, my cousin, and my uncle to pick out between 10 and 12 T-shirts each.  Put them in separate bags and label each bag with their names.  I promised quilts.  While on a visit to check on our aunt, Eric picked up the T-shirts and delivered them to me in April 2024. And the work began.

I’ve made T-shirt quilts.  Several, as a matter of fact.  While they’re not my favorite type of quilt to make, I do enjoy the construction process.  However, the quilting is a bit difficult.  Layla the Long Arm doesn’t like the bulk.  But it’s always fun to remember the story behind each shirt and I’m always glad that these memories are showcased in something everyone could see and could be kept at the owner’s fingertips.

But these T-shirt quilts were different. These aren’t so much T-shirt quilts as they are memory quilts.  Remembrance quilts.  I let those bags of shirts sit in my quilt studio a couple of weeks before I could even look at them.  Finally I took a deep breath, opened the first bag I grabbed (which happened to be my uncle’s), and pulled out the shirts, only to immediately stuff them back in the bag.  I couldn’t touch them.  The feelings were too raw.  Finally after giving myself a stern talking to (and maybe a glass of wine), I pulled the T-shirts back out and began to “debone” them. 

“Deboning” a T-shirt simply means cutting up the sides of the shirt, removing the sleeves, and the crew neck collar.  When you’re finished, you have the front and back of the shirt.  I was lucky with Kemp’s.  Some of his Harley shirts had workable graphics on the front and the back.  Then you decide how much of the shirt to use and begin to rotary cut the area into workable blocks and stabilize them (it’s important to stabilize the T-shirts so the knit fabric plays nicely with the quilting cottons).  After that, I design the quilt and begin construction.  Not one of the three quilts I made looks exactly like the other two. 

And all of this sounds very normal to a quilter.  Nothing would set off alarm bells.  Most T-shirt quilt construction is pretty easy – even for a beginner.  But allow me to tell you something about making a T-shirt quilt for someone you loved who has passed:  You see everything.  I can tell you which shirts he wore the most.  Those had tiny holes – some of which Kemp mended by hand with needle and thread.  I can tell you which one he wore the least – the thermal one with long sleeves.  It looked like it came right off the hanger in the store.  Those T-shirts became something so much more than quilt blocks as I worked on these quilts.  I knew where he traveled.  I knew he liked short sleeved T-shirts more than long sleeved ones.  He preferred larger graphic T’s. 

Quilting, for the most part, is a solitary hobby.  However, early on I quickly learned I worked better with these quilts on Tuesday nights.  Tuesday nights are my Zoom and Sew nights with some quilters I’ve quilted with since around 2010.  They keep me laughing and somewhere between the laughter and talk, I managed to debone 45 Harley shirts, stabilize them, and design three quilts without losing my mind.  I’ve learned there are fabrics other than batiks which work really well with T-shirt quilts.  When I discovered to never work on them without at least having a movie playing on my iPad, I garnered a list of movies I needed to watch during my lifetime.  My sewing buddies supplied that, too.  Too much silence meant thinking about the reason behind these quilts too much.  Distraction – at least as much as I could muster – was my friend.

And now the construction part is complete.  I put the last stitch in the last quilt today (as far as the tops go).  I’m giving myself a mental vacation until after Christmas.  Then I’ll load them, one at a time, on my long arm and do an edge-to-edge meander.  I’ll bind them, make sure the labels are attached and either mail them or deliver them in person. 

Since April, these quilts have been my life.  Aside from the time spent at my Fall Quilt Retreat on other projects and the handwork I do when I watch TV, I’ve worked on Kemp’s T-shirt quilts almost every time I was in my studio. It’s kind of ironic in a way.  When Kemp was first diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma, I made him a quilt to take to the chemo treatments.  Often these rooms are chilly, and it’s helpful to have something to cover up with.   Being a quilter, I knew he had to have a quilt.  To honor his time in the National Guard, I made the quilt from red, white, and blue fabrics and mailed it off. 

I knew he would appreciate it, but had no idea how much.  He called me and thanked me profusely for it.  And every time I saw him, he mentioned how much he loved that quilt.  We even discussed a quilt he wanted me to make for his bedroom.  We had plans to go look at fabric the next time he was in North Carolina.  I feel that instead of one quilt for his bedroom, I’ve now made three for him to honor his life.

As far as any quilting tips I could offer you from this experience, I can offer two.  First, make sure your T-shirts are well  stabilized.  Second, make sure the quilting cottons used are firmly woven.  As for other tips, be sure to love the folks around you while you’ve got them and don’t take for granted the life they led. 

My aunt now has his red, white, and blue quilt.  It’s my hope the three quilts which will be winding their way to South Carolina in a few months will bring comfort, preserve memories, and warm them like a hug from Kemp.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

PS I will share pictures of the quilts as soon as they’re complete and in the hands of my aunt, uncle, and cousin.

As promised a few blogs ago, today we’re covering the Singer Sewing Machine Company, their bankruptcy, and where they’re at today.  Why Singer?  Why spend about 2,000 words on one sewing machine company?

Well, Singer is one of the cornerstones of our sewing history.  This was the company, when the right minds came together, developed a domestic sewing machine which was both affordable and durable.  This was the machine which, to a large part, took the burden of hand sewing everything – from underwear to curtains – off the backs of hundreds of women.  This is the machine which was also made affordable for entrepreneurs who had a vision of reasonably priced, ready-made clothing for the masses.  And yes, while Singer wasn’t the only sewing machine available for use, it certainly was the bestseller and the best known.

In the Beginning….There Was a Patent Pool…and the Pool Produced a Workable Sewing Machine

The domestic sewing machine as we know it, came together through a series of shared patents called a “patent pool.”  Issac Merrit Singer wasn’t the first “inventor” (I’m using that term loosely with him – he was more of a borrower of ideas) who wanted to develop a domestic sewing machine.  Elias Howe had spent nine years improving his patent on a domestic sewing machine and suing Singer every time the man tried to “borrow” one of his ideas.  Eventually a lawyer named Orlando Potter (who was president of yet another sewing machine company) hashed out all the best ideas for a sewing machine and talked the inventors into basically a “group patent” for those.  The results led to a patent for a wonderful domestic sewing machine with no threats of lawsuits.

There were nine patents split between four stakeholders:  Elias Howe, Issac Singer, and Wheeler and Watson Manufacturing.  Of those four, I bet the only name recognized by most of you is Isaac Singer.  How did that happen?  There were lots of reasons, but the first one is the company kicked Isaac Singer to the curb.  Singer’s lawyer, Edward C. Clark, realized pretty quickly that due to Mr. Singer’s reputation (probable bigamist, stealer of ideas, all-around questionable business dealings) could possibly drag the company down.  So through a series of board room maneuverings, Isaac Singer was removed as president, Edward Clark was installed as president, and the company’s name was changed from I.M. Singer & Co. to Singer Manufacturing Company.

From there, Clark implemented monthly installment payments, rent-to-own payment contracts, large showrooms for women to come in and try out the machines, door-to- door salesmen, and lots of flashy promotional material.  Sales soared, and by 1860 Singer was the largest sewing machine manufacturer in the world. In 1863, Singer had its first large factory for mass production built in Elizabeth, New Jersey, followed by a factory in Glasgow in 1867 and a larger factory in Kilbowie, Scotland in 1885.  Those of us who have a Singer Featherweight 222 know our machines were produced in the Kilbowie factory.  The factory also produced the first “vibrating shuttle” sewing machine, which was an improvement over the transverse shuttle design. 

However, even prior to the construction of the Kilbowie and Glasgow factories, Singer was marketing itself on an international basis.  By 1855 Singer was an internationally known brand name and won first prize at the World’s Fair in Paris that same year.  By 1910, the company had it’s first workable electric sewing machine and began promoting the installment plans which allowed nearly every household to afford a domestic sewing machine.  These payment plans allowed Singer to go from selling 810 sewing machines in 1853 to selling 262,316 sewing machines in 1876.  Cumulatively by the end of 1876, Singer had sold over two million sewing machines.

Why Manufacture Such a Recognized American Product in Scotland?

The answer to this question (as it is with a lot of questions) is money.  And demand for the machines comes in a close second.  By 1867, enough folks in the United Kingdom wanted a Singer Sewing Machine that the company Vice President, George Ross McKenzie, selected Glasgow as the first overseas manufacturing site.  This decision was due to Glasgow’s iron making industries, cheap labor, and shipping capabilities.  This worked so well that in 1873, a new, larger factory was completed on James Street in Brigeton.  By that time, Singer employed over 2,000 people in Scotland, but they still could not produce enough machines.  It was then decided to build the Kilbowie factory in Clydebank, Scotland.  This factory had a 46-acre campus, to allow for plenty of growth.  Two main buildings were constructed, 800 feet x 50 feet, and each was three stories high.  The buildings were connected by three wings.  Nearly three miles of railways lines were laid throughout the campus to connect the different departments and connect the factory to the main railway stations.  Ahead of its time, the factory was also fireproofed with water sprinklers, making it the most modern factory in Europe.

This allowed the Singer Company to occupy a footprint of nearly a million square feet and employ 7,000 people.  With this space and worker capacity, the factory produced an average of 13,000 sewing machines a week.  Singer was now the largest sewing machine factory in the world.  The Kilbowie factory was so productive that in 1905, the US Singer Company set up and registered the Singer Manufacturing Company, LTD in the United Kingdom. 

Still, even with the factory churning out an average of 13,000 sewing machines a week, the demand grew.  The buildings were expanded to six stories.  The railways expanded to have a Singer Sewing Machine Station in 1907 with connections to adjoining towns and central Glasgow to assist in transporting the workforce from Glasgow to Kilbowie.  “Scientific Management” techniques were implemented which increased the workload while keeping salary overheads low.

However, as rosy as a picture as all this expansion paints, all was not well at Singer.  In 1911 the company hit its first road bump: A walkout and strike of 10,000 workers.  Known as the Singer Strike, the walkout took place in support of twelve women polishers who had seen three staff dismissed, but their workload remained the same.  It was significant in its recognition of the rights of women workers and the need for collective bargaining.  The strike pre-dated the labor movement known as “Red Clydeside.”

Before the World Wars

The Singer Sewing Machine Company was the first complex standardized technology to be mass marketed.  The marketing emphasized the role of women and their relationship to the home, evoking ideals of virtue, modesty, and diligence.  The presence of a sewing machine in a home freed the woman from the tediousness of hand sewing everything, but the machine emphasized the woman sewing for her family and household – not for anyone else – thus accentuating every household needed a Singer Sewing Machine.  Meanwhile, tradespeople who made their living in the garment sewing industry suffered.  Their wages were already poor and got poorer still as women and their families began to rely on sewing machines to make all the needed garments – from formal dress to everyday wear.  And certainly Singer’s credit purchases and rent-to-own arrangements made it possible for any household who wanted a sewing machine to have one.  One of the reasons Singer’s sale numbers increased so rapidly was because of the rent-to-own and credit purchases were used globally, not just in the United States.

World War I

On July 28, 1914, World War I began, although Europe would not see the United States enter the war until April 1915.  The Singer Manufacturing Company in Clydebank switched from producing sewing machines to munitions.  At first glance, this seems like a real stretch – moving from making sewing machines to artillery shells – but if you really think about it, it’s not.  Producing a sewing machine requires machinery with extreme precision and employees who are skilled at those machines.  Singer’s precision machinery and skilled employees received over 5,000 government contracts during World War I and made 303 million artillery shells, shell components, fuses, airplane parts, grenades, rifle parts and 361,000 horseshoes.  By the end of World War I, Singer had a workforce of 14,000 employees, and 70% of those were female.

World War II

During World War II, just as Singer did in World War I, the factories suspended production of sewing machines in order to take on government contracts for manufacturing weapons.  Factories in the United States supplied American forces with Norden bomb sites and M1 Carbine Rifle receivers. 

In 1939, the company was given a production study by the government to draw plans and develop standard raw material sizes for building M1911A1 pistols.  The government asked Singer to produce 500 units of these pistols, but it was difficult.  They were unable to produce the contracted 100 units per day as requested, but the government was so impressed with the quality of the pistols, they requested Singer also produce navigation and targeting equipment components.  Of the approximately 1.75 million pistols produced during World War II, only 500 were produced by Singer, making them a rare and valuable find (the rest of the pistols were produced by Remington Rand and the Ithaca Gun Company). 

Other World War II government contracts for Singer included the M5 Antiaircraft Director and the Bofors 40 mm gun.

After the Wars, Singer Wasn’t the Same

In 1946, after World War II ended, Singer went back to making sewing machines, coming up with one of their most popular, highest-quality, and fully optioned machines in 1957, the 401 Slant-O-Matic.

Featherweights also continued to be sold at a fairly brisk clip, and it seemed as if everything was back to normal in the sewing machine world.

Except it wasn’t.  Society and women didn’t exactly go back to fitting into those neat, stereotypical boxes prior to World War II.  For many women, the war offered them opportunities they had never had – the chance to work outside the home, the chance to make their own money, and the chance to be something other than a housewife or mother.  Many of these women continued to do so after the war ended and had less and less time for sewing.  Sewing machine sales – across the board, not just with Singer – plummeted as women had less and less time for sewing and crafting.  To try to regain some popularity among the younger crowd, Singer began sponsoring rock and roll concerts (Paul Butterfield and the Blues Band, Seatrain, Procol Harum, The Incredible String Band, Mother Earth, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends) and produced a line of Singer record players. 

And in 1968, Singer pulled out all the stops and sponsored Elvis Presley’s ’68  Comeback Special. 

By 1965 diversification had become the life blood to Singer’s bottom line.  Sewing machine sales continued to plummet.  So in 1965, Singer acquired the Friden Calculator Company and then the General Precision Equipment Company in 1968.  Friden became Singer Business Machines which produced the Singer System 10.  General Precision Equipment Company included Librascope, the Kearfott Company, and Link Flight Simulation.  In 1968 Singer bought out GPS Systems and added to Link Flight Simulation in order to have Link Simulations Systems Division.  This Division produced nuclear power plant control room simulators in Silver Springs, Maryland; Tech Road building for Boiling Water Reactor; and the Parkway Building for Pressurized Water Reactor.  These new divisions had factories from Binghamton, New York to Columbia Maryland.

With their bottom line still lagging, in 1971 Singer delved into producing portable home audio and visual equipment.  To this day, you can find some of the Singer brand record and cassette players and film-strip viewers on eBay. 

They also set up a national sales force for CAT phototypesetting machines via Graphic Systems Inc., until it was purchased by Want Laboratories in 1978.

As sewing machine sales (and quality) continued to bottom out, and the diversification just not working the way Singer hoped, the stage was set.  In 1987, corporate raider Paul Bilzerian made a run at Singer.  When no last-minute Singer shareholder or other rescuer appeared, it was over.  Bilzerian purchased Singer and immediately began selling its parts off to re-coup his money.  Kearfott was split and sold to Astronautics Corporation of America and Plessey Company.  The four Link divisions were sold to Canadian Avionics Electronics.  The nuclear power simulators became S3 Technologies (later GSE Systems).  Then in 1989, the sewing machine division was sold to Semi-Tech Microelectronics.

In retrospect, Singer’s sales and profits grew until the 1940’s.  Then the market was affected several ways.  Women weren’t sewing as much.  European and Japanese manufacturers ate into the market with zigzag sewing machines.  Then Singer diversified too much.  Roughly 90 percent of Singer’s revenue was from sewing machines before diversification.  After diversification, this was reduced to 35 percent.

What Now?

Sit tight and get ready to pivot.  What happened after 1989 is a blur.

Before 1978, Singer had its headquarters in Rockefeller Plaza.  After 1978, it moved to Stamford, Connecticut and only had 430 employees. 

In 1986, to compete with the Japanese and European brands such as Bernina, Pfaff, and Viking, it purchased Dalmo Victor.  It then sold Dalmo to General Instrument in 1989 for $175 million in cash.

In 1986, Singer announced the original Singer Sewing Machine Company would be spun off under the name of SSMC, LTD.  In 1989, SSMC was purchased by Semi-Tech Global along with all the rights to the Singer name.  SSMC was renamed once more, back to the original Singer, and then to Singer NV and became based in the Netherlands and owned by a Hong Kong holding company.    The original Singer Corporation was renamed Bicoastal Corporation. 

In 1999, Singer NV declared bankruptcy and was purchased by Kohlberg and Company and moved operations to LaVergne, Tennessee.  This location serves as the wholesale distribution point for parts and sewing machines.  In 2006, Kohlberg also acquired Husqvarna and Pfaff.  Now Singer, Husqvarna, and Pfaff are all family, and they compete with Baby Lock, Bernina, Brother, Janome and Aisin Seiki

Whew.

The Follow Up and the Fall Out

When the Singer Corporation was new, they occupied a 47-story building in Rockefeller Plaza.  It was completed in 1908 and was demolished in 1968 to make way for the One Liberty Plaza development.  For years, it was the tallest building in the world and was the tallest building to be intentionally demolished until the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the September 11 attacks. 

Singer was heavily involved in Manhattan real estate from the 1800’s through Edward Clark – the second president of Singer.  Clark built the Dakota Apartments and a few other Manhattan buildings. 

While the company was continuing to thrive in New York, Clark had Ernest Flagg to build a 12-story loft building at Broadway and Prince Streets in Lower Manhattan.  The building is now considered architecturally notable and has been restored. 

In Scotland, from its opening in 1884 until its closing in 1943, the Kilbowie factory produced approximately 36,000,000 sewing machines.  However, the 1950’s and 1960’s saw a period of significant change.  In 1958, Singer reduced production at their main American plant and transferred 40 percent of this production to Kilbowie in a bid to reduce cost and boost the flagging bottom line.  Between 1961 and 1964, the factory underwent a 4 million pound modernization which saw the factory cease the production of cast iron machines and focus on the production of aluminum machines for western markets.  Part of this modernization included the demo of the famous Singer clock. 

At the height of its production in the mid-1960’s, Kilbowie employed over 16,000 workers, but by the end of the Sixties through 1973, the workforce was reduced to 5,000.  Financial problems and lack of orders forced the world’s largest sewing machine factory to close in June 1980, bringing a sad end to over 100 years of sewing machine production in Scotland.  The complex of buildings was demolished in 1998. 

The Singer Railway Station in Scotland is the only lingering sign of what once was.  It still stands and is one of only two railway stations in the United Kingdom named after a factory and remains in operation. 

The famous Singer House, built between 1902 and 1904 at Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, Russia was the headquarters of the Russian branch of Singer.  This modern style building has been officially recognized as an object of Russian historical-cultural heritage and at the time of this blog is still standing.

In 2017, Singer launched their new Singer Sewing Assistant App.

In 2018, a large factory fire destroyed a Singer distribution office and warehouse in Seven Hills, Sydney.  Singer had manufactured sewing machines in Australia at a purpose-built plant in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith from 1959 – 1967. 

As of October 31, 2024, the writing date of this blog, independent shops which sell sewing machines have mixed review of Singer machines, with most of those opinions trending downwards.  Dan, from the Sewing Machine Shoppe in Walnut Creek California, put it like this: 

There is a sense in which Singer, Pfaff, and Viking do not exist anymore– not as they once were. The Singer company that designed and manufactured iconic machines such as the 201, 301, and Featherweight– in 1999 that company was acquired by Kohlberg & Company, an American private equity firm that focuses on leveraged buyout transactions. In 2006, Kohlberg & Company also acquired Pfaff and Viking. From there, the three legendary sewing machine companies were merged into one: SVP Worldwide.   Ever since the merger, SVP Worldwide has been bought and sold by two other private equity investment firms. As control of the companies repeatedly changed hands, their unique DNA– the reason we fell in love with their products in the first place– that unique DNA was lost. For example, Pfaff has stopped designing machines with their front-loading bobbin system. Modern Singer machines are less reliable than their 70 year-old featherweight ancestors. Viking is no longer the innovator they once were, and their modern machines are notorious for electronic issues. And, worst of all, SVP Worldwide doesn’t even make parts to support their older machines anymore. If your old Pfaff needs a part replaced, you have to hope that we have an old Pfaff in our Boneyard that we can harvest the part from. The same goes for Viking and Singer.     Try as I might, I could not get hard or soft numbers on how many Singer Sewing Machines were sold in 2023, so it’s difficult to examine just how badly the constant mergers and change of hand have affected their current bottom line – what little of it is left.  I can leave you with my own reflections.    When my home economic teachers were searching for sewing machines for us to use way back in the mid-to-late 1970’s, Singer was not on their list.  Too many issues, too many problems.  I think they finally chose White, if memory serves me correctly – which also had their share of problems.  I blame those machines on my detestation of any sewing until the early 1980’s when I had access to a good sewing machine.    It hurts a little, to know that such a good product had such a sorry ending.  For years, Singer not only eased women’s burdens, but also supplied jobs and incomes for countless families, not to mention the businesses which sprang up to support Singer and its employees.  Nostalgia has a way of wistfully making you want to go back to a time when things were supposedly simpler and better.  Every time I sit down behind my Featherweight I realize I hold a little history in my hands – the history of a machine which had its beginnings at the Kilbowie factory and somehow made its way to a quilter in Jamestown, North Carolina.  A history which will probably not be repeated in anyone’s lifetime.  Just goes to show – don’t take anything or anyone for granted.  Tomorrow it could be sold, subsidized, taken over, or shut down.  Now excuse me while I go hug my Featherweight.   Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,   Love and Stitches, Sherri and Felix

‘Tis almost the season…

Not the one with Christmas trees and mistletoe…no not that season.  No, you know the First-of-the-New-Year Quilting Season – Blocks-of-the-Month (BOM) and Mystery Quilts.

That season.  More specifically, Mystery Quilt Season.  It seems that a lot of quilt shops, quilt guilds, online quilt shops, and Facebook/Instagram groups will start their Block-of-the-Month Clubs or Mystery Quilt seasons at the beginning of a new calendar year.  Blocks-of-the-Month can vary greatly from year to year.  It seems some years there are very few attractive BOMs.  And other years – such as 2024 – have a bevvy of wonderful BOMs.  So much so that it’s easy to get sucked into too many.  Blocks-of-the-Month can be a neat experience.  Sometimes you are given the pattern and have to choose your own fabrics.  With others, the fabric is provided with the pattern.  Recently I participated in a BOM that not only supplied the fabric and the pattern, but also the fusible web.  I joined one a couple of years ago which not only had the fusible on the back of the fabric, but the applique pieces were laser cut.  All you had to do was fuse and sew.  To garner participation with BOMS, groups or quilt shops generally show a picture of the completed quilt so you know what you’re getting into.

Mystery quilts don’t.  Hence the term, “Mystery Quilt.”  You have no idea what you’re getting into.  Generally with these you supply your own fabric and have no idea how everything will turn out.  One month you may construct 140 flying geese and the next 250 half-square triangles, with absolutely no idea how these two units will play with each other until the final construction directions are given to you.  Mystery Quilts are great ventures of faith and trust.  And Zone of Truth here:  I like Blocks-of-the-Month a lot more than Mystery Quilts.  If my guild has a yearlong Mystery Quilt, I’m the guild member who will faithfully download all the instructions and wait until the final directions are given before I decide if I want to make the quilt.  Remember this quilt?  This is my Quilt of Rebellion.  Actually I have two.

Both of these are the result of a Mystery Quilt my guild did a few years ago.  The more block units I made, the more I realized this was a heavily pieced quilt and I don’t like heavily pieced quilts.  I made my units, set them aside, and designed the two quilts above.  The Mystery Quilt was supposed to look like this: 

Mine definitely took a detour. 

But there’s no denying Mystery Quilts are fun.  And I would encourage you to try a couple during your quilting career.  However, I’d also like to throw out some advice from a quilter who loves to get involved with lots of quilting groups and who has had more than a reasonable number of Mystery Quilt opportunities.

First, Google the Designer.  When the internet throws information your way, you want to look for a few specific items.  Has this designer been designing quilts for a while?  Are there complaints about the directions (do they give clear directions?)?  Remember, with a Mystery Quilt, you only see parts at a time — the block units and then sometimes the completed blocks.  You have no idea what the entire quilt looks like until the end.  With few visual guides, the directions should be super clear. 

You also want to know if they have designed Mystery Quilts before.  Writing directions for a Mystery Quilt is a bit different from typical quilt directions.  I also click the Images tab when I Google a designer to see how some of their other quilts look.  This way you discover what the designer’s “vibe” is.  For instance, If the designer loves applique, chances are that Mystery Quilt may have some applique in it.  If you’re not a fan of applique, then you may want to opt out of this Mystery Quilt.  If there is one particular type of block or block unit you honestly can’t stand to make, email the designer or the person in charge of your guild’s or the shop’s Mystery Quilt to see if it’s part of the quilt.  Sometimes they’ll tell you straight up.  Other times they may indicate the quilt may involve a few of your-not-so-favorite things.  And still other times you won’t be given any information. 

This brings me to another consideration about the designer or the person in charge of the Mystery Quilt:  Is there a way to contact them if you have a question or problem and will they answer you?  This is pretty important.  Because they know how the quilt will look once assembled, they should be available to answer your questions. 

Second, highlight the information you’re given.  You should be told how big the quilt will be.  Really good Mystery Quilts will give you the option of a couple of different sizes.  The directions should also be specific about the type of fabric to use (if the fabric isn’t provided).  How many lights, mediums, and darks do you need?  Will yardage or fat quarters work better?  Can you make it scrappy?  Will batiks work?  What about prints?  Is there a chance to showcase large prints?  What about a focus fabric? Above all else, make sure you love working with the fabrics you choose.  Many Mystery Quilts are months long commitments.  That’s quite a long time to be sewing fabric you’re not crazy about.

Third, make an appointment each week to work on your quilt.  I do this with both Mystery Quilts and Blocks-of-the-Month.  I have a dedicated time each week to work through the block(s).  When I made my 2023 Temperature Quilt, every Monday night was devoted to a block.  With my first Dear Jane, it was Saturday mornings.  It helps to have a specific time blocked out to work with these quilts.  This keeps you caught up, which is so important.  When you fall behind, it can seem you’ll never get back on track.  And as long as you keep up with the program, questions can be answered much more easily now than six months down the road when everyone else has completed the blocks.

Fourth, make sure you read the rules.  With some groups, you must show you’ve completed the previous month’s block before you receive the directions for the next month’s block.  Some quilt shops require you to do this in person.  This is really a win/win situation.  You get to see the new block, ask any questions about it, and see if the shop has any gadget which could help you (as well as peruse any new fabric or patterns).  It’s good for the quilt shop, too. It brings in more foot traffic and helps their bottom line.  Some shops just require a picture from your phone.  Some groups require nothing more than picking up or downloading the next pattern.  However, there still are some questions you need answers to:

1.  If the shop or group requires you to pick up the directions, what happens if you miss a month?  You may have every intention of picking up every month’s block, but we both know life can happen and sometimes at the last minute something will come up.  What happens if you have to miss a month?  Can you pick the block up later?  Can a friend pick up the directions for you? 
2. Who do you contact if you have to miss a month or have a question? 
3. Are the fabric requirements and quilt size clearly listed?  What are the measurements for the unfinished blocks?

Bottom line is this: You at least need the contact information for someone in case you have questions.

Finally, know the Mystery Quilt’s expectations and your limitations.   If the Mystery Quilt requires several blocks of the month and you don’t have that kind of time to allocate to it, you may want to pass on that opportunity.  If the blocks are small and you aren’t a fan of small blocks, it’s good to know that kind of information before you sign up.  It’s also good to know the quilting level the quilt considers.  If you’re a beginner quilter and the pattern is geared more towards the intermediate level, be aware some of the techniques may be new to you, but I wouldn’t necessarily let that deter me from signing up.  Ask the shop or group if there is someone who could help you if you have questions.

If you try out a Mystery Quilt and discover you really enjoy this process, there are Facebook Groups and Website which cater to only Mystery Quilts.  Some of these quilts even have their own mystery stories to go along with the quilt – which are really fun.  You solve the mystery as you construct the quilt.  Really, the skies (and the mysteries) are limitless. 

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

Okay, before anyone reads too much into the blog topic, let me assure you that it’s a G-rated, family-friendly blog.  While strip or stripping or stripped may be a verb in most languages, for quilters it can be a verb or an adjective, as in I plan to strip this quilt, or Where did I put those strip units?

For quilters, stripping means sewing sections of fabric together and then subcutting them into block units.  I am a long-time fan of this method for reasons I’ll get into in just a bit.  I’ve been quilting for almost 40 years, and I was introduced to this technique early on in my career.  As I began research for this blog, I wanted to find out what blocks could use this technique, what is the best way to prepare your strip units, and  how do precuts fit into strip piecing?  However my first burning questions were who came up with this technique and how long has it been used? 

Who Developed Strip Piecing?  How Long Has It Been Used in Quilting?

According to the International Quilt Museum, the strip piecing technique was developed in the early Seventies by engineer-turned-quilter Ernest Haight.  He receives credit for this method because he was the first to publish directions on how to implement it.  As an engineer, Haight wanted the most efficient and accurate design process.  He tried out lots of different ideas, but once he developed strip piecing, he knew this was a keeper.  The process was extremely accurate and easy enough for even a beginning quilter to grasp.  He also realized that most of the new quilters (who were drawn back to quilting via the US Bicentennial in 1976) were not being taught to quilt by their mothers or grandmothers.  Because of this, Haight wrote books to teach quilters new construction methods.  But was he really the first quilter to use strip piecing? 

We may never know for sure, but we do know that he was the quilter which popularized the technique.

What is Strip Piecing? Can It Be Used with All Quilt Blocks?

Strip piecing is a quilting technique that involves sewing long strips of fabric together to create a pieced strip set, which is then cut into smaller units.  This technique cuts sewing and cutting time in half, so quilts which look like this:

Aren’t as daunting as they would be if you had to cut each square out individually and then sew them all together, one at a time. 

Strip piecing can’t be used with all quilt blocks, but those which have squares, rectangles, or other types of quadrilaterals are fair game.  So blocks such as

Rail Fence

Nine Patch

Four Patch

Some Pinwheels

Irish Chain

And Lone Star

Can employ strip piecing well.

Precuts and Strip Piecing

Precuts are wonderful fabric additions to the quilting world.  While they average slightly more in price than yardage, the cutting process is done for you.  You simply take it home and begin sewing.  There are so many different precuts:  Jelly rolls, layer cakes, charm squares, honey buns, fat quarters, crackers…so many types and so many sizes.  For the purpose of strip piecing, we will concentrate on two types of precuts – jelly rolls and honey buns.  Jelly rolls are probably the best known, and they log in at the popular 2 ½-inch size.  Honey buns (also called Sashing Strips) are 1 ½-inch wide.  Both kinds can be used for strip piecing.

These strips come rolled up like this:

Many times the edges are pinked and sometimes there are a lot of loose threads on the outside of the roll.  I’ve found it’s a good idea to take my Jelly Roll or Honey Bun outside with a lint roller.  After I take the wrapping off, I run the lint roller over the fabric several times.  This helps keep all those loose threads off the floor in my quilt studio.  Once this is complete I open the roll up and measure a strip from peak to peak.

Sometimes this measurement is the 2 ½ (for the Jelly Roll) or 1 ½-inch (for the Honey Bun) measurement.  If it is, you know the peaks are the part of the fabric you need to have lined up with your ¼-inch mark or the phalange on your quilting foot.  If the measurement from peak to peak is greater than 2 ½ or 1 ½-inches, then you know the valley must be at the ¼-inch mark.  This is important to know because in order for your strip set to come out at the exact needed size, the ¼-inch seam allowance must be precise.  Keeping the seam allowance consistent and accurate assures the sub-cut units will all be the same, consistent size – which is important if you’re mixing these sub-cut units with other sub-cut units.

Let me also add this tidbit.  For the most part – the majority of the time – the Jelly Roll and Honey Bun precuts are great.  However, the measurement can vary from roll to roll and manufacturer to manufacturer.  So just because a Maywood roll maybe 2 ½-inches at the peak, a Fig Tree roll maybe 2 ½-inches at the valley.  Sometimes even if you have two rolls from the same manufacturer, the measurements can vary.  Always measure one strip width from each roll just to be sure.

Sewing the Strips Together

Sewing these strips together can be nearly mindless.  It’s a great thing to do while watching a movie.  However, it’s not completely mindless.  Yes, this is a great quilty thing to do at the end of a long day or a long week when you don’t have the mental energy to put into anything more complicated, but it’s super important to keep a consistent quarter inch seam.  I really recommend using a seam guide or a ¼-inch quilting foot for this.  Along with this thought, you may want to consider that speed may not be your best friend.  The faster you sew, the easier it is for the 1/4-inch seam allowance to wobble and not be consistent.  A steady speed with a steady hand can produce yards of stripped units, accurately sewn, waiting to be sub-cut into block units. 

The last aspect to consider is the sewing directions.  You want to alternate how the seams are sewn.  For instance, if you sew the first seam from the top to the bottom, you want to sew the next seam from the bottom to the top.  This keeps the fabric strip unit from bowing.  And bowed stripped units cannot be accurately sub-cut. 

There are two schools of thought about pressing these fabric units.  Some quilters press after each seam is sewn, pressing towards the darker fabric.  If a third or more strip is added, the seam is pressed after each addition, to the dark side, so the seams will nest.  Some quilters wait until all the seams are complete and then press the strip unit.   This is really a personal preference thing.  I press after each seam, simply because I think it’s easier to get the tip of iron down one strip at a time. 

Cutting the strips into block units isn’t a whole lot different from cutting any other block unit.  However, because these are pieced units, there is more bulk.  I don’t tend to stack my stripped units on top of each other and cut multiple layers.  I don’t think the cutting is accurate this way, because the bulk of the seams can cause a rotary cutter to wobble a bit.  I cut one strip unit at the time. 

Cutting Your Own Fabric for Strip Sets

Chances are you won’t be able to use a Jelly Roll or Honey Bun to make all of your strip sets.  You’ll have to cut your own fabric.  And in many ways, slicing and dicing your own fabric is better than using precuts.  It’s more economical and you can even vary the strip widths (which can be super creative and we’ll get to that at the end of this blog)  Cutting fabric for strip sets is no different from cutting fabric for any other block unit.  Accuracy is key.  The first step is to square up your fabric.

If you’ve read my series on squaring up, you know that even though fabric manufacturers try to be as careful as they can be, sometimes the fabric is rolled onto the cardboard bolt a bit off-kilter.  This means when you fold the fabric in half on the crosswise grain (the way it comes off the bolt) so the selvedges meet, the sides look a little wonky – like below.

Once I have my selvedges even, I pin them together across the selvedges and take the pieces of fabric to my ironing board.  Often the fabric will need to be re-pressed across the fabric fold.  If this step is skipped, you’ll have a V-shaped cut fabric strips instead of straight ones.  Once this is done,  cut off a strip to even up the sides of the fabric, and then proceed to cut your strips the desired width.  Lay the fabric on the mat with the folded side at the edge of the mat closest to you, making sure it is straight and rotary cut across the width of the fabric. Be aware you may have to even up selvedges from time to time, as they may slip out of alignment.   Personally, I find it’s easier to work with smaller “chunks” of fabric for this than a lot of yardage. 

Why I Like Strip Piecing

I like strip piecing for three reasons.  First it’s fast.  If you can strip piece block units, you have seriously saved yourself some time.  I can’t imagine making a Nine-Patch or Postage Stamp quilt without stripping it.  It would take so much time. 

The second reason I like strip piecing is because it’s accurate.  Again, let’s think about the Postage Stamp quilt above.  Think about all those tiny one-inch squares.  Now think about cutting each one out individually.  Not only would it take a great deal of time, but you’ve upped the chances of inaccurate cutting enormously.  With strip piecing, you’re cutting out strips, sewing the strips together, and then cutting out the block units. 

The third reason I like strip piecing is, besides being fast and accurate, it allows for a great deal of creativity.  If you think about it, when you’re strip piecing, you’re actually making another piece of fabric out of several individual pieces of fabric.  This means, if your stripped piece is big enough, you could cut any shape out of it and use it in the quilt.  You take strip units and sub cut them into squares to use in the center of star blocks.

My favorite way to use strip piecing (besides block units) is triangles.  Those fabric strips just add a bit of sparkle to plain old triangles, especially setting triangles for an on-point quilt. Make your stripped units large enough and then cut per normal for your side and corner triangles.

And don’t forget you’re not limited to squares and rectangles with strip piecing.  Use the angle lines on your ruler to cut out strip pieced diamonds. 

Diamond units are much, much easier to make this way than individually diamonds and then sewing them together.

I hope this blog has shown you how wonderful this technique is.  It’s accurate, quick, easy, fun, and can be so very creative.  The next time you begin a new quilt, take a long look at the blocks and see where you can use this quilting method.  Even if the pattern doesn’t call for it, you can still employ strip piecing in construction.  Remember, directions are a great guide, but they’re not the Ten Commandments.  Make your quilt your way to reflect you.

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stiches,

Sherri and Felix