Good Morning, Quilters!
Summer has been crazy here at The Kennedy Residence (read more HERE), but Faye, Nora and I did sneak away to our local quilt shop, Bear Patch Quilting, for a little retail therapy!
Be sure to follow us all on Instagram–for more behind the scenes action–including the wedding festivities!!!
A NEW LOOK AT QUILT FABRIC
It was so much fun to see a quilt store and the array of fabrics through a beginner’s eyes!
Faye and Nora had a great time–like kids in a candy store! (Don’t we all still have that feeling!?)
They’ll be sharing their color palette soon!
SERGING FAYE’S INDIGO FABRIC
Faye was drawn to quilting by a collection of Indigo fabric she found at a quilt show. (Read Fayes’ post about Indigo HERE)
The shop owner recommended serging the Indigo before washing it, so I pulled my serger out of the basement to see if I could figure out how to thread it again.
We were in for some good luck! The serger was still threaded and it stitched like a charm, in spite of my horrible neglect over the past five years!
Nora and Faye zipped through the serging in no time at all–
I just hope they don’t think quilting will be that fast or that imprecise!
WHAT’S UNDER YOUR NEEDLE?
Are YOU stitching or gardening? Quilting or family time?
Have YOU ever taught a beginner how to quilt?
Are YOU a beginner? What helped YOU the most?
Did YOU start The Splendid Sampler?
Have YOU had a little retail therapy lately? What did YOU find?
We’d LOVE to hear!
Mama Lori,
PS…Don’t forget to follow all the fun on Instagram!
21 comments
Pam Hotle
I did some retail therapy last week. Visited 5 shops in the WI state shop hop. Bought a lot but I need to make 7 baby quilts so had a goal in mind. Also bought a fun kit for myself. Hope to get out to more of the shops.
I did teach a friend to quilt a few years ago. She was a seamstress so was used to sewing but getting her to use a 1/4 inch seam and to press and not iron was a real challenge. She did make some beautiful quilts.
A friend gave me her serger. I cannot figure out how to thread the dang thing! I watched a couple of craftsy classes on sergers during the free weekend over Mother’s Day. Still can’t thread it. I am thinking of buying a new one. Maybe the one that threads itself with a poof of air.
Your daughters are so much fun to watch on their quilting adventure.
Maureen B. in B.C.
I know I’m rather late to the table, but I have a piece of wisdom to impart about serging … probably too late for that as well, sigh. Anyway, when serging to wash I only use one needle thread, and make it a different colour from the wrap threads, so it’s easier to spy for pulling out. And by only using one needle thread there’s waaay less pulling out to do. Also, if it’s possible to leave at least one edge serged, you can always tell which fabrics have been serged and washed and which haven’t. It’s taken me many years to come to these conclusions. AS CONFUCIUS SAY “TOO SOON OLD, TOO LATE SMARt”. Have a great day.
Pam P
I did some quilt therapy yesterday at the MN Quilt Show! Such inspiration- both from the entries and the vendors, proud to say that I was able to resist purchasing fabric (because we are moving soon). Tomorrow I am going to meet several women involved in a Round Robin challenge. I’m so excited to meet these talented women and to see each of the final projects. So, I’ve had little time to garden. And that’s okay.
Cheryl Parker
I’m not on Instagram (or FB). Yes, I’ve taught beginning quilting at my church, then a follow up table runner class. I still run the Ladies Crafting at church (all crafts, not just quilting). I have 3 sergers now, and still don’t know how to use them. My son learned how to use 2 of them (didn’t have the 3rd one yet). One day I’ll have to have him teach me how to use them.
Rosemaryflower
Your daughters….. adorable. Isn;t life great? Yes indeed
Tomorrow I am driving hubbs and my dad over the hills and on to the Washington Beltway (rolling parking lot) over that nutty American Legion Bridge and ugh that mess at I-270…. but we will get there…. to my sister’s house in Silver Spring. We will just enjoy the company of the four of us. My daughters are tired mommas and need to cocoon with their babies and hubbies. My sisters son is on an adventure with his beloved girl friend Elizabeth, to Cape May with her family. So, just the four of us. I like making my daddy happy.
Sunday, church, then sew up a storm, crank up the A/C, eat cookies, text with my daughters, run over and goof off with daddy for a while.
Yard work? Oh I used to love slaving in my gardens. I loved it so much. Now, I just do what I need to do — bugs love me
Happy Week-end
Dee by the Sea
Too funny … I could have written every word of what you just wrote:
Waaay too much fabric to (justify) adding more and not enough years to use all I have!
It has been sew much fun to see quilting through the eyes of the girls.
Granny G
Gardening? What’s that? I have NO green thumb abilities at all. My plants & flowers are all perennials, so I do a little weeding and trimming; my husband does the mowing (God bless him!). Quilting and sewing are MUCH more fun! Plus, I’m very sun-sensitive, can’t stand summer heat, and can burn in 15 minutes or less.
I’m a relatively new quilter – only about 2 years – and I’ve been taught a great deal by my experienced sister quilters in my church group. And a lot of my inspiration comes from kind and generous experts like you in addition to the many ideas I find on Pinterest.
I could do retail therapy day-in and day-out but the budget won’t stand for it and I’d be buried in fabric if I were to buy too much more!!! Oh well.
Time to go back to my machine, finish a couple of UFO’s and use up some of what I already have! Let alone the dresses I’m making for my new great-granddaughter, the cute & comfy underwear pattern I’m trying, and a bunch of other miscellaneous projects. Whew!
Verna A.
I am almost finished with a quilt I started at least 11 years ago. When my three boys were small, I had them put their hand and foot prints on white squares and draw on others. The top has been done for awhile, and I can see how my sewing has greatly improved since then! My oldest just moved into his new house this week, so it’s about time I get that one done! A little gardening is happening, also. I try to get to the Bear Patch when I am down that way, such a great shop!
Lynne Capehart
I’m abstaining from retail therapy right now. I have enough fabric in my stash to supply at least three quilters and not enough years left in my life to use it all. I’ve been in a quilting slump for about a year and am trying to get remotivated to finish up some projects and get others started.
Nice to see that your girls are enjoying fabric shopping. It sure becomes an addiction for most quilters! 🙂
worldpresscom986/GrandmaSue10
I hear you sister, I have to rein myself in when I see those Joanne’s bargains on line. Having been diagnosed with Kidney Disease, made me sit up and take notice. I am controlling my CKD with diet, but I feel like I’d better hurry up and use my stash. I am 76, not a lot of time left, even if my kidneys were fine!!!
Bette
Keep on buying any fabric you like and keep on quilting! A woman who was in my guild finished a quilt when she was 99! And she lived to celebrate her 100th birthday surrounded by friends and family! You just never know!
Martha
Decided I needed a quick project in air conditioning (93 degree F. temperature outside): With several baby showers to attend before November, yesterday and today I’m stitching a dozen 12″x12″ baby blankie toys (similar to the trademarked Taggies) with lux fabric backs, colorful appliques on flannel tops and LOTS of bright ribbon trims.
leannebraddock
I got a longarm machine this spring so I have been busy looking at your tutorials and quilting up some quilt tops I had saved up over the past year! I just finished quilting a top I pieced for my Naval officer son to use on his “rack” aboard the ship when they deploy. He’ll see it this week end for the first time. Thank you for all the great quilting tutorials!
worldpresscom986/GrandmaSue10
I thought they used Navy issued blankets. Nice to learn something new, and I’m sure your sailor will love his quilt.
leannebraddock
Yep, they do have wool blankets.
Lorraine Doyno Evans
Both Quilting and Gardening a 1500 SQ FT veggy garden! Trying to get through some UFOs that need FMQ and binding. Recently finished a Patsy Thompson like medallion wholecloth on a FQ that I am very proud of and would love to share with you all but don’t remember how. I followed Patsy’s U-Tube instructions for structuring but came up with my own original design and used some of Lori’s motifs. I probably spent more time designing and thinking about what to do and making decisions and getting up my courage at each step than the actual sewing time!
I was recently reading my Machine Quilting magazine and saw three more new techniques in art quilting that I would like to take classes on. It never seems to end the new things in quilting we can learn!
Arvilla Trag
Garden – 5,000 ft2, all planted and growing great! Quilting – trying to. My machine is skipping stitches like a champ when I do free motion. It has been to the shop once this week, and is going back again. Retail therapy – I just found a new quilt shop only 45 miles from me (20 miles closer than the next closest one) and it is fabulous! Open in November of 2016, it has glorious batiks (the other shop has no batiks), and carries only the best in accessories: every Creative Grids ruler made, Superior threads, a great selection of machine needles, tons of useful notions, beautiful patterns. Self-restraint is SO over-rated!
worldpresscom986/GrandmaSue10
I had that problem once, and the repairman told me to try a longer needle. It was a different brand and you had to almost use a microscope to see the difference, but it worked!
Arvilla Trag
Thanks! So far that is the only thing I have not tried. I have tweaked the tension until IT got a headache, I tried three different threads, of three different fibers; three different needle sizes (all Schmetz), using Thread Magic on the needle; cleaning the bobbin case, foul language, and I sacrificed a chicken (actually, Frank Perdu sacrificed the chicken, but I cooked it).
I also read that using spray baste can have this effect, and I had used spray baste. so I washed the quilt by hand (thankfully, it is small) and put it in the drier on low just long enough to get it to a thoroughly damp state. I had quilted maybe 20% of the center of the quilt. The woven gingham backing shrank but the top did not, which has made things interesting.
How do you know – without a microscope – if a needle is longer? is it the brand, or are the different needle sizes of one brand different lengths? I completely understand the uses of the different needle sizes for different threads and functions, but I had never heard they are not all the same length. Never too old to learn!
Lois S
I like to quilt with used textiles—vintage sheets and men’s shirts. I was at a thrift store last weekend and found 7 shirts that spoke to me, saying they will play well together! Now they will go in the stash and on my list of 20 other quilts to make!
Elizabeth
Oh, how fun! I love the joy on their faces.
At our house we have many projects going (including painting a bathroom with my 10 and 14 year olds). I do have a quilt top ready to baste, despite the projects.
I love to teach. I love the wonder of flat, small pieces becoming something beautiful. I am about to teach a beginner to bind, when we can get our schedules together.
I am enjoying this journey with your girls. Thank you for sharing.
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