March 16, 2013
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Happy National Quilting Day! Go buy a layer cake or a jelly roll (not the edible kind, silly) and celebrate! I have a quilt to “fix” up. I thought I was done, but whenever I looked at it I kept thinking “something isn’t right”. Friends who’ve seen it say it looks great. I think it needs more quilting. But I’m stumped as to what to add. Ever been in this predicament? I think maybe this is how many UFO’s come into our world. We get to a point in a project where something about it just isn’t right. The gorgeous colors we began with aren’t looking so great. Or the directions are unclear or even worse, incorrect! (I’m amazed at how many math mistakes in patterns go out into the publishing world.) Or we didn’t choose the value differences carefully enough. The quilting isn’t right. […]
March 13, 2013
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. What’s up with this weather?! I enjoy winter but I’m ready for spring. I suppose this is our annual Buffalo St. Patrick’s Day weather roulette. Could be gorgeous, could be a blizzard-just roll the dice! Once again I’ve got a collection of odd quilty bits for you. The next post I’ve got on the drawing board will actually have a cohesive thread through it! I’ve done this technique for making a binding with a mini flange before, but haven’t seen such a well done tutorial of it. Great technique to add to your bag of tricks. She also gives some good general binding tips. click here BTW, maybe you are like me and have given up on a paid subscription to the Anderson/Tims Quilt Show online. If you subscribe to the blog or newsletter (free) you still can see many of their guests, in short […]
March 11, 2013
Hi everyone, jumping-in here on another lunch break just to quickly let you know about few things! There is a new tutorial to show you and this time – it is mine! 🙂 Here is a springy little wall hanging or a table topper made almost entirely from Flying Geese blocks – those easy, 3D, one-seam Flying Geese blocks! Add a few little tricks and you will have some neat-looking curved blocks and accent lines – check it out HERE! If you go back one post on my blog, you will find another fun thing – a giveaway! I am participating in current Blog Hop Party and of course besides my blog, there is over 200 others you can visit, be inspired, learn something and maybe win some goodies – hope you have fun! Now if that is not enough, there is yet another big “party” brewing up in cyber […]
March 10, 2013
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Beautiful morning today. It’s the first morning in a long while when I did not need a hat or gloves while dog walking. Sun’s out, I spotted lots of tulip and daffodils peaking through the soil. Even saw a few snow drops opening up. Definitely teasers that spring is coming. Once again I’ve got some unrelated links for you. fun stuff for quilters, great T-shirts: click here I can relate, but I’m working on it: click here Just finished listening to one of the free QuiltCon lectures over at Craftsy. Because I subscribe to Mary Fons’ blog I got a nudge to go listen to her lecture, billed as one from a member of a Quilt Mafia family. I think she was truly great! Mary spoke for about 45 minutes, with very few visuals, and kept my attention the entire time. She is very eloquent […]
March 9, 2013
Hello all, ME again! Another collection of only slightly related quilty bits: a collection of quilt blocks celebrating Ireland in case you need a quick table piece before your St. Patrick’s Day blowout party: click here March Madness of the fabric kind: Nominate your favorite fabric line and watch and vote in the competitions for the best (most popular) lines this year. click here You’ll see why: click here. Back to the sewing machine. I’m on block 143 of 145 and I’ll soon be able to start assembling the quilt!
March 8, 2013
Hi everyone, yeah, I know – wandering too much, ha, ha. But on Wednesday, my lunch break was given to some other friends – four-legged ones. Recently I started volunteering in City of Buffalo Animal Shelter, that is just a block away from my work. Figured, sometimes before or after work and maybe a lunch-break or two – it is close enough to make it very time efficient and they really need help (unlike SPCA, they do not have as many volunteers and funding and animals keep coming…). So, on Wednesday I spent my lunch break with shy lady, Maple but treats of course work – so she trusted me! And cute boy Bugsley: and big boy Baloo who just about broke my heart because after our walk, he sat down and did not want to move and go back into his kennel…:( But – he did have a “meet […]
March 7, 2013
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I need some new phrases to use when I have just an assortment of unrelated “bits” to post. You know–like “this and that”, “odd bits”, “gee gaws”, and so on. If you have a phrase for this situation, maybe a colorful one that your grandparents used to say, I’d love to add some new ones to my vocabulary. Send them to me! adorable bunny tea towel pattern, perfect for spring and Easter: pattern at Bunny Hill Joe Cunningham: If you’ve been a quilter for a long time, you may be familiar with Joe’s work already. He was in the game of quilting long before it became somewhat camp for men to quilt. He is known for several things, but I remember most the times he appeared with Alex Anderson on Simply Quilting to demonstrate hand quilting. Joe is quite knowledgeable about Amish quilting-both the piecing […]
March 4, 2013
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Yesterday I was finishing up a purse I made recently and needed a button embellishment. The way the designer had us complete this purse caused the metal prongs of a magnetic snap to show on the outside of the purse. In her sample she was able to sew on a button with the thread going through a hole in the center of the magnetic snap. Well, as Murphy’s law would have it, my snap doesn’t have those holes. I had originally sewn on a button with the thread going diagonally under the button to avoid the snap. Of course that did not work as planned. The metal edges of the snap’s washer kept cutting the threads, even the dental floss I used the second time I sewed it on. So I was in search of plan B. I have also made the tote bag design […]
March 4, 2013
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Robi has graciously given permission for me to share the photo of a quilt she is currently working on that I mentioned in an earlier post. I love looking at scrap quilts, finding fabrics that I recognize. As I told Robi, I spotted my favorite dog fabric ever, Laurel Burch’s design, in her quilt. I know that since Laurel’s death some of her cat fabric designs have been re-released. I hope the dogs will be back as well. Can you spy them in Robi’s quilt?
March 1, 2013
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Let me first just pass on some “modern” quilt info before I get to my real topic. There’s been quite a bit written here lately about modern quilting and “QuiltCon” was mentioned. At Craftsy you can watch all the lectures for free. Haven’t done it yet, but am going to make it a priority so perhaps I can figure out what all of the hubbub is about. Enough of that commercial… I recently gave a demo at a local shop on making quilted gifts of comfort . One of the gifts I spoke about I called a “bag of encouragement.” We all have situations where a loved one or friend needs some encouragement. It could be due to illness, an accident, some other life event or maybe “just because”. I think many of us would like to give gifts which are a bit more personal […]