May 2014 – Amherst Quilters Guild

May 29, 2014

Exciting new fabric designers

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I’ve been watching videos and reading blog posts about the recent Quilt Market in Pittsburgh. Lots of great cool “stuff” coming. One that I’m going to be truly excited to see will be the fabrics from a new design group called Cotton and Steel, who work with RJR fabrics. The names of these 5 women were already familiar to me-some have published books in the “modern” quilting movement. Melody Miller, the ringleader, has already made a name in certain circles of “sewists” as we are now called. I think of my self as a “sewist” more than a quilter, because I sew all sorts of things. Quilts, garments, home dec, crafty items … The fabrics from Cotton and Steel have tickled the sewing gene for me. I’m anxious to try some of them out– in who knows what kinds of projects. See what you think […]

May 28, 2014

free tutes

Hi everyone, Mary Ellen here. This post will just be a collection of links to free tutorials. a quilt for when you’re not in the mood to be precise: crinkle quilt pincushion pattern, but that’s not the interesting part: hair receiver! button art for you or the kids: button art I’m so done with pantyhose!: pantyhose flowers If you want to get in the running for a prize celebrating my talkativeness, read yesterday’s post (a milestone). If you leave a comment on today’s post you will also be in the running. And yes you can enter more than once, so comment away!

May 27, 2014

a milestone

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. This post is a milestone-my 250th post at this blog. I talk a lot I guess. If you read all the way to then end, I’ll tell you how to enter to win a prize from me to celebrate this “achievement”. One thing you might know if you’ve read these posts for a while is what some of my favorite blocks are. Take a minute, can you name of few of my faves? … Drunkard’s paths should be in the list. Here’s a link (click here) to a modern looking drunkard’s path. I think this one would be great for a fat quarter collection of some of those gorgeous, somewhat solid, fabrics that are now appearing in the shops. How about Grunge from Basic Grey? Love it! Another favorite of mine … hexagon quilts, not grandmother’s flower gardens–bigger hexagons! I tried the English paper piecing […]

May 20, 2014

Watch Bonnie Hunter for free!

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Want to watch Bonnie Hunter on The Quilt Show for free? Follow this link to her website (click here) and she will give you the steps to follow, including the code for free access to the show. This is for a limited time only, so don’t miss it!

May 16, 2014

What to write about today?

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. How do I find something to write about nearly everyday? Strange how the mind works. Usually I’m just commenting on something I got in my e-mail or that has recently happened in “life”. For example… In today’s e-mail I got my blurb from “The Quilt Show”, the Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims adventure. When they first put the show up to the web, I paid for a subscription so I could watch the videos like I used to enjoy Alex’s Simply Quilts show on HGTV. Now though I just do the free stuff, since there are so many free videos available all over the web. Today in the e-mail there is a slideshow of free patterns from Bonnie Hunter. In it you’ll see 2 of the blocks Bonnie will be teaching at the fall seminar for us: Boxy Stars and Pineapple Blossom. Also shown is […]

May 12, 2014

Quilting hits the national news

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I don’t know if you’ll think it’s a plug for quilting or for Jenny Doan, but none the less it helps to get the word out about quilting. Would you have expected to see a spot about quilting done by Harry Smith for national coverage?! I didn’t see this when it aired in February; I’m a fan of a different network. Maybe I’ll have to reconsider that. click here

May 11, 2014

quilting makes you sharper

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I missed this spot on NPR last week. Patricia Ohtake, a member of our guild and one of our seminar teachers, pointed it out to me. She followed up on the research and is writing about it for our newsletter. But the main point–quilting makes you sharper! Wouldn’t it be great if we could get a prescription to take frequent quilting classes?! click here

May 10, 2014

quilts for the men in your life

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Quilts for guys. A continual puzzle. How do you find a quilt pattern that is manly but still fun to make? Is it possible to make a guy quilt without using camo fabric or tractors or muscle cars? Of course it is, but it ain’t easy!! Even the fabrics in most quilt shops are working against us–those gorgeous florals and prints are just too pretty for most men. It’s the time of year for graduation quilts. Quilts that can go into dorm rooms. I think Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Company has come up with an easily made quilt that fits the bill. This one could go into a guy’s dorm room I think. The blue and white combo she uses is a classic, but of course any 2 color combination works. Even school colors-but some of those combos would be godawful–I’m thinking of […]

May 9, 2014

more about Bonnie

Hello all, Mary Ellen again. Bonnie Hunter, our fall seminar teacher, has been on the road quite a bit lately. I’ve subscribed to her blog feed and was so jealous of the seminar she gave at Mackinac Island. An absolutely gorgeous setting, both in the Grand Hotel (grand in every sense of the word), and the naturally grand setting around the island. I would love to go there. The seminar was actually a needlework seminar (not just quilting) so other needle arts were featured as well. I think I’ll put that one on my bucket list. Click here for one of her posts about the island. A while ago Bonnie filmed a segment with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims to be shown on their internet based The Quilt Show. Here’s a slide show of some of Bonnie’s bits. Click here. Registration for our seminar is going well. We have 2 […]

May 2, 2014

Maybe one of these…

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. In my last post I wrote about a quilt I’d never make. In this one I’ll share some I might make. If you are a reader of the Fons and Porter magazine Love of Quilting you are familiar with the Pilgrim/Roy collection of quilts. There is an article each month about a quilt or two from that collection. If you’ll be in Boston this summer, you might want to make a stop at the exhibition described in the post at the link I’m including. It might even be worth a trip to Boston specifically to see these. click here If you know of places that quilters would enjoy visiting while vacationing this summer, please share! A road trip is always fun.