Blog

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Have you got your new dress and Easter bonnet all set for Sunday? LOL! Are you also in the generation that got all new regalia for spring–not just a dress and hat, but also new shoes, lacy socks, a new slip and … This week’s tip from Material Rewards is about putting coping borders on your quilt blocks. I just had to do that for a piece I’m making from several embroidered blocks. It’s a good technique to have in your arsenal. Teri and Marty will talk to you about several ways to use this technique when working with panels. The one example they didn’t mention where I think coping borders would be equally helpful is for those of you who participate in block swaps. We all know that even if it was agreed in the rules of the swap that everyone’s block would be […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here.Today is the annual celebration of World Wide Quilting Day. Are you working on a quilty project? Last weekend I had to do a deep cleaning of my spare bedroom for a possible overnight guest. In the process of digging down to the bed, I came upon a collection of 9 quilt blocks completed years back for a quilt-a-long on our blog. I’ve decided they need to be put together and finished up. (There were several other UFOs in the pile on the bed which will be coming up for completion over the next few months.) Today I’ve been “shopping” my stash trying to find something to use for sashing between these “tropical” blocks. I’m including photos below. Any suggestions? Maybe a solid or tone on tone would be better–but which color should I pull out? I don’t know that I have a good option here, […]

Hello again, Mary Ellen here.I found another tulip topper idea that some of you may like. It’s not exactly a full on pattern, but it does have enough detail for you to be able to make your own design from the suggestions. And you will be able to use many more of your scraps. See what you think.  click here

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. It seems that every year when we get one of these sunny mornings heading toward spring I will get the urge to find a cheerful quick project to sew. You might want to look back in this blog’s archives for a cute project: try searching for shamrock or bunny or tulip or spring. Well this year is no different. After spending time chopping icy sidewalks with help from my godsons I’m taking it easy today. And here is the cute spring time project I’ve decided to try. If you like this cheerful little quilt you can find its free pattern here: Click here. Let’s get a conversation going! Please comment-even if only one word. What’s your favorite season of the year? Or which quilt camp are you in-the prewashers or non-prewashers?

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything, hasn’t it? Life just gets in the way sometimes. Do you enjoy a good free pattern? And an easy one at that? You might enjoy Gudrun Erla’s Advent Free Pattern series. You do have to go through the check out process, but the cost of each registers as $0.00 so you are not charged anything. Here’s a link to this week’s pattern: click here Here are some free pattern links for quilted ornaments in case you’re looking for ideas to bring to our guild Christmas dinner. Click here How’s your Christmas sewing coming along? Do you remember making faux chenille a few years ago when it was the rage? I made potholders and scarves with great success. I’m currently working on some chenille scarves from a By Annie pattern that I used back then. Easy, cozy […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Thanks to all of you who have been working on projects for our guild’s Sunflowers for Ukraine project. All of you–the block makers, the quilters, the binding gurus, the kit assemblers–have contributed to this cause. We have made about $800 profit to date, with one more raffle date to go. We also have put some of the completed projects in the BNHV gift shop; about half of them sold so far. That will be additional profit to add to our donation. With Buffalo being designated as one of 6 US cities accepting groups of Ukrainian refugees, we will definitely be able to keep our donation here in town. More info will follow as we wind up this project in mid September. While looking for some ideas for fall projects, I came upon a hint from Edyta Sitar for reducing the bulk in the corners of […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. While cleaning out some drawers in my craft room to make space for some UFOs, I came across a couple of packs of 2-1/2 in squares–you know… the ones which are like charm packs but in smaller squares that fabric companies put out to tempt you into buying the newest thing. I had come across a cute pattern using those squares just a few days ago on Facebook. So… If you need a quick shower gift this summer, this could be just the perfect thing. I think it’s the edging that ups the cuteness factor considerably. Whether you crochet it yourself, or add store bought edging they’ll still be adorbs as they say! Click here for a peak at this cute project.

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. We all have our favorite patterns and our favorite quilt shops. In my e-mail this morning I received a post from Material Rewards about the 60 degree ruler table runner. If you’re relatively new to quilting perhaps neither of those rings a bell. Material Rewards was a quilt shop off the 390 near Dansville that many of us would visit–Kim Diehl fans frequently would go there when Kim came to town. The 60 degree triangle ruler was a big hit when it came onto the market and many of us used the table runner pattern to get familiar with the ruler. Teri and Marty are still around making videos and selling on line, though the shop itself has closed. If you sign up for their e-mails you can be kept up to date with the latest products and see their weekly tip videos. This week’s […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I hope you were able to come to BNHV last weekend to enjoy our long awaited quilt show. The quilts, as always were lovely and showcased the talent of so many of our members. Here’s a list of all of the award winners if you are interested. 2022 show awards. As I was doing my tours as a white glove lady I had questions about not having a program for the show. Sadly I had to answer that with so many fewer members and volunteers the scope of our show had to change. Please think about joining again if you didn’t renew your membership, and about getting involved on a committee or two. While chatting and admiring the quilts the fabulous long arm quilting on many of the quilts came up frequently. We thought that perhaps we could gather the names and specialties of quilters […]

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I’m very pleased with the number of blocks and projects that have been donated toward our Sunflowers for Ukraine project. I’ll bring some of them to the preview party so that you can see them and be inspired. Our next work session will not be until May, due to conflicts in my schedule and guild’s quilt show meetings. If you have blocks or projects to turn in, please bring them to the preview party or drop them off at the museum for me to pick up. Call ahead to the museum before driving out to make sure someone will be there to take them from you. As I’ve been trying to use scraps from my “collection” I’ve run into some problems with ravelled or ravelling edges on the pieces. I knew a few tricks but picked up some new hints in this video. Some are […]