stitchery – Amherst Quilters Guild

December 11, 2015

it’s a new day

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Testing out my new blog making “stuff” at our guild’s new site and platform. Seems like it will be a quick learning curve, so hopefully we’ll be back to normal very soon. From my perspective it’s mostly just a matter of new log-in credentials, and a few new routine things for letting all of you know that an entry has been posted. I’m working on holiday gifts like crazy these days-the little things for mail deliverers, nail girls, hairdresser, etc. Soon I have to get busy in the kitchen-cookies, etc. I think that with our unusual weather my internal holiday countdown has not started yet. No wonder I’m a bit behind. Found a great recipe for fun hot chocolate stir sticks. The cook says you’ll never go back to powdered hot chocolate mix. We’ll see. (Didn’t you hate it as a kid when your mom […]

October 30, 2014

Don’t hurt yourself!

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I’m sure if you’re more than a rank beginner to quilting, you know that quilting does use a lot of muscles. It’s not difficult to make your body tired and sometimes sore after an extended period of any of the processes involved in producing a quilt. We had a speaker at a guild meeting not long ago who gave some tips, but perhaps you weren’t at that meeting or you would like a review. Check out this video. Tips are given for finding more comfort or less strain in each step along the way, starting from cutting the fabric all the way to the hand stitching of the binding. If you are an embroiderer the hand stitching tips and the stretches suggested would be helpful for you as well. Have you got your project ready to work on in between tomorrow night’s trick or treaters?

September 2, 2014

Amy Butler et.al.

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Are you a fan of Amy Butler fabrics and patterns? I just received notification that her free pattern for her latest fabric line is now posted at her website. Here’s the link: click here. I also received notification not long ago that her latest clothing pattern: a pieced duster, is now available. She looks great in it, and I love the concept but I’m afraid I may be past the age cut off for her style. Although I am thinking about how it would look in a collection of somewhat “quieter” fabrics–batiks maybe. See what you think of her style. It would be great for you younger women out there. Looks like it would be very comfortable and could definitely take a pair of jeans up a few notches. Click here. As I worked through my e-mails today, I noticed that a theme was in […]

July 16, 2014

not quilting, but…

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I hope your summer is going as well as mine is. Today’s weather (on the cool side for some) is glorious in my book–sunny, breezy, and temperate! This link is not strictly quilt related, but I think any of us who appreciates fiber art would love to come across something like this. Most of these are from sites in Europe; it seems European hazard fence is more grid-like than what we’d see here. Our chain links I thinkwe might say are more “on-point”! Wouldn’t it be great if this caught on among the craftsmen in our downtown areas? click here How is your summer stitching going? Are you more productive in the summer, or is it too hot to quilt?

July 3, 2014

On the edge…

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I’ve got my bin of selvages out and have been working on a tote bag design. I find playing with the selvages to be fun and relaxing. Really one can’t make an heirloom project (that’s not a challenge, anyone!) with selvages, so it’s not necessary to worry too much about perfect seams or colors matching just right. I ran across this post (click here) at Exuberant Color with great quilts using strips of varying widths. I think they could be great inspiration for selvages. Another idea for the bucket list is born. Here’s a link to a pretty stitched piece. Not too complicated and it’s “summery” looking to me. I love the dotted fabric as the fabric base. (click here) Time to get out your patriotic quilts. I leave them out for all of July (and sometimes August too if summer is busy!) How about […]

April 24, 2014

more morning thoughts

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Lovely sunny spring morning. Shh! don’t jinx it! Here in WNY we’re still in the “anything could happen” stage of weather. Was thinking about going out to get new sneakers today and came across this in my inbox. Love it! All of you zentangling ladies might like it too. click here Lovely idea here for coloring stitchery blocks. She has a free BOM quilt available too. click here Same woman’s site-great idea for a mother’s day gift, either the gift itself or its wrap. click here If you have an upcoming graduation or wedding for a social media junkie, then this hashtag block might be just what you need for the quilt you are going to make. (Don’t we always make quilts for those occasions?) click here

April 20, 2014

Rabittat

Happy Easter! Mary Ellen here. Perusing the internet for springy, Eastery,” bunnyish” things today as I enjoy my morning coffee. Found the picture above, the inspiration for this post, at Pinterest. The work looked a bit familiar so I chased down the originator of the stitching. Sometimes for no particular reason I like to go to Barnes and Noble and just browse for a few hours. I will often spend a bit of time in the children’s book section, especially enjoying those books that are richly illustrated. I think that is where I knew of this stitcher’s work. Perhaps you will recognize her style too. This is a link to a very short film about her work, with links to her own blog posts about the stages of the construction of Rabittat. click here. What beautiful work she does-and amazing to me-all by hand! Have a beautiful Easter everyone!

November 1, 2013

What’s Up with You?

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. What’s going on in your sewing and crafting space these days? I just finished a bunch of mason jar transformations, all using fabric, for a demo at the shop where I work. They all were fun, but I think I enjoyed working with the wool the best. It has been a while since I’ve done that. Some of you may remember our guild garage sales that we have had a few times. At the last one we had, I scored a bunch of wool from Betty L. who was moving south. Some was already felted, and the rest I did myself. There was enough fill 2 Rubbermaid storage bins. I’ve made many a project using the wool and have barely made a dent. I’ll include a photo of the jar cuffs I made with the wool. This project got me thinking that I should do […]

May 24, 2013

a bit of quilt history

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I received an e-mail this morning from a member ( our former president, Mary D.) returning from a vacation to Utah and some National Parks. She included some photos and a link to the story of the Panguitch Quilt Walk. I had heard this story before but had forgotten it. I also enjoyed seeing her photos of the hanging in the visitor center, near Bryce Canyon National Park, with its stitchery and miniature quilts included. I did a little internet search and am also including a link to “Utah’s Patchwork Parkway”. Cool concept. Enjoy. You can click on any of the photos for a larger view (which will not have the right hand edge cut off!).

February 13, 2013

goin’ crazy

Hi, Mary Ellen here. I enjoy redwork even if it’s done in a different color-like blue or black. I used to do quite a bit of embroidery, crewel was my favorite in my college days. Gave kind of a refined hippy (is there such a thing?) look to ones bell bottom jeans. I also remember embellishing my nieces’ dresses and jumpers when they were tiny. I have an appreciation for the skill of embroiderers, even if I no longer do much of it. Have you ever gone to one of the shows the Buffalo chapter of the Embroiderer’s Guild of America has had at the Kenan Center in Lockport? Knock your socks off pieces of all kinds. I believe it’s held every other year, opposite our quilt show years. Definitely worth the trip-what a perfect venue for showing their handiwork. Now crazy quilting–there is a combination of my love for […]