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December 30, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen back again. In yesterday’s post I mentioned I’m going to make some tote bags for my organizational “system”. In my e-mail today I got a link to a video from the Missouri Star Quilt Company. If you haven’t watched any of her videos, make that a resolution for this year. You will love Jenny Doan, the hostess, who has such a nice way about her and her wonderful ideas. In the video today she shows an easy way to make three totebags from one charm pack. Yep, that’s right-three!!!! Granted they’re not big bags, but the “pattern” can easily be modified to be wider or taller or both. The general procedure, which she explains very clearly, is so simple. Sometimes Jenny plays fast and loose with some of “the rules” of quilting, but that’s okay by me. She makes it fun, and gives great ideas. Most […]
December 29, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. It’s approaching that time again-the time for goals for the new year. In addition to the old standards-more exercise, less food, finish UFO’s, buy less fabric (actually this goal might be INSTEAD of the old standards!) I’m thinking about adding some new ones to my list. One of them is going to be to start diving into my increasing collections of selvages and make a few projects. I love every project I’ve ever made with selvages and I always get such nice comments when folks see them. Perhaps I’ll take some photos of a couple of them to show you (the ones I still have in my possession). I want to make another big tote bag-I find that I organize my “stuff” for classes and demos by the totebag system (each class or demo gets its own bag) and I could use a few more […]
December 10, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I am ashamed of myself. When I looked at the date of my last post, I was surprised-and not pleasantly-at how long it has been. I’m going to work on that. Are you like me and hoping to get a few more hand-made gifts done before the big day comes? I have plans for a few more small gifts for neighbors, and am working on a quilt for my sister which is long overdue. Her softball team won the state championship in 2011, I collected signature blocks from all of her players and have been continuously moving the completion of her quilt to the bottom of the to-do list since then. Well, it is now at the top of the list. I am putting the borders around the main center and then will get to the quilting, by machine of course! I will get this […]
November 2, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. 1. Our president, Kathy T., has asked me to post this for you. Awhile back, at a guild show and share, Kathy shared a quilt with pieces like puzzle pieces. She had lots of inquiries about the pattern, which she found on the internet. Here is the site for you. You can see a photo of the quilt in the photo gallery at our guild site. The link to that is in the side bar of this blog. 2. I just discovered that I never posted the October, final, Lucy Goosey block directions! So sorry for that negligence. I found it just now in the list of “draft” posts. I’ll finish that up and get it posted ASAP. 3. Are you going out to the “old” Pine Grove workshop location for Judy and Bonnie’s Christmas Open House? It’s this weekend and next. I’m sure that […]
October 14, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. What would your perfect sewing room look like? I do several other crafts which have some cross over with quilting/sewing so I would want a combination sewing and crafting room. It would be huge with lots of table space so I could dedicate a table to cutting, another table to piecing, another to other crafting messy tasks. It would have a mini kitchen with a sink, microwave and mini frig. Lots of windows. Of course drawers and closet space galore. I don’t care for lots of clutter as decorations so other than the clutter of whatever the ongoing project might be, the room would be “clean and simple”. And my sewing room would have a sewing elf who would clean up the floor each evening, throwing out the threads and bits, and putting the pins back in the pincushions, etc. Of course in this fairy […]
July 26, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Imagine this scene. Fifty years from now as someone is admiring a gorgeous quilt made in many hours of loving stitching, she says to her companion “I wonder who made this quilt. It’s fabulous. Do you think it was for someone’s wedding? Or maybe it’s a graduation gift. OOh! And look at this baby quilt. Do you suppose a grandmother made this-or an auntie-or maybe the mom while she was pregnant? ” Wouldn’t it be terrible to be looking down from wherever we go after life, to be looking down trying to say “I made those quilts. That blue one with the flowers was for…” You know where I’m going with this. Do you put labels on your quilts? You really should. If you’re an Antiques Roadshow fan, you know how having the provenance of an antique really helps its value. And even if not […]
July 23, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I am getting back to some serious sewing time. I’ve taken a bit of a break for about 3 weeks now where I have only sewn a little bit here and there. Now it’s back to my usual mode-several hours each day at the machine. Some of it is sewing for my part-time job making samples or preparing for lessons I’ll teach, some is working on my own pattern pieces to sell, some is for myself (or friends or family). Generally I love it but it’s been nice also stepping back a bit to spend more time at other interests I have. I’ll soon be teaching a class to paper foundation piecing beginners. I am working on my notes. Is it just me or is this technique one that needs demonstration much more than written instruction? I’m finding even in notes for myself to refer […]
July 20, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Yay! It’s raining! I can hear my lawn saying “AAH! That feels great.” Nice guild meeting last night. Here are a few random thoughts. 1. Had a few questions last night about supply lists for seminar . Everyone will get printed copies of the supply list(s) for their seminar class(es) in the mail in early August. The supply lists for our national teachers are available at their websites if you would like them early (see your registration form or our guild blog for addresses). You do not need any proof of registration to get them; they are available for everyone. We have the lists for the majority of our local teachers now posted at our website as well; the rest will be added as we get them. If you know of a friend, who does not have internet access, who would like a national teacher’s […]
June 4, 2012
Hello all, Mary Ellen here. A few years ago in my previous position as guild newsletter editor I shared a tip from John Flynn for calculating the size of a piece of fabric needed for your quilt back. Some of you who have not been at this quilting thing since a coon’s age like the rest of us may not know who John Flynn is. Great big guy from Montana who does wonderful hand quilting, and comes up with quilting gadgets. Here’s a link to his humorous story of how he got started as a quilter. Sometimes when our quilts are too wide for a standard width of 40-42 inches, but not really wide enough to justify buying the 108 inch wide backing or using two full widths of backing fabric, we try to make do with a pieced back. Of course, if you have enough fabric to piece together […]
May 23, 2012
Hello all, ME here. Spent some time exploring Pinterest this morning. Here are a few of my best quilty finds. I don’t know if I’m too old for these scrap necklaces or not. Hmm…they look cute against the plain white T shirt. Definitely could be an idea to do with kiddoes. Love this girly quilt. The dress mannequin and the parasols are the best! If I spy this pattern somewhere I’ll have to have it. What a great pieced border too. This quilt (Dec 6, 2011 post) is gorgeous. The fussy placement of the flowers in the clamshells is especially nice. I certainly admire the patience of some quilters–my patience is used for other things. I won’t ever be making a quilt like this but I sure do like it! Here’s a very cool dresden fan block. Love how you can make it look very circular or more octagonal. I […]