Happy Birthday, Quilting Daughter, Stephanie!
"When I give to you what I make with my hands, I share my heart."
Greetings Quilter - Our Fat Quarter webinars were quite successful, with hundreds of quilters attending at least one of the three online and telephone sessions. The first information about Fat Quarter quilts was all about deesigning a quilt, choosing fat quarters for your quilt and creating the templates to cut your fabric. In the upcoming days, I will be cutting fabric, sewing the blocks together and finishing the quilt. Watch for more information as that process develops. Here in our little berg of La Mesa, some kids are heading back to school, so it must be time to think about starting a new quilting project. Instead of creating a large quilt top with all of the bulk to work with, why not start a Quilt as You Go project? With these projects, you finish one block at a time - including the quilting - and then stitch the blocks together. Whether you are hand quilting or machine quilting, t's much easier to handle one block at a time, plus you avoid the heat of a bulky quilt on your lap or draped over your sewing machine. Using the resources available in our Quilt as You Go DVD Mentor, your quilt as you go project will be easy to complete and perfect. Just pop in the video and watch me sew. You'll see 4 different ways to finish a Quilt as You Go Project. Choose the one that is right for you. For additional information, check out - Quilt as You Go DVD Mentor
Happy Quilting!
Tips for Hand Applique Sewing machines have made the task of appliqué much faster for us quilters. The neat, perfectly finished zig zag and satin stitches offered by machine appliqué have replace the need for hand appliqué. So, why would anyone want to incorporate hand appliqué into their quilting? The simple answer is for the sake of the craft. Hand stitched appliqué takes a little more time, but if you hope to make a reproduction quilt, hand appliqué may be the only way to achieve the look you want. Don’t be afraid of hand appliqué. There are a couple of tips that make it simpler than ever. For instance, old hand appliqué pieces were turned under and stitched onto the quilt top. Turning the fabric under eliminated the raw edge from showing. These days, fuseable webbing can help with that. Iron fuseable webbing to the wrong side of your fabrics before you cut the appliqué pieces. Set up your appliqué where you want it, and iron it in place. The heat will fuse your appliqués to the quilt top. This eliminates slipping (and cramps in your hand while trying to hold it in place and stitch as well). The fusable webbing also helps block the ends from fraying. So, you really don’t have to turn under the ends of your appliqué unless you want to. You will see in the video below how to use freezer paper in your hand appliqué. Much like fuseable webbing, freezer paper will hold the seam allowances under as well as hold the piece in place as you stitch. You will need to remove the paper - either by trimming the backing piece behind the appliqué or by slipping the paper out from between the layers before your final stitches, Another handy tool to have when hand appliquéing is a bottle or tube of fray block. After your hand appliqué stitches are complete, apply a narrow line of the liquid to the edge of your fabric to prevent fraying. Make sure the product you choose is washable. With worries about fabric slipping or fraying aside, you can concentrate on the art of your appliqué stitches!
Postcard Quilts for the Troops – Birthday Roundup!
Please remember there are still only a few days left to submit your birthday postcards for our soldiers. This came about thanks to Diane, whose idea was to make birthday fabric postcards that could be handed to service members on their actual birthday. August 10 is the deadline for the Birthday Roundup postcards. Send your cards to Diane Malaznik Diane will send a box of our postcards to be distributed to soldiers on their special day. Remember, if you have sent a postcard already, you can see pictures of it at www.Fabric-Postcards.com. And, as always, free postcard patterns are available at www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com. If you won’t quite make this Birthday Roundup deadline, don’t let it stop you from making some birthday fabric postcards any way. You’ll have some ready for our next deadline, or will have some of your own to send to friends and family. This year seems to have gone by quickly. Already into the month of August, it isn’t too early to plan to make your own holiday fabric postcards to mail to friends and relatives. Make your holiday card list to see how many you will need to create, then have fun with the free patterns at www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com. Be sure to make a few extras to send as last minute gifts or just to be a step ahead for next year! Fabric postcards are also a very special way to say “thank you” for the holiday gifts you receive.
Featured Block in Video Heart Spangled Star Quilt Block
Quilting daughter, Stephanie, used to draw hearts for her grandmother, so it seemed appropriate to make a heart block for Stephanie's birthday. Get a free download of this pattern at www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com and check out the other heart quilt patterns there, too!
Enjoy!
August Quilt Block Patterns The August selection of free quilt block patterns includes
Click here to download your August FREE quilt block patterns |
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