Making signs for Quilter's Day Out

I've been up at the Oldham County Resource Center for a while this afternoon, making signs for Quilter's Day Out on March 17th. Of course the clovers, it's St Patrick's day, and leprechauns. We must post the rules for the Think Green Quilt Challenge. We also have a prize tote bag, filled with fabric, if you vote-you entry is the ballot you vote with. So it should be a fun day. But, quilter's like things easy and I'm making sure the signs are large and easily read. Every town should have a resource center with die cut machines and banner/poster makers. They also have button makers and machines for laminating.

Now all I need to do is add a four inch sleeve to my quilt. I had hung this quilt with 3m photo hangers in my living room, but we asked everyone to put the usual sleeve for hanging in quilt shows on the backs of their quilts and even though I could pull some strings, since our group is hanging the show, it's only fair to do what ever one else is requested to do, so I will.



Making a 4 inch sleeve: Measure the width of your piece at the top about 3/4 inch from the top. Cut a piece of fabric 8.5 inches wide by the length of the measured width-minus 2 inches. Sew the tube lengthwise wrong sides together. Press the seam open, centering it. You don't have to turn it right side out or clean finish the ends, as it is on the back of the quilt and no one will see it. Iron the tube flat and include a crease, across the length, of one half inch-just tuck in the fabric in the middle-on the side that is not to be sewn to the quilt-this allows room for the bar that hangs the quilt so it does not create an unsightly bulge on the front of the quilt. Now that your tube is ready, center it so the tube is one inch from either side-3/4 inch from the top. Whip stitch at the top and bottom. You are ready to hang your quilt or enter in any show that comes up. I do this for my bed quilts as well, because some day, someone may choose to use it as a wall hanging and it will be ready.

National Day of Quilting

I've been busy with our upcoming holiday celebration for quilters. In case you haven't heard, it's Quilter's Day Out. This is supposed to be a time when all quilters in the country, stop what they are doing for one day and come together, at churches, libraries or wherever, to celebrate quilting. Not with a show or any big production, but an opportunity to decide together, what coming together in their individual communities, means to them. In our case, in and around Louisville, Kentucky, we have about 20 quilt guilds. Each guild decided how much they want to participate and contribute to Quilter's Day Out.

We've decided to try a couple of new things this year, have a guest speaker and a quilt challenge besides a regular Sit N Sew for quilters. A quilt challenge is anything you want it to be, this year we've decided to make it broad and easy to enter-Think Green Quilt Challenge-it must have green somewhere on it. Viewer's choice (everyone gets to judge) wins prizes and ribbons. So far we have about 25 quilts entered and they are all wall hangings-not bed quilts.

Our speaker is Valerie White, a local contemporary quilt artist, who makes gorgeous quilts and will be speaking to us during the event.

Our Quilter's Day Out is held on Saturday, March 17th at the Ballardsville Baptist Church

The celebration starts at 10:00 and goes until 3:00. Our quilt challenge will be closing judging at 12:30 and our guest speaker begins her discussion at 1:00. If you're in town, the event is open to the public. Come and check out what quilting is all about...if you don't already know...smile.

Bloomington Quilt Show

So many things are found on display at a quilt show. The quilter's muse can be found at a quilt show. They, those sisters of art, are alive and well abiding in and around the beautiful quilts on display, ready to ignite our passion of this beloved art form. Friendships old and new are also on display, as you walk among the quilts and share admiration of fine workmanship. Stitching by hand that looks so precise a machine could not compare or stitching by machine, with stippling so tight no human hand would dare. Vendors with wares so wonderful the nesting instincts in all us women, take hold and we buy, buy, buy and this makes us happy.

Competition was stiff at this show, past Paducah Quilt show winners won no prizes here. Paducah, Kentucky's quilt show, is arguably one of the premier shows in the country, drawing quilts from all over the wold.

Whole cloth quilts are making a come back, having several entries in this show, including this whole cloth white quilt that later was painted to perfection.

The Indiana Heritage Quilt Show is a fine road trip for quilters.

Happy quilters what/where do you find your muse?

a good book and 2 movies

The wonderful world of blog has all kinds of information and opinions. Some you like, some sound vaguely interesting and some are filled with kindred spirit information that connects to us and compels us to put ourselves out there, for the world to see...literally.

On one such blog, and I wish I'd copied it, there was mention of a book called Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

The person writing said she tried to check it out at the library and it had 23 holds on it already, so she purchased it and liked it. I read it and it's a good read. It's about growing old and life on a traveling circus.

The next item I found on a blog, Inside the Black Apple, was a movie called Grey Gardens.
This is a fascinating look at Jackie Kennedy's Aunt on the Bouvier side. It's a documentary about Jackie's cousin and Aunt that live together. These destitute women and their codependency on each other is what the movie is about. Great, Great, Great.

Last, but maybe least, depending if we are kindred or not, is my recommendation for something odd and good, that being a movie called Brideshead Revisited. It's about life in England at Oxford and stars a young Jeremy Irons, John Gielgud and Sir Lawerence Olivier. This was a PBS television series that aired in the '80s, I think. It is based on a book written by Evelyn Waugh. Great, Great, Great, Great, Great. It is a 4 disc set.

Label Making Tip

I like to use old handkerchiefs or doilies for my labels. They are so pretty and usually just the right size for putting all the information I like to include.

Your quilting legacy must begin with making history.

That means, put a label on your quilt. I can't tell you the times I've been to a flea market and found a beautiful quilt in a booth and know one knows anything about it. The quilt might be a wedding quilt, or one that someone made for their son or daughter to take to college. This type of information is so valuable to future generations. Enough about my soap box stand on labels, here's an idea for making one.


Chelsea finished sewing the blocks for her Quarter Fat Quarter quilt. It is called that, simply because you take your fat quarters of fabric and fold them into fourths. Next you iron them folded and use your cutting wheel to cut off the scant edges of the quarter folds and there your have 4 blocks cut and ready to sew. This is my own block design, feel free to use it. It is the best pattern to use for a new quilter because it's instant gratification-big results quickly. Of course I machine quilted it and used a lite polyester batting and 100% cotton thread.

On the back in the right corner is where I like to apply my labels,using a whip stitch to attach the hanky. I found this delicate hanky and ironed it. I would have used starch if I had any, it would have helped hold it taught while writing.
Using an archival quality pen, an 08 size is easier to read, like the scrap book people use, hold the material taught while you write. You could use a fusible interfacing on the back, but, I didn't want that wow brightness of yellow with the added white on the back, so I left it bare hanky.

Name your quilt-you created it, give it a name. Quilts do become like our children and that causes problems-you don't want to give it away or you have spent a lot of money raising it...smile. After naming your quilt, put all information you think might be valuable to future generations: for whom was the quilt made and why was it made for them? was it a wedding quilt?

Where was it made? Album quilts were more valuable if they were made in Baltimore. If the area you quilt in becomes popular for a particular style of quilt making, someday, that may add to the value of your quilt.

What is the fabric made of? 100% cotton, silk? This will be a valuable asset when it comes to cleaning the quilt. You probably don't want to wash a silk quilt. If you have any buttons or beads on the quilt you might want to explain where they came from. Quilter's were the first recyclers. They used up material from dresses and shirts more often than buying new material, in the old days, unless it came in the form of feed sack material. If you are using a treasured dress from childhood, include that information on the label.

Of course date the quilt and put the maker's name on it.

This is just one quilter's suggestion for labeling a quilt for your legacy.

I been a bad, bad girl....

Well, I broke my fabric diet, for the first time this year. I will have to "pay up" to my quilt guild, in the form of a fat quarter for each purchase that was not made to finish a quilt. So it seems I'm in debt for 2 fat quarters. I don't know why it is that it's so hard not to buy fabric. Why must we, when we have fabric over flowing our closet...or at least I do. But, these items were sooooo cute!!

There was a charming quilt shop in the Chelsea District, called The City Quilter

My first fat quarter payment goes for this charmingly printed red panel, containing many sweet sayings, such as "Wash on Monday" and "My heart is yours." All these printed blocks were not needed, but, I had to have them, cause you know, someday I will make something out of them, after I finished the other multitude of projects in the works or just well thought of.

My next payment goes for variegated blue thread that I will also think about making a quilt from. I have the embroidery pattern and everything, except the time to make it!! I hope someday my heirs will enjoy it...smile...

Now, the trip was not a total bust-in the completion of quilts department. I did buy a pattern for using up my scraps of holy fabric. I have lots of batiks that are holy and untouchable, until now. This is a paper pieced pattern. I've always wanted to make an orange peel quilt and also a New York Beauty quilt, and this pattern combines them both nicely. Last but not least, I bought backing fabric of the 108 inch size with a lovely floral, pink and green, that will be so nice on the back of my hour glass pink and brown quilt I've been working on with my daughter, Chelsea. She has given up on it and I'm all alone to finish.

Three different churches

NYC was fantastic-all the hustle the hostility, the heat and the holiness. Hustle and hostility-don't you dare look in their eyes. The heat, from who knows where, that causes steam to rise as the sun comes up. It was beautiful. Those concrete jungles and all...and

amongst this creative chaos, there were built some of the most astounding churches-Gothic, classic and still standing. Our hotel was directly across from the World Trade Center and the only thing untouched and most touching was the Trinity church, filled with sadly moving tributes to that horrible day.