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Sunday, Oct 18, 2009: This weekend I was sewing on a quilt for my mom for her 86th birthday. The design is from a quilt that either her grandmother or great-grandmother made. She found the well-worn quilt only after her mom passed away. The original quilt was hand-pieced and hand-quilted with inset seams. I revised the design to use half-square triangles. When I was working on the video tape showing how to use Qtools Sewing Edge, I realized how I could use pressing the line rather than marking the line for a better way to make these units. Before I video taped, I figured I had better test my theory. So I used my Mom's quilt as a testing ground. I was able to make the 200 plus half-square triangles in about 3 hours. There were only a few that weren't "good enough" for the quilt. So, all in all, the technique works great.
If you are interested in another method for making half-square triangles without cutting extra large squares, without ripping paper, and without drawing the line on the square, watch the video. One caution, if you are not comfortable with your iron and pressing surface, this may not be the solution best for you. I would enjoy hearing your feedback on this method if you try it...I think it is great, but before I spread the word, your comments will let me know how it works for others. When I get the quilt finished, I'll take photos of both the original and the new quilt before I give it to her. I'll post the photos here.
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Monday, Oct 12, 2009: Re-entry!!! This is what we call it when I get back from a trip and have to get used to the routine again. Each time is easier because I'm learning how to decompress and not expect to hit the ground running. Also, my office staff is doing an excellent job of keeping the orders processed, the events coordinated, and the projects in the forefront while I'm gone. I am thankful for the team we have. Each person brings her own talents to the group. We are all understanding of each person’s job and willing to pitch in when someone’s job requires extra effort. Anita has done such a great job to keep everything going while we hunted for a replacement for Alicia Sanchez for order processing. (Alicia worked with us for the last year until her family needed her back in Michigan. For a little while we did have an Alicia at Alicia’s Attic! In case you are wondering, I named the business after my grandmother.)
Alicia’s replacement is Rachel Hill. You may remember her because she was featured in Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine when she won a blue ribbon on her first large quilt at age 14. She used the Not Your Grandmother’s Tumbling Blocks strip-pieced method which impressed the judges. We are so blessed to have her here working with us full time and enjoy the new addition to our team. When you call the office, more than likely, Rachel will be answering the phone.
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Sunday, Oct 11, 2009: Heading back to Denver / Fort Collins, I sat next to a gentleman who is an administrator for an orthopedic center in the Houston area. We talked the entire trip about jobs, children, and life experiences. He heard some of the details of my hip replacement, which was redone in June. Thankfully the new one is working perfectly. And in looking at the silver lining of the cloud, I realize it was a good thing that they had to go in again and change the angles. They found a condition called metallosis, which isn’t something you want to live with. The doctors were able to replace the metal parts with ceramic and plastic getting rid of that problem and rearranging the joint to remove the pain I had had for the last two years. My staff members heard me talking about these parts and they envisioned me being put back together with pottery and PVC. We had quite a laugh over that. At least now I don’t set off the alarms when I walk through the metal detectors at the airport!
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Saturday, Oct 10, 2009: Demonstrating in the Checker Distributors booth, I shared our product line with shop owners and teachers as they visited the booth. Some of the samples I handed out were from our Know Before You Sew series. About 3 out of 4 of the people I talked to didn’t realize that strips can be joined at any angle for binding or borders. When I shared this information from our Joining Strips reference card, they knew exactly when they would use the information. When making binding, sometimes the length runs short. Joining the pieces at a lesser angle will give the extra inches needed. The card also shows how to check to be sure the strip will be joined correctly rather than the short end to the long piece. They also received samples of Qtools Cutting Edge and Qtools Sewing Edge. We are working on putting a quick video up for each of our products so you can see how best to use them.
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Friday, Oct 9, 2009: Schoolhouse for our new book. After eleven years, Not Your Grandmother’s Tumbling Block book has sold 35,000 copies and we are out of print. Sara Nephew’s book Big Book of Building Block Quilts is now in its fourth printing and has been available for 8 years. We are merging the two books into one updated and revised book titled ABC 3-D, tumbling blocks and other 3D designs. For schoolhouse at International Quilt Market, we had lots of great response to the book. This book will be available in the spring. We'll keep you posted.
During the lecture, I shared some tips on helping select fabrics. From our many years of experience, both Sara and I suggest selecting lights and darks first then going back and finding the mediums. You’ll know what the limits are and find a best fit for the medium. You want to choose something that doesn’t blend into one more than the other. A medium needs to be half way in between if possible. However, if you can’t find the perfect one, know that those selections which are the best will carry those that aren’t optimal.
Here is an example from my first tumbling blocks quilt from 1987. The teal is the best choice. The pink and yellow have very little contrast between the light and medium. The blue and green have very little contrast between the dark and medium. However, overall the quilt works. The tumbling blocks look 3 dimensional. I really like the color wheel that we carry because it shows what light, medium, and dark are for each of the 12 colors on the color wheel. Dark yellow is a gold / brown color. I had no idea when I made this quilt what to choose for dark yellow. I looked at an antique tumbling blocks to see what they had done. These fabrics were all that I could find in 1987 in the Dallas area quilt shops. All in all, they work just fine, but I now know what to look for when selecting fabric for 3-D designs and can select them much more quickly. We also have such a large variety to choose from now....! |
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We've done it again! Another great answer to what's new, "Oh My Stars!" by Marci Baker. These six-pointed stars are Strip-Pieced - REALLY! Marci's method makes it possible for you to be successful with this classic design by skipping the inset or "Y" seam. Plus this innovative technique results in fewer pieces to cut and more time to sew. Each of the 14 projects is designed for frustration-free sewing with color-coded layouts, actual size shapes for comparison, trouble-shooting for seams, and pressing directions for easy matching of all the star points. The many helpful tips for the new quilter to the quilt designers add even more value to this 128 full color page book.
Beginning with "Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin", we introduced "The Clearview of Quilting - frustration-free quilting methods, the simplest quilting solutions, and guaranteed success." Incorporating feedback from our certified teachers and quilters like you, we have illustrated instructions, more details in yardage requirements, and full color photos with a variety of colorways and layouts. You will have an even easier, faster, more successful sewing experience with "Oh My Stars!". With something for everyone, you can create a throw in 5 hours or stitch a masterpiece at your leisure.
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