Quilting Inspiration and Education
Every quilter’s New Year’s resolution is to finish UFOs. I’ve made that resolution more ways than anyone I know.
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After Christmas and Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day is the biggest card-giving day of the year. If you’re anything like me, you’re pressed for time to search for the right card. Furthermore, you’re 
annoyed at the expense of buying cards that don’t send the right message.
I have a solution for saying what I want, spending time where I want (my sewing room, not the card shops,) and saving a bit of money. That is, I use my fabric scraps to make paper-pieced greeting cards….
It may not seem like it, but there is still plenty of time to make this quilted basket for Easter giving. You can find the free pattern by logging in to the app, and going to the Library in Community/Gallery.
When I get down to business, I’m quick at getting my sewing and quilting done, but even a distracted quilter should finish this in under two hours.
My sister thought I was crazy when I forced her to make multiples at the same time. But, she agreed later that it doesn’t take twice as long to make multiples.
With a little encouragement from me, she completed three in three and one-half hours. It did require her to check her “everything has to be perfect to the milli stitch” attitude at the door. I was certain her grandchildren wouldn’t notice anything but the cute fabric and the gifts inside. It’s nice to be right once in a while.
Happy Spring.
Live well. Quilt Well.
Christmas is coming,
My stash is getting fat,
I’m giving five quilts and ten placemats,
If I don’t receive a thank you, a hug or nod will do
If you don’t take care of my quilts, it’s the end of you!
‘Tis the season quilters live for- gift-giving time, i.e. quilt giving time. Giving a quilt is risky business. Some obvious ones:
A few years back, I gave a masterpiece to my sister. A table topper made from a whole cloth, hand-dyed fabric, machine quilted in such detail that the 18″ x 18″ topper took 60 hours to quilt (à la Diane Gaudynski.) At the same time, I gave her a small vase that matched her china (found on a close out rack.)
Seeing the topper….”Oh, that’s nice.” Seeing the vase…”Thank you. It matches my dishes. Where did you find it?…gush, gush gush.”
She didn’t get it.
The happy ending is that when my mother (a quilter) saw it, she explained things to my sister. The sad part is, my sister over-corrected. She had a table made with a glass compartment to house the topper. It is beautifully displayed and never gets used at all.
Telling this story to a very experienced quilt-giver, I learned and that she gives three things with every quilt she gives:
I’ve adopted this practice. (You can find laundering instructions for quilts in the Tips, Reference & Tools Library in Community.) For my “appraisal” add up the actual cost of all my materials- including thread, and I add what it would cost to send the object out for quilting and binding. If the quilt is going to a non-quilter and cost is more that $300 or $400, I generally include the “appraisal” with the gift. Finally, I wrap as much love in as I can and don’t look back. As much as it hurts to see Fido cleaning his nails on my quilt, it feels better keeping the strings to myself.
Live well. Quilt well.