Quilter's Thread

Quilting Inspiration and Education

Happy New Quilting Year!

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I like to be successful, and my resolutions were typically too general and too unrealistic to achieve, so, for many years, I didn’t make resolutions.

Then, one year, I got totally fed up with my dirty refrigerator and decided to give up leftovers as a New Year’s resolution. Succeeding at a year without cleaning a gross science experiment out of the frig, I easily made this a lifelong commitment.

Wine GlassThis year, I may be going back to the days of unrealistic resolutions. Though, if I am successful with my resolution, it will be worth it. My resolution is to finish one UFO for every new project I start. I’ve hedged my bet pretty well- I have 11 quilted quilts that just need binding.

Beyond that, it gets tougher. It will be a challenge to rediscover interest in the blocks for quilts that I long ago long interest in. The bigger challenge will be to see how my current skills are suited to deal with the quilts that, because of materials or design, got just too hard to finish. And, then, there’s my oldest UFO, from the days I wasn’t even really a quilter.

I first tried quilting in 1984 when I was a brand new mother having just moved to Philadelphia where quilt-making was experiencing post-bicentennial USA resurgence. I remember the first real quilt shop I wandered into, and the older ladies who insisted that, to honor the art, quilting should be done with a certain kind of fabric, certain designs, certain needles, certain thread and (certainly) by hand. I embarked on a wedding quilt as a present, and made great progress- for hand work. Then the baby got sick, then we moved, then, etc. etc. It didn’t take too long for me to learn that the quilt police weren’t coming if I used a sewing machine, and the wedding quilt has been carefully packed away since. I’d hate to see what the Vegas odds are that I will complete that quilt this year. My friend’s marriage is still going strong, so I’ve got time, right?

Quilt Happy.

Down to the Wire Quilted Christmas Runner Pattern

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You could spend hours wandering the stores to find that last gift for the person you haven’t been able to buy for, or, you can sit down and get this project done. Appropriately called “Down to the Wire Christmas Runner,”  I just finished it for my aunt. These colors will carry her past Christmas into the Wisconsin winter, but it will finish nicely in more traditional Christmas colors. To make it really fast, bind using “Suzy’s Magic Binding” technique. The piecing is very easy, no points to worry about. The big center is great for quilting, but don’t get carried away- Christmas is right around the corner. Happy Quilting!

Down to the wire runner

Christmas Stripes Quilt is easy enough to finish before Christmas

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Twhole quilthe Amish largely use dark solid fabrics for their quilts, but we have done their traditional pattern “Roman Stripes” in red and green plaid flannels. You may think differently, but, I think that putting them in this layout hints “Christmas Tree.” Regardless of the fabrics you use, this quilt is fun and easy to put together. With strip piecing, you’ll finish the blocks very quickly.

Look in the app under Show & Tell for a photo of a quilt completed from this pattern.

 

Finding Fall Motifs for Easy Quilt Patterns

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I’ve always loved the fall colors, but I haven’t invested time making fall quilts. Why? Well, it seems like Halloween motifs and fabrics dominate the season, and I’ve been unwilling to invest so much time in a seasonal piece that it only applicable for a week or two a year.

I’ve been on a quest to find fall motifs that will last from Halloween until it’s time for Christmas, and they really are plentiful.

Pumpkins, of course, without the jack-o-lantern faces, will last the season.  As will their cousins, the squash. The cornucopia and anything in it- corn, fruit, leaves, mums, are durable. So are scarecrows, crows and turkeys.

I wouldn’t feel ghoulish with any of these motifs hanging around but, while many of them are very suitable for applique, that is a skill I lack the time and patience to develop.

However, I think pumpkins and leaves are simple enough shapes to work into machine-pieced quilts. So, our pattern this week features a pumpkin. And, because we’re having a cold spell here in Wisconsin, the project  is a pumpkin rag quilt.

You can find the pattern by clicking on the picture, or by looking under “Patterns” in the Resources Department of the app.

Next Thursday, we’ll talk about choosing fall colors and will feature a quilt of fall leaves- then it’s on to Christmas.

Happy Quilting.