Make a Memory!

We will not be open on Monday, May 27, Memorial Day.

We invite you to come in between now and May 25 and pick up one of these kits for 25% off.

We have one kit left of each of these quilt samples.  They need to go to a good home and make room for the new quilt samples we have coming in.  

Come grab one at this great price and Make a Memory or your own.

Quilt Circle of Friends Meeting!

Quilt Circle of Friends met Monday evening.  Several turned in their Orphan Quilt projects for the Adel Library fund raiser.  This silent auction will be held in the shop from June 1-8.  Donating our time, these items are priced to sell at cost of fabric.

First up is this sampler.  Perfect size for a lap quilt or maybe to ride along with a wheel chair. This little quilt was made from donated vintage blocks.

and it was backed with this super plush fabric for comfort.

And from other donated blocks came these pillows, above and below.

This quilt was made from 2 large donated blocks and 8 smaller red work blocks that came from a lesson we did in club one evening.

and one more donated block went on the back.

Margaret made this quilt from a packet of salesman samples.

We backed it with a western print for a great little cowboy quilt.

and made matching pillow case.

Using an orphan panel, here's a Quillow that Nancy H made.  It's a quilt, it's a pillow - It's a Quillow! (the quilt folds and inserts into the pocket to form a pillow).  Great travel companion.

Nancy J took this block, donated from a paper piecing class, and made it into a pillow.

She also took this test block from a bom program and appliqued another quilt block to the center to create and very cute little wall hanging.

Here is Nancy J again and, just as a coincidence, you can see the brown bom quilt to her right that spawned the test block.  Nancy is also showing another quilt she made for our auction. It was made from several of her own orphan blocks.

Jan donated this very pretty little quilt to the auction, formerly a shop sample quilt.  Beautiful peacocks!

And Lonnie is shown with several donation bags and a mini tree skirt, all shop samples she has created this past year. This sale has something for everyone!

Rozetta took home this orphaned table runner and gave it a new life.

Deb Y. took home these two orphaned blocks and made this adorable pin cushion (above) and potholder (below)

Deb also took this panel home and gave it a soft minky backing.  Darling baby girl quilt for our auction.

Theresa whipped up two orphan bag kits and donated them to our silent auction.

So cute!  Made with vinyl covered cotton and pleather.

Nancy collected several donated bow tie blocks and put together this cute little quilt.

And one more donated block became another little pillow.

More items will be coming in for our auction which runs from June 1 through 7 this year.  The Quilt Circle members make most of the donated items but we also receive donations from customers.  Sue Denny recently donated 6 or 8 rice bags to heat and use on sore muscles or cold hands. I do believe, quilters are the most generous of all human categories!

Now on to the regular show and tell from Quilt Circle:

Lonnie played with paper piecing, starting with this Iowa Star block.  She will finish it with some of the Iowa fabric when it is released after June 1.

Jan donated some very pretty pillow cases she made to the woman's domestic violence shelter.

Deb S has been working on this dimensional folded flower quilt for a while.  Seems like it was a worthwhile way to spend her stitching time.  What a stunner.

As if the folding and stitching of each little flower wasn't time consuming enough - - -- 

- - -- imagine machine quilting around each little folded square and then hand stitching down the petals and adding a bead to the center of each.

To make room for displaying the new folded flower quilt, Deb took this quilt down from her feature wall and donated to our auction.  We all won a prize in this deal!

In between folding flowers, Deb restored this quilt, a favorite of her son.  He had loved it so much, he had literally worn the binding off of it!  Deb cut the old binding off, layered the whole quilt on a new backing and machine quilted it and then added a new binding.  She figures it will give her son about 10 more years of comfort.

Margaret does not let her sewing machine rest for long.  Above is a quilt block she made for our Just One Block challenge.  These blocks will be voted on during the Dallas Co Fair and then made into a quilt for 2014 fair auction.

And she finished up this block of the month quilt she had been following through a quilters magazine.  Love it!

We had a guest, Judy Luthe.  She introduced herself with this very lovely applique quilt, all done by  hand and very finely hand quilted.  Absolutely gorgeous.

Celia made another Tulip bag.

Nancy H finished an online block exchange quilt.

And Jen created a pocket cover for her Kindle!

Following a demo on making coin purses, we snacked on Almond Cream filled cupcakes from Nan's Nummies and then scurried home before another spring storm set in.  Always a treat to spend and evening with my Quilt Circle of Friends.

As always, special thank you to member, Jackie Orton for taking the pictures and sending them to me.  As a foot note, we also congratulate Jackie on her retirement, coming up this summer, after almost 40 years of service to Dallas Count.  Hats off!

News from the Iowa Quilt Guild

Someone asked recently about the activity of The Iowa Quilt Guild.  They have an event in July (19th & 20th) in Kalona.  Speaker is Marilyn Wooden regarding Amish quilts.  Their annual business meeting is in conjunction with the Rieman Garden Quilt Show, August 23-25.  Their last event of the year is a retreat November 1 - 3 in Eldora at Pine Lake.   For more detail, visit their website

 

Interesting - From Quilter's Dream Batting

Bearding:

If you have ever had a quilt beard, you know how frustrating and heart-wrenching it can be. Once that soft, wonderful batting is in the quilt, the last thing you want is to see little bits of it appear on the top. Bearding gets its name because back when poly fiber was stiff and horrible (think leisure suit) the fibers would poke through the fabric and then grow like an old man’s scruffy beard. Today’s Quilters Dream Batting fibers, even the poly fibers, are fine, thin, long, and soft, and naturally resist bearding. However, on the rare occasion given the wrong conditions, even the highest quality batting can sometimes beard.

We have found that many high quality fabric manufacturers use a sulfur-based chemical in their dyeing process (especially when dying dark and vivid colors like reds and dark blues). The sulfur is very good for fabrics because the sulfur molecule is five-sided, which causes a strong bond and makes the colors very color-fast. The disadvantage to the “attraction” created by having 5 sides is that more surfaces promote static electricity. When you wear dark colors or a very vivid print, have you noticed that pet hairs and fuzz balls seem to stick to you? It isn’t your imagination – the sulfur has caused a static charge making everything stick. In quilting, the combination of motion (sewing), handling, and atmospheric conditions, especially dry climates or the dry winter heating, will cause the fibers of batting to ‘stand up’ like the hair on our arms and be drawn to the fabric.

The solution is to break the static charge. You can use an anti-static spray, such as Static Guard both on finished and unfinished quilts. If you don’t have an anti-static spray, put a few anti-static dryer sheets in a spray bottle with water and sprits both the fabric and the batting (or the finished quilt).

When you wash your quilt, use fabric softeners in the washer and anti-static sheets in the dryer. It is also helpful to remove the quilt from the dryer before it is totally dry and hang it. Do not store the finished quilt or your quilts-in-progress in regular plastic bags as this really promotes static electricity. Using a humidifier in the workplace not only cuts down on static, but is great for your skin!

Just One Block at a Time!

Just One Block Challenge - See a quilt coming together?

Calling All Flower Box Medley Quilters!

It's time to confirm your orders for Flower Box Medley Block of the Month finishing kits.  With the blocks you have made each month, you can piece together the center of this quilt.  You may want to stop there.

With the finishing kit, you can add the outer border including the gemstones, applique and binding.

Finishing kits are $55.  If you want a finishing kit, please request  it at June pick up.  Payment is required with the request.  

Many of you have already ordered and paid.  We need a firm number from the rest of you so we can be sure to have enough fabric in stock.  We will only guarantee finishing kits until July 1.

With or without a finishing kit, you can't go wrong with this beauty.  We have 1 opening left to build this quilt as a block of the month.

In June, we will start selling just the pattern and bundles of fat quarters to build your own, choosing the background fabric of your preference.

TODAY!

Stop by at 12:30 (or call for an appointment) for our fun make and take - - - - - Wool Felt Baby Booties.

New from Riley Blake!

Hoot!

Make and Take Saturday

This Saturday is Demo Day.  Come in and sit down for this free class and stay afterwards for a 10% discount on your purchases.

This month, we will demo making these baby booties from wool felt and, if you want, you can make a pair to take home with you!  We will provide the sewing supplies to make your first pair, fee!

Additional kits are available (wool felt, elastic, spool of perle cotton and pattern) for just $4.95.

Another sample from the Iowa Fabric

Leslie Jackson made us another sample, featuring the All Iowa Fabric.  I love this bag, especially the use of grommets for the handle loops.