Celebrate Freedom!

Most people just refer to Independence Day as "the 4th". The 4th? Why don't we use the real name of the celebration? Think about this: What about "the 11th"? Who calls 9/11, "the 11th" (actually National Day of Service)? Any, what about 10/11? What about 11/11? If you know what those dates are, you probably refer to the holiday, rather than saying "the 11th". Just to jog your memory, Oct. 11 is Columbus Day, and Nov. 11 is Veterans' Day.

Why don't we do that with Independence Day? It is the MOST important federal holiday in our country's history. Without declaring our independence from Great Britain, we would still be a colony of theirs, and subject to the imposition of laws and regulations that we would have little or no control over. So let's join the Independence Day celebration - the celebration of our freedom, our way of life, and our sovereignty! Independence Day is a joyful time of parades, fireworks, and cookouts AND a time to rejoice and praise God for the courage of our forefathers to stand up for Freedom! Let's call the holiday what it is: our nation's Independence Day.

Note: If you have an American Flag, please fly it proudly and with great respect, this week. You may not be aware that there are protocols of respect for the flag, so here is a link to the specifics: Rules for handling the American Flag.

God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America.

News from the Studio

 

APQS Lenni Price Reduced!

As you know, I am eager to order my new APQS Millie longarm, so I have reduced the price on my 2013 APQS Lenni to $7500! If you are considering a high quality, easy to use longarm, simple to maintain, highly reliable machine, contact me to schedule a test drive. All of my contact information is at  the bottom of the flyer. Do you know Wayne Waldroup? He is our guru of sewing / quilting / serging / and industrial versions of those machines. APQS is #1 on his very short list of great longarms because, as he said to me, "they just never break down".

 

SABRINA'S GARDEN  Got 2nd Place!

My quilt, Sabrina's Garden took 2nd place in it's category in June's Smoky Mountain Quilters show in Knoxville. I was very surprised!

AHQ 2016-2017 Block of the Month

Didn't Barb do a wonderful job on her guild BOM! She add the embroidered "L" in the center after the quilt was quilted. I love the colors and the festive binding. It was quilted with a free-motion spiral, and the center block was custom quilted.

Words of Life

Although this quilt is not yet quilted, I wanted to show it to you. It is a gift for my dear friend Dorothy, whom many of you have met. It dawned on me a few weeks ago, that in all these years I had never made a quilt for her. I used one of the Moda Cake Mix Recipe packs (from which I got enough blocks to make a second lap quilt), and used a batik layer cake and a layer cake of cream background batik. (See below for some tips on working with batiks)

It doesn't seem to be worthy of the "Words of Life" name, but it is. Dorothy's favorite quilt that I put on her bed when she visits has words quilted into it. A digital pantograph was used by my quilter (pre-longarm days) called "Hope". It stitches out words like: hope, love, family, courage, perseverance, etc. Determined to find the digital file of it, I finally asked the quilter where she got the file. So, she sent me the file in just the right format! AND, my longarm dealer also went looking for it and found it online on a site with free digital pantos! So I'm ready to quilt! As soon as I find just the right thread, I will take to the dealer's studio and quilt it on one of her computerized machines. Can hardly wait!

Tips and Techniques

 

Working with batiks

Batiks, Etc. - Wytheville, VA (a small part of their stock)

Many people are afraid to use either batik yardage or pre-cuts. I don't really understand why. If I am not working on a project that must have prints, I will use batik - every time. Why? It doesn't RAVEL the way print fabric does. You just don't risk losing half your seam allowance somewhere just because you pulled on the wrong thread!

However, there is one and only one thing to be aware of with batiks - very important. Most batiks bleed! Count on it. BUT - never fear! That is a non-issue if you just learn how to wash batiks.

Ok, ready? This is how I do it.

First, YARDAGE: Yardage is easy.

• Separate yardage by depth of color. Definitely do darks separately!
• I use the detergent, Synthrapol. It is a special detergent that will release all of the loose, un-bonded dye molecules from the fabric and prevent them from bonding to other fabric! Do NOT use regular detergent. Small bottles of Synthrapol can be found a many quilt shops - but become cost-prohibitive if you use a lot of batiks. I buy it in quarts either from Amazon or Dharma Trading Co. 
• Start filling the washing machine with HOT water. Add 1/4 C of Synthrapol for a full load, or adjust the amount and the water level to fit the amount of fabric you have. 
• After the detergent begins to mix in with the water, add the load of fabric. Use your regular cycle. I usually do 2 rinses. Dry in the dryer on warm or hot.

Now, PRE-CUTS: They are easy too.

• NEVER pre-wash batik pre-cuts smaller than a fat quarter.
• Just make your quilt.
• Done? So, NOW start filling the washing machine with HOT water. Add 1/4 C of Synthrapol for a full load. Adjust amount as needed. Do NOT use regular detergent. Make sure the quilt can be submerged in the water fully. Run your regular cycle. Rinse a couple of times if you want to. 
• Dry as usual.

That's all there is to it. Just be willing to pre-wash batiks in the right detergent. Next time you want to go to Batiks, Etc. in Wytheville, call me!

How Batiks are Made

It is fascinating to see how batiks are made. This is the best documentary on the subject that I've seen. Enjoy.
Modern Batik Production

Enjoy your Independence Day celebrations!
Now, let's go quilt something!

What's wrong with this picture?

Oh, not THIS picture, though.

Rejoice with me! My laptop now has a new brain and is running great! I picked 'er up from the digital hospital on Thursday and have been dancing a jig ever since! Other than having my digital life come grinding to a halt and all the trauma that caused, I had to use a paper calendar! I also didn't have my usual "Good morning - here is your list of appointments coming up, and a list of all of the tasks you've been putting off way too long" greeting from Outlook. The tragedy in that was that I forgot to enter the APQS Millie giveaway every day!! Which reminds me, I need to put all of the appointments that are scribbled on my beautiful AQS calendar into Outlook before I stand somebody up. Can anyone guess who these lovely people are?

News from the studio

Miss Margie is good as new and we are open for business! Time to get those tops done that have been staring you in the face or a while. Remember, free batting on your first quilting order!

New pattern for Irish Pinwheels

Yea! Now that my laptop has a new brain and all of my precious apps and files are unaffected, I can resume normal life. (Don't you wish getting a new brain was as easy as unplugging the old one, and putting in a new one?) Anyway, normal life includes publishing a pattern now and then. The pdf pattern for Irish Pinwheels was already complete before my laptop died, so all I had to do was enter a few details about it on Craftsy, and upload it. Maybe I'll actually make one for myself soon. I have most of the fabric, but it has to take a place at the back of the line behind 3 other priority projects - well, unless I change my mind. Click here for the pattern: Irish Pinwheels

Junk to Jewels

Junk to Jewels

Here's the latest creation from Linda in NY. Such a happy quilt! So full of life. The block is known as Aunt Sukey's Choice (among other things). We used the new Filigris pantograph.

Filigris

Rebekah's Lone Star

Joyce is at it again. What a pretty lone star quilt! We used the very versitile Pipeline panto. You go girl!

New pantos in the studio

Twine

Filigris (again)

What's Wrong with this Picture?

No... these are not supposed to be harem pants (or eunuch britches). They are supposed to be p.j. bottoms for me. And no, my legs aren't that short! I'm still laughing over the thought of trying to walk while wearing them. I'll wait while you figure it out......
..........still waiting......

See, this is really a bigger problem than just sewing the front side seams together and the back side seams together rather than doing it right. Wonder when I last made a pair of pants... Not only did I use a lovely 5/8" seam, but I serged the raw seam edges together to prevent raveling. Do you think I'm going to pick out the serged edges as well as the regular stitching? NO. These are p.j.'s not Lady Gertrude's wedding dress. I'll cut off the serging and just use a narrower seam. Golly. And I was so proud that they were going to get done today.

New machine status

Met with the bank this week. Financing strategy is in place. Be thinking about whether you want to have a sweet longarm of your own. Margie will be coming on the market in a few weeks.

Tips and Techniques

Spin your seam intersections to reduce bulk

Have you noticed that when you make a block, such as a pinwheel block, with several seams that intersect in one place, that they often form a hard "knot" of a place? Well, that knot can be a challenge for the needle to penetrate during quilting. If it is bad enough, it will pose a risk of a broken needle or damaged quilt top. Here's how that knot can be minimized.

• Join your pieces as usual.
• Then remove the vertical stitches within the seam allowance on both sides of the seam. I have noted that area for you with a ceramic pencil.

 

• Press the seams in a circle and flatten out the center of the intersection.

Your block will lay flatter and the seam intersection will be easier for the needle to penetrate.

Learning for the week

Are you kidding? Guess I needed to check one more time.


Well, that's it for now. Please have a simply delightful, quilty weekend!

Now, let's go quilt something! 

Yes, I am still here!

It has been a long time since my last post! I haven't really been idle, just stymied! Last time, I told you that my longarm was on vacation. Well, she's back and running in peak form. That's the good news. Just about the time I was ready to write the next post, the motherboard in my laptop fried to a crisp! So, I'm trying to limp along electronically with my little tablet. I've been quilting, and piecing, and having a great time, and even taking pictures. But I don't have a way to share the pics with you, access my calendar, any of my files, or any of the software I depend so heavily upon. As you can imagine, I'm getting a good workout practicing patience!

In other news... in the last post I told you we had a beautiful, new roof! Guess what. It leaked worse than before it was installed. Yikes. So I quick called my guy, who called the big boss, who sent out his head construction guy to look at it. The flashing around the chimney flue was missing. There had been some - but someone just ignored putting it back on. Not to mention there was a significant hole in the sub-roof that wasn't fixed when the roof went on. Golly. So they bowed and scraped and groveled, and got all of that repaired lickety-split. So far so good. NOW I can start the search for a drywall contractor to address the interior damage. I don't like loose ends.

News from the studio

There is BIG news from the studio! I visited with my APQS dealer on Monday. I love spending time with her whenever I can. She is a delightful person! Anyway, we talked everything over, and I have ordered a brand new longarm!! Within the next few months, I will take delivery on a 2017 APQS Millennium! AND a computer! I can hardly contain myself! But first, we gotta do what we gotta do: line up good financing, and sell Miss Margie the longarm. She is not on the market yet, I still have work to do and get everything worked out with the bank. I will keep you posted!

The Peace of Continuity

The DH and I celebrated our 11th anniversary last Friday. Usually, we forget, and it just finally dawns on us that we've been married for another year. But this time, completely by "accident" a trip was in order. We had a whirlwind road trip from NE TN, to Louisville KY, Newburgh IN, and Glasgow KY.  Actually, we didn't go because it was our anniversary, but because I had a longarm class scheduled. The DH had wanted to visit 2 friends from his youth for years, but it was never easy to work it into the normal flow of life, and this was his chance. We had a delightful trip!

Strip Poker Hysteria

Guild News

The weekend of 9/18 was the guild's annual 3 day retreat. As usual, it was a lot of fun. We had our normal rounds of strip poker, and of course, sewing until the wee hours. I managed to finish 2 quick tops, and get a good start on a third. To see all the pictures, visit the Appalachian Heritage Quilters facebook page.

News from the Studio

This past weekend I took a class from Angel Huffman at her APQS Store in Louisville. It was excellent! Attendees ranged from one who didn't own a longarm, to someone who had been doing custom quilting for a few years. We learned some basic ruler work techniques, and easy-peasy ways to quilt borders, blocks and sashings with very little marking. The key message for me (little miss plan everything before you start), was to begin your custom work where you are. If you aren't ready (don't have a clue what to do in a space), pin the heck out of it with basting pins (those bent safety pins) and keep going. You can go back to those areas later.

I took the Headed Home quilt I showed you in my last post, and discussed quilting options with Angela. She still has a quilt top displayed in her studio that she had made right after 9/11. It will hang there until she has the inspiration (and a bit of time) for at least some of the quilting.

New Pantos

There are a couple of new pantographs in the studio:

Smitten                                                                                                     Torrent

Learning for the Week

Continuity: "The unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over a period of time."

This week, watching the DH renew 2 very important friendships from his youth, I was reminded of how essential those relationships are to us. Time was, when families were rarely scattered across the nation and across the globe, as they often are today. You are richly blessed if you live near family and friends with whom you grew up. Otherwise, with no-one from the "old days" nearby, we can suffer a loss of what I call the "continuity of life". I find that there is an important "peace" in knowing that I have  a bond with someone who was and is a "witness" to my life, who knows that I have value and who wants the bond between us to grow stronger.

I hope you have that continuity, and nurture those relationships with care. They are important and precious. If there is no one you can think of that way - please take care of the friendships you have now. If you would like to get to know someone from church or your guild, invite them to lunch. They could easily become your valued friend and your life's witness.

Have a great day! Now, grab your chocolate and lets go quilting!