Wish Upon a Quilt Blog

Have you seen the latest pattern out by Auntie’s Two - the creator of the Bali Bowl patterns? I love the Bali flip flop pattern, Bali Bow to Go!. I’m thinking that the bag and flip flops matched with the Amy Butler Cabo Halter  and Blue Sky Hat  would make a fabulous summer ensemble. Are you stitching up something fun for summer?

Once you have a quilt top pieced the fun isn’t over. There are a lot of creative options that you can do to jazz your quilt up and “bring it up a notch”. There are pieced borders, mitered borders, applique borders, flange borders, and piped borders. You can have straight edges, scalloped edges, notched edges, curved edges. You can throw prarie points, piping, and flange in at any point in the mix. Today we’ll look at prairie points.They can be added to blocks, borders or edges of a quilt. They add a fun three dimensional twist and can be a sneaky way to match points in a block. Just think about a pinwheel or flying geese block made with a prairie point instead of a pieced triangle. Let me back up for those who don’t know what a praire point is. A prairie point is a triangle folded from a square. They can be stitched together in a line to make a sweet edge for a quilt or added to quilt blocks and borders for three dimensional pizazz.

About.com has a good demo of the two ways to fold and make prarie points from charm squares.

I love this demo by Lissa on her Moda Lissa blog on how to make  continuous prairie points from a strip of fabric. She then shows you how to add it to a pillowcase.

Susan K. Cleveland has a great tool called the “Prairie Pointer” to help you line the edges of your prairie points up accurately. It is a thin metal triangle that is acid etched with markings for matching the center fold prairie point edges. It comes with directions on how to use, cut, and calculate yardage. There is also a free patriotic project using prairie points designed by Susan. Come into wish for a demo of this handy tool.

 

 Janice Pope, owner of Anything But Boring dropped by the other day and was kind  enough to personally model two of her best-selling designs, the Schlepping Bag and The Two Hour Tulip purse bouquet. Like all of Janice’s patterns which are made to solve everyday problems, these two are easy to construct and so useful! The Schlepping Bag is large enough for you to take all of your class supplies with you in one bag. Throw everything in and you are ready to go! The tulip purse is ergonomically designed so that it won’t tip over. Since carrying this bag, I haven’t lost a cell phone, wallet or anything else out of my purse, even when it falls on the floor of the car! If you have made either of these, let us know how you liked them!

I think this is Lynne’s third “Perfect Ten” quilt! She just proves how much fun the pattern is and how quick it is to put together. Her first Perfect ten was made in batiks and was just gorgeous. She then remade it in soft prints like Nature’s Notebook. This third version shows how versatile the pattern is.

The pattern calls for 10 fat quarter’s and promises you can finish the top in one afternoon. The designer is Swirly Girl Designs who are developing a reputation for graphically appealing patterns. Check out other Swirly Girl patterns at Wish.

I have to admit when I first saw Martelli at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt festival several years ago, I dismissed their cutting system when I realized that their rotary cutters where designed for single hand use, i.e. you can only use the left hand cutter for the left hand and the right hand cutter for the right hand. I had gotten pretty adept at cutting the uneven edges off the left hand side of my fabric with my left hand and then switching to  my dominant right hand to rotary cut the strips and shapes I needed.  (No need to flip my fabric around.) So I didn’t investigate further until Cathy brought their mats, tables, and cutters from Quilt Market last year.

After a weekend of cutting fabric for a scrap quilt, 8 layers deep, to yeild over one hundred charm squares my hand was cramping from the force needed to maintain a grip and the pressure needed to cut with my Olfa rotary cutter. I started to appreciate the ingenuity of the Martelli cutters.

The Martelli cutters are molded to fit into your hand comfortably. They are designed to cut with the sharpest part of the blade so that less force is needed to cut through multiple layers of fabric. They are also designed so that you are pushing with the natural swinging motion of your arm so that your shoulder doesn’t hurt after lengthy periods of cutting.  They work even better from a sitting position! Traditional rotary cutters are designed such that accurately cutting from a  sitting position is near impossible. If you are having problems with standing for lengthy periods, arthritis, cramping hands, or sliding fabrics then definitely check out these cutters and the cutting system. On top of all that the blades last much longer than the other brands.

Another aspect of the Martelli cutting system are their mats and rulers. They are designed to grip the fabric and prevent it from sliding. So the Martelli ruler wont shift or slide while your in mid cut and it wont let your fabric shift or slide either! The mats also help prevent he bottom layers of fabric from getting out of line too. Speaking of the mats, Martelli has put just as much thought and design into their mats as well. They can be rolled up with out cracking. They will lay flat after being rolled up with very little persuasion needed. The lines on the mats are accurate and can be used to measure cuts. Both sides of the mats can be used and have the accurate grid line on them. One is yellow and one is purple. So you can change the look in your sewing area just by flipping the mat! Not to mention use the side that works best with the color of fabric you are cutting. You can also lay several layers of batting or fabric on top of the mat and use it as an ironing surface. They can take the heat, just don’t put the sole-plate directly on the mat. A great feature for small working spaces that need to double up on functionality wherever they can.

They also have a lazy-susan like table, called a Round A Bout, that is very sturdy and sits on top of your working space. The Round A Bout has a mat and pressing pad that fits on top of it. You can fold your fabric and lay it on the Round A Bout, cut the rough edges, then swivel it around to make the rest of your cuts.

We recently had the Martelli pros in the store, but if you missed the Martelli demo, then I hope you’ll come in and let the staff show you the wonderful ingenuity that has gone into the tools. We will even show you the latest in cutting table designs, one that is designed to fit your body for maximum comfort. They definitely make cutting easier on your body and make accuracy easier to achieve. If you aren’t local then check the products out in our online catalog.

I would like you to meet Loanne Bartholome a.k.a. “Nutty Nana”. Loanne has TONS of children and grandchildren, enough to drive anyone “nuts”. Now that her children are growing up, Nutty Nana is creating gorgeous clothing for her grandchildren and has developed her own pattern business.  The Knit Yoke Twirl Skirt and Child’s Apron patterns are pefect for your little one. Both are quick, fun and easy to make. Do you have a special little one that would love these? 

I started playing with the X-block rulers and patterns in July when we had our Christmas special and I made the table runner. I was intrigued by the designs that used the fabric trimmings from the rulers as the borders for the quilts – no fabric waste! They are so much fun and addictive too! I’m on my second quilt and I have two more planned.

To start, I recommend the 7 1/2 inch ruler . Most of the cutting for that size is done on 1/2 inch or 1/4 inch marks making the cutting a breeze. Some of the 6 1/2 inch block instructions require 1/8 inch cuts, still doable, but requiring a little more concentration. The larger template also accomodates the large scale prints that are so popular now. The book X-Block Land is a great palce to get started with X-blocks - it shows you several designs based on strips and several based on blocks. It’s amazing that a complex quilt is made with such simple piecing! The cover for the book really doesn’t do it justice. You need to look at the centerfold gallery to truly appreciate this gem, come on in and take a look! If you are already making X-blocks, let us know what you have created and share any tips that you have found useful!

If you are familiar with Johnny Gruelle’s lovable character Raggedy Ann, you will know that she is a kind and adventuresome little rag doll. Raggedy Ann has moved on to a new mistress who accidentally left her at Wish Upon a Quilt overnight. Her new mistress was distraught over her absence but Raggedy had a great adventure.

Raggedy Ann kept marveling at the beautiful fabrics and patterns since she last visited the mercantile with her Mistress Marcella.  She had great fun watching how the Accuquilt Go cutter worked.

She even gave it a whirl herself.

She hoped her new mistress would make a new quilt for her bed with the Critter shapes just like the one from the Accuquilt Go cutter trunk show hanging in the store. It is from the book Quilting on the Go. 

Raggedy was impressed with the new Martelli rotary cutters. She watched a video on how they are used. She kept saying “My my!” after she saw how the blades where so sharp that they could cut through and aluminum can and then cut through multiple layers of fabric and a single layer of fabric without a hitch.

Raggedy had fun sliding down the new laminated fabrics, and playing blocks with the Jelly Rolls. She took a cat nap in the fat quarter bins after all of the excitement. She was very tired but happy when her mistress finally returned to collect her.

I find that some of the mundane tasks of quilt finishing are so much more enjoyable with fun tools. Seam ripping, or unsewing, is so much easier with a sharp seam ripper and a pretty one! Cathy has some fabulous seam rippers that have beautifully carved wooden handles. When the seam ripper’s blade gets dull you can take it out and replace it with another. The handle makes it so much easier to hold the standard sized ripper, and to find in your sewing kit.

Then there are the fabulously funky jelly finger thimbles. They come in fun colors and look so comfy.  Great for protecting your fingers while hand finishing a quilt binding. 

Having a whimsical pin cushion in your sewing area can put a smile on your face while you work or when you are facing one of those frustrating sewing challenges.

Cathy also has some really pretty, and reasonably priced, thread nippers for your sewing kits too. I still can’t decide which one I like the best. I waffle between the green and blue and my daughter insists I should get pink.

Oh, and don’t forget the glue pens for helping place bias stripping or bindings onto your quilts and holding them secure while you sew them down.

The glue washes out when you wash your project. I love the Quilt Basting spray, instead of saftey pins, when basting smaller machine quilting projects. It is so much quicker and less likely to have wrinkles on the back. I don’t have enough floor space to lay out a larger quilt to use it or I’d use it on all my machine quilted quilts.

I love pressing when I use the Best Press Spray starch

- the lovely scent of Lavendar makes it a relaxing and enjoyable process.

What is your favorite tool?

My brother and sister-in-law just had a new baby this month. I don’t know why I’ve waited this long to work on a baby quilt. I had nine months but they just flew by.  My niece had to be born to throw me into high gear making a baby quilt. I love making quick and easy baby quilts. This project only took me a weekend but it came out adorable. I used a Tina Givens Fairy Tip Toes panel and a minky like fleece for the back. I try to use minky on baby quilts as a ploy to make it the baby’s favorite. Many young children are attracted to the tactile softness of the fabric.

I often use the pillowcase turning method of sandwiching my baby quilts since they are small and I don’t usually feel like messing with binding on such time pressured projects. (They have to be done before the baby is no longer a baby! ) In this case I pinned my panel to the fleece and stitched a 1/4 inch seam around and left a 10 inch opening for turning on the bottom side. I then used my pinking blade on my rotary cutter and eye balled a 1/2 inch seam on the minky. The fuzzy plushness of the fabric makes it difficult to tell if you have gotten it in a 1/4 inch seam so I cut it a little larger to make it easier to stitch the seam closed later.

 I also added 3 inch strips of various ribbons to the sides of the quilt. I folded them in half and pinned them in place before stitching those seams. I thought it would give the final quilt a boutique look and add another tactile stimulus to the quilt. I then turned the quilt inside out and stitched a 1/4 inch around the edge of the quilt; making sure I sealed the 10 inch opening in the bottom.  I pin basted and quilted it.(Click on the pictures in the gallery below for more detailed instructions on the project and descriptions.)

 Baby quilts are a great way to practice machine quilting on your home machine. Their size is manageable and they are meant to be serviceable – so mistakes and irregularities in stitches can be over looked. You don’t have to present your best work for a quilt that is meant to be dragged in the mud and cuddled till it’s thread bare.

I’ve found that the fleece and minky scraps from this project make great burpee clothes for the baby too.  They look boutiquee, feel lovely, and coordinate with the quilt!  Mom (or Dad) and baby can step out in style with quilt and a handful of coordinating upscale burp clothes! (Warning, I have a hard time putting these burp clothes down because the minky is so soft and they are guaranteed to get passed around the baby shower because others find it irresistible too. )

Wish has just gotten some cute minky quilt kits in. They each have three different minky soft fabrics. They have a suggestion on how to assemble the materials into a quilt. But you could make several burp clothes out of them or even make a blanket with coordinating burp clothes if you add some adorable quilting cottons into the mix. The OH Boy fabric line by David Walker would pair nicely with the kits for a boy and Lilly Pond by Wendy Slotbloom for a girl. Wish has so many cute fabrics for kids! Be sure to check them out and tell us what you think the cutest baby fabric is.

You can get more great gift ideas from Alex Anderson’s Baby Quilts with Love book and Warm Welcome by Mary Hickey.