Wish Upon a Quilt Blog

We have a winner! Erin has won 4 New Day fat quarters from the Hope Valley collection by Denyse Schmidt. We used the random number generator and Erin was the lucky winner! Sign up for our email newsletter for news on savings and a chance to win a $25.00 store gift certificate each month. Thanks for all of your wonderful comments…check back soon for more giveaways!

It’s here! Spinning Galaxies is the name of our 2009 Block of the Month quilt. We hope you love it as much as we do. We are offering several  color options for the setting. The options have been picked by the staff and look great with all of the blocks.

Here are several instructional videos to help you get started on your quilts.

02-quarter-square-demo

Check your mat with your ruler to make sure the lines are accurate before using it to cut the extra wide widths. If it is not accurate you can double up rulers to cut the wider width strips.

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04-square-border-demo

05-intertwined-star-demo

We will be holding demonstrations in the store to help you get started on your settings. The first will be on Wednesday, December 16 at 6:45pm. We will be holding more sessions in January if December does not meet your schedule, or stop by the store where we can help you. If you are not local, feel free to send us an email at wishuponaquilt@bellsouth.net for assistance.

We are thrilled to participate in Sew Mama Sew’s blog giveaway day. Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt just arrived and we are giving away 4 fat quarters to one lucky winner! Just leave us a comment letting us know which 4 fat quarters you would choose if you win and we will pick one random winner on December 6th.  Also, register to win our monthly $25.00 store gift certificate. You will also want to check out Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey and Leanika by Dena Designs while you are here. We have the complete collections in stock and ready to ship!

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.

About a year ago, we posted introductions to our amazing team here. What have they been up to lately? Well, Kris Harris and Cindy Massey recently won ribbons at the NC State Fair for their wonderful hand crafted projects. Stop by and see these award winners and their projects in at Wish Upon A Quilt. Great job Ladies, thanks for sharing!

This is Kris’ blue ribbon winning holiday house:

What to do with laminated fabrics? That was a question that kept floating around the store last Saturday every time someone noticed the new Amy Butler laminated fabrics.  They are gorgeous.

These are PUL fabrics, polyurethane laminated fabrics. They were developed for the medical industry but are receiving lots of attention in the sewing world as more and more people are looking for environmental conscious solutions to grocery bags, disposable diapers, sandwich baggies, etc. More information on the process can be found here. Be careful with PUL or laminated fabrics not ordered from a quilt shop. Some are actually knits instead of cotton that have been laminated. The fabrics produced by Westminster Fibers, and available at quilt shops, are 100% cotton woven laminated fabrics.  The fabric is much easier to work with, soft and has more drape than other laminated fabrics.

So what to do with these new and beautiful fabrics that have arrived from Amy Butler ? Cathy was excited about these new fabrics and made this Domestic Goddess Apron in just one evening! If you are local, come in the store and check it out!

This could be a great work apron. I was buying laminated table clothes at one point, before these cool fabrics came out, to make a dog washing apron. I wanted something that would repel the water so that I didn’t always have to change clothes after bathing my large dog.  A laminated fabric apron would be ideal when washing dishes, I’m always getting my middle wet! Then there are art smocks for your favorite artist (or mother of your favorite artist who might be at risk of getting splatted on the side lines).

Other members of our team are planning on making a Multi Tasker Tote out of them. An Abby’s Treasure Box made with PUL would be a cute cosmetic travel bag for your purse.

Go Green with these fabrics! You could make lovely reusable sandwich wraps and “brown bag” lunch bags. Craft Stylish has posted an article from Betz White’s book Sewing Green on how to make a reuseable sandwich wrap.

This fabric is basically a modern day oilcloth, to be used for any purpose where need a waterproof easily wiped clean fabric. Poncho’s, raincoats, splat mats, placemats, table clothes, fabric boxes,all fit in that category.

Anna Marie Horner’s Seams to Me book has a fun garment bag project that calls for oilcloth. It would look fabulous in the Amy Butler large prints. It would also be suitable for her Full Contact apron project as well that is also in the book.

The fabric would make great splat mats to go under art easels, playdough centers, or any other messy areas to help make cleanup easier.

Once you start considering the possiblities more come to mind. What do you think would be a fun project for this lovely fabric?

I apologize for being remiss in posting our Cut Up club updates.  I will be getting caught up over the next several days, so check back often! If you are looking for a great group of quilters, come and joing the Cut Ups! In August, we expanded our Cut Up Club to two sessions and now have twice the fun each month! Our August quilt was created from the Holiday pattern from Moda. We used Moda’s Crazy 8 by Sandy Gervais. If you would like a kit for this quilt, send us an email at wishuponaquilt@bellsouth.net. 

We are fast coming up on the season of Thanksgiving, pumpkins, and turkey (yum.). The November BOM kits are ready so be sure to come in and pick them up before the 10th. (You might want to think about completing some of your Christmas shopping and filling out your wish lists too while you’re in. )

 

Here is this month’s instructional video.

 NovemberBOM_instructional_video

Happy Quilting!