We are happy to be sponsoring the quilt square activity at The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk today in Raleigh, NC. Participants will sign quilt squares in honor or memory of loved ones affected by blood cancers. Quilts will then be made and used for fundraising to support the work of the society. Hope to see you there!
Bloggers Quilt Festival
Welcome bloggers! I am excited to sponsor a great giveaway for the Fall Quilt Bloggers Festival! Just leave a comment on my blog October 9th-16th and you will be entered to win one of 3 $20.00 gift certficates to Wish Upon A Quilt. In addition, leave a comment on Park City Girl’s blog and be entered to win our prize of Free Amy Butler pattern of your choice and 4 1/2 yard cuts to start your project! But wait, there is more! Place an order at Wish Upon A Quilt using the coupon code: BLOGFEST and receive a Wish Upon A Quilt exclusive gift! Thanks for stopping by! If you are not receiving our newsletter, sign up here. We give away a gift certificate every month!
I almost forgot to share a quilt. I shared my version of this quilt here, so decided to post an alternate version. Quilt was pieced by Lynne Creasy (a fabulous Wish employee) and quilted by Angela Clark of Thread Waggle Quilting! Fabric is Whimsy by Michael Miller. Pattern is Perfect Ten by Swirly Girls Design.
Wish Upon A Quilt Mystery Quilt Step 3
How is your mystery quilt progress coming along? This month’s step goes much quicker than step 2, so you will make good progress in no time. Nancy’s hint is to pay particular attention to the pressing instructions in this step. Accuracy will pay off in the next few steps.
I just suffered from two block disasters and thought our readers might like to learn how to handle a few block disasters. My first disaster happened when I was pressing one of my BOM blocks. I reached for the starch and sprayed. Then realized I was holding quilt basting spray instead of spray starch. The right side of my block was now all tacky with adhesive! – OK the best way to avoid this disaster is to just keep the basting spray far away from your pressing station. I did not want that adhesive on my block while I was pressing the top later. So I had to wash it out. I took the block to my sink and gently hand washed it in a mild soap and lukewarm water until I could feel the tacky of the adhesive was mostly gone. Then I laid the dripping block on a plush towel and blotted it between two layers of the towel and left it to air dry. It’s important not to wring the block or it will distort it.
Small inkspot, partially removed.
The large inkspot started to spread when i put the stain remover on it.
Disasters usually happen in multiples. My second disaster was discovered minutes later. I had a block from the BOM riding around in my purse for a month. (Bad idea from the beginning.) I took it to my pressing station to press and realized I had a small spot on it. I thought it was chocolate at first but realized it was a leaky ink pen stain because I saw another much larger ink stain on another piece of the block. Ugh! I took the block to my laundry room and hit it with my Shout Advanced stain remover. I rubbed the stain remover into the spot and realized it was spreading the ink. So I grabbed a Shout Color Catcher and used that to work at the stain. If you aren’t familiar with Shout Color Catcher’s, they are a laundry sheet you put in your washer while washing colors. They are supposed to chemically attract dyes and prevent bleeding. I usually throw one in with my fabrics when I prewash, just to be safe. I figured if it is supposed to chemically catch dyes it should trap the ink. It did a great job.
Color Catcher with the ink pulled out of the block.
The stains were gone or faded enough not to notice by the time I rinsed the stain remover out. I then rinsed the block in cold water to make sure the remover was completely gone and laid it out on the towel with the other block to dry. When the blocks are mostly dry you can press and measure to make sure their was no shrinking or distortion. if they seem to be a bit smaller or distorted you can lightly mist and “block” the block by pinning it to your ironing board in the desired shape and size, then let air dry. The material is stretchier when wet so it is easier to tease and encourage into the proper shape when damp. When it dries it will hold the blocked shape. (Blocking is often done when finishing a smocked panel or garment so smocking sites or books should have detailed instructions on how to “block” a piece.)
So what block disasters have you encountered and how did you recover?
Hello Mystery Quilters! How are you coming along? By now you have selected your fabrics and sewn them into some strips. Easy, right? Step 2 is a little more challenging, but it does get much easier after this step. In this step, you will be making lots of half-square triangle pieces. Nancy used the quicker method of piecing. Draw one line diagonally down the center of the square and then 2 lines 1/4″ from the center and stitching on the two lines. Something fun to consider, Nancy saves all of her “dog ears” (and YES, there are plenty in this step!) and puts them in a small clear spice jar. When she fills it up, she ties a ribbon on it and has a cut little jar of fabric confetti for her sewing room! Leave us a comment and let us know how your are doing! Your finished pieces will look like this…
Here is a great virtual quilt show for you…our customer’s gorgeous quilts. Click on each picture for a close up view. Thanks to everyone for sharing! We love to share your quilts, stop by and show us what you are working on!
We always have such a great time and the quilts are beautiful! Our quilt for July was made using jelly roll strips of Nostalgia by April Cornell. Isn’t this a great quilt?
Our cut up club members brough back their finished projects from previous months to share (I’ll get better with the new camera 
We also have show and tell and look at all of these great projects!
Sorry we have not been very active on the blog recently. Lots going on. However, we have found this great blog giveaway for you to enter. You are probably familiar with Heather Mulder Pederson’s work since she has published so many great books and patterns with Anka’s Treasures. We love her latest book, Sizzlin’ Sixties . Wendy is teaching this great holiday table topper using one of the patterns in the book.
Heather also designs fabric for Henry Glass and her upcoming collection, Wildflowers, is fantastic. It will be coming soon to Wish Upon A Quilt. Here is a sneak peek…and more here.
What do you think of Wildflowers? Hop over to Heather’s blog and leave a comment for a chance to win one of her original quilts! Good Luck!
Our first mystery quilt viewer’s choice winner is….Quilt #8, followed closely by Quilt #7. Every quilt received votes and so many wonderful comments. Since quilt #8 was made by Nancy our mystery quilt coordinator (she may have had a little edge), we are giving the viewer’s choice award to Quilt #7, Julia! Julia will receive a $25.00 gift certificate to Wish Upon A Quilt! And….our random winner from the 60 comments that were received (some were received via email) is…..# 24 – Bobbi! Bobbi, please email us at wishuponaquilt@bellsouth.net to claim your FREE pattern and gift! What is on your sewing table today?
Here are the winning quilts:
I find it fascinating how different regions can develop interests at the same time. Influences can come from many directions. I find my project choices are influenced by what my local shops are offering, what I see at local quilt shows (like the Mid- Atlantic Festival), what I see in magazines and catalogs, and what my quilty friends are doing. My local quilt shop in Virginia carried Australian Patchwork magazine and Australian Smocking and Embroidery magazine. So I also found myself influenced by projects created contents away and ordering patterns and materials from overseas at $11 US dollars or more for shipping!
Gypsy Ladies by Loralie
The onset of blogging and the increased accesability to the internet is influencing the quilting industry as well. I love seeing the creativity and resourcefulness of one blogging quilter or sewer inspiring another.
Trends I am seeing in our area is an increased love of brightly colored and patterned fabrics. Simple piecing that stitches together quickly. More shoppers seem to be looking for quick projects because they want to see the final top faster. That is why strip clubs are popular and pre-cuts are getting so much attention.
However there is still a strong group that is looking for more intricate patterns and searching for challenges in their next project. It’s amazing to see the growth of online communities rally around Electric Quilt software, Dear Jane quilts, online guilds, The Quilt Show, and other quilt related topics.
Quilter's Heart in Hand on top of March's BOM - Free Trade
So what seems to be the latest trends in your spheres of influence? What are your spheres of influence? We’d love to hear from you because we are always looking for new inspiration.
