Sew a Quilt News

Today, I'd like to share a special photo with you. My mother-in-law, Rojean Massard (83 years young), made this beautiful quilt for us. Her inspiration came from a calendar that featured the Twin Towers before the 9-1-1 attacks.

As she admired the photo of the towers, she felt an urge to transform the image into a quilt.

Here's a closeup of the towers. To make the windows look realistic, Rojean decided to use plaid fabrics. When I first saw this, I thought it was pure genius!

After she completed the towers, she appliqued them to a backdrop of our American flag. I don't know about you, but I'm swelling with American pride.

For her borders, Rojean used this gorgeous 9-1-1 fabric. She found this print in a fabric store shortly after the attacks.

Although she didn't have a specific project in mind, she bought the fabric anyway. She would find a use for it later on. True to her word, she created this quilt using that fabric.

To personalize the label, Rojean drew a helicopter to symbolize my husband's tour of duty in Vietnam. The steam engine represents a Lionel train he received as a child. And since my husband is a licensed plumber, she also drew a pipe wrench.

The wing nut represents our hometown hockey team, the Detroit Red Wings. The label reads, "Stitched with love for my son, Gus, by your mom, Rojean Massard."

Rojean did a fantastic job of portraying the beauty and splender of these magnificent towers. Great work, Mom!

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November 22, 2006 12:12 - Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Today I planned to write about quilting. But I got sidetracked by a special incident. This morning, as I checked the pockets of my daugher's dirty laundry, I found a folded piece of paper. As I opened it, my eyes zeroed in on the heading. It read: "Cure Autism." Tears welled up in my eyes.

You see, my 25-year-old daughter has autism. Her mental capacity is that of a child. Nonetheless, she was able to find and print this article, all by herself. This is self-determination at its finest.

Many of us take our good health for granted. But at times like this, I am reminded of how fortunate we are to be able-minded. And I'm also thankful for a wonderful daughter who reminds us how truly blessed we are.

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November 24, 2006 11:38 - Shop Unil You Drop!

Today is the biggest shopping day of the year. I'm sure many of you have scoured the stores for bargains. If you found some good deals, count yourself blessed.

I enjoy a bargain as much as the next person. But I have to remember to keep things in perspective. Many folks are less fortunate than us. For that reason, I encourage you to remember those in need.

I've listed a few charity organizations below. I can't possibly list all of them. But it's a good start. Follow your heart and do what you think is right.

Children

Project Linus

Quilts for Kids

Homeless

Ugly Quilts

Breast Cancer

The Quilt

Soldiers

Killed in Action Memorial Quilts

Any Soldier

Operation Homefront Quilts

You might want to help soldiers who have amputations. Check with your local VA Hospital.

Nursing Home Lap Quilts

Check with your local nursing homes for specifications

Injured and Homeless Animals

Hugs for Homeless Animals

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November 25, 2006 13:27 - Do Cheater Quilts Live up to Their Name?

The first time I heard "cheater quilt," it threw me for a loop. I've always sewn my quilts the old-fashioned way---piece by piece. Is there any other way? Yes, indeed.

What is a Cheater Quilt?
In traditional quilting, we sew individual pieces of fabric together to form the quilt top. Not so with a cheater quilt. To make a cheater quilt, you would use a single piece of pre-printed fabric called "cheater cloth." Cheater cloth looks just like a pieced quilt top, but there's no seams.

Cheater cloth goes by many names including: Panels, pre-printed patchwork, pre-printed quilt tops, faux quilt tops, etc. Whatever you call them, they definitely save you time. If you're looking for an easy way to enter the quilting world, look no further.

Here's an example of a traditional cheater cloth print. This design gives the illusion of pieced squares. But in reality it's one solid piece of fabric.

This photo on the right shows another cheater cloth design. In this case, you have picture panels instead of traditional blocks. These panels measure six inches square, so they're a lot easier to quilt.

In our last example, we have log cabin blocks. See how realistic the fabric looks?

As fun as these quilts are to make, they do have their critics. Some quilting purists believe that cheater fabric lives up to its name. They believe the only way to make a real quilt is to piece the whole thing yourself.

But,I don't consider it cheating. I think it's a great way to learn about quilting. So, if you want to start out with cheater fabric, don't feel guilty. You'll be piecing your own quilt soon enough.

Here are a few sites that offer cheater quilt fabrics:

Block Party Studios

In Weave

Got Fabric

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November 26, 2006 09:19 - A Quilt to Purr About

I made this cat quilt for my daughter, Holly. Usually, I don't sew quilts with repeated patterns, but I made an exception in this case.

I used over fifteen different fabrics in this quilt. I wanted to create a lot of texture and give the cats some personality.

In this photo, my handsome husband, Gus, and my beautiful daughter, Holly, display the quilt. Holly was extremely excited when she unwrapped it on her birthday.

That weekend, she took it up to her apartment near the CMU campus, where she's finishing her teaching degree.

If you'd like to sew your own cat quilt, check out these sites. They offer free cat quilt patterns. Have a blast!

Fashion Cats, Paper Pieced

Cat Nap

Stairway to Cat Heaven

Lots of Cat Patterns

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November 27, 2006 14:02 - Are You Ready for Christmas?

Can you believe there's only 25 days until Christmas? I always promise myself I'll start making quilts in January. That way, I won't have to rush around at Christmastime. Despite my best intentions, I don't follow through.

One year I decided to make a table runner. With only a week to spare, I sewed this holiday tablerunner. It turned out great, but it would have been less stressful if I could have taken my time.

Do you find yourself in this situation? There's still hope. Sew a smaller project, like stockings or a wallhanging. These fulfill your desire to quilt, yet they don't require you to invest a lot of time.

For more ideas check out these free Chrismas quilt patterns.
Star Quilt Pattern

Christmas Pot Holder

Christmas Star Tablerunner

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November 28, 2006 09:12 - What a Cool Quilting Gadget!

Want to make your quilting calculations easier? I found a nifty tool called the Quilter's Fabric Calc. It's a calculator made especially for quilters.

This tool helps you figure out how much fabric you'll need for blocks, sashing, borders and even half-square triangles. Work in either fraction or decimal modes.

I got mine a few weeks ago, and I don't know how I got along without it. I do quilting math everyday for my quilting lessons site. This calculator is really easy to use, once you get the hang of it. I highly recommend this tool.

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November 29, 2006 06:24 - Quilting a Perfect Angel

I'm making an angel pillow for my hairdresser who is moving away. You just can't hold onto the good ones, can you? Anyway, I decided to make this pillow because she loves angels. On Saturday, I'll give it to her at her going-away party.

These are the pieces I've sewn so far. I used the interfacing technique, because it gives me clean edges to applique. It also makes the pieces fusible. That means they'll stay put while I'm quilting them.

Here's how I sew the pieces: First, I trace my shape onto the smooth side of the interfacing. Next, I place the smooth side of the interfacing against the right side of the fabric piece. Then I sew around the traced shape. Lastly, I cut a slit in the interfacing, and turn the shape right side out.

This photo shows how I arranged my quilt pieces against the background fabric. Later, I'll fuse them into place. Stay tuned, because tomorrow I'm going to quilt the pillow top.

If you like this pattern, check out Town Square Sampler by Eleanor Burns. You'll find lots of other patterns as well. Best of all, it shows you all the techniques I've mentioned here.

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