tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56080895168922234252024-02-20T19:56:13.424-05:00Quilter's Paradise CafeIngrid Remkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144482168019984225noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-4626007417052528572011-05-03T10:00:00.000-04:002011-05-03T10:00:01.548-04:00Quilts for Our Troops<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>val·or</i><span style="font-family: 'Doulos SIL','Gentum','TITUS Cyberbit Basic','Junicode','Aborigonal Serif','Arial Unicode MS','Lucida Sans Unicode','Chrysanthi Unicode'; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.7em;">/ˈvalər/</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="f">Noun: </span>Great courage in the face of danger, esp. in battle</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVLf6nIsGNfuYw_amGWVwzjXsKaYLv5RZ0-QsLhGSLxp4BF_m4BWN3N7NmkDknuU-5xZuoUnR4MtzGjOY8FcLLcre4uXIwNyAylZcNIVe_STho6XOv2JDEaHW94BT4SDfFXaad9ms78FG/s1600/Rocky+Harbor+Pics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVLf6nIsGNfuYw_amGWVwzjXsKaYLv5RZ0-QsLhGSLxp4BF_m4BWN3N7NmkDknuU-5xZuoUnR4MtzGjOY8FcLLcre4uXIwNyAylZcNIVe_STho6XOv2JDEaHW94BT4SDfFXaad9ms78FG/s1600/Rocky+Harbor+Pics.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVLf6nIsGNfuYw_amGWVwzjXsKaYLv5RZ0-QsLhGSLxp4BF_m4BWN3N7NmkDknuU-5xZuoUnR4MtzGjOY8FcLLcre4uXIwNyAylZcNIVe_STho6XOv2JDEaHW94BT4SDfFXaad9ms78FG/s320/Rocky+Harbor+Pics.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVLf6nIsGNfuYw_amGWVwzjXsKaYLv5RZ0-QsLhGSLxp4BF_m4BWN3N7NmkDknuU-5xZuoUnR4MtzGjOY8FcLLcre4uXIwNyAylZcNIVe_STho6XOv2JDEaHW94BT4SDfFXaad9ms78FG/s1600/Rocky+Harbor+Pics.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
Did you know that there are two tremendous organizations dedicated to honoring the valor of our service members by delivering home made quilts to our returning veterans? The <a href="http://www.qovf.org/">Quilts of Valor Foundation</a>, and <a href="http://www.citizensam.org/html/quilts.html">Citizen Sam's - Quilts for Our Wounded Program</a> are doing incredible work, but they need our help. <br />
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The Quilts of Valor Foundation's mission is to cover ALL those service members and veterans touched by war with Wartime Quilts called Quilts of Valor (QOVs). These quilts must be 55” to 72” wide and 65” to 90” long. They must be made of 100% cotton quilting fabric, but they can be any style or pattern - not just red, white and blue. The Quilts of Valor Foundation has a very sophisticated website where they connect "piecers" with "long armers" - so you don't have to complete the entire process. For more information please check out their website at http://www.qovf.org.<br />
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Citizen Sam is an organization dedicated to supporting our armed services through many different programs including programs dedicated to supporting active duty armed service members, veterans, and the children of fallen soldiers. "Quilts for our wounded" is a very special program within Citizen Sam that we just recently learned about.<br />
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Our wounded soldiers are transported from the battlefields to the safety of hospitals in open cargo planes with no heat, and Citizen Sam is asking quilters to help keep our wounded service members warm. They are requesting red, white and blue quilts that measure 4ft by 6 1/2 ft (48" x 78") to fit stretchers and gurneys. They have some powerful thank you notes and stories from the front lines about how quilts can make a real difference. To learn more please visit the Citizen Sam website at http://www.citizensam.org/ or the Quilts for Our Wounded Program at http://www.citizensam.org/html/quilts.html.<br />
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We have a great selection of patriotic quilt kits available that are perfect for donation to either of these great organizations. You can see our full <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/Patriotic-Kits-s/268.htm">Patriotic Quilt Kit Collection HERE</a>. <br />
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It's rare that an opportunity to quilt for such a worthy cause arises. The thought of our brave service men and women freezing on a cargo plane as they are transported to the hospital makes me wish I could send a thousand quilts! If there were enough hours in the day and days in the week to actually accomplish this goal I may actually attempt it, but alas I am one quilter. That's why I've taken this moment to appeal to you dear readers. If we gather our talents, our fabrics, and our time we can keep our exceptionally valiant soldiers warm.<br />
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Please remember the more quilters we get involved, the more quilts we create, and the more soldiers we honor. So pass this message on to all of your quilty friends, and thanks in advance for helping me get this important message out.<br />
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-IngridIngrid Remkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144482168019984225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-44562445672780582492011-04-13T22:10:00.000-04:002011-04-13T22:25:55.314-04:00To Pre-wash or To Post Wash? This is My Question...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7_PQJaOifjGuWIitAmQkwLhtMcHSM3-KqJmOf4iRUWPJyqt4khQIvIC0jqKMwBPIx1QLB-94E6zSODLLmtR6olFCJtlbZ_J9ueidaeFsSarYb4GoSnV3ESTuq3FLO5iYqD5TuA6zDxhS/s1600/washornotwasimg.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC7_PQJaOifjGuWIitAmQkwLhtMcHSM3-KqJmOf4iRUWPJyqt4khQIvIC0jqKMwBPIx1QLB-94E6zSODLLmtR6olFCJtlbZ_J9ueidaeFsSarYb4GoSnV3ESTuq3FLO5iYqD5TuA6zDxhS/s320/washornotwasimg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595256997555626418" border="0" /></a><br /> <style>@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: "Times"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1</style><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Do you pre-wash your fabrics before you start quilting? Do you wash your finished quilts? Do you like the way a quilt looks once it’s washed – all wrinkly and vintage? Or do you prefer the pristine pressed look of a finished quilt that’s never been washed? I’ve been informally taking a poll and I’ve got to tell you the opinions on this topic are as varied as the patterns and bolts on our shelves!</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">As with everything in quilting, and creating, these are merely decisions and there truly is no right or wrong answer. Yet I have customers ask me this question all the time, and so today at the Quilter’s Paradise Café I’d like to start the pre-wash vs post-wash discussion. I’ll open it up with the 2 most popular opinions, maybe we can learn a little something together on this one?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">We NEVER pre-wash our fabrics, we just starch, press, cut and sew…..</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">It’s true, when Mom, Lisa and I are quilting we do not ever pre-wash our fabric. It should be noted right up front here, that we only use top quality Quilt Shop fabrics. These fabrics are printed on 100% cotton fabric and are generally only sold in quilt shops, they include our favorite manufacturers – <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/Moda-Fabrics-s/43.htm"><span style="color:blue;">Moda</span></a>, <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/Northcott-s/42.htm"><span style="color:blue;">Northcott</span></a>, <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/Benartex-s/49.htm"><span style="color:blue;">Benartex</span></a>, <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/RJR-Fabrics-s/41.htm"><span style="color:blue;">RJR</span></a>, <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/Maywood-Studios-s/46.htm"><span style="color:blue;">Maywood Studios</span></a> and <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/Windham-s/40.htm"><span style="color:blue;">Windham</span></a> to name a few….</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">We ALWAYS press our fabrics, and starch them with a little <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/product-p/35234600337.htm"><span style="color:blue;">Mary Ellen’s Best Press</span></a>, and then we cut and then sew and sew. Once our quilt is finished, as in quilted, and bound, we soak it in a basin, or if it’s a large bed quilt, - the bath tub.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">We do this for a few reasons, 1 – to get out any water soluble marking ink we may have on the quilt, 2 – to rinse out some of the starch (we press every seam and starch every time we press), and 3 – to “set” the colors in place. (if there was ever to be running color it would happen now, in the tub where we can rinse it out – I’ve yet to see one of our fabrics run).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Once we’ve finished soaking, rinsing and wringing out our quilt we put it in the washing machine for a “rinse and spin” cycle, and then we put it in the dryer. Yes I said the D-R-Y-E-R. After about 40 minutes on low to medium heat, we remove a fluffy, warm, soft, quilt from the dryer, it’s now finished and ready for a snuggle on the couch.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The truth is we use all of our quilts, on beds, and couches, sleeping children, and even sometimes for a picnic out on the lawn. So we wash our quilts when they are first done, and anytime they seem to need a washing. The quilts do shrink up some in the washer, this adds to that wrinkly, vintage effect I mentioned before which we all LOVE!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Some Quilters ALWAYS pre-wash their fabrics….</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I’ve heard them moan and groan and complain… it takes me hours to wash, starch and press all my fabric before I even start cutting! I always answer this complaint with , oh yeah I can imagine that’s tough, but I don’t pre-wash my fabric, I wash the quilt when it’s done instead. Gasps! Are usually the response from the quilter who pre-washes…. “but if you wash it then it get’s all wrinkled and ruined”. It took me a long time to figure out what on earth the first quilter who told me this meant… ruined? Wrinkled? Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Ah – here comes the difference of opinion… quilter’s of this persuasion have explained to me that they don’t EVER wash their quilts, they don’t USE their quilts, they hang them, and admire them but they do not snuggle or nap with them. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">These quilts are serious works of art, and meant to be seen and not touched, and hung and not snuggled. So they are washed in advance of cutting and sewing, no marking pens with water-soluble ink are used, and when they are finished they hang in all they’re neatly pressed splendor. It’s true - the wrinkly washed look does make it a little more difficult to see the quilting patterns that were used, so when the quilt isn’t washed you really get a clear look at those patterns. The quilter’s of the pre-wash persuasion want to be able to admire those stitching / quilting patterns for as long as they possibly can.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">So what do you think? Which method do you prefer? I suppose you could always employ a little of both. If you are making a quilt for a bed or a couch or a baby, then post wash it is, but if you’re making a quilt that is going to be a serious piece of art that you want to admire for years without wrinkling, then pre-washing the fabrics is the way to go. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Are there other opinions or methods I missed on this? Do you do something completely different with your quilts? Do tell! My informal survey on whether to wash or not to wash is still in it’s early childhood, and if there’s more to it, we here at QP would love to know! Leave us a comment and let us know which method you subscribe to!</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">With Love,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Ingrid</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>Ingrid Remkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144482168019984225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-57920170410705200452010-07-28T23:35:00.001-04:002010-07-29T12:16:26.536-04:00Directions to our Grand Opening!<iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=117723484772637136304.00048c611552d8d3c671f&ll=40.940373,-72.309874&spn=0,0&iwloc=00048c611556da4d457ba&output=embed" frameborder="0" height="350" scrolling="no" width="425"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=117723484772637136304.00048c611552d8d3c671f&ll=40.940373,-72.309874&spn=0,0&iwloc=00048c611556da4d457ba&source=embed" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;">Quilter's Paradise</a> in a larger map<br /><br />Here's a really easy way to get quick, accurate directions to our grand opening! Just click on the word "Directions" on the map above, enter your starting address in the "A" box, and click "Get Directions". Then Print them out, hop in the car, and you're on your way to the Grand Opening of our Warehouse in Bridgehampton, NY! We'll be open this Saturday, July 31st from 10am to 5pm, and we can't wait to meet you!<br /><br /><br /></small>Ingrid Remkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144482168019984225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-29202381533677175092010-07-27T17:15:00.001-04:002010-07-27T22:43:29.923-04:00Our New Shop!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3M2R0jhGsCYW2wTWBgL50sH3pTQ9AR6TBdyBMf6BeXSTK_9AXIdlaU5GMSugUyCbTnIImf8VBIB09CAHygptDTMyX16xwgpWHmPHmILj-oJ5vpuq0y224B0TbDUaBQo07s-ambJeoUaEs/s1600/DSC_0435.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3M2R0jhGsCYW2wTWBgL50sH3pTQ9AR6TBdyBMf6BeXSTK_9AXIdlaU5GMSugUyCbTnIImf8VBIB09CAHygptDTMyX16xwgpWHmPHmILj-oJ5vpuq0y224B0TbDUaBQo07s-ambJeoUaEs/s320/DSC_0435.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498706161513278834" border="0" /></a>We haven't updated this blog since, April! Oh my!! Quite a lot has happened since April, and I'm going to try really hard to fill you in on EVERYTHING!<br /><br />First off, we moved! Our warehouse is now located in beautiful Bridgehampton, NY. Our move was quite an undertaking, but in the end well worth it. It's just gorgeous here, and it's wonderful to be close to family and friends.<br /><br />Here are some pics of what the shop looks like today: to the left is the view from our deck and our front door. Below is our new cutting table, which is 20 Feet 3 Inches Long! It's simply splendid!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dr9PUQKtgwkkIjFu52EuXw_pc_3jIq9JLPKMLMPpnwWokQEgvVogvi4abFhsywjYl7vjzPtYB-ysKIUXBnPSYL4-GV2fxEn85dbqksi75IIW01Tlo1d-7kvs4Y9G7F4bHT_SdToIb6Kr/s1600/CASHWRAP2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dr9PUQKtgwkkIjFu52EuXw_pc_3jIq9JLPKMLMPpnwWokQEgvVogvi4abFhsywjYl7vjzPtYB-ysKIUXBnPSYL4-GV2fxEn85dbqksi75IIW01Tlo1d-7kvs4Y9G7F4bHT_SdToIb6Kr/s320/CASHWRAP2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498704636826642466" border="0" /></a>We are thrilled with how much we can have going on at one time using this table... on a normal work day we have it covered with fabric, as you can see Autumn working to fold fats for our next Sizzlin' Summer Sale of the Day:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qFYsz0teLj9vIlHOetY8FA1Fl_zFBbEure-TifABJLUjENfd5AIr3XjnQxoPaQelMibNqfkg-5-Hwntq6OTNamBo3aZ-UNrqUV5ZLuU7wEQ2bHGGkLo8hjiPLF4D1ZXxxoRAOjN7OeWM/s1600/DSC_0432.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qFYsz0teLj9vIlHOetY8FA1Fl_zFBbEure-TifABJLUjENfd5AIr3XjnQxoPaQelMibNqfkg-5-Hwntq6OTNamBo3aZ-UNrqUV5ZLuU7wEQ2bHGGkLo8hjiPLF4D1ZXxxoRAOjN7OeWM/s320/DSC_0432.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498705213295725138" border="0" /></a><br />Here's a few pics of our rows and rows of bolts:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtn9h_aamOGtG51Qm6s7TP8F6AzYkew4YOhjN62RLfARzgvWpg_Q0G8tj5PYxhaMkJVcgOnm8ass4fyVZVWFv5qM955b-dSksvbhZsWIO8eIv9V6OPg096Ydy6urjBjKCsO5zZJzkVDmNg/s1600/DSC_0639.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtn9h_aamOGtG51Qm6s7TP8F6AzYkew4YOhjN62RLfARzgvWpg_Q0G8tj5PYxhaMkJVcgOnm8ass4fyVZVWFv5qM955b-dSksvbhZsWIO8eIv9V6OPg096Ydy6urjBjKCsO5zZJzkVDmNg/s320/DSC_0639.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498705526387218754" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBa85f2psQb0dbjvffgkw5SZlrayQ83gnx1PQhwVEK9BRaAKHYHzTC9tQ-JKx3v3r-eMZpqU-vxW_ithkyhfxUHB3REVTwmdsHaapTzWSkFEG5YFqudqe-XhbxIbB0T5P-ssWdMFXbLSe/s1600/shop10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBa85f2psQb0dbjvffgkw5SZlrayQ83gnx1PQhwVEK9BRaAKHYHzTC9tQ-JKx3v3r-eMZpqU-vxW_ithkyhfxUHB3REVTwmdsHaapTzWSkFEG5YFqudqe-XhbxIbB0T5P-ssWdMFXbLSe/s320/shop10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498705723459970146" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And now for a few of how it all came to be.....<br /><br />We spent our Memorial Day Weekend packing up our Buchanan Warehouse and then unpacking into our new Bridgehampton Space. Here's a few shots of the move in progress......<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5VrAdtEOBE7UKXtxvuc-kqCLQKRxoYcOlCmbVVQaz97bjQynlapCN8fWN4NyD2vq8MNqGaeYe_rKdVANRK-WtKnbkbVai1cd1zQ1sOriEag4wjt8XwM5g-u5SMbx4DEqYSFM6td6dd-5w/s1600/empty.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5VrAdtEOBE7UKXtxvuc-kqCLQKRxoYcOlCmbVVQaz97bjQynlapCN8fWN4NyD2vq8MNqGaeYe_rKdVANRK-WtKnbkbVai1cd1zQ1sOriEag4wjt8XwM5g-u5SMbx4DEqYSFM6td6dd-5w/s320/empty.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498706555648191538" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0oXn6FldXhxi2Mca8fR8Dj16kbVGP37nc9mc6i8oNHDIt6pGxVby9ypVhOcty1F1rPNhIHv2lWc6CvjBtg-wNTcQZVgQdFkdSgZB1EDIkQqMRB7Rv8oM_4vGeOqLs5MRFr5NLKrzeg2x/s1600/ingdoc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 281px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0oXn6FldXhxi2Mca8fR8Dj16kbVGP37nc9mc6i8oNHDIt6pGxVby9ypVhOcty1F1rPNhIHv2lWc6CvjBtg-wNTcQZVgQdFkdSgZB1EDIkQqMRB7Rv8oM_4vGeOqLs5MRFr5NLKrzeg2x/s320/ingdoc.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498706675115311426" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here is a pic of the Shop Empty, and a pic of me waiting on our loading dock for the big truck to arrive....<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUS0eZM1fbnAKauvuF4PQ8mK-240I8f_G219yE7DE4UDuLS6nuzCF29sgu7hMVzylolIKmqeNLrFCe6ziMFt6g-cUOCTkZXfdMdvuD1o7CWnLBJkFPafhgB-_8hxmfq-f7TJ30_PUvB3vD/s1600/movers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUS0eZM1fbnAKauvuF4PQ8mK-240I8f_G219yE7DE4UDuLS6nuzCF29sgu7hMVzylolIKmqeNLrFCe6ziMFt6g-cUOCTkZXfdMdvuD1o7CWnLBJkFPafhgB-_8hxmfq-f7TJ30_PUvB3vD/s320/movers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498707238252631394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUX9q1dgQm0_IyS-wGYDh9eggc2GxyTiXX3ggGCh10bUTfCTCoo5qh3AHeCdJbZGUE6J-D_kqATNl6oxez29XxO42847RvJXm1Dq74qELDJ-qxj1wOTfiif23JWlqR3Sm6fq00_ojRC64X/s1600/ingthink.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUX9q1dgQm0_IyS-wGYDh9eggc2GxyTiXX3ggGCh10bUTfCTCoo5qh3AHeCdJbZGUE6J-D_kqATNl6oxez29XxO42847RvJXm1Dq74qELDJ-qxj1wOTfiif23JWlqR3Sm6fq00_ojRC64X/s320/ingthink.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498707578527316498" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here's our 18 wheeler full of fabric working on parking on our dock.... and later on me considering where things should go... Then the part that I am most thankful for, my family arrived in droves to help us unpack!!!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkvTxng4C3kT0SxtIFYO2l7jYmpH7vHOaOg4SvxcJ4TJWw3ruwDHH36sgLHGOsdyawX45ftKouq23aEcFL2Xkoqva_JDfp2bs9TAjMH0yd9QrbQELd1BWX1mo3vTS3WFJ6klLxOdaFwJM/s1600/mdadmam.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLkvTxng4C3kT0SxtIFYO2l7jYmpH7vHOaOg4SvxcJ4TJWw3ruwDHH36sgLHGOsdyawX45ftKouq23aEcFL2Xkoqva_JDfp2bs9TAjMH0yd9QrbQELd1BWX1mo3vTS3WFJ6klLxOdaFwJM/s320/mdadmam.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498707841411236226" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4qC4jJIBrClS3ftvUmQn_Hizpi4vuOJk89ybRdrWGoNbEt5R2gP9Q-rFijU3od83psKDj9qu-KmA9WLRz82m_9f1e4JkAL1kD6tvtTCHEJQLkz7tjnyYdXWeVU5b9hiieX5VKCyrwFwA/s1600/mariafab.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4qC4jJIBrClS3ftvUmQn_Hizpi4vuOJk89ybRdrWGoNbEt5R2gP9Q-rFijU3od83psKDj9qu-KmA9WLRz82m_9f1e4JkAL1kD6tvtTCHEJQLkz7tjnyYdXWeVU5b9hiieX5VKCyrwFwA/s320/mariafab.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498707980133534050" border="0" /></a>My Dad, Grandma and Marilyn putting shelves together left....<br /><br />and my cousin Maria shuffling bolts from pallets to shelves right....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And then there's my nephew Jack, we left off in April talking about the brain surgery Jack was about to undergo. I'm thrilled to write and let you know his operation was a HUGE success! Jack is now talking, saying; momma, dadda, poppa, cupcake, go, and many more words, he is much more engaged, and his head is already 2 centimeters smaller. We think all in all he is happier for it too. Here he is climbing in and out of our then empty shelves, and running with a can of playdoh.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAg_du4Vce5eyhfHKGDelL48z9mx2hNtIfAhlJv0olzXeN44YH5rG4Us_Zs8NXJwtoTE_sC6oFYE6z-ILza2w336pcWW_9zKni-h862iGEAEV2TJczmWyyFhO8t_TtpR2THRuKHBCeDT6/s1600/jackshelf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 264px; height: 175px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLAg_du4Vce5eyhfHKGDelL48z9mx2hNtIfAhlJv0olzXeN44YH5rG4Us_Zs8NXJwtoTE_sC6oFYE6z-ILza2w336pcWW_9zKni-h862iGEAEV2TJczmWyyFhO8t_TtpR2THRuKHBCeDT6/s320/jackshelf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498709450858085794" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSofKyHgMrAmABmvMJt-iv1OvSznIXd5tZn1k3FaOipfExTrkU1gUQh5IMhHfz77weVxV-W7IgYa0cb_QF9f8jRSkkk_VUaRNz0m983R87yL8meXIxd07xFUi2R9WwOQ0K5LD1TJf_-uQ/s1600/jack4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaSofKyHgMrAmABmvMJt-iv1OvSznIXd5tZn1k3FaOipfExTrkU1gUQh5IMhHfz77weVxV-W7IgYa0cb_QF9f8jRSkkk_VUaRNz0m983R87yL8meXIxd07xFUi2R9WwOQ0K5LD1TJf_-uQ/s320/jack4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498710247879428578" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Life for us in Bridgehampton so far has been wonderful. I was raised in Sag Harbor, NY just ten minutes from the shop, and for me this has very much been a homecoming. My family dates back 13 generations on one side, they were some of the early settlers of Bridgehampton, and most of my living relatives live here today.<br /><br />One of the biggest perks of our new shop is that we can allow you, our fabulous customers to visit us here! Due to limited parking, we have agreed with our landlord to open on Saturday's ONLY starting this Saturday, July 31st. We'll be open from 10am - 5pm, and everything you see online you'll be able to touch, feel and purchase in person. If you need directions shoot us an email, questions@quiltersparadiseonline.com and we'll send them right back to you!<br /><br />Moving forward we'll have the same great selection of high quality quilting fabrics you've come to know us for. And I promise to get on here and blog much more frequently! Hope to meet some of you in person soon!Ingrid Remkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144482168019984225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-84352299655881357502010-04-12T16:08:00.000-04:002010-04-12T22:01:05.764-04:00Bar Harbor and Sag Harbor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteYc6YnFeEig5Tz3J5GNBtgf4D6BVxCWQOidHXkdQMJXlwlzPT0wH-tt12lmt61IzoxMhH8zrdAzsfCRSfzTnIuFTp9pwnscTFHaB_zbpjw7SJHz1t1v6EmBVTsSvHMbTiTdAsF5zye23/s1600/bharbor5dime-ad.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 462px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteYc6YnFeEig5Tz3J5GNBtgf4D6BVxCWQOidHXkdQMJXlwlzPT0wH-tt12lmt61IzoxMhH8zrdAzsfCRSfzTnIuFTp9pwnscTFHaB_zbpjw7SJHz1t1v6EmBVTsSvHMbTiTdAsF5zye23/s320/bharbor5dime-ad.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459345689093501602" border="0" /></a><br />Pictured above is our own Bar Harbor 5 & Dime Quilt. My mom, Pam, made this quilt using the<a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?product=BarHarbor1"> Bar Harbor Fabrics by Minick and Simpson</a> and the pattern <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?product=PAT-DEF&productid=PAT-Five_Dime&sales=0&lastmenu=submenu-9100.html">5 and Dime by All Washed Up</a>. This quilt was created for a raffle to benefit the North Star Foundation, for the placement of a service dog with my sister's family. North Star Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children with special needs through the use of well-bred and trained assistance dogs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9nSF9JpPv-y1u_fGDeKR475p7OPxttXEMmF2XGD3I4oYXcFnSysS2bj1rJy5BEhA2xdcCe_dH31H0I5faS6yxfERCyrxkSHLlzUYBnFuWmATbkeZ2ZVF7_HtWAHCQJzt4idp2WweUWn1/s1600/ktliam"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ9nSF9JpPv-y1u_fGDeKR475p7OPxttXEMmF2XGD3I4oYXcFnSysS2bj1rJy5BEhA2xdcCe_dH31H0I5faS6yxfERCyrxkSHLlzUYBnFuWmATbkeZ2ZVF7_HtWAHCQJzt4idp2WweUWn1/s320/ktliam" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459357648159007170" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrJWptVzfxq3glVohS-q-2i5ALadmD2mSmWD5jlecQ_Nxm3s24m30DIwAuh7sFaszJrWCA9L7ttdcOVYnGmAVAkszImjL00BUd6xvZfhuZxsMW4vBc6BiCiAn9D5Z6-Zx4ZsYtM_LJZ_B/s1600/jackterry"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrJWptVzfxq3glVohS-q-2i5ALadmD2mSmWD5jlecQ_Nxm3s24m30DIwAuh7sFaszJrWCA9L7ttdcOVYnGmAVAkszImjL00BUd6xvZfhuZxsMW4vBc6BiCiAn9D5Z6-Zx4ZsYtM_LJZ_B/s320/jackterry" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459358061113496226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I have one sister, Erica, and she has three kids, Caitlin 5, Liam 4, and Jack 21 months ( pictured with his Daddy - Terry). They are adorable, tons of fun, and a handful all at the same time. Caitlin was diagnosed with emotional and social delays at 18 months of age. She's now as she would say 5 and 3/4 years old, and almost through Kindergarten. Jack was recently diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder or PDD a form of Autism, and subsequently an arachnoid cyst in his brain which will require surgery. My sister has a blog about Jack and his journey, you can read it by clicking <a href="http://www.jackmcsweeney.blogspot.com/">here.</a><br /><br />Autism is so prevalent today, too prevalent, and it is frightening how little information is out there. When Jack was first diagnosed with a large Arachnoid Cyst in his brain my sister and I scoured the internet for information on them. Do they cause Autism? Is surgery necessary? What is the long term prognosis? What have been the results with other kids, other surgeries? We could find very little. So in the hopes of raising awareness Erica created Jack's Blog, and we are all fund raising for the North Star Foundation. We are not only fund raising for my sister's dog, but to raise awareness about therapy dogs as a resource for kids with disabilities, so they can reach their fullest potential. It is our goal to raise as much money as we can so other families less fortunate than ours, will be able to enjoy the benefits of a therapy dog.<br /><br />To kick off our fund raising drive we are going to donate $10 from every Bar Harbor 5 and Dime Quilt Kit sold, to the North Star Foundation. If you'd like to donate directly you can do that by visiting the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.northstardogs.com">North Star Foundation's website</a> and specifying Mc Sweeney Family when prompted.<br /><br /><br />Thanks in advance for your support, and for continuing to follow us on the QP Cafe.Ingrid Remkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144482168019984225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-89595697219095193272010-02-07T15:05:00.000-05:002010-02-07T19:09:03.140-05:00Sweet Dreams QuiltLast week I posted my Sweet Dreams Quilt on the web site and mentioned it in the newsletter. I followed the instructions in the "Best Friends" book by Suzn Quilts (Sue Marth, author). It's a great book, brimming with great ideas for quilts, pillows, table toppers, and recipes! My quilt was made using Sanctuary fabrics by Moda, which gave a very girlie/shabby chic quality to the quilt. This is a really fast and easy to put together quilt, and here are some of the images from my sewing experience: First I organized everything I needed. The iron for pressing my backing nice and smooth, some Mary Ellen's Best Press for the same, 505 spray adhesive for basting my batting to my backing, some wide blue painters tape for securing my backing, scissors for trimming, and a chalk wheel and ruler for marking my batting according to the pattern instrucions.<br /><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB008eq0DLyOsaJnRWBfL71WGxMSnVShWmBMLYkol8iS_dF_dlfvMjKDqUbiZfzLZCHgYgNPqAaCP7nyD9qEMN_6N1T2Dhlqp9pl23g87wHeXqjXc1IW202MSkAq9tAkZ7BhiIFgJX499w/s1600-h/2010_0117buddy0002.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435597535933805602 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB008eq0DLyOsaJnRWBfL71WGxMSnVShWmBMLYkol8iS_dF_dlfvMjKDqUbiZfzLZCHgYgNPqAaCP7nyD9qEMN_6N1T2Dhlqp9pl23g87wHeXqjXc1IW202MSkAq9tAkZ7BhiIFgJX499w/s200/2010_0117buddy0002.JPG" border=0></A><br><br />Next I taped my pressed backing wrong side up on my kitchen island and I used the painter's tape to secure it to the countertop. Usually I baste on my dining room table and use binder clips to hold my backing, but this backing is not that wide and it fit nicely on the island, so that is where I did the basting. (besides, the dining room table had fabric on it!) </br> <br><br /><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCYbyzDPFlT75Sj33_9RqTpU07iWbxVk9Te7VmrYBkAgRziP_IzFf6PY7Sbe9ZhSZ6hzpjKbfzBbxNCIt72Qo5PRtfHC8eZyh8iVPPdzaw4fwv-c263uG2oe894qO5ratEE3kB374bEQm/s1600-h/2010_0117buddy0004.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435599239701898354 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCYbyzDPFlT75Sj33_9RqTpU07iWbxVk9Te7VmrYBkAgRziP_IzFf6PY7Sbe9ZhSZ6hzpjKbfzBbxNCIt72Qo5PRtfHC8eZyh8iVPPdzaw4fwv-c263uG2oe894qO5ratEE3kB374bEQm/s320/2010_0117buddy0004.JPG" border=0></A></br> <br><br />In this picture, I think you can see how I have taken rather long pieces of the painter's tape and I have secured the backing on both sides and also at the top and bottom. </br> <br><br /><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMKNRXTufepgM0Zqq7O0yZbuAZL-hXiR0iRvVd472MgMJS1E4rywvLwmJQyjrWWNhl0JcuDwenoRSvuAxhQkMOmAwsu5S_HwgnrHq9n44j4sSdUDvocN-68uW1LNfrBJp6taLkzEcERZi/s1600-h/2010_0117buddy0005.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435599857834317938 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMKNRXTufepgM0Zqq7O0yZbuAZL-hXiR0iRvVd472MgMJS1E4rywvLwmJQyjrWWNhl0JcuDwenoRSvuAxhQkMOmAwsu5S_HwgnrHq9n44j4sSdUDvocN-68uW1LNfrBJp6taLkzEcERZi/s320/2010_0117buddy0005.JPG" border=0></A> </br><br /><br>Once the backing is taped, I give it the "pinch test". I try to pinch up a piece of the backing off the table. Hard as I try, I can barely pinch 1/4" off the table. That tells me I am good to go, proceeding with basting my batting on to the backing.</br><br /><br><br /><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkfZf4tD_XuQhP9mpbLuwihlaqTzH4xbG5dkZmd7WGmCuyjanlQcSiq9kIfBwR2JtwmzydlnK_pHNZazYsYX23_ok3qEmLS2G4l-qfBvXRihuc-MAtvwwVz6kwKmx4qRz-n1fnQphGtNI/s1600-h/2010_0117buddy0016.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435600736351476514 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkfZf4tD_XuQhP9mpbLuwihlaqTzH4xbG5dkZmd7WGmCuyjanlQcSiq9kIfBwR2JtwmzydlnK_pHNZazYsYX23_ok3qEmLS2G4l-qfBvXRihuc-MAtvwwVz6kwKmx4qRz-n1fnQphGtNI/s320/2010_0117buddy0016.JPG" border=0></A></br><br /><br>I take my Warm and Natural Batting (recommended in the pattern) and fold it in half lengthwise. I lay that lengthwise down the center of my backing. Using 505 spray, I carefully stand at the edge of my island and spray from the edge closest to my body, toward the batting. I move quickly down the island until on half of my backing is sprayed. Then I smooth the batting over the sticky backing and repeat the process on the other side of the backing. I just fold the batting back until I reach the sticky part and spray the backing fabric. Then I smooth out the batting and I am all ready to go. </br><br /><br><br /><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1JOy1oFwiP_HJzijbxRBfrs5sAmF99iy-S2JvbiEiVjZQ5nN_qzBgcwe7hGk7QF601OgTPBXXIu1cfbpqG3tA28Olgwls8XsR-gxUo81je09Vm2qRLEWSmSLgqWFUfLMigr5smUGishjL/s1600-h/2010_0117buddy0018.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435601984944692402 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1JOy1oFwiP_HJzijbxRBfrs5sAmF99iy-S2JvbiEiVjZQ5nN_qzBgcwe7hGk7QF601OgTPBXXIu1cfbpqG3tA28Olgwls8XsR-gxUo81je09Vm2qRLEWSmSLgqWFUfLMigr5smUGishjL/s320/2010_0117buddy0018.JPG" border=0></A></br><br /><br>I used 2 (6" x 24") rulers "end to end" to measure up from the bottom of my backing and marked a line according to the pattern instructions. I found a blue chalk wheel worked really well for the marking. </br><br /><br><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6F_8zlYGiSrGeVS-OqTDs5h0Ks-sacTBtYntR6nIM9Y7MIwmdiL3SML76fBpYTJEJrbI3KZmPI21xSvdSbPyrjtp5bbad8LWBjlWTxfB1CGstqI8wsxcOUDV08pFPZtqDs4G_I6TFHr0q/s1600-h/2010_0117buddy0020.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435602689031275586 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6F_8zlYGiSrGeVS-OqTDs5h0Ks-sacTBtYntR6nIM9Y7MIwmdiL3SML76fBpYTJEJrbI3KZmPI21xSvdSbPyrjtp5bbad8LWBjlWTxfB1CGstqI8wsxcOUDV08pFPZtqDs4G_I6TFHr0q/s320/2010_0117buddy0020.JPG" border=0></A></br><br /><br /><br><left><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwRbAAgQCnjrhVFS4RYBFhMNScLkezynBER8mmJyfm1JWdPezcDMNQakWx7DNg2tuACEOFWx8B1rAmWF5wVu1TdubdN_Gz-7Jin3pa7l5ReHopRB1KG9R7uE2zek7kBWzUqRxiHj9LKROS/s1600-h/2010_0117buddy0022.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435603141183021058 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwRbAAgQCnjrhVFS4RYBFhMNScLkezynBER8mmJyfm1JWdPezcDMNQakWx7DNg2tuACEOFWx8B1rAmWF5wVu1TdubdN_Gz-7Jin3pa7l5ReHopRB1KG9R7uE2zek7kBWzUqRxiHj9LKROS/s320/2010_0117buddy0022.JPG" border=0></A></left></br> <br /><br /><br>Once my marking was completed, I slipped a rotary cutting mat underneath my backing and used my rotary cutter and ruler to trim the batting.</br><br /><br /><br><A href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUxXc4IxXYtNqaf8Xb8LUeYKXlI2GGE_U0I8HPDOcmUZ0odS1S7xoVUPjmjmyDC7n45NECE-_54K5jJKpi_G8mGOu7i4i6X_lTFcDOSV1nTdEAJeZ5DoK2SKFYkt2cKE74ru3tqga_U5l/s1600-h/2010_0117buddy0026.JPG"><IMG id=BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435603580633883522 style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUxXc4IxXYtNqaf8Xb8LUeYKXlI2GGE_U0I8HPDOcmUZ0odS1S7xoVUPjmjmyDC7n45NECE-_54K5jJKpi_G8mGOu7i4i6X_lTFcDOSV1nTdEAJeZ5DoK2SKFYkt2cKE74ru3tqga_U5l/s320/2010_0117buddy0026.JPG" border=0></A></br><br /><br /><br>Next I grabbed my Jelly Roll of Sanctuary (2 1/2" strips) and headed to the sewing machine!</br><br /> <br /><br>I followed the instructions for the quilt to the letter, except I used a different quote in my quilt. I used "Sweet Dreams" rather than "Mother" or "Sister" or "Friend". As I was stitching my mind was going crazy with all the variations of this quilt I would love to do. How about smaller in baby fabrics with the baby's name and birth date and weight? Or in bright kids fabrics for a child and have their name in block letters? Or for a guy in masculine fabrics? It could say "Dad" or "Son" or have any sentiment. (Happy Birthday, Happy Retirement, I Love You (in any language), Hero, Army, Navy, Air Force, etc. with patriotic fabrics). Does that happen to you? Does your mind just go crazy with possibilities while you are sewing? Please tell me I am not CRAZY! Once the quilt was finished I opted for some Free Motion Quilting (FMQ) rather than the suggested grid quilting. Grid quilting with a walking foot is surely easy enough but it is not "me". I'm a curly swirly girl. Rich and I did a little video for you, showing how to design a curly quilting design for this quilt. I hope you like it. Please feel free to post comments and questions! </br>Click on the arrow to view it:<br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y3iSRckt860&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed><br /><br />Sweet Dreams Quilting Demo<br />LisaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-7114075830354590742010-02-05T01:55:00.001-05:002010-02-07T19:15:09.467-05:00Super Bowl Sunday Sew In - The Pillowcase Challenge<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBTHQaff5cgaDRRAsibm-k8z9wZcjYeoxZtt0_ikW6CvCj2DARsBjsefwPv9NGqhb8ZU0dq9T-iEk5Mm5yXPTPMqG3hiw9cY0FCuXDQ7YXMmbHMqTFZhrmUqYQlQex7tYsR2rM8XcK1ry/s1600-h/million.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 136px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkBTHQaff5cgaDRRAsibm-k8z9wZcjYeoxZtt0_ikW6CvCj2DARsBjsefwPv9NGqhb8ZU0dq9T-iEk5Mm5yXPTPMqG3hiw9cY0FCuXDQ7YXMmbHMqTFZhrmUqYQlQex7tYsR2rM8XcK1ry/s320/million.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435659369719099810" /></a><br />This Sunday is the Super Bowl and we are having an online "sew in". Since we are spread all over the globe, we would like you to sew in with us and post onto the web site about your progress. Most of us will be making pillowcases for the <a href="http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases/index.html">1 million pillow case challenge</a> during the Super Bowl.<br /><br />If you have family members who require food and munchies during the game, it's best to organize ahead of time so they don't bother you for food while you are sewing. That way you can get your stitching done! Of course, you can order pizza, or some ready made sandwiches. My family is somewhat spoiled and they expect a special treat. It would certainly have to be homemade and not "take out". And besides, I like to cook!<br /><br />One of my favorite things to do is to plate up cheese, crackers and fruit, or fresh veggies and a dip. An antipasti platter is also nice. Our absolute favorite is a baked brie, which usually serves as a hot appetizer at any family party or function.<br />There is a great video demonstration on how to do this on the Food Network. I usually use nuts and 1/4 cup of brown sugar in my brie (rather than the jam used in the recipe in the video) and the steps I use are exactly as it appears on the <br /><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/brie-en-croute/42186.html">baked brie video by Paula Deen</a>.<br /><br />My other favorite dish for Super Bowl Sunday is my Crock Pot (or slow cooker) meatballs and sausage. These can be made days ahead and then warmed the day of the game, or you can start them up in the crock pot in the morning and they will be yummy by game time.<br /><br />Here's my meatball recipe:<br />1 pound ground round beef (you may use ground turkey or a mix of beef, veal and pork if you wish)<br />1 small onion finely chopped<br />1 clove garlic finely chopped<br />1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs<br />1 egg<br />2 large cans peeled Italian tomatoes<br />1/2 cup red wine<br />1 pound sweet Italian Sausage links<br />2 large carrots<br />1 tsp sea salt<br />1 tsp freshly ground peper<br />1 tsp dried oregano<br />Fresh Basil<br />Fresh Parmesean cheese<br /><br /><strong>Step 1. Brown Sausage </strong><br />In a heavy skillet, heat 1 TBL olive oil, and brown your sausage links, turning frequently.<br />When the links are browned, remove from the skillet and allow to drain on paper towels. When they are cooled enough to handle, slice them.<br /><br /><strong>Step 2. Prepare Crock Pot</strong><br />Place the crock pot on High and add 2 large cans of peeled Italian tomatoes. Include all liquid. Squeeze the tomatoes through your fingers to crush them.<br />Add your sliced sausage to the tomatoes.<br />Take the carrots and grate them, rather finely. I like to use a rasp, but a grater with a fine grate is fine. The carrots will add sweetness to your sauce, and they are good for you!<br />Add seasonings (1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and 1 tsp dried oregano)<br /><br /><strong>Step3. Prepare Meatballs</strong><br />Take your ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, and egg and blend completely with your hands.<br />Shape into meatballs about the size of a ping pong ball. <br />Place the meatballs into your tomato sauce, pressing gently so that all the meatballs and all the sausages are below the level of the tomato liquid.<br />Cover.<br /><br />Continue cooking on High for about 4-5 hours. Your sauce will be bubbling and quite hot. Lower the temperature to low and add 1/2 cup rich red wine. Cover and simmer until you are ready to eat. This will simmer for a few more hours and will be perfect to eat. Or, if you prefer, you can refrigerate, and then reheat for your meal.<br /><br />When you are ready to serve, you may serve the meatballs and sausage over pasta of any kind. Or, if you prefer (and this requires no additional cooking), split open fresh rolls and make meatball heros.<br />Sprinkle with julienned fresh basil and freshly grated parmesean cheese.<br /><br />For anyone who prefers the addition of peppers to their hero, you can place a side dish of sauteed peppers and onions on the table and that is a nice addition as well.<br /><br />I hope you enjoy! A nice complement to this meal is a platter of fresh mozzarella slices alternating with slices of hothouse tomatoes, sprinkled with salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of julienned basil.<br /><br />For a simple dessert, serve a frozen low fat yogurt or ice cream. Put out toppings and let people make their own ice cream sundaes.<br /><br />Happy stitching and Happy eating! Please share your favorite game time recipes!!<br />LisaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-27051205082998938862010-02-02T22:44:00.001-05:002010-02-02T23:23:55.033-05:00Taking Care of our Furry Friends<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt02uCBt2NUG-Q_5ZDQETtWlhcO5c-8h-1Eq7n7vxZ2Vfz9ASYQVZta-KGXgPNnWnIwXerMgPUrYdi7Gb1VEw5ckMgSApoyguEf9xx1lkbr87NfEE9o6x7ZoXkaSf9-VuH3gNlNlu0SC8i/s1600-h/olliejacksimplysquared.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt02uCBt2NUG-Q_5ZDQETtWlhcO5c-8h-1Eq7n7vxZ2Vfz9ASYQVZta-KGXgPNnWnIwXerMgPUrYdi7Gb1VEw5ckMgSApoyguEf9xx1lkbr87NfEE9o6x7ZoXkaSf9-VuH3gNlNlu0SC8i/s400/olliejacksimplysquared.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433858983948005378" border="0" /></a>I'd like to introduce you to our "boys" as we call them, Oliver James and Jack Nicholas Remkus - Sullivan. They are pictured here snuggling in the sun on our <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?product=KITS-BATIK&productid=Simply_Sq-Batik-KIT&sales=0&lastmenu=submenu-6200.html">Simply Squared Quilt</a>. Oliver is 7 years old and a few months and Jack is almost 6. My how time flies I remember taking Ollie home from the shelter in 2002 in Albany, and I'll never forget the day I picked Jack out of a laundry sac in front of our building in Brooklyn. (He was born in our apartment building and the owners of his parents were desperately looking for homes for the kittens).<br /><br />We always try to feed our cats a mix of wet and dry food, and as in many multi cat households, we could never tell who was eating what, and both Ollie and Jack got pretty heavy. Recently we put them on a diet and Oliver responded very well and lost a ton of weight, but Jack didn't and that had us a little worried. Then last week Oliver developed a large swollen cheek, and we rushed him to the vet. It seems he had an abcess, common in diabetic cats. Wait, did he just say "diabetic cat"? ***gulp****<br /><br />Yes it seems Ollie is diabetic. Which explains his weight loss and also his thirst. Lately he's been obsessed with water - drinking out of glasses on the coffee table, the sinks, tubs, wherever he can find drips of water we find him. The vet tested his blood before knocking him out to extract the infected tooth and his glucose tested very high. After sending out for tests to confirm it he positively diagnosed Ollie with diabetes. We started a special diet feeding them both wet food every 12 hours, and after three days of that we started insulin injections at home. Surprisingly it's really not all that bad. I find it easier to give him a shot then a pill by a long shot, as he really doesn't seem to notice the needles at all.<br /><br />Why am I writing to tell you this story? Well I find that many quilter's share a love for fabric as well as a love of cats. So I'm writing to give you the advice I wish someone had given me a few years ago before Ollie was on his way to diabetes. DON'T LET YOUR CATS BE OVERWEIGHT! Skinny cats don't get diabetes. If you're cat seems to be gaining weight head to the vet and get a plan together. It is possible to get them to loose weight on a prescription or high protein diet before they require shots 2x per day.<br /><br />I'll keep you posted on Ollie's condition as we go. The good news is that diabetes in cats is treatable. We're lucky to have caught it when we did and to have a great local vet to work with. We found the website www.felinediabetes.com to be very helpful in getting us started, although the shots really aren't as scary as they make them out to be on the message boards here.<br /><br />Today Ollie spent the afternoon hanging by the side of my lap top monitor as a I wrote the latest<br />Newsletter. He periodically gave me kisses, his way of begging for food, and otherwise laid there very peaceful and quiet somehow without sending every piece of paper on my desk flying, a modern day miracle in our house for sure. Here's a photo of him this afternoon:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AXmvcsosTPVybavfDLW9t2VKSN_GVCdfgRdDA6lONQZCiNYhg9_Ujsu7xtgnPzwTEYcDJ1xk8_0skiNLoJM-Chiit8RXV7wnURJmOGqCUvBfRFsP5PuO3XoD1ICzLd07A8WKzd64-243/s1600-h/ollie&computer1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6AXmvcsosTPVybavfDLW9t2VKSN_GVCdfgRdDA6lONQZCiNYhg9_Ujsu7xtgnPzwTEYcDJ1xk8_0skiNLoJM-Chiit8RXV7wnURJmOGqCUvBfRFsP5PuO3XoD1ICzLd07A8WKzd64-243/s320/ollie&computer1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433863996164851890" border="0" /></a>Are you reading this blog with your cat? If so we'd love to hear from you! Say hi and tell us your cat's or dog's name in the comments section below, send us a pic if you can. Ollie tells me he's excited to meet some friends in cyberspace :) and I'm betting that lots of our readers are Quilter's with cats or dogs too.<br /><br /><br />-Ingrid & OllieIngrid Remkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144482168019984225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-83943718288852961732010-01-06T12:05:00.001-05:002010-01-06T16:02:58.644-05:00Caitlin and her Placemat<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o60NEmdb2iuBswVVJJsrBuClj8dM7knNZNzKYpi_YA0EPINLNYSKqOOj2_HDJOyf3KRG3PF3vna6apvt1vyyVM6DYbebWzBvga7NnKJbpLDQukQYB7UHZnviYLykdrtswB7T3MriIaaH/s1600-h/kt&pmat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_o60NEmdb2iuBswVVJJsrBuClj8dM7knNZNzKYpi_YA0EPINLNYSKqOOj2_HDJOyf3KRG3PF3vna6apvt1vyyVM6DYbebWzBvga7NnKJbpLDQukQYB7UHZnviYLykdrtswB7T3MriIaaH/s400/kt&pmat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423674851050567138" border="0" /></a><br />Last Saturday night I received a phone call from my 5 year old niece Caitlin. She called and said "Aunt Ning, can you please make me a placemat?". I asked her why she needed a placemat and she responded "because it will help me keep all my crumbs off the table." With that I was on a mission. I gathered up a pile of our kid bright fat quarters, and brought them with me to Long Island for the weekend. Then on Sunday, Caitlin came over and we scoured through all the brights I brought, choosing 6 for a placemat for her, 6 for one for her middle brother Liam, 3, and another six for her baby brother Jack 18months. Caitlin also specified a fat quarter she liked the most for the back, depicting sleeping puppies and kitties on clouds.<br /><br />We then cut the fats down to charms using our eternally handy <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?product=Rulers1&productid=JT-797J"> June Taylor Shape Cut Ruler</a>. And layed out 12 for each placemat. Using Lisa's instructions for the "Country Charms" place mat below, we constructed the top of the placemats.<br /><br />Next we laid the completed top out and ironed all the seams. We then spray basted the batting to the wrong side of the top. We use and love <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?product=Fuse1&productid=505Spray">505 Spray</a>.<br /><br />Once they were secure we laid the backing fabric on top of the top fabric this time right sides together and sewed a seam using a 1/4" seam allowance almost all the way around the placemat, we left a small (maybe 6") space so we could turn it inside out. Then hand top stitched the opening together. We quilted these quickly in the ditch and were very surprised at how much we loved the result! And as you can see from the pic above, Caitlin is pretty happy with her placemat too!<br /><br />Here are close up pics of all three place mats:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Liam's Placemat (BOY PLACEMAT)</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXCH6cB984W3WAiddU06D5VSdZfGFbBuTKNoA6yWDhjWEIsBZZS5Hd9ZPt3k2vUpDMrsXgP0CmK8As8G9kl7kzTrZKXrGlDxpzpG0dDqktt_9Gd0yzP3hOeyYGjQCBKnibDZwnevEAyv8/s1600-h/10-0104-8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 297px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXCH6cB984W3WAiddU06D5VSdZfGFbBuTKNoA6yWDhjWEIsBZZS5Hd9ZPt3k2vUpDMrsXgP0CmK8As8G9kl7kzTrZKXrGlDxpzpG0dDqktt_9Gd0yzP3hOeyYGjQCBKnibDZwnevEAyv8/s400/10-0104-8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423685625386953874" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Jack's Placemat (BABY or UNISEX)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtn5EGE84bs6GqZCzoKpPnvBLFaFgffpkubwk_38GwluvzxwaBPIxrk1g8zy_Z06_wFIGUILfDze9yO7r_nPxWiI74BZqA53MhzH4Ni_LOsOpfbls74Sg_AhNRNbnLMUPNHxDkMcnki94x/s1600-h/10-0104-7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtn5EGE84bs6GqZCzoKpPnvBLFaFgffpkubwk_38GwluvzxwaBPIxrk1g8zy_Z06_wFIGUILfDze9yO7r_nPxWiI74BZqA53MhzH4Ni_LOsOpfbls74Sg_AhNRNbnLMUPNHxDkMcnki94x/s400/10-0104-7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423685621876766722" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Caitlin's Placemat (GIRL PLACEMAT)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxqlKOono7UG7rSmqrkxmB7AWwurwuNl7ANHBNTZ2Ne2uLfO_Gm28DGF2bm5j5yDROyBHPjIWGGSvDUYywjoNO7AblW7V_MriNTCMCKWomnnNHtI9KOhmW4e4ZosnF5V_IHA_q-j6J4qB/s1600-h/10-0104-6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpxqlKOono7UG7rSmqrkxmB7AWwurwuNl7ANHBNTZ2Ne2uLfO_Gm28DGF2bm5j5yDROyBHPjIWGGSvDUYywjoNO7AblW7V_MriNTCMCKWomnnNHtI9KOhmW4e4ZosnF5V_IHA_q-j6J4qB/s400/10-0104-6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423685623833857714" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This project was lots of fun and quick and easy to sew up. We were done with these placemats in less then a hour, and my sister tells me all three kids are really enjoying them. I'm sure the little one's in your life would enjoy one too!<br /><br />-Ingrid<br /><br /></div></div>Ingrid Remkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144482168019984225noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-79448508001420166052009-12-14T21:24:00.000-05:002009-12-15T01:01:55.131-05:00Charm Square PlacematsIngrid's mom, Pam, made a charming holiday table runner using Benartex fabrics from Nancy Halvorsen. It really looks great on the table.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MpVIlJVURxjhDGMuWsn7DbF6Sk0ygcjC0Tzmpy8fmeprqT5KI44C5mz9mXV0fI9L7K7B1XZWHlQ8Wu4eJ7RwitYEE3NPp5wuEZWsM0H09QLbPDRiyFozxeGJ94RKBGtjAYYhVdom5m2G/s1600-h/tablerunner4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-MpVIlJVURxjhDGMuWsn7DbF6Sk0ygcjC0Tzmpy8fmeprqT5KI44C5mz9mXV0fI9L7K7B1XZWHlQ8Wu4eJ7RwitYEE3NPp5wuEZWsM0H09QLbPDRiyFozxeGJ94RKBGtjAYYhVdom5m2G/s400/tablerunner4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415285946869339234" /></a><br />I decided to add some placemats and napkins to match.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHQKApZ04PfYR3Kmt_-Ddswo4iOJbefw16kxBtQAnVnHDuH67lk2AYvZBRD7z3iSYinupwCNIsj1c_jB_gQ5JOzvyHmh3ocKiQpIcnYuJMAmnd8PBgw431MJbMyxzgdvFuHtP-dHPHyKw/s1600-h/pm-final.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHQKApZ04PfYR3Kmt_-Ddswo4iOJbefw16kxBtQAnVnHDuH67lk2AYvZBRD7z3iSYinupwCNIsj1c_jB_gQ5JOzvyHmh3ocKiQpIcnYuJMAmnd8PBgw431MJbMyxzgdvFuHtP-dHPHyKw/s400/pm-final.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415286152690382018" /></a><br />If you are looking for a really quick gift for someone, either for the holidays or for a little hostess gift, here is how I do my placemats.<br /><br />Supplies:<br />you will need 12 charm squares per placemat.<br />Backing for the placemat is 14" x 18"<br />14" x 18" batting (cotton such as Quilter's Dream Cotton or Warm and Natural is recommended - avoid polyester batting).<br />Thread for piecing and quilting.<br />Binding strips cut 2 1/2"<br /><br />Additional supplies for making this go very quickly!<br />Alene's Glue Baste It (or Elmer's School Glue)<br />505 Basting Spray<br />Quilting Template<br />Pounce Pad with Chalk<br />Mary Ellen's Best Press<br /><br />1. Stitch your charm squares into pairs. Place them Right Sides Together (RST) and stitch using 1/4" seam allowance.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTR56NEuAaLoGmGd-KXg9xXQVB9aaVSdca1RpRU2OeLB-EE36WxM4IGuHFUcMQpiBuQDc9eXWHink9hMAMYGpBrcsXUYM0P34WCThm8KbvrEbgo5rC5c2Q0br9TiOHqJQyNaFKr4oNxhsZ/s1600-h/pm19.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTR56NEuAaLoGmGd-KXg9xXQVB9aaVSdca1RpRU2OeLB-EE36WxM4IGuHFUcMQpiBuQDc9eXWHink9hMAMYGpBrcsXUYM0P34WCThm8KbvrEbgo5rC5c2Q0br9TiOHqJQyNaFKr4oNxhsZ/s400/pm19.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415285653262003906" /></a><br /><br />2. Using Best Press, press seams to the darker square.<br /><br />3. Stitch 8 pairs of charms into 4 patches.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3x3NOX11a1xGEaUMU5C6X8h529TxI3AkA5Gid2PGa7SRNMZ1ghgWE-M2vFHV3PldHDf40p0N42nsYmHlTXNOTG3Yo50u1bq6a8x-GFRP9XBdEP2SnfEeZlqNCijNRdsnPYP1yT5Y6yKZ/s1600-h/pm18.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 389px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3x3NOX11a1xGEaUMU5C6X8h529TxI3AkA5Gid2PGa7SRNMZ1ghgWE-M2vFHV3PldHDf40p0N42nsYmHlTXNOTG3Yo50u1bq6a8x-GFRP9XBdEP2SnfEeZlqNCijNRdsnPYP1yT5Y6yKZ/s400/pm18.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415299944077237330" /></a><br /><br />4. Stitch the (2) 4 patches together so you have 4 squares x 2 squares.<br /><br />5. Take the remaining charms and stitch them into a row, which is one patch by 4 patches and add that onto the 8 patch unit completed in Step 4. <br />You now have placemat top which is a total of 12 squares (4 squares by 3 squares).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQpY5GoFUrzCQx2NTieDrUWIdkM5W90OesQTG8lfGFKfggBUGWIbl5IYIYL17HWPB6m8veEjgSX00zOX0_1sOam5HlngWHAMewwknSRe0794ThxNhWoCjhRdlxFy_e8n4zEXq3CQupGEF/s1600-h/pm17.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQpY5GoFUrzCQx2NTieDrUWIdkM5W90OesQTG8lfGFKfggBUGWIbl5IYIYL17HWPB6m8veEjgSX00zOX0_1sOam5HlngWHAMewwknSRe0794ThxNhWoCjhRdlxFy_e8n4zEXq3CQupGEF/s400/pm17.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415301294251019266" /></a><br /><br />6. Cut your placemat backing 14" x 18". Tape it down, snuggly, wrong side up on a flat surface and spray it with 505 spray. Just a bit will do it.<br /><br />7. Cut a piece of batting 14" x 18" and smooth it onto your backing. Spray it lightly with 505 also.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pf-ZfKNCAUmkjGnhlzlMg8knUX_KqF7z9nKK7IHRryWJsGruo8ODNBFO0sJy-0J3J0nRXje7-TyLPThq6IpwtQ6zy7qcBPL7qdUb6oKxOORqauNmGwVMu9lkLAO1LQJX-zpqncVQ58wu/s1600-h/pm14.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pf-ZfKNCAUmkjGnhlzlMg8knUX_KqF7z9nKK7IHRryWJsGruo8ODNBFO0sJy-0J3J0nRXje7-TyLPThq6IpwtQ6zy7qcBPL7qdUb6oKxOORqauNmGwVMu9lkLAO1LQJX-zpqncVQ58wu/s400/pm14.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415303441782968034" /></a><br /><br />8. Smooth your placemat top on the batting, centered, making sure you have backing and batting around all sides.<br /><br />9. Select your quilting stencil (if you are using one) and place it on your placemat. Use your Pounce Quick Swipe Pad to mark your quilting design. (I like to tap my Pounce on the table several times before I remove the cover. Then I just rub the Pounce pad over the stencil several times and the marking is done).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Orays7SV4BO1G1eajeqy0JsOGHJ2yXBDR0OcrR2MyiNJc8Ja6vVbHOdVoCFFi137zA2DilYYPpxA-ueN8IcDhpUtoE_tFYtWHuAKfPyvV0pS3A5djF892Mp9SVi0AsMTkjytFkfNJ9ar/s1600-h/pm9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Orays7SV4BO1G1eajeqy0JsOGHJ2yXBDR0OcrR2MyiNJc8Ja6vVbHOdVoCFFi137zA2DilYYPpxA-ueN8IcDhpUtoE_tFYtWHuAKfPyvV0pS3A5djF892Mp9SVi0AsMTkjytFkfNJ9ar/s400/pm9.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415305120925123154" /></a><br /><br />The pounce gives me a beautifully clear marking which I find very easy to follow when I am doing free motion quilting on my placemats.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VmCij-1WslQcoXZCUK_5CG0B0gMkK2U0eBJqSfVGFH815cY1z8_o2tyIP5Xq6Qf8YB0SIJhxM_wn7W-Ons4IgeglFh39yvQpyzJai4dg9-vhCEK_-uqz1xx00gYMx6CV7_A5mS6n8PRI/s1600-h/pm8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VmCij-1WslQcoXZCUK_5CG0B0gMkK2U0eBJqSfVGFH815cY1z8_o2tyIP5Xq6Qf8YB0SIJhxM_wn7W-Ons4IgeglFh39yvQpyzJai4dg9-vhCEK_-uqz1xx00gYMx6CV7_A5mS6n8PRI/s400/pm8.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415305977595512354" /></a><br /><br />10. Complete the free motion quilting. Use a bobbin thread which matches the backing fabric and a thread in your needle which matches the majority of the charm squares. I used a deep rose color for my quilting which blended nicely through all the fabrics, and was a bit calmer than a deep Christmas read.<br /><br />11. Prepare your binding strips. I used 2 1/2" binding strips which I joined end to end, using a bias seam. <br />I place on strip on the table Right Side UP and then place a second strip perpendicular to it.<br /><br />12. Using a ruler, draw a line from the upper left hand corner of the top strip to the bottom corner of the bottom strip.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yUO20Cx5Hk1D5j22qt7nJhU8vHEt4viuRZ4DOau2nQ4M26M3ed6ugyeiwdwro76EVRRO7oNB1Wr6qy2lhk7R_kFiuz3vNkoh-58mRX51wtlslu1jDPVgPSar6WJz0ytbWOCd0dXW4Tbj/s1600-h/pm12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yUO20Cx5Hk1D5j22qt7nJhU8vHEt4viuRZ4DOau2nQ4M26M3ed6ugyeiwdwro76EVRRO7oNB1Wr6qy2lhk7R_kFiuz3vNkoh-58mRX51wtlslu1jDPVgPSar6WJz0ytbWOCd0dXW4Tbj/s400/pm12.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415307921762125362" /></a><br /><br />13. Carefully place the strips in your machine and stitch on the drawn line.<br />After stitching, trim the triangle to the right of your stitching line, and press the seam open.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhhMKW0_1wyheu5EtWuBkXIcWmPsSa9tDd2T9goAAWfNjRdQFC998D0ejcEvvoCmzsVOYvtq5NEbU70NAPAqiY4xCWD8TnuxH8NIodC1HZLG2u9klwvVkFTOPB2EGg6pFumEyhPaQvBMK/s1600-h/pm11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhhMKW0_1wyheu5EtWuBkXIcWmPsSa9tDd2T9goAAWfNjRdQFC998D0ejcEvvoCmzsVOYvtq5NEbU70NAPAqiY4xCWD8TnuxH8NIodC1HZLG2u9klwvVkFTOPB2EGg6pFumEyhPaQvBMK/s400/pm11.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415308327500124626" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5swEhagqjM_j4jkmJEDkNf6wbvosnN1-C3kRk3e8VOKrC00h_DAWwrZpXTL8cMUlOJHrBqXinKL2msiT2PH7zcdE6Aklbe-dwx7H41sgCdmWn5te8xPd7K0yaxHER0XG6aQSSnrnwqct/s1600-h/pm10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM5swEhagqjM_j4jkmJEDkNf6wbvosnN1-C3kRk3e8VOKrC00h_DAWwrZpXTL8cMUlOJHrBqXinKL2msiT2PH7zcdE6Aklbe-dwx7H41sgCdmWn5te8xPd7K0yaxHER0XG6aQSSnrnwqct/s400/pm10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415308859757103314" /></a><br /><br />14. You'll need about 75" of binding for each placemat. Once your binding is long enough, press it in half lengthwise, right sides out, and use Best Press when you press it.<br /><br />15. Once the binding is prepared, pin it to the edge of your placemat top, with raw edges aligned. Place a pin 1/4" away from the first corner you come to.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDCea9M6RxOBHwlyVFSqOZxQDtUT9JLq4neBqHB-dc_7rWTwmOBH7orJn4ZFA-74y14FVFEiFxPYtvXmATGQivjOq3MXSfP7kyrHm3Jtxd8W3Kc2iZoG1BWEIMGZms584yknwBOAosxv-/s1600-h/pm7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDCea9M6RxOBHwlyVFSqOZxQDtUT9JLq4neBqHB-dc_7rWTwmOBH7orJn4ZFA-74y14FVFEiFxPYtvXmATGQivjOq3MXSfP7kyrHm3Jtxd8W3Kc2iZoG1BWEIMGZms584yknwBOAosxv-/s400/pm7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415311515541545442" /></a><br /><br />16. Stitch the binding to the placemat, using 1/4" seam allowance. Stop stitching at the pin 1/4" away from the corner. Back stitch to anchor your stitching.<br /><br />17. Remove the placemat from the machine and flip the binding strip up over your stitching line. This creates a 45 degree angle on your binding strip.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL28XUHUuT2Rt4iEOVXTcFmKrRBwk4eozFiJTPKzTFDgrXkqRzj9fLVvTYFUO8usFHjRPTLpT7CydYimU580W9yhqg9-iYqIOayAgSujOeudXOxHY0ldnHsL9q9lHQbR3Fn55eafySbf5J/s1600-h/pm6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 375px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL28XUHUuT2Rt4iEOVXTcFmKrRBwk4eozFiJTPKzTFDgrXkqRzj9fLVvTYFUO8usFHjRPTLpT7CydYimU580W9yhqg9-iYqIOayAgSujOeudXOxHY0ldnHsL9q9lHQbR3Fn55eafySbf5J/s400/pm6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415313080578864418" /></a><br /><br />18. Now fold your binding strip down to the next side of the placemat to be stitched. The fold of the binding strip should be even with the raw edge of the placemat.<br /><br /><br />19. I like to put a pin in the binding right where I feel that 45 degree angle and I put my needle down right near that pin in order to start stitching on the next side of the placemat. This process is repeated on all 3 remaining corners.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAuqYE2H8JDAbcBj2O-F0vAmM2c_OhbeG0qh7ohosoYRZs4TxQTyC9moO8i5GzTkw-OmN48tLvwKfKYqahsIzW1F-wMJnvXI7SgCbeomiO19jVftprUpN_M8Ua5jd1Y7DQBSyv9DoZhzoE/s1600-h/pm5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAuqYE2H8JDAbcBj2O-F0vAmM2c_OhbeG0qh7ohosoYRZs4TxQTyC9moO8i5GzTkw-OmN48tLvwKfKYqahsIzW1F-wMJnvXI7SgCbeomiO19jVftprUpN_M8Ua5jd1Y7DQBSyv9DoZhzoE/s400/pm5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415315591307089954" /></a><br /><br />20. When I get to the starting tail of my binding, I make a 45 degree angle fold on the beginning tail and trim 1/4" away from that crease. I then slip the ending tail withing the beginning tail and stitch completely.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3IQIrz2EO9jVqawMTZR9Gm-7cCcWufp00ia1RqwUDgQ8DB-fqxaSi197j1Svme5nflAD_VQIFtgVYtWXzg0NECcvOgJueIuAujbHyifYw-JXBa2OUPlniKex-i5WoYUjuwUvPbtO2b2n/s1600-h/pm4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 324px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3IQIrz2EO9jVqawMTZR9Gm-7cCcWufp00ia1RqwUDgQ8DB-fqxaSi197j1Svme5nflAD_VQIFtgVYtWXzg0NECcvOgJueIuAujbHyifYw-JXBa2OUPlniKex-i5WoYUjuwUvPbtO2b2n/s400/pm4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415311325171449266" /></a><br /><br />21. Once the binding is completely stitched, I trim a little triangle off the seam allowance in each corner. This allows my corners to finish nicely. I use my rotary cutter to trim the excess backing and batting 1/4" away from my stitching line.<br /><br />I use glue in my binding technique, and at this point I like to set my glue bottle in a mug of warm water. My applicator is very tiny and the warm water bath helps the glue to flow more easily through the tip.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NOkWRkFliYe9Na-rlHiaCUO3U_lgGL6PcRNS8-UiwHM9daHe1QgIxEk3_dpVrtoyRtq_r1YC4ViNLsQrnWKbjJ6sUh0qR_5v-6gdUcxRx-mur8EZzqaRl6EJl5oMitjBpwLMa-83-Uz0/s1600-h/pm20.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7NOkWRkFliYe9Na-rlHiaCUO3U_lgGL6PcRNS8-UiwHM9daHe1QgIxEk3_dpVrtoyRtq_r1YC4ViNLsQrnWKbjJ6sUh0qR_5v-6gdUcxRx-mur8EZzqaRl6EJl5oMitjBpwLMa-83-Uz0/s400/pm20.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415317332020731954" /></a><br /><br />22. Run a small bead of glue along the seam allowance of the binding on the front side of the placemat and press the binding toward the seam allowance. This will heat set the glue and it will secure the binding nicely.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbA0CwKrcpz0E_VBORCSa1LLnzZupQexjOGluuKJtc-WUkP9DKSV-nvTdLc3o5OkjtYEPbaBZYgNwaNmOjkAVNxxdZ4cEqGdBxC3bEs9dEF6wedfAj7k2FprP5iE666CIeAlPo54K_SSS/s1600-h/pm2..jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbA0CwKrcpz0E_VBORCSa1LLnzZupQexjOGluuKJtc-WUkP9DKSV-nvTdLc3o5OkjtYEPbaBZYgNwaNmOjkAVNxxdZ4cEqGdBxC3bEs9dEF6wedfAj7k2FprP5iE666CIeAlPo54K_SSS/s400/pm2..jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415318428423491698" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiom4QI6n6t1ZmPhVlqZmvCIHBlQ5fLx6EGSdR1sIVHMx_GXlX7Yp2r08vjesOTSA79piGkuSde8Hr7w0tbvl5bQzsdmq2aCDePGPScjU3TYLGFX7CLUwQrPPUYEZmG8wTgcrMzCCdqpcOW/s1600-h/pm3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiom4QI6n6t1ZmPhVlqZmvCIHBlQ5fLx6EGSdR1sIVHMx_GXlX7Yp2r08vjesOTSA79piGkuSde8Hr7w0tbvl5bQzsdmq2aCDePGPScjU3TYLGFX7CLUwQrPPUYEZmG8wTgcrMzCCdqpcOW/s400/pm3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415310826232131250" /></a><br /><br />Do this on all 4 sides.<br /><br />23. Turn the placemat over and looking at the backing side, run a small bead of glue along the seam allowance again, and press the binding to the back side of the placemat. The glue will heat set and hold your binding in place. The folded edge of the binding strip should be right on the bobbin stitching line on the backing of the placemat.<br /><br />24. Your binding corners will automatically fold in at 45 degrees. For my placemats, I used a dark green thread which matched my binding. I used a buttonhole decorative stitch on my machine.<br />Stitching on the front of the placemat, I ran my stitching just along the edge of the binding, and when completed, I had a nice decorative stitch right along the edge of the binding on the wrong side.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4e_zgKgHt35riQiI9CAl-5ho6rfGzf3A5QFUmV7iPFrLAKk3txo_x9mD3686p1xigKbM-x1tjfqPx0iH6PgWRE2ei9QDsYY_ZFtabJUojLxDzdljSV_Zqp8lzvcvz9xhlqnStxJS8TWp/s1600-h/pm1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 323px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4e_zgKgHt35riQiI9CAl-5ho6rfGzf3A5QFUmV7iPFrLAKk3txo_x9mD3686p1xigKbM-x1tjfqPx0iH6PgWRE2ei9QDsYY_ZFtabJUojLxDzdljSV_Zqp8lzvcvz9xhlqnStxJS8TWp/s400/pm1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415319210437042386" /></a><br /><br />25. Mist your placemat with cool water and brush with a towel to remove any quilting marks and your placemat is done.<br /><br />26. To make coordinated napkins, take 2 fat quarters and press them Right Sides Together. Use your Best Press.<br /><br />27. Take the fat quarters to the cutting mat and trim them to 16 1/2" square.<br /><br />28. Stitch the fat quarters around the edge, using a 1/4" seam allowance. Leave a 2" opening for turning the napking right side out. Trim a triangle off the seam allowance of each corner to help the corners turn crisply.<br /><br />29. Reach in through the opening and grab the opposide side of the napkin and pull it right side out through the opening. Use a pencil or other small pointed object to gently push the points out in the corners.<br /><br />30. Press napkin. You can push seams flat from the inside or pull them from the outside. Spray with Best Press again. Top stitch 1/8" from the edge.<br /><br />Have a Happy Holiday! We have kits available for these placemats and napkins. Great for the holidays and gifts. Enjoy! <br /><a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com">Quilter's Paradise</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-82851735275294447592009-12-14T20:06:00.000-05:002009-12-14T21:17:05.545-05:00Turning 20 Around the Block<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkm84sc0bWqRqAL5ENQte2vloN61l7on7cUBFQElXTxyDbPXz0P3Kq3ImCDvkMMJgGjjUHVsp5Pno6B5_p88UA-kybYjmnCaeolJEk4FDRshuec2z9CCDc6lQEG9-wiooVD2dev2ZCIEy2/s1600-h/12days.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkm84sc0bWqRqAL5ENQte2vloN61l7on7cUBFQElXTxyDbPXz0P3Kq3ImCDvkMMJgGjjUHVsp5Pno6B5_p88UA-kybYjmnCaeolJEk4FDRshuec2z9CCDc6lQEG9-wiooVD2dev2ZCIEy2/s320/12days.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415265368861876658" /></a><br />I recently completed a Turning 20 Around the Block Quilt using the 12 Days of Christmas collection by Nancy Halvorsen. The collection included a panel, which I cut apart and integrated into the instructions in the book "Turning 20 Around the Block" by Tricia Cribbs.<br />This quilt was sooo much fun! And you can use any type of panel for this quilt pattern. The 12 Days is a favorite of mine, and the colors of the collection went so well together. I would recommend trying to incorporate as many coordinating fabrics from the collection that go with your panel, if at all possible. It gives the quilt a very cohesive look.<br />If you are curious about how to make a panel square or rectangle work, here's how it is done.<br />Here is the original 12 Days of Christmas panel:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2eTC05eCPpoiYgXVZCldv0zB895xc_sPPTVpsniyA2Ic4bYr13D5QLrIXMzjXq0VVYlA_707qxBFFLJ3OpgcUna6TvU-xppxKNuC9cOxNzjGVYh1JdzPrYLWMe60Ds_RYRoooy3zGa4Np/s1600-h/12dayspanel.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2eTC05eCPpoiYgXVZCldv0zB895xc_sPPTVpsniyA2Ic4bYr13D5QLrIXMzjXq0VVYlA_707qxBFFLJ3OpgcUna6TvU-xppxKNuC9cOxNzjGVYh1JdzPrYLWMe60Ds_RYRoooy3zGa4Np/s320/12dayspanel.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415269688361630338" /></a><br />1. Cut your panel squares apart. Usually there is a line in the printing of the panel that you can follow as a "cutting line". On the 12 Days Panel, I cut right down the green line between the squares.<br />2. Take one (or more) of your coordinates and cut strips to "frame" your blocks. They will be used to bring the focal blocks from your panel up to size. A good size to cut the strips is usually 2 1/2"<br />3. Place the strip Right Sides Together (RST) with your panel block and align the raw edges. <br />4. Flip the panel so that the framing strip is on the bed of your machine and the panel block is facing you (and it will now be wrong side up)<br />5. Stitch along one of the print lines and use that as your "stitching" line. The stitching may not be a perfect 1/4" seam allowance, but that is ok in this instance.<br />6. Repeat with another framing strip on the other side of the panel block.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhxykQGaQWfmH8zBqj8am1ikgECcjQae1TX0qSwrNFJN-YJONC1sEdAnG6eSQ1dP-bG-WvGSZzAhaMZhp5kmJBHgckh3vQfiJeaJ_TXKfkE65rq1KQ6ehyBHUhPJ8JObAmt8k10vatZZx/s1600-h/pm27.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhxykQGaQWfmH8zBqj8am1ikgECcjQae1TX0qSwrNFJN-YJONC1sEdAnG6eSQ1dP-bG-WvGSZzAhaMZhp5kmJBHgckh3vQfiJeaJ_TXKfkE65rq1KQ6ehyBHUhPJ8JObAmt8k10vatZZx/s200/pm27.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415268082720791170" /></a><br />Here you can see the green framing strip has been sewn to the panel block.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgo-EkwhDf5WUtkKWAI6CJgE2A7AG-LJ5F4ng9ZVLxo4qNlCcNu96CfwTyZXGV0hi0eOdLJAh3qZqt9gPzNPnd5yCoZlSvf4SDNgqIm7-FyYegldvcZiDs9fB3qiN7HuHS8hBSvRRdOl4/s1600-h/pm25.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgo-EkwhDf5WUtkKWAI6CJgE2A7AG-LJ5F4ng9ZVLxo4qNlCcNu96CfwTyZXGV0hi0eOdLJAh3qZqt9gPzNPnd5yCoZlSvf4SDNgqIm7-FyYegldvcZiDs9fB3qiN7HuHS8hBSvRRdOl4/s320/pm25.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415270610563061682" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9jGe1K8yeIuziek3dzQv5S-_Gc7SBRSgjenwqiytMpV3U4tP9DBl7QjLmnMvovpWfx6irkj7a_mTqFcqb8xOQNDxbUyPWwG9jyEfMUzzQM-V9ws8HEdF8TBaWNh-erKGYnUnqcc9layW/s1600-h/pm26.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9jGe1K8yeIuziek3dzQv5S-_Gc7SBRSgjenwqiytMpV3U4tP9DBl7QjLmnMvovpWfx6irkj7a_mTqFcqb8xOQNDxbUyPWwG9jyEfMUzzQM-V9ws8HEdF8TBaWNh-erKGYnUnqcc9layW/s320/pm26.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415270471254085986" /></a><br />Once strips have been added to both sides, the strips are trimmed even with the top and bottom of the square.<br />Then framing strips are added to the top and bottom of the square and trimmed even with the side strips.<br />Once the block is pressed, you place it under the Turning 20 Template Ruler, and trim it. Be sure the block is centered under the ruler. Continue with the rest of your blocks.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe2bkIw6tKvp37RRmuDmAgjQ3h-t3UFYSDr9_ytPkMYH6vPhXl3UE6FIuEkSX1W0zv1PQfR-Kss6xefbXCbu5DP3IDpmdQRMMY1b0eo13C76_SdPLpmPvhF9KQgTKUbw8G2A0MWc0sAOr/s1600-h/pm24.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe2bkIw6tKvp37RRmuDmAgjQ3h-t3UFYSDr9_ytPkMYH6vPhXl3UE6FIuEkSX1W0zv1PQfR-Kss6xefbXCbu5DP3IDpmdQRMMY1b0eo13C76_SdPLpmPvhF9KQgTKUbw8G2A0MWc0sAOr/s320/pm24.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415271439972686178" /></a><br />Once the blocks are trimmed you just integrate them into the quilt according to the directions in the Turning 20 Around the Block.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdxxbh7t-1OBNfq1_L2y13xpzfdQ9HV80IDSH0e96MoWPYkGlfkdIKQws29tW-OuTk44zZIwk9hlwCXs2VDy76kFtvvaiwDrBNylbBhJaVom8bK9KmbWY6muVY90K8cSK6oL8WWjBzXlh/s1600-h/pm21.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdxxbh7t-1OBNfq1_L2y13xpzfdQ9HV80IDSH0e96MoWPYkGlfkdIKQws29tW-OuTk44zZIwk9hlwCXs2VDy76kFtvvaiwDrBNylbBhJaVom8bK9KmbWY6muVY90K8cSK6oL8WWjBzXlh/s320/pm21.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415272781867687426" /></a><br />The 12 days panel also included a "title block" at the top of the panel which I chose to integrate into the quilt.<br />It was a bit longer than the standard 16 1/2" block in the quilt, and not as "tall" as the standard blocks, so I added some scraps from the cutting of my block pieces to bring it up to size.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKL4xVbvr6nkT7BtDHLFMbDc6kqvl3wmxmg0gBvBms0t5JbJ18fnJeBcGpt42pxKCV9VSHHO6pwgn9ksF9vzGx-wWS2zcsrFe1ql-5piVfvfc8N7Lw5MR1uXeUZCSZFE4pq1RWLdaelQSt/s1600-h/pm23.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKL4xVbvr6nkT7BtDHLFMbDc6kqvl3wmxmg0gBvBms0t5JbJ18fnJeBcGpt42pxKCV9VSHHO6pwgn9ksF9vzGx-wWS2zcsrFe1ql-5piVfvfc8N7Lw5MR1uXeUZCSZFE4pq1RWLdaelQSt/s320/pm23.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415275859785225218" /></a><br />Next I created 2 side blocks to place on either side of my "title Block". Again, I worked with my scraps and some additional fat quarters so The blocks would blend in, and I made 2 patched hearts which were appliqued onto background squares.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJH98GshLjE040V3Icrhaqx1CZsd3u30iQU6qykbdnWhVAXRotJKje5V2fed-L8LYEINqVPoJoty_ZTkPDBqzl9zlNa890D5c3gWEjiTTcAwSc4ya5RaSImXOP3_tf-BsVbBoqPNFOXIEI/s1600-h/pm22.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJH98GshLjE040V3Icrhaqx1CZsd3u30iQU6qykbdnWhVAXRotJKje5V2fed-L8LYEINqVPoJoty_ZTkPDBqzl9zlNa890D5c3gWEjiTTcAwSc4ya5RaSImXOP3_tf-BsVbBoqPNFOXIEI/s320/pm22.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415276501344440130" /></a><br />I added these blocks to either side of my title block, and trimmed them to size so that the top row would fit my other rows, and finished off the quilt with the addition of borders. <br />The end result was totally charming and everyone that sees it loves it. <br />I hope you will be inspired to try this technique with a 12 Days panel or with a panel of your choice.<br />We have kits on the web site for the 12 Days, but grab yours soon, as quantities are very limited!<br /><a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com">Quilter's Paradise</a><br />Merry Christmas to all!<br />LisaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-12899117267697403932009-11-17T21:46:00.000-05:002009-11-18T00:55:00.418-05:00Kids and Our Snow Day Quilt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcl7jkTUdJp2b_27wpH-U-zWAGw4Y2LQHJundrCJuue7yb1slVKOVFWE47sP9FiNUprhrTfyK9j19U16wzP7oYk2AN0LsyxixnUl1duTzbdLkaTM1tFZS0XDFE60-7pKLGb07TO21f1uEa/s1600/kidsquiltblog.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405275833600474386" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; cursor: pointer; height: 248px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcl7jkTUdJp2b_27wpH-U-zWAGw4Y2LQHJundrCJuue7yb1slVKOVFWE47sP9FiNUprhrTfyK9j19U16wzP7oYk2AN0LsyxixnUl1duTzbdLkaTM1tFZS0XDFE60-7pKLGb07TO21f1uEa/s400/kidsquiltblog.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><p class="MsoNormal">Hi Everyone and welcome to my first ever post on the QP Café!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:0pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Nothing is more important to me than my family. I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to a few family members who will be mentioned often in our blog. Pictured here is my niece Caitlin, 5, who is reading to her sleepy little brother Liam, who is almost 4.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>They also have another brother, Jack, who is only 17 months old, and was asleep for this photo.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>Caitlin is now in kindergarten, and Liam is in his first year of nursery school.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>They are lots of fun, awfully cute, and they keep us very busy and smiling a lot!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">The kids just love the new Snow Day Flannel Quilt you see here in this photo.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>After we took this picture, Caitlin headed to bed and asked me to bring the quilt along, as she thought it would work just perfect in her room.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>When I told her this one was actually going to Mimi’s house (my mom’s) she was a bit disappointed, but understood.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>She then asked me to get her princess quilt (another we quilted) so she could sleep with it.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Quilting seems to be double the fun to me when you have little ones excited about the project.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>Anyone with kids in their life should give our Snow Day kits a look, especially if the little one’s you know love snow and snowmen as much as these kids.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>Our Snow Day Kit includes a pack of 64 pre-cut Flannel 8” squares, and extra fabric for binding.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>It sews up in no time at all.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>We used Benartex Snow Show flannel for the backing, Warm and Natural Batting, and tied simple square knots with embroidery floss in the corners of each four patch. Then we added the beautiful coordinated binding to completely finish it off.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>It’s the perfect blanket to cuddle up with the kids and read a book, watch a favorite movie, <span style="font-size:0pt;"></span>or warm up after playing in the snow.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I’m glad that I’ve introduced you to Caitlin, Liam and Jack, and I promise I will share lots of stories about them. Next up on our list of projects is Liam’s Disney Cars Quilt.<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>He found a bolt of Lightening McQueen Fabric when he visited me at the warehouse and proceeded to carry it around saying "Aunt Ing, please make me a quilt with this." With those big green eyes, who could resist!<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span>So stay tuned and thanks for allowing me to introduce my three favorite little people!<span style="font-size:0pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ingrid</p><br /><a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?product=SnowShowFlannel&productid=KIT-SnowDayFLANNEL&sales=0&lastmenu=submenu-4100.html"></a><a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?product=SnowShowFlannel&productid=KIT-SnowDayFLANNEL&sales=0&lastmenu=submenu-4100.html"></a>Ingrid Remkushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144482168019984225noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-31213810020344835752009-11-13T19:47:00.000-05:002009-11-13T19:59:46.165-05:00Baby Love<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilEt8tsdF22J7qJfH97QQT8zbwSEV2zzDjdGp7o7r80BbN77omLFIXGnAqTJ1RjmGUc7k5752LdZPmLyIgZhmXyUF5C_sW7zypvVo0O0A8KYtsZ0hQ-KaFrEbAkyouQR9RXNM8JHotKDt/s1600-h/baby-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403754861952953458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilEt8tsdF22J7qJfH97QQT8zbwSEV2zzDjdGp7o7r80BbN77omLFIXGnAqTJ1RjmGUc7k5752LdZPmLyIgZhmXyUF5C_sW7zypvVo0O0A8KYtsZ0hQ-KaFrEbAkyouQR9RXNM8JHotKDt/s320/baby-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I'm about to start in on designing a quilt for the Baby Love Collection by RJR. There is a pillow panel which allows you to write in details about the baby's birth. A very special keepsake, which can be turned into a pillow as you see here, or can be integrated into the back of a special quilt. </div><div>What we loved about the collection was its vintage appeal, and its nautical prints, with sailboats and soft blue and yellow colors for boys and pinks for girls. Having grown up around the sea, Ingrid and I both fell for it big time.</div><div>I've laid out my quilt design on EQ and now I am about to start in on the cutting.</div><div>Wish me luck. It's the first quilt I've worked on since shoulder surgery last Friday, so I hope I don't encounter any problems. I figure if I can type on the laptop, I can stitch on the sewing machine, right?</div><div>I'm going to blog a bit over the weekend to keep you posted on how the quilt is going. I'm anxious to see how you like my design! Ingrid will be adding the fabrics from this collection to the web site this weekend. Watch for them!</div><div>Have a great weekend and a LUCKY Friday the 13th!</div><div>Lisa</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-73055626426427013602009-10-27T17:55:00.000-04:002009-10-27T21:10:15.254-04:00There's Been a Tremor in the Force!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4H2O_G3bolM7DycWHJ9kKKlLnKTVlHJ-B3OMNu-pxLoWTvKKBlWidDYHmF22FHvVJumyIzwKf0mvEDh8Np9j8XUIh-CI-5RgRIxdgZvJKqo3R1NsKWoqqzkwAPPJcNsmYiTCIbr9Nex7/s1600-h/burp-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397403318533528962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4H2O_G3bolM7DycWHJ9kKKlLnKTVlHJ-B3OMNu-pxLoWTvKKBlWidDYHmF22FHvVJumyIzwKf0mvEDh8Np9j8XUIh-CI-5RgRIxdgZvJKqo3R1NsKWoqqzkwAPPJcNsmYiTCIbr9Nex7/s320/burp-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Ingrid walked into the shop on Friday to find this mess! If you look closely you can see her brand new printer under the debris, along with lots of boxes of fat quarters and books. If you look in the background you can see the shelving has toppled over onto more shelving and this means hundreds of bolts of fabric are precariously pitched! </div><div>There was no apparent earth quake according to CNN, and there was no internal cyclone in the building, but that is what it looked like. Thanks to some great friends and hard work, the place was back together by midnight, and this time those shelves are staying put!</div><div>Fortunately no one was in the building at the time of the great collapse, and there were no injuries!</div><div></div><div>As I looked at the chaos which took over this normally neat and well organized space, it reminded me of how easy it is for things to happen, how one little goof is all it takes for the "domino" effect to take place.</div><div>It happens at work, it happens in life, and it happens in quilting.</div><div></div><div>So our challenge to you for this week is to let us know what you do to prevent the domino effect in your quilting process. What tips do you have for others so that their quilts come out as close to perfect as they can? Do you have little tricks that keep you on the straight and narrow during the quilting process? It does not matter where you use this tip...it can be in the fabric shop, on line, at your cutting table, in your mind, or at the sewing machine. </div><div></div><div>We are going to review all the tips by our followers and award a fat quarter bundle worth $25 or more to the best tip. We'll be checking in to see all the tips and will be announcing the winner on the blog and on the web site in one week. Please join us, and feel free to post more than once.</div><div></div><div>As always, happy stitching, and love to you all!</div><div>Lisa</div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-10269011840475963792009-10-21T22:01:00.000-04:002009-10-27T16:49:37.598-04:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP55mCLiKXt8KoiF7st2w1CiSeMWq8dKsEz3qB7IA1bIU7Wyy_ZrEZA_5JRg03cN5jmmhmn1F8pzjiphMwXHYpy_iI_TiabFxwDMJLmZNJ1Ga7o503YD_KnVelG56PDynCdShTmYgBVLqh/s1600-h/glue13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP55mCLiKXt8KoiF7st2w1CiSeMWq8dKsEz3qB7IA1bIU7Wyy_ZrEZA_5JRg03cN5jmmhmn1F8pzjiphMwXHYpy_iI_TiabFxwDMJLmZNJ1Ga7o503YD_KnVelG56PDynCdShTmYgBVLqh/s320/glue13.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395251174478748210" /></a><br />A frequently asked question is "How do I baste my quilt to prepare it for machine quilting?" I use a spray basting technique, which I have used for years, whenever I am hand quilting or machine quilting at home (as opposed to using a professional long arm machine). Here's how I do it:<br /><br /> <strong>STEP 1 - PREPARE YOUR QUILT BACKING, QUILT TOP AND GATHER SUPPLIES:</strong><br />For this basting technique, we recommend cotton batting. I usually use Quilter's Dream Cotton (Request weight), but I have also used Warm and Natural and Tuscany Bleached Cotton. I would *not* recommend using polyester batting or high loft batting using this method, because it has too much stretch. Once you have selected your batting, prepare your backing. Your backing and batting should extend 3" beyond the edge of your finished quilt top on all four sides. (So if your quilt is 40" x 50", your backing should measure 46" x 56").<br />If your quilt is large enough that you need to piece your backing using 2 or more pieces, press the seams open, and preferably use spray starch (I recommend Mary Ellen's Best Press) during the pressing process, which will help to stabilize the bias grain in the backing.<br /><br />Next press your quilt top, pressing seams flat and be sure to snip off any loose threads. Press your quilt top both on the wrong and right sides, as this will help to assure a nice flat quilt top with no bumps or ridges. I also use Mary Ellen's Best Press on my quilt top. I find it helps to the precision of my piecing, and it helps my seams lie flat.<br /><br />Gather enough large binder clips (which can be purchased at an office supply store) to clamp around the edges of your table every 12-18", 505 spray adhesive, a scissor, and clips or safety pins (size 0 or size 1) for pinning the edges of the quilt after the sandwiching process is complete.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKU9-Knh0hQCGwhCS9FST9SGYC6cyS5TNWQtjDoMdoNGC_lC8pwTfAyJTXXUBGe_9RpFiSagYP23Cu0DxhOAnOeN4_nXViQGpqhd8EORUMy_JtdIcR7hdb5UQYy-u8OW3vPv5iC1HZ6k_/s1600-h/glue14.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKU9-Knh0hQCGwhCS9FST9SGYC6cyS5TNWQtjDoMdoNGC_lC8pwTfAyJTXXUBGe_9RpFiSagYP23Cu0DxhOAnOeN4_nXViQGpqhd8EORUMy_JtdIcR7hdb5UQYy-u8OW3vPv5iC1HZ6k_/s320/glue14.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395246281186100946" /></a><br /><strong>STEP 2 - CLAMP YOUR BACKING TO THE TABLE:</strong><br />My dining room table with leaves in it is a great basting table. Many craft cutting tables with extensions can also be used for this purpose, as well as banquet tables. If you don't have a table in your home, you can often use tables at a recreation center, school, library, church, or any community center that uses standard banquet tables. Two tables side by side make a great surface for basting.<br />Whatever size table you have, make sure it is clean and the area around it is clean, as your quilt will likely fall to the floor at some point during this process.<br /><br />Place the center of the quilt backing on the center of the table and smooth it out, WRONG SIDE UP. On my table, which is 42" wide, the seams in my backing run right down the edge of the table, which is very helpful in keeping it straight.<br />Once the backing is positioned, clamp it to the table, smoothing it as you clamp and keeping it relatively taught between clips. You can see this on the above photo.<br /><br />Once your backing is clamped on one side of the table, repeat the process on the other side of the table. Gently smooth out the backing and clamp it, smoothing any excess fabric toward the edges of the table. You can also clamp the backing down on the ends of the table also, if you wish. <strong>The most important thing is that you should not be able to pinch the backing up off the table when it is clamped.</strong> You are not stretching the backing, you are just smoothing it taught.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BQOu8fOOoiJbJ5Og_0m59AYhKND86sjK5S61rVGBT6Gjd0dTMQ51Da4gv3fJMssSlb9uYsva0YNYHDJOzteDW9S_8bz9wbhmahJLlKxlt0uLDXgm1suQAodzMI0G1rcbZWSO-TL3SoM-/s1600-h/glue15.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BQOu8fOOoiJbJ5Og_0m59AYhKND86sjK5S61rVGBT6Gjd0dTMQ51Da4gv3fJMssSlb9uYsva0YNYHDJOzteDW9S_8bz9wbhmahJLlKxlt0uLDXgm1suQAodzMI0G1rcbZWSO-TL3SoM-/s320/glue15.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395250609695387810" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVPEbeegJCHbnXSn6DuBUKl8zQyYbB7tyQuLmdBrc60j97a8HJQIALCbdRrN4vZMmtEMYIBb6MWlr9y6ngFsk-PrNslWmd4Mqhq1lnqHGlusveXsT4KuqZjSK1MWEmMPxthLQVLNYfP1X/s1600-h/glue17.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 301px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPVPEbeegJCHbnXSn6DuBUKl8zQyYbB7tyQuLmdBrc60j97a8HJQIALCbdRrN4vZMmtEMYIBb6MWlr9y6ngFsk-PrNslWmd4Mqhq1lnqHGlusveXsT4KuqZjSK1MWEmMPxthLQVLNYfP1X/s320/glue17.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395253987058386018" /></a><br /><br /><strong>STEP 3 - CENTER YOUR BATTING ON THE BACKING:</strong><br />Unfold your batting, and place it centered on your clamped backing. Usually the batting is folded lengthwise down the middle, and that fold should run lengthwise right down the center of your table and backing. Smooth out any lumps, bumps or wrinkles. Once that is done, carefully fold back one half of the batting as shown in the photo (the white side on the left is my folded batting and the darker side on the right is the wrong side of the backing facing up).<br /><br />Take your 505 spray can and shake it several times. I usually hold my can about 8-10" from the backing, and start to spray at the edge of the table right in front of me, and then I spray toward the middle of the quilt. I move quickly along the edge of the table and mist the backing with the 505 as I move. When one side of the backing is misted, carefully unfold the batting and cover the sticky half of the backing with batting. Smooth it carefully. You can reposition if necessary, but it should not take much effort to get the batting smooth.<br /><br />Now you can peel up the other side of the batting and fold it back so you can spray the other half of the backing. Use the same technique. Stand at the edge of your table, spray from the edge toward the middle and move along the table rather quickly to put a fine mist of the 505 over the entire backing. Then unfold your batting and smooth it out.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGktbUKzfo-u1_-COzktYR4sDJ8FFgxum-obBoI3k9D-lRgqLrkArAorSJGXGgA_FCQfIQTDkcLv3WDxGyzy0ETdsuU041gZQ8FPi7wVD65FkWvRjbY_Z2WkmZWZb4XOoLQ-JEcWDUimo/s1600-h/glue19.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 294px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGktbUKzfo-u1_-COzktYR4sDJ8FFgxum-obBoI3k9D-lRgqLrkArAorSJGXGgA_FCQfIQTDkcLv3WDxGyzy0ETdsuU041gZQ8FPi7wVD65FkWvRjbY_Z2WkmZWZb4XOoLQ-JEcWDUimo/s320/glue19.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395255623474918770" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofn51-ZvNk9x65DzcmIaR9l9ZrJ1UvhI-3vTN3wZ7NusDQLJV__ZeDDljfyS4yWMHNyM3jP44eqFG4xYYw4ZPWsm_PEozulvxGU9wzKMiOi44akzjaWyeKgDtJRGje5_hIJP8fxS1reuM/s1600-h/glue20.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofn51-ZvNk9x65DzcmIaR9l9ZrJ1UvhI-3vTN3wZ7NusDQLJV__ZeDDljfyS4yWMHNyM3jP44eqFG4xYYw4ZPWsm_PEozulvxGU9wzKMiOi44akzjaWyeKgDtJRGje5_hIJP8fxS1reuM/s320/glue20.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395256024636408626" /></a><br /><br /><strong>STEP 4 - COVER THE BATTING WITH YOUR QUILT TOP:</strong><br />Fold your quilt top down the center, with right sides together. Take the center of the quilt and place it on the center of the batting, centering the quilt on the table as you go. Spray half of the batting with the spray, again misting from the edge toward the quilt in the center of the table. Once one side of the batting is sprayed, unfold your quilt and smooth half of the top onto the sticky batting. Lift up the other side of the quilt top fold it down the middle and spray the other side of your batting. Once it is fully sprayed, then smooth out the entire quilt top onto the batting.<br /><br />If you have a small quilt, you may be finished, and you can release the clamps and trim away excess batting and backing, as described in STEP 7. If you have a large quilt, you will need to continue to STEP 5.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieX089DAKgyoLgLsoGUMwEtU1rOTEv9GpaQgHstc2ptWfynvn6c-0JHOCtvSLhqXJzHJfnM34VlG0pxQLuWTkOYvZj2yDC3Jwp4npsvHvmhCBtZAMrvDAXpi7ffOLm_GJedCeZS2d8otrC/s1600-h/glue22.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieX089DAKgyoLgLsoGUMwEtU1rOTEv9GpaQgHstc2ptWfynvn6c-0JHOCtvSLhqXJzHJfnM34VlG0pxQLuWTkOYvZj2yDC3Jwp4npsvHvmhCBtZAMrvDAXpi7ffOLm_GJedCeZS2d8otrC/s320/glue22.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395258862371500818" /></a><br /><br /><strong>STEP 5 - RELEASE THE BINDER CLIPS HOLDING DOWN YOUR BACKING AND SLIDE THE QUILT:</strong><br />In the following images, you'll see I've lifted both the quilt top and the batting that were hanging over the edge of the table, and I have folded them back, which exposed the black binder clips that clamped the backing to the table.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_m8gjdM7JFfF-xFRw6BNnE47bwcFB_XfGZWVwWwWfZgqwrzec7k4rI3b0hQbc07vHTKXtsV1-atKYuYOjeGlTd0NJrJGYfZ6zY63FxQY-6g_RCGAZHzK6_340L39GOjYrUmklz-EtIg3/s1600-h/glue23.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_m8gjdM7JFfF-xFRw6BNnE47bwcFB_XfGZWVwWwWfZgqwrzec7k4rI3b0hQbc07vHTKXtsV1-atKYuYOjeGlTd0NJrJGYfZ6zY63FxQY-6g_RCGAZHzK6_340L39GOjYrUmklz-EtIg3/s320/glue23.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395258860596057378" /></a><br />Once I release the clips, you can see I have a good deal of backing fabric hanging toward the floor. Because I now have only the center part of my quilt basted, I need to baste it all the way out to the edges on both sides. So I'm going to slide my quilt totally to the other side of the table until the edge of the left side of my backing comes to the edge of the left side table. My "basted" section of the quilt (where the quilt top is adhered to the batting and backing) is now draped over the other (right) side of the table and onto the floor.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJO-RtotiqFDdto2wjkpxy1CtoMYXt6bbnTZPL6jb9mslum9mwr6Z7Lod53ofkONHnOoa9NxUPIrm7ajkyVXgrMtBnQfX5j9GGVJkRjKjCuB45Sv2N7jFCcW1U3-vxjst5t-TZEjKw9Ww/s1600-h/glue24.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJO-RtotiqFDdto2wjkpxy1CtoMYXt6bbnTZPL6jb9mslum9mwr6Z7Lod53ofkONHnOoa9NxUPIrm7ajkyVXgrMtBnQfX5j9GGVJkRjKjCuB45Sv2N7jFCcW1U3-vxjst5t-TZEjKw9Ww/s320/glue24.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395258869194310274" /></a><br /><br /><strong>STEP 6 - RE-CLAMP THE BACKING AND SPRAY THE REMAINING SECTION ON THE TABLE:</strong><br />In the photo above you can see that the seam in my backing, which was once at the left edge of the table, is now in the center of my table. The left edge of my backing is now at the left edge of my table and I am clamping it down. You can see I have clamped all the way around on the ends as well for a little extra security. On the other side of the table, the weight of the basted quilt will be enough to keep the backing taught. I cannot pinch the backing off the table. That assures me that I will not have to worry about puckers on my backing when I have the quilt in my machine for quilting.<br /><br />Once the backing is clamped again, I spray the wrong side of the backing, which you see on my table, with the 505 spray. Then I carefully smooth my batting on top of the sticky backing, smoothing out any lumps or wrinkles. I will then spray the batting, and then smooth the quilt top on the sticky batting. I repeat that entire process on the other side of the table. To do so, I will release these clips on the side that is now all basted, and slide the entire quilt toward me until the edge of the backing on the opposite side comes to the edge of the table. I take my black clips over there, clamp the backing all around, spray it, smooth the batting down on it, and spray the batting. The final step is to smooth the quilt top on the sticky batting and I am done basting my quilt.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZVOPHIJT9fjnxC6T_-fb3-irneVSSYGISKZT7M-G8Ams6MJ7fFoMy7jf0fFUHGj9OVT0h2T02EUsUSGq2GVLA7H0C2qgDuYYWw4eQL77vv-y6uxRw4jYkcI391J_oyAowW7r8VYkXX8L/s1600-h/glue26.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZVOPHIJT9fjnxC6T_-fb3-irneVSSYGISKZT7M-G8Ams6MJ7fFoMy7jf0fFUHGj9OVT0h2T02EUsUSGq2GVLA7H0C2qgDuYYWw4eQL77vv-y6uxRw4jYkcI391J_oyAowW7r8VYkXX8L/s320/glue26.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395260083370586770" /></a><br />If necessary, you can also do this on the top and bottom sides of the quilt. It will all depend upon the size of your quilt and how it relates to the size of your table.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqACux_iFyVrJ8xCTr0P61fo4c4xhLYBaM_0YjNcxDWrScges4GWLF2zNFREi4eH7TDCeJsUbyvZWu0C5ma9ahRN_rVXkv9DPJAmUmwoU8RB31OdZADxlmJMFrlPpP58HCqnZ9I19bD7Gc/s1600-h/glue29.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqACux_iFyVrJ8xCTr0P61fo4c4xhLYBaM_0YjNcxDWrScges4GWLF2zNFREi4eH7TDCeJsUbyvZWu0C5ma9ahRN_rVXkv9DPJAmUmwoU8RB31OdZADxlmJMFrlPpP58HCqnZ9I19bD7Gc/s320/glue29.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395261993987410802" /></a><br /><br /><strong>STEP 7 - TRIM EXCESS BACKING AND BATTING AND SECURE EDGES:</strong><br />When the entire quilt is basted, you may release all your binder clips and trim away excess batting and backing. I usually leave about an inch all the way around. Then I turn the backing up and over the quilt top and clip it in place with the Martelli clipper. Here's an image of my clipper:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwP3ijrpgsL3Lf89G0yIt0xH61JHO8x92noSbPiFPm9uBNj43rSLNXU2CjmkJvX9IOOa7wENHOESB99_pw6SO6XT8-4rSQxNPeETTQAYTcDE79ow-_1hY3DhTV6s5d8DvBWD69vL9LL_rB/s1600-h/zipclip.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwP3ijrpgsL3Lf89G0yIt0xH61JHO8x92noSbPiFPm9uBNj43rSLNXU2CjmkJvX9IOOa7wENHOESB99_pw6SO6XT8-4rSQxNPeETTQAYTcDE79ow-_1hY3DhTV6s5d8DvBWD69vL9LL_rB/s320/zipclip.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395626227803793522" /></a><br />The little metal clips go inside the clear clipper. If you put the end of the clipper on the edges of your quilt with the backing folded up and over the edge, when you slide the little blue button toward your quilt, the clip pops onto the quilt and holds everything in place. I pop these around the perimeter of my quilt and they remain there until the quilting is done and I am ready to apply my binding.<br /><br />If you don't have a clipper you can use small safety pins (size 0 or size 1) to secure the edges of your quilt until your machine quilting is done. There are also little metal binding clips which can be used for this purpose. They look like barrettes and it is actually less expensive to purchase them in the drug store. I don't recommend using straight pins, as you are apt to stick yourself with them during the quilting process. Safety pins and these small clips work very well.<br /><br />This is not how I will BIND my quilt, but it is a way to keep the edges of my quilt top protected, and it will keep my backing from ever catching on anything as I slide it into my machine during the quilting process.<br /><br />On these last 2 photos you can see my clear clipper and some loose clips on the border of my quilt, and then on the bottom photo you can see my clipped quilt as I prepare to take it up to my sewing machine for quilting.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxk0ovZWaR9za9jAqSe61KthYTzUXt1AbHW8YW3QAPa8yIsab0KpYcp1d80YQolbAeG5pFUorRxu1NcoNAjrYGu9Y2RdfUYpCPDZJh68hfSKObguPa7oJfYmoQwxfu_KR5H5wPcZvOysd/s1600-h/glue30.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKxk0ovZWaR9za9jAqSe61KthYTzUXt1AbHW8YW3QAPa8yIsab0KpYcp1d80YQolbAeG5pFUorRxu1NcoNAjrYGu9Y2RdfUYpCPDZJh68hfSKObguPa7oJfYmoQwxfu_KR5H5wPcZvOysd/s320/glue30.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395261991054637202" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71nK_3hgb8WyCPHLrdfQV_16KdPucqNTBCpNoHFJeADmH0JDGH-wT2gNuJpyOhD4X5nGvCfHbmp2F4Xjb0Sib9ifNJ_uuGZO0w-6bTqWwoBfx6icikyj5p1N9-d9J7d_7WVGGT5VniuNf/s1600-h/split+032.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71nK_3hgb8WyCPHLrdfQV_16KdPucqNTBCpNoHFJeADmH0JDGH-wT2gNuJpyOhD4X5nGvCfHbmp2F4Xjb0Sib9ifNJ_uuGZO0w-6bTqWwoBfx6icikyj5p1N9-d9J7d_7WVGGT5VniuNf/s320/split+032.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395266389494888034" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxUTWLLFER5WwYHtbD7XSAmuuGTLPKNfLNw8ODiOlHOcGRSSXHr7TbOoBij5EGjnBIdFH5n65g0KY2wh_F9jshf_lTbchxUaeJHMNquElrgF2y9BhIrA21Ho-ajKOMEx8QnnHJqBemB2R/s1600-h/split+031.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxUTWLLFER5WwYHtbD7XSAmuuGTLPKNfLNw8ODiOlHOcGRSSXHr7TbOoBij5EGjnBIdFH5n65g0KY2wh_F9jshf_lTbchxUaeJHMNquElrgF2y9BhIrA21Ho-ajKOMEx8QnnHJqBemB2R/s320/split+031.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395266384570326098" /></a><br /><br />If you have any questions or comments, please post them to the blog and I will be happy to answer you.<br />LisaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-86524995954216503692009-09-22T09:48:00.000-04:002009-11-11T12:07:44.670-05:00Crumb Cake!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9sylk90jQJktYFil5nJAzW2lImNQTEn8spF-Ju0oNsmpniqNB6mmlQiB6TG-5PjXiK6SX0ILHFQOW-VHXqWSHOvKTAoQhc_DEUQZNMOOlYVbSFntTKa_NmSEwnUIR3N3QK7aF9DNagiQ/s1600-h/cake-1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384481768548727106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9sylk90jQJktYFil5nJAzW2lImNQTEn8spF-Ju0oNsmpniqNB6mmlQiB6TG-5PjXiK6SX0ILHFQOW-VHXqWSHOvKTAoQhc_DEUQZNMOOlYVbSFntTKa_NmSEwnUIR3N3QK7aF9DNagiQ/s320/cake-1.jpg" /></a><br />When the movers came to estimate the cost of moving all our fabric, we bribed them with crumb cake. We promised them we'd be ready for an early start and we would have breakfast for them. Ingrid noted that my crumb cake was "really good!" with a special emphasis that made the boss's eyes light up. So when moving day arrived, crumb cake was provided, as promised, and the comment of one of the mover's to my husband was, "Forget the fabric, tell her to just sell crumbcake!"<br />Somehow my crumbcake has developed a reputation, and so I thought I would share the recipe with you, as it is so easy, it's embarassing!<br /><br />You will need a very large baking pan (17" x 12"). If that is not available, you could probably use a 13" x 9" plus a 9" x 9" or maybe 3 round cake pans. (it stores very well and can be made ahead and even frozen).<br />Spray with non-stick spray.<br />Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees (maybe 375 if your oven runs cool like mine)<br /><br />Ingredients:<br />1 box Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Golden Cake Mix<br />3 eggs<br />2/3 cup water<br />1 stick butter<br />2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (or 1 tsp. almond extract for a different flavor)<br /><br />For Topping:<br />3 sticks cold butter cut into pats (which is 3/4 pound total)<br />3 cups of flour (I use Heckers Unbleached Flour)<br />3/4 cup granulated sugar<br />3 Tablespoons cinnamon<br /><br />I make this entire crumb cake in my Cuisinart food processor with the metal blade. You can also make it with a mixer, but the Cuisinart (or any food processor) makes such quick and easy work of the whole thing, that I recommend it, if possible.<br /><br />First, prepare the cake batter according to the package directions. The only difference is you are adding 2 teaspoons of vanilla.<br />If you don't have any cake mix handy, substitute your favorite recipe for yellow cake.<br />I put the cake mix into the food processor, then the 1 stick (1/4 pound) of butter, cut into pats. I pulse the processor, until the mix has a resemblence of course damp sand. Then I mix the eggs, water and vanilla in my measuring cup, pour into the mixture in the processor and process just until smooth.<br />Pour the batter into the prepared pan.<br />Place the pan in the middle shelf of your pre-heated oven and set the timer for 15 minutes.<br /><br />Meanwhile, rinse out your processor and prepare the crumbs.<br />Place the flour, cinnamon, and granulated sugar into the processor, along with the 3 sticks (3/4 pound) butter, cut into pats.<br />Pulse until the mixture starts to hug the sides of the bowl. You don't want to cream this or blend it into a batter - remember it will be crumbs - so you want a dense mixture that is holding together, which you can crumble or cut into crumbs for the cake.<br />I usually take a knife or fork and sort of "chop up" the crumb mixture in the bowl of the processer, and then when my cake timer goes off, I am ready with the crumbs.<br />When the oven timer goes off, sprinkle the crumb mixture onto your cake. Cover the entire cake with crumbs right up to the edges of the pan. Return it to the oven for another 15 minutes, setting your timer once again.<br /><br />When the timer goes off, your cake should be done. Allow it to cool a bit and sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve. If served warm it will melt in your mouth. (of course it does with all that butter - but don't tell anyone - let them enjoy it).<br />We don't make this every day. It's for special occasions. But it is delicious! Enjoy!<br />LisaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-42216408756151963102009-09-13T20:05:00.001-04:002009-09-13T20:37:15.988-04:00We've Moved!We’ve moved! Finally! I have to say, it was a rough week. We probably all worked harder than we would have liked, but we are ready to face the web site orders tomorrow morning! Although we planned our move very carefully and thought we had all the details worked out, there was one unforeseen problem. We started having terrible problems with our electricity on the Friday of Labor Day weekend. All of a sudden the lights were dimming and then surge protectors were popping off and sending off alarms. Not good for computers, or for a relaxing weekend at home. Of course we contacted the power company, but since we were the only house with this problem, we were not considered an emergency, and of course, no one came to see us until Sunday. Tuesday morning, after this had been going on all weekend, we finally got an electrician to the house, and found that it was not a problem in the house, but outside with our power. Long story short, the power was not fully restored until Wednesday night and we were moving Thursday. We were packing up bolts of fabric by flashlight!! It was a sight not to be believed. We did have things ready for the movers at 7 a.m. Thursday morning, but we were all exhausted by moving day! Now the fabric is happily arranged on its shelving in a lovely spot in Westchester County. We are still a web only store, not open to the public. (our fabric is very shy) But we are hoping that we can provide even better service from our new location, and I can turn our house back into a home. The web site has now officially changed hands. The new owner, Ingrid Remkus, has known my oldest son since they were three. Now in their 30’s, they remain best of friends, though there are many miles between them. Ingrid was looking for a career change in January of this year and I invited her to come work at the shop while she decided what to do. As it turned out, the change was to take over Quilter’s Paradise. Ingrid feels just like family to me and that means so much when you have worked hard to build a business. You want to hand it to someone who will care for it and nurture it as you have. I know she is going to do a great job. I hope you will welcome Ingrid into your sewing rooms, and into your lives. She is a fantastic young woman with a great personality, wonderful family, lots of friends, and 2 fat cats. Please leave her a post on the blog, or email her through the web site. I know she would love to hear from you! Oh…and what about me? I’ll still be here. I’m going to do some of the blog updates, and hope to turn it into an informational blog, where you can pick up lots of tips and techniques for quilting and exchange ideas, as well as a place where you can see the day to day activities in the shop. I will also contribute to the email newsletters and will be sewing to make samples for patterns and kits that will be presented to you over the web. So I’m not far away. You could call me the technical consultant, creative advisor, or just “The Queen”. Ingrid is now “The Boss”.<br />Ingrid with Richie, our oldest son:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2pjAd3PQBrcqwQ4Ypx5Ki2GBMtQNBsCe3brS-LTBz-OgO_moN7RFbAkKP_Kj6fxA-c1zKv2Hu0Ozwj7DZTsKIULcuZ1y5w8AN2E-8iVdeUVB4Tw7A5-qR0lXYgt_7sHRrSGfECmlQsih/s1600-h/richie+and+ingrid+(2).JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381112807351109090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2pjAd3PQBrcqwQ4Ypx5Ki2GBMtQNBsCe3brS-LTBz-OgO_moN7RFbAkKP_Kj6fxA-c1zKv2Hu0Ozwj7DZTsKIULcuZ1y5w8AN2E-8iVdeUVB4Tw7A5-qR0lXYgt_7sHRrSGfECmlQsih/s320/richie+and+ingrid+(2).JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><strong></strong><em></em><em></em><br /><em></em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-36184415977350954292009-09-03T17:23:00.000-04:002009-09-03T22:29:20.040-04:00<strong><em>Today's Specials:</em></strong><br /><br />Right now we are in the midst of a moving sale, getting ready for our fabrics to move to a new home. The fabric will be moving in a huge moving van from Water Mill, NY (out on eastern Long Island) where it has been for the last 10 years. It will then travel through New York City to its new home in Westchester County. The new spot has more room and we think the fabrics will be very happy there! (You know how fabrics love to fluff themselves!)<br /><br />The move is planned for the Thursday after Labor Day. As we prepare for the movers, we will have a slight delay shipping orders, but we are very organized and should be up and running in the new spot within 48-72 hours from pack up. Since the move will occur at the end of the week and the new spot will be set up over the weekend, we think you will hardly notice that we have been busy with something other than shipping! We should be all set to begin shipping as usual on Monday morning.<br /><br />Lots of you have offered to help with moving day. Here's what you can do for us. Help yourselves to books, patterns and fabrics at great prices so we have less to pack up. Here's a list of Today's Specials at the QP Cafe:<br /><br /><strong><em>Fabric Special:</em></strong><br />We'd like to take fewer bolts on our move. Yes, we did have the movers here to assess the job ahead, and we were able to show them *all* the fabrics, books, patterns, kits and miscellaneous items that we sell. And yes, we did wave goodbye to them, close the door and no smelling salts or oxygen were needed. However, we know things will go more smoothly (and they will be delighted) if they have to take a bit less on the big truck.<br />SO, if you finish the bolt, we will give you 25% off. Most of our bolts are in the inventory control system, and when you click on the image of the fabric, you will see a notation that says "Quantity on Hand". If you are willing to take that quantity (or close to it when we actually measure the bolt out), we will take 25% off the cost of that fabric. It does not matter if the fabric is already on sale, if it has 25 yards or 1 yard left. You just have to take the Quantity on Hand.<br /><br /><em><strong>Book Special:</strong></em><br />We have set up a special category of <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?product=SALE-BK-BOGO-H">BOGO books</a>. That's BUY ONE/GET ONE FREE! Any book marked BOGO is included in this offereing. If you put 2 BOGO books in your shopping cart, we will charge you for one and the second book of equal or lesser value is FREE. If you shop so that you have even numbers of books, then we will be sending half of your books at no charge.<br /><br /><em><strong>Pattern Special</strong></em><br />We also have a <a href="http://www.quiltersparadiseonline.com/cgi-bin/Store/store.cgi?product=SALE-PATS">BOGO pattern</a> section. Buy one pattern marked BOGO and get another pattern of equal or lesser value for free. You may mix and match BOGO books and BOGO patterns. Depending upon the prices of your selections, in most instances, when you mix and match, you pay for the books and get the patterns for free.<br /><br />Because our web site is not programmed to differentiate a BOGO book or pattern from a regularly priced item that is not included in the offering, and because it is not able to tell if you are finishing the bolt or just buying one yard off a 15 yard bolt, our price reductions will <strong><em>not appear on your order confirmation. </em></strong>But when we get our hands on your order, we will take care of all that before we put your charge through and we will send a copy of your revised invoice in the mail with your order. The revised pricing is also what appears on your credit card. No worries!<br /><br />We hope you enjoy the cafe specials. We will be blogging again after the move for sure, possibly before. Meanwhile, if you have any questions you may post them here or email us.<br /><br />Have a wonderful and safe Labor Day Weekend!<br />LisaUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608089516892223425.post-17869609093745771862009-09-02T20:24:00.000-04:002009-09-03T17:23:26.918-04:00Welcome to the QP Cafe!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuS8-YrWnWaAUnlWuWwT8u66EiBLtPUWhyQKMwWwihHbOOiYeT54yda21H-12aaXaeZJj73-9jm3wJnMmBLAqsQYgm1t97llFoQZtTJBwNTA4wuriNZuo4SGRLHGry1dY8WbdcaNtDQqN/s1600-h/Espresso08A.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 304px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 304px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377031481621011282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvuS8-YrWnWaAUnlWuWwT8u66EiBLtPUWhyQKMwWwihHbOOiYeT54yda21H-12aaXaeZJj73-9jm3wJnMmBLAqsQYgm1t97llFoQZtTJBwNTA4wuriNZuo4SGRLHGry1dY8WbdcaNtDQqN/s320/Espresso08A.jpg" /></a><br /><div><em>Welcome to the Quilter's Paradise Cafe! We call it the QP Cafe, for short, and it is a place where you can stop in and meet up with your quilting friends, share ideas, learn about quilting and just enjoy the time dreaming about quilts.</em></div><div><em>Bring in your favorite beverage...it could be a quilt-latte, or maybe a sweet-quilt-tea, or maybe a quilt-tini (our personal favorite!). Bring any sweet treat you like....a jelly roll, a honey bun, a layer cake, anything from the quilt-bakery. All calorie free! </em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1