Quilts for Our Troops

val·or/ˈvalər/

Noun: Great courage in the face of danger, esp. in battle

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 Quilts of Valor Foundation, and  Citizen Sam's - Quilts for Our Wounded Program are doing incredible work, but they need our help. 

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.

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.

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.

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 Patriotic Quilt Kit Collection HERE.

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.

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.

-Ingrid

To Pre-wash or To Post Wash? This is My Question...

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!

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?

We NEVER pre-wash our fabrics, we just starch, press, cut and sew…..

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 – Moda, Northcott, Benartex, RJR, Maywood Studios and Windham to name a few….

We ALWAYS press our fabrics, and starch them with a little Mary Ellen’s Best Press, 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.

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).

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.

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!

Some Quilters ALWAYS pre-wash their fabrics….

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?

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.

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.

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.

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!

With Love,

Ingrid

Directions to our Grand Opening!

View Quilter's Paradise in a larger map

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!

Our New Shop!

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!

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.

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!


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:

Here's a few pics of our rows and rows of bolts:


















And now for a few of how it all came to be.....

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......












Here is a pic of the Shop Empty, and a pic of me waiting on our loading dock for the big truck to arrive....













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!!!


My Dad, Grandma and Marilyn putting shelves together left....

and my cousin Maria shuffling bolts from pallets to shelves right....




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.....












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.

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!

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!

Bar Harbor and Sag Harbor

Pictured above is our own Bar Harbor 5 & Dime Quilt. My mom, Pam, made this quilt using the Bar Harbor Fabrics by Minick and Simpson and the pattern 5 and Dime by All Washed Up. 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.















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 here.

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.

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 North Star Foundation's website and specifying Mc Sweeney Family when prompted.


Thanks in advance for your support, and for continuing to follow us on the QP Cafe.

Sweet Dreams Quilt

Last 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.


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!)





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.





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.






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.






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.










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.







Next I grabbed my Jelly Roll of Sanctuary (2 1/2" strips) and headed to the sewing machine!



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!
Click on the arrow to view it:


Sweet Dreams Quilting Demo
Lisa

Super Bowl Sunday Sew In - The Pillowcase Challenge

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 1 million pillow case challenge during the Super Bowl.

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!

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.
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
baked brie video by Paula Deen.

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.

Here's my meatball recipe:
1 pound ground round beef (you may use ground turkey or a mix of beef, veal and pork if you wish)
1 small onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
2 large cans peeled Italian tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1 pound sweet Italian Sausage links
2 large carrots
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground peper
1 tsp dried oregano
Fresh Basil
Fresh Parmesean cheese

Step 1. Brown Sausage
In a heavy skillet, heat 1 TBL olive oil, and brown your sausage links, turning frequently.
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.

Step 2. Prepare Crock Pot
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.
Add your sliced sausage to the tomatoes.
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!
Add seasonings (1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper and 1 tsp dried oregano)

Step3. Prepare Meatballs
Take your ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, and egg and blend completely with your hands.
Shape into meatballs about the size of a ping pong ball.
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.
Cover.

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.

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.
Sprinkle with julienned fresh basil and freshly grated parmesean cheese.

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.

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.

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.

Happy stitching and Happy eating! Please share your favorite game time recipes!!
Lisa

Taking Care of our Furry Friends

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 Simply Squared Quilt. 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).

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****

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.

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.

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.

Today Ollie spent the afternoon hanging by the side of my lap top monitor as a I wrote the latest
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:

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.


-Ingrid & Ollie

Caitlin and her Placemat

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.

We then cut the fats down to charms using our eternally handy June Taylor Shape Cut Ruler. 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.

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 505 Spray.

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!

Here are close up pics of all three place mats:

Liam's Placemat (BOY PLACEMAT)

Jack's Placemat (BABY or UNISEX)

Caitlin's Placemat (GIRL PLACEMAT)

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!

-Ingrid

Charm Square Placemats

Ingrid's mom, Pam, made a charming holiday table runner using Benartex fabrics from Nancy Halvorsen. It really looks great on the table.

I decided to add some placemats and napkins to match.

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.

Supplies:
you will need 12 charm squares per placemat.
Backing for the placemat is 14" x 18"
14" x 18" batting (cotton such as Quilter's Dream Cotton or Warm and Natural is recommended - avoid polyester batting).
Thread for piecing and quilting.
Binding strips cut 2 1/2"

Additional supplies for making this go very quickly!
Alene's Glue Baste It (or Elmer's School Glue)
505 Basting Spray
Quilting Template
Pounce Pad with Chalk
Mary Ellen's Best Press

1. Stitch your charm squares into pairs. Place them Right Sides Together (RST) and stitch using 1/4" seam allowance.



2. Using Best Press, press seams to the darker square.

3. Stitch 8 pairs of charms into 4 patches.



4. Stitch the (2) 4 patches together so you have 4 squares x 2 squares.

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.
You now have placemat top which is a total of 12 squares (4 squares by 3 squares).



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.

7. Cut a piece of batting 14" x 18" and smooth it onto your backing. Spray it lightly with 505 also.



8. Smooth your placemat top on the batting, centered, making sure you have backing and batting around all sides.

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).



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.



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.

11. Prepare your binding strips. I used 2 1/2" binding strips which I joined end to end, using a bias seam.
I place on strip on the table Right Side UP and then place a second strip perpendicular to it.

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.


13. Carefully place the strips in your machine and stitch on the drawn line.
After stitching, trim the triangle to the right of your stitching line, and press the seam open.





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.

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.


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.

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.



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.


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.


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.



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.

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.



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.





Do this on all 4 sides.

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.

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.
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.



25. Mist your placemat with cool water and brush with a towel to remove any quilting marks and your placemat is done.

26. To make coordinated napkins, take 2 fat quarters and press them Right Sides Together. Use your Best Press.

27. Take the fat quarters to the cutting mat and trim them to 16 1/2" square.

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.

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.

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.

Have a Happy Holiday! We have kits available for these placemats and napkins. Great for the holidays and gifts. Enjoy!
Quilter's Paradise