One of the joys of traveling if you do ANY sewing is checking out the local fabric stores. My husband and I were in the finger lakes area last week. If you have never been to this area, it is a seriously beautiful place. Back in the early 1970's I lived in the Canandaguia area for a few months. I was definitely looking forward to being in the area again and seeing how it has changed.
It is a bit embarring how long it has been since I have updated my blog. So, today is the day. TOPIC? Using your quilt backing as your binding. There are many ways to bind a quilt. I was facing this question recently when I finished a runner. The backing fabric matched the front of the quilt perfectly and was the perfect size to lend itself to the fold over method of using it as the binding also. It has been awhile since I have used this method so I goggled it. What I found was a marvelous totrial with VERY clear instructions and helpful pictures - YEAH! Here is the link
Everyone has there own definition of what vintage is. For me, it is defined by if I have any recollection of when the fabric was purchased . Nope, can't remember but I saved these brown and blue scrap since I really liked all the different colors in them. Less than a fat quarter of each. I went digging through my stash and found a gold and a green I thought might work well with the brown and blue since those colors appeared in both fabrics I had a limited amount of all the fabrics so I figured I could make a basket. Time to make a test coaster to see how they would look together once wrapped. Ever though the gold did match the gold in the main fabrics it just didn't seem to work. It was crying out for the rosy color, which I doubted I was going to find in my stash. Might as well have a look to be sure.
Last week I realized how long it had been since the quilts that we use on a regular bases have been washed. I am a firm believer that hand made quilts are here to add beauty and comfort to our lives and so I use mine. Some get more use than others . One should HAND WASH hand made quilts that are being used on a regular bases every six months. It is important to the longevity of the quilt that it be handled with care and be hand washed and air dried flat.
You know when the dust is an inch think and the floor is so littered with fabric scraps and the rest of the detritus of sewing you can no longer see it that it is time to clean the sewing room. This always starts out with folding and putting away fabric from previous projects. This started yesterday along with some floor cleaning. OMG!!!! Day # 2....finish cleaning the floor and then force myself to sort some scraps. Like any person who sews a lot, I have mountains of scraps. Every place I look there are scraps. The question always is, how do I sort them and which ones are worth saving.
LUCKY ME....I found some watermelon rind fabric in the remnants last week at one of the local fabric stores. A half yard...YES. Today was the day to attempt my first watermelon bowl. After a few messages back and forth with my friend Margaret, who has been making these as part of her repertoire, I dug through my stash to see what I could find. I very light green was perfect but I wanted another transition green and was striking out since most of the greens I have in my stash tend towards lime or olive...not right for this project. The green tone on tone dot was the closest I could get. Fortunately I found 2 watermelon colored scrapes so...next decision...seeds or no seeds.
It is always fun to come up with something new to make. I first started making coasters the same way I made the coiled fabric bowls, by wrapping the rope with strips of fabric and then sewing them in a concentrical shape. I recently came up with the idea of making the coasters by just sewing the rope without the fabric and then appliqueing a colorful heart on it. Who wouldn't like this...right?
A few months back a local fabric store went out of business and we all know what that means....deep discounts! I found this FABULOUS fabric called blooms. One of my favorite color combinations is terra cotta and teal so a yard of it went home with me. I also purchased a terra cotta to go along with, knowing I had a dark teal in my stash and as luck would have it, it matched perfectly. I made an apron, which I sold wholesale, and a runner from these 3 fabrics. I took the runner into the Arts Co-op and it sold the same day. I NEED MORE OF THIS FABRIC. On my way home from the Art Co-op I shopped at the fabric store. Oh, oh....the store had sold out of it so I went digging through the fat quarters and found 2.
It is embarrassing how long it has been since this blog has been updated. The wholesale part of my business has been keeping me busy. I have been wanting to blog about the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe but first I want to share something amusing from this morning.
YES....it has been over a month since I have update my blog. Life has been a bit hectic (understatement). The first week in September we went on a much needed vacation to Santa Fe, NM. In 40 years of marriage it is important to rally around what you and your spouse agee on and one of those things is how much we like northern NM.
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One of the joys of traveling if you do ANY sewing is checking out the local fabric stores. My husband and I were in the finger lakes area last week. If you have never been to this area, it is a seriously beautiful place. Back in the early 1970's I lived in the Canandaguia area for a few months. I was definitely looking forward to being in the area again and seeing how it has changed.
It is a bit embarring how long it has been since I have updated my blog. So, today is the day. TOPIC? Using your quilt backing as your binding. There are many ways to bind a quilt. I was facing this question recently when I finished a runner. The backing fabric matched the front of the quilt perfectly and was the perfect size to lend itself to the fold over method of using it as the binding also. It has been awhile since I have used this method so I goggled it. What I found was a marvelous totrial with VERY clear instructions and helpful pictures - YEAH! Here is the link
Everyone has there own definition of what vintage is. For me, it is defined by if I have any recollection of when the fabric was purchased . Nope, can't remember but I saved these brown and blue scrap since I really liked all the different colors in them. Less than a fat quarter of each. I went digging through my stash and found a gold and a green I thought might work well with the brown and blue since those colors appeared in both fabrics I had a limited amount of all the fabrics so I figured I could make a basket. Time to make a test coaster to see how they would look together once wrapped. Ever though the gold did match the gold in the main fabrics it just didn't seem to work. It was crying out for the rosy color, which I doubted I was going to find in my stash. Might as well have a look to be sure. 
Last week I realized how long it had been since the quilts that we use on a regular bases have been washed. I am a firm believer that hand made quilts are here to add beauty and comfort to our lives and so I use mine. Some get more use than others . One should HAND WASH hand made quilts that are being used on a regular bases every six months. It is important to the longevity of the quilt that it be handled with care and be hand washed and air dried flat. 
You know when the dust is an inch think and the floor is so littered with fabric scraps and the rest of the detritus of sewing you can no longer see it that it is time to clean the sewing room. This always starts out with folding and putting away fabric from previous projects. This started yesterday along with some floor cleaning. OMG!!!! Day # 2....finish cleaning the floor and then force myself to sort some scraps. Like any person who sews a lot, I have mountains of scraps. Every place I look there are scraps. The question always is, how do I sort them and which ones are worth saving. 
LUCKY ME....I found some watermelon rind fabric in the remnants last week at one of the local fabric stores. A half yard...YES. Today was the day to attempt my first watermelon bowl. After a few messages back and forth with my friend Margaret, who has been making these as part of her repertoire, I dug through my stash to see what I could find. I very light green was perfect but I wanted another transition green and was striking out since most of the greens I have in my stash tend towards lime or olive...not right for this project. The green tone on tone dot was the closest I could get. Fortunately I found 2 watermelon colored scrapes so...next decision...seeds or no seeds. 
It is always fun to come up with something new to make. I first started making coasters the same way I made the coiled fabric bowls, by wrapping the rope with strips of fabric and then sewing them in a concentrical shape. I recently came up with the idea of making the coasters by just sewing the rope without the fabric and then appliqueing a colorful heart on it. Who wouldn't like this...right? 
A few months back a local fabric store went out of business and we all know what that means....deep discounts! I found this FABULOUS fabric called blooms. One of my favorite color combinations is terra cotta and teal so a yard of it went home with me. I also purchased a terra cotta to go along with, knowing I had a dark teal in my stash and as luck would have it, it matched perfectly. I made an apron, which I sold wholesale, and a runner from these 3 fabrics. I took the runner into the Arts Co-op and it sold the same day. I NEED MORE OF THIS FABRIC. On my way home from the Art Co-op I shopped at the fabric store. Oh, oh....the store had sold out of it so I went digging through the fat quarters and found 2. 
It is embarrassing how long it has been since this blog has been updated. The wholesale part of my business has been keeping me busy. I have been wanting to blog about the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe but first I want to share something amusing from this morning.
YES....it has been over a month since I have update my blog. Life has been a bit hectic (understatement). The first week in September we went on a much needed vacation to Santa Fe, NM. In 40 years of marriage it is important to rally around what you and your spouse agee on and one of those things is how much we like northern NM.