Row By Row Shop Hop

Shop Hops can be so fun.  You get together with your girlfriends, pile into a car, and zoom around to different quilt shops, building up your fabric stash and adding things to your UFO list; laughing and eating, too.  Gobs of fun!!

The "mother of all shop hops" has been introduced.

It is ALL fifty states and parts of Canada.

Each shop has their own quilt row that you complete.  At the end of your hopping you will have a finished quilt....submit it before Oct 31 and you could win prizes!!

Facebook is all 'a twitter about hopping & shopping.  I'm getting itchy....

These ladies are in my old stomping grounds in the Pacific Northwest and reading their FB posts makes me a bit homesick.  But, seeing all the cities and shops I loved (and spent countless hours shopping in) makes me happy!!!

Each state has their own FB page. This one is California (obviously.)

So, I guess the question remains, will I zoom around Southern Calif and visit a bunch of shops?  Not sure yet.  I've put a call out to my Sew Cal Gals who sew and quilt here in Southern California and we have a long weekend coming up...but there have been no decisions yet.

There is still time...

Here are the links to the Row by Row Experience.
Here is the link to the California shops.....

So, visit the website...visit your specific FB page and get hopping!!

Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind

Checking in with the "newbies."

Kathy is finishing up her second quilt.....

Kathy, it looks like you are finishing each quilt before you start a new one....what a concept!  This jelly roll quilt looks great, by the way.  I really like the color combination.

This seems like a good place to plug "pre-cuts" and kits.  A pre-cut is exactly what it sounds like; fabric that is cut into a shape or size before it's been purchased.  Charm packs, jelly rolls, layer cakes, dessert rolls, fat quarters (interesting how we get "fat quarters" after all those yummy-sounding names...ha ha.)  I found this blog post from Sew4Home that explains the different pre-cuts and shows examples of projects made from that particular pre-cut.

A "kit" is where the shop has put together all the fabric to make a specific quilt.  This can be very nice!  I can't say it is less expensive to buy a kit (although sometimes it is), but certainly it saves all the time picking out the fabrics.  ESPECIALLY when the pattern has a lot of different fabrics as is often the case with applique quilts.  Here are some examples of kits at Annie's Craft Store.  My Aunt Nyla is a sucker for kits! (You know it's true.) Truth be told, kits are sometimes darn hard to resist because the shop has spent a lot of time bringing together wonderful, coordinating fabrics, cut in just the right sizes.

Then there is the best of both worlds: a kit with all the pieces pre-cut. I've seen them on eBay and Etsy.  Would have come in handy, eh, Auntie?

Dez has joined a support group (AKA a block-of-the-month class (a BOM)) at a local quilt shop.
Here is her current project--on her "design floor."

The very first quilt I made was part of a BOM.  It is a great way to build your skills and meet like-minded, addicted quilters.
I really like the "star" in the lower right corner.

Dez still has not completed the black & white, zig zag quilt.  She keeps changing her mind about block placement.  So now you have two UFOs (Unfinished Objects?)  And at least one in your head, I'll bet.

I think that's pretty typical of most quilters; she said, only slightly embarrassed.  Most of us have more than one project going at any given time (or,  sometimes more than two....or even more.....)

Shout Out

I'd like to give a "Shout Out" to the people on the Project of Doom Facebook page...
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE seeing all the blocks!  And, they are so willing to share!

It is a Closed Group, but all you need to do is ask to join.  I'm not really "in to" Harry Potter, but this is a very intriguing paper piecing project.

The "owner" of this group, Jennifer Ofenstein of Fandom in Stitches, gives away the pattern and other talented people on the site give away their pattern's, also.  I saw a block with a pixie that I really wanted as part of my own PoD but I could not find the block pattern....Tereza sent me the link.  Or, was that the ripped book pattern link she sent?  So many people share that I get them mixed up.

I just received a swatch of jelly bean fabric from Tomme.

I don't want to forget to give a public Thank You to CC Maxwell for the eye balls!

See what I mean?  Anyone in your circle of quilters ever send you eye balls?


If you like paper piecing and if you like fun people, check out this group.  Click Here

Follow this link to see some of the completed Project of Doom quilts.

Become an Expert

When my son was in Middle School he had to do two "Expert Projects" every year (aka, Term Papers.)  One year he chose the Grateful Dead.  Now, I'm a child of the 60's and 70's but I'm an old soul so I didn't even know who the Grateful Dead  were.  But, through a friend's contacts, we were able to interview the man who ran the "Wall of Sound."  Matt became an "expert" on the Grateful Dead.  (And, I learned a few things myself.)

Well, I've recently become an "expert" as well....at ripping....not something I really want to be known for...but ya gotta grab your 15 minutes of fame wherever you can.

A few posts back I lamented about ripping apart an entire quilt top...because it was wonky and ugly (My friend, Karen, agreed.  Thanks for being honest but not laughing.)  So, I'm spending a little time every evening ripping out seams.  Here are a few things I've learned:

1.  Make sure you have a sharp seam ripper.  If you are still using the seam ripper you bought as part of a little kit for your middle school sewing class (yes, they used to teach sewing in school)  then it is time to buy a new one.

2.  The proper use of a seam ripper.  Do you know what the little ball on a seam ripper is for?  I always thought it was so I wouldn't poke myself.... nope... watch this You Tube video.  I found if  I lay the quilt top over my knee I could use the same method from the top of the quilt...slip the seam ripper in the seam and run it along the seam line.

The brass seam ripper she is talking about can be found HERE.

3.  Finally, there is a new type of seam ripper (at least new to me.)  The cap has a rubber tip.  What could that be for?  It is to whisk away the cut thread crumbs.  Watch this You Tube video. 

I don't have a "Seam Fix" ripper so I used a Pink Pearl eraser.  It worked like a charm.  You want the eraser to be soft, so don't get the hard-as-rocks erasers at the dollar store...and, anyway, Pink Pearl erasers are only 28 cent each...you can get a whole pack!!

That's all, folks.....

Sewing Retreat

Everyone should get away to the beach from time to time.... I think that is why God made the beach.

Spent this past weekend at Solano Beach with a couple of my high school girl friends (and, we have been out of high school 45 years...it's amazing we even remember each others names!)  It was almost like heaven!

Such A Deal!!

I'll bet a week does not go by that someone doesn't say to me "You could sell your quilts!"
Ah...no I couldn't....




The reality is unless the buyer understands the difference between a quality, hand made quilt and a "bed-in-a-bag" quilt they do not want to pay what they SHOULD pay for a hand made quilt.

Most people are not "in the know" about such things.  They compare the cost of a hand made quilt to a "bed-in-a-bag" quilt you get at   JC Penny or Bed Bath and Beyond and say "nah."

If all you need is a "blanket" to cover a bed... this one on sale at JC Penny is a good choice.  And, it is quite pretty, in its non-hand-made way.




Hand made quilts are a gift of love.  We quilters make them because it is a good outlet for our creative juices...and keeps us off the street corner.  Then we give them to people we care about.

Someone posted this on Facebook recently.

I suspect this is a few years old based on the cost of fabric.  Fabric is closer to $12 per yard.  And, minimum wage in some states is $15 per hour.  Even at outdated prices, the bottom line is a bit shocking...even to me...

If you think this is expensive....you should see Amish quilts!
All handmade (and very beautiful).  HERE

They are not inexpensive.  $1,000 and up.  The people who buy them know they are buying quality.





We amateur quilters (I'm making a broad statement here meaning "not Amish")  make quilts for the sheer pleasure of it and then give them to people we love.  It is so worth  the time, energy and money when we see the look on the recipient's face.

A Seam Ripper by Any other Name...

...IS STILL A SEAM RIPPER!!

Ever have one of "those quilts."  You know the one...pattern looks so darn cute...would be so fun to make...Turns out to be a big disappointment and a royal pain in the tookus!

Ever give up on a quilt?  I did once...well, it was a wall hanging and I hadn't gotten very far into it, but it was such a PAIN!  All these tiny pieces!!!  I just wadded it up and threw it away.  But, my Auntie, the one who got me addicted to quilting...said "Why?  You should have just sent it to me.  I would have rescued you."   I got the very strong message that you DO NOT give up on a project.  I learned my lesson.

This Christmas quilt I'm working on had such promise.

Example--not mine

I got the whole top put together and it just wasn't "right."  It was "wonky", it was ugly and I just hated it!  My first thought was "...ahhhh, it's for a kid... who will care?"  I CARE!  I just could not stand taking it to the quilter...it was just TOO imperfect.

I bit the bullet and called the quilter to tell her it was not ready.... I'm ripping the whole thing apart and will do it RIGHT.  I'll like it better, and hopefully, so will the kid.

Oh, and I do remember above-mentioned Aunt had one of "those quilts."  She just hated it by the time she was finished.   But, she didn't give up.  Saw it through to the end.

Aunt Nyla

See the start of my skateboard quilt on the post for May 15.