Saturday, January 22, 2022

New Quilt Inspector

Igor, the previous quilt inspector passed away November 2020. It's just not the same making quilts without input from a furry friend. Four days ago, a new quality control expert was hired. Marge will oversee all creative work being done in this house. She has already shown an affinity for quilts. I think she'll be an outstanding employee.

Monday, January 17, 2022

Table Runner By Linda H.

Linda made this table runner in December. It was donated to her quilting group's Christmas sale table.

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

First Finish Of 2022

I didn't have time to get this finished for Christmas 2021, but it'll be ready for next time. The runner was so long, it had to be taken out in the yard for a photo. This runner started out as a cutting error when I was attempting to make a set of placemats. I didn't read the directions properly in the Take Four placemats pattern. When all else fails, read the directions, haha! Anyway, I took the botched sections and sewed them into one long unit. This will fit nicely on an antique sideboard that's in my living room.

Saturday, January 8, 2022

Product Review: Eversoft Quilt Batting

Important edit: I bought this brand of batting in July, 2024 but the company has changed their formula. The texture is now like fiberglass and it kept shredding the thread as I was trying to quilt on the longarm. I won't be buying this batting again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I went into Walmart a few weeks ago to buy some Mountain Mist quilt batting. They didn't have any of that brand, so I bought two packages of Eversoft quilt batting. I never heard of that brand before and was a little leery of trying it. In the past, I had bought different kinds of polyester batting that were stiff and had the texture of a Brillo pad, not very pleasant to work with. The other day I pin basted a quilt, using the Eversoft batting. I was pleasantly surprised. The texture was soft and the loft was just right. The thickness was even with no thick or thin areas. Best of all, this batting is made in Canada. Most of the time, I use Hobbs 80/20 batting, but I like to use polyester if I don't know how the recipient is going to launder the quilt. Cotton batting can shrink quite a bit if it's dried in a hot dryer. I am quite pleased with the Eversoft batting and will buy it often.

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Scarf In A Hurry

I needed a new warm scarf in a hurry because it's been really cold out. A round loom came in handy to make a long tube. The yarn is doubled, so that also adds warmth. Now I'm ready to brave the elements.

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Friday Finish

Hot off the press! It was finished last night. I don't know the name of this quilt pattern, I made one like it years ago, but with smaller half-square triangles. There was a small stack of these blocks that I made a long time ago. I got busy and made a bunch more so there were enough for this project. It is quilted with all-over feathers, which I learned from Stitched By Susan. My feathers turned out smaller and more compact than Susan's. Without having a long arm machine, it's necessary to move the quilt around as I stitch. It'll have to do. The lovely fabric on the back came from Connecting Threads. I buy most of my wide backing fabric from there, the price is extremely reasonable.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

It's Gift Bag Season Again

It seems like I just made gift bags, but that was a year ago. Time goes so fast that one year seems like a total blur. I have been trying to use up my Christmas fabric stash since who knows when. The amount is starting to diminish a bit. The only thing I'm getting low on are light coloured background prints. I make the gift bags lined in order to use up more fabric. Many years ago, I had a fabric store and there were many bolts of fabric left when the business closed. That's why there is so much to use up. It's no use trying to sell it, I would only get a pittance for the lot. There will be gift bags from now to eternity.

Finished Just In Time For Halloween

I completed this Halloween quilt the other day. It's made up of odds and ends of Halloween fabric that I had in my stash. There wasn...