Quilt Fuse

This is just a reprint of an email I sent you all on Thursday.  I wanted to post it to the blog so that it would be easy to find for future reference.

 There were a few interesting finds from the Heron's Nest donated stash, such as 4 meters of Quilt Fuse.  It looks like it is 45" wide (or more) and similar to a very fine non woven fusible interfacing with a 2" grid printed on it.  It always seemed like an easy way to sew little squares together without having to match the corners.  I had never considered that you could make a variety of quilt blocks in this manner.  For example, The two different blocks in Nancy's quilt could be made with Quilt-Fuse and no need to match corners until you sew all the blocks together, but since the product is 45" wide by almost any length you choose to work with, a quilt that is 90 x 90 could possibly be made with only two horizontal seams and two vertical seams to match.  I know I've probably lost you all, already, but when you watch this really short video you might see what I am talking about.

  I outlined the two blocks.  If you manage to get through the whole 5 minute video, at minute 4:05 you will see the product used for a really good idea for an I Spy border.  You could make it with bright coloured plain prints as shown in the video or with 2" squares of small print I Spy fabrics separated by a solid border from the inner part of the quilt top.

Rag Quilts Project

 

One whole box of the fabrics I received from Heron's Nest were 7" flannelette squares in a variety of prints.  Adrienne, the co-ordinator of Heron's Nest called me and said that it would mean a lot to her if we could use those squares to make a couple of quilts for the babies at Heron's Nest.  Her mom died last summer so I couldn't say no to her request.

These squares were obviously being made into rag quilts as there were a couple of block samples in the box with the cut squares.  I've never made one before and had no desire to but I will work at these intermittently between now and September.  

I looked at a tutorial on Youtube and think I know how to do it now.  I can use one of the left over pieces of flannelette instead of batting so everything is there to finish several quilts, except maybe some enthusiasm.

Joyce suggested we all do this together but I think no one should feel under any obligation to participate.  I'll let you all do the cutting 😉.

Stash Donation from Heron's Nest

 On Wednesday I picked up a huge donation of fabrics and notions from Adrienne Beaton at the Heron's Nest, one of the donees of our quilts.  When I dropped off the donations last Fall, Adrienne asked if we would take her mom's stash off her hands since no one in her family knew what to do with it.  I was hopeful that there would be lots of fabrics in the eight huge boxes I picked up but unfortunately, besides the Quilt Fuse and three pieces of flannel it wasn't a very successful haul.  Although Adrienne's mom probably loved her stash as much as we all love ours, most of the quilting fabrics were very dated and not the quality that we are used to these days.  Also, the majority of the fabrics were actually for garment construction.

I went through everything and pulled out anything that I thought could possibly be useful to someone.  I only saved 100% cottons.  There was a huge amount of broadcloth but only a couple of pieces that were cotton.  I tested all those to be sure.  All of those prints and broadcloth pieces have been washed but not ironed.  The would look better ironed but I just don't have the time and I don't think they will have much appeal.  They are definitely useful for scrap quilts or quilt backs but most of us don't have the space to store them.

I will start bringing them to our get togethers for you to choose from.  Remember, these are for your personal use.  I don't think we should be keeping a separate stash for our group.  I don't have room in my house and we all seem to be able to come up with enough fabrics for our projects by culling our own stashes.  

Sue mentioned that Bases will take any small scraps and offcuts from our projects.  Also, Joyce reminded me that any fabric donations to Bases don't even have to be sorted because they have volunteers who are used to doing that.  I called them up to confirm that because their website didn't have that info and I didn't want to burden them with things they cannot use or cause them extra work.  But it's all true and that is good for all of us to remember for the future.  Bases will take all your scraps no matter how tiny because these are all shredded and returned to fibre.  

I have another post to do about this fabric donation so stay tuned...

Budget Report

 

Here is a short summary of our budget after our recent top up to the kitty:

We have matched the Shimokura Family donation of $100 so we now have $200 which is earmarked for a special project such as long arm quilting for a big quilt but that is just an idea of what we could use this money for.

Besides that we have an additional $171.30 for birthday cakes, etcetera which should last us the rest of the year.  Please don't forget to see me for reimbursement when you buy something on behalf of the group.  I'm not strict about receipts.

Future Group Quilts

 Nancy was busy between the meetings working on our behalf to get us started on the planning for two more group quilt projects.

You will all remember this little Jelly Roll quilt that we've seen before.  Nancy brought it back to the meeting with her Quilt Record which contains all her notes on the fabric requirements and other useful information such as this tutorial from the Cluck Cluck Sew blog.

This quilt only takes 18 Jelly Roll strips plus some border fabric so you could make two with one Jelly Roll.  Nancy's notes say that the finished quilt measures 38" x 38".  I have been saving a Jelly Roll in Indigo batik prints for this one and I also have several pastel Jelly Rolls that would work for some of the quilts that were featured during Jelly Roll month in September.  Note to Nancy, I will make copies of your notes and return yours on Tuesday.

Do you remember this scrappy quilt that we all fell in love with when Joyce posted it last month?

Nancy got right down to work and made a sample block with a pattern.

This is Nancy's X & Plus block.  There is a half snowball block in each corner, two on either side of a two patch with a long strip with three units in the center.  Nancy wrote it all out for us and I will make copies of her instructions for everyone who wants to start making blocks from their scrap collection.  We can discuss the construction method but most of us have enough experience to easily complete this block

At our next meeting we will be doing more cutting and stitching and there will probably be some sewing if anyone wants to do some at home.  We will be concentrating on finishing the two Disappearing Nine Patch I Spy quilts first but the above two projects will probably be next in line.

Feb 25 Meeting Report

 There were lots of us present at our Tuesday meeting at Joyce's.  Sue and Adrienne set right to work hand stitching bindings, Sue on Marybeth's pastel baby quilt and Adrienne on Joyce's. 

This is Nancy's quilt.  You can just see the top of her head on the left.  Nancy was in the second photo but this was a better picture of the quilt so Nancy will appear in a later photo.  Nancy said there are only two blocks in this beautiful scrappy quilt.  Here is a hint:  One is a Sixteen Patch.

Here is Nancy's fabulous Improv Sampler.  I do not recall all the details of this class that Nancy took but I think it was a Quilt-Along.  Each student made the sample blocks and then had to arrange them as an Improv quilt.  I love the way Nancy has arranged this.  It really succeeds in keeping your eye moving around the quilt.  The colours are gorgeous and is really balanced between lights, mediums and darks.  The fabric line (one more question for Nancy) is available at Fabricana but I didn't note the name.  Nancy, can you bring this to the next meeting again if it isn't too much trouble.  I really didn't get a good look at this and Colleen missed it entirely.

Penny brought one of her Disappearing Nine Patch blocks to show us.  She is well underway now and determined to use her stash on this which she plans on keeping for herself.  That will be a  perfect project for Spring.

Here is another quilt on Penny's list.  This is really adorable and looks pretty scrap friendly.  I think Penny will be showing off her embroidery skills with this one.

Two birthdays were celebrated with two cakes--Penny's and mine.  Penny is a year older than me and I can't remember how old I am so that's all I can say on that subject.

While some of us continued with socializing, quilt talk and hand work, there was a work crew busy in Joyce's dining room working on cutting out I Spy blocks for our next group project.  I believe the people hard at work were Betty, who was cutting and Joyce and Leng choosing fabrics for Betty.  Dee-Dee was busy taking photos, so big thank you to you, Dee-Dee and to Sue who also sent some along.

There will be several more blog posts to follow because it was a meeting chock full of ideas and plans and I think it would be better to separate some of those discussions out of the main report.

Feb. 18 Meeting Report

 There were eight of us at Joyce's on Tuesday:  Colleen, Sue, Sharon, Nancy, Betty, Adrienne, Joyce and me.  Colleen brought her We Are Canadian wall hanging along so everyone could see the detail.  She brought the pattern as well and explained how she did the quilting and applique and Betty took the pattern home with her to give it a try.  There is a lot of work in this but Colleen said that she enjoyed every minute working on it, especially choosing the fabrics for the animals.

Betty brought along a zipper pouch she had made from some beautiful silk and wool upholstery fabric in shades of beige and light brown.  An owl was appliqued to the front and Betty made three dimensional feathers and also went on a search for the perfect buttons for its eyes.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of either Betty's or close ups of Colleen's banner so if anyone in the group can supply some I will post them here. 

Sharon's birthday is on the 21st of February so we celebrated the occasion with a cake.

Nancy had some tickets for the FVQG raffle quilt.  They are having a show in May at the New West Curling Rink.  Details are on the Upcoming Events page.  She will have more tickets at a future meeting if you would like to purchase one.

We also talked about making some plans for future donation quilts.  We should definitely make a couple of I Spy quilts.  Joyce wants her I Spy fabrics to get used up, ha ha.  We can try.  

I suggested we make this quilt which many of us will be familiar with as we made one for the Burnaby Children's Fund in the past.

I think it's a good option because it is very easy to piece and assemble.  You just cut out the brick shapes and sew a strip on the long sides and lay them out in an alternate horizontal and vertical pattern.  No pattern needed but there is one here.

There are so many options for I Spy quilts so have a look on Pinterest or Facebook and send me your favourites and I'll post them on the blog so we can decide.  Here are a couple I found on Pinterest:

We planned on devoting our next meeting to a cutting workshop so we need to decide on one or two (or more) I Spy quilts before then and come prepared to cut them out at that get together.

I still have two boxes of Michi's fabrics.  I will bring some to our next meeting so that we can come up with some ideas for those too.

Remembering Larry Lee

 It was sad to get the news on February 2nd that Larry, Michi's husband had passed away suddenly.  Many of us in the group knew Larry from our various get togethers over the years.  Larry was well know for keeping us entertained with his interesting and funny stories.

The funeral service will be held on Sunday, February 23 at Ocean View Funeral Home in Burnaby at Boundary and Imperial across from Central Park.  There will be a viewing at 12 pm and a non denominational service at 1 pm with refreshments to follow.  Please RSVP to Deimi at 604-808-8568 or deiterdoo16@gmail.com

Feb 11 Lunch Meeting Report

 Four of us met at the White Spot on Kingsway for a lunch get together.  Colleen and Adrienne kept us entertained with their stories about growing up in rural Canada, Adrienne in Chicoutimi, Quebec and Colleen in northern Saskatchewan.  They both attended a proverbial one room school house where several grades were taught simultaneously.  Adrienne must have been listening in to the more advanced students because it might surprise you to know that she graduated from high school and moved to BC by herself at age 15 and that was the same year she started attending university as well.  

Colleen brought her "WE ARE CANADIAN" quilt and said she had such a positive response from everyone after sending the photo around that she will find her pattern and bring it to our next meeting at Joyce's. 

This photo does not show all the detail so I will post a clearer photo when we see it again.

Penny brought one of her Disappearing Nine Patch blocks to show us.  Sorry I don't have a photo.  It was still at the Nine Patch stage and was made with fabrics from her stash with the main squares being really pretty coordinating florals in tiny prints of blues, lilacs and pinks.  It will be a really pretty quilt when finished and one that Penny will probably keep for herself.

It was a small but fun meeting and we congratulated ourselves for being brave and going out in the sub zero temps while four of our members were vacation in warmer climes.

Two good videos with Freezer Paper tips

 Most of us have a box of freezer paper amongst our quilting supplies.  I don't use mine very often but when I need it there is nothing else that takes its place.  

I came across this video today that had a couple new applications that I will definitely use in the future.  

And just by coincidence I came across another one on Karen Brown's Just Get It Done Youtube channel.  I've seen this one before and zipped through it really quickly, especially the section on paper piecing.  This time I took my time and really liked her paper piecing technique.  I have a love hate relationship with paper piecing but might try another project using her technique as it eliminates the problem of not getting the entire space covered that you need to because of working with angles that are opposite to the finished seam.  For those who hate removing the papers that problem is also eliminated and you can reuse your templates.  Because you can feed freezer paper through your printer (backed with printer paper) you can create multiple templates quickly and easily if you need them.  This is a longer video and covers many techniques, so not just paper piecing.  There is an ad in the middle that you can ffwd through.

July 24th, 2017, Colleen's Sesquicentennial Party.

 Colleen sent these photos along.  Many of us were at Colleen's party and remember it well.  Whenever there's a big gathering of quilters you know you are going to have a good time.  There was lots of Show and Tell and Colleen and Caroline had the yard decorated with Canadiana quilts.  

Although Canada is not having a milestone birthday this year, Colleen suggested that because we have lots to celebrate every year, we should have another Canadiana party on July 7th 2025.  Colleen is hosting and wants us all to mark our calendars.  I'm sure there will be lots of Show and Tell and a pot luck, but Colleen will let us know the details in due course.  Red and White will no doubt be the dress code.

I believe that is Arlene in the lower left holding up her heart quilt.

This is Marybeth with her colourful Trip Around the World quilt.

Arlene looks like she has an armload of quilts.  I recognize her Mitten quilt made from a rescued woolen blanket.

Diane Stevenson holding up a heart shaped cookie in the colours of the Canadian flag.

Happy kids with some of our donation quilts

 Betty sent along these photos of the kids from the family who lost their house to a fire just before Christmas.  It's good to see smiles on their faces after such a tragic event in their lives.  I can see three of our quilts:  The blue I Spy, Colleen's Circle quilt and Joyce's pink and white Kitty quilt tucked under Colleen's.  There are also some photos of some other donation quilts they received from some other quilters.  No details on those quilts.

Better than a mile a minute

 Here is a scrappy mile a minute block that is also a quilt as you go block.

Click here to watch very short video.

My snow day activity

 Finished shovelling the walk so rewarded myself with a cup of coffee and some Youtube quilting videos.  Normally I wouldn't spend 45 minutes watching anything on Youtube but this was well worth the time spent.  This is a great jelly roll or strip quilt that you sew up in strip sets and rearrange to come up with a very pleasing pattern called Walking Trails.  I think this looks best if you stick to three colours:  two darks (or mediums) and a light.

For those who have a Stripology ruler it's worth watching the cutting at the beginning of the video to see how she uses her ruler.  My sister just gave me hers and I have been using it a lot.  When I tried it out at her house a year or so ago I didn't find it very easy to use but she really can't do any cutting now so I reluctantly took it off her hands thinking I would pass it a long.  I got it out to give it another try for cutting the mystery quilt I am doing with my online Virtual Quilt Group and there's no way I will be parting with my Stripology ruler now.  I loved the tips for eliminating dog legs in strips and also for using the ruler for squaring up blocks.

It looks like a complicated block but it is just a simple strip set cut into squares with a couple of easy cuts and then rearranged.  

I thought this video tutorial was well worth the time investment.

Joyce is checking out the fabric shops in Hawaii

 Joyce was too overwhelmed by this huge selection to buy anything.  We'll see if she comes home empty handed.

Sharon, Ted, Sue and Malcolm meet up in Palm Springs

 

Sharon and Ted on the left, Sue and Malcolm on the right.  Looks like they are sampling the salsas at Salsa's in Palm Springs.  They met up and had a delicious Mexican meal together.  We all wish we were there.

And here are some photos that Sharon sent earlier showing some wonderful cacti and the fruit trees, possibly from her sister-in-law's garden.

Grapefruit

Organ Pipe, Barrel and Silver Torch cacti with an Agave in the background.

Agave in bloom.