Jennifer, in a comment on my fun post about baby turtles, Something Fun for Quilters, mentioned that her best friend likes and collects turtles.  In the post, I’d suggested the turtles might inspire quilters.  So Jennifer came up with the idea of a baby blanket or quilt with turtles for her friend’s baby.
I agree with Jennifer.  Why not incorporate turtles into a baby gift quilt?  She might look for some fabric printed with turtles.  (Does anyone know where there is any?)  Or she could design or find a pattern of turtles to applique on quilt blocks. 
I often made quilted blankets for …read more

       Quilters thoughts often turn to Christmas projects by July, if they haven’t before that.  I’ve been receiving messages, in the various newsletters and e-mail notices I’ve subscribed to, about the Christmas fabrics and patterns available in quilting shops and online ones, too.Christmas in July, around July 26, has become a tradition with many people, most frequently in the shopping and marketing realm.  So this is the day the Arts and Design channel has chosen  to feature a Christmas theme.
Some of the places where I’ve found Christmas fabrics and ideas for quilters and fabric artists:
The Christmas Cloth Store handles solely Christmas …read more

Fabrics depicting characters from children’s books seem popular with quilters and fabric artists.  They’re also fun to use when making clothing for children, as I did when my daughter was small.
Were any of you brought up on the Dick and Jane reading books in grammar school?  Do you have memories of learning to read when you see these characters?
            
I discovered at, Fat Quarter Shop, fabric with Dick, Jane and Sally.  A current feature is the Sally Look Quilt Kit by Michael Miller Fabrics, for a 50-inch piece, packaged in a collectible Dick and Jane lunch box.

I’m fascinated with quilts I often discover in classrooms where I do substitute teaching or visit to give author programs (I’m also a children’s writer.)  Today I saw a quilt different from any I’d encountered before.
It consisted of 16 squares and was simple in construction.  The youngsters had drawn their designs (actually pictures) on muslin with permanent markers in various colors.  Then the squares were sewn together with strips between.  The backing was folded over to make a wide border.
However, I found the pictures most interesting.  They depicted events in their classroom.  Among these were:
*Field trips – hay ride and …read more

Making quilts, lap or baby size, for worthy causes occupies many quilters, either singly or in groups.  Also school children often become involved in class projects that result in quilts for babies and youngsters in hospitals.  I’ve often helped the sixth graders in our school when they put their creations together.
Recently I read of a group of ladies who made quilts they donated to the birthing center of a local hospital.  The donation was made in memory of a past president of their guild who apparently suggested the idea.
One lady made lap quilts for elderly in nursing homes, “to help …read more

The quilt is well worn from love and use.  However, I found it so interesting when a friend brought it out of her closet to spread over a table we were using for a display.
“What interesting fabrics with designs for children,” I remarked.
She explained the quilt had been made from outgrown dresses and play outfits her daughter had worn more than 25 years ago.  As the child outgrew the clothes, my friend’s mother kept them and eventually created this quilt.
The pattern was simple.  Rectangular pieces were sewn together in strips.  However, the mom pointed out patches from a dress, a romper …read more

One of my readers mentioned she’s attempting to make a baby blanket for her niece from a pre-printed panel.  She wants to hand stitch the design.
Do I put the top, batting and back together, then do the hand stitching through all three layers.  Or do I just stitch the top layer, then put it together? 
Then she wonders, if she puts them together to stitch, how does she secure them.
ANSWER: You can quilt it either way…quilting just the top piece of fabric or quilting through all three, depending on the effect you want.
If you hand sticth just the top (the pre-printed …read more

The bedcoverings we refer to as quilts need not be solely patchwork or applique.  Some quilts are created from needlework panels or squares.  These are easy to tote projects you can work on away from home, while traveling, in a waiting room, in a car, at youngsters’ ball games.
You’ll find a multitude of designs…floral, pictorial, historical, Sunbonnet Sue, animals, state capitals and more…to embroider or do as cross stitch. I was browsing thorough a needlework catalog and came across so many interesting designs for quilts.
 When you’ve finished the desired number, sew them together with sashing, then select a batting and backing.  You …read more

Many quilters nowadays are creating smaller projects, like wall hangings, postcards, mini quilts, and framed fabric art.  Fabric and fiber artists often seem to be getting away from the larger bed quilts.
However, as I think about it, the small quilts aren’t entirely new.  My grandmother made quilts for my sister’s and my dolls.  She took the scraps from her larger quilts and other sewing, then created these tiny coverlets for us. 
We loved them and used them.  Unfortunately they wore out, so I didn’t find them with the few dolls’ clothes my mom had saved as memorabilia from our childhood.
However, these could …read more

Memory Quilts can take a variety of forms and may involve quilts made specifically to evoke memories or include those that bring back memories of special times in our lives. 
*My daughter made a quilt, when her husband was ill with cancer, that could be considered a Family Quilt or Memory Quilt to her.  She made patterns of her husband’s hand, the children’s hands, and hers.  Then she cut these from fabric and incorporated them into a quilt that she could hang on the wall.
This quilt has sepecial significance for her family of a time when they were pulling together for her husband’s recovery.  …read more