QUESTION OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST

The question of the month for August is:

What are your favorite color combinations when making a quilt and do you vary from those colors very often?

Since that is not going to happen, now is the time to get serious about all the projects that need to be finished for Western Legends. We only have a few short weeks and it will be here so please decide which of your quilts you want to show (we can show 3-4) and prepare to participate in this beautiful quilt show.

Calculating amount of fabric for quilts

The previous post gave the dimensions of a variety of quilt sizes. After posting that I realized that the dimensions won't do a lot of good if you haven't converted them into the amount of fabric needed. So, I did a little research and found a site that gives the formula for converting the dimensions of your quilt into the yardage needed.

Here is the site:

Calculating yardage for quilts

This site says that it is for quilt backs but you could use the same formula for your finished pieced quilt or for a whole cloth quilt.

If you have a smart phone an app called QuiltCalc is very helpful for calculating yardage and it does the math for you.

Mattress sizing chart

I want to make a few twin sized blankets for Christmas and I want to be sure to have enough fabric to cover the mattress plus some extra to tuck in. I looked for a chart that would help me figure out how much fabric to purchase and I found a chart that helps to measure for any size mattress and is either for a whole cloth blanket or a pieced quilt. 

Here is the link:

Mattress sizing chart

Hope this is helpful to you as you plan your next quilt.

July Guild Meeting

We had a good turn out for our July meeting and learned lots of things from each other. We found that most of us have many UFOs and have good reasons for having them. Mostly, it is because there are so many new classes to take and retreats to go to and we start something new at each one meaning that our projects stack up. Marla won the prize for the most and she taught us that it is okay.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Ilene showed a new way to tie a knot by using an automatic needle threader which leaves a little loop at the end of the thread. Then you just take a small stitch on the back of your fabric and run the needle through the loop and pull. You will then have a knot that is small and tight.

SHOW AND TELL

We had several people show their quilts. Everyone is so busy this summer that it is pretty amazing that anyone has time to quilt.

Nayna finished this kit that was called Twister in a Row.

 Crystal made this quitar fabric quilt for her grandson's graduation gift.

 Judy showed this block that she made at a class taught by Jennie Doan.

Pam made this quilt for Spencer for Father's Day. It is a block of the month pioneer quilt and each block came with a little pioneer story.

 Mariel showed this beautiful wall hanging that she made from a pattern.

Addie Lou also finished her pioneer block of the month. It was a long project but sure is worth the effort.

Nayna finished her You've Got Mail quilt that she started at the guild's winter retreat.

Kathy showed her finished panel project. Apparently she decided to take a little nap.

Helen is working on her very detailed name tag.

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Our ABC blocks for the month of July are P and Q. Pam displayed hers and said that it is important to test the inch test square on the paper piecing patterns. Each printer is a little different and it will make a difference in the finished size of your block.

 Kris brought a flannel backed tablecloth so we could show our finished blocks a little easier. She has been busy and finished 7 of the blocks.

Alana demonstrated how she hand quilts. She uses a small square quilt frame that she made using pine wood because it is soft and easy to push your thumb tacks in. She has small c clamps and stretches the block fairly tightly over the frame. Then she showed how to use a thimble and how to take small stitches. She also uses a pair of pliers to pull her needle through the fabric. We were fortunate to be taught by a master hand quilter. Thank you Alana.

 Alana also took the Dresden Plate class from Jennie Doan and used her square to demonstrate on. She told us that she just loves to hand quilt and does some everyday.

To finish off our meeting we had a fun activity that Pam put together. She did a word search, crossword puzzle, and fill in the acronyms work sheets to help everyone learn and understand the many words associated with quilting. It is kind of like a different language until you learn what they all mean. Thanks to Pam for all her work.

We also had lunch together and enjoyed visiting with each other.