Will Work for Fabric

It aint just a river....

Do I wear glasses?   no , I don't wear glasses.

I don't "wear" them.....I just briefly relocate them to my face when I actually have to read something on a label, or in a book, or when a stitch is required somewhere.  I have strategically placed pairs of drugstore glasses throughout the house, office, sewing basket, so there is always a pair within reach....in case I have to, you know, see something.

Do I need help threading a needle, oh, yes I do.  So I fell for it.....

I know I'm a sucker for gadgets, but when I finally took it out of the package, found my little triple A's and used it,  it worked like a charm!

good news for someone in the denial line of the eye chart....

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

I need a nap!

I got home from Lancaster with the girls and yikes, I need a nap!  It's so hard to get any rest when you're away with the Sisters of Disorderly Conduct.....I think we all had so many quilts swirling around in our brains that it's hard to settle down at night.  Of course, chatting and giggling til way past a Canadian's bedtime doesn't help either....

Some of us took an applique class with Lisa DeBee Schiller.  It was the fastest 6 hours ever!  She's a needleturn-er (which I am not---thus the reason for signing up for the class) and she loves tools.  We all really enjoyed it.  Of course, how can you not adore someone who has every little widget and gadget needed (or not) by the modern appliquer and gives you little bag with candy in it for the class.

so we stitched, without the hum of machines, and during the lunch break we all ran over to the show to buy everything Lisa said she uses----cause we need little to no encouragement to buy more thread, gadgets,fabric.

Here's one of her things....she carries her thread on bobbins in the bobbin holders---

and she likes Aurifil, so we bought that too.

And you can never have too many scissors, so I bought myself a pair of Dovo's.  Let me just say this about that......SMOOTH!  They feel nice in the hand and cut beautifully without any hesitation.

I also picked up a Japanese book and some handles with big plans to make some little change purses.

aren't these adorable?  And our friends from QuiltPlus have all sorts of beautiful handles, so now I just need to get my lazy you know what in gear!

But first I have to do that job thing....

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

 

Whadyaget?

Last weekend was the Mancuso Show, Quilt Fest of NJ, and I took a trip down on Saturday with a friend.  What fun!!!  I saw so many friends there, the firehouse ladies, Aardvark friends, guild friends, Bergen County ladies.... Sorry I didn't have more time to talk, my credit cards were calling!!  And my quilt got a really good spot with lots of light on it.....you know how that can be, there are sometimes dark spots in these halls, so I was happy with a nice bright light.

And it was crowded!  So clearly quilters are doing their patriotic duty by spending!  I mean, lines at nearly every booth. Yeah us!!  And me, I hate to miss out on anything, so whenever I meet up with someone, I make them show me "whadyaget"?  I might need it too you know....

So here's what I got:

There was a great booth with all sorts of handles, I got these

they were a little pricey, but hard to find, so I was willing to pay the price.  The little one will be used for a special occasion bag for a special young lady.

And I got this book cause I'm exchanging strips with a little group (the Crazy Eights)

I just love this quilt in the book

And I got this book too...cause you can never have enough books on quilting designs

And a bunch of little notion stuff  and only 2 FQs!!!!!

So I did my part, I feel proud, and charged up....it's been a long winter and seeing people out spending money, enjoying themselves and each other definitely is a boost to the spirit if not the economy.

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

these rulers rule!

I'm a little off kilter, a member of the family is not well.  Ok, so it's not a human or even living member, but still, one that is important to general well being of the household, ok, just me then.  My Bernina is winging it's way to Berninaland---it's motherboard has gone ka-plu-ey.  I know....a moment of silence please for our dear departed motherboard.

So in steps my travel machine----my little Janome.  (See, you can love more than one company)  Thank goodness for this little gem!  Everyone should have a backup machine, especially when sewing on a regular basis helps to maintain some level of sanity. 

I've been piecing a class sample for the last two days and have realized my respect for the square ruler.

Goodness knows I don't need anymore fabric, so I've been collecting all sorts of templates and rulers.  I now have the square rulers in MANY sizes.  I'm a firm believer in squaring up your blocks along the way so having a square ruler for every size block I'm doing has certainly made this task a whole lot easier.  And what a difference it makes to the finished quilt!  Things line up easier and the quilt lay flat when it was all done.

So ruler collectors unite! Collect those rulers, square ones, long ones, short ones....And be sure to put them in a place where you can find them----finding it when you need it (before you buy another one) is half the battle!

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

A word about templates

I've had quite a few emails, comments and even a few phone calls with questions about templates, pyramids, tumblers, thimbles, etc.   so let me just say this about that:

I LOVE templates and specialty rulers!!!

The ones I use most are from Come Quilt with Me and Marti Mitchell.  Here's some of the one's I have (some are out visiting friends right now)

These are all very sturdy thick acrylic templates that will last a long long time. They make cutting unusual shapes easy (cause I can use the rotary cutter) and makes the pieces consistent (as long as I put down the Quilters Irish Death while I'm cutting).

And here's my random thoughts on templates in general:

1-  some of them can be expensive, so think about the purchase if you are only going to use the template once.  With many of these sets you can make multiple quilt designs from one set of templates, so you are more likely to get your money's worth. 

2--If it's an inexpensive template,  like the thimble template(the miniature version of the tumbler), buy one for you and one for a friend.  It's easier to swap tumblers or thimbles if your friend has the template too.

3-  the shipping on these, as well as EVERYTHING else, has gone up so much, if you're going to buy one on-line, you might as well buy another one you like to make it worth the shipping cost.  (oh no, it's the "might as well factor" creeping in again)

4-  I find that the smaller the template, the smaller the rotary cutter I must use on it.  It just makes it easier to maneuver smaller shapes when you use the smallest size rotary cutter you have.  The down side is the smaller the rotary cutter, the less layers you can cut thru.  So the piper must be paid.

5-  mark your templates with your initials---it's so easy to get mixed up or misplace a template in class, so make sure you get yours back at the end of the day by putting your mark on it.

So there, I've said my peace, piece, peas, on templates.....stay tuned for specialty rulers.

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

Tiny Treasures

This week has been more tree stuff than I care to mention, every day, branches, logs and moaning (ok, maybe that was coming from me, but still it's hard to listen to!).  And I have been hard at work on two magazine quilts that will be winging their way west next week.

Last time Lorre was over, she talked me into trying prewound bobbins.  I was already using Bottom Line thread in the bobbins, so using these with the same thread was not a big leap.  I bought a package (or two---I have faith in Lorre) and this week especially, with alot of sewing going on, I have been LOVIN these bobbins. 

In my Bernina, I am using the L size and taking off the cardboard before I put it in my bobbin case. Make sure you buy the right size for your machine-----they come in a whole bunch of colors too, I went boring to start!

And thank goodness for other little packages to lift the weary spirits.....

Look at the new Jo Mortons that came

as you can imagine, there are other people I know who's stacks of this line are WAY bigger than mine.....you know who you are!!!

and I have really caught the doll quilt bug and thought I'd like to do a dresden plate.  So I turned to the master of the template, Marti Michell, and ordered this little one....(spool of thread is for reference only)  can't wait to get started!

Now it's off to have breakfast with two very interesting people.....my parents!

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan

Ric Rac Paddy Whack

Very excited today (clearly it does not take much!)...Mr Postman delivered a  lovely little  package  of ricrac.  I have some  pretty pink patterns  I am working on and felt the need to accessorize.  At every turn I found  cotton/poly blend ricrac.....but waaaah, I don't want that, I want 100% cotton.  Will anyone know but me?... no, but I'll know, so my search continued.

And then I found that St Louis Trimmings makes 100% cotton in limited but delicious colors.  So I'll take some in every size and color!  and today they arrived.  Quick, before DH sees that I bought more ricrac than I will ever use, I open the package and neatly store it (out of his line of sight).... but I'll share it with you!

I got blue and black too, but if you see my DH, don't tell!

I have a little blue something to make this weekend for the newest arrival at our rental house, maybe I'll use some of this, I'm sure I can spare it.....

And to all of you that have left me comments and emails over the last few weeks, I have been bad, bad, bad in not replying....this weekend I'm catching up, I swear!

Hugs and Stitches!

Megan