Glad You Stopped By
Join me for a class to play with removing color from fabric. You start with a dark fabric and by applying various types of bleach you remove the color. You can spray it on or paint it on. Just make sure that you use a chemical to stop the bleach action or you will make the fabric disintegrate. Regiger for the class at Paris Gibson Museum of Art.
Come and join us, it will be a good time.
Jan
I told someone today that this recipe was on the site. OOPS! Now it is. It was in the December newsletter.
Roman-Oka
(Almond Rocca)
1lb Butter
2C Sugar
2T Corn Syrup
1/3 C Water
1C Sliced Almonds
8 oz Hershey Bar (or equivalent)
Candy Thermometer
1C Chopped Almonds
Melt butter in heavy kettle. Add remaining ingredients. Heat to hard crack stage (300°) stirring constantly, takes 15-25 minutes. Add sliced almonds and stir well. Pour into large nonstick or lightly greased jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides. Wait 5 minutes.
Break apart 8 oz Hershey bar and put on top. Let sit a few minutes, when chocolate is shiny spread it. Sprinkle with chopped almonds. Cool and break apart.
We lost a dear quilting friend last week. Unfortunately we have lost several ladies from our guild in the last year. Most recently Pat Mattix left us, she was such a joy to be around and I couldn’t wait for her next story. She made beautiful quilts and was a retired kindergarten teacher (who doesn’t love a kindergarten teacher!). This beautiful poem was give to us at her service and I thought it would be something you might appreciate.
Like A Patchwork Quilt
Life isn’t given us all of a piece,
It’s more like a patchwork quilt.
Each hour and minute a patch to fit in,
To the pattern that’s being built.
With some patches gay and some patches dark,
And some that seem even dull,
But if we were given to set some apart,
We’d hardly know which to cull.
For it takes the dark patches to set off the light,
And the dull to show up the gay,
And somehow the pattern just wouldn’t seem right,
If we took any part away.
No, life isn’t give us all of a piece.
But in patches of hours to use.
That each might work out his own pattern of life,
To whatever design he choose.
-Author Unknown-
When ever losing a quilting friend I brings back memories of Mom. Mom was my best quilting friend, she taught me so much and I miss her terribly. When she left this world I created this memorial for her. I am sure that she and Pat have hooked up in heaven and are quilting together.
Mom has completed her greatest quilt of all time, it is the masterpiece that will hang in the Lord’s house. It is a work of art that has been painstakingly completed through all of her life. My guess it the quilt is predominately blue, mom’s favorite color. I see the blue of her eyes and the blue of the sky throughout it. A white background would set off all of the pure colors she loved. It has to have plenty of pink in it as well and would include lots of flowers of all colors, especially all of the wild flowers of Montana. Lots of green leaves and 4-leaf clovers are scattered through out the quilt. The bright yellow of the sun is reflected in the blocks and will bring brightness and cheer to all who enter God’s house, and will be comforted by her masterpiece.
This quilt is a sampler quilt with each block being different and representing a different part of her life. Tons of flowers in all colors of the rainbow represent all of the people in her life. Each flower represents someone she has touched by teaching them to sew, make a quilt, upholster a chair, or selling them a part for a John Deere. The 4-leaf clovers represent the years she spent in 4-H and at Cloverleaf Farms, haying, horsing around or her least favorite chore, moving irrigation pipe. A border of rail fence blocks surround the hay fields and keep the Belgians from running loose.
Some where in the quilt she has managed to work in a log cabin, castle wall, Dutchman’s puzzle, and she has surrounded the whole thing with delectable mountains A school house block represents all the years she spent teaching. Teaching came natural to her as she spent countless hours as a 4-H leader and as a sewing and quilting teacher at the college. A trip around the world represents her love to travel, either with her family or to a quilting event around the country. She has used ever kind of star imaginable but the ones most precious to her are the friendship stars.
A large double wedding ring is the center focus of the quilt and shows the commitment and love she had for Bob, her husband, caregiver and business partner. Each of the rings in the double wedding ring is made up of lots of fabric pieces in a variety of color representing the members of her large family that meant so much to her. Each corner of the quilt has a 4 patch block representing her 4 strapping grandsons sh was so proud of.
The quilting is done with gold and silver thread, which represents the sparkle in her eye and her infectious smile.
Somewhere on the quilt is a beautiful butterfly that represents Mom herself. A butterfly lights beside you and for a moment brings joy and excitement and you don’t know how long it will stay. For a brief moment its glory and beauty belongs to our world but then it flies away. Though we wish it could have stayed longer we feel lucky to have enjoyed it in our world.
Tuesday about 11:30am I was called by Eileen Torgerson asking if I could present a program for the Falls Quilt Guild that evening. Evidently the planned program had to be canceled. I told her I would come up with something. I had been thinking about a technique that I had presented a few years ago when we made bookmarks. Over the weekend I saw a variation on the technique that got the ideas going. So, here it goes.
Select 3 fabrics ,I will call them a top fabric, flip fabric and base fabric. You will want contrast between the top fabric and the other 2 fabrics.
Cut 13 x 25 piece of each of the 3 fabrics. Cut a piece of fusible web 12.5 x 24.5. Use your preferred brand of fusible web. I used Wonder Under because that is what I had on hand. If you are using a fusible that does not have a paper backing you will need to apply it using a Teflon pressing sheet or parchment paper. Refer to product instructions for appropriate application.
Apply fusible web to back of top fabric, let cool and peel off paper.
Fuse the flip fabric to the top fabric with wron
g sides together. Press well so that the 2 fabrics are completely fused together.
Draw a line down the center of the topper on the flip fabric side.
Make a stencil from your pattern by cutting away the appropriate area as marked on the pattern.
Line up the stencil center line with the bottom of the tree 2 inches from the side of the topper. Mark the cutting lines.
Mark the other end of the topper in the same way.
With sharp scissors, cut on each of the cutting lines, from the center line to the center line.
Flip the cut fabric over so that the flip fabric is on the top fabric and you have open space where the fabric was flipped.
Press flat. Place base fabric under top fabric so that it shows through. Pin the flipped part down.
Square up the topper to the size you would like it.
Layer it on batting and a backing fabric.
Stitch the raw edges with your preferred method, I used a straight stitch but if you prefer the buttonhole or zig-zag go for it. By stitching this after it is layered you are securing the raw edges and quilting at the same time. Quilt as you prefer. I placed holly berries and leaves and then filled in with a background stitch but that is way more quilting than you need. I didn’t quilt in the trees because I wanted then to puff out.
Bind the outer edge. What a quick and easy project to use up some of the Christmas fabric that seems to accumulate. I think this would be cool to do on a tree skirt. I would make wedge shapes with the trees on the outside edge, alternating colors.
You could use this technique with any shape and any fabric. My friend Jenny suggested making snowflakes or pumpkins. I can’t wait to try hearts for Valentine’s Day. I added a heart design to the pattern for you to play with.
Ok, so that got me thinking about placing the trees around in a circle so I tried this second option. I cut 3 squares 18 x 18. Cut fusible web 17.5 x 17.5, not rocket science since the fusible web is 17.5 inches wide. Fuse the top fabric to the flip fabric so that you have wrong sides together. Square up the fabric so that it is 17.5 x 17.5.
Mark lines corner to corner and center to center so that all 4 lines cross in the center.
Using the smaller tree pattern create a stencil to mark your fabric. Place the tree stencil so that the bottom of the tree is ¾ inch from the edge of the fabric on either the horizontal or vertical line. Mark the cutting line. This time there is only one cutting line.
Measure the distance from the top of the tree to the center where all lines cross. Move the stencil so you are marking on the diagonal line placing the top of the tree the same distance from the center point and mark the cutting line. Continue around the piece until you have all 8 trees marked. The top of the trees should all be the same distance from the center point.
Cut along the cutting line. Flip each tree along the center line and press in place. Place base fabric right side up under the fused fabrics to fill in the holes. You can make this an octagon or a circle or leave it square, your choice. Layer and quilt as desired.
I’m so excited about the up coming classes at the Square. I have been busy getting samples ready for different techniques and finishing up UFOs (unfinished objects). The first one I started at a class in Sisters, it is from the basic pattern Windows from the book Piping Hot Curves by Susan K. Cleveland. I decided it needed a few extra pansies floating down through the window and they should have beads on them. 
I have been thinking about needle felting with wool yarn in addition to roving. I had some loosely spun wool yarn that I wanted to experiment with. Worked great, added some beads and used hand dyed Perle cotton for a beaded buttonhole stitch. I can see lots of possibilities here! Will prepare a separate post with a tutorial on how to do the beaded edge.
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It is October, I can’t not create something seasonal. My friend Kari gave me a charm pack with beautiful fall colors. We were talking about making a pumpkin table runner with snowball corners. This was my rendition of the idea. I used the rest of the charm pieces on the back. Made a cute table runner that I gave to the newlyweds for their fall table. 
John and I are making plans for a nice relaxing vacation in Hawaii. That made me kick into gear to finish up the Hawaiian projects I started from our last trip. This quilt uses the charm packs of Hawaiian prints. I like this design, i think the flowers look like Hawaiian flowers and with the bright prints. When I look at it, it takes me back to the islands! Used white to set them off and quilted with my rendition of a Hawaiian flower and leaves. Really like how this turned out, might write a pattern for it.
Had the opportunity to take a class from Rita Hutchens (http://ritahutchens.com/index.html) this last weekend sponsored by Falls Quilt Guild. It was based on her Book Totally Tubular. This photo is of my class project using strips cut at 45 degree angle and using mirror images. Her instructions are very detail and involve more measuring and marking than I prefer to do, consequently mine didn’t turn out as square as I would prefer. It is always exciting to take classes and learn someone elses techniques. I really loved her trunk show and some of her other quilts. I especially liked her bear paw block and how she cut it to create a kaleidoscope block. These photos are of her samples. She has taken this technique and using her creativity come up with some awesome quilts. Check out her website for others.
From this bear paw block she made this kaleidoscope
Didn’t get much quilting done this weekend but did manage to make some Scones. This recipe is from a friend and better than any I have tasted. Thought I would share it with you. THis is the original recipe and I always atleast double it, even triple or quad… They freeze well and the cream comes in a pint so there is no waste.
White Chocolate Apricot Scones
2 cups flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (can omit if using salted butter)
1/4 cup chilled butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
6 oz white chocolate chips
1 cup hoppeed dried apricots
oven 350 degrees
Ina a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, cut in butter until the mixture of bread crumbs. Mix in apricots and white choc chips.
In another bowl, mix well the cream, egg and vani lla.
Add liquid to dry ingredients and mix with a fork. When well mixed, turn onto a lightly floured board. Knead about 8 times until it is consistent texture. You canpat it into a large circle about 9 inches in Diameter place on ungreased pan. Use a serated knife to cut into wedges. I prefer to drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a cookie sheet for baking.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are slightly brown. See photo. I use an insulated baking sheet.
They are awesome! They really do taste better the second day if they last that long.
I am sitting here at one of my favorite places in the world making pillowcases for the VA hospital in Helena. Big Sky Quilts has adopted this charity project after completing their previous one for Montana Soldiers. It is a great way to use up some of the fabric stash and left overs. You know the ones, OMG, there is fishing fabric I don’t have…. now what do I do with it. My favorite use for these pillowcases is in the foster care system, children enter the system with the clothes on their back and acquire a few things along the way. As they move through the system they typically take their belongings in a plastic grocery bag, it is much nicer to have a pillowcase bag that is your own to keep your things in.
There are quite a few different instructions out there for a making a pillowcases but I thought I would share my version. It is quick and easy, has an attitude strip, doesn’t require much pinning and has all enclosed seams. I have made MANY of these pillowcases for various gifts and donations. I like to use flannel because it is so soft but if you are sewing with flannel I suggest a more generous seam allowance. Making pillowcases is one instance when I DO pre-wash in warm water to shrink the fabric before construction.
Cutting Instructions:
Main Fabric: Cut 1 WOF (Width of Fabric) 27 inches
Border Fabric: Cut 1 WOF 9 inches
Attitude Strip: Cut 1 WOF 1.25 inches
Sewing Instructions:
Place 9 inch strip right side up. If directional fabric is used lay with the top at the top 
As in make the horse right side up.
Next lay main fabric piece right side up on top of the 9 inch strip with the cut edges even. If the selvages don’t match up exactly don’t worry about it. Let one piece extend.
Next you will fold the attitude strip in half lengthwise with right sides out. If you would like to press this in half you can but I don’t. I just fold it and hold it, sew a ways and fold again. Match the cut edges of the 3 pieces and sew the width of the fabrics with approximately 1/4 inch seam allowance. What I actually do is just aim down the middle of the folded attitude strip and call it good. It seems to keep the attitude strip an even width this way. I sew this without pinning. It really doesn’t matter what the seam allowance is, just make it all the same.
Now roll the main fabric up. With the border fabric on the bottom and the main fabric rolled up close to the previous sewing line, bring the border fabric up and pin so the cut edges are even and the roll is inside the border fabric. I match the border fabric selvage edges and the cut edges. Pin ends, center and half way between the 3 pins. Sew this with the previous stitching on top. Sew on the previous stitch line or or use a slightly wider seam allowance so the previous stitching will not show. You end up with one long sausage tube.
Now it is time for the birthing process. It is actually too easy to call it the birthing process but it is time to get what is on the inside to the outside. So, grab the rolled up fabric on the inside and fold the border fabric back so that it is right side out. As you pull the main fabric out the border will become right side out. How cool is that??
Time to press it flat. If you have done it correctly you will have the main fabric on top, the attitude strip showing and the border fabric encasing the seam. If your edges are not even (because the fabrics were not all the exact same width) now is the time you can square things up. Trim what needs trimming. If the selvage is wide and going to show you can trim that off as well. Here is where the exact size is really not going to matter. No 2 pillows are exactly the same so why should pillow cases have to be exact? Life is too short to worry about that. You just want the width at the border to be the same as the width at the bottom. Confession time here, I just line it up so it is parallel and sew it, you will be trimming it later anyway, your choice. If you like things neat and tidy trim, if you are in production mode, go for it.
Fold the pillow case with right sides out and cut edges matching (or lined up parallel). I pin matching the border edge, attitude strips and the corner. If you are inclined to add more pins, feel free. Begin stitching with 1/4 inch seam allowance at the border edge, back stitch to secure, sew to bottom corner to 1/4 inch from cut edge. With needle down, lift presser foot, pivot fabric and continue sewing to edge of fabric fold, back stitch to secure. If you didn’t square things up it might be easier to start sewing at the folded end and end at the border fabric, just make sure that edges stay matched.
Trim seam allowance to about 1/8 inch. Now it is time to press. The way I do this is turn the pillowcase wrong side out and press the seam to one side and if convenient press to the other side as well. It is like ironing in a big hole. Get as close to the corner as you can with the iron but don’t sweat it. It will just make it easier to press at the next step. Now smooth out the wrong side out pillow case and press the sewn edge so the seam is in the crease line.. What you are doing is creating a “French Seam” for those of you who didn’t have to do that in 4-H back in the dark ages. Start sewing 1/4 inch seam allowance at the border (open) end of the pillowcase, back stitch to secure, and sew to 1/4 inch from the corner. With needle down, lift presser foot, pivot fabric and continue stitching to the fold, back stitch to secure. If you have done this correctly the seam allowance will be encased in the seam. Turn the pillowcase right side out, press and you are ready to start the next one. I cut out 20 this afternoon and stitched 9 of them together. I took a few photos and will finish up the others in the morning then it is back to Great Falls in the afternoon. Looks like some of the photos I took last night are dark so re taking some today. I will try to replace with better photos as I can.
Hope you found this helpful and are inclined to attack that stash and put it to a good use!
Hugs & Stitches,
Jan
Just got back last night. Drew’s surgery went fine and he closed and moved into his new house. For being a for-closure it sure was in good shape. Paint and a few repairs were all that was needed. We started with the master bedroom which is huge, he picked a brown and dark red for accent. Vaulted ceilings make it challenging and I am not the greatest painter. “Drips-R-Us” would be my motto.
It has a large walk in closet that needed 2 coats of white paint and the master bath was painted the same 2 colors.
The guest room and office were bright pink, dark purple and lime green with little flower cutouts. It took some heavy duty primer to cover those dark colors. The vaulted ceilings kept me going up and down the ladder and my knees are feeling it. The office is light brown and the darker brown that is in the master. Bright orange bathroom used to be pink and the laundry room is tan color.
What a wonderful experience. Sisters Oregon really knows how to put on a quilt show. It is a quaint little town with amazing architecture that is conducive to displaying quilts. There were about 1400 quilts displayed through town. Thought I would share a few photos with you. I like they way they color or theme coordinate, like having
the chicken quilts on the feed store!
What a wonderful time I had with my Sisters sisters!
