digital goodies, vintage pattern, Q & A, My Creative Spot & Quick Stitch

The Sewing CottageIssue 7 April 2012

In this Issue

The Sewing Cottage MagazineIssue #7April 2012

Spring is finally here and I am ready for it!Warm sun, cool wind and longer nights.

Enjoy the spring rain quilt,a little bunny quick stitch,

& Puddle the Duck Stuffie and more~

Table of Contents

Q & A~ Paper Piecing Paper and Favorite Blocks

Quick Stitch – Bunny

My Creative Spot with Barbara

Spring Showers Quilt

Digital Spring Printables

‘O’ is for Owl Wall hanging

Vintage Patterns

Monthly Calendar

Puddle Duck Stuffed Animal

printer paper

I use foundation paper that I purchase, and it's not cheap!

Phone book pages are great. I really like the 3" log cabin block.My guild made these as tags for quilts in a show a couple of years ago.printed on coloring book paperI like printing on C & T paper best.For English paper piecing I use waxed paper, for foundation paper I use either printer paper or sandwich paperTissueI did have success with a mini log cabin block that was stamped on muslin.I do not paper piece, I'm missing that sewing gene...

8x 11 1/2 sheets of paper that is like newspaper ( not printed) my friend got it for me.Carol Doak paper, add a quarter rulersI have been making a New York Beauty and using something people use to make patterns with.It is like an interfacing but a little stiffer. I draw the archs on there and sew away.I tested it first by washing it. I also use the phone book pages in another project I am doing.Simply sewing my scrap strip pieces to it.

I try never to paper piece anything. If I do strings, I use old telephone book pages.Shorten my stitch length and the taking off of the paper is much easier. I hate to paper piece!Regular, tissue and sometimes I draw the pattern out on muslin.

I do not paper piece. I really don't like all that ripping apart of the paperfrom the cloth, so I just don't do it!

I use the paper piecing paper that you can put through your printer and then stitch on it and it willWASH off when project is done. It saves me TONS of tedious work and the extra $ is well worth it.I love to paper piece, but tearing out the paper after is quite a chore.

Tissue, coffee filters (if pattern is small enough)I am new to paper piecing, but I absolutely love Faith Wellman patterns.Very easy to make. She came to our Guild last summer & did a workshop.As of now, I have made to Aspen leaf wall hangings, & 7 'Forest Night' quiltlets for Christmas gifts for my family.As for paper I use, I like the Carol Doak's foundation paper.

Papers from Sue Dayley in Qld Australia. I only hand piece hexagons.

I always use freezer paper. I couldn't buy any around here, so when on a recent holiday in Maui,I saw it and bought two rolls of it....LOL My husband shock his head at the weight of them...

I either use regular paper or the paper packs put out by Ricky Timms.I have a direct to garment printing machine so I print my patterns from there on regular paper anduse a very small stitch on my Bernina.nope don't care to do it.... but if i were I would use water soluable paper the printable stuff.

I just use plain paper to paper piece. I love the Sunbonnet Sue and Sam blocks!

I work in a Dr.'s office, so I use the pap.er used to cover the exam tables. It is sturdy, yet tears easily to takeoff and doesn't shread like crazy. I try to pre-cut my strips based on the largest width across the section,plus 1/4 inch on each side. Then, if doing multiple pieces, the same, I strip piece them

Regular Paper - I love the log cabin block reg paper, christmas treeMy favorite block is Star 28 Nevada from Carol Doak's Simply Sensational Stars.

I love any paperpiecing and I usually will use a foundation piecing type of paper although I have used tissueif I can get it to behave going though the printerI use regular paper run the my computer most of the time.I have a love for very involved paper piecing projects, like Quilt Mavens!

I have only done one paper pieced mug rug and I used tracing paper.I have used special paper for paper piecing. If I must use regular paper,I use the lightest paper per pound. I also adjust my stitches smaller for easier/cleaner tearing.

I avoid paper piecing blocks as much as possible--not exactly my favorite method.Sometimes I use regular paper if it's something I've gotten free and printed off the computerprinter. I like to use stabilizer that I bought on a roll normally for machine embroidery.I've also used coffee filters for some projects. I like Carol Doak paper-pieced blocks andI'm into more complex paper piecing projects. I just finished a Tardis from thewebsite "fandom". Awesome!My tip: Keep small pieces of fabric from other projects.You'll have more variety of fabric to use in your paper piecing which makes it more interesting.

I love to paper piece and I use either construction paper or rough feel scratch pad from the dollar stores.

It sews nicely and tears perfectly and easily. I have an assortment of blocks that I have done and keep

them in a binder ( with a few extra copies). I don't know that I can say I have a real favorite, although

I am quite fond of pineapple blocks and square in a square. This past year I have also added various star blocks

Depending on the project I use anything from tissue paper to Kabnet Wax!I like to use lunch wrap paper - not waxed - but it is getting harder to buy.I like especially like to piece trees and my other favourite is Storm at Sea.

I only ever have done a crazy quilt block with muslin backing - can't get my mind wrappedaround the paper piece method yet.

I like to use the lined school paper that my kids have. It's thin and easy to tear out.I use regular printer paper mostly and my favorite is the square in a square block.regular printer paper - light weight paper - paper piecing paper - don't like muslin.You need patience and not to be in a hurry.Seam ripper must be kept handy. I like most all patterns.I just recently learned to p.p., I bought 2 different kinds of paper, one is the "proper" paper bought fromthe sewing store, but the best one is an eco-paper I got at wal-mart.It is thin enough to rip easily, but will take multiple sew/reverse sewing when mistakes ensue!!!!

I use Deb Karasik's paper...which is a refined cotton fiber - great stuff! I also use Carol Doak's paper as well.My favorite paper pieced block this year was a cat block by Sonia Callaghan.Have used copier paper but prefer freezer paper and tracing paper.

A 'must' for me is the ruler with the ridge to put down the fold to prep the edge for the

next seam. I think it is called an add a quarter ruler. Fave block has to be New York Beauty,

want to make a pickle dish though, never made one.Sorry BUT paper piecing is my most disliked thing of quilting! I avoid it at all costs!Planning to learn this in 2012. Have been avoiding the issue.Usually I use any paper that I can see the pattern thru when I put the pattern behind it.I trace the pattern off so that I still have the original in tact to use at latter dates.

I use butcher paper (also known as freezer paper). I don't have a favorite paper pieced block,but I am fond of iris folding.

I USE EITHER STITCH AND TEAR(MACHINE EMBROIDERERS USE IT FOR BACKING), ORVITRACE. I AM A BIT LAZY TO TEAR NEATLY AND VITRACE I CAN LEAVE ON,STITCH AND TEAR TEARS EASILY

My Creative Spot With~

This month Barbara from Cat Patchesis sharing her creative spot withThe Sewing Cottage Magazine.

Thanks Barbara for sharing your beautifulCreative Spot with us!

Along with her blog she also hasDoll Quilters Monthly.

Please take a moment to visit Barbara-Blog: Cat PatchesDoll Quilters Monthly: Doll Quilters

My grandmother was a quilter, and it wasbecause of her that I have enjoyed a life-longlove of quilting. •My mother wasn't a quilter,but she was a wonderful seamstress. •Shetaught me to sew, but I didn't actually learnto quilt until 2008 following my retirementfrom a career as a social worker. •My husbandand I will be married 37 years in May.We have two sons, both grown and gone.I have two cats, George and Gracie.We live on seven rural acres in Hillsboro,Oregon, a suburb of Portland.We call our place the Three Cats Ranch.I write about our life on my blog, Cat Patches.In addition to quilting,I enjoy cooking, photography, and gardening.

My room is a long narrow room in the backof our daylight basement. •Sadly, I do nothave any windows because of where theroom is located within the structure of thehouse, but I am grateful to have a nice largespace in which to work. •My husband builtthis sewing "nook" for me a few years ago.

I like to keep inspirational writings framed invarious spots in my sewing room. •For example,I love this one about passion:

. . . [T]he reason it matters to carepassionately about something is that itwhittles the world down to a moremanageable size. It makes the•worldseem not huge and empty but full of possibility.

~Susan Orlean, “The Orchid Thief”

I like to have multiple projects going at once, and Itend to break them into monthly incrementsblock-of-the-month style. •It keeps all my projects"fresh" so that I rarely get tired of working onanything. •With each new month, I look forward tothe next monthly "installment" of a project. •I keeptrack of them on a white board. •Also, to make upfor my lack of windows, I like to decorate the wallsof my sewing room with quilts that I have made,and with quilts from the many doll quilt swaps Ihave participated in.

I like storing my fabrics by color in plasticdrawer-style storage bins. •I have one setfor yardage and one set for scraps. •For mytiniest scraps, I have a smaller set of drawersand for my uncut fat quarters and some projectsI haven't started, I have two more sets.Plastic drawers are my favorite way to storeall kinds of things in my sewing room.

I use an empty Kleenex box to catch my threadclippings and an old prescription bottle for myold sharps like bent pins and sewing machineneedles. •Everything is •very convenientlylocated in my little nook.

Many of my quilts are raw-edged applique,and I also do machine embroidery, so I likehaving lots and lots and lots of thread. •I likethread almost as much as I like fabric.

My sewing room doubles as storage for a fewitems of furniture that I haven't been able to partwith. •My mother's cedar hope chest, for one thing.•It contains some quilts that my grandmothermade, but it also doubles as a table where Istore the beginnings of projectsI haven't started on yet.

A ladder-style quilt rack holds some of thequilts I've made, and it also acts to dividethe sewing room from the rest of the house.My design wall is a Block Butler, which is agreat sticky surface. I like leaving my mostcolorful blocks on the design wall so that Ican look at them while I'm working.The colors make the room so cheerful.

Doll quilts are perhaps my favorite quilts to make.A doll quilt takes only a few days to make.Because I haven't invested a lot of time andmaterials in them, they allow me to stretchmy creativity and to try new things that Iwouldn't want to try on more time-intensiveand expensive projects. •I like doll quilting somuch that I recently started a monthlydoll quilt swap. •There is more informationat my newest blog Doll Quilters Monthly.

www.patchworkposse.com All Right Reserved. 2012

SpringShowers

Quilt

By Patchwork Posse

Finished size:52” X 71”

Materials needed:6 fat eights- umbrellas24– 2 1/2” strips- Block sashing¾ yard Background + 1st border1 yard 2nd borderTiny ric-rac in 3 different colors

Owl is for ‘O’By Patchwork Posse

Materials needed:

Scraps of blue ranging from 1” X 6” - 3” x 6”1/8 yard borderLarger scraps for:Owls including: eye, beak, wings, and bellyBranch and leavesButtons for eyesBlue metallic thread for quilting

18” X 24”

Background Instructions:1) Sew your strips of blue scraps together. They will be stacked on top of each other, until they are 24” long2) Sew a total of 3 strips using step 1 isntructions3) Sew the 3 columns together4) Trim to 17” X 23”

3-d owl wing and leaf

2) Using matching thread to the piece being appliqued, zig-zag stitch around the outside edge of each piece3) Cut border strips 2– 1 1/2” X 17” 2– 1 1/2” X 24 1/24) Sew borders on5) Make a quilt sandwich with the top, batting and back6) Machine quilt using the following quilting guide or feel free to let loose and quilt it your own way.7) Sew on buttons for eyes

Applique Instructions:1) Cut out applique pieces– the owl, branch and leaves2) Pin or glue applique pieces in placeHINT~ for 3-D wing: Lay big wing, then medium wing then small wing. Sew around big wing andSmall wing. The medium wing will not be sewn down and will have raw edges for a rag look.Leaf: Lay the large leaf and the medium leaf together. Sew around the outside of the large leaf onlyYou can sew a vein down the center of the medium leaf now, or leave it to the quilting/quilter

Machine Quilting Guide:

The background is stitched with blue metallic thread. The moon is heavily swirled with blue andWhite thread.The branch is quilted with brown matching thread, the leaves with green matching thread.The leaves and branch under the main branch are all machine quilted. The branch using brown, the leavesUsing green.

www.patchworkposse.com

Puddle DuckBy Patchwork Posse

Materials Needed:

Cutter quilt – a quilt that is raggedy, has holes and is ready for a new life

Or 2 fat quarters

Button‐ eye

Ribbon‐ tie on neck

Black embroidery thread and needled

Remember to read all instructions prior to starting. This will help, believe me!

All measurements are given in inches.  All seam allowances are ¼” unless otherwise noted.

www.patchworkposse.com

FoxieAdventures

4th Block

By Patchwork Possewww.patchworkposse.com

Materials•Needed:· 6”•X•6” light•cotton•fabric

for•background· Various colors of•fabric

scraps· Black•thread· 2‐‐ 5” X 5” cotton squares

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