My Life – Page 27 – Quilting my way through life!

Applique quilt projects, Hot Tips, My Life, New Pattern Sample, Suzn Quilts Patterns

Applique for the really lazy quilter…

September 19, 2013 suznquilts

I’m curious, when you make fusible applique and the pattern tells you to trace 3 or 6 or 15 of an applique shape, do you really do that???

Do you trace any shape more than once?

If so, my next question is “Why?”

It occurred to me several years ago that I’m lazy & I like to get things done quickly so I can move onto the next project.

What occurred to me later is that not everyone thinks like I do. (Thank goodness!!!)

I never, never, NEVER trace a shape more than once, and I really don’t like to trace it even once.

How slow, boring and a waste of time!

When I have more than one of the same shape to cut out,

I fetch my bolt of Wonder Under.

Next, I calculate what I need.

If the object is about 6″ square (I’ve added about 1/4″ all around the object) and I need 6 of them, I will cut a 6″ x 36″ piece(s) of fusible web.

Since Wonder Under is only about 17″ wide, I need more than 1.

I also cut a 6″ strip of the fabric I’m going to use.

Next, I fuse the Wonder Under to the back of the fabric aligning the edges.

If I need to piece the Wonder Under, I just butt the edges together.

It doesn’t show if you have nice straight lines cut of the Wonder Under.

Let the piece cool,

then remove the paper backing by scoring it with a pin & pulling it off.

Next, cut the “fused slab” into however many of the size shapes you need.

It is CRITICAL that you stack up the pieces all the same way, fabric to fusible web

NOT fusible web to fusible web.

If you cut out your shape that way,

you will have one nice double-sided object.

You will most probably NEVER get those two shapes apart again.

Ask me how I know!!!

On the other hand, if you need a right and a left (reversed) object,

I recommend leaving the paper on and stacking paper to paper

then cut out the shape and you’ll have mirror objects, both cut at once!

Voila!

6 jacks with one fast cutting with my rotary cutter and rotating mat!

One more tidbit of info…

If your pattern is already reversed for you as in my

Suzn Quilts’ Patterns,

you will need to pay attention to which side you lay the pattern on before you cut it.

You don’t want to accidentally cut out the shape in reverse.

When I’m working on a new pattern like this one,

I don’t reverse the shape until I put it into pattern form,

so I put the shape on the fabric side of the stack.

If the shape is reversed for you, just put the pattern on the fusible web side of the stack, then cut.

By the way, this new design that I’m working on also has 7 big circles.

You may say I can’t cut out circles with my rotary cutter…

but I just did!

The key,

hold the ruler tightly down on the stack,

holding it right at the edge where you need to cut.

You’ll need to keep all the layers tightly held together and cut smoothly.

When you stop to re-grip, leave the cutter in place.

Yes, I have a circle cutter, but for this instance, this is quicker.

Steady hand and close to the ruler!

Any questions?

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, Susan Marth fabric collection, Suzn Quilts Vintage Play fabric collection, Vintage Children quilt fabrics collection

Introducing “Vintage Play.” My first Fabric Collection!

August 13, 2013August 13, 2013 suznquilts

At the beginning of the year I told you here that 2013 was going to be a fun year for me

and not just because 13 is my favorite number!

Along with new patterns & books and traveling to new & exciting places,

I’ve designed my first fabric collection!

It’s called “Vintage Play” and it is being produced by Red Rooster Fabrics.

(cute little handmade truck was found in an antique store while we were in Astoria, OR this spring after quilt market)

It has taken a year to get where we are with the collection.

The folks at Red Rooster have been great to work with!

My yardage to create samples came a couple of weeks ago.

It’s not every day that I receive packages from Korea.

Pretty exciting happening…

This is where they first landed on my garage floor.

I called my mom and told her she needed to come down. She hopped in her car without even knowing why she should come…better than Christmas morning!

I made the first sample in record time,

These are all the pieces for the top.

My quilter stayed up all night to quilt it so it could be shipped to New York for photography. Tamara, you’re awesome, thanks!!!

The collection has 19 pieces and I used all but one for the quilt.

Fun!

The free pattern will be available to shops later this month.

I can’t wait for you to see it.

This is where they now reside as I take turns cutting pieces off of each one to make my new pattern samples.

Neat & tidy, just like soldiers.

Wait until I get pressed for time, they won’t look so neat & tidy then…

These are the pieces for sample #2.

The blocks are sewn, and waiting for borders to appear,

but for now they must wait.

School starts Thursday and I have more important things to attend to.

Come Thursday morning when the bus pulls away though,

I’m all about “Vintage Play!”

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, Rocky Mountain Sew Expo Denver, Suzn Quilts Patterns, Vendor at trade show

Where have I been and what have I been doing?

August 5, 2013 suznquilts

Well, let me tell you…

First of all it’s summer.

Need I say more?

Our house seems to have a revolving door.

As one leaves another is coming home. I never know how many to cook for. If I cook for three, there will be five, and vice versa.

I’m constantly shopping for food, yet there’s “never anything to eat around here.”

David’s garden is supplying lots of tomatoes, my personal favorite! There are also cucumbers, black berries, green beans, zucchini (yuk!) and we’ll eventually have pumpkins, cantaloupe & watermelon.

Our trip to the Rocky Mountain Sewing Expo in Colorado was fantastic.

We met so many nice people.

If you’re one of them, thanks for coming out to see us!

My Cobblestone Courtyard class was great.

Liz, Joan, Birdie, Opal & Nancy,

thanks for being so prepared for the class and for being such good participants.

It’s been almost four weeks. Are those quilts done yet?

Don’t make me come back there!!!

(Actually I’d love to!)

Booth set-up was a breeze with my helpers…

OK, it took all afternoon & most of the evening.

By the end of the night all we wanted was Chinese food delivered to our room,

but I think the booth looked great!

We were able to display so many quilts.

The Merchandise Mart in Denver was very nice & so was the staff of Rusty Barn Shows.

Daisy Baby Buggy captured many hearts..

Pumpkins in the Patch & Bunnies in the Grass were popular too.

We sold lots of my Ginger Bliss pattern.

I explained my Quilt-as-you-go technique at least a million times!

And of course, my “A Pretty Package” quilt pattern was our best-seller for the week!

Have you made one yet?

If you haven’t, you should. Everyone else is making one!

We met so many nice people offering advice of where we should go and what we should see while we were in Colorado.

One evening we drove to St. Mary’s glacier

then ate at Beau Jo’s Pizza in Idaho Springs.

Fantastic pizza!

The next night we drove to Mount Evans.

At 14,265 feet, it is the highest paved road in North America.

Also, according to Clare, one of the scariest roads in North America..

It was getting pretty late for dinner that night so we decided if we could make it to Beau Jo’s in time we would eat there again.

We ended up eating there three times!!!

We weren’t sure with the wildfires & then mud slides what might hinder the rest of our sightseeing.

We were able to go up Pike’s Peak on the cog Railway.

That was fun and interesting too.

I used the panoramic option on my phone for this photo. How cool is that? I’m impressed that I remembered to use that setting while we were there and not a couple of days later…

Spectacular view from 14, 110 ft.

We also saw the Garden of the gods close by.

The last day we ventured over to Breckenridge to eat at Daylight Donuts!

Have you had their donuts?

Worth the trip!

I found this in a vintage shop.

Can’t wait to show you my next post & what’s in store for this little gem…

Something pretty exciting there!

I’ll end with this,

hanging at McDonald’s in Hayes, Kansas on our way home.

I don’t think I’ve seen any quilts at McDonald’s previous to this…

How smart of them to encase it in glass.

It would not look good with ketchup or mustard on it!

I hope you enjoyed seeing our Rocky Mountain Sewing Expo & side adventures.

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, Preemie Charity Quilts, Suzn Quilts for Charity

Do you sew for Charities?

June 28, 2013June 28, 2013 suznquilts

Once in a while I slow down enough to realize I should sew a quilt for someone in need.

There are so many good causes to sew for.

Our guild has a regular list for charities and what size quilts they have a need for.

While going through my stash a couple of weeks ago for a guild yard sale,

I came across a panel that was too cute,

but the reason that I bought it had expired and I no longer “needed” it.

When I examined it, I determined that the four individual squares that made up the panel would make very cute preemie quilt centers.

I put it into a pile for future sewing adventures…

Last night I was in between projects and I decided to cut those cute panel squares apart and start to work.

My daughter, Chloe, was home and not doing much, so I asked her if she wanted to join the fun.

She said, “Sure.”

I gave her the opportunity to cut or sew and she chose to sew, so I began to cut…

They went together quickly and turned out so cute (if I must say so myself!).

I didn’t go to sleep until the last stitch of the last binding was complete.

They’re each 18″ square.

(I called our charity chairperson to get the exact measurement requirements.)

They will go to our next guild meeting and from there to one of the St. Louis children’s hospitals where hopefully each one will give a preemie’s parent a little comfort knowing their tiny baby is covered in a quilt we made with love!

Got scraps?

That’s all you need to make a quilt!

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, New Christmas Quilt Patterns, Quilt Market

International Quilt Market – Portland, OR

June 26, 2013 suznquilts

I’ve finally made time to show you a bit of Spring International Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon last month.

This is Chloe & me in our booth.

Our neighbors were

Celine of Perkins Dry goods.

Susan & Karen of The Quilt Branch,

and Robin of Nestlings by Robin.

Portland is beautiful.This is a view from the Portland City Grill where we were having dinner one evening after market.

Here is Robin with Chloe and me.

It was literally cloudy/rainy every day we were there until

Monday after market closed and we stayed to do a bit of sight-seeing.

Talk about good fortune!

In Astoria, we ate at Pig ‘n Pancake (cute name huh?),

crossed into Washington on a really tall bridge,

then did some antiquing and vintage shopping.

I bought a few things for fall market that I could pack into our suitcases.

I’ll show you those another day.

Good thing we sold most all the patterns & books we brought!

This is a cool old tile floor in the huge antique store that appeared to be a hotel among other things in its previous lives.

We had lunch at Baked Alaska out on a pier, not something we can do everyday back in the Midwest…

Then we ventured down the coast to the beach.

It was sunny, but not warm enough to swim…

We shopped for souvenirs and found the quilt shop that I remembered from a previous visit to Oregon with my brother, David.

We had a beautiful trip back to Portland through two national forests.

The next morning we got up early and headed to Multnoma Falls before our flight.

I love how the smoke was wafting out of the gift shop.

It reminded me of the story of Hansel & Gretel!

More than once Chloe thanked me for making her pack a jacket!

Always a mom…

I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of our travels.

Oregon is beautiful!

If you get the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend it.

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, Quilt Shopping Out & About, Quilt Shops

March is National Quilting Month. Let’s Support our Local Quilt Shops.

March 15, 2013 suznquilts

Did you know that the month of March is National Quilting Month?

In honor of that, (yeah, that’s it…)

I went shopping yesterday.

I took in a few quilt shops;

three to be exact.

I didn’t shop with a theme in mind,

but as you can see I ended up with one!

Since my college days I’ve had a thing for black.

The plaid pieces in front are actually cotton towels, not yardage.

I think they’ll look great with the Christmas fabrics that I’m currently working with.

They do look really nice with the rest of the day’s haul don’t you think?

I also did a little shopping while in central Illinois a couple of weeks ago,

I saw on another blog, this fusible bias tape maker.

I have the typical bias tape maker in various sizes,

but this one allows you to make 3/8″ bias tape,

while attaching a thin strip of fusible web at the same time.

So, your bias tape ends up being fusible.

I saw it used to make little basket block handles, cool right?

Recently I made the little basket handles on block #28, remember?

Afterwards I saw this tool and thought it would be fun to try.

It allows you to fuse your bias strips in place before you sew them; no more pinning!

As for the rest of that haul, well,

I also have recently had a thing for Thangles.

I bought a kit a year ago that had very small half square triangles in the pattern.

The kit included enough Thangles to make the quilt.

It was so much fun that I wanted to make more tiny half square triangles just because I enjoyed the process.

So, I’ve bought a few different sizes to play with since then and here are two more,

just in case.

Did I ever tell you that I enjoy the word “quilt” in verb form even more than the noun?

Meaning, I enjoying the process of quilting even more than owning the finished quilt.

Weird, I KNOW…

Anyway, back to my National Quilting Day story.

It’s important that we support our local quilt shops if we want them to survive,

especially in this economy.

In the St. Louis area there are four quilt shops either going or have gone out of business in 2013 alone!

It’s sad to realize that one of them is where I bought my very first quilt pattern.

Patches, St. Charles, MO.

This shop sent out a monthly newsletter that first introduced me to the world of quilt guilds.

It was a very elaborate mini newspaper that among other quilt things,

listed all the quilt guilds in the area .

As I read the list one day I was curious about what a quilt guild was then read there was one in my area.

The rest as they say, is history!

Another shop that is closing is responsible for selling my very first quilt patterns.

The Quilted Garden, Edwardsville, IL.

One thing I have learned since being in business and talking to MANY quilt shop owners these past 10 years, either going into quilt shops or talking to them at market, is that much of their pay is measured in passion, not dollars.

I can’t tell you how many times fellow quilters have stated that shop owners must make a fortune selling fabric for $10 and now $12 a yard.

If you stop & think about it,

they do not get $10 for each yard of fabric that they sell.

First of all they have to buy that fabric, usually a minimum of 15 yards at a time.

Like any retail store, typically their cost is half of what they sell it for.

Take for instance a yard of fabric selling for $10,

(good luck finding that these days, but it makes the math easy)

the shop owner probably paid $5, plus shipping, which is going up almost every day.

So they might have $6 a yard into it.

So with 15 yards of fabric that bolt cost $90.

If they sell it at $10 a yard they have to sell the first 9 yards to pay their cost for the fabric.

That is to break even.

They then have to sell the remaining 6 yards of fabric to actually MAKE money.

So, when they sell the remaining 6 yards, they will have made $60.

If you take a look around a quilt shop,

how many bolts do you see???

If it’s a shop that I want to shop in, probably a minimum of 2,000 and that’s not a very large shop by comparison.

Next, think about all the bills you have around your house,

rent, electricity, phone (much more expensive as a business), computer, internet, water, trash pick-up, toilet paper…

The list goes on and on.

Oh yes, I forgot PAYCHECKS!!!

Not only do their employees expect them, owners would like them every once in a while too!

Then remember they have to advertise.

That $60 is crucial to paying those bills.

When you see the cost of our fabric going up, you must realize that shop owners don’t want to see that either.

They know we only have so much money to spend, just like them.

Moral of the story: if shops aren’t selling that whole bolt of fabric at retail,

they are probably not making the money they need to pay rent and all their other expenses required to stay in business.

I will step off my soap box now.

In case you’ve been taking your local quilt shop for granted,

please keep in mind without quilt shops,

there would be no quilting industry!

Tomorrow our guild is sponsoring its bi-annual Spring Workshop.

I will be spending the day with the best kind of friends,

friends of quilting!

Enjoy your day and maybe go and visit your local quilt shop(s).

Until next time,

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

Moda Signature Quilt Along – Day 11

March 5, 2013March 6, 2013 suznquilts

I finally decided which block would be my 30th block.

I thought this block would make a nice finish.

Block 21 signed by Mary Jane.

Now I have no excuses not to complete my quilt top,

unless you count that Quilt Market is just a little over 2 months away, yikes!

Time to quit messing around, having fun

and get back to work!!!

Finishing instructions are on Moda’s blog.

At first I was thinking all those 9 patches would be a bit much,

but then I realized I have about half of each of the half yard cuts left that I started with.

Now I’m thinking perhaps they would make nice 9 patch sashing around these beautiful blocks.

I have time to think on that one.

Until next time,

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

Moda Signature Quilt Along – Day 10

March 2, 2013 suznquilts

Whew!

I barely got the blocks done today.

Let’s see if I can get them posted here while it’s still Saturday!

Day 10 Blocks…

Block 1 by Aneela Hoey.

This block took me a little extra time.

Once I started sewing I wanted to keep the fabrics all going the same direction

so I went back a re-cut some of the pieces.

It was worth the extra time I think.

Block 3 by American Jane.

This is the first time I’ve ever sewn this “Peaky & Spike” block

(as it was known back in the day, not sure it’s current name).

I had to peek at the front of the block after sewing each seam with just one eye,

kind of like how we watch scary movies!

I’m impressed with myself, I didn’t re-sew any of the seams!

Block 8 by Lily Ashbury.

This is the only block that I didn’t use just 3 fabrics like the instructions called for.

I already had 4 squares cut of the pink and decided to use them for the corners.

Now to decide what my last block will be.

Since one day last week only had 2 blocks, I need one more.

We’ll just all have to wait & see.

Until next time,

Susan

My Life

Moda Signature Quilt Along – Day 9

March 1, 2013March 2, 2013 suznquilts

Day 9, just one more day…

This first block is a cute heart block.

Block 31 by V and Co.

When I finished the first two steps I thought the 1-1/2″ squares were too small,

but then when I looked at the illustrations closer,

I realized the top of the heart would be cut off when you sew it into the quilt (on purpose).

Usually with this flying geese step, you have 1/4″ to edge of block,

but not this time.

don’t be fooled!

Block 29 by Stephanie Ryan

Block 17 by Sweetwater

Day 9, check!

Until next time,

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

Moda Signature Quilt Along – Day 8

February 28, 2013 suznquilts

It seems like I was just here,

but it has been such fun!!!

These are the blocks for Day 8.

Block #9 by Sandy Gervais

I like the added dimension that the pink stripe fabric gave this block.

I decided to turn every other block to change the direction of the stripes.

I couldn’t help but notice that Sandy did not put the cross pieces in her circles, wonder why…

There is a mistake in this pattern.

When you go to slice segments off the strip set, you should cut them 1-3/4″ (not 3-3/4″).

Easy mistake, 3-3/4″ is the width of the strip set.

Fortunately I was concentrating when I got to this step.

Not my favorite block in the sewing, but the finished product I think is stunning.

As a tip, I used my walking foot to sew the squares together to finish the block.

The circles are a bit bulky to sew over.

With my regular foot the fabric wanted to slide to the side.

The walking foot sewed right over the bulky portions & kept my seams straight.

Block #2 by Minick & Simpson

I sewed this one yesterday on my featherweight machine.

See the accuracy of those points?

I’m going to keep my featherweight out and use it more often, it was fun!

Block #23 by Pat Sloan

This block was easy & fun, my two favorite adverbs when sewing.

I’m accumulating quite a stack of beautiful blocks here.

Until next time,

Susan