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Jelly Bargelly Quilt Kit off to the Long Arm!

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-10-15T22:16:39-06:00

I am so excited to say that we finished up this stunning quilt last week. We bought the pattern and fabrics over the summer when we were in Salmon Arm, BC. The pattern is called Jelly Bargelly, and we used Peace on Earth jelly rolls from Moda to make it. It requires 3 strips of 17 different fabrics. As we speak, er I mean as I type(? haha) my Matty is upstairs quilting diagonal lines through each and every square. He is so good with the ruler and quilting in the ditch, he truly has way more patience than I do. I guess that is why we are a good quilting team! We are on a bit of a deadline with this quilt, as Matt’s Mom wants to take it down to Arizona when she goes for the winter. This is the second quilt of ours that she has bought. It’s nice to have a customer who really loves our work. The very best part is that we have enough jelly roll strips to make ourselves a quilt too, and I hope to teach this pattern as a class at the Quilt Shop where I work.

Our Newly Renovated Quilt Studio

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-10-15T22:15:47-06:00

It is finally done! We tore up the carpet, and ripped out the baseboards. We hired a painter, and prepped the walls. We chose paint colors, and hardwood, as well as brand new furniture, and finally, FINALLY! The Quilt Studio is done! Here is a look.... This shot is from the top of the stairs, sorry about the glare! Look at that gorgeous Hardwood! Matt and his Dad put in a lot of hard work to make this beautiful studio for us to create in and I am so thankful to both of them!

Our favorite Quilt Shop on our little Shop Hop in B.C. Definitely Country Treasures

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-08-29T11:55:28-06:00

We didn't have to bend her arm very much to get her come shopping with us. ...There Matt found an awesome bargello pattern quilt that we plan to make for the lake house. Our friend Diane was excited to find some Australian fabrics with kangaroos, plus a floral fabric which she had been hunting for. ... The bargello pattern we chose is made of jelly roll strips, which will really save on the cutting, and we even got a bit of the sewing done while we were at the lake. Shortly after we got home, we realized that we would need another jelly roll ( a long story which I'll save for another post! ... This gave me the opportunity to go back and find even more gorgeous little treasures, plus allowed our daughters to come and do some shopping as well. ...My Australian friend found some fabric she had been looking for plus she bought a pretty Geisha panel kit which came with some coordinating fabrics. ...Matt pointed out a Ricki Timms Convergence quilt on the wall and this led to a wonderful story that the shop owner shared with us. ... As her husband and her looked for a table they were discouraged that everyone was saving seats and there was nowhere for them to sit. ... They quickly sat down to claim their spot although a little disappointed that all the celebrities were sitting at other tables. ...After telling this story, she quickly whipped out a photo album with a number of pictures of the workshop she took with the Caveman of Quilting himself. Here we also found a perfect backing for our bargello and an exciting pattern book for circular quilts using a 10 degree wedge ruler. ... Diane found a nice piece of fabric that she liked too, she is quite fond of Loralie designs, so she really just had to have it! By this time the kids were totally starving so we stopped for a shockingly great meal at Denny's. ...We finished up there and had to stop at Home Depot and Superstore as well before we began the hour long trip back to the lake house. Originally we had planned one more stop at a quilt shop in Armstrong, but we were too road weary by the time we rolled through. ...The Log Cabin, just outside Armstrong, really was much more than a produce stand, as they featured a petting zoo, a goat walk, baked goods, and antique shop. We woke all the kids and they had a blast feeding the goats, playing in the park, and picking out some snacks for themselves. ...We had so many fun filled days while we were away, and so much to look forward to doing again next year. Soon I will post about the fabrics and kits that we bought, and the progress we have made so far on our latest quilting project.

The World Famous Origami Purse Pattern

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-08-10T21:46:12-06:00

As the summer quickly passes by, it’s time for a recap of all the crafty bloggers that have used the Origami Purse Pattern I put online a few months ago! Boy those germans sure love free quiling patterns. I am still amazed to see where I get traffic from! If by chance you speak english and german would you please tell me what they are saying about me...lol http://lisarosenrot.blogspot.com/search/label/Gratis-Anleitungen http://quite-quilted.blogspot.com/ http://aleinung.blogspot.com/2008/04/patchwork-origami-tschchen.html http://yara-stickt.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html http://juhizs.blogspot.com/2008/05/varrjunk-is.html http://wupperbaer.blogspot.com/2008/05/im-nhrauschneue-tattas-mal-anders.html

Spreading the love! Web Award

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-07-18T23:15:10-06:00

My sweet friend Birdie from Cre8buzz..... has given me an award. She had to choose 5 bloggers who inspire her in some artistic way, and I was one of her choices! ...This lovely statue is called the "Arte y Pico" award which was created to be given to bloggers who inspire others with their creative energy and talents no matter whether it be in the form of writing, artwork, design, interesting material, or contributions to the blogger community. When a blogger receives this award it is considered a "special honor" and, once presented to you, it is to be passed on to at least 5 other bloggers who meet the criteria. ...So now we’ve been challenged to award this gorgeous thing to 5 other bloggers who inspire us. ...Rhonda is a Mommy of 3 gorgeous daughters and wife to a FireFighter. She works full time, plays soccer, participates in theatre, and STILL has time to do wedding photography on the weekends. ... I enjoy watching her grow as a photographer and can’t wait till she is so booked up that she can quit her day job. ...Several months later, I happened upon her on Facebook and demanded that she be my friend. LOL Luckily I did, as she makes some stunning jewelery and has recently begun selling on etsy. ...She hangs out in the chat room when I host my Live Quilting Show and is a true online friend! Tsoniki runs her own website where she produces crafty podcasts, and a few weeks ago she called me for a phone interview wich you can find here. ...Another of my Twitter pals, this girl makes the most beautiful hand dyed items and jewelery. ... Her scarves are stunning, I wish I had the talent to dye cloth. She also sells items on etsy, where you can find her crafty quilty items. ...I met Anna on a site called Quilting Friends. It’s a social networking site that Anna created for quilters to meet and share their quilts etc. She has hosted several fabric swaps, and is currently putting together a Charity Quilt which we all donated churn dash blocks for. She has a beautiful blog and has recently begun doing video tutorials as well. ...I hope you enjoy meeting all these wonderful artists, as much as I have enjoyed getting to know them.

Finally back to my 'little' Janome

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-07-18T23:08:51-06:00

Well it has been quite a while since I did any piecing on my beloved Janome. It seems that since we’ve gotten the HQ16, we’ve made very little time for making quilt tops. My husband, Matt had a quilt project that he had started with some great fabric from Ikea, so yesterday I dug that quilt out and started sewing. My machine was happy to be in use, after I dusted, oiled and changed the needle. Soon I was chain piecing away and boy did it feel good! Having the 1/4 inch foot is so handy, I can’t believe I ever quilted with out one. My blocks were all turning out really nicely, and I wasn’t even using my fork pins to line up the seams. It turned out that I need to cut a couple more small squares, I was short about 7. So I will get to that ASAP and then I can finish up the blocks. I had to laugh when I began doing the pressing. The iron was so heavy in my hand. These fabrics are quite thick, not quilting fabric, but more of a home decor fabric. This will make a nice heavy warm quilt for Matt’s sister. It’s a surprise for her, since she loves Ikea so much. It is a really nice pattern, only black and white with a touch of gray. We will do a picture tutorial from the block so you can all see it and learn it too. My Matty would like to point out that he originally started this quilt for me but we both agreed his sister would appreciate it more. I think he just wanted help piecing it so we can get it on the long arm quicker for quilting.

Basic Quilting Techniques

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-07-18T22:08:54-06:00

Now you can learn to quilt in the comfort of your own home at your own pace I am busy planning and preparing loads of great quilting information for all you quilters. I am dividing it up into easy weekly classes that you can subscribe to through QuiltCetera’s ...As I come up with the list of topics, my husband suggested that I share it with the group. ...This gives all the members an outline of what to expect and something to look forward to. We are starting with absolute basics to cover all bases. If you are a more experienced quilter, then consider this a review! ...◦ What is a scant quarter inch seam allowance and how to measure ...that you would like to learn? Hopefully this will create a solid foundation for quilters who are just starting out or ...Are you looking for simple beginner projects to get started quilting? Want to learn to make a baby quilt or maybe a table runner. What ever it is you would like to learn, I would be more than happy to create a tutorial for you. Simply join in by subscribing to our quilting group and ask me what ever you like about quilting. If you are lucky, your suggestion may even be featured here on our blog.

HQ Workshop with Hattie Brown

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-06-17T20:20:01-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Matt and I took a class at Central Sewing. The store had brought in Hattie Brown, an HQ Educator, so she could teach Edmontonians about this fabulous quilting set up. The morning class was an introduction to the machine, and she taught us about weight of thread, what size of needles to use, how to load quilts, what direction to quilt and so much more. We learned about features we did not even now we had! Hattie is a great speaker and she kept the class thoroughly engaged for the morning. Hattie brought some samples of her work on the HQ. One quilt that I found to be exceptional was an heirloom, trapunto quilt done wholecloth style. She told us that Karen McTavish had been her teacher for the project. That was pretty exciting to me, since I am a big fan of Karen’s. I would love to take a class with her! She also showed us samples of all the groovy board templates which are available for the HQ. One awesome tip she shared with us was to pause in the corners of templates to form right angles, rather than rounded corners.

Our first customer quilt

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-06-17T19:21:16-06:00

Just the other day we finished up the quilting on our first customer quilt. A woman from Guild had asked us to quilt the charity quilt she was working on, and of course I said ‘Yes!”. The quilt was a group project, Marjanne had arranged for members to donate their quit blocks, and she added sashing, borders, and additional blocks. The quilt turned out beautifully - as you can see! Marjanne gave us permission to do whatever we liked. It turned out that we had a groovy board template that fit perfectly for the block size. Fortunately Matt and I had just taken a workshop and learned some great tips for quilting with the HQ16. For the borders we decided to stitch in the ditch. Here you can see a couple of blocks up close. Here is a look at the HQ16 with the quilt displayed over the frame.... What a great set up and a beautiful machine. We are so hapy with it! Marjanne was thrilled with the quilt. She picked it up Thursday morning, and donated it to the charity that night during our guild meeting. Most exciting, she has already said she will bring us her next quilt! SHe has big plns for the next one, feathered borders, micro stippling around her trapunto, and echo quilting to finish it off. I had to giggle a bit when she showed me the quilt... still under construction! When it is ready, we will be too.

My quilt guild, how do I fit in?

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-06-17T19:05:53-06:00

Well this pretty big news and I should have written about it sooner. ... In May our Quilt Guild held the Annual General Meeting. This is a big one, when we vote on our new executive positions which need filling. Our current President, who is also the Founder, stood before us and made her call for the various positions. She began at the top and made her way down the list. ... No body wanted Program Committee, but loads stood up for the Quilt Show Comittee. Our Retreat Comittee was also overflowing, my Mom volunteered for Auditor, and our friend Joan is the Arts and Cultural Representative. I snuck across the room to whisper in my friend Gerri’s ear. ... I told her if she went for President I would gladly be her Vice President. ... We stood, made our announcment, accepted our sentences, and carried on with the meeting. ...I also looked over the entire website to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. A couple of weekes afterwards, our current President called an executive Meeting at her home. The current executive and the new executive were all invited to attend. The meeting went well and we discussed such things as a questionnaire for the following year, which charities would we continue working with, and what to do with our budget. We realized that with no Program Committee we would have some extra work on our hands. We wrapped up for the night with plans to meet at our General Meeting in a week’s time. ...However the Saturday before our meeting, I spent 3 hours on the phone dealing with various opinion issues in regards to our questionnaire. Not everyone agrees on everything, but when you are working with such diverse personalities, it is important to be flexible. ... I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. So my question for you Quilting Readers, is what does your Guild mean to you?

Changes in quilt sizes because of deeper mattresses

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-05-21T10:38:13-06:00

Recently Deb Roby sent me a message that I would like to share with all my readers: "Do you make bed sized quilts? Are you seeing changes in recommended sizes because of deeper mattresses? Or batting size changes?". This message caught my attention as Matty and I had recently made a queen size quilt and found it was not wide enough once it was laid on our pillow top mattress. The problem was easy to solve, we added an extra 8 inches in borders to the sides and called it a quilt. So I wrote back to Deb and told her of my Fix It Up theory. Deb has put a lot of thought into this topic and she soon wrote back.... "Yes, we must start measuring beds before we make bed sized quilts.. but what does this mean for 1) quilts already made and cherished. 2. quilts being made by the "recommended" or "standard" sizes listed in books and magazines? 3) quilts we make for others? (like raffle quilts and wedding gift quilts?)" ...What a good point she has. So then I began asking other quilters what they are doing to deal with this problem. Now I am asking you, the Quilting Reader, what have you been doing to deal with this problem? I would appreciate your comments here or you can visit Deb's blog. Please comment to let Deb know what your thoughts are and what you have done to deal with this problem. Deb has several pictures on her blog showing the difference in how a quilt fits the older style mattress vs. the newer pillow top style mattress. Any feedback is appreciated!

Practice runs on the HQ16 mid-arm quilting machine.

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-05-16T14:24:00-06:00

Here are some pics from last week, we had such a good week . We spent alot of time offline playing with the HQ16. Here are a few pics of some of the practice runs we made. Bradie was so happy when I came home with a bolt of ikea Muslin to practice on. At $3.99/M you can't go wrong. Here is a pattern we followed with the laser stylus. It was really easy to use and if this is how good it looks first run, wait till we get good at it. ...Before long patterns just sort of flow on to your textile canvas. This one turned out a little aztec or egyptian. Here's a shot of what the kids see as Marching Elephants. I see it a bit but am going to mess around with the number of legs and size of ears. This would be a really fun pattern to try on a kids jungle quilt. Bradie's playing with the idea of blistery breeze. ...I think it will look great in orange red and yellow I couldn't believe when Bradie whipped this off. She's such a natural at quilting, I 'm happy to have some one to learn from and with. ... Again, can't wait to see it in color. or on a quilt. Some of Bradie's first McCtavishing on the longarm. We had originally picked out a bunch of different templates for the machine, but weren't happy with the way they looked on fabric. ... As you can see my stylus wasn't quite low enough and some of the lines are little wavy.

Bradie's first stippled quilt using free motion stippling

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-05-08T14:34:56-06:00

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Grammas first quilt on the mid arm quilter

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-05-08T14:33:16-06:00

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Matt's Black and White piecing with ikea fabric.

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-05-16T14:24:00-06:00

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HQ16 cuts my labor in 1/6

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-05-08T11:48:34-06:00

Hi this is Matt with QuiltCetera. Com. I spend a lot of time quilting and not much time blogging. I am going to be catching you all up on some of my most recent projects. Today I want to talk about a pile of panels I bought months ago and forgot I had. Bradie sent me out to the local fabric store to buy her 4 matching panels with a children's theme. I came home with about 40 panels of various themes. Luckily I remebered panels for Bradie and she whipped off a Baby Rag Time Tutorial. I had all but forgotten about the other panels, until yesterday, while cleaning out the crawl space, I came across this huge bag full of panels. As I came up the stairs I noticed the HQ16 was empty and I knew if I jumped on it I could have a project whipped off in no time at all. I honestly didn't expect it to go so fast.
I loaded Three Rag quilts at the same time
This took a total of 12 panels and an hour and a half to load the long arm, quilt the lines across the quilts, slash cut between the seams, unload the Long arm. Now all I need to do is Bind the three quilts. I'm amazed how much time I saved on this project using the HQ16! @import((3 rag quilts at once))

I got my meme cherry popped today!

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-05-02T22:50:47-06:00

Amy at earnestparenting tagged me for a meme. Here are the rules and my answers ...Link to the person that tagged you. ...Post the rules on your blog. ...Share 4 things in these themes. 4. Tag 4 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. ...Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website. 4 jobs I have had: ... •. pitbull breader(only half the pups looked like me) ...4 movies I can watch over and over ...Madagascar - 'This place is Crack-a-lackin!' ...4 places I have lived ...4 TV shows I love ...Little People,Big World - This show makes me realize how clean my house really is! ...4 places I have been on holiday (or vacation, as we say in the States) ...4 of my favorite dishes ...4 web sites I visit daily ...4 places I would rather be now ...4 bloggers I am tagging

Introducing The Fabulous Quilters of Twitter

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-05-01T10:56:21-06:00

If you know me at all, you will find that one of my favorite things to be nosy about is other Quilters and their projects. Since I have joined the mini blogging website Twitter I have met and chatted with many other quilters. So recently, I asked my all quilting friends on Twitter to tell me about their current projects. ... Now I'm really excited to share all these quilt stories with you. First of all I would like to tell you about @Retequilts. ...http://artquilts.blogspot.com and she is a quilter with a cause. ... Please visit her blog in order to learn more about her quilts and how you can help. ... On top of all that Deb is one of the Editors at blogher.com, as well as blogging at astitchintime.blogspot.com AND debsdistractions.blogspot.com . ...Currently @Tsoniki is working on a TShirt quilt, and she has an interesting theory on UFOs which just may help quilters justify buying MORE fabric! ...We have many things in common, and she is currently working on blocks for a Baltimore Album quilt plus a stained glass mermaid quilt. She likes to tease me with talk about the Japanese Mystery Quilt that she has made. ... She says that it is a 30 minute drive to go and rent the machine. ...Currently she is feeding her craving with a lap blanket for her brother, and will soon be starting a project for bloggy friend's son. ... @burtldy has a quilt ready for quilting and promises pictures really soon! @KitiaraTomsen is actively working on 2 quilts, first is a variable stars quilt, and the other is a quilt for her niece. ... @AnnOhio, @pfanderson, @Sharkeysday, @SusieMonday, @mayabella, @quiltygirl, @clothworks, are all quilters and I suspect @amybwenzel is also a quilter(she was way too excited about my new long arm quilting machine!) ...@ClockworkAnge has recently purchased a new Singer and plans to make a Baby TagAlong Blankie for her little ones. ... Which I am completely envious of as we have 4 quilter's in our little family and fabric seems to go faster than I can buy it!. ... @Monrae completed her first sewing project a couple of weeks ago, and she has promised pictures really soon. She was recently talked into buying a pack of Barbie Fat Quarters for her little daughter which she is planning to make into a set of Quilted Placemats.

Quick Placemats in Pretty Spring Colors

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-04-16T22:21:54-06:00

Last week I had a request from a friend on Twitter who was looking for a super easy quilting project. She wanted to use up some Barbie fat quarters she bought for her young daughter. ... I was so excited to get started, I went straight to my stash a dug out these beautiful modas that I had. These fabrics have been patiently waiting for the perfect project and here it is! I wanted this project to really show the fabrics - a girl needs to see those Barbies on the fabric! ... I also wanted it to be fast and easy. In the tutorial I show how to speed cut by layering the fabrics and all the cuts are the same, so there is no confusing different strip sizes. Each little pile of fabric cut becomes a strip set, so it is totally designed for success. You will notice that I made the finishing instructions into a seperate tutorial. This will help quilters who need advice on a technique, but do not want the entire pattern. In this example the placemats are finished with a Pillow Case Turn rather than binding. As always, my partner in crime and webmaster Husband (thank you Baby!) has included the copy and paste instructions for easy printing. Now you may notice from the photos that I have not finished mine yet! I would like to challenge someone to finish their placemats before I finish mine.... and I will be done this weekend - I hope! I also plan to make a photo tutorial on machine quilting, I think you will love it... I chose a pretty fan design to quilt in each block. So leave me a comment with your thoughts on the pattern and instructions, I need some feedback quilters! And if you do finish those placemats before I do.... send me some pictures, I'll put you up on the website and send you a fabulous prize - A brand new Clover Slash Cutter! This is a great tool for doing those chenille quilts that you always wanted to do....

Two Newest Tutorials: chain piecing + borders

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-04-04T12:34:53-06:00

I've been getting so many questions from new quilters that I've decided to regularly add new content to try and answer some of the most frequently asked quilting questions. We have just added two new tutorials to the website. The first is about chain piecing and the other is how to add borders to your quilt. If you have any questions be sure to ask in our live chat. If I'm not live, just type your message in the chat box and I will see it when I return. Chain Piecing ...Adding Borders ...Now be sure to come back often as we are always adding new stuff. Learn how to quilt with easy to understand instructions combined with step by step photos of each project. Keep your eye out for these great free tutorials we have planned! Pattern and tutorial for beginner nine patch Half Square Triangle Tutorial Machine Quilting Tutorial We also have been planning a cute floral applique project which I know you will love. It is so easy, even a beginner can do it! ... Isn't that the idea? Yes, we are all about coaching new quilters through their beginner projects. One last thing, don't miss our newly scheduled live quilting show. Hope to see you there!

Tune in Thursday nights on Ustream

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-04-04T12:18:05-06:00

Well it has been a busy busy week around here with Spring Break and little ones running around. That has not stopped us though from making more beginner tutorials and answering your quilting questions. Everyday we are getting messages and emails from quilters who need answers to their quilting questions. This is why we are super excited to announce our Thursday Night Live Quilting Show! ...We will be answering your quilting questions live right here on QuiltCetera.... You can view the show from the front page of the website or you can join in the live chat. Now be sure to tell your friends, your Mom, your Sister and anyone who wants to learn to quilt, because we are all about coaching new quilters through their beginning projects! Save up your questions and bring them on Thursday nights. Do you have a question about a technique? Do you really need to see a demo to learn this technique? Then send me a message through the chat room. I will answer your question in no time and if you're lucky we will feature your question and do a live demo on air. Just think your question could be turned into a tutorial that could teach new quilters from all over the world! ...On Monday nights we will host our JR Quilters. Our 2 oldest daughters and 4 of their friends get together and quilt from 6-8pm PST. This is the night to watch with your daughters, or sons! and get inspired to quilt with your kids or maybe you want to teach kids to quilt. Here you will find easy projects that I have chosen especially with young people in mind. We hope to see you there Mondays from 6-8pm PST and Thursdays from 8-10pm PST. And remember to bring your questions and tell your friends!

Little Convergence Man Quilt

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-03-29T11:19:01-06:00

Yah I said it, "Man Quilt"! My husband loves to quilt too and this is his first attempt at a convergence quilt he saw in a Ricky Tims book. To my surprise he added some beads as focal points and used them to create an echo in his quilting. Here is a look at his little wall hanging he made for our two oldest daughter's room. This is the first half of a larger quilt that he cut in half so he could quilt each piece differently. The two finished quilts will be appliqued to a larger background fabric. I just love quilts that are binded and appliqued on larger quilts. It is a really neat effect and frames the little quilts nicely. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Applique Floral Hummingbird Quilt

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-03-29T11:03:00-06:00

I bought this kit months ago and have been meaning to finish it for what seems like forever. Well I finally finished it last night. It turned out just beautiful. Here are some pics. I will be doing a tutorial on raw edge applique next week! Have a look at these pics and tell me what you think. Let me first mention that this was my first attempt at McTavishing, you can see it in the background quilting on the bottom of the quilt. I took a few days off after quilting the bottom half and lost my flow a little. I didn't even notice but I started quilting feathers. This is so funny because I had just finished reading a book on feathering that day, it must have influenced my quilting. Anyways it still looks good so I left it. This is a present for my mother in law who comes home in two weeks from a long winter in Arizona, so the timing is perfect..

Irish Chain Beginner 9 Patch Intro

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-03-25T23:10:03-06:00

Irish Chain Beginner 9 Patch Intro Here is the quilt that I have my JR Quilters working on, I took them to the fabric store and they chose the fabrics themselves. We have learned that nine patches are great for beginners to repeat matching seams. It is an arrangement of two different nine patch blocks which are built using strip piecing. It uses only three fabrics and I'm sure you will love the results. In the upcoming video I put together the first block of the 2. I will work on block 2 Live tomorrow night!

Create a Legacy and A Friend from Guild

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-03-20T00:26:38-06:00

On the weekend while I was at the Show, I found a booth decorated with some intriguing quilts. Pat Leske of Create-A-Legacy in Westlock, Alberta took a moment of her day to answer my quilting questions on the weekend. I asked Pat what her #1 tip for beginner quilters would be. ... Pat also mentioned that she suggests a rag time quilt or a small table runner for beginners. I asked Pat what she is enjoying working on right now. Luckily for me she satisfied my curiosity by pointing at the intriguing quilts. Annette Ornelas of Southwind Designs has come up with an amazing way to create curves without curved piecing. ... Pat says she really enjoys these quilts but she also would like to spend some time on more traditional kinds of quilts. ... Thanks so much to Pat for her time on Saturday; also thanks to her beginner quilter friend, who's name I forgot to ask! ... A short time later, I spied one of my guild sisters, named Charlene Wong. I noticed her name tag so I asked her where she was working these days. Recently a new quilt shop - Sew Divine, has opened here in Edmonton, and Charlene not only works there... but she will be teaching the beginner class! Now I must tell you that Charlene is a very talented hand quilter and she has a lot to offer those newbie quilters. I'm so excited for Charlene and I just want to say Congratulations! Another thing I discovered is a beautiful Canadian magazine that was given to me for FREE at the show. I love free stuff so I really must mention it. It is called A Needle Pulling Thread, and it features many different types of needle work. Now to my sheer delight the quilt pattern inside is for.... a Bargello! Which I totally love by the way, in case I wasn't obvious there. ... Thank you to Pat, and Charlene, and also thanks for the magazine I love it!

Some Exciting News at The Quilt Patch

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-03-19T23:06:36-06:00

While wandering through the aisles at the Creative Stitches Craft Show I came across one vendor booth which really stood out. The Quilt Patch of Moose Jaw Saskatchewan, had travelled to Edmonton to show off their stuff. Co owner Shelley took a few minutes to chat with me about her shop and answer a few of my questions. Shelley shared her tip for a beginner quilter, which was Take A Class! ... I also asked Shelley what pattern she recommends for beginner quilters to start with. She showed me a pattern called Around the Block, which was designed in the shop. This is a class taught at her shop and kits are also available. Shelley also mentioned that it is very affordable, only 12 Fat Quarters, which is just what beginner quilters love to hear! ...First of all, Shelley told me that The Quilt Patch is expanding into wholesale pattern distribution this coming June. That means you will soon be finding The Quilt Patch patterns locally, and no more waiting for the mail! I had a look at the website and these ladies have some really beautiful patterns. I will be telling my local quilt shop about their exciting news. The second bit of news that Shelley shared with me is about a Quilt Show happening July 25, 26, & 27, 2008. It is called The Crescent Park Quilt Festival and will feature Mark Lipinski. ... He is the editor at Quilter's Home Magazine and according to Shelley he is one funny guy. So the Quilt Festival will feature classes with Mark on Friday and Saturday, plus he will do a dinner and trunk show on Saturday evening. Sunday there will be an outdoor Quilt Show with a merchant mall. Personally, I hope to be there, I would love to take part in a class! Lastly I would like to thank Shelley for her time on Saturday. She gave me a great story to write and now I have a summer weekend away to plan!

Finally home from Creative Stitches Show

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-03-15T19:58:20-06:00

We just got home from the Creative Stitches Show here in Edmonton, Alberta. I will be blogging all night and my Husband will be updating the site withall the great answers I got to all my questions today. I spoke with many of the quilt shop owners today and came away with alot of great tips and tricks for new quilters. I can't wait to share them with all you beginner quilters out there. I have to go eat, but will be back later with more, I promise...

TagAlong Baby Blankie

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-03-11T23:13:34-06:00

@import((TagAlong Slideshow)) Today I finished up our newest pattern! It is the TagAlong Baby Blankie and it is super cute. Babies will love these little quilts that feature tags all around the quilt border. This is one easy, easy quilt, that you will make for every new baby that comes along. Here are some pictures: This is Baby Sophie and she is our baby quilt critic. As you can see, she gives it the thumbs up! She is also the lucky recipient of several new tagalong blankies. Tomorrow I will be preparing kits for the TagAlong Baby Blankie. They will be available in pink, purple, blue, green and orange. Pictures should be up on our blog by evening.

Have you ever seen Running Eigths?

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-03-11T22:56:15-06:00

@import((running-eights)) Check out this cool fabric that my husband found at the fabric store! I asked him to find a variety of coordinating fabrics for the baby blankie that I am working on. This is what he came home with... Isn't that cool! Eight different patterns in ONE fabric! I was so excited when I saw it... I knew it would be perfect for our newest pattern!

Free Fat Quarter Give Away - Can You Digg it?

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-03-01T00:57:50-06:00

I am super excited about our very first contest! Our good friend Joan Smith showed us how to make this great little purse with less than two fat quarters. We loved this little purse so much that we have been working on a video tutorial for this totally fabulous Origami Drawstring Purse. While we finish that up, we posted a picture tutorial at http://free-quilting-patterns.blogspot.com/. So check it out and let us know what you think. If you like it, and if you want some really nice free fabric (you know It!) then go ahead and digg it. Once the diggs reaches 100, we will pick a random winner, who will receive a Fat Quarter pack of coordinating fabrics to make the Origami Drawstring Purse. So digg it and tell your friends to digg it, and get in your chance to win! Even more exciting, we will choose another winner at 200 diggs, 300 diggs, and 400 diggs and so on! Check out our Origami Drawstring Purse here.

Embellishing quilts with beads

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-02-17T19:52:47-06:00

Beading and embellishing your quilts is an exciting way to add dimension and texture. This video outlines how to make a Bead Coil, a technique that looks great on art quilts. I hope that you will try this embellishment and be sure to send us some pictures! Beaded Coil Technique Video

Your free raggedy baby quilt pattern and video tutorial

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-02-14T14:58:38-06:00

I finally finished typing out the raggedy baby quilt pattern that I have promised so many of you. We are in the process of filling the Tutorials section of QuiltCetera with free tutorials and video tutorials. Our first project in this Quilting for Beginners series is the raggedy baby quilt. This is a very easy pattern for beginners and we have made it even easier with our free video tutorials. We guarantee your success with our Interactive Q&A in our FORUM.

Our site has taken off as expected

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-02-10T13:51:35-06:00

January came and went in the blink of an eye, but the cold weather decided to stay. We woke up to a chilling -35 today in Edmonton. My husband and I have been swamped with Quiltcetera.com. He does all the web stuff like building and managing the site and I prepare all the streaming content for our Live QuiltingTV. I have compiled a great list of tutorials for next week and am really excited to get back in front of the camera. I have to admit that I was shy at first but have really warmed up to the concept of live streaming video. I have been answering emails like crazy and I hate to see all the great questions go to waste. I'm asking that everybody use our Interactive Q&A Forum to ask you questions. That way we will only have to answer most questions once and the rest of the new quilters who read our forum can learn from all the great questios and answers that appear there. I will be selecting questions from our forum to use on our Live Quilting TV Stream. If your question is used on the show, you will recieve a free quilting gift from Quiltcetera.com. The last few ladies recieved free chenille cutters valued at $24. Here are their questions. ...OUR MOST RECENT QUESTIONS: 1. What is a good beginner project? 2. How do I keep an accurate seam allowance? 3. Are there special tools for rag time quilts?

Washing fabric before sewing?

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-31T14:33:28-06:00

Here's another great question from an e-mail we received. Do I wash my Baby rag quilt fabric before I start? Interactive Quilting Q&A Brought to you by Quiltcetera.com Podcast available here.

Cutting triangles? Is grain important?

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-30T02:25:45-06:00

There are alot of different ideas of what is right when cutting triangles. I hope all you seasoned quilter's can start helping to answer some of these questions the new quilters have been asking. I will be posting all the Questions on Youtube for everybody to answer. Either comment on the video or better yet leave a video response. Together we can help new quilters embrace this wonderful art. Interactive Quilting Q&A. Brought to you by Quiltcetera.com

My 3 all time favorite quilting projects

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-28T20:35:20-06:00

I know that I haven't been quilting long but I thought i'd better start listing some of my favorite quilt projects that i have completed in the last few years. Even the ugliest quilts that I have done, back before i knew anything about matching colors for a quilt, hold a place in my heart. If I had to break it down to my 3 favorites, I would have to say: (in no particular order) 1. Of course this would have to be the first quilt I ever finished. I knew from the moment I started to see the blocks sewn together, that this whole quilting thing was definitely for me. 2. This would have to be the first baby quilt I quilted. I remember finishing in a big hurry just in time for a very special baby's birthday. I was so happy that I bought a baby quilt kit as i was crunched for time and the quilt kit made it so easy to finish in a hurry. 3. The first queen size quilt that my husband and I worked on together. This also happened to be around the same time that my husband had his first lesson in patience. What a sense of accomplishment to finish such a large piece, even if we did cut a few corners so to speak

We finally got around to adding our site to technorati

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-27T00:23:08-06:00

Technorati Profile

How to pass the day thinking about a long arm machine.

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-23T23:25:40-06:00

I'm sure you all have a wish list of things you'll probably never get, but what if someone you love wins the lottery and asks you what you would like? You better have an answer ready! Here is my WishList!

Employee uniforms ordered today

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-21T13:11:28-06:00

Let me just say that we don't have a very large staff, but everyone of us loves our new team uniforms. If you like them, you can order through our store

Beginner rotary cutter and mat quilt set

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-20T21:34:45-06:00

Quilting Rulers

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-20T08:34:04-06:00

Good morning quilters! This is our third video tutorial. Today we will introduce the various Quilting Rulers.

Rotary Cutting Mat

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-20T01:25:45-06:00

Here is the second video in our beginner's series. This is an introduction to the rotary cutting mat

Introducing the rotary cutter

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-20T01:13:26-06:00

Here is our first official tutorial video for new quilters. We are presenting this video series to teach the basics for begining quilters.

Live quilting tutorials.

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-19T10:37:00-06:00

Hello again everyone. I am super excited to be broadcasting live on USTREAM.TV . After days of trying to set my live video up I found a great site called ustream. They made it really easy to set up my live feed and I now have a live channel on their site. I will be recording live quilting tutorials daily so be sure to check back often... USTREAM.TV/CHANNEL/QUILTCETERA

Creating our own quilting themed clothing.

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-17T18:35:34-06:00

What a great opportunity to remind your husband of your first love, Quilting! After years of searching for unique quilting themed clothing, and dozens of requests from all of you, I have decided to put a line of clothing together to sell here on quiltcetera. Not only will you get a chance to see what I have designed, but you can add your own words and even edit the image before you order. Wearing a custom shirt or thong is a really great way to bring a smile to your face even when your not quilting. I designed these panties for myself for valentines day. I can't wait to see the look on my husbands face when he sees them for the first time. Hopefully this will help him understand my true love, Quilting. LOL Let me know what you all think. Be sure to check back for my latest designs.

Juki 30" long arm quilting machine

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-16T23:45:56-06:00

While I am talking about dreaming, here is my dream machine. I know I know I love it too... Juki LU-158 Very Heavy Duty 30" Long Arm Walking Foot Industrial Sewing Machine LU158 - FREE 100 Organ Needles Juki LU-158 Very Heavy Duty 30" Long Arm Walking Foot Industrial Sewing Machine LU158 - FREE 100 Organ Needles

Juki TL98QE High Speed Sewing Machine

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-16T22:42:24-06:00

This is the brand of machine Sharon Shramber was using in my last post. What? A girl can dream can't she... Juki TL98QE High Speed Sewing Machine & HandiQuilter King Size Portable Quilting Frame - FREE 100 Schmetz Needles, 6 A&E Threads, 12 Bobbins & Case Juki TL98QE High Speed Sewing Machine & HandiQuilter King Size Portable Quilting Frame - FREE 100 Schmetz Needles, 6 A&E Threads, 12 Bobbins & Case

Free motion quilting tutorial video

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-16T21:15:55-06:00

This is something that I am really excited about. While browsing on Youtube I found this video by Sharon Shramber. She is a really talented free motion quilter with several prestigious awards under her belt. She makes it look so easy. Watch it here below.

Star block tutorial using flying geese unit.

quiltcetera@yahoo.com — 2008-01-08T15:52:24-06:00

Today I will show you how to build a star block using flying geese units. Watch all our tutorials here