My Favorite Quilting Notion

 Favorite Quilting Notions

Wow, had a FUN guild meeting today (June 2024)  at  Lake County Quilters Guild in Florida. The subject was "Bring Your Favorite Notion".  It was very interesting and entertaining meeting.   

NOTE: Be SURE to remind members to just bring ONE favorite notion, or the meeting might get out of control!  (What???  One gal brought 15 items!!!  Folks were not happy and it drug out the meeting a bit. Just saying.). Otherwise, the meeting was well received and very interesting.

Here We Go

BINDING: Gallon milk jug for binding - OK, I didn't get a picture of this, but the gal cut a large (approx 4") hole in the side of the gallon sized milk/water/tea jug.  As she ironed binding, she drops the pressed binding into the side hole in to the jug.  When applying binding, the fabric is fed through the pour spout.  Looked like a great way to corral lots of binding.

NOTE: We have created a couple of these binding jugs  and my quilting buddy is LOVING this.  You can see the prepared binding in the jug.  She says it comes out the top, and she hasn't run over the binding with her chair or gotten tangled in it.  This was a winner! 
2nd Note: We were doing marathon binding, and didn't have anyplace to put the 'next' binding!  Need more jugs!!!

Accu Quilt - Shortcut for Prepping Quilts?

Friends With AccuQuilt....  Benefits?

 Y'all have heard of AccuQuilt, the ultimate fabric cutting system.  What is it?  Why would I want it, and it and is it worth the money?  The AccuQuilt is a fabric die cutting system designed to make quilting easier and more enjoyable by providing a safe and efficient way to cut perfect pieces, every time.

I have been a prolific quilter since the late 1970's.  That was BEFORE rotary cutting blades, rulers  and cutting mats.  My mom, who was NOT a quilter, was cutting 4" squares of double knit polyester for her churches Missionary Society. They could launder those polyester fabrics a gazillion times and the colors would never fade.

In the late 1980's, my dad was going through chemo, and we needed something for him to do.  I found a four inch square (Olfa if I remember).  I purchased a rather expensive (at the time) rotary cutter and mat for my folks to cut these four inch poly squares.   Oh, I forgot to purchase (probably because I didn't have the money) for a ruler.  No problem.  Dad was using a METAL yard stick to cut those squares!  What do you think happened to those blades?  Yousa...  I do have one of the quilts that my folks made.  It is mostly made of squares of sheets and other unknown fabric contents.....Love it though my mom didn't want to make quilts since she grew up with them.

Put A Lable On It - Labeling your Quilt Project

Why You Should Label Your Quilt

So, as someone who has been quilting not only for myself, but others since around 1978, I have written several articles about putting a label on your quilt.  Do you have a favorite quilt that you've had since you were a baby?  Maybe you are lucky enough to sleep under a quilt that your grandmother made.  Do you know when that quilt was made?  Or why you now have it?   A quilt label will tell generations to come why this quilt is important.

Label for Julia, pieced by Aunt Laurie,
quilted by Grandma Baker

Fidget Sensory Quilt for Dementia and Alzheimers Patients

Making Fidget Quilts for Dementia Patients

Have you heard of a Fidget Quilt? These are lap quilts, usually the size of an oversized place-mat. They are most successful with varied textures for patient to feel, and things to open and close to keep hands busy. 

The idea is to provide things for the Alzheimer's or dementia patient to 'fiddle' with, and give them something to do with their hands, and just maybe stimulate their mind. Most of these processes will be a 'memory muscle' type activity. These are things you do without thinking about it because you have done it so many times over the years, that you just know how to do it. 

When Fabric Bleeds

OK, fabric quality has really improved over the years, but one thing still happens with surprising regularity… fabrics will bleed!  What does that mean?  That really dense dark blue or dark red fabric you used, and when it is laundered, the colors run in to the surrounding blocks.  OMG..  What happened?

Fabric color bleed

10 Ways to Cut a Fat Quarter

How many of us have a huge pile of fat quarters that you don't know what to do with? You can cut these fat quarters into the popular pre-cuts that fabric shops are offering to make quilts and use them that way.  Popular sizes are  layer cakes (10" squares), charm packs (5" squares), and jelly rolls (2 5" x 44" strips).

As most of you know, fat quarters are a quarter of a yard. But, instead of cutting 9" the width of the fabric (WOF*), it is 18" cut WOF, then that is cut in half. In other words, this is a half yard cut in half lengthwise and then crosswise. The fat quarter should be approximately 18" x 22".

If you are lucky and get a fat quarter from someone who thinks in 'meters' instead of 'yards' you will get a few extra inches in your fat quarter.

*WOF - Width of Fabric