We had around 17 show up this month for our quilt group meeting at Tracey's. Below are pics of our show and tell and afterwards we went around the room and shared tips and hints. Every month we learn something from each other and every month we get inspired by something we see or hear and we leave very motivated. I hope everyone has a small group they get to meet with each month. It's a real treat!
Nancy said this was the fastest quilt she's ever made. She used a wool batting in it along with a woolie flannel on the back to make it even softer.
Diane made this pillow for her granddaughter.
Diane put this cheater quilt together several years ago. Recently her good friend Michiko hand quilted it for her. Michiko is very talented with hand work and loves having projects like this to work on.
Diane's friendship scrap quilt
This pin cushion was given to Nancy as a gift.
Maurene made this while staying in St. George for the winter
Maurene used the quilt smart method to make this Texas LoneStar quilt. It's a sew and flip method and Jeanie made one just like it. They both said it was easy to make.
Rachel made this doll. She and Susan made dolls together using the book below.
This is a t-shirt quilt Rachel is making for a woman who has hired her. Rachel needed some of our input as to how to quilt it and what thread, etc.
Rachel calls this her funeral quilt. She wants it displayed on top of her casket at her funeral instead of having her family purchase expensive flowers. It's one of three she's planning on having at her funeral. It's made entirely from wool that Rachel has dyed herself.
TIPS
1. Sherry always has an extra rotary blade on hand. She learned that lesson the hard way.
2. Jeanie cuts out a project then lays it out and uses sticky dots with numbers on them to keep each square in the right order.
She also told us about the big Eagle Library book sale coming up the first weekend in May. 9-5 on Friday and 9-4 on Saturday.
3. Kathi told us how to keep the sewing machine foot pedal from sliding all around. If it's on carpet, use a piece of stick on velcro under the pedal. If it's on wood, use a piece of shelf lining under the pedal or even a silicone hot pad. Kathi also showed us a different way to finish the edges of a fleece quilt. It's called looped braided finish.Here's a tutorial showing not only the looped braided finish but several other ideas for finishing fleece blankets.
Kathi also told us about a cool tool that is used to make little holes in material along the edges so that you can add a crochet border. It is a blade that attaches to a regular 45mm rotary blade and it's called a Skip Stitch. Also here's a tutorial for using the skip stitcher to finish blankets using a crochet stitch.
4. Nancy showed us a new ruler for making folded corners (below)
5.Nancy also showed us her rotating mat board which is a big help when cutting patches and not having to turn the fabric, just the board.
6. Diane shared a tip about using leftover triangle pieces after cutting them off corners and using them to make another quilt. She found her info on the website Quilting in the Rain.7.Jeri's son has found a passion for woodworking and made this thread holder for her.
9. Above is a copy of the pattern Jeri shared with us for making 16 half-square triangles. Place two pieces of fabric right sides together and put this paper on top of them. Sew along the dotted lines, then cut on the solid lines. You end up with 16 half-square triangles.
10. Lynette told us that placing bananas in plastic bags will prevent them from ripening.She also reminded us that by sewing used dryer sheets onto the right side of any applique shape, then cutting a small slit in the dryer sheet and turning the piece right side out, you will then have an applique piece that is ready to be sewn onto your quilt. The dryer sheet is soft and can be left on each piece. An easy method for turned applique.
Lunch
Tracey's cute table centerpieces. The mason jar above is wrapped with a tea dyed piece of batting!
Magic Cookie Bars and Lemon Bars
Magic Cookie Bars
1 stick butter
1 ½ c. vanilla wafer cookie crumb ( I am a cookie snob...Nabisco Vanilla Wafers)
1 c chopped nuts, (I used pecans)
1 c milk choc chips
1 1/3 c coconut
1 can sweet condensed milk
Melt butter in the bottom of a 9x13 glass dish. Sprinkle cookie crumbs evenly over melted butter. Then nuts, choc chips and last coconut. Pour sweentend condensed milk evenly over coconut. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, then cut into squares.
Strawberries and whip cream with orange flavoring.
Fruit Dip
Sweeten 1 cup whipping cream with pwd sugar to liking. When cream starts to thicken add 2-3 T thawed orange juice.
Fajita fixings
Julie’s Chicken Fajitas
¼ c lime juice
1 t sugar
1/8 t oregano
1 t chili powder
½ t garlic powder
½ t salt
½ t pepper
½ t pepper
3 T olive oil
Mix ingredients together, heat. Pour over 2-3 cooked and shredded chicken breasts.
(I boil & simmer chicken breast for 2-3 hours in a bit of chicken bouillon)
