Sewing-N-More: Club Notes

This was a fun afternoon with more show and tell than sewing. We had 14 of us attending and 12 had stuff to show. Although we merged completed item show and tell with tools, I am going to split the info and photos between the 2 so we can appreciate all the tool hints we received.

At the start I talked about my email exchange with S.O.S. coordinator Gary Kadow. As mentioned previously, they don't want regular quilts because bugs like to nest in batting. However, they will accept fleece blankets, flannel rag quilts, and 2 layer cotton quilts without batting. The Allamanda Quilters have committed to purchase 100 fleece blankets from Walmart when they are on sale for $2.50 each, so this is not something we need to address right now. I will be delivering 2 knit blankets, 2 rag quilts, 6 drawstring backpacks, 9 tote bags and 30 stuffed toys to him this week.

Show and Tell:

Mic Pickard showed a quilt and pillow she made as one of this year's Christmas gifts.

Ceal Pedersen came with 2 bags full of stuffed animals and the patterns she made for the ones that are her own design.

Diane Placek finished her zip lock bag tote from last week's demo.

Pat Pipa made 2 drawstring backpacks,

Carolyn Grasso showed her completed zip lock bag tote with cute sewing machine fabric

and a pillowcase

Ellen Hein showed her completed zip lock bag tote

and a Minnie Mouse shirt she made for her granddaughter.

We were happy to have Lu Karatzas back with us today. She showed a quilt she made for her granddaughter

and an ornament she made from last year's Christmas card.

Donna Rissman showed her stuffed Fuzzy Duck

and a Total Eclipse runner she made.

Deb Chapman finished her zip bag tote

and a walker bag for a friend.

Audrey Phillips showed her mini zip bag tote.

She made 2 patchwork totes

and a cute apron.

Donna Rissman did the binding on 3 of our assembly line quilts this week. The first is another of the hand-pieced quilt tops we received.

This one came from the same woman's estate, but came as a stack of applique blocks. I put them together with sashing to complete this quilt.

The last one I put together using a stack of random dryer sheet blocks that were made at our club a while back and were just waiting to be used.

Tool Show and Tell:

Mic brought in a bodkin and a skinny walking foot.

Diane showed several sizes of bias tape makers.

She mentioned a web site that lists the various sizes: whipstitch.com.

Pat showed how you can put a pipe-cleaner into a straw to make a brush to clean your bobbin case.

She also showed a wood seam pressing tool.

Next she talked about her favorite applique, E-Steam II She likes this because it is reposition-able until it is set with an iron.

Carolyn showed a complete set of bias tape makers

Ellen showed a spacer called Jean-a-Magic for working with the inseams of jeans.

Lu talked about several items. First, she made a scissor cover from a toilet paper roll. Next she talked about her favorite applique, made by EQ.

Lastly, she talked about the many uses of painter's tape. We hope she will document many of these uses and collect more from friends.

She also talked about the EQ Pinter fabric she uses to copy photos onto fabric. Once printed, the ink is permanently set by soaking in water.

Donna Rissman talked about the difference between quilt shop fabric and Joannes fabric. She showed 2 similar prints and you can see the difference in black color intensity and the feel. She also told us how she reused small sample spray bottles by refilling them with starch. Her favorite is Material Magic.

Another favorite is a spray called Grippy, to keep rulers from sliding. Finally, she mentioned that some cake decorating tips can also make bias tape (or was it the other way around?).

Audrey told us that a pin could also be used to make bias tape - different size pins make different size tapes.