Giving Birth to New Patterns

Introducing PINKS and APRON STRINGS...

Finally my two new patterns are ready! I can't believe how long this process has taken...but I have had a few other things going on the past few months, too! This was like giving birth, but not as painful!

I've been thinking about this "Thanks, Grandma" line of patterns for a long time, and have lots of sketches and ideas for it in my notebook. There will be several quilts for little ones, some doll quilts, and some large quilts. My grandmothers were the ones who got me started sewing and interested in quilts and quilting. I hope they are smiling down on me, proud of what I'm up to! :)

I pulled fabrics from my drawers of vintage prints for Apron Strings. They were a joy to work with! And I used packaged bias binding around the edges of the wall quilt. That was easy to work with, too! I just might have to try it on a larger project!

And I used some of my huge collection of Aunt Grace fabrics for PINKS. I hardly made a dent in the collection, though. Expect to see more Aunt Graces in upcoming projects.

Patterns are available by e-mailing me: cloessel@yahoo.com . Hope you continue to have fun with your fabric scraps! Carol :)

A Great Little Trip!

My quilting buddy and I had a whirlwind two-day trip! We left early Friday morning with Shipshewana, IN as our destination. We both had shopping lists with us, but when we hit the quilt shops, we had a hard time sticking to those lists! Lots of things to tempt us. We certainly helped the Indiana economy as we filled our heads with new ideas and filled the car with lots of fabric! :) Friday evening we showed off our purchases as we met with some of my Fort Wayne quilting friends.
The Gathering of Quilters on Saturday was our real destination. There weren't the 1000 quilters that they were planning for, but there were over 600 quilters in attendance! The farthest one came from St. Louis, MO. It was a fun day--a chance to renew acquaintances, hear a great talk from Kaye England, do some more shopping of the vendors, and view quilts on display made by area quilters (including some great ones made by MEN!). From time to time during the day there were "bed turnings"--various quilt groups put together 10-12 quilts on a certain theme. The quilts were stacked on a bed. One-by-one they were held up from the bed and talked about. We especially enjoyed the one that featured 1920-1940 era quilts.
When it first began, the Gathering was meant to be a way for quilters in Northern Indiana/Southern Michigan to connect and share ideas. I was disappointed in the "sharing" aspect this year. Part of the day's activities were events like Show and Tell, Charm Square Exchange, and a Block Exchange. With over 600 quilters attending, I expected LOTS of show and tell. I took 2 quilts to show, but in all, I think fewer than 40 people had things to show! I am really into using charm squares right now, so I made up 8 packets of charm squares to exchange, excited to get a new variety of fabrics to use in my quilts. So few people brought charm squares to exchange that I came home with 5 of my own packets! And I saw very few blocks turned in for the block exchange. WHAT IS WITH THIS???? Was this event unique, or are quilters not SHARING these days??? I hope that is not the case, because sharing is a big part of what quilting is all about!!! Let me know your thoughts!
I'm off to sew...Carol

Off to the Quilter

Tomorrow my charm quilt goes to the quilter! I spent the afternoon getting the quilt top all cleaned up and pressed. I couldn't believe how many threads I had to trim from the back! Have any of you noticed that a lot of today's fabric seems to fray quite a bit? (If so, how do you handle this?) It seemed the more I trimmed, the more it wanted to ravel! I finally just gave up. I'm hoping any remaining threads won't show through once it is quilted. We will see.
Now that this quilt top is finished, I'm ready to move on. I've been thinking about my next design and am anxious to make a trial block. It is a string quilt of sorts, and I am using some of the 1940's and 50's fabric I have collected. I have my templates made and some fabric cut--ready to sew! It looks good on paper--hope it works out with fabric! Happy Quilting! Carol :)

Out of Focus!!!

Do you ever have one of those days when it is hard to focus on just one task? Today has been like that for me. And it started even before I got out of bed! My head was spinning with new design ideas and new ideas for the designs I'm currently working on! I had to grab a pencil and some paper and write things down before I forgot them!!!
The other day I told you I had 3 projects going. Well, I finished the tote bag, but I looked around at my sewing area, and I actually have 5 projects going! No wonder I find it hard to focus! Sometimes I just need to fold up a few projects and put them out of sight in order to relax a bit. Can anyone relate?
How I envy those people who start one project at a time and don't begin another until it is completely finished! But I know I'll never be like that. I'll always have UFOs. That's just me!
I'm sewing the rows together on my small charm square quilt and I think I have the design worked out to my satisfaction. A picture will be coming soon.
Back to the sewing machine! Hope you are having fun with your stitching today! Carol :)
P.S. If you need some new ideas for scrap quilts, check out my patterns at www.thepatternpeddlers.com Search under "Carol E. Loessel"

Border Design Problem Solved!!! Hooray!

Just wanted to share my excitement with you! The border design I've been trying to figure out has come to me! No, not in a dream (although a lot of new ideas do just appear in my head!). I used a technique that helps me get a good idea of what the final design will look like, without sacrificing any of the fabric I'm using in the quilt.

I cut my shapes out of construction paper and lay them on the quilt top! In the photo, both of the the light green leaves and the red circle are construction paper. The colors aren't exactly right, but at least they are in the right color family, so I can truly "see" the design. This works especially great for applique.

Yes, I have a collection of construction paper scraps, too! But if YOU don't, packs of assorted colors of construction paper can be purchased anywhere you would buy school supplies. Give this idea a try next time you are trying to figure out a design or a color scheme. I've even used it to do paste-ups of pieced blocks when deciding on block size or color placement.

Back to stitching...Carol :)

Another Leap into Cyberspace, but I really should be quilting!

Well, I guess I am hooked! The other day I received a new Connecting Threads catalog. The cover shows their yummy new 1930's fabric collection (bad news for those of us who cannot resist the 30's fabrics!), and throughout the catalog they talk about their new online community called Quilt With Us.
Yesterday I gave it a look and signed on. LOTS of things to do once you are in there! Many places to blog, several groups to join, and lots of great pictures to see. I already have a new friend in Ireland! And, I signed up to do a block exchange with the girls from Michigan. Am I into this, or what?
And when do we have time to work on our quilts??? I did get the blocks all cut for the charm quilt I am working on. Everything is ready to sew now. I am also putting the finishing embroidery touches on a charm quilt I started a couple of years ago. If there are some good basketball games on tomorrow, I should be able to park in front of the TV and get a lot of that stitching done. It sure feels great to be at this point on that quilt! It is one of those designs that looked good when I sketched it out on paper...just wasn't sure how it would look in fabric. I'm pretty pleased with it. I still need to decide how I want the border to look. I think I want it to be curved...any good ways to work that out? Let me hear from you if you have ever done a scalloped or curved border on a quilt.
Once I figure out how my computer will let me put pictures into this blog site, I'll share some of my other scrap quilts with you. Happy Stitching! Carol :)