Author Archives: stashingsisters

Sep8

Alone and Happy

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Ever wish you had more sewing time?   How about alone time?  Perhaps the two combined would be a euphoric experience. Looking through some old Quilter’s Newsletter magazines I came across an article describing one woman’s experiences in her sewing space.

Note:  You need not resubscribe to magazines if you keep your old copies long enough  That’s because you’re likely to forget everything you read more than 2 years ago.  It’s like  getting a new magazine with every old issue!

On to Alison Bolt’s writing.   Hope you enjoy these excerpts from “The Joy of Being Sew Alone” p. 22 Quilters Newsletter July/August 2008.

“Last week, as I listened to the radio  . . . I heard the repetitive strains of a familiar oldies tune, “One is the loneliest number . . . ”  I thought to myself, no wife or mother Read the rest of this entry →

Sep4

Color and Quilting Lesson by Liz

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Liz shared her passion for color and quilts at our last meeting.  Inspired by Anna Maria Horner  (see her website here) we learned about choosing prints and colors.  Anna Maria compares buying clothes to buying fabric and if you know what you like then you should trust yourself . . . sort of.  If you’re not totally confident in your own sense of color or want to try something new then follow some of Anna Maria’s recipes as presented by Liz:

First figure out if your fabrics are in the Cool Color Family (blues, greens, purples and teals) or Warm Color Family (reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, rusts, and warm browns).

  • Recipe 1 – Monochromatic. Work with one color family.  Try small prints next to large prints.
Warm and Cool Color Families

Warm and Cool Color Families

  • Recipe 2 – Monochromatic with an Accent.  Use mostly one color family with little additions of an accent family to “pop” the visual interest.
  • Recipe 3 – Multicolored. Use a multicolored fabric you really like.  Add a solid or different print.

    Triangle Quilt Using Related Colors by Liz

    Triangle Quilt Using Related Colors by Liz

We love your quilts LIZ!!

Aug24

Ideas From Williamsburg

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Williamsburg is a fascinating place.  Full of history and design elements that we don’t see very much anymore.  Here are a few designs that could inspire future quilting and quilt design.

An exquisite example of whole cloth quilting.
Antique Quilt at Williamsburg Museum Featuring Btoderie Perse and 8 Pointed Star
Love the Green Color and Design on this Williamsburg Canopy Bed
Governor’s Palace Green Room in Williamsburg
Governor’s Palace Carpet Williamsburg, Close Up
Close Up of Carpet in the Williamsburg Governor’s Palace
Ballroom of the Govenor’s Palace in Williamsburg Where Fictional Character ‘Felicity’ of American Girl Dolls Danced
Aug20

Bunnies for Baby

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What do you choose when making a baby quilt for a baby  and don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy?  Well, this young quilter picked out a very cute aqua fabric of bunnies designed by Frederick Warne for Quilting Treasures.  The Cotton Tale Patch panel is surrounded by a prairie point  border.

The baby quilt has lots of batting because it was designed to be a floor quilt.  A combination of tying and big running stitches with knit cro-sheen was used for the quilting.

Shortly after finishing the quilt, this young lady found out she was going to have a baby sister!  I think baby will be pleased.

IMG_4901 Stashing Sisters CottonTale Patch Baby Quilt 2014

Aug9

The Bluebird of Happiness – Retreat Part 3 of 3

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The “Sisters Keeper” project was boosted with donations of blocks during the retreat.  This is an ongoing project and block donations are accepted at any time.  It’s a good way to use your leftover fabric and provide a service. Read the rest of this entry →

Aug8

Quilting in the News

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IMG_2796 Stashing Sisters

From the Wall Street Journal, 19 June 2014:

A recent study found that seniors who stimulated their brains with learning might just offset Alzhiemers.   The top two activities with the most benefits were QUILTING and PHOTOGRAPHY.  The news article “Brain Games That Could Pay Off In Retirement” by Elizabeth O’Brian tells the story.  Click here to read the entire article.  Perhaps the author Elizabeth O’Brian is a quilter too.

 

From The Baltimore Sun, 29 June 2007

An oldie but local.  Be careful about who you let wheel and deal your quilts.   Lucinda Franklin from Gee’s Bend, Alabama accused Mat Arnett, an art dealer from Atlanta of taking her heirloom quilts and holding them hostage for two years.  Who would you trust?   Read the full article here.

 

NBC Nightly News, 24 Feb 2014:

Jenny Doan from the Missouri Quilt Company has grown so much that she made her way from YouTube to the nightly news.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Aug7

Generous & Clever Girls – The Retreat Part 2 of 3

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Food assignments for the retreat included everyone bringing an ingredient to go into our “Stashers Stew” and “Sister Salad” for dinner.  The night came alive with a skit by Kim and Amy.  They wrote and sang these lyrics to the tune of “Never Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift:

Retreat Skit

Kim and Amy Perform A Skit About Stashers for the Retreat

“I’m really gonna love our quilt retreat,
Spending the time talking and sewing all night.

Read the rest of this entry →

Aug5

Truly American – The Pieced Quilt

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Wouldn’t it be cool to make American blocks for an Americana Quilt?’  It’s not very hard to find patterns because pieced blocks dominated American quilts after the advent of fabric production in America c.1840.  Before that time, women, instead of machines, spun thread and wove fabrics keeping them too busy for pattern design.

The “history of quilts” is called the “herstory of quilts” by a Texas Tech University writer, mainly because women were the makers and keepers of the artful bedding.  Author and quilter Barbara Brackman uses the history of fabric, patterns and dyes to date quilts.  Check out her blog, “Material Culture”.

The National Park Service has a site about some early quilt block designs along with their history.  Here are a few interesting blocks:

From the National Park Service Quilt Discovery Project

From the National Park Service Quilt Discovery Project

 

National Park Service Quilt Discovery

National Park Service Quilt Discovery

Anvil from NPS Quilt Discovery Project

Anvil from NPS Quilt Discovery Project

Apr12

Love of Family and Fabric – The Retreat Part 1 of 3

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Although no theme was mentioned or established for the 2014 Quilt Retreat, one emerged as the Stashing Sisters began working on their projects – FAMILY.

Most of the projects were for their families, either their own children or grandchildren.  The Sisters of the Quilt Guild all share the love of fabric and they also share love through fabric.