Amherst Quilters Guild – Page 29 – Amherst Quilters Guild

July 26, 2012

Who made this quilt?

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Imagine this scene. Fifty years from now as someone is admiring a gorgeous quilt made in many hours of loving stitching, she says to her companion “I wonder who made this quilt. It’s fabulous. Do you think it was for someone’s wedding? Or maybe it’s a graduation gift. OOh! And look at this baby quilt. Do you suppose a grandmother made this-or an auntie-or maybe the mom while she was pregnant? ” Wouldn’t it be terrible to be looking down from wherever we go after life, to be looking down trying to say “I made those quilts. That blue one with the flowers was for…” You know where I’m going with this. Do you put labels on your quilts? You really should. If you’re an Antiques Roadshow fan, you know how having the provenance of an antique really helps its value. And even if not […]

July 23, 2012

foundation paper piecing

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I am getting back to some serious sewing time. I’ve taken a bit of a break for about 3 weeks now where I have only sewn a little bit here and there. Now it’s back to my usual mode-several hours each day at the machine. Some of it is sewing for my part-time job making samples or preparing for lessons I’ll teach, some is working on my own pattern pieces to sell, some is for myself (or friends or family). Generally I love it but it’s been nice also stepping back a bit to spend more time at other interests I have. I’ll soon be teaching a class to paper foundation piecing beginners. I am working on my notes. Is it just me or is this technique one that needs demonstration much more than written instruction? I’m finding even in notes for myself to refer […]

July 20, 2012

a little of this, a little of that

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Yay! It’s raining! I can hear my lawn saying “AAH! That feels great.” Nice guild meeting last night. Here are a few random thoughts. 1. Had a few questions last night about supply lists for seminar . Everyone will get printed copies of the supply list(s) for their seminar class(es) in the mail in early August. The supply lists for our national teachers are available at their websites if you would like them early (see your registration form or our guild blog for addresses). You do not need any proof of registration to get them; they are available for everyone. We have the lists for the majority of our local teachers now posted at our website as well; the rest will be added as we get them. If you know of a friend, who does not have internet access, who would like a national teacher’s […]

July 19, 2012

must see?

Hello ladies, Mary Ellen here. I will admit I’m not much of a movie goer. That said, this clip from the “HeyQuilty blog” caught my attention. “And I don’t mean to be crude, but if you think he looks good with a suit on, I’m telling you: Joe Manganiello NOT in a suit, sitting at a sewing machine? It’s good, folks. It’s real, real good.”( a plug for the movie “Magic Mike”) There’s Joe, in the photo below. What a cutie. So maybe I’ll be going to the movies soon.

July 17, 2012

Lunch time chat – who loves paper-piecing?

Hello everyone, I am here with just a quick, lunch-time chat to let you know that I have a new tutorial on my blog! If you love paper-piecing this small project might just be a thing to do while cooling down from summer heat: I call this one a Summer Song – hey I might even add a small appliqued bird in the center! :) Anyway, this wreath is made from 4 similar blocks, both paper-pieced. Instructions on what you need and how to make it are here, on my blog. What I like about this block is that it can be very versatile, used in borders, small projects, to make a larger block…This is the exact project I use when teaching paper-piecing to beginners and the joy on their faces when EACH block turns perfect, EVERY time is what thrills me every time! I hope to see some of […]

July 16, 2012

guy quilters

Hello everybody, Mary Ellen again. When you see a man in a quilt shop, do you assume he’s there to buy a gift for his wife? If you see a man hand stitching under a shade tree, what do you surmise about him? Do we take for granted that stitching/quilting is a female domain? What about those gorgeous stitched kites that were in our quilt show this spring–made by a male stitcher? Whenever you see or hear about a guy who quilts, do you have a little voice in your head whispering something about his manliness? Is there a divide between sewing projects that are manly and those that are for the rest of us quilters? I sure hope we are beyond those stereotypes. Here’s an interview with a dad who quilts who is making quite a name for himself in the world of modern quilters. And here’s a link […]

May 22, 2012

Missed Monday

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. Where did Monday go? Flew by with only laundry accomplished. Shouldn’t one get more done than that in a day? So what’s up with you? How does your garden grow? I’m into transplanting now, and taking the absolutely humungous Christmas cactus plants outdoors for the summer. I have one that came from a start my Nana gave me when I started my first apartment. It now is so large that I have to turn it on its side to get it through the door. That was in the fall when I brought it in for the winter. I’m going to take it outdoors today-if it has grown much over the winter, I’ll be in trouble. It weighs a ton-I know that from attempting to vacuum up the fallen blossoms behind the plant stand. I may have to call for reinforcements from next door to help […]

May 20, 2012

bloggers’ quilt festival

Hello all, Mary Ellen here. I love surfing the internet for quilt “stuff”. You can find everything you’re looking for and more. So many quilters are getting into blogging these days-like us. There are even online quilt shows to visit, where you can vote for viewers choice, favorite baby quilt, favorite… just like a “real” show.You can’t fondle the fabric or visit the vendors (but you can follow their links to the online shops!), or chat with the other quilters, but you can look at a quilt for as long as you want without feeling that you’re holding up the traffic and you can zoom in for a close look. Here’s a link to a bloggers’ quilt festival for you. Enjoy it at your leisure, maybe we can aspire to doing something like this in the future. And be sure to visit our guild site and look at the photos […]

May 18, 2012

Baptist Fans

Hello all, ME again. I’ve wanted to try quilting the Baptist fan motif on a quilt of mine. I love this stitch pattern. It’s so old-fashioned looking (that’s a good thing in my book). Originally it was hand quilted with no marking. Amish quilters would just swing the arc of their lower arm and trace a mark with the needle tip. Once they got that line of stitching established they would just echo it several times using the needle length as a guide for spacing the arcs. Sounds easy enough when stitching by hand. However I want to do this by machine. I did quilt this once with my walking foot. I would trace around a template for the first arc and then used my walking foot’s spacer bar “thingie” to evenly space the echoes. What a pain in the patootie that was! Lots of maneuvering of the quilt top […]

May 17, 2012

It was worth it

Hello all, Mary Ellen again. Finished up reading the most recent issue of Quilters Newsletter (J/J 2012) and was very interested in the article about Robyne Melia’s crazy quilt. The photos are amazing. Robyne started embroidering the blocks for the quilt in 1992. She used a grandmother’s fan for the borders and heavily hand stitched each one. She said she planned to try historic embroidery designs from a book by Dorothy Bond Crazy Quilt Stitches. Well, as she progressed the quilt plan grew. She added a cross stitched horse as the center. Then she thought more pictorial blocks would be nice. Maybe a new stitch to learn. It eventually finished at 75″ square. After finishing the quilt in 1996 she entered it into a quilt show. Although she had no intention of selling it, she was required to put a price on it. She wanted viewers to understand and appreciate […]