Dear Quilting Friends,
The “dog days” of summer have arrived, just
in time for August vacations! If you are reading this on or before
August 11, I am soaking up the sun or cooling off in the lake at
our family cottage in northern Michigan. Jim’s mom, brothers,
sister and all their families spend one week at the lake together
each summer and we always have a fantastic time. I hope you are
also able to get away for a great vacation sometime this summer!
Glora Belle, Nancy and I visited with many of
you at our vendor’s booth at the Kaleidoscope show in Sylvania -
thanks for stopping by to say hello! We enjoyed being there and
since this was our second time to have a booth at Kaleidoscope, we
were much more relaxed in our planning - experience really does
make everything easier.
We
are currently planning our classes for the months of November –
January. We will be offering many of the classes
that have been requested through our Create-A-Class program, so
watch the mail for your brochure this fall. In the meantime, space
is still available in all of our September and October classes.
Why not try Magic Stack and Whack, Oak Alley Quilt, It’s
a Wrap, the Sunny Outlook Valance or a Fan Sweatshirt
Jacket? Or, brush up on your quilt finishing skills with
Glora Belle’s Beautiful Borders and Bindings class
or my Perfecting That Stitch hand quilting class? Register
soon, fall is a great time to begin a project or learn a new
skill!
Fabric
I’ll just highlight a few of the new fabrics
that have arrived this month. Of course, pictures never do justice
to these beauties, but maybe I can tempt you to come into the shop
to see the real thing!
Cho-Cho no Sanpomichi (Cho-Cho is
Japanese for butterfly) by Kumiko Sudo for In the Beginning
Fabrics are shown in the featured free quilt pattern. The
large-scale print is perfect for creating kaleidoscope effects in
the blocks, which are set off beautifully by the contrasting
smaller prints. The red square overlay outer border fabric is
stunning and reason enough to make this wonderful quilt!
Another gorgeous, classic fabric is the
Magnolia group from Blank textiles. Seen in the free quilt
pattern below, you can almost smell the magnolias, they are so
life-like! Coordinates include leafy patterns, a black and white
strip, red berries print and more. Create your favorite quilt
pattern with an elegant southern magnolia theme.
I’ll bet all of us have either owned or have
sewn sock monkeys sometime in our lives. Just for fun, Moda has
come out with sock monkey fabric called Monkey N Round. With its banana yellow background these sock monkeys are either
jumping on their pogo sticks or just waiting to be hugged. The
playful dot brings out all the colors in the other pieces for a
perfectly coordinated look.
A bit unusual for our quilt shop are the
Marbelous Cotton Jacquards from Robert Kaufman. Their soft
sheen and subtle pattern is perfect for adding an elegant touch to
quilts and clothing. I’d love to have a shirt or jacket from
every color! We currently have the six colors below in stock. If
these are a hit, we’ll be glad to order more!
Books
Add instant “wow” to any contemporary décor
with modern twists on the simple-to-stitch quilts in Julie Popa’s
book, Young at Heart Quilts. Bright, bold colors make
these projects a perfect match for today’s new quilters. All
fifteen quilts are simple enough for confident beginners, some
combine simple patchwork with easy appliqué and include creative
tips for changing the style of any design by varying fabric
choices.
Are you looking for a way to produce quality
quilt tops with speed and accuracy? The revised new addition of
Advancing On II by Jodi Barrows is a must have book for the
Square in a Square system since this book becomes the
main core
workbook for the technique. Whether you are new to the SnS system
or an accomplished pro, you will enjoy the ease with amazement. Also available at Threads of Tradition is the Square in Square
Technique Ruler that is needed to make any of the patterns in
the book. With this technique, you will never cut or sew another
triangle again!
Life
can be messy, but you don’t have to live with it if you use
Stain Rescue! The A-Z Guide to Removing Smudges, Spots and Other
Spills from the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. Let the
pros from Good Housekeeping show you how to remove more than 80
tough stains from fabrics, upholstery and carpeting in this A-Z
guide. You’ll also find tips for identifying those vexing mystery
stains - and how to banish them from your life forever!
Patterns
The latest trend is sewing quilts from either
“jelly rolls” (2 ½” precut strips) or charm squares (packets of 5”
squares) or from a combination of these two. We have many strip
quilt patterns in both books and individual patterns and have
begun to carry a few patterns for charm squares as well. One of
my favorites is Little Charmers II , which has patterns for three
runners designed for 5” charm squares. This fall we will be
carrying some charm square packets from Moda but of course, you
can also cut your own charm squares from your scrap fabric to
create runners for every season and for gift giving. Christmas is
coming soon, now is the time to start those handmade gifts!
Another gift idea or just a fun accessory is
the TGIF Belt. Make it on the weekend…wear it on the same
weekend! This contemporary, casual, classic belt is sewn from
your favorite fabrics and heavy interfacing. The pattern includes
instructions for foundation pieced, whole cloth, appliquéd and
embellished belts, watchbands, purse handles and pet collars; in
other words, something for everyone on your list and to coordinate
with every outfit!
Tip of the Month...
Sewing Half Square Triangles
A half square triangle unit is a square of
any size that consists of two equal size triangles. Traditionally,
two triangles were cut to the correct size and then sewn together
along the bias edge. Aligning the triangles perfectly and sewing
the bias edges together without stretching or distorting them can
be a bit tricky;
after pressing, these units sometimes
need to be trimmed to be perfectly accurate.
Quilters, being the clever people that we
are, designed convenient products for easier, accurate piecing of
this commonly used unit. Both Triangle Paper by SPPS/Quiltime
and Thangles by Mary Hayes save time and improve accuracy
when sewing half square triangle units. I highly recommend both
of these products and we use both when we are sewing at Threads of
Tradition and at home. Below, I have listed their common
attributes as well as what I like best about each of these
products. Depending on the project I am sewing, I select the
product that best fits my needs at the moment.
Both Triangle Paper and Thangles:
- Are sewn by placing the desired two
fabrics right sides together and with the paper pinned on top.
- Have printed lines to follow for sewing
and cutting.
- Are sewn before the square is cut to exact
size.
- Keep the fabric from stretching and the
stitching flat.
- After sewing and cutting, if you fold the
paper on the stitching line, it pulls away easily
- Save time.
I use Thangles when:
-
I have a long, narrow piece of fabric to
work with since Thangles only require strips of fabric ½” wider
than the finished size of the square.
- I’m making a “scrappy” quilt top, a small
project or only want a limited number of identical half square
triangles.
- I want to cut squares or rectangles from
the same strip of fabric
- I need an unusual size square - Thangles
come in more sizes than Triangle Paper.
- I want to save trimming time since there
is only one dog-ear to cut off each square.
I
use Triangle Paper when:
- I’m working with bigger chunks of fabric
like fat quarters.
- I need large quantities of identical half
square triangles. One sheet can yield up to 70 units depending
on the unit size.
- I just want to try the technique without
spending much. Triangle paper can be purchased by the single
sheet ($0.50) or in a variety pack while Thangles must be
purchased as an entire package of one size and costs $5.00 per
pack.
Of course, these are entirely my own
opinions and you may have a strong preference for one or the other
of these products. But either way, it sure beats cutting and
sewing half square triangle units in the traditional method!
When you visit the Fulton County Fair on
Wednesday, September 5, be sure to look for our quilters in the
log cabin. In honor of the 150th year of the Fulton
County Fair we will be providing a quilting demonstration from
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Stop in to see the quilt they will be
stitching - except for the borders, it is composed entirely of half
square triangles!
Can You
Help?
The other day Jo Ellen Morris from Delta
stopped in the shop to ask for help with a charitable project
called Quilts of Valor. I promised her I would help to get
the word out to all our quilting friends. The goal is to
make quilts for over 55,000 injured soldiers. Quilts of Valor is
a non-profit organization and volunteers make all of the quilts. If you don’t sew but would still like to help, you can donate
material, batting, thread or a gift card so that the materials can
be purchased. Money is also needed so the quilts can be shipped
for finishing to volunteers who have long arm quilting machines
and then shipped directly to the soldiers. So get your friends
together and sew to show our soldiers that they are in our
thoughts and prayers and that their hard work and sacrifices are
not forgotten. For more information go to
www.quiltsforsoldiers.com.. If you would like to donate
locally please send your donations to Ohio Quilts of Valor, PO Box
34, Delta OH 43515.
Dates to mark on your calendar
October 13, 9:00 AM - Saturday Sampler
Reunion - all are welcome!
October 19 - 20 - Threads of Tradition Quilting
Retreat at Heritage Inn
January 12, 2008 - New Saturday Sampler 12
month series begins. Two identical sessions at 8:00 and 9:00 AM.
Hopefully this Current Threads has inspired
visions of your next quilt(s) to dance in your head and made your
fingers itch to get started. Remember also, all the
opportunities to learn and become more involved in the quilting
world around you. That’s the real beauty of this quilting
passion - there is always something new to learn and the challenge
and satisfaction of quilting never ends!
Keep on quilting!
Linda
Threads of Tradition @ Sauder Village
22611 State Route 2, Archbold, Ohio 43502
800.590.9755 or 419.446.2541 ext. 3011
www.saudervillage.org
send email inquiries to:
lrufenacht@saudervillage.org
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