What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

  July is here....and we are all so hot!  Our common remark is, you can wear the air here.  At least the sun is shining.  Right?
 


    Little by little I worked on the batik project.  One or two rows joined every few days and finally it is a top.  Now I see a few spots I should have moved.  Isn't that the way it goes?  But for now it is what it is.  It is just intended for a sofa throw.  I need to order some backing fabric and then it can get quilted.

 








   In between the joining the ...

Back in the 90s, I was one of those Craft Mall Vendors.  I also did a lot of craft shows.  I made a lot of wreaths, fabric dolls, fabric bunnies, painted wood items, birdhouses, etc.  I guess I have always been a crafty one.  I remember Nurse Daughter coming home from school one day and finding a bag of my supplies on the kitchen table.  She was upset that I was using eucalyptus.  It would seem that my crafting career was starving the koalas in Australia to death.  Whenever I smell eucalyptus now, I remember her devotion to their habitat ...

I couldn't help myself.  I went through my old e-mails from fabric sales reps until I found the video on how batiks are made.  I'm literally on my 6th batik quilt in a row, so there must be some interest in them.  :)

I've been longarming a lot of batik quilts lately.  I love the variation in the colors and the whole process of making them.  One day I will find the link for you to watch them being made.  It is fascinating!

This quilt is called Arrows.  It looks to be a good way to use up a lot of leftover scraps and could be a real stashbuster.

If you are one of the thousands of quilters giving time and fabric to make lifesaving masks, thank you. For me, making masks is not only a good deed, but a powerful way to reduce anxiety in a tragic  time. 

At this point, we all need something to look forward to, and fear not, quilting friends, we’ve got you covered! Our new BOM combines vivid batiks, themes of seasonal change, hope and renewal, and fun techniques you’ll love to recreate, all in TRIP AROUND THE SUN.

“This year, 2020, has been especially challenging and will not likely be a Trip Around the Sun we will forget. Remember to count your blessings. There is so much beauty within each season. Let go of fear and worry and hold tight to what is good and beautiful,” says Lisa Norton of ...

A free printable PDF version of this tutorial is available from Dropbox, HERE. (Version 2a, 5/1/20). If you can't download it email me at cathy.perlmutter@gmail.com, and I will send it to you. 

If you want to make a snug, well fitting, fast mask, consider this one. Like a quilt, it's all rectangles and squares - no pattern to trace. It's built a lot like a quilt, with three layers (but none are batting), and (two modified) bindings on the sides.

My first tutorial for this mask went on my blog in early March ...

Passover is April 8. With the world in the throes of the COVID epidemic, public health authorities and rabbis agree that people should stay home, and connect with farflung loved ones at the seder via Zoom, Skype, or whatever. 

I don't have any matzoh in my house yet - but of course, I always have plenty of matzoh fabric. So this morning, I broke away from making (somewhat) normal masks for friends and family; and I made these, just to make myself laugh.  First....

(I buy matzoh fabric here.)

The next mask covers two plagues: Frogs and hail. 

I'm taking a short pause from my playing to make Easter supper (it's in the oven) and write a post on my many ongoing projects. There's lots to show, so here it is!

Community Stitch Challenge Redo 

Stitched piece for Cas Holmes stitching challenge

It would seem that the Project Quilting is not quite over. It's been extended to Project Quilting Quarantine (PQQ) 2020! Same fun stuff but with no sponsors and prizes, so that means that it's a little more flexible (good thing because my project is not quite finished!)

A BIG Mandala to help heal the world

A Mandala is the Sanskrit word for "circle". It can be a very sacred if created by monks, but it can also be a wonderful creation to focus meditation. You may have seen them in colouring books for helping to reduce stress.

I ...

Part 5, the finale.

Part 4 - Quilting

I've made a start on a few projects this week, including a purple batik jellyroll quilt. Last year I bought some batik jelly rolls when they were half price.      I hadn't sewn batik or used jelly rolls before so I started with a simple pattern I saw on You Tube. Five strips are sewn together and then cut into squares. Then take two squares with stripes in opposite directions and sew right