Saturday Quilty Tip # 1

Many of you probably know this, however, if not, here goes:  When you are making oodles of nine-patches to set in a quilt top, press the inner seams toward the center of the block, whether dark fabric or not, like so:

See how two seams of the blue are toward the sides and two are now toward the center? That way when you sew them together you can rotate one block so that the seams will always nestle together.  If the seams were all facing outward (as in the first block in the photo below) you won't be able to get them to nestle together to get perfect corners.

Do you have a tip to share?

 

 

Favorite Things Friday 8/5/11

One of my favorite things to do is go to a quilt show!  Not every quilt show - wouldn't have time to quilt then, LOL - but when a big one comes around locally, I'm there.

Last saturday, I went with my mother to see the Summer International Quilt Festival in Long Beach.  For us out west, this is the next best thing to going to Houston, cuz it's the Houston show on wheels!  It's not as big, the quilts aren't juried, but oh there are a lot of them!  And of course, vendors.  I was good - all I bought was thread and two stencils.  However there was a lot of fabulous fabric there - someday!

So to share, I thought I'd upload the eye candy I photographed that day on this favorite thing friday.  These are just a few of them.  You'll get an idea of what I like by what I picked to photograph from the hundreds they had.

Oh and there was a fabulous, fabulous Baltimore Quilt Exhibit - but it said no photography so I wasn't able to share those with you.  But they are indelibly printed in my brain.

If you're ever close to one - they have one in the spring and summer and fall - do try to go - you won't regret it.  PS:  this is where I saw the great O Canada exhibit  that I posted about earlier.  ENJOY!

IQFLB

Appliqué Thursday - 8/4/11

Hello!  It's another Applique Thursday - a place and time to share our applique efforts and urge us on to do some or complete a project.  Don't you just love the look a little bit of applique gives a pieced top?  I do and hope you do also.  And today I have a photo of my coverlet to show you.  This was my ufo, but now it is my WIP as I want to get it moving along.  I finished the bottom row and put centers on the top row's flowers.

What is a coverlet?  It is a two piece cover unlike a quilt which has three.  We have many a night when it's too hot to have any thing more than a sheet for a cover, hence I am making a coverlet for our bed.  I may have it done before our warm season is over.  What you see so far is the center of it.  I'm sorta doing my own round robin -hehe.  I have two sides done with appliqué.  I want to emphasize the rectangle shape somewhat, and looking at it now, I'm wondering if I should just leave this as is to continue that emphasis.  What do you think?  Should I do the other two sides or just quilt  a vine with flowers in thread and go on to the next row?  I'd really like to know what you think.

And I'd love to see your applique.  Please consider linking so we can all see your "A" work.