Category: Quilts

Creating · Quilts

Binding, Finally

Elizabeth E.Leave a comment

I spent most of the day Thursday hitting the books, grading papers, logging in their grades online.  Friday, I taught, smelled a gas leak (called The Gas Company), taught, reported that our phone wasn’t working (again)(but now it is, no worries), came home, met the Gas Man (passed with flying colors-no leak), missed an appointment to see a friend, graded some more, wrote vocabulary lists, fixed dinner, ate, watched The Number One Ladies Detective Agency (two episodes) with my husband, crashed.  I also missed going to Quilt Night, a gathering of ladies that’s now going on about eight years.  I was just too tired.

I am ready for a break.

So, I cut strips of fabric–so good to feel them in my hands again, and got to binding those quilts I’d finished early in summer.  Hard to believe it’s taken me this long to get back to them.

The even-feed foot was on the machine, as this quilt came back from the quilter with mysterious gaps around the edges.  The quilt, overall, is quilted beautifully, but these gaps?  Turns out she didn’t want to go OVER the edge with her quilting, thinking she’d have to tie off every thread.  She’s always done traditional machine quilting and this new “modern” quilting–an overall simpler pattern–is new to her.  I do like my quilter because she’s willing to try something new, so I’ll just have to chat with her about heading to the edge and over.  So I quilted in the gaps (which is one reason why it sat for so long, unbound).

I machine sewed it all on, pinned the corners, and now it’s downstairs waiting for me to hand-stitch the back of the binding down while we watch more episodes of the Number One Ladies Detective Agency.  Can’t wait until tonight–bless Netflix.

More binding cut–but I ran out of the swirly greens, so had to use some other things.

This one’s going to go downstairs to the family room to join the other.

I also have some old movies that need watching.  So nice to rest my brain from school.  So nice to be touching the fabric again.  So nice to have a break to do some different kind of labor.

Happy Labor Day!

Creating · Quilts

Quilts with Attitude

Elizabeth E.Leave a comment

“Does Not Compute,” by Boo Davis

I was doing the mind-numbing thing of sitting at the computer, surfing along after another long week in the classroom.  I stumbled onto a slide show in the New York Times about Quilts with an Attitude.  It’s about Boo Davis, who has just put out a book (Dare to Be Square Quilting) about her quilts: part goth, part old-timey piecing.  As an old quilter, it’s fun when New Young Quilters come on the scene, although I must admit to some amusement when they “appear” to have discovered anew what I’ve been doing for years and years.  Like from when I was a New Young Quilter and discovering anew the art of patchwork and piecework.  Click *here* for the slide show, but here’s a notable quote:

Ms. Davis says she gets upset when she sees quilts and patchwork sold on the Web for “next to nothing….It’s an artistic labor of love that deserves respect.”

Ms. Davis says she gets upset when she sees quilts and patchwork sold on the Web for “next to nothing.” She believes that “It’s an artistic labor of love that deserves respect.”

Amen.

Quilt Shops · Quilts

Thimbles and Threads–Draper, Utah

Elizabeth E.1 Comment

One of the fun things about being a quilter is knowing that just about wherever you go, you can find a new quilt shop to explore.  Since this last trip to Utah was mainly about visiting family and friends, I didn’t think I’d get a chance to hit a quilt shop.  On our way to see my husband’s aunt and uncle, I checked my iPhone to see if there were any shops near their house.  I scored, when I was able to visit Thimbles and Threads in Draper, Utah.

It is in an old house, repurposed for the shop.  I left my husband in the car, promising to be quick.

They have a cute display on the front porch, including some bolts in this rocking chair.  Everything was on sale.  I grabbed a few and went in to have them cut.


Wow!  I was happily surprised by the variety and colorways of the fabrics they had in their shop.


I also loved a lot of their displays, and was intrigued to see a lot of “dot” fabrics.  I had started seeing them in Long Beach and had picked up a couple, but here, the theme really  continued.  Luckily, the shop also had lots of fat quarter already cut, so it was a quick grab and go.


The “Americana” color section of red, white and blues.

Dots!
I checked on my husband–he was taking a quick nap, so I figured I had a few more minutes.


Their displays really pulled me into their wall of fabrics–giving me lots of ideas as well.  I liked the display of kits, floral branches and patterns that were interspersed.  Someone really has a talent here.


The yellow and black (and orange!) section. Downstairs was their sale section, as well as a classroom.


What did I snag?  Some of Me and My Sister’s Birdie line as well as a few stripes and four prints from Jane Spolar’s Quilt Poetry collection.


And lots and lots of dots!

So, go visit them, next time you’re in Draper! It’s right near the new In and Out Burger, just off the 15 freeway.

Thimbles and Threads Quilts and Gifts
12215 South 900 East
Draper, UT 84020
801-576-0390
www.thimblesandthreads.com

But I won’t leave you there, without showing you a couple of ideas for quilts using circles and dots, from Material Obsession’s quilt shop in Australia:


and


and