Daytime Stitchers

The Daytime Stitchers group met at the Herzfeld Memorial Library in Benton today. 

Shirley brought her "Old Saint Nick!" quilt that she had made using Karla Alexander's pattern (which is available here if you can't find it locally).  She shared some tips and tricks that she discovered while making her quilt.  It is a rag quilt using a clever placement of fabrics to achieve a cute pattern.

front of quilt

 

back of quilt

 

 
Following Shirley's presentation was show and tell.  Some brought things that they work on only at these gatherings.  A few brought completed quilts.  Several were working on handwork.   Below are pictures of some of the things that were brought. 

This is a close-up of Cathy's gypsy bag made from fat quarters.  You can go here to get the free instructions for making your own bag.  The pattern is by M'Liss Rae Hawley.  Cathy says you can carry aLOT of stuff in it!!

 

 

 Judy showed us some of the blocks she is making to use up her 30's prints.  She will be sharing her technique with us at the Daytime Stitchers group at a later date.  This is going to be a lovely quilt!

 

 

 Marge showed the baby quilt she is working on.  The quilting is done and she is applying the binding.  A tip she shared:  when you have machine stitched the binding to the back of the quilt and are ready to hand stitch it to the front, pin the binding down from the back side parallel with the seam.  That way, as you are hand sewing it down on the front side your thread won't catch in the pins.  By doing this you will also be able to see that your binding is the same width all the way around.  (Sorry, no pictures of that tip.  It might have made more sense that way.)

Okay, this is not a quilt or handwork.  It is a sanity saver---especially when you lose your electricity.  Several people attested to the fact that they would have gone nuts without this handy little gadget during the recent power outages.  (Edited to add:  This hangs around your neck to light your work.)You can buy these online at amazon.  Just enter a search on their website and you will get quite a few options.   I think these little wonders also come with a magnifier.

 

 

 JoAnn showed us the progress she is making on her quilt.  These are Civil War prints and the little 9-patches are 5 inches square.  She has made 90 of them and is now in the process of assembling the quilt.  She said there was a small mistake that required some un-sewing.  I think her good friend, Jean, got talked into that job! 

 

 Barbara joined us for the first time in ages and it was good to have her there.  She showed some little blocks that were pre-stamped with Hummel figures and she is stitching them in blue.

 

 Jean showed a small wall hanging she is working on from the book, Simple Graces by Kim Diehl.  Jean changed the outer border to include her favorite color--blue.  I love the cheery colors.

Pat is working on some blocks that are from a pattern called Friend-Sheep by Paula Stoddard.  These are hand appliqued wool on "wooly flannel" which has the "look of wool but is the weight of cotton."  Maywood Studio makes this product.  If you can't find it in your local quilt store, you might try "googling" it. 

 

That's not all there was for show and tell.  Unfortunately there is not a photo for every item because the battery died in my camera. (If you've read this blog before, I seem to have alot of issues with cameras!) Anyway, it's always fun to see what everyone is doing and we learn alot from each other. 

Until next time~~~Gwen