Presenting Cathedral Stars. Quilted, binded, and ALMOST labeled. It will be delivered next weekend to my Dad, who requested me to make a quilt for his VFW's (Veteran's of Foreign Wars) raffle at the end of the month. (Is it bad to want to win the raffle yourself?!?!?) *snicker*
The binding was sewn on last night and finished with hand-sewing this morning; the label will be added tomorrow once it's made. So, what better than to celebrate with a tiny giveaway?!?!! When cleaning up today, I came across a pile of extra 2" strips I used for the 4-patches. To be given away: 10 2" strips of jewel-toned fabric. Simple rules: leave me a comment on this post telling me what your favorite "sewing gadget" is. Drawing date: Sunday, January 11th, 9:00 PM (Central time zone; Chicago)
Here are all of the rulers I own; my favorite purple handled scissors, and my lovely yellow OLFA rotary cutter. Quilting now-a-days; it's a given that just about everyone uses a rotary cutter. My FAVORITE tool: THE EASY ANGLE RULER! Since Bonnie (quiltville.com) introduced it to me with Carolina Crossroads, I have used it for MANY of my quilts! It mades HST's SOOO easy! (hence the name, huh?)
Back to family now.......After putting the last quilting stitch in last night and trimming off the excess, I decided it was time to have some fun with Cassie. She has been begging and pleading since Wednesday to put together her "Build-a-Bear" puppy that she got from Julie.
She unpacked it all, and got everything ready; she cut her own string, measuring it out on the cutting mat; she sewed using a straight-stitch to piece the front/back together. The pattern was quite easy for her to follow since there were pre-"punched" holes along the edge for her to sew through. Do any of you remember those cardboard sewing "forms"?...they had holes along the edge and then you used colored (or plain) shoestrings to "sew" up/down through the holes....they usually were in the shapes of animals. Anyway, this reminded me of those.
Being a "sew-mom" (get it??? kinda like "soccer-mom"??? HA!) (okay, stupid, I know....)
Anyway....being a sew-mom, I reinforced the stitches by zipping it under the sewing machine before turning it right-side-out and stuffing it.
In the end, it turned about darn cute! She hasn't let it leave her side since we finished it! She even took it fishing with her today when she, Candace and DH went ice fishing.
Today, after finishing CS, I headed to the LQS to show it off to Deb, owner. I purchased many 1/4 yard cuts of the jewel fabrics, so I wanted her to see it finished. What a DREAM job---Working in a quilt shop! When I arrived, she was working on another store sampler to hang. The shop was quiet. We chatted, talked about Bonnie's site (I'm still trying to convince her to look at Quiltville.com----afterall, just LOOK at what can be accomplished...*pointing to the top pic!!!) :0)
Anyway, I was very good today and only walked away with 2 half-yard cuts of fabrics; both intended for DoubleDelight. HOWEVER, I am YET AGAIN deliberating on when / IF I'll be doing the mystery. (chuckle).
After leaving the Quiltshop, I had 100% intentions of getting home, and digging right in to DD! But, I first decided to tidy up a bit (hence, when I found the giveaway strips), and a little bit more tidying...then I figured I set the timer for 30 minutes of "scrap-busting" to tackle the piles of scraps on the floor (1st photo) and in the basket on the floor (2nd photo). Afterall, I DID set a New Years Resolution to "tidy" the sewing room. Well...30 minutes turned into 60...90...120...240...360!!!! YES! SIX HOURS of "tidying" and "scrap-busting!" Caitlyn was enjoying a couple of Barbie movies downstairs with me and the other two were fishing with DH, so.....! Yeah...*GASP*! I KNOW! And sadly-----I STILL have some more to go! The basket has been emptied and everything nicely ironed and folded amongst the stash. The fat-quarter bin has moved into its 2nd drawer! :0) And.......I CAN SEE THE FLOOR! Caitlyn even said..."Mom, why is it so clean in here?" *giggle!*
I don't know if I'll feel motivated to finish up the "tidying" tomorrow. No biggy, if not. BUT, I'm still thinking that rather than start the mystery (now), I want to cross off Oklahoma Backroads OR Scrappy Irish Chain off my WIP list.
OH! That just reminded me! I can write in my FIRST finish of 2009 (even though half of it was done in 2008.)
Okay---I suppose, time to pay some attention to DH (even though he's watching the FB game--it went to overtime!) Colts vs. Chargers: I'm not partial to either one more than the other.
40 comments:
*commenting to Sharon--sent via email*
Hi Amy,
I really liked you CS quilt! The guild I go to sell raffle tickets a $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. However, depending on how many tickets might be sold, perhaps they could be $2.00 each!
My favorite gadget is "nippers" that I use for cutting the threads off of my quilts, especially after quilting them!
Sharon Zeiner
szeiner@verizon.net
to = for
GOSH! it MUST be getting late!
I still love that quilt..WOW on giving it away. I hope you win it back and it earns a ton of money in the meantime. It really is spectacular!
Double WOW on the tidying and scrap organizing day you had. It will be so much easier to put that fabric into quilts now..I hope your hand doesn't hurt from patting yourself on the back (I would pat you if I were there!). As to my favorite gadget...I use that purple thang quite a bit to help with small pieces and really like it though I too like Bonnie's rulers...it takes me 10 minutes to re-remember how to cut with them every time I use them! I can't wait to hear what the raffle earns so do tell us if you can later on!
My favorite gadget is the Fons and Porter Klutz Glove. It makes it safe for me to use all of the other gadgets like rotary cutters and rulers withou cutting myself.
Lisa in Georgia
Amy,
Your quilt is Beautiful. I hope it raises alot of money with the raffle, I'm sure it will. It's very generous of you to donate this quilt and the scraps as a giveaway. I have plenty of favorite gadgets. It just depends what I'm working on. (Wicked Grin here) Love the Fasturn tools lately since I had to turn "miles" of tubing while working on my woven stars table runner. Easy Angle II on my sewing table for accurate, fast half squares; the little curved snip-it scissors for cutting chains off the sewing machine; my hera marker for straight line marking on any hand quilting that I'm planning to do; etc.....I really could go on. I do love quilting and my gadgets!
Jane
self-proclaimed title of "Princess of Quite Alot" besides "Queen of Whatever!"
Your quilt is beautiful! Lucky person who wins the raffle!
My favorite sewing tool depends on whether I am machine or hand sewing. It's either my sewing machine or my John James gold eye applique needles.
Corinne in CA
The finished quilt looks stunning, someone will be very luck to win it - I just hope they appreciate the time and effort that has gone into it. I'm impressed with the tidying up - and with your plans to finish a couple of quilts rather than start a new one. Don't put me in the draw, since I'm already in your PIF, but I'd like to join in on my favourite gadget. I think it has to be my computer - I've received so much advice, learnt so much about quilting, found loads of patterns and inspiration from it, and made so many new quilting friends. I might not have still been sewing if it wasn't for the computer.
Hi Amy
Really a fine quilt.I think many people runs for that. :o)
As for your question about favorite gadgets, I now use my Fons and Porter ruler 8x14 inch almost everytime I cut.
It has such a good size for most everything. I also have the EZ 4½" for triangles, but am just beginning to use it and sure I will be happy for that one too I guess.
all the best
Ingrid
Denmark
Hi Amy,
Your quilt is really lovely and your father must be thrilled to have arranged such a prize.
My favourite is my rotary cutter, the big scissors hardly get used anymore.
Hope you raise heaps with the raffle.
Good Morning! You quilt is stunning and you should have no trouble raising tons of money for it. Send me your snail mail address and I will buy some tickets for myself. :D
With all the Quiltvill Mysteries I have done, my favorite tool would be the EZ Angle ruler. It is a real time saver and I am all about saving time so I have more sewing time!
About the cost of raffle tickets - I had an experience several years ago that cured me of selling $1.00 raffle tickets. Now I would predetemine how much I wanted the quilt raffle to generate. For instance, if I wanted the donation to be $5,000 , I would only print 1000 tickets and sell them each for $5.00. That way you could advertise that the winner would be "One in a Thousand".
I "raffled" a quilt last year to raise money for Breast Cancer 3Day, in which I walked. It was a "Pinapple" quilt from Bonnie's website. I sold tickets for $5.00 each. I definately would not sell them for any less. Your quilt is beautiful and if you include a photo with a bundle of tickets for those that are selling, I bet you'll raise a lot. A little PR work can go a long way in fundraising too. Please post online how tickets can be purchased and I'll help them out!
Favorite gadget - computer! I've learned so much and there's so much accessible. Good luck!
My favorite tool is my stitch ripper, but only when I don't have to use it! LOL
Amazing work on the Cathedral Stars! I really like the way the swirls in the border echo the swirls int he middle. Very nice. I don't know how you can bear to give it away! Good job on all of the tidying up, that seems to be a common theme this time of year. Oh, I don't need to be in the giveaway, because I won the last one (snicker) but I have a Fiskars rotary cutter that I think is much better than the others I have tried. The blade pops out when you squeze the lever handle.
My favorite tool is my stiletto. I use it at the sewing machine, I use it when I am pressing, I use it all the time! I can pull the top block off a stack of blocks easily with my stiletto. I haven't been using it long, and now I don't know how I ever sewed without it. Your quilt is lovely. Whoever wins will get something wonderful. Debbie in WV (delitfull@aol.com)
Amy, Your Cathedral Stars Quilt is Simply Beautiful!! What a great quilt for the raffle because with such variety of colors it should appeal to everyone! And No, I know that if I made the quilt I would certainly want to win it back!!
My favorite tool is the Easy Square, Jr. I have had this in my home for quite awhile and only used it once until Bonnie's Mystery!! Now that I have good directions on how to use it, I will be using it alot more.
OH it is lovely!!! Congrats on the finish. My favorite gadget? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm well sewing gadget would be my seam ripper.... it helps me to remember to be as careful as possible and saves my sorry *** when I make a mistake. My favorite sewing room gadget is my radio/cd player/Ipod. Gotta have my tunes when I sew!!!
Hugs,
Nancy
I love your cathedral stars quilt. Wish you were closer so I could buy one. Send me an e-mail. I have an idea for a place to sell tickets.
As for a favorite gadget, It used to be the rotary cutter which got me back into quilting after 20 years. My new favorite is the adhesive lint roller with the offset handle like a paint roller. I keep it next to my hand quilting project so I can share the couch with my dog.
About the cost of the raffle tickets - you need to consider the audience. My DH is in a fraternal society that is all guys, and they are always selling raffle tickets to something. Guys don't think twice if the tickets are $1/each or 6 for $5 or if they are $2/each/3 for $5. They just plunk down a buck or two and put the tickets in their pocket. But if the tickets start getting more expensive than that, the wallet snaps shut. Now if the target audience is quilters, they will see all the work that went into the quilt and would be willing to pay $5 each, at least!
Anyway, my favorite gadget is not really a gadget. I use a slightly sharpened chop stick to help keep seams going the right way when I'm feeding them through the machine. It's also good for turning points on clothing, etc.
My guild usually sells tickets on a raffle quilt 3 for $5.00. They fly out of the books!!
I think the gadget I have grown to love is the lint roller, it sure does a great job cleaning up those threads. And my rotary cutters, I started quilting with pencils scissors and templates.
Amy,
Your quilt is beautiful!!! Jewel tones with black really pop, but I rarely use black because of all of my animals! Why does their hair gravitate to black? GRIN!
Your DD and her new bear are too cute! She did a great job!
As for my favorite quilt gadget...has to be the rotary cutter (I'm a fiskers girl myself). I cannot imagine using scissors to cut all the strips, squares, etc that we do. My carpal tunnel would prevent me from quilting.
Happy new year!
Sally in TX
A friend in my guild saw your cathedral stars and we just finished one as a top for a raffle next fall! If you want to see it go here:
http://www.nlcqg.org/qs_2009/index.html
How can anyone pick one favorite tool? My choice I think would be my Kai scissors. They are the BEST scissors I've ever had.
Amy your Cathedral Stars is vibrant! I love your border. I just finished making a Cathedral Stars quilt on Wednesday, but I took the easy way out and used a plain border. After seeing yours, I'm second guessing mine. LOL! I'd love to win your 2" strips, so please enter me in the giveaway. My favorite tool is my 6 1/2" EZ square. I make a lot of 6 inch blocks and love to square them up with the EZ square.
PS: I'm 60 years old and getting ready to run my first 5K in 20 years. I'm just getting back into a running regimen. Wish me luck!
I have to echo all the other comments about your quilt, Amy. It's stunning!
I don't know if you'd count it as a gadget, but one of my quilting "supplies" that I like the best is Do-Sew. Which was never intended for quilting at all. I use it as a foundation for piecing, and I also use it for applique -- both mock-hand applique by machine, and actual hand applique (on the rare occasion I do the hand stuff). Of course, I love my rotary cutter (also Fiskars!), my whole assortment of rulers and templates, my machine, my purple thang, and all the other tools we all use. Very hard to pick a favorite, so I tried to pick one I hadn't seen someone else already mention ;-)
Lydia (thepoch[at]aol[dot]com)
I think my favorite sewing "gadget" is my hobby, He voluntarily does all of the ripping for me if I make a mistake or change my mind about a layout. I sew, he rips.
Carline
Your quilt is so beautiful and such a worthy cause to donate to raffle.Our local guild sells tickets $1.00 each 6 for $5. People are much more likely to buy a ticket for $1 on an impulse than $5. Those impulse sales add up. Plus I used the tactic to sell a ticket to the "I'm not interested in quilts" customer. I would explain the value of the quilt and if they were still not interested I said if you win it I'll buy it from you for $200. They almost always bought a ticket!!
My favorite quilting gadget has to be the rotary cutter.If I had to depend on cutting every piece out with scissors I wouldn't be a quilter!
OMG, the quilt is beautiful! My favorite tool? Can I only pick one? My sewing machines, but also one that doesn't get mentioned too often is Elmers White School Glue - washes out, and since watching Sharon Schambers tutorial on bindings, I wouldn't be without it.
Again, wonderful job on the quilt! Dee - jessibir@hickorytech.net
Lovely quilt. I helped our 4-H club make a sampler quilt to raffle and our club decided to sell the tickets for $5 each. We sold over $1200 in less than 3 weeks.
My favorite "tool" is my automatic cutter on my Janome machine.
Amy,
Your Cathedral Star is AWESOME! I love it! I don't have a great suggestion on price for tickets. The $1 theories are all valid, but I really like the only $5, and only one thousand ticket theory also. I guess they will have to consider their audience. Don't enter me in your give a way, but I have to say that my favorite gadget is my Rowenta iron! I have never had such a wonderful iron and I love mine! (Well apparently not well enough to press DH's shirts)
hugs
tricia
I love my red, white, and blue Ginghar scissors. My husband spotted them in a LQS and insisted that I need them.
Your quilt is georgous!! I hope you win it back too! But whoever gets it will certainly cherish it! I don't have many gadgets as I'm just getting back into quilting after a long break, but I have to say I love my rotary cutter and mat. It makes things go so much faster than marking the fabric and cutting with scissors like I used to do (long ago). Thanks for having this giveaway! :0)
Your quilt turned out beautifully! Favorite tools? I like many and am always trying the latest marking too. Over the holidays I received a Bohin marking pencil and really love it.
Love reading about your girls on your blog.
my favourite quilting "tool" is template plastic
I do loads of hand piecing, and it'd great for cutting any shape at all, even one-patch designs
Your quilt is beautiful! Aren't we lucky to have Bonnie in our quilting lives?!?
As for tickets prices. I think you need to know where you are going to sell them. My guild sells tickets at a couple of area festival for 1/$1 or 6/$5 and they sell well. I don't think we'd have much luck selling them for $5 per ticket because there are other raffles going on that are $1 each.
I noticed that someone said that she sold tickets as a fundraiser for the Beast Cancer 3-Day. I have done that twice myself and I firmly believe that it is easier to ask a higher price because of the cause. People seem to be more willing to fork over $5 for that raffle, but not for the guild raffle. aybe it's because they know that I will be walking 60 miles in the heat of August and they feel sorry for me.
As for my favorite sewing gagdet; I would have to say that it is my rotary supplies. A close second is my steam generator iron. I have always enjoyed ironing and pressing! I know...I should seek therapy right away!!
Huh. I can't believe that you're not doing Bonnie's latest mystery. Have you SEEN the finished quilt? OhMyGoodness! (Okay, I haven't started it YET, either!)
My favorite gadget is my stick. I paid too #%$& much for it at a quilt shop when it's essentially a hardwood pencil with a really sharp tip on one end and a blunter-but-pointy tip on the other. I've since discovered cuticle sticks from the local beauty supply shop. Zillions of 'em for next-to-nothing.
The stick(s) help guide my fabric pieces so that I don't veer off at the end of the seam. They hold down bits of seam so that I don't burn my fingers with the iron. They poke out corners when I have to turn tubes or when I make bags. They pull the bobbin thread up when I begin my machine quilting and keep the top thread out of the way. They even help me get that pair of squares that got scooted just out of my reach over there on that messy cutting table - heaven forbid I actually get up out of my chair!
Sticks are COOL.
(Oh, and Julie sent me!)
Well I guess my favorite tool would have to be my rotary cutter, because I cannot imagine quilting without it!!
Well done on finishing the Cathedral Stars quilt. It is absolutely stunning.
My favorite gadget has to be my Janome Sewing Machine. It is an absolute work horse and is hard pressed at times to keep up with my sewing but at 13 years of age it's still going strong...vbg.
Beautiful Quilt I'm sure it will raise lots of money...
My favorite sewing gadget is the Purple thing I'm lost with out it expecially when sewing the little items like Dotee dolls and Doll quilts...
Your quilt is beautiful!!! I would love to win the giveaway. My birthday is the 12th and it would make a great birthday present and help build up my stash. Your quilts are so pretty.
Oh, gosh...your quilt is so beautiful! You do really nice work.
My most favorite gadget is the rotary cutter. Couldn't live without it. So much faster than scissors. Can't believe that we used to cut out fabric with scissors.
Amy
abf3615@aol.com
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