Ready for the Road..and a tip or 2

Here is a peek at one of the small Red & White quilts I'm making.
It's all marked out, sandwiched together and hooped up for our weekend getaway.
My methods for the creative process of Small quilt making are not for everyone but I thought I'd share a few little findings that work well for ME!

I know that many quilters like to use white/light chalk pencils to mark on red fabrics. However, I still prefer using a blue water soluable marking pen for drawing out my quilting designs. The color of the ink changes to black and I don't have to worry about erasing white chalk (which often leaves smudges elsewhere on my fabric)

Here is another tip for lending a vintage look and softer, subtle drape to small quilts: Instead of cotton batting, I will often use white or cream colored brush cotton/thin flannel fabric. I pre-wash the brushed cotton before using it as batting. This batting substitute works well in preventing quilt stiffness, especially if your quilt has a lot of small/intricate pieces.
As a final note - it quilts up lovely and I really enjoy how tidy my hand quilting stitches look.

I'll be sure share more of this little quilt in a future post.
Wishing everyone in Blogland a Happy Weekend!

every quilt tells a story...

Catching Up...

My oh my...the past few weeks have flewn right by!
Although I haven't posted - I've been very busy sewing.
Do you like these little Birdie Pin Cushions? My DIL and I made them for a pin cushion swap held at our local quilt club meeting.

We stuffed the little birds with crushed walnut shells for weight and to keep the pins sharp once inserted into them.


I've also spent time catching up on my blocks for the Civil War BOM.
Although I don't post pictures weekly, I do update my Civil War chart on my sidebar. I've been trying never to get more than 2 weeks behind on these.
(the key word here is TRYING...lol)

On a Nervous Note... I shipped my Doll Quilt Exchange package off to Heather in Canada a week ago.
There is a major Postal strike going on there :{
I haven't shared any pictures of the quilt I designed and made especially for her so that she can be surprised when her package arrives. So I shall continue to nervously wait until her little quilt has arrived safely to her doorstep.

In lieu of their postal strike I feel a bit guilty to say that I have received some WONDERFUL goodies in the mail the past couple of weeks. I'll be sure to share more about these in my next post.

every quilt tells a story...