Table Napkin Obsession

Whew, the holidays are finally over. I don't know about you but I am finally catching my breath and getting back to things I love - namely my sewing and quilting projects!

As my friends will tell you, I'm a little obsessed these days with making cloth table napkins. How fun!! A cloth table napkin is a treat for an everyday evening dinner. Cloth table napkins can easily be made from squares of fabric. An 18 or 20 inch square makes a perfect sized napkin. There are a number of nice tutorials on the internet about easy ways to make mitered or square corner napkins. A little hem around the sides and you are done.

The ladies got in some wonderful rolls of soft toweling at the shop. I cut the toweling in squares, hemmed two sides (the toweling comes already hemmed on two sides) and presto - new table napkins!

Of course, I did not get to my holiday napkins in time for this year's family dinner but I am ready for the next one! Now if I will just be able to remember where I put them :)
Happy stitching,
Marilyn

Needle Snobbery Part 2

Hi everyone,

I was cleaning house today (not my favorite thing to do). To make my duties seem lighter, I began to think of my favorite things to do. Sitting on a beach is high on my list - but alas, no beaches in Kansas - at least not any that have warm salt water.
However, sewing is one of my favorite things to do and I don't have to go anywhere to do it. I just have to hurry up and finish the housework.

One of my favorite forms of sewing is embroidery - and one of my favorite forms of embroidery is twilling.  I cannot resist the neat little rows of beautiful knots. It is a very special look.
Of course, you need the perfect needle to do some twilling!  Today, we will learn about chenille needles.

Chenille needles are are a large eye needle similar to tapestry needles or a cross stitch needles in length and diameter. However, chenille needles have a sharp point and not a round or blunt point (retrieved from: www.jjneedles.com). This makes a big difference if you poke your finger as these are big needles! Chenille needles are commonly used for crewel embroidery, ribbon embroidery, and of course, twilling.

The sizes range from 18-24. Remember our lesson from last week?  The higher the number (size), the shorter and thinner the  needle will be. In this example, a size 18 chenille needle will be the larger needle, and a size 24 chenille needle will be the smaller version.

For twilling, a size 22 or 24 chenille needle is most commonly used. The size can be a bit of a personal preference depending on your project and the size you would like the knots. In the photo example, I used a size 24 chenille needle because the design was smaller and more detailed.  I also use size 24 chenille needles because they are my favorites! I am pretty picky about my needles.

All this leads me back to the housework. A clean house deserves a reward! I think I will sit down and enjoy some twilling.Who needs dinner anyway?

Talk to you soon,
Marilyn

Needle Snobbery

Hi everyone,
I hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall weather! The last few days have been spectacular. Even more spectacular than the weather are the wins my favorite baseball team manages to post. What is the best way to deal with the anxiety of your favorite team not scoring until the 7th inning? Why, it is having some handwork to keep your hands busy! Also, it keeps me from looking at the television during the stressful parts.

I am enjoying one of our great Block of the Month programs called Stonefield's. I wish I could say I had this many done, but alas - the credit for these beauties goes to our BOM leader, Christina. I have learned much about English paper piecing and other hand piecing techniques as we go along.
And what do we all need whether we are hand sewing, hand piecing, English paper piecing, or doing applique?  We need the perfect needle! My friends all tease me about my love for needles. I have come to be known as the "Needle Snob" around the shop. I find that the right needle gives me just the look I want when I am doing handwork. Over the next few weeks, I will post some information about different types of hand sewing needles and how they are used.

Today, I will start with the basic three: sharps, milliner/straw, and betweens. 
Hand sewing needles come in a variety of types and sizes. As the size of the needle goes up (the higher the number), the length and thickness of the needle decreases. So a needle labeled as "size 1" is longer and thicker than a needle labeled "size 8".

How do you choose needles for your project? 

As a rule of thumb, the finer your fabric, the finer the needle you should use. The needles should pass through the fabric without making a larger hole than is needed for the thread to pull through.

Sharps are great for many hand sewing projects. They are my favorite for hand sewing bindings to the quilt. Sharps have a medium length and a round eye that works with most fabrics. They are sturdy and versatile.

Milliners (or straw needles) are longer than sharps and have round eyes. These needles are commonly used for millinery work (hat making) but work well for basting and applique due to their longer lengths. Milliners are more flexible than sharps. 

Betweens are short, skinny, stout needles that are used for fine, short stitches. They are most           often used for hand quilting. 

Retrieved 10.18.15 from: www.sewingschool.org

Stay tuned for more needle snobbery next week!

Octoberfest and a Bus Trip

(Photo courtesy of Bill DeArmond)

What a festive air in Eudora yesterday! We enjoyed working and laughing together, the sights and smells of Octoberfest on Main Street, and our many visitors from the fall bus trip. We even had a visitor from as far away as California!

However, our most special visitor arrived in an original 1960 Corvette and spent quite some time in front of the shop. We had a hard time getting him interested in a quilt project, but he finally did agree to some photos.  Christina, Kaye, Mindy and I could not resist - who could turn down a picture with Elvis?

And before I forget, check your calendars ahead for a special class opportunity! Karen Styles will be visiting Quilting Bits and Pieces October 19 and 20. Classes will be listed on the website and a sit and sew is planned Monday evening on the 19th. More details are available at the shop!

Hope to see you soon,
Marilyn

Time to reflect

It's such a busy world out there, isn't it? I was fortunate to have a few days off last week and enjoyed a beautiful lake surrounded by flowers and trees just beginning to show signs of their fall colors.
While I enjoyed the outdoors, I also took my sewing basket. Handwork is  an important way I spend time in reflection.

One of my very favorite things to do when I need time to think and plan is to crochet! My fingers know what to do and my mind can be free to wander. My favorite crochet project is hemstitching baby blankets, burp cloths and bibs. Hemstitching is an old technique where a special machine is used to punch holes at certain intervals at the edges of a piece and then overlock the edges for a finish to prevent raveling. Crochet edgings are then added for some bling.
Remember the old style pillow cases and table cloths with crochet edges? That is hemstitching!  Here is an example of a pre-prepared baby blanket and bib from Ammee and Co. that are hemstitched with crochet cotton. So fun to do. There are great crochet tutorials on YouTube and we also have examples at the shop. Now, you can even hemstitch with a regular sewing machine. There are large needles available specifically for punching the holes and the overlock is done with a combo zig-zag/overlock stitch. I haven't tried it yet, but it's on my sewing "bucket list".

Hope to see you soon,
Marilyn

Show & Tell plus Visitors!

What a beautiful Saturday to be out and about!
Speaking of beautiful - we got to start our day off with a great show and tell project. This is Kendee (and her granddaughter) with with her "tree quilt". This quilt was inspired by Kendee's son and daughter-in-law to honor their wedding anniversary.  The quilt represents initials carved in a tree trunk as a symbol of enduring love. The red heart is embroidered with the couple's initials and wedding date and the quilting was done to resemble the patterns seen on a living tree. A simple and very creative idea. Don't tell - the lucky couple will be receiving this as a Christmas gift.
Great job, Kendee - thanks for sharing this with us.


Next, we had some visitors. It's fun to find out where our visitors come from - sometimes other states and interesting places. We had a nice visit with sisters Carol (on the left) and Judy (on the right). Judy hails from Colorado and Carol from Wellsville!  Our Cottage Rose quilt makes a great backdrop for a photo!


We were especially pleased to see Dennis and Kathy stop by today. They were participating in the MS 150 which is an annual bike event covering 150 miles!! The MS 150 raises money for research to help those affected by multiple sclerosis - a great cause.  Dennis even got a few
more miles in while Kathy did a little shopping. That is teamwork!

And, we did not forget about our chores! Peggy and I kept busy getting those fat quarter shelves refilled. Each folded fat quarter has a place - we got all the way around from the purples to the greens.  How do you like our shop selfie?
I think we are ready now for some more visitors!


Have a great weekend, and we hope to see you soon -
Marilyn

(All photos with permission)

Hi everyone,
I'm Marilyn Parker- one of the Quilt Shop Gals! Mostly, I work at Quilting Bits and Pieces on Saturdays. I say "work" because although we have a lot to do, it is some of the most fun work I could imagine. I love to see all the new fabrics, show and tell items, discuss new projects and meet friends and customers. The ladies have given me an opportunity to try my hand at blogging so I hope to become a regular contributor for all things going on around the shop. I would like to feature some of our new items and projects, guest speakers, classes, tips for sewing, and more. I would love to post pictures (with permission) of show and tell items, so please let our employees know when you have a project to share.

A little bit about me:  I was taught to sew and crochet by my talented grandmothers. My first sewing lessons involved garments. I made all my own clothes from junior high through high school. My maternal grandmother also quilted and I was always curious about it. When I was expecting my 3rd child, I asked her to teach me. I ordered a baby blanket kit from one of the magazines and got it together. Grandmother got the big frame out and put in the quilt. She showed me how to do the hand quilting. She watched me take about 10 stitches (I'm not exaggerating!) and said something like, "Oh, you better let me take care of that". Next thing I knew, she presented me with the finished baby quilt! I just figured I was't cut out for quilting. Fortunately, I still wanted to learn, so much later enrolled in a basic quilt making class and the rest is history.

I love the fall - it's a perfect time to take stock and plan my winter projects. Did you know September is National Sewing Month? Check out the National Sewing Month website for some interesting links, newsletters, and information. This month, I found some great tutorials to make mitered corner table napkins. So easy! It's a great way to use up fat quarter packs and potentially a great gift item for the upcoming holidays.
I started with a baker's dozen from a fat quarter pack. I'm excited to use them for an every day treat!

Happy Sewing!

Marilyn

Shibori Workshop

Have you noticed the upcoming workshop titled "The Mysteries of Shibori" on our class schedule?  Perhaps you are wondering what it is and why we are so excited about it.  We have invited Cindy Lohbeck from Hands on Hand Dyeing to tell you a bit about this technique and give you a bit of information about what we will be doing and what some shibori panels can look like when they are finished:

When I was recently asked to teach a class on Shibori fabric dyeing, my mind and my dye studio went in to high gear. While I have done fabric dyeing and various types of Shibori for over 30 years this request triggered a focused study that kept me fascinated with the possibilities of this workshop.

 

With the Indigo Dye & Shibori craze sweeping the design world, it was a good kick-start for a long overdue addition to my line of fabric dyeing classes.

 

But where would I start? Shibori is a very broad, "umbrella" term for a vast array of techniques. How would I ever narrow down to a workshop what I had spent years exploring? With its roots in Japan, India and Africa, Shibori can easily become a long-term creative exploration. Each culture puts their own "twist" on it (pun intended!) and consequently, the variety of Shibori methods are endless.  While some of these techniques are deceivingly easy, many are laborious and time consuming. I know that with the addition of a few modern tools and innovative, time saving techniques, Shibori can be much more accessible for today's fiber artists

 

 

Technically, it is taking a 2 dimensional piece of fabric, and manipulating it into a 3 dimensional fabric "sculpture" by using a variety of tools, folds, stitches and tucks. These tools, folds, stitches and tucks create "resists", or areas where dye cannot penetrate. The resulting patterning possibilities are limitless! I quickly dusted off my bucket of Shibori tools - things you would hardly associate with fabric dyeing, including various sizes of marbles, and rubber bands, plumbing pipes, plastic template shapes, a variety of clamps, and a wide range of thread, string and sinew. Many of these tools had been put aside for several years while in pursuit of other creative endeavors, but I could feel the creative juices flowing. I spent the next 3 months working up samples of each Shibori method I wanted to include in the workshop, feverishly stitching and binding, folding, clamping, twisting and wrapping. The samples that came about were fun and inspiring, and spurred me on to dye some drapery panels for my own home.

 

As I explored the various techniques, and considered the best classroom experience, it became clear that even if I narrowed it down to 7 or 8 styles, it would still need to be a 2 day experience. The idea of giving a classroom of student the identical tools, fabric, and fabric manipulation techniques and ample time for fabric prep on the first day. Day two would begin by introducing several different dye possibilities for each folding method. This would allow every student to put their own twist on each technique, whether they chose traditional Indigo, or a multitude of colors. The diversity of the fabrics that would "unfold" is intriguing to dream about.  One of my favorite examples is this Ne-Maki style Shibori, otherwise known as ring bound Shibori, is traditionally created by binding beads or other small spherical objects with thread. In the example pictured below, I bound the fat quarter very densely with irregular marbles and very small rubber bands. Even though the fat quarter was reduced to the size of my fist, this is a fairly fast technique,  and the results are amazing. (While I love playing in buckets of every color imaginable, I chose to do all of my sampling in traditional Indigo. By keeping it simple, each participant can visualize her own approach to the project.)

 

 

As my workshop took shape, and I narrowed the number of styles of Shibori down to a class that gives each participant a diverse and complete experience, I explored techniques known as Itajime, Kumo, Ne-Maki, Karamatsu, Suji, Nui, and several variations of Arashi Shibori. Somewhere along the way, I developed my favorites, and know which styles of Shibori piqued my creative passions. I will definitely continue my personal experimentation in these styles, beyond the scope of the classroom environment, and am grateful the workshop has re-ignited my passion for Shibori. I am excited about the fabrics I envision in my minds eye, and how I will execute them with the tools and techniques I have acquired. Most of all, I can't wait to pass the fun on! I know that at least one person in every workshop will catch the Shibori fever and continue to stitch and bind, fold, clamp, twisting and wrap their way into some beautiful and unique Shibori fabrics.

 

Ready to sign up?  You can click on the classes tab of our website -- www.eudoraquiltshop.com  for all the details.  Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

Going Crazy - with crazy quilt stitches!

June 21, 2013

 

As if life isn’t crazy enough, Kaye and I have gotten hooked playing with crazy quilt stitches and blocks.  Since we love twilling, we decided to start adding other stitches to our twilling projects which then led to playing with all kinds of crazy quilt stitches, which in turn, led to experimenting with silk ribbon embroidery and beads.  

 

 

Oh, the beads! The crazy quilt blocks I have been working on are made with brighter, more modern looking fabric which lends itself perfectly to BLING!  I started out with just a few beads, but then I had to keep adding more and more and more. 

 

 

Kaye is using more vintage style fabric and silk ribbon embroidery looks great on it.  She has been using several different widths and types.  She has used some hand dyed which is beautiful.  The quilt shop has also started to carry a larger variety of silk ribbons and beads - and books related to crazy quilting. 

Getting started on a crazy quilt block is very simple.  We have been foundation piecing our basic block using Carol Daok’s paper piecing paper.  Patterns for the blocks are available in many books and EQ computer software.  I’m sure you can also google it and come up with some patterns OR simply take a ruler and drawn lines through a square at different angles and you have now made your own pattern. 

Then pick a variety of fabrics using many different types of fabrics (cotton, velveteen, wovens, silk …) and piece your block.   After removing the paper from the back of the block, we then iron on a fusible stabilizer to the back or if you foundation piece with the pattern drawn on fabric, you won’t need to do this as the foundation will act as a stabilizer. 

Now the real fun begins.  We look through all kinds of crazy stitch books and pictures of crazy quilts to look for ideas for what we want to accomplish.   We usually start by decorating the seams in the block and then fill in the open areas with a variety of stitches and embellishments.  It is much easier to do all the stitching first, then add the embellishments.  If the buttons, beads, or silk ribbon are added as you go, your thread will catch on EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM as you try to complete other stitches on the block.  So, we suggest you plan out what you want to do, but wait until the stitching is complete before adding the embellishments. 

If you are in Eudora area, you are welcome to come by Quilting Bits & Pieces and take a look at the blocks we have completed.  We also have a Crazy Quilt Club that meets once a month.  The charge is only $5.00 and you have the option of purchasing a kit for $10.00

I hope you get as excited about this as I am.  And PLEASE bring in any completed (or partially completed) blocks.  We love show and tell. 

Christina

(the proud grandma of Will, Olivia, Luke, Brady, and new twins: Lincoln and Audrey pictured here)

 

 

Amy's Memories



714 Main Street, Nov 1997

Amy's memories of opening Quilting Bits & Pieces–

Dave the UPS man

The best memory I have of opening a quilt store was that every night after I came home from work and after supper, Christy and I would head down to quilt store.  There we would open the boxes that Dave the UPS man had brought that day.   Those were the days when we hand wrote an inventory number and price on top of the bolts which would fade off.  That was before we got fancy and got the pricing gun that was originally fun to use.  We would turn on KUDL and listen to “Deliah” and I know you will find it hard to believe – but there was singing and silliness going on.  Christy’s husband, Bill, built the cabinets for us and we debated the exact construction of them.  We looked through every Quilt Sampler magazines saved over four or five years to see what other people were doing and tried to remember what we liked about all of those quilt stores Christy mentioned in her memories that I took her to.  We decided we had to have the little cubby holes for fat quarters and I think that was one of our better decisions to this date.  Although I don’t think cutting fat quarters is anyone’s favorite job.




1st day open
November 1, 1997

The quilt store has literally changed my life and has brought many godly women into my life for me to learn from.  We decided our business cards would have Bible verses on the back and we debated those special verses also.  We wanted to be a witness for Christ while we did something we loved.  I started going to the Baldwin quilt guild and this lady there asked if I ever went on blind dates because she knew this nice young farmer.  I said yes because that is usually the easiest way to never hear about it again.  Turns out the lady was his Aunt Mary.  She had come into the quilt store with her sister from Texas and the young farmer’s mother to check me out – was I friendly, have a nice quilt store, etc.   I must have passed the mother and two aunts test as the nice young farmer called me and we started dating in September 1998.   I was teaching a Conway Album class at the time to about 10 to 15 woman and they wanted to know all about how the dating was going every class and gave me advice.  Many of those same women attended the wedding also – and some the baby shower 21 months later.



Amy's baby shower
 October 2001

I love the quilt store and that it brought my husband and consequently my children into my life.  It was great getting to do something I loved with my sister.  Unfortunately, I also needed to return to the real work world with paid benefits – such as health insurance, so I went back to the world of banking and left the everyday running of the store to my sister and some wonderful partners that God brought into our lives (that Baldwin quilt guild is responsible for meeting Eula and me telling Christy that there was this amazing lady that we needed to come teach at the quilt store and the rest is history).  They occasionally let me crash trips to quilt market, do a block of the month quilt, and always find room for me at late night or quilt camp when I make it at the last minute (along with my daughter Katie).  I remember wanting to drop out of college at the end of my freshman year and going back to talk to a teacher from high school.  She convinced me to stay in school and just transfer into accounting at KU.  It wasn’t my burning desire to be an accountant, but God knows his plans for you.  I took the job in Minnesota being a bank examiner because it was where Christy lived and sounded fun.  All I really wanted was to get married, have kids, and stay at home with my kids.  I couldn’t figure out why it was taking God so long to bring that special man into my life.  However, he was still building the life skills in me that I would need to open a quilt store and then be able to work at home in a challenging, fulfilling career while taking care of my kids.  I don’t get to be in the quilt store every day, but I get to visit frequently and enjoy the life God made for me with my husband and children, Jacob and Katie. 

Amy Deay

Christina's Comments

While growing up, I never dreamed of owning a quilt shop or even quilting.  I was a tomboy and never cooked or sewed until after I was married.  I did have sisters who liked to do these “domestic things”.  I met my husband while attending the University of Kansas and got married after my sophomore year.   My sister Amy made us a double wedding ring quilt for our wedding, however, I was too busy to appreciate the work she was putting into it.  She decided she liked it a lot more than I did (which was correct), so she purchased a very nice bedspread for us for a wedding gift and kept the quilt for herself.    

Christina  and kids in 1997
Back row, niece Megan & Brianne
Front row, Mark, Christina & Timothy

    After my husband graduated, we moved to Minnesota where we ending up living for sixteen years.  While living there, I took some quilting classes from the local community education program and fell in love with quilting.  Amy would visit (and even lived with us for a couple of years) and we would go visit quilt shops.  She moved back to Kansas after a few years when she decided it was tooooooo cold for her in Minnesota.  Everytime I came home to visit, we immediately went to visit quilt shops and even our vacations turned into quilt shop excursions.  It was always Amy’s dream for us to open a quilt shop and she said multiple times, “When you move back to Kansas, we are going to open a quilt shop”.   Well, the Lord did lead my family back to Kansas to live in August of 1997 and we decided to open our own quilt shop.  Amy quit her full time job and we started talking to sales representatives from various fabric companies to order fabric for our new quilt shop.  We found a vacant building on Main St across from the post office and opened Quilting Bits & Pieces on Nov 1, 1997.  We had several sales reps try to talk us out of opening a quilt shop.  They said Eudora was too small to support one and we would never make it.  Well, I think they were wrong.  The Lord has truly blessed us and we have witnessed many miracles as we watched Him work in our lives and in the lives of many of our customers. 

Christina

P.S.  -  Amy has since made many quilts I love.  A few years ago she gave me a hand appliquéd Hawaiian style pineapple quilt for Christmas.  It is coral colored which is my favorite color and I cherish it. 

 

QB&P at 714 Main Street

Perfect Flying Geese

 

Kathleen works Thursdays 5-7 PM

Just like you, I'm a busy gal. There just isn't enough time in the day to focus on all the fun quilting projects I have in the works.

Just like you, I have tons of projects just floating around in my head, waiting to hit the top of my priority list.

I learned a long time ago that "it's all about having the right tool" to make a tough job easier.

I love traditional, scrappy quilts and could happily spend the rest of my life making reproduction quilts. The only problem is that they are usually made with a lot, and I mean a lot of small pieces that require a great deal of repetitious assembly. For instance, a long time ago I fell in love with a traditional scrappy flying geese quilt. After collecting Thirties fabrics, this quilt made it from daydream status to the production queue.

The patten called for 768 flying geese units 1 ½ " x  3". Pretty small and a lot of them. Plus, I wanted them to go together perfectly so the long strips would be even. This was no small job. 
 

Because I am so busy, just like you, it's important for me to find ways to streamline big jobs into a more efficient process. This is where having the right tool makes a huge difference. For this particular quilt I relied on the "Quilt in a Day Flying Geese Ruler". For a few dollars, it did the trick: I was able to create my 768 units in an assembly line fashion then trim them to perfection.

The flying geese ruler comes with easy to follow instructions but I thought I might include some photos here to show you what it’s all about.  

1. Instructions include two square sizes. The large square is the goose and the smaller square is the sky.

2. I love to use the hera tool to make a faint line rather than a pen or pencil. Stack the two squares on top of each other and draw a diagonal line down the center.



3. Sew 1/4" on either side of the line and then cut the block in half along the diagonal line.   

 

4. Press the seams open to the dark side and then stack them back on top with the bottom left corners lined up – yes, the seams with not be lined up.

  

5. Draw another diagonal line across the seams from corner to corner, sew again on either side of the hera line and do a final diagonal cut.

6. Snip a little cut in the center of the unit just up to the seam line. The center snip allows you to press to the dark on either end of the unit to produce two units.

 7. Here’s is where the flying geese ruler finishes the job. Line up the lines on the flying geese ruler with one side of a single unit and trim across the top and one side of the flying geese.

 8. Flip the ruler and line it up to trim the bottom and second side. Repeat this for the second geese in the first unit, then twice again for the second unit. The finished product is 4 perfect flying geese with only a little bit of waste.

To me, the waste was worth the tradeoff for perfect geese that made a fast stack of flying geese units that assembled beautifully into my strippy quilt .

I worked on these geese as "leaders and enders" (a strategy promoted by Bonnie K. Hunter ) while creating other quilts. From start to finish, it took about 6 months to make all the geese. As my stacks grew, I assembled them in units of 10 and then bundled them into groups of 50 to make for easier counting.  

As quilters, we aren’t supposed to admit our mistakes, but we do it anyways. Remember I said that I love traditional quilts. When I cut out all my squares, it wasn’t until I assembled my first unit that I had reversed my squares. My flying geese were reversed, where the goose was dark on a light sky. Oh, the horror! Go against tradition? Thank you Eula for calming my spirit and reminding me that traditional can have its variation. Besides, there was no turning back. So…deep breath…accept…and move on. Check out my traditional, flying geese quilt named, “Night Flight”.

My next favorite tool..."Triangle Trimmer by Quilt in a Day".


Until then, Happy Quilting,
Kathleen