Top 10 Reasons to Display a Quilt in a Show
Heirloom Creations and their customers are formally invited to display their quilts at the upcoming Quilts & Vines charity event, the second Saturday of every August. Quilts & Vines is an outdoor quilt show and wine tasting event at Strawbale Winery in Renner, SD. A portion of the proceeds goes to Project Linus. See ticket info at the end of this article.
If your initial reaction to this invitation is, “Ack! My quilts aren’t good enough to be in a quilt show!”
Or, “I don’t want my quilts hanging next to works of art!”
Or, “I don’t want everyone to see my mistakes!” Please, read on.
First, this show is not a judged quilt show, so it is not about “points matching” Second, there is no entry fee for entering a quilt. And third…well, there are a whole lot of reasons to display your quilts.
1. It motivates you to complete projects. It pushes all of us to get something completely finished, including the binding, label and sleeve.
2. It makes you take your work/art/craft more seriously. If it is for a show you will fix that sloppy seam or crooked corner, and you are happier with your work
3. All quilts are beautiful and it feels good to share that beauty with others. It’s a chance to unfold them and let their light shine.
4. People get to know you as a quilter. They may know you as a teacher, mom, accountant, or by whatever is your profession, but when they see your quilts they know you as a creator.
5. You get to see your work from a different perspective. Seeing your quilt in a show it is like seeing it for the first time.
6. Sharing your own self-expressions can encourage and inspire creativity in others. The creativity you inspire in others may, in turn, inspire you. The biggest benefit of entering a quilt show is to “give back”. I get so inspired by being able to view other quilter’s work that putting my work out there is in some way “paying it forward”, or is that “backward” since I got inspired first…
7. It is a good time to take pictures of your quilts for documentation.
8. Entering a quilt show is an accomplishment, and everyone who does should pat themselves on the back and take a bow!
9. This is a celebration of quilting. Revel with others who enjoy quilting.
10. Remember, it’s all about good ol’ fashion fun! Did I mention the wine tasting?
We would love to see everyone who is reading this tip to enter at least one quilt into the Quilts & Vines show. Even if you will not be in town or even attending the event, it is an opportunity to know that others are enjoying your creative talents.
If you would like to sell any of your quilts, you are welcome to mark them for sale. Since this event is to help support Project Linus, you will be asked to donate 20% of the total selling price to Project Linus if your quilt is purchased.
Click here to print a Registration Form:
http://www.quiltsandvines.com/quiltinformation.html
Tickets for the quilt show and wine tasting are available for $10 in advance at Heirloom Creations and Strawbale Winery or $12 at the door.
A special thanks goes to guest tip contributors Kay P, Kerry F, and Peg L.
Kate – 3 Month Pictures
Pictures of Kate at 3 months have been uploaded. Click on Kate’s link on the left! Pictures will be uploaded monthly for those who are interested… 
Kids Quilt Camp 2009
Check out pictures from this year’s kids quilt camp! Eight girls attended, and once again I was so excited to teach them sewing and quilting skills. Six of them were returning students from last year, and three of them chose to make different quilts. This helped put everyone at different stages throughout the entire week which made it easier for me to work with everyone.
Each student selected their own colors. Here are the finished quilts after five days of sewing.
If you are interested in having someone you know attend one of our sewing camps next year we post the dates in the February – April 2010 newsletter. Spaces usually are secured early in the year for these very popular classes.
Kate Snuggerud – 3 Months
The picture below is Kate at 3 weeks and the picture above is Kate at 3 months … positioned on the same quilt!
Christening dress made by Kathleen Tomjack and afghan made by Jan Martin.
Sleeping after a bath.
Boat Covers for Custom Summertime Fun!
Pictures and tip written by Ruth Ralph, Heirloom Creations’ Husqvarna Viking district manager
My summer project was to reupholster the pontoon boat furniture. After disassembling each couch and cushion that needed covering, each piece was measured, calculated and drafted out for its custom cover.
I purchased marine grade vinyl and nylon thread for this massive project, made a make shift sewing studio in my back yard and set up saw horses to help support the larger pieces. At this point I was a little nervous – thinking I should have a commercial machine or at least a Viking Mega Quilter. Since I don’t, my Husqvarna Viking Designer SE was just going to have to do.
I believe the most important part of the success of this project was the needle. I used an Inspira 90 Leather needle. The eye is larger to accommodate the heavy nylon thread, and sharp to penetrate the fibers (or man made fabric). I used this for all my sewing and topstitching even when the piping was being inserted. Most of the stitching was through four layers of the marine grade vinyl . But with the proper set up, I did not break one needle!
Getting more confident the more I sewed, I decided to take it up a notch and add some custom embroidery. I used polyester embroidery thread for its strength and color fastness. After all the time and work, I did not want them to fade any time soon.
For sewing, I set my Husqvarna Designer Designer SE’s Sewing Advisor to the leather setting. This automatically reduces the presser foot pressure allowing the vinyl to move easily through the machine and maintain great stitch quality. I did need to increase the upper tension to handle the special nylon thread. This took a little trial and error on vinyl scraps until it was perfect. It is always recommended to NOT adjust the bobbin tension so not to off set the factory settings, only adjust the top tension.
The best presser foot to use when sewing on vinyl is a Teflon or non-stick presser foot. This keeps the vinyl from sticking to the bottom of a traditional metal foot and restricting the consistent movement of the fabric.
To make the accent piping, plastic tubing is covered instead of cording. This was a real first for me! Using a single welting foot, it is like a piping foot but with a deeper groove for the vinyl coved tubing.
For the embroidery, I used tear-a-way for a stabilizer. The vinyl was so thick, there really wasn’t a need to use a heavy stabilizer. To create the monogram embroidery for the pillow that says “Ralph’s” I used the new 4D Monogram Wizard – also available as a stand alone program called Inspira 4D Monogram & Vision. This program was so cool . . . all I did was tell it what I wanted and within a couple of clicks it was done and at the perfect proportion. I really haven’t been doing many monograms, but now with this program, I think there will be some monogrammed towels for the boat in the future!
The great news is that the pontoon boat was done and ready for the 4th of July boat parade at our lake in Wisconsin. My favorite part was adding the embroidered pillows for the perfect custom touch.
I hope this gives any of you out there with boats the confidence needed should you wish to tackle this project yourself.
Super Sized Buttonholes
Sometimes things happen for a reason. Usually I do not say “yes” to random requests for sewing needed by customers who walk into our store. I must have had a weak moment when Bob walked into Heirloom Creations.
“Can you sew a 5” buttonhole?” he asked. I first wondered if this was a quiz question or a request. Come to find out it was a request for two 5” buttonholes to be sewn in a cover he uses on his car. It needed to fit over the mirrors…(?) Now I was getting curious! So I said yes.
So he brings in a very soft, yet super stretchy minkee-like fabric. Why not?
I knew I would need to use stabilizer on the back to keep the buttonhole from stretching while it was being stitched and a water soluble stabilizer on the top so the satin stitching would not get lost in the nap of the fabric. So far so good.
Most of us are used to using the programmable buttonhole foot on our sewing machines, but when longer buttonholes are needed, a manual buttonhole setting is required. First, attach the manual buttonhole foot. This foot will allow a 36” buttonhole if needed! So a “small” 5” buttonhole would be a cinch! A manual buttonhole foot has two grooves on the underneath side of the foot to help guide st raight rows of satin stitching. I also increased the width of the zigzag stitching since the fabric was thicker.
With the buttonhole placement marked, I pinned the tear-away stabilizer in place behind the soon-to-be-stitched buttonhole and pinned a small piece of water soluble stabilizer to the top, and stitched! I only needed to keep the weight of the large piece of fabric from dragging while the machine was sewing.
(If you do not have a manual style buttonhole, select a zigzag stitch and move it to the far left needle position and stitch the left leg of the buttonhole. Next adjust the zigzag stitch to its widest width to create a bar tack stitch at the top and bottom areas. Repeat with a second long zig zag stitch in the right needle position. If possible, stitch BOTH buttonhole sides from top to bottom.)
Once the buttonholes were stitched I carefully cut them open with a pair of super sharp Gingher scissors. The whole time, I just blocked out of my mind the fact that I was sewing and cutting open something on a fabric that was probably not inexpensive to purchase!
Upon meeting up with Bob, I asked to see how it would be used. He was very excited to show me his fully restored Triumph TR3. He needed this special cover to lay over the edge of the hood when he worked on the engine. As you can see it really did need those 5” buttonholes to slip over the mirrors!
I said at the beginning that some things just happen for a reason… After seeing his hot little convertible, I realized that I recognized his vanity license plate from my neighborhood. Bob lives about 6 houses down from Steve and me. Of all days to say yes to a sewing project…this one allowed us to meet another neighbor!
Quotes for Creative People
At a very young age, I started collecting quotations and cool pictures. From newspapers, magazines, comic pages, anything that caught my eye, I would save it. My bulletin board always had collections of witty sayings, cleaver photography and creative inspiration. From pictures of animals, sewing ideas and words of wisdom in my collection, I did not have to look far for this week’s tip idea.
I recently ran across a collection of sayings that can inspire all creative types, especially sewers. Please enjoy the following assortment of written insight.
“The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone.” – Lady Stella Reading
“You’ll never grab for the egg if you’re afraid of being pecked.” – Jennifer Lanne
“Whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
“Be true to yourself. Follow your own path, not the path another made.”
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius
“Get started. Don’t wait for a reason such as an assignment, a request or some other type of permission. Let the only reason be that your artistic heart longs to … that is enough.”
“Never be afraid to reinvent yourself, and always move forward, no matter what.”
“As I get older, taking risks gets harder. While I wouldn’t advocate complete, reckless abandon (at least not every day), I do find that the taking of small risks adds great excitement to life.”
My personal all time favorite …
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive ad well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO, what a ride!” – Unknown
Click here to see new pictures of Kate.