Quilt Shops

One of the many aspects of quilting that I enjoy is exploring quilt shops outside my local area.  Whenever I travel, I always google ahead and check if the town has a quilt or sewing store.  I've visited stores in Oregon, Idaho, North & South Dakota, Montana, and London to name a few.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

Last year, when visiting one of my son's at University in Reno, I first discovered Windy Moon Quilts.  It's a large shop not too far from the 'strip' in a slightly odd location, but easily found.  The staff are helpful, the selection is vast, and they are also a Bernina/Janome dealership (my machines of choice).  I headed back there this past weekend and took two of my friends with me.  We came away with a little fabric, an interesting ruler, some bobbins, and a pattern. Plus we had a nice chat with the owner who located to Reno from Napa a few years ago.  So if you happen to be in Reno, make sure you check out this shop.  Tell them I sent you!

www.windymoonquilts.com

Address: 440 Spokane St, Reno, NV 89512

Phone:(775) 323-4777

Another shop I discovered on my travels a few years ago is located in Sisters, Oregon.  The Stitchin' post is at one end of a lovely main street in beautiful Central Oregon.  I remember a picturesque drive through an abundance of lush forest and the countryside was inspiration for a nature themed quilt.  The store was beautifully laid out and had some amazing fabrics and my kids were good sports about indulging their mama visiting a store while we were on vacation.

http://www.stitchinpost.com/

Phone: 541-549-6061

Last but not least is for the overseas traveler.  If you find yourself in London, my birthplace, make sure you head down to Liberty's.  Located inside a gorgeous Tudor style building in the West End of Central London near the Oxford Circus tube station, Liberty's of London houses an array of "haberdashery" and homewares. I treated myself to a gorgeous piece of fabric in the softest lawn cotton called Liberty Tana Fawn that I ultimately used in a wall hanging.  

Regent Street, London W1B 5AH, United Kingdom +44 20 7734 1234

www.liberty.co.uk

 Here is a shot of my dear friend and I outside the store anticipating our visit to Liberty's!
Please let me know of any shops you've visited that are worth knowing about.

What's a quilt?

A quilt is a patchwork blanket generally made from cotton fabric and usually has three layers - the top, the batting, and the backing.  They range in size from small wall hangings and baby quilts all the way to King sized and beyond.  I've made so many quilts over the years that I've lost track.  I've got photos of about 50 of them on my current computer as well as countless photos (before digital cameras) and there are some that sold so quickly I didn't even get a chance to record them.  I've made quilts for almost all the members of my extended family over the years and my three kids have three each.  I'm attaching some photos of ones I've made over the past few years.
At a rough estimate I count 99 quilts I remember creating for family, friends, and sales. I truly remember all that I have given as gifts.  Now I am mostly involved working on commissions but I still enjoy doing work for the special people in my life.
I love creating a quilt.  I generally have a few in process and can switch back and forth from piecing one, quilting another, and designing a third. I have a dedicated sewing room (one of my son's former bedroom) and it's a running joke that I will convert my daughter's room (my youngest) to the room for the longarm machine when she moves out later this year.  Much as I'd love to purchase that longarm machine (a machine designed for quilting the three layers together with pretty designs), I'm not quite there yet.  Plus I want my daughter to visit!
Here are some of my current projects available online
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CatesQuilts

Creating a quilt starts with choosing a pattern or creating a design.  Sometimes I've already chosen fabric or purchased or picked a feature fabric and then figure out which pattern will feature it the best.  Next is the cutting process and a sharp rotary cutter, good ruler, and iron are a definite must.  I don't pre-wash my fabric unless it's a red (which bleeds heavily.)  I will often cut in the evenings after work while watching a movie I've seen many times.  It's monotonous work but easily done with focus.


The floral fabrics were chosen a while back and inspired by a friend's wedding bouquet.

Depending on the size of the quilt, I'll machine sew over a number of days, the various pieces to create the blocks.  Sometimes I piece just one so I'm sure that the fabric choices are correct.  Then the blocks are sewn together, sashing (borders between the blocks), and borders added as necessary and the quilt top is complete. I often photograph
 my quilts during the process as I find it helps me have a better sense of what the finished product will be and helps steer my sashing and border choices.
I try to use single pieces of fabric for the backing and usually buy those online.  They come in the 110" range and save me from having to piece a couple of fabric lengths to create the back.  You'll find many options at www.fabric.com and narrow by quilt backing.  Alternately, just piece a backing from leftover fabric.
I lay the backing right side down on my dining room floor (wood) and use blue painter's tape to anchor and slightly stretch it out.  The backing is generally cut a couple of inches bigger than the top all the way around.

Then I layer the cotton batting (which adds warmth) on top and smooth it out and the quilt top last.  Using special pins that are curved I pin baste the three layers together to minimize the layers shifting when quilted together.  The quilt can be quite heavy at this point but I remove the pins as I go.  The one in the picture above was a client's quilt using her husband's fishing shirts.  Fun!
The quilting process can take a few days or a few weeks depending on the size of the quilt and how much time I have to sew.  I use cotton threads and stencil designs to create the finished product.  This last step is called free motion quilting and takes practise.  Here's a close up from my machine (above right.)
Sewing on the binding (edging) completes the quilt and the job is complete. Shown below some more of my completed projects.

Tools of the trade

You know that old saying, "A bad workman blames his tools?" With quilting, as with anything requiring some skill, the tools can only do so much.  It takes practise to cut cleanly, piece accurately, and finish a project with a good result.  However, there are tools that I use every time I work on a quilt and I thought I would share my experience of those.
I'm often asked what machine I use, which ruler I prefer, or just the basic "how do you...?" in terms of learning to quilt.  So here goes.

1. You - As the main tool (no joke intended,) a love of fabric, color, and an inclination to sit for hours and sew is the first step.  My husband often marvels at my patience and ability to basically cut a perfectly decent piece of fabric into smaller pieces and then sew them all back together again!  It's my zen though.  I have a stresssful job outside the home and sewing helps relax my mind.  Creating a quilt is incredibly rewarding and feeds my creative needs.

2. What machine? I started with a basic Singer knock-off manual machine.  It had few stitches and was a heavy metal piece of equipment which rarely failed.  I probably didn't service it enough over the years but the older sewing machines tended to be somewhat hardier than the newer computerized versions and I was well pleased with it.  My next machine was a Bernina virtuosa 150 QE, shown below left, and I was incredibly grateful to my then in-laws who indulged me with that machine as a gift.  It was computerized, sewed very smoothly, and came with many useful features including a fabulous, previously unknown to me "1/4 in. foot." The 1/4 inch seam, if you're new to quilting, is the gold standard for correct seam placement when constructing a block.

 

About 18 months ago, after much research, I bought the Janome Horizon 7700.  It has many features I didn't have in the Bernina - better lighting, thread cutter, and an automatic needle threader.  The best feature is that it has a slightly "deeper throat" - the space to the right of the needle.  This allows  me to do FMQ (free motion quilting) on larger quilts and have a bit more space to move around.  Here is a picture of the model.  I will admit that the garnet red panel was also a huge draw for my design eye.  I do love those jewel tones.

A few months before I purchased the 7700 I had treated myself to a smaller lightweight Janome, the 3160QDC, which I use for classes.  It's also computerized and has many features similar to the Horizon but, as you can probably see, is much smaller and perfect for transporting or sewing at a friend's house.

I've actually used it for FMQ and had very good results.  I am not, in any way, affiliated with Janome.  But I do like their machines.  My close friends use Pfaff and Viking with equal enjoyment so it really just boils down to personal preference and budget considerations.

Very recently, I became the "cat lady" of machines and purchased a second back-up (my horizon was being serviced and the little one was having a minor meltdown) so that my daughter has something to use for an upcoming senior project and I could piece without interruption.  It's a brother SC9500 and I am very pleased with the results it has been producing.  It was my least expensive machine by far, so it just goes to show that you don't always have to go for the top of the line.

3.  Which tools?  The tools that I use for any project are a sharp rotary cutter and a good ruler.  I prefer Olfa (mine is pink vs yellow) and the creative grid rulers which have built-in non slip grips on the back side.  I have a few self healing cutting mats and they come in a variety of sizes.  I don't use a cutting glove but I am careful as the rotary cutters can slip occasionally and I have sliced my finger a few times over the years.  A decent iron and board are important.  I've used expensive Rowenta's and inexpensive off brands.  Again, personal preference.

I keep a sharp pencil on hand, canned air to keep the lint from building up in my machine, and stop for a more thorough cleaning of my machine on a frequent basis.  I also strongly recommend a professional cleaning twice a year and using the small brush and oil that come with all machines to keep it operating smoothly.  I like size 11 needles for most sewing.  I don't buy brands specific to my machine and I change them regularly.  I generally use Gutterman thread for piecing and a variety of cottons for the machine quilting - often King Tut on the top and bottom line on the underside.

That covers the basics.  If you're new to quilting then search the internet, library or local fabric store for inspiration.  Buy books or magazines that have pictures of quilts that appeal to you and try them with other fabrics.  If you like a pattern but get distracted by the colors make a black and white copy of it so you can more clearly see how you could choose your own fabrics.  Happy quilting!

How it all began

London born, Edinburgh raised, and California matured is a phrase I've used to describe myself many times over the years.  I consider Edinburgh my childhood home as I was a toddler when my parents moved North and a teenager when we emigrated.  It's in Edinburgh that I met my lifelong friends and did the majority of my schooling.
My primary school, Davidson's Mains (or D'Mains), was where I was first exposed to sewing and the other "female" arts.  My best friend was a staunch feminist and I remember worrying that I was letting her down by not feeling as strongly as she did that I should have the same options as the boys - to do woodwork. Although I'd grown up around my dad's side hobby of woodwork, it was sewing, cooking, knitting etc. that drew my interest.  Consider me both a feminist (I agree everyone should have a choice) and a "throw back" in that my interests are more traditionally gender oriented.  Here is a recent photo from my old primary school which I visited last August.

I learned to sew when I was around 10 years of age.  I'm a little fuzzy on the details but I do strongly remember my sewing teacher, Mrs. Ross, scolding me for "playing trains" on the sewing machine i.e. sewing too fast.  What can I say?  I had a natural aptitude and it didn't seem strange to sew much faster than my classmates.  We young girls sewed outfits for a fashion show in either primary 6 or 7 and I remember mine very well.  It was pin whale cord, red with tiny flowers and I made a skirt with a small flounce and a matching waistcoat.  I was ridiculously proud of that outfit and my sewing skills.  I do remember dabbling in some hand sewing of shapes around that time - hexagons.  I'm not sure that I actually created anything specific but I was wildly enthused at the geometry of it and enjoyed the paper piecing process.
When I went up to the 'big' school, i.e the local high school (Royal High by name), I continued my interest and chose both academic and creative courses.  I was always an A student, excelling in mathematics, English, language etc but equally enjoying cooking and sewing.  My mum wasn't terribly thrilled with me about my non academic choices but it's something I enjoyed and was good at so I stuck at it.  I've never been able to draw and, although I played guitar and piano, both those interests faded away when we emigrated to the States in 1980.
Sewing took a back seat through the remainder of my education in California - the last two years of high school.  But my graduation present was my first machine, a Singer knock-off sold by JCPenney.  I sewed occasionally, mostly clothes, and then things for my kids when I had them.
Slowly my interest in fabric increased and transitioned from a desire to make my own clothes to a curiosity about quilting.  I was vaguely aware of the history of quilting and, of course, I'd grown up reading the Little House books, Anne of Green Gables etc and must have had some awareness of 'patchwork.'
So about the time my daughter was a toddler in the late 90's, I started exploring the idea of making a quilt.  My first one, for a good friend, was done without a pattern or any of the tools I've come to embrace since.  I just puzzled it out and chose fabrics I thought she would like and then pieced together a quilt that became her birthday present.  I was hooked!
I checked books out of the library, invested in some tools, bought more fabric, and generally made everyone I'd ever met a quilt over the next few years.  My then husband was very supportive and complimentary and my quilt gifts were well received.  His parents generously bought me a Bernina quilting machine around that time and it's smooth operation allowed my skillset to improve.  Around the year 2003 as I went through a divorce, remarriage, and out into the workforce outside the home I started to consider that the items I was making as gifts may also be something I could sell too.
Slowly, over the past years I've become more confident of my design ability and now I'm regularly referred through former clients, colleagues, and friends. I sell via Etsy, Facebook or word of mouth and I'm equally happy working on custom quilts or finishing someone else's for them.  My only regret is that I have to work full time and can't, yet, transition completely to quilting for my income.  But I enjoy it nonetheless.

My Etsy page