Traditional Log Cabin – Barn Raising
Hello Everyone,
It was beautiful outside last week. My daffodils are glorious. I pulled weeds and spread pine needles. Then I had to spend some “me” time in my recliner. There is nothing like a little yard work to make you feel your age. Mom and I started potting tomato plants for the Church Plant Sale later this spring. (Early in May) I worked on some old projects at night. More ripping than sewing on this old project. I hope to have pictures next week.
Save the Date for our “Show and Tell” Event
Friday, April 9 and Saturday. April 10, 2021
We are going to have a big “Show and Tell” event. Bring all the quilts and quilt tops that you have made. Bring a yard chair. We’ll be outside at the barn. Assuming that the weather cooperates, it should be a fun day. (If the weather is cold or rainy, we’ll reschedule.) We’ll have coffee and muffins. We’ll still be careful. We’ll be respectful of space. We’ll do another event later if you are not comfortable being out yet. Plan to arrive about 10ish and we’ll start the Show and Tell at 11ish. It will be helpful if you let us know if you are coming, so we can prepare enough muffins, but a reservation is not required.
As you know, we are working on our church yard sale. The money we raise goes for college scholarships. If you would like to bring items for the yard sale, we will gladly accept them. We are looking for basic household items like sheets and towels and kitchen items. We sell a lot of old suitcases. Please do not bring random electronics. Don’t even think about bringing that old treadmill that’s taking up space in your sewing room.
Call Cindy – 704-376-2531 if you would like to order anything or make an appointment to shop. Taxes and shipping will be added to orders. Remember, we do not have a shopping cart on our website. If you need us for anything, call and make a shopping appointment.
Shopping Time
You can always make an appointment for any time that suits you by calling Cindy at the number above. We would love to see you. Just call this week if you need to have some retail therapy. We will be here for certain on Friday, March 19, 2021 from 10am – 2ish. Call us if you need directions. We are located off I-40 between Statesville and Mocksville, NC.
Some Kits
Wishing Star Kit
$159.95
90″ x 90″
Pattern by Laundry Basket Quilts
Kit contains all the fabric for the quilt top, the beautiful border print, the pattern and the binding fabric.
Tulip Crosses Kit
95″ x 95″
$159.95
Pattern by Acorn Quilts
Kit contains all the fabric for the quilt top, the border print, the pattern and the binding fabric.
Quilt Show
Log Cabin quilts are a great way to use up a bunch of random fabrics. There are many ways to make a Log Cabin. Eleanor Burns built her whole career on the “Quilt in a Day” concept. You can make them traditional. Make them wonky. Make them skinny and fat. Our favorite resource is Marti Michelle’s book, Log Cabin ABC’s, ($21.98) My favorite tools are her log cabin rulers. They come in a range of sizes.
Here are a few log cabin quilts to illustrate the concept of strong contrast.
Scrap quilt tips –
1) Organize your scraps into smaller tubs that you can handle. Big tubs that you have to dig around in are not encouraging to the creative process. My bigger pieces are organized by color in file size boxes. I have smaller boxes that I put my extra squares into. Leftover 2 1/2″ squares go in one box. 3″ squares in another. It’s amazing how quickly they add up. Store small pieces flat in boxes rather than cramming them in a zipper bag. They will be ready to sew, you won’t have to iron them again, and they won’t be all raggedy. You know you need to good trip to the dollar store….
I hate to say it, because I love for people to buy fabric. but fabric prices are getting ready to jump up. Taking care of your stash is going to become very important.
2) As you can see from the quilts above, good contrast is very important. This is where sorting your scraps into piles of light and dark is a useful technique. If you can’t decide which pile it goes in, save it for another quilt. The market is full of medium value fabrics. Color is not as important and whether it is light or dark.
We will talk about whether to wash or not to wash next week.
3) I just got a new machine with a wider stitch ability than I was used to. I was frustrated that my small pieces were getting jammed down into the bobbin space and making a snarly mess every time I started to sew. So I bought a straight stitch throat plate to use when I am piecing. BIG DIFFERENCE. SOLVED MY PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY. If you are having trouble with this, I would recommend buying one. Thanks to Shirley and everyone at Sew Original for fixing my problem.
Come to see us this week. Bring what you are working on to show us. Call Cindy – 704-376-2531 if you would like to order anything or make an appointment to shop.
ALL CAROLINA’S SHOP HOP
One last thing, something new is coming this fall. During the months of October and November, we will be participating in the ALL CAROLINA’S SHOP HOP. This will incorporate shops all over NC and SC. Look for the page on Facebook. More details to follow.
Keep reading our newsletters. We’ll have something different to feature each week. If your friends need to sign up, please go to our website, www.quiltersgallery.net and put your info in the signup box. Make sure you click on the desktop version, if you are looking on your phone, to get the full website with all the quilt photos.
Tell your friends to look for our newsletters on Facebook.
Search for The Quilter’s Gallery or Cynthia Page.
Curly says, “Come see me. And don’t forget the carrots’.
Cindy – 704-376-2531
Patti – 704-807-6992
www.quiltersgallery.net
Email: [email protected]
