Education Topic: When Bad Things Happen to Good Quilters

We had a great time discussing and showing some good examples of when sometimes no matter how much planning you do, mistakes still happen to quilters.  Here are some of the common mistakes we talked about:

Squaring Up – Darla showed how if you don’t square up your fabric and apply enough pressure on the ruler, you end up with not a straight strip of fabric.

We also talked about the importance of squaring up blocks as you construct your quilts.  The above block should have finished 12.5″ but you can see by the spare strip of fabric that it came short by 1/4 ” on one end and upto 1″ on the other end. One way to avoid this is to ensure you are using an accurate 1/4″ seam when piecing.  There are a number of different tricks and pointers out there for finding the right space on your machine. All machine manufacturers also have 1/4″ feet available for their machines.   A simple test you can do on your machine is to sew 5 2.5″ squares together.  Press to one side.  Measure the strip and it should be 10.5″. Make any needle adjustments necessary.

Using different machines – Val discussed the importance of using the same machine for your projects.  If you use two separate machines, you risk having blocks not finish at the right size.  She spoke of a past project where she used two different machines and the blocks finished on one machine finished an inch shorter than blocks made with the second machine.

Losing Your Vision – Nicole brought a quilt she made this year. Her plan was to have a minimalist triangle quilt.  It didn’t quite turn out that way.  She also had this quilt as an example of to not quilt in the dark! She didn’t realize that she had changed different shades of blue in the quilting.   See below.

Tension Issues – always check the back of your quilting, not just the front!! We have all seen pictures on Instagram.  Make sure you check your tensions so you don’t end up with loose threads on the back!

Planning Your Design – You’ve got your top all done and a cool backing now be sure to take the time to plan your quilting design to finish off your quilt!  Nicole and Jen suggested practicing your design on a quilt sandwich, doodle on paper.  You can also practice your your quilt design on a busy section where it will be less noticeable.  And for all of the planning you may do ahead of time, sometimes when you start quilting the plan takes a different turn and you just have to go with it!!

Quality Fabric Selection – Elizabeth and Nicole discussed the importance of using high quality quilting cotton.  Both had examples of situations where cheaper fabric was used. Nicole had blocks made and then had to wash the blocks due to something staining them.  The cheaper material came apart and the blocks were a mess to deal with after.   Elizabeth mentioned that Oxi Clean helped get the stains out of her quilt stain situation.

It was a great discussion that everyone participated in!

Ugly Block Challenge – Members brought some ugly blocks as part of the challenge from the February Meeting.  All remaining blocks are due at the April meeting.

Book/ Blog/ Bolt 

• A reminder that your local library continues to be a great source of quilty and crafty inspiration!  Darla brought a stack of books recently taken out on loan from the Saskatoon Public Library.
• Lisa brought some new lawn fabric for all of us to see!

• Heather brought in some of her Quilt Con fabric purchases!

Pouch Swap

We had our finale for the pouch swap with members.  Thanks to everyone who participated in this swap!! There were some fantastic pouches given and received!!

Travelling Quilts

Another month of blocks made for those participating in Travelling Quilts.

Sherry made Nicole some log cabin blocks with her requested colour palette.

Barb made Darla her blocks showing scale.

Darla made Sherry’s blocks using her fabric included for the blocks requested.

Val made Elizabeth this great tree block for her quilt.

Elizabeth made Lisa a retro strawberry and connected it with cool low volume fabric with forks and spoons!

Val’s starter blocks are great log cabins using the colours shown.  And Lisa made the star block for Barb.

Show & Tell 

Some more great quilty goodness shown by members this month!

Sheila has been busy making baby quilts and her family’s Christmas quilt for 2017! The back is just as great as the back on the Christmas Triangles quilt.

Dyanne made a bright and bold bargello quilt for one of her children.  She used real insignia flags on the back too!

Nicole also made an amazing bargello quilt at a recent class held at Prairie Chicks in Warman.

Nicole also finished a long time WIP for her Mom.

We got our charity quilt back from being on display at Quilt Con in Savannah, Georgia this past February! See above.  Thank you again to Bev for planning and designing this beauty and to all of the members for participating through creating diamonds!  And a huge thank you to Michelle at Saskatoon Long Arm Studio for providing the spectacular long arm quilting!! This quilt will be entered at the Saskatoon Exhibition and the Saskatoon Quilt Guild shows this year before being donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Saskatchewan.

The Saskatoon Modern Quilt Guild wishes Sarah Ethier a fond farewell as she moves to Winnipeg for a great new career opportunity.  Thank you Sarah for being the Communications Chair this year!  You did a great job!

I think this provides a good summary of the meeting.  I know that we didn’t get pictures of everything so I apologize for missing a few items.

We look forward to seeing everyone this weekend at the April meeting where Tarra will be demonstrating and discussing hand embroidery.

Cheers!