The theme for this week’s quilt contest is Quilts for Mom. Any quilting style is acceptable. You can submit quilts, wall hangings, pillows, etc. as long as the item you enter is completely finished (i.e. bound and quilted). It does not have to be a quilt you’ve made this year. Get your cameras out!

Our friends from the Fat Quarter Shop are back as this week’s sponsor featuring their It’s Sew Emma Patterns. They are giving away two $35 gift certificates for this week’s winners.

It’s Sew Emma Patterns

Celebrating Mother’s Day coming up, It’s Sew Emma has a newborn in the house – Little P’s. A Little P is a Little Pattern or also named after Kimberly’s son, Little Peyton! These are perfect for moms because they are, little, and little means fast for those busy bee moms.

So why else are Little P’s so great for moms? Five little reasons.

1. They are super simple. All straightforward, easy piecing. Good for moms currently suffering baby brain!
2. They use just a few fat quarters and one background print. Time to dig your favorite prints out of that bundle you’ve been saving, and you’ll probably still have a few faves left over!
3. They’re DOABLE. This has been a word we’ve heard from many of our testers. For anyone wanting to try their hand at a quilt for the first time, these are perfect!
4. They’re inexpensive. These cute mini patterns retail at just $5.99 each!
5. They’re just plain cute, oh-so-cute. If I had a nickel for every squeal these little darlings have caused!

Our first four Little P’s are: On the Boardwalk, Tic Tac Toe, Dots ‘n Tots, and Tumbling Blocks! Which Little P would you make with your busy bee life?

Well now that we have shown you some patterns for moms, let’s see your quilts for moms for this week’s themed contest!

We will be giving away a $35 gift certificates to two lucky winner’s.

Good Luck!
The It’s Sew Emma Team

Enter the Contest

Get your cameras out! To enter the weekly contest, read the rules and guidelines, then submit your quilt photo by Thursday evening (EDT). Voting will start on Friday and last until Sunday night.

Weekly Quilt Contest Links

• Guidelines
• Submit your photo
• 2012 Themes, Winners & Sponsors
• Sponsor a contest – only a few weeks left

Blog It

Please share the logo below on your own blog. The more contestants, the more exciting the contests!

Need help? If you have a Blogger/Blogspot blog, see How to Add a Logo to Blogger/Blogspot for instructions. For WordPress.com sites, see this tutorial on text widgets.

Last Week’s Quilt Contest

Thanks to everyone who entered last week’s Appliqué quilts contest. There were so many gorgeous quilts to see. Saral Paper Corp. donated prizes to the top four winners:

Helen Simpson

FarahLin

Lorraine Bradley

Gail Fearon

It’s voting time for this week’s Appliqué quilts. There are many fabulous quilts to review. Grab yourself a cup of coffee and a pencil to make note of your faves. You can vote for FOUR favourites this weekend.

This week’s sponsor is Saral Paper Corp.. They create a wax-free transfer paper that can be used to transfer appliqué placement lines, quilt designs and embroidery patterns to cloth. They have donated four prizes for this week’s winners.

Now it’s time for you to vote for your favourites!

• Voting is open Friday – Sunday @ 11:59 p.m.
• One vote per person (based on IP address NOT email address), so have your family and friends cast a ballot for their favourite quilt (from home if you send it to coworkers)
• Winner announced Monday!

How to Vote:

• Review the photos and stories below… there are several, so you’ll need to scroll down to see them all. You can also click the link to the slider version to review the quilts in the large format and then return to this page to vote.
• Underneath the photos, scroll down, you’ll see the names of all the quilts with a square button** beside each one. Select the buttons for the quilts you want to vote for. You can select up to FOUR quilts this week.
• Then scroll down, all the way, until you get to the bottom of the names of the quilts. Press the vote button.

** Note: If you don’t see the square buttons to vote, but instead see the voting results, that means someone on your IP Address already voted, or that the voting period has ended, or that you need to refresh the page to see the voting options. Shared IP Addresses are very common in home or work networks.

Slider version: To view the large photos of all the quilts and descriptions, CLICK HERE. You’ll need to return to this page to cast your votes.

Please Note: If you are not seeing all of the photos, check your browser settings. Go to view, and text size. Make sure it’s set at medium. If you need web sites to be larger so you can read them more easily, then use the browser’s Zoom function, not the text resize. You can also use the scroll bar above, beside the photos, to scroll and see the hidden ones.

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Next Week’s Quilt Contest

The theme for next week’s contest is Quilts for Mom. Any quilting style is acceptable. You can submit quilts, wall hangings, pillows, etc. as long as the item you enter is completely finished (i.e. bound and quilted). Get your cameras out!

To enter the weekly contest, read the rules and guidelines, then submit your quilt photo by Thursday evening (EDT). Voting will start on Friday and last until Sunday night.

Weekly Quilt Contest Links

• Guidelines
• Submit your photo
• 2012 Themes, Winners & Sponsors
• Sponsor a contest – only a few dates left for 2012

Focus on the Center Book Tour

I’m thrilled to be participating in Pat Sloan’s Focus on the Center Book Tour. See a couple of the medallion-style quilts from the book and my fabric choices to make them. Plus I have two copies of the book to give-away too!

Read the post and enter the give-away here!

The Learning Center

In this week’s Learning Center post, Pat Sloan explores Fusibles. Do you have a favourite? We also have TWO huge boxes of goodies to give-away from Therm O Web.

Read the post and enter the give-away here!

By: Pat Sloan

Way back when… before I was a quilter.. yes THAT long ago… I fused fabric to fabric. I started out by fusing fabric images to the front of sweatshirts. This is when I really learned about the properties of fusibles. Like home dec fabric is sprayed with a Scotch Guard so it repeals dirt.. it also repels fusibles and paint…. who knew!

I have become really good at fusing cotton to cotton and stitching it down for appliqué. Most fusible products work in a similar fashion:

• Trace your design onto the paper side (some have 2 papers)
• cut away some of the fusible.. or use if across the whole shape (see my tutorial HERE)
• iron the glue side onto the BACK of your appliqué shape
• cut ON the line to create your final appliqué shape
• peel off the paper
• place the glue side down onto your background fabric
• Iron again to adhere the shape

Today at the Learning Center I want to share a list of the different products available to you. You may want to explore several of them to see what works for you!

Therm O Web

I work with the Therm O Web company on their design team. I’ve used Heat n bond lite for over 15 years and love it… really love it! When they asked me to join their design team years ago I was thrilled as I truly believe in this product. I invited the Director of Marketing, Candace Kos, to do a little intro of their products. She is very talented right now as she is usually “one armed” since her other arm is always holding her brand new baby girl!

From Candace Kos…

“There are many ways to do appliqué and ways to speed up the quilting process. Our favorite way is to use adhesive to minimize the need for pinning or to finish a project all together.”

• HeatnBond® Iron-On Adhesive is frequently referred to as “Fusible Web” but it actually isn’t a web, it’s a solid sheet of adhesive. This means that you get edge to edge coverage on your appliqué shapes, no matter the size of appliqué. This eliminates puckering, bunching and also allows for Pat’s favorite technique of cutting away the inside of an appliqué leaving a soft interior and less adhesive used.
• HeatnBond® is available in three styles. HeatnBond® Ultrahold is a no-sew permanent adhesive! It’s great for adding embellishments, accents and details to quilts, wall hangings, home décor and costumes when you don’t want to sew or can’t sew. In addition to all kinds of fabric, it can also be used on wood and canvas for other creative home décor projects!
• HeatnBond Lite is a sewable permanent adhesive! Use this when you need to sew the project, but you don’t want to spend your time pinning! Iron your appliqués, edges and embellishments in place and then sew at your leisure! No more accidentally pinning yourself while handling the project! Iron your pieces into place and then sew as you normally would, the fabric remains flexible and the adhesive won’t gum up your needles. (Tip: if you are finding any resistance while sewing or are trying to sew through many layers, you can use a product called “Sewer’s Aid” to wet your thread and have an easier time stitching thru adhesive.) Use it to create costumes, table runners, placemats, quilts and tons of other projects! You can also seal the edges with fabric paint, so it can also be used on sweatshirts, canvases and wall hangings!
• HeatnBond® FeatherLite is a new sewable permanent adhesive that is even lighter than Lite. This adhesive is perfect for baby quilts, thin summer quilts, wearables and especially for multi-layered projects such as landscape quilts. It gets buttery soft after washing and doesn’t even feel as if adhesive is part of the project.

All of the HeatnBond® products can be washed and dried after properly adhered (for Ultrahold that’s just ironing for Lite and FeatherLite that’s sewing the edges after ironing pieces on.)

There are a few other great features of HeatnBond® products is due to the paper-backed nature of the product. First, HeatnBond® adhesive sheets can be run through your INKJET printer! Simply trim the sheet to an appropriate size to fit through your printer (typically 8.5 x 11). Place the sheet in so the ink will print on the paper side. Set your printer to draft, transparency or acetate settings (which puts out less ink) and print your design! (Just remember to print alphabet letters in reverse since the HeatnBond will be ironed to the back of your fabric. Do NOT use in a laser printer!! The heat from the laser printer will melt the adhesive inside your printer.)

Also, HeatnBond adhesive sheets can be run through your manual or computerized die-cut systems, such as AccuQuilt®, Cricut®, Silhouette®, Sizzix Eclipse® and more! Iron the adhesive onto the back of your fabric, trim the fabric to a size that will fit in your die-cut system and automatically cut out shapes, letters and other appliqué drawings! You may have to adjust the depth of your blade depending on the thickness of the fabric you are using. Be sure to test it on a scrap piece of fabric before running your real fabric thru. And be sure to change your blade often, a sharp blade will yield the best results. Then simply peel off the back liner and iron it to your project! How easy is that!

Therm O Web also makes a few other adhesive products that are great for quilting! The SuperStik Glue Stick is permanent on paper, but has a temporary bond on fabric! It allows you to place appliqués, sew them on your project and then the adhesive dissolves out of the fabric during laundering. This makes it a great option for baby quilts and outfits, summer quilts and all kinds of wearables. Simply apply glue to the back of your appliqué and stick onto your project. Allow the glue to dry and then sew as you normally would! It doesn’t gum up needles and stays flexible for easy stitching.

The last form of adhesive Therm O Web manufactures is SpraynBond®. These are spray adhesives that come in two forms. SpraynBond Fusible Adhesive acts like Ultrahold. Simply spray it on the back of your applique and iron it down. There is no need to sew after it has been ironed. This heat-activated spray is permanent, machine washable, dryable and dry cleanable.

The other form is SpraynBond Basting Adhesive. This is a spray with a temporary bond. This feature means it is perfect for placement, design consultations, wearables, pattern placement and keeping batting in its place while stitching. This adhesive must be sewn to make it permanent as it washes out while laundering.

Experiment with all these types of adhesives to make your project come together quickly! Therm O Web Adhesives & Interfacings are “Behind Every Great Project”!

Therm O Web Adhesives is a family-owned and operated business with over 35 years of experience in adhesive manufacturing. Therm O Web is proud to have a successful history manufacturing adhesives for multiple craft disciplines including: fabric crafts, quilting, tailoring, scrapbooking, paper crafts and art with the majority proudly made in the USA. Their family of adhesives holds such famed product lines as: HeatnBond® Iron-on Adhesive, StitchnSew®, Zots® Adhesive Dots, SuperTape™, PeelnStick™, PeelnStick™ Fabric Fuse and Iron-on Vinyl.

Visit them: Therm O Web | Blog | Join them on Facebook

Why I use Steam-A-Seam 2

I asked Sewing expert Lorine Mason to give her top reasons she loves to use the Steam-A-Seam line of fusing products.

I am a huge fan of Steam-A-Seam 2 by The Warm® Company and this is why.

The double sided paper liner:

• Prevents tacky fusible web from becoming attached to items not meant for the project at hand.
• Paper liner is perfect for tracing patterns whether using pen or pencil. I have even run it through my printer with success.
• Paper liner is a built in pressing sheet and is reusable if kept clean.
• Paper liner makes a great tear away stabilizer.
• Trace applique designs onto paper liner, remove opposite side of liner, press onto fabric. Perfect for storing for use in later design work. Note: one side of paper liner is designed to come away very easily. Trace on the liner paper that stays with the web.

Lorine Mason is a licensed product designer, an accomplished project designer and the author of ten ‘how to’ sewing books. An eye for detail, innovative project design, trend awareness and hard work are the corner stones of her business; Lorine Mason Designs. It’s Sew Lorine©, is a brand, a blog and a lifestyle. As an avid sewer herself, she loves to inspire others to create unique home sewn items with a twist. Lorine in the editor of the Sewing Savvy e-newsletter which can be accessed at

More Fusibles

Wonder-Under by Pellon has been on the market a long time. This is the first fusible product that I purchased and used when making sweatshirts. It is readily available and many people love it. See the Pellon web site for more information on how to use their product.

I found this ‘ask the crafter’ write up useful. And Robbie shares about “the wrap”.

The Misty fuse product has no paper on it. It is thinner and I’d love to know what you think about it. I have yet to try this one.

Stacy Michell markets a fusible she loves to use under the product name “Shades Soft Fuse”. Stacy started selling this fusible 5 years ago and she works with it as a full fusible product.

Vliesofix is mostly sold outside of North America. I had a chance to try it and it works very similar to Wonder Under. I found this blog write up on it.

We also found this write up about fusibles and interfacings.

Give-Aways

Our friends at Therm O Web have a HUGE box of goodies… no wait … TWO huge boxes of goodies to give-away. You have two opportunities to win. First, leave a comment below answering: Do you have a favorite fusible product? Which one?. If it isn’t included above, please provide a link too so others can give it a try.

Winners will be selected randomly next Wednesday, May 9th.

Second, head over to the Therm O Web blog and enter the give-away there too. P.S. they have tutorials or info posts every day of the week.. lots of good stuff!

Congratulations to #59 Karrie S. on winning this gift box of fusible goodies. Check your email for a message from me.

Pat Sloan is owner and founder of the quilting design and publishing company Pat Sloan & Co. She has published over 25 books, more than 100 patterns, nearly 10 fabric lines, and has had her work featured in all the major Quilt magazines. In January 2010, Pat started hosting her weekly Internet Radio show called Creative Talk Radio.

Find Pat here:

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