I have always been intimidated by free motion quilting, until now.

My first attempts were awful: jumpy, inconsistent stitches, tension problems, stitches where I didn’t want them, etc. I was determined to improve this year.

I have been working on six baby quilts for the local guild to donate to NICU babies. Pictures as soon as I finish the binding. I’ve free-motioned them, in a large meander, as they don’t like a lot of stitching on them. I can definitely see improvements in these six quilts.

I have Patsy Thompson’s fabulous DVDs, and replayed Volume 0.5 again the other day too. This time I paid very close attention to the placement of her hands, stitch length and how she was moving the fabric. It helped a lot.

This weekend, despite my “don’t start anything new” rule, I cut up six gorgeous fat quarter batiks to make six Friendship Bags. If you decide to do this too, be warned, I had JUST enough fabric with the FQs. Only one little 2″ x 8.5″ strip and a few scraps left over.

I first cut out the lining pieces (15″x8.5″) and the two handles, 10″ x 2 1/4″. I cut the rest of the fabric into various strips ranging from 1″ to 3″ x 8.5″. In hindsight, I should have made them 9″ to give me more room to trim after, but then I probably wouldn’t have had enough fabric to get the length required. These measurements are coming from Rachel’s Friendship Bag Tutorial.

I stripped the pieces horizontally to make one long piece ~15″x8.5″, then spray-basted on batting. Then it was time to play with the quilting. I’m using a gorgeous variegated thread (Coats, I believe) with Bottom Line in the bobbin.

Continue reading »

During the Spring Blooms swap, Gabi Tietz posted this adorable mini quilt and the little purse.

I emailed her to ask her about it. She told me that her and a group of friends have been making these friendship bags to share with each other. They’ve been having a great time.

Gabi suggested this would make a great swap. I agreed.

Shortly after our exchange, I heard about International Friendship Day and decided this would be perfect day to start the Friendship Bag Swap.

One of my main goals for the Quilting Gallery site has always been to bring together quilters from around the world. I’ve always wanted this site to be very International-based. It’s through the experiences of all quilters everywhere that we can each learn and be inspired by one another.

I’m very pleased to host this Friendship Bag Swap. It’s a small project, with lots of room for creative goodness. Head on over to read the guidelines and then register to participate. Here’s the list of participants.

To get you started, Rachel Griffith put together this fabulous tutorial.

Registration closes August 20, 2009 and I’ll send out partner information by August 25, 2009. The deadline to mail your friendship bag is October 6, 2009.

Please don’t email me to register, instead use the registration form provided.

When I was looking at the Summertime swap Flickr group, I noticed this gorgeous creation by Stacey. It reminded me of friendships throughout the world. It’s a free pattern from Barbara Skjønberg from Norway, entitled All the Children of this World.

If you’d like, here’s the code to use the swap graphic on your blog.

A HUGE thank you to Rachel for creating the tutorial for this swap. You are very talented and very generous!

I’m slowly catching up after Canada Day celebrations last week and a visit to my family north of Toronto over the weekend. I had a fabulous time playing with my nieces, they are the best.

Just a few quick reminders:

• There are 195 participants for the Good Ol’ Summertime Mini Quilt Swap. I’ll be closing down registration Saturday morning, once I start sending out partner information.
• Friday is the last day to enter the “What was I thinking?” – The Ugly Quilt Contest. There are three great prizes up for grabs. Voting will start on Saturday. Check out the contestants.
• There are three great give-aways on the site right now that you can enter until tomorrow afternoon. Read the instructions for each, please.
  1. Happy Canada Day
  2. Guest Blogger Margaret Bucklew
  3. Friday Give-Away – Antique Quilt Dating Guides…by Style

Spring Blooms Mini Quilt Swap

To all participants in the Spring Blooms Mini Quilt Swap:

I know everyone is eager to receive their quilt and to find out if the quilt they sent has arrived. However, I’ve been getting a dozen or so emails a day asking on the status of their mini quilt. Please, please allow 14 to 21 business days for your quilt to arrive.

Before emailing me to follow-up, please check the participants list yourself, to see if the person you sent to has a blog and follow-up with them directly.

Please also note that approximately 25% of the participants were late sending their quilts. This is unfortunate, and I’m not sure why so many people were late. Let’s hope the Summer swap goes more smoothly.

I won’t be following up with any requests until the end of the month… I just don’t have the time to continue to do this.

The Quilting Bloggers directory has reached more than 3,000 members, from 64 countries, in just under 13 months.

I’d like to thank each and every one of you for becoming such a valuable member of the Quilting Gallery community. It is because of your promotion of my site on your blog that has made this a reality.

Thank you!

In other site news:

• Enter the “What was I thinking?” – Ugly Quilt Contest.
• Enter last week’s Friday give-away for your chance to win a pair of 8″ fabric shears.
• Today is the mail date for your Spring Blooms mini quilt. If you haven’t already done so, please email me to let me know you’ve sent your quilt off to your partner.
• Registration starts tomorrow for a new Summer-themed swap.

I’ve added a page for the contestants of the "What was I thinking?" – The Ugly Quilt Contest. The stories are hilarious.

To enter the contest, please read the guidelines and prizes then submit your photo.

Caron asked me on Facebook for a Quilting Bloggers tshirt. I thought I would see if there’s any interest in purchasing Quilting Bloggers merchandise.

I’ve investigated prices at Cafe Press and Zazzle, and here’s an idea of the cost in US Funds:

• basic women’s tshirt = $20.00
• v-neck tshirt = $21.00
• plus size v-neck tshirt = $30.00
• tote bag = $18.00
• sigg water bottle = $30.00
• sweatshirt = $35.00

If I put together a Quilting Bloggers store, will you buy merchandise? Please answer the poll below.

 Loading ...

If you answered yes, please leave a comment below about what products you would be most interested in.

UPDATE: Here’s the shipping information from Cafe Press (which is the option I’m looking most seriously at).