Virtual Retreat July 2015 - Join Anytime

[wendy w.]

Hi I joined the quilt show last night , I inter feather panel in to buy it won't let me. Then tried quilts elect took all information then won't go through. Was u able to get hem? I wrote a message for help but haven't heard anything yet.

[Lotti D.]

Can some one please tell me where to find " membership promotional items only" on this website?

on the top right you see Shop - Products & Kits
click on Shop and the Shop overview opens
you'll find the link for MEMBERSHIP PROMOTIONAL ITEMS ONLY on the top right (on orange background)
this link might work http://store.thequiltshow.com/category-s/137.htm

hope this helps :unsure:

[Lotti D.]

Dorothy, Heather, Judy, and everyone else checking out dyeing cloth with canning jars.
I was just reviewing 'the article' info and I changed up her dry measuring to the grams each one would be. Then I looked over her amount of dye stock to use for a fat quarter of fabric. I really think that this may be wasting dye. Cloth can only absorb just so much dye and the rest just waits to get rinsed away. You all probably realize that I like intense colors and I feel I can achieve them with considerably less dye powders than her method used. I also mix all my dye stocks with the same proportion of grams of powder to cups of water. I think that could be tweaked here and there, but I do it by using more/less of a color. I only use 1/4 cup stock for a fat quarter, and sometimes I have messed with them so much that there's no real texture.
Just a thought. Proceed slowly and don't use all your dye powder up Unnecessarily.
May God bless the work of your hands,
Luann

[Marianne G.]

My favorite teas are Good Earth's Sweet & Spicy (black tea/caffeine or herbal versions with cinnamon) and Yogi Tea's Egyptian Licorice. Both are naturally sweet tasting and good either hot or cold. I have a hard time finding the Licorice tea at local stores, but I found it on Amazon.
Enjoy Kathy

Thank you Kathy! I've no problem finding herbal/fruity teas here in UK so that's not a problem. Do you just cool the tea and serve as is or do you add juice or fruit pieces, do you make it very strong and the dilute with sparkling water or .......... When I read on the back of shop bought so-called iced tea there seem to be lots of things added which I obviously don't want but wondering if there is a secret to get a great tasting homemade iced tea. I've duckduck'ed iced tea recipes but I'm easily overwhelmed so thought that perhaps just starting out with one that is recommended by somebody :lol:
Marianne

[Marianne G.]

Rosebud, what a fun quilt your Olaf quilt is! Am I the only one not having a clue who Olaf is hmy: Is he a Disney character? Sorry inch: Whatever he is a very cheery guy and almost fit the weather here today. How come it's like autumn already - I know time runs faster the older you get but my calendar says July! Need a cardi this morning! Your bag is really nice too - like the mesh pockets; so practical and your yo-yo quilt is lovely and bright. Thanks for sharing despite your problems posting photos.

Hi Quilterslife and welcome!

Finished all blocks for quil-ket and now need my chief randomiser engineer to help with the lay-out. Also managed to stitch-out two tests of a design I digitized before summer madness set in and they are both all right so can be used for future projects. Need to start some FMQ - am having withdrawal symptoms :whistle:
Marianne

[Judith A.]

Kathy, tried to find your post about iced tea but can't. Do you mind pointing me in the right direction? Can't drink anything alcoholic anymore so want something a bit more exciting than water when the rest of the party indulge in wine and cocktails

My favorite teas are Good Earth's Sweet & Spicy (black tea/caffeine or herbal versions with cinnamon) and Yogi Tea's Egyptian Licorice. Both are naturally sweet tasting and good either hot or cold. I have a hard time finding the Licorice tea at local stores, but I found it on Amazon.
Enjoy

Kathy

My DH found them for me. He found the licorice tea at Krogers and the Good Earth tea at Walmart. I like them hot or iced.

Marianne, My iced tea recipe for these teas is embarrassingly simple. If hot tea cools before I can drink it, I refrigerate it. (I don't like luke-warm tea or reheated tea.) Then later, when I want iced tea, I get the refrigerated tea, pour it in a glass and add ice to it. Delicious!

Judith

[Annis C.]

I finished piecing 4 red and white wall quilts this week. That's 2 weeks in a row now. Hope I can continue this for 2 more weeks. I want to get these behind me and move on to something else. I'm designing as I go and sometimes redesigning from making mistakes. That's what happens when you get in a hurry! The 2nd from the left is my version of a Turning Twenty quilt, using 21 squares of fabric 9-1/2" wide for 8" finished blocks. The one on the right was inspired by something on the daily blog this week. Make a guess as to what it was.



And I had a few hours to spare so thought I'd play awhile. I haven't done much of that lately. This is my first mug rug. It was painfully slow to sew using a thumbtack instead of a circle maker for sewing the half circles. I took it off the thumb tack to sew the straight lines to make them oval. I see that they bow in a little. I will try to get them a little straighter if I ever make another one. This one finished at 7" x 10". I think it's a little big so might try for 6" x 9" next time which will mean one less round to sew. I would like to come up with a better edging. It took 3 times around with a zig-zag to cover the edge. This was quilt-as-you-go so at least I don't have to quilt it.



No tea for me. For some reason I could never acquire a taste for it.

[Nancy R.]

Love the wallhangings and the mug rug, Annis! Are you sick of red yet??? I love red, but I'd be really ready to sew another color at this point if I were you!

[wendy w.]

I love that you made the mug rug in red as well. Congratulations on sewing all those quilts in red, wonderful

[wendy w.]

Marianne, I have two methods for ice tea. Cold brew - add the tea to cold water I use a sports water bottle and let it sit in the fridge overnight. With the strong flavor of the Good Earth and Licorice tea, I can usually let it sit for just half an hour at room temperature then add ice. I also make "sun tea". I fill a large (gallon size, about 4 liters?) glass jug with water and add about 7-8 tea bags, cover the top and place in the sun for half a day. Then it needs to cool in the house for several hours before it can go into the refrigerator.

Annis , the stitching on the mug rug is spectacular! So evenly spaced, I can see the patience required, but well worth the effort.

Kathy

[wendy w.]

White fabric - what is your favorite brand to use? I want to make something with a lot of white space, but when I look at white fabric in the store and hold it up to a light, it seems to be too see-through, not a dense weave. I suppose when you put white batting behind it, it's fine. Would like your advice on what you use.

Kathy

[wendy w.]

Phew! Maxiature is finished and handed in to the Quilt Museum in York to be taken to the Festival of Quilts, it is quilt no 221. That wasn't a cheap trip either! Izzy came too, so it was lunch out, followed by freshly cooked donuts, a visit to the Viking Loom (an embroidery & quilt shop) where I had to spend about £15 on fabrics and a magazine. Managed to duck out of buying Izzy a hoodie - she bought it herself in a sale :whistle: Then went to enquire about how to use my mobile more usefully, and ended up with a new one on a monthly payment, but it seems nice and whizzy fast, rather than slow and picky about doing anything.


Maxiature and the original embroidery that inspired it.

Close up to show the quilting. I wasn't originally going to quilt the border, but the design just fit perfectly in the spacing so I had to go for it. One problem I had was that I wasn't able to stitch all the lines in the same direction around the piece, because it started spiralling an stretching some of the strip piecing out of place, so I had to keep going back on myself.

[wendy w.]

Amazing that's a winner I expect to see a prize on your quilt. :cheer:

[Nancy R.]

I'm stunned, Rosemary! It's just incredible and beautiful! I'm seeing many prizes in your future!!

Kathy, I haven't done much with a lot of plain white fabric, but Moda Bella solids are my favorites. I used quite a bit of an off-white in a quilt that I made for my niece that was this off-white solid with Kaffe fabrics and I didn't have trouble with show-through as long as I was careful that the Kaffe fabric wasn't wider than the solid in the seams. You could also look at Kona cottons. I like the Moda Bellas better because they're smoother, but they're a little thinner so, if you're looking for thicker, Kona might be just the ticket for you.

[Nancy R.]

Well, I am hoping that the judges don't see the mistakes that I think are there :whistle:

Oh & Luann, thanks for the beautiful hand dyes they arrived safely this week :kiss: