Issac go away...

The sky is bright blue and beautiful today, but that may change soon.  Thanks to Issac.

The wind is blowing could be Fall, except for the heat.

Schools are cancelled in preparation for a possible storm...yeah!

Hope ya'll can get some quilting done!

Caren

Guess what...

I have several things to tell you about....but first I want to show my new AAQI quilt.

It is based on our vacation this summer.  One morning on the beach we watched a pod of dolphins leap and flip for over 10 minutes.  I've been going to the beach for %^ years and have never seen this before.  It was amazing and I wanted to remember it.

Now- what is this for?

The colors are much better in person.
Drum role please.......
I am a participant in the Glorious Autumn Block Party at Quilting Gallery

 Be sure to visit me on October 17 to find out what those fabrics are for!  I am so excited this is my first block blog hop.  I have a cool block planned and I hope a giveaway.  Spread the news!

Happy Quilting,
Caren

Ever wonder about the $ for AAQI

A little info. from Ami...

Soaring Sales for AAQI: All Because of YOU!

Posted on August 23, 2012

Every month Debbie Chenail (AAQI treasurer) and I sit down to update the Show Me The Money page on the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative website. We list every expense, we add up all the quilt sales and donations, and we calculate the profits so far this year. That number is then added to our cumulative total of how much the AAQI has raised for Alzheimer’s research. (Profits: All our profits fund research.)
Do you know of any other charity that posts that kind of information on its website? I didn’t think so. Don’t you wish they all did, so you can know how the money you give is spent?! (Sorry. I digress.)
Well, we just crunched the numbers and as of the end of July we have raised…

more than $747,000

…for Alzheimer’s research. Makes me think of an airplane, you know, a 747. I just had to tell you!
The AAQI’s “bread and butter” are Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts. You donate them; we sell them.

So how are we doing so far? Pretty good!
Below is a graph showing Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilt sales by year, starting in 2008. So far this year we’ve raised about $56,000 through “priority” quilt sales, not counting the August auction. Last year in Houston we sold $62,000. Plus we have three more online auctions before the end of the year. (The November auction doesn’t count because that’s the Celebrity Invitational Quilt Auction, and those aren’t technically Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts.)
If (and that’s a big “if”) we can do as well at Houston in 2012 as we did in 2011, and we have three auctions each bringing in $2,000 or more, we could generate $126,000 for the year in Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilt sales alone.
So what’s the bottom line?

If you’re making a Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilt and have hopes for Houston, get it registered and in the mail by August 31st. That gives our volunteers 6 weeks to receive it, scan it, price it, tag it, and ship it from your house to Illinois, from Illinois to Michigan, and from Michigan to Texas.

Keep in mind that there are already 611 quilts in that particular pipeline, and the following volunteers probably won’t be able to take a stitch in their own quilts from now to mid-November:
Your quilt registrar and quilt page maker: Beth Hartford
Your quilt scanners: Diane Petersmarck, Donna Moscinski, and Eileen O’Regan
Your quilt pricers: Ruth Langdon and Ami Simms
Your quilt tag-makers: Martha Wolfersberger, Jen Hinwood, Susan Vore, and Niki Gottesman
And, of course, we thank YOU, our quilt makers and quilt buyers!

Thank you! And please share this blog!
Ami Simms

Ode to Satsuma....

I was looking through my quilts yesterday and I came across an interesting.  "Satsuma" was my first quilt to design most of the blocks.  There are a few that were from different books.

I finished it in 1999.  I went around town taking photos of the landmarks.  Then I blew them up and traced them onto paper.  From the paper pattern I created a piecing guideline.  This was my first time to try that!  I didn't know about paper piecing, things would have been easier. 

Shown here are: first baptist Church, the old train, and gazebo.

A few of the blocks are applique...and not very good applique ;)

I like how it turned out.  Now, after years of washing the binding is beginning to fray and needs to be replaced.

This is the old school house ready for Christmas.

This is the mascot for Satsuma: the gator which roams freely in the bayous.

Thanks for reading and Happy Quilting
Caren

Santa Tags

Santa Tags

This is a great 'green' project.  If you're like me, you get tired of the sticky gift tags that tend to smear ink on pretty Christmas packages.  These can easily be created for any occasion.

Ingredients: (for 2 matching gift tags)

*(1) 5 inch square of light festive print: I used "Joy" by Kate Spain (print A)

*(1) 5 inch square of festive print: I used "Joy" by Kate Spain (print B)

*(2) coordinating prints with a design that in no larger than 1 1/2 x 2 inches/ this will be fussy cut later: I used the light bulb and Christmas tree prints from "Joy"

* (1) 5 inch square of Inner Fuse or another double sided stiff fusible interfacing

*grommets (small 1/4 inch grommets) and grommet pliers,

*contrasting sewing machine thread

*small 4inch square, or less, of lightweight double sided fusible web- I like steam-a-seam 2  and Misty Fuse

*Small alphabet beads

Steps:

1) Cut the stiff interfacing to 3 x 1 3/4 inches.

2) Cut 2 pieces of print A  to 3 x 1 3/4 inches.  This is for the front of the tag. Choose a fabric that is not a large print or too busy.  Large prints may not show well on a small scale and busy fabrics will make reading the name difficult.

Then cut 2 pieces of print B to 3 x 1 3/4 inches.  This will be the back.

Print A is white snowflake on bottom left
Print B is red snowflake top right

3) Read the manufacturer's directions before you use any fusible product, some vary slightly.  Fuse the backing fabric (print B)  to the stiff interfacing.  Then fuse the front fabric (print A) to the other side of the interfacing. Be careful it gets hot!

4) Choose a contrasting color thread, from the top fabric, and zigzag the edges.

5) Lay out the name beads to see spacing.  Make a small mark on the left hand side, about 1/4 inch from the edge.  This will be where the grommet goes.  Then mark the area for the fussy cut fused decoration.

6) Read the directions for your pliers and follow them.  This is how I do it.  Make a hole with the pliers for the grommet.  Push the 'post' grommet through the hole.  Place the other piece on the post and press with the pliers.  If you have never used grommets, try them on a piece of scrap fabric, they can be wiggly.

7)  Take your focus fabric and fuse the light weight double sided fusible web to the back.

8) Fussy cut your design: here I used a tree and light bulb.  Iron onto the Santa Tag.

9) Hand sew the alphabet beads onto the tag.

Smile, you have a completed Santa Tag ready to be attached to a gift.  Just add curling ribbon!

                              

Happy Quilting

Caren

New hat....

I am throwing my hat into the quilt designer ring.  (I hope!)  I've been reading up on starting a home-based business and craft business.  It's something I have been thinking about for a while.  I just don't know where or how to start!  Has anyone started selling their patterns?  Any tips or helpful hints?
 -Caren

OK so it's not a quilt....

B u t it is fabric!  I love origami and years ago I made a quilt from the book "Quiltagami"  it's one of my favorite quilts.  The link is for a cover of the book, in case you've never heard of it.

Anyway, last night I couldn't sleep....again, and started thinking about making a crane with fabric.  There are some directions in "Quiltagami" but I didn't want to attach it to anything.

This afternoon I starched a piece of 12 in fabric, until it could almost stand on it's own.

Here are directions to make a paper crane.  There's a video to watch too.  That makes it easier.

Anyway here are a few pictures of my first (but not last) attempt.

Almost finished....

He's a little droopy.  I think the wings need interfacing or maybe a fabric like Batik might work better.

Here he is with a paper version.
If you want to give it a try:
1.  use lots of starch or the lavender spray, I used lavender
2. use a very hot iron to iron every crease.  A little starch is needed for thicker creases.
3. the edges were left raw, next time I might add steam a seam, paint, or fray check.

OK I'm a little late.  I just googled fabric origami cranes- they are all over the place!  I need to use interfacing.  Here's a great link I found: Magpie Shinies.  I will return with a better crane than my first one!


This is definitely a work in progress.

Happy Quilting
Caren

AAQI Auction

The August AAQI Auction is going on now until Aug. 10.  Watch the video below and then bid for your favorite.  Help find a cure for Alzheimer's.


There are some beautiful quilts up for auction.

Happy Quilting
Caren

Vacation

Just returned from vacation at the beach.  I was sick the first 2 days, but after that it was great.  We built huge sandcastles, went body surfing, learned to snorkel, and discovered a small museum.  Was a lot of fun.  Now I need about 3 days of solid sleep to catch up.

Wrist feels better, I see sewing in my future.

Happy Quilting
Caren