February 25, 2014 – Graduation Gifts: T-Shirt Quilts

Graduation is an important milestone, and a lot of planning goes into a graduation celebration.  Perhaps you have the party, catering, and invitations picked out, but what about the gift?  If you are thinking of making a special gift for your graduate, a one-of-a-kind t-shirt quilt may be the answer.  By using t-shirts from school activities, concerts, vacations, etc. you can capture special memories for your graduate.  T-shirt quilts can be made in several sizes, depending on the number of shirts used. (more…)

February 11, 2014 – Community Charity Quilts

It doesn’t have to be Valentine’s Day for quilters to have a heart for giving.  Quilts demonstrate a true gift from the heart, including anonymous or charitable donations.  Loftworks Quilting owner, Jeanette Sapp, has partnered with local hospitals to provide quilts for pediatric patients.  She has combined a love of quilting with her passion to help children.  This photo provides a sample of the quilts she has made for this cause.  What a terrific way to utilize one’s stash of fabrics.  If you’d like more information on how you can help these patients, please contact Jeanette.  Whatever charitable path you choose, give from the heart.

January 27, 2014 – Seams are Best if Pressed

It’s no secret that an iron is a valuable tool for a quilter.  If you have the space, keep your iron and ironing board up in your sewing area.  This will save time when you are working on quilt blocks.  It is recommended that all seams be pressed before the piece you are working on is sewn to another.  Remember to press the iron in an up and down motion on the fabric.  If ironing is done in a circular motion, the fabric may become distorted.  Quilt patterns typically provide instructions for the direction to press each seam.  If you’re unsure, press the seam allowance toward the darker fabric.  To aid in making flat corners when joining rows together, we recommend that you alternate the direction of seam allowances for the rows (i.e, first row/left direction, second row/right direction, etc.).  Don’t forget – when your rows are all joined, iron the row seam allowances in a downward direction (toward the bottom of the quilt).  This step needs to be done before it is loaded on a long arm machine.  If you’re adding borders, border seam allowances are typically ironed outward, toward the border.  A small amount of ironing during the piecing process can make a huge difference when joining all of your blocks together.

January 14, 2014 – Animal Crib Quilt

 

 

 

 

 

Making a one-of-a-kind baby gift is something that is truly treasured by the recipient. Crib quilts typically aren’t large.  Therefore, this type of project can be done quickly and with a small amount of fabric.  The crib quilt above was quilted using the all-over Alphabet Soup design by Patricia Ritter.

December 31, 2013: Snowmen in a Winter Wonderland

 

 

 

 

 

It may be cold outside, but warmth can be found sitting by the fireplace wrapped up in this snowman quilt.  It is quilted using the Winter Wonderland design by Barbara Becker (Four Paws Quilting).  This is a lap-size quilt that looks inviting laying across your sofa, or it also makes a great wall hanging.