Hello Quilting Friends!!
First, apologies for the "empty" newsletter email you received earlier. Technology is a wonderful thing when it works....Now on to the August Newsletter!
We are in the “Dog Days of Summer”! I am a Johnny-Come-Lately to the AI rage. So, I decided to ask AI, the origin of the phrase “Dog Days of Summer”. I was surprised to learn that the phrase originates from ancient Greek and Roman observations of the hottest days of summer, which coincided with the rising of Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, also known as the "Dog Star." The ancient Greeks noted this period of intense heat lasted about 40 days, occurring in the summer and the Romans associated the heat and discomfort of the season with the Sirius Star. Drought, unrest and bad luck was attributed to the Star’s rising. In our day, it has become synonymous with the hot, sultry days of summer.
New Monthly Sale
This month we are preparing for loads of new flannel arrivals from Canada. At the same time, we’ve been flooded with End-of-Bolt cuts from recent sales. To make room for the new arrivals, beginning today through August 24th, we are offering an additional 20% OFF on these End-of-Bolt cuts on orders of $50.00 or more. These fabrics are already discounted by 30% and this additional promotion brings them to a total of 50% OFF! That’s a smok’n deal quilters!! These fabrics are the same quality as your 44/45 fabrics and for this short time you can pick them up for next to nothing! Use promocode: EXTRA20 and start saving now!
Also, FREE SHIPPING is available for orders of $75 or more.
For your convenience, here’s the link:
Featured Product(s)
Christmas in August Arrivals—
We’re getting ready for the Holiday Season here at Log Cabin as QT’s new Christmas prints arrived this week! This one is called Holly Christmas Time.
When these fabrics start rolling in for the holidays, I can’t wait to get my sewing machine started on my fall and winter projects. These fabrics will warm your heart so check them out and start your Christmas projects before these fabrics are sold out!
ONE-YARD CUTS—20% OFF
There are lots of varied holiday prints in this category so don’t forget our one-yard cuts to bring variety to your projects. We’ll keep replenishing this stock with new offerings so check back often.
Culinary Corner – Blackened Salmon Pasta Salad
These hot summer days call for ice cold salads in my world. This is one of my favorite pasta salads because I can add any protein I have on hand—although blackened salmon is my favorite! You can serve it with hot or cold salmon. My husband grills salmon and we have extra that I can add to this salad on day 2 or 3. Also, I’ve flaked smoked salmon into the salad too for a very quick dinner. And, sometimes I’ll add extra vegetables we have on hand. Clearly this is a very versatile dish!
Free Patterns Dog and Cat Quilts and Accessories Patterns
Many of us are dog and/or cat lovers. Quilt Inspiration Blogspot offers a variety of free patterns that honor our beloved family pets. These patterns are fun and easy to make. Also they include patterns for pet beds, pillows, and blankets
Instead of a download this month, here is a quick link to the blogspot to start your pet projects today!
Quilt Inspiration--Free Pet Quilt Patterns
LONG-ARM QUILTING SERVICES
Please allow four to six weeks for completion.
TODAY’S TIPS, TRICKS & TECHNIQUES—10 Top Quilt Making Mistakes
Whether you are a brand-new quilter, or have made many quilts through the years, there is always something new to learn and maybe even some not-so-good habits to unlearn. So, let’s get started….
1. Using Cheap Fabrics--If you want to sew quilts that will last for years, fabric quality matters. Loosely woven fabrics found in the bargain bin are tempting. The truth is, they fray quickly, stretch and lose color intensity sometimes in the first washing.
2. Prewashing the top but not the backing fabric—This causes uneven shrinkage. It’s important to think through the final outcome you want to achieve before beginning your quilting project. “Planned” shrinkage to obtain a vintage look while new can be accomplished by NOT prewashing your fabrics (both top and backing) until the quilt is finished. However, often quilters will prewash the top fabrics prior to cutting the top pieces; but then haven’t thought to prewash the backing fabric. This will cause the back to pucker more when finally washed, but the front will not shrink anymore because it was cut AFTER shrinkage occurred.
3. Assuming high quality fabrics do not shrink—This is a common error I hear frequently. Customers prewash the backing fabrics and find they are short on yardage when it comes to loading on the longarm for quilting. Even with top manufacturers, think MODA, Northcott, Wilmington and so forth, plan on a 7% average shrinkage rate! That’s a lot. You can be short as much as 7-10 inches of yardage when prewashing and drying are complete. If you do not prewash your fabrics, this is not an issue. But, if you do prewash, be sure to purchase extra yardage to accommodate for the shrinkage.
4. Using the wrong needle—Most quilts are made from 100% quilter’s cotton where a simple Microtex 10 or 12 needle is perfect. However, if you are sewing T-shirt or Memory quilts, or possibly Crazy Quilts with vintage satin fabrics and laces, you may need to use a Universal or even Stretch Needles. Allowing the machine to skip stitches compromises the quality of your seams, especially where joints come together.
5. Not reading the pattern all the way through prior to starting—I learned the hard way that hidden gems are found as I read the pattern through the first time. This can avoid cutting errors (very costly), piecing errors (time lost in ‘unsewing’), or an extra trip to the store because you don’t have the correct supplies on hand when ready to fire up the sewing machine.
6. Skipping Sewing Machine Maintenance--I make this mistake way too often! Sewing on 100% cotton fabric creates lint and dust. Additionally, threads will get caught in the bobbin and underneath the throat plate that, combined with lint, will create a nest that can impede your bobbin’s movement. Without regular cleaning and oiling (if applicable for your machine), your machine may skip stitches, tangle thread, or the needle can freeze in the down position. (Ask me how I know THAT ONE!)
7. Skipping Pressing—This one is critical to the beauty of the quilt’s outcome. Use a very hot iron to press each of the seams as you go, BEFORE sewing the seam to another seam. If we don’t, we sew an uncreased seam which creates a bubble of sorts that eventually will get quilted into the final outcome. Imagine all of these little bubbles across a 70 x 85 quilt top??? By pressing the seams flat, producing a crisp crease, you will be amazed at how professional your quilt looks when the quilting process is finished.
8. Adding borders without measuring—typically quilters are in a hurry once they get to the borders, because we’re so close to the end. Just slapping on the border from end-to-end is a big mistake though. This causes the quilt to go out-of-square. That is, the outside corners will measure larger than the center point of your quilt. This creates waviness due to excess fabric that your longarm quilter will have to deal with. She/he may or may not be able to fix it depending on how much waviness is there. Be sure to measure the center point and cut the border to the center measurement, then ease in the difference when pinning the border to the top for the most professional outcome.
9. Not staystitching the perimeter—For the best outcome, take the time to stitch 1/8” around the entire perimeter using a normal 2.5mm stitch. This will keep your quilt top border from stretching (especially if it was cut on the crosswise grain) and keep the joints from separating when being mounted on the longarm for quilting.
10. Rushing through binding—Binding is your quilt’s frame. While in most cases, it’s very tiny compared to the size of the overall quilt. Ensuring our binding is a good fit and complements the overall quilt pattern and color is important to the picture we have created. Take it from someone who has repaired many vintage quilts for others, a secure, double binding that is well attached can preserve the outer borders and joints (if applicable) for decades. I have had to cut off as much as 6 inches of a quilt that was destroyed because the binding failed. We have spent so much time sewing this beautiful creation, let’s be sure it lasts a lifetime with a properly secured binding.
Happy Quilting
Linda
Log Cabin Quilt’N Sew
703-586-3265