There's Nothing Like a Good Education

I've mentioned already how amazed I am that when I sat down at the sewing machine, it all came back to me - like I didn't even have to think about it.

Well, that is sort of true. What really happened is that I sat down at the sewing machine and as I started to sew, I heard the voice of Cheryl, my first quilting instructor, telling me how important the 1/4" seam was, and how to check to make sure your needle was still positioned properly.

I heard her telling me to think ahead to which direction the seams would be pressed, so that when you put your pieces or rows together, the seams would nest together.

I hear her voice every time I cut the fabric - one smooth motion with the right hand, culminating - always - in sliding the blade closed.

When I had to reload the bobbin, I heard Cathy, who taught me how to use my machine, telling me to hold the thread and bobbin so it looked like a number six before sliding it into place. Works smoothly every time.

As much as I am an advocate of learning how to do things on one's own - of trial and error - in the end, nothing can beat an education.

I was lucky enough to live near an awesome quilt shop - The Quilter's Attic in Pine Bush, New York. I took a lot of classes there - and it's the tips and tricks of my instructors that I hear when I sit down to quilt.

I learned how to quilt from those women - and then I moved to Texas. I can't find a quilt store that compares. There are some lovely ones in the area - but none of them have everything I'm looking for - either they don't sell the thread I like or the classes don't interest me - or I don't like their fabric selections.

What I've thought about over the last several weeks is that I, unknowingly at the time, was taking part in an old and familiar rite of passage - being taught how to quilt by the more experienced women, before heading west and going it alone. I know - sort of a leap. But at the same time, sort of empowering. There's a deep history - a long chain of women who learned how to quilt out of necessity. Pioneer girls would work on sampler quilts before they were married - not just to decorate their new home, but to carry the knowledge of how to sew each of the blocks with them. It was their virtual instruction manual. They pieced quilts, not just because they enjoyed the design - but because there was no money for an expensive long length of fabric. They saved every scrap they could lay their hands on, in order to make blankets for their homes.

And I've become another woman in that chain, and hopefully some day I will pass it on to someone else.

In the meantime, let me pass this on: if you are anywhere near the Hudson Valley in New York - check out Quilter's Attic. They have great classes, fantastic fabrics, and all sorts of other goodies. Seriously -- go!

Strip Sets and the Shape Cut Ruler

The pattern I chose for the Christmas quilt utilizes "strip sets" in the construction of the blocks. It's a great pattern for not-so-experienced quilters - you simply cut your fabric into strips, sew the long strips together, cut those strips into pieces (sets) and then sew those together. Without the need for any complicated techniques, you have several completed blocks. If you can manage to sew two strips of fabric together, you can make this quilt.

These directions for making the Nine Patch Block shows you what I'm talking about. A typical beginning quilt is the Rail Fence quilt, which is an exclusively strip set-constructed (or strip pieced) quilt.

The pattern I used - Harvest Patch - is constructed of strip sets that are off-set (at an angle) and then paired with triangles in the corners to create a square.

First, here is a sample of a strip set - and the piece cut from the strip:


Here you can see how each of the pieces cut from the strip had a cream triangle added to each end. At an angle, they create the block:

The two red fabrics were one strip set, the triple-green in the first photo was another, and the third strip set was the cream fabric with the green on either side.

One of my absolutely favorite tools is a cutting ruler called the Shape Cut Ruler by June Tailor. There are lots of other things you can do with these rulers, but if the only thing it ever did was make strip piecing so easy, it would still be worth it. Basically, it's a ruler that is a mat with slots at 1/2" or 1/4" intervals. When you lay it over your fabric, you slide your rotary cutter into each slot, cutting your fabric into strips.

What this really means is this: you have a long piece of fabric, and you need to cut it into six 3 1/2" pieces. You can lay the Shape Cut ruler over your fabric and cut all five of the pieces at once. (It's only an 18 inch ruler, so the sixth is done on its own.) You start with your rotary blade at "0" - then cut at the 3 1/2" mark, the 7" mark, 10 1/2" and 14" and 17 1/2" - and you have five of the six pieces you need. (Tip: until you get used to doing the math quickly, it's very helpful to write down the points where you'll need to cut.) In a very, very short amount of time, you've got all of your pieces - and you haven't had to move your fabric, so your edges should still be squared.

Here's what it did for cutting my border strips:




Just like that - five of the six border strips I needed from this fabric!