It's a Quilt-a-Thon!

Whether you've participated in a Stitchin' Mission, or not.

Whether you know how to make a quilt, or not.

You're invited to a Quilt-a-Thon!

Let's all make quilt blocks, for quilts to give to Mercy Children's Center intensive care unit in Des Moines.

Friday, February 3, 1-9 pm

and

Saturday, February 4, 9 am-3 pm

at

Lutheran Church of Hope

925 Jordan Creek Parkway

West Des Moines, Iowa

Room 214

It's a No Excuses Quilt-a-Thon

"I've never used a sewing machine."

No worries! Members of Hope Quilters will be there to show you what to do. No straight seam sewing is necessary!

"I've used a sewing machine and I don't want a thing to do with one!"

Well okay! You can help by pressing fabrics. We need people who will press fabrics before they're sewn into blocks and after blocks are sewn.

"I've sewn before, but I've never made a quilt."

Come, and just sew blocks. You don't need to make a whole quilt.... but if you'd like to know how to do that, we'd love to have you join Hope Quilters! 

What to Expect

What everyone will do is take piles of small cotton scraps, sew them together randomly, and then cut them into squares. 

You'll sew blocks like this...

...and this...

...and this...

...until there's a pile like this.

Then you'll add these...

...and a few of these...

...to make a 49" X 49" quilt!

At the Quilt-a-Thon...
...you'll see a sample of the finished quilt, and other examples of quilts you can make with these easy-to-sew blocks. 

...you'll see sewing machines set up, so you can enjoy a few minutes of sewing. Or even better, bring your sewing machine along for a longer stay. 

...you'll see ironing boards and irons, so you can enjoy a few minutes, or hours, of fun pressing!

It's all been arranged. Now Hope Quilters just needs you... and your friends. 

This event is open to everyone who would like to help make quilts for Mercy Children's Center intensive care unit. Do come! No RSVP needed!

SM Number 25 is a Wrap

The last Stitchin' Mission lesson was at Faith Lutheran Church on Thursday. We had a nice turn-out, though I fear we "lost" a few newbies along the way. However, those who saw lessons through to the finish are just as proud as can be about their quilts, and rightly so! 

Photo thanks to Jim Ridge

Sadly, at least four quilters who made quilts are missing from our group picture.

One of our Rebekahs (helpers) made a "John Deere" quilt using fabrics that had been donated to Stitchin' Mission. When she took the finished quilt to work, to show her co-workers, she was offered money for it! Happily, instead of a quilt, House of Mercy will be getting a $100 donation! I'm sorry we don't have a picture of that quilt.

During show and tell, we saw some beauties - quilts, and quilters!

Co-coordinator, Jeannette

Made by Debra

Made by Debra

Made by Debra

Jane

Crystal 

Betsy

Norma 

Charlotte

Cheryl 

Sarah

Christa 

Mary

Laura

Suzanne

Sara

Susan

Anne

Rachel

Sue

Zane 

Co-coordinator, Peggy

Forty-five quilts were turned in Thursday evening! Temporarily, the quilts were laid across three room partitions.

They made an impressive and colorful display. 

Another 20 quilts are expected to be finished.  

All 60-plus quilts will be hung in the sanctuary at Faith Lutheran Church beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, November 19. If you're available to help hang quilts, Peggy would appreciate it.

To see the quilts displayed on November 19-20, you're invited to attend one of Faith's three worship services: Saturday at 5 p.m., or Sunday at 8:30 or 10 a.m.

Thank you all for your hard work. You're a blessing, especially to the children at House of Mercy.

Stitchin' Mission #25, Fourth Lesson

Thursday evening's lesson was all about binding. How to:

1. sew together fabric strips

2. press binding

3. machine sew binding to the quilt and make mitered corners by folding the fabric

4. conceal the binding start and stop "in a tent"

5. trim off excess batting and backing

6. and, hand sew binding to the back of the quilt.

A story board visual aid helps students review after the lesson.

Questions?

Tied Up!

One of our newbies emailed to say she was having problems tying her quilt. She was finding it difficult to pull the darning needle, threaded with yarn, through the quilt sandwich.

This is an occasional challenge. The issue isn't always with the thickness of the yarn, it's with the polyester batting. It's not nearly as difficult to pull yarn through cotton as it is through polyester.

Here are a few solutions to this problem:

1/4" to 3/8" stitch length

If you're trying to take a stitch through an intersection (where four blocks meet in a corner), make sure to take the stitch diagonally through the blocks where the seam allowance is not. Feel with your fingertips, to locate the less thick area and stitch through it.

Or, take a tie stitch in the middle of the block where there aren't any seam allowances.

Try pulling on the needle using a "cap snaffler." It's a rubbery type thing used to open jars. Or, use rubber fingers or a thread gripper (found in a sewing store). If all else fails, you can pull the needle with  needle nose pliers. First, wrap the nose tips with duct tape so ridges on the pliers don't damage the needle. 

From top L-R: kitchen "cap snaffler;" thread gripper; needle nose pliers with duct tape on the tips

Instead of using yarn, try using perle cotton. Size #5 or #3 are ideal. Perle cottons come on a ball or a skein.

Red #5 on a ball; green #5 on a skein; gold #3 on a skein

 Size #5 (the top thread) is less thick than size #3 (the bottom thread).

Top light blue size #5; bottom darker blue size #3

If you're still unable to tie, try making a simple sewing machine satin-stitch/short zig-zag stitch in the same places you wanted to put the ties. Be sure to secure the threads by shortening the stitch length before clipping.

I hope this is helpful information! I'm looking forward to seeing some beautiful finished quilts by Nov. 10. Linda

About Quilting

With credit to singer Cathy Miller and QuiltbirdStudio - You Can Quilt That Out

How to Baste and Tie

Eager learners attended the third Stitchin' Mission lesson at Faith Lutheran Church. The lesson was about how to: make a quilt sandwich; baste a quilt with a needle and thread, or safety pins; tie a quilt; and go about machine quilting.

From those intent gazes, these students look determined to learn how to tie their quilts!

What a pretty quilt was being use for the demonstration!

Pairing up, quilters set to sandwiching their quilts.

Here, one of our mother-daughter teams work together.

 Many hands make light work.

Next Thursday, Nov. 3 our lesson is about how to bind a quilt. Several different methods will be reviewed, followed by a demonstration at the sewing machine. Rebekahs have the night off since the lesson is short. Newbies are encouraged to attend, ask questions, and then return home to sew!

Students: As always, no matter whether or not you're keeping up with your quiltmaking during weekly lessons, you're encouraged to attend classes. If your quilt isn't finished by the last lesson on Thursday, Nov. 10, you have until the morning of Saturday, Nov. 19 to complete your quilt. That's plenty of time to see it finished and displayed alongside other Stitchin' Mission quilts on Nov. 19-20. Everyone is invited to visit Faith Lutheran Church, and attend a worship service to see the display. Services are at 5 p.m. Saturday, and 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. Sunday.

Second SM#25 Lesson

At Thursday evening's second beginner quiltmaking lesson, newbies learned about rotary cutting - using a rotary mat, acrylic rulers and a rotary cutter to straighten and cut fabric. 

After the rotary cutting demonstration, Rebekahs stationed themselves at tables around the room to give guidance if anyone had difficulties. 

Sometimes, to be sure those rotary cuts were perfectly straight, an extra pair of hands became helpful.

Two can always accomplish more, and have more fun, than one working alone!

After rotary cutting, newbies learned how to sew blocks together to create a "web" and make a finished quilt top.

A demonstration of how to measure, cut and sew borders to a quilt center concluded the evening's lesson.

There is no lesson Thursday, October 20, so students have two weeks to make a quilt top... or two or three! The next lesson is October 27. Students will learn how to make a quilt sandwich, tie a quilt, and learn a little bit about machine quilting.