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. 

Stitchin' Mission #25 Underway

Thirty three newbies and 11 Rebekahs (helpers)  - 44 people! - turned out for the first beginner quiltmaking lesson at Faith Lutheran Church.

Several other newbies will join us for second and third lessons, so our whole group totals 50!

God is definitely teaching us about working together in community, and demonstrating how we can serve Him without traveling far from home.

This is such an attentive, cheerful group! They make it exciting to be teaching again.

Here I'm showing what a fat quarter is - an approximately 18" X 22" fabric rectangle with the same number of square inches as a 1/4 yard cut of fabric.

Toward the end of class, everyone received a demonstration of various ways to find a scant quarter-inch seam on the sewing machine.

We're starting new quilters off on the right foot... a quarter inch sewing machine foot. (Pun intended.)

While the seam width demonstrations continued, newbies shopped with the help of our awesome Rebekahs. Norma (pink shirt) has attended nearly every Stitchin' Mission during the past six years. Linda (orange shirt) too has helped with many of them.

If Deb (right) looks like she knows what she's talking about, she does! She's been a Rebekah at least a dozen times. 

A lovely mother (red top) and daughter (black top) team signed up to be first-time Rebekahs since participating in the last Stitchin' Mission at Lutheran Church of Hope. Yay!

Another first-time Rebekah, Sara (pink top) is helping a returning newbie.

Everyone who participates in a Stitchin' Mission for the second, third, or fourth time, learns something new - and even better, enjoys doing it again because we're just so much better when we're together!

It's exciting to see this many people interested in learning how to make a quilt, especially knowing that they've been asked to give that quilt away.

This time, our quilt recipients live locally. They are children between infancy and nine years old who are in difficult circumstances due to separation, abuse, or other desperate family situations. For that reason, we cannot expect to see pictures of these kids with the quilts we make. But we understand and will be prayerful for them as we sew.

Several local fabric stores are having weekend Columbus Day sales. Between the wonderful fabric donations, and sale fabrics available, we can expect to see many beautiful quilts coming from this group. Please tag along!

Another Tidbit
On Tuesday evening, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. I'll be at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Ankeny, Iowa, giving a program to the Ankeny Quilt Guild. If you're interested in learning more about Stitchin' Mission and picking up a few tips about making charity quilts, do come. Linda

Another Stitchin' Mission Series Scheduled!

Stitchin' Mission® beginner quiltmaking lessons start Thursday, October 6 at 6:30 p.m., at Faith Lutheran Church, 10395 University Ave. (next to K-Mart), Clive, Iowa. Choose from four 36” X 48” quilt patterns and in five free lessons, learn the fundamentals of quiltmaking. As much as possible, supplies are provided. Your cost may be $15 or less. Please consider donating the quilt you make to the mission selected by Faith Lutheran Church: House of Mercy, Des Moines.

Stitchin’ Mission is for everyone! Home-schoolers, accompanied by a parent, are welcome! For more information and to register visit www.StitchinMission.org or phone 515-225-8334.

Five Stitchin' Mission, beginner quiltmaking lessons are:

Thursday, October 6, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 13, 6:30 p.m. 

No Lesson October 20

Thursday, October 27 , 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, November 3, 6:30 p.m. 

Thursday, November 10, 6:30 p.m.

Registrations are being accepted now! Go here to register.

Stitchin' Mission #25 Cancelled

Due to low registration numbers, Stitchin' Mission #25, scheduled to begin Sunday, July 17 at Crosspoint Methodist Church in Bondurant, Iowa, is cancelled. This is the first time a Stitchin' Mission has been cancelled. Perhaps it's due to busy summer schedules.

Several of us are praying about future Stitchin' Missions. At this time, none are anticipated.