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Have you ever been quilting a large quilt on your domestic machine and needed to cut the bobbin thread? Climbing beneath the mass of quilt can be a miserable act of contortionism. Here’s a simple way to cut the bottom thread from the top!

1. Sew a number of tiny stitches close together and stop:

2. Raise the needle, and pull the quilt away so you can grab the top thread:

3. While holding that thread, place the needle back in the same hole (close is good enough):

4. Raise the needle again, then tug on the thread you’re holding. You may need to grab the thread above the eye of the needle with your other hand and tug on both threads. The bobbin thread should pull to the top:

5. Pull the quilt away from under the needle while holding onto the threads. Continue to tug on the threads until about a 1″ loop of bobbin thread comes to the top.

6. Cut all 3 threads that are coming out of the hole (the top thread and both ends of the bobbin loop.

7. The top thread will now be cut even with the quilt top, and the bobbin thread is now severed, with no tail on the back. Here’s a picture of the loop of bobbin thread cut off:

It really works! Try it, you’ll like it!

This week I’d like to share a second topic. I hope you’ll enjoy:

Quilting With Kids Revisited

This past week, my nephew’s 7 year old daughter, Lily, came for an overnight visit because she wanted to learn to quilt. She had seen the quilts her cousin Hanna had made and wanted to make a quilt too (click here to read about my granddaughter, Hanna’s, quilting adventures).

Right after a breakfast of Uncle Mike’s waffles, we had to head to the studio (she didn’t even want to change out of her jammies). Lily is very bright … but she’s always moving, so I thought this might be a bit of a challenge (here’s a typical shot of her :-)):

She did great! I had her pick out 12 charm squares from my box of 6″ squares, in order to make a doll quilt. She arranged them in a 3 x 4 set and the sewing began. She listened well and was very careful.

Once the top was pieced, she chose a piece of flannel for the back, layered it with batting, pinned all around, and sewed – leaving an opening for turning.

She then poked out the corners.

And quilted 1/2″ away from the outer edge and with an “X” through the middle. She sewed every stitch herself!

Then she wrapped a dolly in it and said “can we make another one?”

By this time Aunt Chris decided we all needed to take a walk in the woods :-)! It’s so much fun to share your passion with the younger generation!

 

 

 

In the past 8 days I’ve taught in 3 states and packed and unpacked suitcases 3 times! I’ve met so many wonderful quilters and my quilts have enjoyed getting out and being seen. I’m so blessed to be able to do what I love and have the energy to do it :-)!

In Princeton, IL I presented my lecture: “Journey With a Compass” and the following day they chose the Mariner’s Compass workshop. We found a large, oval platter in the church kitchen where the workshop was held and these 4 talented quilters really made great progress towards getting them done.

 Kate did it all with her hand in a cast (I was impressed)!

From there I stopped home for a day to regroup and then traveled to Iowa City for a Threads Untangled lecture and a Parallelisms workshop. What a friendly and fun group. The fiber art created in class was delightful, but I was remiss and totally forgot to take a few pictures :-(.

I then returned home for 2 days to pack up for the Fox Valley Technical College – Sewing and Quilting Expo in Oshkosh, WI. I taught an all day Free Motion workshop on Friday, and on Saturday I did 5 lectures in 8 hours – Whew!

The toughest part was packing 7 bags and loading them in the car. I’m so glad I have an SUV that can hold it all.

The students were interested, and interesting, and there was so much information to share and many beautiful quilts to see. It really was great fun, and I slept very well last night :-).

One of the interesting things I learned was in the evening lecture with Karen Kay Buckley. She highly recommends serrated scissors for cutting out fabric. They enable you to cut through many layers without having things slip around. She has them available on her website:  http://www.karenkaybuckley.com/store.php?cat=5. Her quilts are wonderful (you’ve probably seen them on the cover of a magazine or two), so do spend a little extra time checking out the gallery section of her site.

Thanks to everyone who made this past week so enjoyable!

Did you attend the Expo? Did you learn anything you’d like to share?

 

 

I met Margit Kagerer the first time I visited Evelyn in Arizona. Margit is a member of the Maverick’s Art Quilt Guild and I’m delighted to call her my friend. On my recent visit she was kind enough to invite a group of us to her beautiful home. We were treated to breathtaking views from every window

as well as a “gallery tour” of her art and home. I thought you would enjoy seeing some of her inspiring work.

Don’t you love the way the quilt fits the architectural detail of the fireplace?

What a whimsical and clever tumbling block display!

Margit has won many awards for her quilts and she shared her collection of miniatures with us.

I was impressed with all of her work, but I was particularly intrigued with her current creative use of men’s neckties. I guarantee you haven’t seen tie quilts like these before :-)!

She even creates small landscapes completely from the ties!

For a virtual tour of more of Margit’s work, go to:  http://www.arizonaquiltershalloffame.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=48

Thank you Margit, for a lovely visit and for your kind permission to share your work on my blog!

Has anyone else done something unique with neckties???

While teaching at a recent Sewing and Quilting Expo, I had a very interesting conversation with a trio of women. These dear ladies were staying in the same motel as I was and at breakfast they were analyzing the jacket of the commentator on tv. I, of course, couldn’t resist getting in on the conversation, which led to my asking them if they were there to attend the Expo. They answered yes and told me they were garment sewers. They then asked me and I told them  I had a background in garments, but that I currently focused on quilting. They knowingly looked at one another and one said in a low voice: “she’s gone to the dark side”. I laughed. Quilting? The dark side of the sewing world??? What made garment construction so light??? Have you heard this expression before?

I thought about that conversation many times during the Expo, and on the ride home I began thinking about the portion of my life in which I made garments. I began sewing when I was 7. My mother taught me to make a sleeveless dress (which I, alas, no longer have). I liked sewing right away and began taking Home Ec as soon as I entered Middle School (Junior High was the correct term at that time :-). During High School I made many of my own clothes and continued my sewing education all the way through a tailoring class my Senior year. I loved to sew! I’ve made clothes for many members of my family over the years.

When I got home from the Expo, I began digging through closets and drawers, and discovered that my pack-rat tendencies may finally prove to be a good thing!

Nautical themed fabric bell bottoms? Got it! Green fringed poncho? It’s there!

Halter Dress? But of course (it was the 70’s)! Oh – and I made Mike’s sport coat and vest too. Matching plaids was an adventure!

Purple and yellow plaid wool blazer? Who wouldn’t hang onto that? (sorry the photo is B&W)

Puzzle Costumes? (kind of scary, isn’t it?).

A quick tour of closets and the attic yielded the inspiration for a new lecture: “Gone to the Dark Side”. I began pairing up these interesting (and often “laugh out loud”) garments with quilts, and have been having a very entertaining trip down memory lane.

I not only have old clothes and quilt stories to share in the talk, but I’m putting together a slide show of “vintage” pics showcasing myself and various family members actually wearing these garments long ago (you only got a sampling here). I’m also including quite a few modern quilted garments that combine both these old and new skills. If you’re a child of the 70’s, a past garment sewer, or you just want an evening of chuckles and entertainment, I think you may find this new lecture interesting. I would be so grateful to have you share my website: http://www.chrisquilts.net/classes/ with the Program Chairpersons in your guild. My email is: . Or better yet, please send them to my blog!

Recently I’ve been contemplating how wonderful it is to be able to end each year with the “joy” that is Christmas! No matter what is going on in our lives, we can focus on the birth of our Savior and what He did for us.

Then I began thinking about the little blessings I’ve enjoyed this Christmas season already. When we had our first snow, Sommer and I tried to build a snowman. There wasn’t much snow and she didn’t want to wear her mittens or touch the unusual white stuff, but once I had put the little snowman head on the body, she couldn’t resist picking it up! I call this picture: “Grandma, snow is cold!”

This past week my friend Sharon and I kept our 10 year tradition alive and “rang and sang” for the Salvation Army. It is one of my favorite Christmas activities. The ringing is fun, but the singing makes it pure joy (even if we’re not always on key). This article was in the Watertown paper last year .

Sharon and I looked pretty much the same this year, so I thought our silliness in this picture might bring a smile to your face. I recently read a blog post entitled: “10 Things Salvation Army Bell Ringers Want You to Know”. Please click on the title to read it – I’m sure you’ll find it interesting.

Another favorite tradition of mine is baking cookies with my mom. We’ve done it together every year since I was old enough to help. The men hang out in the living room and offer to be the taste testers. Over the years the kids have actively helped when they were around. This year Mike was out of town, but Dad, Mom, Brad and Sommer all were here. Here’s my mom making Spritz cookies (a family tradition) with the “new” old cookie press I found on eBay to replace my grandmother’s (which broke), along with Dad, who’s taking the taste testing part seriously.

And this one is of Sommer doing a bit of decorating. She got more on the tray than the cookies, until daddy tossed a candy decoration in his mouth. Then she got most in her tummy!

There’s one more blessing I’ve really been contemplating. Quilting certainly brings me a great amount of joy. What a blessing to be able to do what I love. Teaching is another happy part of my life. Each of you who take my classes or read my blog posts are a huge encouragement to me and I’d like to take this time to send you a great big THANK YOU!

From my family to yours – MERRY CHRISTMAS!