Reversible Journal Cover

Today’s gift idea is a journal/book cover. It’s a great way to personalize an everyday ordinary object. Give them to kids of any age for their school notebooks, keep one for yourself as a special one-of-a-kind diary, or gift one to your coworkers. An obsessive list-maker, I covet my notebooks that I use for work and my personal to-do lists and am happy to dress them up! The good news is that they’re fast and easy to make. Here we go:

You’ll need:

• 1 fat quarter for the outside
• Approx. 18” x 10” lining fabric
• Approx. 18” x 10” batting
• composition journal (9-3/4” x 7-1/2”)

First, trim off the selvage from your fat quarter and lining fabric. Next, cut the fat quarter through the middle to get two pieces of fabric approximately 18” x 10”. Set one piece aside (this will be used for the front cover). Cut the remaining piece of fabric in half again so that you have two pieces approximately 9” x 10”.

Fold these two pieces in half hot-dog style with wrong sides together so that you have two folded pieces approximately 4-1/2” x 10”. Press. These are the inside pockets.

Open the composition journal to the middle of the book and place on the wrong side of the front cover fabric.  Trace around the journal with a pencil or fabric marker (or in my case, a yellow crayola…)

Who needs fancy quilting pens?

Since you want to account for the thickness of the book (my first attempt fit perfectly over my wide-open journal….so perfectly tight I couldn’t even close it!) Measure how thick the book is when it’s closed flat. For smaller composition books, this should be less than half an inch. Draw a new line, adding this measurement to one side of your sewing line (the shorter side.)

Next, place the lining fabric and front cover fabric with right sides together and cut ½” bigger than the drawn line. Do the same with your batting piece.

Then, stack your fabric in the following order:

 

• Batting
• Lining fabric (right side up)
• Inside pockets (raw edges on the outside)
• Front cover fabric (wrong side up)

Pin all layers and stitch on the drawn line leaving a 3” opening. TIP: Don’t leave your opening in a place where the short edge of an inside pocket is. It makes it really difficult to stitch up later. Guess how I know this…Also, do not sew inside the drawn line — it is better to make the cover a little bigger than your journal.

Clip corners and trim seam allowance, leaving a ¼” of seam. Turn your journal inside out through your 3” opening and slip-stitch the opening closed. Insert journal cover into the inside pockets and enjoy your new journal!

I can't wait to use it!

No time to make one? Westminster Fabrics has made it easy for you to get in on the fun. Check out the Westminster Fibers Fabric Journal, for sale on our online store.

– Posted by Stacy

 

Rag Scarf

Annnndddd we’re off. In case you didn’t see last week’s blog entry (and CONTEST!), today we begin our Twenty Days of Christmas Gift Ideas, where we bring you a new gift idea every weekday leading up to Christmas. We’ll be covering gifts of all shapes and sizes for every person on your list, so check us out.

Without further delay, we present to you our very first gift idea. A rag scarf! Della made one last month and Karen has been wearing it ever since (especially when it finally started snowing!) It’s a great “one size fits all” idea and can be made in just a few hours.

Here’s how you do it:

• You will need at least five ¼ yard cuts of an assortment of flannels or woven fabrics.
• From your fabric, cut twenty-four 7” squares.
• Pair two squares with wrong sides together. Pair up twelve “sets” of two squares.  Sew sets together with a ½” seam allowance –make all  seams on the same side. Sew ½” around the edge of the whole scarf.
• Clip the seams, and the edges, every ¼” with care not to clip through the seam or edge sewing. Using the tips, not the crotch, of very sharp scissors is best.
• Wash and dry a few times for the rag effect.

Finished size is 72” x 6”. Add more squares if you want it longer, or you can layer up three flannel squares if you’d like it thicker and heavier.

Karen Styling the Scarf

– Posted by Stacy

New Use for Common Object

Check out this coffee creamer. What comes to mind? Coffee (that one was easy)…I need to clean out my fridge….or maybe just YUCK! Pretty average stuff, though, right? You might even have some in your kitchen. (I can hear you all screaming at your computer screens “get to the QUILTING already!!”) Well, dear readers, we’ll get to the point. We love to find uncommon uses for common household objects, especially if it makes our sewing better. And we have a little secret use for these coffee creamer bottles that we think you’ll love.

I have learned over the years that it really does matter what kind of water you put in your iron (who knew?!). The instructions for my iron say to use regular tap water – not distilled or softened water. Lucky me, my tap water is softened. Which means every time I need water for my iron, I have to fill up a jug of water from a tap of un-softened water all the way in the basement.  Have you ever tried to fill up your iron from a gallon milk jug? Trust me, it’s not easy.

Thankfully, I found a better way of doing things. A student in one of my beginning quilt classes said she used coffee creamer bottles to fill up her iron. They work great, even if you don’t have to worry about crawling down to the basement to get un-softened water. The coffee creamer bottle has a tight lid and a spout. Wow, no more spills on my ironing board! And it’s so convenient to have an ample supply of water right by your board. That means less trips to the faucet to fill up!

So, here’s what you do. It’s so simple. First, buy a liquid coffee creamer. Make a whole pot of coffee and use up the creamer (think of all you’ll get accomplished!) Wash it out thoroughly and remove the label (it looks better this way).  Annnddd…Voila! You have your own Ironing Board Companion. It’s amazing what you can learn from those beginning students!

Clean out the creamer.

Use scissors to snip into the label.

Tear off the label.

A perfect little spout!

We love our ironing board companions!

Happy sewing,

Della

What’s Your Gift Idea?

Okay, crafty ladies. The season of giving is upon us and it’s our time to shine. Whether you’re new to the sewing world or a seasoned veteran, you can impress your family, friends, neighbors and coworkers with your unique, thoughtful, one-of-a-kind presents. And we’re here to help for any of you with a little gifter’s-block. Stuck on what to give your husband, uncle or long-lost cousin? Are your friends’ closets already bursting with your fabulous quilts and looking for something different this year? Starting next week the Quilt Expressions Blog is getting creative and bringing you the 20 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas. We’ll throw out one project idea every weekday so you’ll have your gift making done in no time.

But first, we have to ask. What are you making this holiday season? What are your gift ideas? And here’s the fun part — a contest. So, our blogger friends, comment here with your holiday gift idea and our panel of Quilt Expressions experts will pick our favorite project to win a Fruitcake layer cake by Basic Grey for Moda Fabrics. We’ll pick our winner on the morning of December 15th, so don’t delay!

Best gift idea wins the prize!

– Posted by Stacy

 

Border Tips

Assuming you’ve read our blogger profiles, you should all be familiar with my sewing skills — and by that I mean LACK of sewing skills. I’ve dabbled in cross stitch and I can wrangle some knitting needles just fine, but the complex system of fabric and sewing machines and somehow putting it all together in a neat little quilt with corners matching and all that?? It’s new to me. As I work in a quilt shop, it didn’t take long for my dear quilting friends to sign me up and get me started — and I mean that literally. Only a week after my first day at the shop I found myself sitting in the beginning quilting class, trying to figure out how to get that dang thread onto a bobbin, how to sew a ¼” seam and why the heck it mattered, and desperately trying to remember if that pack of 10” squares sitting next to my machine was called a jelly bun, sugar roll, or a layer pack.

Thankfully, my quilting skills are coming along nicely and I’m just about to finish my first quilt top. My last task was to put on borders. With clear instructions from Karen and Della, I set to work.

Time for the borders! I used a layer cake from the Panache line to make my quilt top.

So, listen up, ladies! Maybe you’re new to quilting like me, or maybe you’re tired of your borders looking like wavy ruffles. There’s a better way to do it. This step-by-step guide will help you finish your quilt top perfectly. Let’s get started.

1) Step one. Cut your inner border fabric into strips according to your pattern. Don’t forget to trim off the selvage. Beginner’s tip: don’t rush! Cutting became a disaster when I was anxious to get sewing and did my mental math wrong. I ended up with a handful of shorted strips. Like they say, “measure twice, cut once.” I also recommend starting your measuring on a whole number — you’re bound to lose an ⅛” here and there if you’re trying to add or subtract complex fractions and are starting on a ⅝”. Do yourself a favor and make the math easy.

I neatly folded my fabric in half to cut my strips straight.

2) Next, sew the ends of your strips together and press in one direction. As they tell me, “sew a seam, press the seam.”

Woo hoo! My inner border is all sewn together.

3) Spread out your quilt top on the floor or a large table. Measure the quilt from the top to the bottom through the center of the quilt. Cut two strips off your inner border fabric in this length.

Through the center!

Why do we do it this way? Once you’ve pieced your quilt together, it can end up all sorts of shapes and sizes. Sometimes the ends are longer than the middle, or vice versa. If your borders aren’t put on correctly, the problem grows exponentially and it becomes a huge pain to quilt. Your quilt becomes puckered and can resemble a trapezoid.  By measuring through the center of the quilt and having opposite borders be the exact same length of fabric as that measurement, you can ease in slouchy fabric, or stretch it out if it’s not as long. The result: a closer to perfect rectangle. That sounds nice!

4) Fold the quilt top in half and one of your inner border strips in half  to find the centers. Pin the centers together. Next, pin the ends together and everywhere in between, easing (stretching one or the other to fit) if necessary. Lots of pinning is as important as measuring through the center to be sure you don’t have a wavy-bordered, trapezoid quilt.

Pinning the centers.

Pinning at the ends.

5) Now that you’re pinned together, sew away and press when you’re finished. Repeat steps 3-5, this time measuring from side to side (through the center) for  the top and bottom inner borders.

For effective pressing, first you have to "set the seam."

Then open it up and press in one direction.

6) Doing more borders? Repeat this process as many times as necessary and you’ll be in great shape!

Hooray! I sewed my inner border!

–Posted by Stacy

All photos by Mike Herbener

Who You Gonna Call?

Stashbusters! Stash…what? BUSTERS. You’re not a quilter until you have a box, closet, or storage shed full of fabric that you have no immediate use for. Maybe we all have a bit of a hoarding problem. Let’s face it, you don’t need that yard of novelty fabric you’ve been “saving” for a special project for the past twenty years. It’s time to let go and make room for all the new pretty fabric that’s out there.

And that’s where Stashbusters comes in. We’ve created a simple 12-step program that will help you use up that coveted stash in just one year. Don’t worry though, you’re not alone! We have mobs of women joining us every month.

Here’s how it works:

• Every month we give you a great new pattern. The idea — make a quilt using what you’ve got already.
• We meet the fourth Wednesday of the month, as well as the following Saturday. Pick your day and sign up.
• Show up at the shop with your Stashbusters binder. Eat some cookies. We hand out the latest pattern, give away door prizes, and do show-and-tell of quilts from last month’s pattern.
• Stand-up comedy. Wellll, not quite. Karen and Della are a punchy duo and always manage to get a few laughs out of the group. Girls just wanna have fun!
• Coupons? Will there be coupons?! Yes! Show your quilt to the group and get a 15% off coupon to use on regular priced merchandise.
• 12 months is only $45 — a lot cheaper than therapy.

Yes! Yes! I want in….but….I live in Kansas…London….Mongolia…..now what? Good news, ladies. You don’t have to actually be in Boise to be a part of Stashbusters. We’ll email or snail-mail you the pattern every month. Send us a photo of your quilt to show-and-tell (we’ll share with our local group and on the blog) and you’ll get your 15% off coupon for the online store. Prizes? You betcha. We’ll send out prizes for our global participants every month as well. The bad news? Sorry, we can’t send ya cookies. You just gotta be here for the sugar. Email us to get started (quiltexp@cableone.net)

Here’s a look at last week’s Stashbusters event.

The group waits in anticipation for a door prize.

 

Our first show-and-tell. Bright color choices for our September pattern

Not enough fabric? No problem! A table runner from three blocks of the September pattern. We love when our group gets creative

Here's October's pattern, called "Play Date." Can you guess who picked the colors? I'll give you a clue -- Karen says lime green is one of her neutrals. Can't wait to see what the group comes up for this one.

– Posted by Stacy