This month's program topic was a "consumer reports" account of a tool used in quilting. Barbara started with a critique of different seam rippers. Her favorite was a small one on which the cap can be attached to the end of the main ripper to extend the handle length. It also has a fuzzy end for picking up threads. Barbara's complaint is rulers without holes in a tip for hanging. One of the members suggested attaching painter's tape on the corner to keep the plastic from cracking, then drilling a small hole.
Rena's useful tool is a slat from window blinds to use as a straight edge for marking and cutting, thus saving the edges of good rulers from being nicked. She wowed the quilters with a rotary pinking cutter originally used for cutting airplane silk. Our enthusiasm was dampened when someone else Googled the rotary pinker and learned the cost. Rena also likes the Soft Touch Thread Pick by Clover for pulling thread tails to the inside or back of a quilt and the Rainbow titanium thread snips.
Shirley showed a cell holder which makes using the phone or apps while quilting easy.
Harmony's door peep-hole is useful for getting a long view of her design wall when she can't back away from it.
Gail (too quick for the photographer to capture a photo) loves her Reliable Iron, which has a separate steam generator so she can use steam at any temperature.
The things Glenda finds handy are free tote bags, a tray beside her sewing machine so her scissors and other items don't slide off the sewing table, and a sponge to clean her cutting board.
Linda showed a pencil sharpener which works well for sharpening marking pencils and a dental floss container adapted to hold a small sewing kit for travel. Pat (not pictured) also showed a floss container sewing kit.
Katy discovered that her long-neglected quilting hoops work well for maneuvering small thread painting projects under her sewing machine.
Jetta (no photo) puts painter's tape or labels removed from store purchases inside her trash container to catch threads and other items that stick to her fingers.
Chris likes using different colored bobbin rings to differentiate bobbins for various machines, an acrylic sewing table as a light table, and cardboard covered with batting to hold and carry quilt block pieces.
Kay (not pictured) uses 6 inch plastic flower pots under table legs to raise them--less expensive than purchased leg extenders.
In the velcro section at the story, Kate (no photo) finds thin, clear plastic velcro for the bottoms of her rulers to keep them from slipping when she is rotary cutting.
Jackie showed a quilt on which she had marked dragon quilting lines with Golden Threads Quilt Marking Paper. She marks the design on the paper, quilts over it, then crumples the quilt to easily remove the paper.
A final tip for quilters is that if you nick your finger and get a spot of blood on your quilt, spit on the spot. Your own spit will remove your own blood from fabric.
During Show and Tell, several members showed their donations to the Small Quilt Auction which occurs during our annual quilt show at the Conoco-Philips Atrium on September 13-14. The silent auction bidding closes at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, Sept. 14. Proceeds from the auction help the guild fund educational activities. If any of these quilts strikes your fancy, come by to bid on them.
Katy's small quilt auction quilt, "Fish On 2", has actual fish skin on the fish.
Jackie's penny quilt was inspired by a description of the type by Doris at a previous meeting. The large quilt is her husband's "truck quilt"--yes, to actually be used in his truck!
Chris made "Square Dance" from a pattern in a book by Margaret Miller.
Harmony quilt is ready to be hand quilted when she travels this winter. She hand bastes it and binds it to keep it from unraveling. She created the design using remnants from a triangles class.
Sandra's first quilt brought oh's and ah's from the audience.
Shirley plans to donate these quilts to the pregnancy clinic to be given to new mothers.
The photographer wasn't quick enough to catch the front of this quilt or the name of the quilter. The Teddy Bear will be luckier; it will be attached to the quilt and given to a child through the guild's Teddy Bear Tea project.
Quilters enjoy donating their projects to churches and social service agencies. Bonnie (on right) made this quilt for a high school student from her church who moved to Nikiski.
Barbara showed several comfort quilts that she has quilted and one that she recently pieced.
This comfort quilt shown by Rosemary was pieced by Beverly, quilted by Julia, and bound by Darlene. Pat and Marilyn also showed 2 quilt tops pieced by the Kept in Stitches small group using different methods of kaleidoscope patterns. The group plans to give the finished quilt to the Quilts of Valor project.
Education is a high priority for the Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters. In a recent class by Theresa Ascone, Mary won some of Theresa' fabric. She created this quilt titled, "Dragon Flies' Escape".
