Quilt As You Go, Simply Done

Simply Done

Marguerita’s Blog

Three Quilts …

by

… but none are mine! Don’t I wish I could take credit for these 🙂

First, Michelle’s Quilt (her second Crazy Shortcut Quilt) and here’s her message:

I love this technique – it is very easy and quick.

I like the shortcake pattern because I like working with the smaller squares.

I am ready to do another one.

Michelle's Shortcake Quilt

Judy S. from Creston, BC, Canada sent pics of her newest CSQ project – Placemats for her younger sister.

Judy S. In B.C. made placemats for her sister


Gorgeous Fabrics and Fabulous Stitches

AND, Sara in Abu Dhabi, started a blog! She’s got some GORGEOUS fabric postcard photos and an update on her newest Crazy Shortcut Quilt posted. Please visit her blog and say hi 🙂

Sara from Abu Dhabi is making a Tablerunner!

Selecting Fabrics for a Quilt

by

I just discovered that I choose fabrics based on the mood I am in, which is often affected by the weather! It’s been raining for about two years here and I long for spring or summer.

These fabrics remind me of summer and warmth

Soft, summery colors is what I went for when I checked my fabric stash for this quilt. I first had pulled out a pile of retro-reprints, but I found that I could not make myself even take a picture of them, never mind envision what type of quilt I wanted. I puzzled over this for a while and then went back to the stash and found these!

Those retro reprints went back into the stash bucket so fast that I’m surprised they didn’t catch fire.

I have 12 Fat Quarters to work with, and I want to use the cutting design (four cuts) that Sarah used on her “Bright Idea” quilt.

It’s Quilting Time! How are you doing on your quilt?

Want to Make a Quilt With Me?

by

I’ve been thinking about making another “Shortcake” quilt or else the “Easy To Go Crazy” quilt from our book. A quick and easy design. Anyone want to make a quilt with me? A quilt-a-long where we all quilt together?

I have a free week coming up soon and I’m itching to cut some fabric! Let me know, okay? I could post video updates or something like that, and lots of pics to the blog 🙂

Quilt Binding by Machine

by

There are many good methods of putting a binding on a quilt but I’ve never seen how to flip the corners specifically demonstrated and that’s what my friend Rosemary asked to see, so I made a video for her.

When preparing for the binding I start by measuring all four sides of the quilt and then determining the length of binding that I need and exactly how long each side of the quilt should be. If you don’t measure your quilt and binding, it’s easy to stretch either the quilt, or the binding, or both, while sewing them and that can give a wavy finish to your quilt, instead of a nice, straight, flat finish.

I always cut my binding on the length of grain (going WITH the selvage) [this is just my personal preference] and often I cut my binding before I even cut my fabrics for my quilt. I don’t like piecing small bits of fabric to make up the binding, and because I use the length of grain, I find it easier to start my quilt by cutting the binding first 🙂

When I am finished quilting my quilt, I measure out the length of binding for each side of the quilt as I go along, but I only “measure and pin” one side at a time as I sew the binding on. I hope that makes sense! I sew the binding onto one side of the quilt, and its corner, and then I take the quilt out of the sewing machine and measure and pin the binding for the next side.

The video is about how I turn the corners on the binding, AFTER sewing it to the *BACK* of the quilt, because all my bindings are 100% by machine. I never hand quilt anything, but that’s just my preference also. Oh, and the video asks you to subscribe to my channel if you like my videos, which requires you to create a YouTube account. I can’t tell you how much I have learned from watching video tutorials on YouTube on all kinds of subjects. I highly recommend YouTube if you like to learn by “seeing how it’s done”.

Here’s the older video I made for Linda about sewing down the corner on the FRONT of the quilt:

“You Are What You Keep”

by

I have been staring at that statement ever since I read it in one of my online quilting groups a few weeks ago. It was posted as part of an “Eliminate 2010 things in 2010” challenge from another group.

I have been on a quest to reduce my possessions for twenty years. That makes me sound like I own one of everything in the world, or am a total hoarder (well, I might be) but really all it means is that I am triply conscious of what I buy and why I buy it, and what I have and how long I’ve had it and if I’ll ever use it again.

Marguerita kayaking in Prince William Sound, Alaska

I think this mindset really started when I gave up kayaking about fifteen years ago. I loved my kayaks more than any possession I’ve ever had. But, I had stopped kayaking. The kids were getting older and were into things like being driven to events and all my friends had already been out kayaking with me at least once, and I’d kayaked all the places I had wanted to go. So, they sat for a couple of years while I slowly changed my priorities and how I spent my time, and then, because I loved my boats, I sold them to people who would use and love them instead of letting them deteriorate and take up space in my life.


Ever since that day it’s been easier and easier to look at “things” and say “don’t need it, let’s put it in the hands of someone who does”.


I do that now with my quilts, fabrics, books, magazines, clothes, and anything else of even the slightest value and everything I remove makes me feel like I’ve just lost about 5 pounds. I feel lighter, freer, more altruistic, happier and less stressed by my surroundings.

Eye Candy & Inspiration

by

Quilters, I am not sure what you call it, but when I find a blog that makes me just scroll up and down, over and over, discovering something new, exciting and beautiful, I call that “eye candy”.

This blog is in Spanish, and was brought to my attention by my new friend Rita, who emailed me to tell me how much she likes my videos 🙂

Please check out Twinkle Patchwork if you are looking for something new, or just want a “pretty things” show. If you want to read it, and have Google translate the Spanish to English, consider downloading the Google Translator Toolbar – I love it and use it to help me communicate in several languages because I get comments on my videos from all over the world! Or, you can use this translation page to draft a message and then translate it to another language, which I sometimes do.

Either way, enjoy the site and if you like, comment and say “Hola” to Rita and that Marguerita sent you 😉

Cursed Fabric

by

Sarah, my daughter, and I both make quilts. Lots of quilts. But, we seem to take turns – sort of. As she was packing her things to go back home this weekend, after staying overnight with us, she pushed the box of fabrics at me and then reached to take them back. We both laughed, but then things got serious.

“Are you keeping them?” she asked.

“No, you take them. Don’t you have something to make with them?” I asked back.

“No, but you never use them!” she said.

“Well…… I could make some thing if you leave them here………” was my reply.

“Who ever has this box never makes a quilt!” We both blurted out at the same time, and then laughed nervously, because we both suddenly realized it was true.

When she’s making quilt after quilt, updating her blog and Facebook with pictures of projects, I seem to be tied up with other (non-quilting) projects and all my fabrics are haphazardly stashed in bins and boxes.

When I’m head down and working, testing designs, fabrics and layouts, I can’t even get her to LOOK at a quilt with me. She’s busy with her daughter, her husband, her friends or all three and life in general. We NEVER work on quilts at the same time, and each one give the other one a hard time about it. There’s lots of snide remarks, mumbled comments and sticking out of tongues. Fabric snatching from the other person’s stash has been known to happen, as well as accusations of missing project pieces.

Maybe someday we will work on quilts together, but I am guessing not anytime soon. Meanwhile I have the cursed fabrics. That means she better get to quilting. 🙂

Project Linus Fundraiser – A Crazy Shortcut Quilt

by

Karen contacted me to let me know that her group was having a raffle for a group-made Crazy Shortcut Quilt! Here’s her note:

We make items for a raffle and members buy tickets throughout the year with the prizes being awarded at the luncheon. The six of us on the luncheon committee got together and made one of your Crazy Shortcut Quilts. It was not only easy but it was a wonderfully fun group project. I’ve attached a picture of our raffle quilt and you can also read more about the luncheon and our chapter in our newsletter at:
Project Linus Chicago – Spring-Summer News

Vote for Vanessa!

by

Quilters, you might have noticed that I am loving making videos and putting them on YouTube. I also *watch* a lot of videos there – in fact, when I want to figure out how to do something, like use a piece of software or cook something, well the first place I go now is YouTube.

Oprah Winfrey is doing a talent search and a gal that I’ve watched on YouTube is trying to get her own quilting show. Her name is Vanessa and you can see her “pitch” here.

If you like what you see, please give her a vote. I personally would LOVE to see some new, young, fresh representative of quilting on national TV and this gal just crush’s it! Go Vanessa Go!