7/11/2006

Busy Ladies Quilt


I got the binding on my Busy Ladies quilt! It has in the ditch machine quilting and it still needs some meandering or maybe criss cross (which I've never done) or scallop quilting (ditto) in the blocks; criss cross or scallop would be more in keeping with the 30s look of the quilt. Here are some individual blocks:



I really enjoyed settling on the rather drab colors for the sashing and border, as opposed to the cheery feedsack type of fabrics in the individual blocks. It's supposed to look like the maker had to use burlap or something to sash and border her quilt. I digitized the designs and sewed them out on the machine. I just love the Depression era feel of this darling design (by Laurene Sinema). To fit in with the era and with the subject of ladies going about their activities, I added the quotation by Eleanor Roosevelt ("When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die").


I was driving past Intown Quilters' new location in Decatur yesterday, so stopped in. Their new spot is in a little separate shop next to a mall and is very bright and airy, although I really liked the old location, which was in a sort of mini industrial area that interesting businesses have moved into. Close to the Emory University campus. Anyway, got these fabrics:


They had a pricing feature that was a new one on me. They charge a higher price for a quarter yard off the bolt, a flat fee of $2.75. Which works out to $11 a yard for a bolt that is actually $9.25 if you purchased more than a quarter yard. Have any of you encountered that? I don't think much of it. Although come to think of it, maybe other shops do that and I just never noticed.

Thank you for the kind comments on the table runner design (hope I can get that made, I LOVE it) and my folk art blocks: Bonnie, I'm doing the blocks by machine applique. I'm using Aurifil thread, which the good ladies at Little Quilts have recommended at the monthly BOM meetings for years. I finally tried it this summer, and they are right, Aurifil thread is fantastic. It lasts such a long time, the bobbins hold so much more thread, and it is beautiful. There's less fuzz. It's thin, so that your blocks work up more accurately.

Better get to work!

4 comments:

Judy said...

Aurafil is WONDERFUL thread! I just wish I had a place it buy it locally so I could match colors better!

Now question: do they charge you $2.75 if it's the FAT quarter yard off the bolt? or a long quarter or any quarter yard period? One of my LQS charges $2.50 for FQ and I don't buy them because that's $10 a yard. I like 1/2 yds anyway but it's not right really.

Gail said...

I stopped in at Share the Spirit yesterday and picked up some Aurifil, glad to hear that others agree it is good to use. So far I had only done some hand work with it (and liked it for that, smooth as butter)Also, its good to know that Intown has finally moved into its new place.

Patti said...

Many of the shops around here charge a flat $2.50 for fat quarters. That's a little more than the price of the fabric off the bolt - usually between $8.50 and $10.00 - but it's so convenient that I think most of us don't even think about it. They are also always willing to cut fat quarters off the bolt, which leaves them with a second fat quarter which could end up in a sale bin eventually.

Darlene said...

The Busy Ladies quilt is wonderful. What a delightful quilt. Laurene Sinema would have loved your version, I'm sure!