Monica Curry Quilt Design

One of the most disappointing things that can happen to a quilter is fabric bleed. We spend long hours cutting and piecing our precious creation. So, when it comes out of the wash with colours bleeding, it can be devastating. I've been working on a red and white Christmas quilt lately and wanted to prevent this disaster before it happened. These are some of the tip and tricks I gathered for preventing and fixing quilt bleed. PREVENTION Prewash your all your coloured fabrics before cutting them up. I never did this until I started reading about other people's guilt bleed nightmares. When your quilt is finished, wash it alone in cold water.  Add 1 cup of salt to the wash with a mild laundry soap. I use Woolite®   Commercial "colour catchers" sheets are another option. These are laundry sheets you put in your wash load to prevent colour runs. There are  several on the market  you can try. FIXING If there are only a few spots of bleed on white fabric, spray the area...

White background fabrics make stunning quilts. The high contrast makes the colours pop. However, there are a few pitfalls when using white fabric that can be frustrating and even ruin your quilt. I made this featured quilt for my mother-in-law and almost didn't give it to her. But, I was in a crunch for time so I decided to gift it to her anyway and hope she didn't notice too many of the flaws. If she did notice, she never said anything. TIPS FOR QUILTING WITH WHITE FABRIC 1.  USE A LIGHT COLOURED BACKING FABRIC Because I was in a hurry, I used the quilt-as-you-go method to assemble this quilt. To make it "reversible" I used a variety of scrap layer cakes for the backing. I don't know if it was the batting ( Hobbs Heirloom Fusible White Cotton ) but the coloured background, as you can see below, showed right through to the front! Try using light coloured backing when using white. 2.  BUY ENOUGH WHITE FABRIC FROM THE SAME BOLT When you buy your white fabric, purcha...

INSTRUCTIONS I discovered this technique for making scrap checkerboard blocks several years ago. I used it to make my grand-niece a doll quilt (above). With these few easy steps, the results are so worth it. When you're finished, every square will be aligned perfectly and you'll have a strong base to join the blocks so they won't stretch out of shape. Finished Block: 12"x 12" (30 cm x 30 cm)) 1.  First, you'll need a non-woven, lightweight, single-sided fusible interfacing. I purchased this very inexpensive one on Amazon . 2.  Cut [18] 2½-inch (6 cm) colour squares and [18] 2½-inch (6 cm) light colour squares. 3.  Cut [1] 13" x 13" (31 cm x 31 cm) square of interfacing. 4.  Place squares 1/2" from the edges on the adhesive side of the interfacing. Butt together the squares as shown below alternating between light and dark colours. 5.  Place a piece of cotton over the squares and press to adhere them to the fusible web. 6. Fold the first row righ...

I'm not a vintage car enthusiast, but I love old trucks. I think this  Little Red Truck  is one of my cutest appliqué patterns yet. The finished pillow measures 20" x 12" and has a envelope back. The piping finishes it off nicely but this is optional. If you love the look of piping but not sure how to do it, the pattern has a link to a video tutorial on how to make and add piping to a pillow.

                              . . . the more they stay the same. I bought two irons this month that were manufactured over 100 years apart and was intrigued by how similar they were in design. Both have a double point base, a rounded handle, and need to be placed on a heat source before ironing. The technology for each iron was vastly different, but the concept was the same. I bought the older iron at my favourite antique shop. It's a Mrs. Potts Cold Handle Sad Iron. The "sad" in sad iron is from the Middle English word  sad  which meant solid or heavy.  The second iron was a Panasonic Cordless 360° Freestyle™ Steam/Dry Iron . This iron is so similar to the Sad Iron I suspect the designers at Panasonic really knew their clothes iron history. Who is Mrs. Potts and What is a Sad Iron? Mrs. Potts was born Mary Florence Webber in 1850 in Iowa, US. When she was 17 she married Joseph Potts...

This is the 241 Tote by Noodlehead . I've been meaning to make this cute bag for a couple of years now and finally finished it this summer. It was a fun bag to make. The 241 Tote is all over Pinterest so there's no shortage of fabric ideas for it. I would say the pattern is for people with some bag making experience, but it really isn't too difficult.  Why is it called the 241 Tote ? Anna Graham (Noodlehead) explains the pattern's name. "It's called the 241 Tote because it's like two patterns in one (two for one)! One version of the bag has two exterior side pockets (great for beginners), the other has two exterior zippered pockets (for those who might want a bit of a challenge)." The fun part was picking out the fabrics. I decided I wanted this bag to be as bright and as cheery as possible. I believe I accomplished that 😊. These bright fabrics were in my scrap bin and I was happy I could finally use them for something. 241 Tote  made by Monica Curr...