A good way to honor and remember someone that has passed is with memory quilted bears.  You use the fabrics from items that belonged to your loved one.  This is a wonderful way to remember someone special and to have a family heirloom to pass down for many generations.

The first step in making memory quilted bears is to make a small patchwork style quilt from different fabrics that were used by or belonged to the loved one.  You can use towels, sheets, clothing, ties, and other accessories.  If you have enough materials, you can even make several memory quilted bears.

The next step is to find a basic bear pattern.  Purchase stuffing and the other items that you will need according to the pattern directions.  Instead of using standard, store-bought fabric use the quilted fabric that you created in step one of this project. 

To finalize your memory quilted bears, use jewelry and other accessories that belonged to your loved one.  For example, you can use buttons from one their shirts for the eyes. If the bear is large enough you can even accessorize it with personal items such as a necklace by using an anklet or bracelet worn by the loved one.  Tie tacks and cuff links make great accessories as well.

You can put a zipper on the back of the memory quilted bear.  Inside the bear you can place a picture of the loved one or other important small items that you would like to keep. 

Quilted memory pillows can be created in the same way. Whether it’s, a pillow or a quilted memory bear, it will help with the grieving process and be a wonderful heirloom treasure to pass down for many generations in your family.  

Your selection of quilting batting for your projects is essential to the life and enjoyment of your quilt. Batting is the middle layer of your quilt that provides warmth, fluffiness and texture. There are several types of low-loft batting materials available. Which type you choose for each project will depend on the purpose of the finished quilt.

Low-loft batting is used most often for quilts. Low-loft batting is soft and very easy to sew through. It doesn’t have the same thickness as other batting material which makes it easy to sew straight lines and maintain accurate seams. Low-loft batting should be used for quilts that need a flat appearance when completed. Some examples of low-loft batting uses would be wall hangings, placemats, handbags, clothing, and quilts that only need a thin insulation layer. Read the rest of this entry »

Among my favorite momentos are some quilts, of course, but my very favorite is the one that inspired this post. It is a baby quilt made for our son, David, who turned 25 last December 25th. (Yes, I have a wonderful Christmas baby!) It was made by my grandmother and was hand-quilted in the same way this post discusses an easier method by machine quilting. We never used the quilt. It has always been a wall hanging as I wanted it to be treasured for many lifetimes.

How fun is it to give a baby quilt at baby showers and to new moms! These quilts can be easily made by beginners with little investment. What is wonderful is that friends, relatives and co-workers love receiving baby quilts as gifts. They will treasure these for a lifetime. It definitely outshines the traditional baby gift items. Read the rest of this entry »

Trapunto really adds to your quilts.  It gives an extra touch that will make others wonder how in the world you did that!  Trapunto is sections of your quilt that are puffed up, making a classy and three dimensional effect for your quilt.  What is nice is that even a beginner quilter can add these sections to the quilts.  Trapunto makes an excellent addition to wall hanging quilts.

The trick to trapunto is to use high-loft batting for the section of the quilt that you will be outlining and making puffy.  Purchase a small bag of batting since it really goes a long way!  Of course this is wonderful for your quilting budget. Read the rest of this entry »

Novice quilters might feel a little overwhelmed with all the terminology that flies around about quilting. A really good way to start in quilting is to read and study some of the quilting patterns.  The easiest to start with are the block quilt patterns.  After getting familiar with these, move to the complete quilt patterns. 

What exactly does looking at patterns do?  You get a feel for type of fabrics that are used in quilting.  You also start learning some of the words that are used for this craft.  Many of the how-to guides assume that you’ve seen different types of patterns.  These guides will be less confusing if you start learning about quilting by reviewing different patterns. You’ll be amazed at how much you learn this way!

Another value thing you will learn about from patterns is the importance of colors.  For those that have never been involved in a craft involving fabrics, it can be overwhelming to make color selections the first few times.  Color wheels help tremendously but reviewing patterns will make the entire process much more fun and easier.

Another aspect is being familiar with the basic process of putting together a block quilt.  Understanding how the pieces fit together is crucial to designing your projects.  If you’ve viewed and studied several block quilt patterns, you will have a tremendous advantage over other beginning quilters.  You can even use the free patterns we offer to get you started.

Even though it might seem a little strange, novice quilters will benefit from studying block quilt and complete quilt patterns as the first step of learning how to quilt.  Patterns help you to learn about fabrics, quilting terms, colors and the general process for putting together quilts.