Mask Making

Hello! Thank you to those of you who have already responded with Show and Tell photos. Keep them coming. There will be posts in small batches over the coming weeks. It looks like we all may be inside for a while yet, so keep the photos and explanations coming. It's a nice way for us all to stay in touch, share ideas and see what everyone is working on.

First up in our "sharing" of info and ideas, I thought a post on mask-making might be helpful, now  that wearing a mask when you go out in public is recommended. No doubt many of us are making masks, so if you have any tips to pass along from your experience or from something you have read from a reliable source, please leave a comment below so we all can benefit. (Simply click on the word "Comment" directly below this post - it may say No comments, or 2 comments, or whatever.  Write your comment in the box that appears, and add your name. If you are not a blogger or do not have a Google account, simply click on Anonymous where it says "Comment as..." Then hit "Publish" so your comment will appear.) If you are reading this post from an email in your inbox, you must come to the blog in order to leave a comment.    https://frederictonquiltersguild.blogspot.com/

Gail Mitchell has been busy making masks and shares the following with us:

Have you ventured out in the last few days?  You'll see lots of people wearing masks now that it's been recommended to wear the mask in places where it's difficult to maintain the 6 feet social distance, such as the grocery store. While you will soon get comfortable wearing this, it is not intended to replace the social distancing or hand washing. Please continue to do both!! 

I've made two styles.   

First is the pleated style.  You've all seen many versions of this. I find it fits well, has good face coverage and is super quick to make. I've worn this out twice, and the first time, I was so uncomfortable. But the second time, I found it much better. My glasses keep the nose part down. I found I could talk and breathe easily through it. The first time I made this, it took me about 30 minutes..  and after making around 40 of these, I can knock them out in 10 to 15 minutes. If you have elastic in your stash, that makes it really easy.  But if not you can simply cut 2 two inch wide strips WOF and press them like double fold binding.  Sew each raw edge of the the pleated part only to the centers of the strips.  This takes more fabric but is very quick..

https://buttoncounter.com/2018/01/14/facemask-a-picture-tutorial/

If you have a bias tape maker, it can be used for tie-making. If not, here is a youtube video that shows how to do it "the old fashioned way." It starts around the 2.5 minute mark. It works well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRlN0SM2Je0

My second mask was a more custom fit mask.  

Because I had time on my hands, I thought I'd make a more custom facemask.  It is a two-piece that is tailored to fit nicely under your chin.  I used this free pattern by Shanniemakes.com   https://shanniemakes.com/2-piece-style-face-mask-pattern/

It does take twice as long to make, but is a beautiful fit.  A fellow quilter will notice how nice it is, but nobody else will.     I have not worn it out to a store yet.  I added the recommended third layer and it feels quite firm.  I want to make sure I can breathe and be understood when I talk. For a little better face coverage I did extend the piece that points towards the ear by half an inch.  On the page where you download this, she gives you a template to make an envelope to store your pattern pieces.  It's darling.

Thanks so much Gail! 

Here are a few tips I would add, from things I've read in the last few days.
1. Fabric selection is important. Good quality quilters cottons which are tightly woven are a good choice. If you are unsure, hold a piece of your fabric up to the light. If you can see through it, it's not a good choice. If it lets little light through, that is a better choice. Batiks are generally a tight weave and I just assumed they would be an excellent choice. However because of the wax used in the batiking process, you may find them harder to breathe through, so two layers of batik might make breathing and speaking harder.. try one batik fabric and one regular quilters cotton. Best choice of all would be high thread count sheeting material. Perhaps cut up that set of sheets/pillowcases you have never used...?
2. All fabrics should be prewashed in hot soapy water, and dried in the dryer to preshrink fabrics before mask construction.
3. Using two different fabrics (one for outside, one for inside) is a good idea so if you have to take the mask off and then out it back on, you know which side goes against your skin.
4. If you are going to be wearing the mask for extended periods of time, ties might be more comfortable than elastic around the ears. Those wearing masks for lengthy time periods report "ear fatigue" - soreness, chafing, etc. on the backs of their ears. Cut WOF (width of fabric) strips, fold and stitch, using one strip across top of mask, another strip across bottom of mask. They can be a little shorter if you are sewing ties to sides of mask. If you have a pkg. of double fold bias tape, you could use that instead of making ties.
5. A piece of non woven medium wt. fusible interfacing fused to the wrong side of outer layer is often suggested. If you have some that is not fusible, you could try that too. Use what you have...
6. Some people are adding a layer of paper coffee filter inside the mask. Of course this must be removed when the mask is washed, and then replaced for the next wearing.  Obviously you have to leave an opening to do this.
7. Do NOT use vacuum cleaner bag filters - the Hepa style filters contain tiny glass particles which would irritate the lungs.
8. If you wish to add a piece of wire for the area over the nose for a better fit, 20 or 24 gauge copper wire is a good choice as it will not rust. Be sure to fold the sharp ends back so they will not poke through. 5"- 6" is a good length for the wire. Pipe cleaner as suggested by some, is too light.
9. Masks should be washed after every use.
10. Do NOT use microwave to "sterilize" your mask. Fabrics can scorch or even catch fire...

There are LOTS of tutorials online for masks, lots of varying patterns. You Bonnie Hunter fans might like to see how she is doing her masks today here:  https://quiltville.blogspot.com/2020/04/you-askedso-here-you-go.html
Leah Day has an excellent tutorial here: https://leahday.com/pages/how-to-make-a-face-mask-free-pattern  Her pattern has an opening at top for inserting a filter, also she shows how to add a nose wire.

Good luck with your mask making. Please share any useful tips or suggestions in the comments below.  Up next will be some Show and Tell...

Update

Hello everyone! Just a little update. Thought you would all like to know that Bluprint, formerly Craftsy, has ALL their classes available for FREE right now.. andddd it has been extended until April 16!!  So.. if you're bored and looking for something to do.. why not take a class or two?! There's lots available.. 24/7... sewing and quilting, knitting, crocheting, drawing, baking, photography and more. Check it out here. If you're not already a member you can sign up - it's as simple as putting in your email address and creating a password. Easy Peasy!   :)

And I know you've seen this before, but I thought it worth repeating.. pay special attention to #'s 1 and 3.







Take care everyone, and Keep On Sewin'!

It's Sewing Time!!

Hello everyone! How are you doing? Are you going a little stir crazy with the limitations on our mobility these days? Feeling isolated by the lack of social contact? We're all in the same boat... if that's any consolation.  Rather than feeling "trapped" think of yourself as "Artist in Residence" - doesn't that feel better?
So how are you doing? And what are you doing? Tackling some tidying and organizing in your sewing pace? Finishing up some UFO's? Starting a new exciting project? Or maybe all of the above?? Or maybe just chillin' out and enjoying some overdue R&R? Reading some good books... catching up on Netflix?
I heard a new word the other day.. SEWOPHRENIA - can't stick with one project, can't concentrate, many things on the go at the same time. That seems to be me lately - I'm having trouble settling on one project. Perhaps it's a sign of the times, the stress, the uncertainty...?

If you are looking for something new to get you through the weeks ahead, here are a few suggestions. ALL classes on Bluprint (formerly Craftsy) are FREE until April 9!! There are many classes in quilting, sewing, knitting and crocheting, baking, cooking, photography, etc. So, now that you have time on your hands, take advantage!  mybluprint.com


If you are a Bonnie Hunter fan, you may want to join in on her new Sew-in-Place Quilt Along. Read about Bonnie's idea for helping us all keep busy "together but apart" here. It starts tomorrow! (Mon. Mar.30.)  She has posted her colour choices today, you can see that first post here. A new clue will be posted on her Quiltville blog each Monday. Sounds like fun!!

Perhaps you are an Edyta Sitar fan. She has started a Mystery Quilt project on her blog Laundry Basket Quilts. It is well underway (10 of 15 blocks already posted) but you could still join in, you'll just have some catching up to do. A new block is posted each day, all blocks are 6.5" (6" finished size.) and each one will be made 4-8 times for a total of 100 blocks. Edyta is using a half yard bundle of her fabric collection Super Bloom, but of course you could pull from your own stash. There is a link to each block on her sidebar, start at Block 1 and proceed at your own pace, if you truly want it to be a "mystery." None of the blocks are difficult, this is appropriate for any skill level beyond absolute beginner. If you are going to join in, be sure to print the directions (or save the PDF) for each block as they will disappear at the end of the mystery quilt along at the end of the coming week.

Buttermilk Basin has started a free Spring Sew Along - a Block Of the Week "Peter Cottontail's Carrot Patch" in wool and cotton - click and print off the free blocks each Friday and Tuesday. Each block is available until 1 week after the last block is released. Three blocks up so far.


There is lots of inspiration to be had on Facebook with many quilters posting their progress or finished projects. New groups are springing up.. The Lockdown Quilters is one such group; it was started by Ellen of Ellie's Quiltplace of Belgium. It already has several thousand members from all over the world!


Aurifil Artisan Shannon Fraser has started a 7 day Scrap Sorting Challenge, and she promises "small steps everyday." You can check it out here.


Ricky Tims is starting live streams each Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday. Today's is a concert and chat, streaming at 4 p.m. local time, I believe. Catch it LIVE on the Ricky Tims "Public" Facebook page, or watch on The Quilt Show with Alex and Ricky YouTube page.
Upcoming: Tues. Mar.31 - Virtual quilt show - Miniatures from Ricky's collection, Part 1
Sat. Apr. 4 - Virtual quilt show - Miniatures from Ricky's collection, Part 2
Sun. Apr. 5 - Musical interlude/casual visit/Q&A
Tues. Apr.7 - Let's Make Dancing Squares Tutorial
Sat. Apr.11 -  The Lizzy Albright Quilt and Fabric Line Reveal


You should have received an email re. an upcoming order to Karen Neary for Aurifil thread. My apologies to Andrea at Ridge Machine Quilting. I should have included this link to Andrea's Aurifil inventory. Of course we all want to support Andrea, our own local supplier. My email was aimed at those of you who are looking for something beyond what Andrea has, thread colour or thread weight-wise. My order will be sent on Tuesday morning, so get in touch if you need something. We don't want anyone to run out of thread during this stay at home and sew period!!!!

Above all else, remember, you are not STUCK at home, you are SAFE at home. We are staying in so we can go back out. We are staying apart so we can get back together. Seriously, this is what quilters dream about and long for- uninterrupted SEWING TIME!!!!!!! Get at it ladies- we're going to have one amazing Show and Tell when this is all over!!!

Are You Up for the Challenge of a Sew Along?

Good day! What are you working on in your sewing space these days? Do you have a special project underway? Are you working on something for the Guild "Let's Get Sewing Challenge" or maybe you are doing the sampler? Remember we have lots of great prizes for participants.. just sayin'.. wink

Don't forget our President's Challenge for Gateway to Adventure at Quilt Canada, using the Kona Jungle Green? (It's not too late to start, Andrea still has the jungle green Kona cotton in stock.) All the details can be found here. Remember the deadline is our March meeting.

Perhaps you are looking for a new project. There are a number of free Sew Alongs, BOM's, and BOW's underway (that's Block of the Month and Block of the Week programs.) Moda has started the third round of their popular Block Heads Sew Along with Block Heads 3. If you are not familiar with this BOW, you will find answers to some frequently asked questions here.  There will be 56 blocks in total throughout the year, and each will have directions for at least two sizes, 6" and 12", some will also have directions for 8" and 4" sizes. You can decide how many blocks and what size or sizes you wish to make- whether all blocks the same size or mix it up with different sizes. A number of possible layouts are given - lots of ideas and inspiration!! A block is "unveiled" online each Wednesday morning by that week's Moda designer; there have been three so far, so you're not too late to jump in and get caught up. The first three are (Week 1) Star Crossed by Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilts,  (Week 2) Sunshine Star by Sherri McConnell of  A Quilting Life and (Week 3) Crown and Star by Betsy Chutchian of Betsy's Best...quilts and more. Because this is a free program offered by Moda, of course one of their objectives is to promote Moda fabrics, but you can use whatever fabrics and colours you wish. I plan to participate with some of the blocks... I know I won't do them all, but I do like all of the first three, so we'll see... Anyone care to join me?

If you are trying to use up some stash this year instead of buying more fabric, this challenge might interest you...  Amista Baker of Modern Design for Quilts and Bags is hosting a Stash Buster Challenge. Read all about it here. 

Another Stash Buster Challenge can be found here at  Border Creek Station. This block is very simple and can be set a number of ways- great for using up scraps, for a gift or charity quilt.

If you are interested in improving your skills, quilting sisters Kimie and Missy at On Williams Street are offering a free sampler quilt sew along. They are suggesting it as a group activity - a quilting bee! However there's no reason you couldn't just do it on your own too if you wish. You can read all about it here. 

How about a UFO challenge? If you don't know, in "quilter speak" UFO stands for UnFinished Object. In other words, projects that you started but never got around to finishing...  Do you have any of those languishing about? If so, this challenge might be for you!



AQS (American Quilters Society) is hosting a quilt a month quilt along. Directions are given each month for the fabric pull, unit construction, quilt assembly and quilting ideas for the month's block. You can check it out here.

If you love star blocks, have a look at this beauty... "Midnight Stargazer" is spectacular! LOTS of other freebies on the sidebar too at BOMquilts.com.....

Abyquilts has started a BOM quilt along called "Sisters." Each month directions are given for a 12" block (big sister) and the same block in 6" size (little sister.) The first two blocks are already shown, January's block is Dutchman's Puzzle and February's is Twin Star. You'll find all the info here.

Michael Miller Fabrics is running a monthly Quilt Along called Peek Into Batiks (Who can resist those beautiful batiks??) Click here for the first installment. 

If you'd like to try a Mystery Quilt Along, this one starts in May 2020.

Lastly, if you like "scrappy" this quilt-along  "scraps-along" may be for you. Each month Sherri of  A Quilting Life will show a Scrappy Challenge with two components -a scrap sewing challenge and a scrap organization challenge! Wow, what a great idea! Check it out here. 

So, if you've been bored, and looking for something new to work on... now you have lots of ideas!!

Items of Note and Upcoming Events

This Saturday is a workday  - won't you join us? There will be a Valentine's runner to do, or you can bring your own project to work on. These workdays are a great opportunity to get to know other guild members, benefit from their expertise and experience, see others' projects and be inspired! The cost is just $5.00. Come and stay for the whole day, or whatever your schedule allows. Join the fun!

Next Thursday, Joyce Newman will be giving a lecture at our regular meeting place (Johnston Ave. Senior Centre) at 1pm. The topic is "Strategies for Using Your Orphan Blocks." Orphan blocks are those leftovers - blocks that never made it into the quilt, extra blocks, "test" blocks, etc. No doubt you have a few if you look around your sewing space....  Joyce will give us lots of ideas on how to put them to use, or incorporate them into a quilt project successfully. We hope to put some of these ideas to work at our February Community Projects workday. See you at the lecture, Thursday, January 30, 1p.m. at Johnston Ave. Senior Centre.

The deadline for the next newsletter is Feb.7, if you have anything to submit. Contact Lee, our Newsletter Editor.

Aurifil thread... we now have a local source for Aurifil - Andrea at Ridge Machine Quilting (280 Route 616, Keswick Ridge) is carrying Aurifil - large spools in basic neutral colours and small spools of some colours. Please support this local source! If you are looking for colours that Andrea does not have in stock, Linda H will continue to do orders from Karen Neary. (Karen carries 73 colours in the 50 weight 1300m. spools.) As before, once we have an order for $100.00 or more, Karen will ship for free, order arrives the next day. Karen has reorganized her website to make ordering easier, so if you have had it bookmarked, you may want to update to her new site at https://sew-karen-ly-created.square.site/   Her threads are all now separated into categories (by weight) so just click on the links along the left side. Easy Peasy!

Here we go again...

It's a new year, and a new decade! Belated Happy New Year, everyone! Our latest snowfall has covered the landscape with a fresh clean blanket of white - like a fresh sheet of paper looking for new ideas, or a clean and tidy sewing space waiting for a new project? What are you working on? I've been working on a very colourful project.. and doing lots of trimming, as you can see!




Our January meeting is now just a day away, we hope to see you there. Our program topic is Wool Applique and I know we are in for a treat when we see some fabulous wool projects by Ann, Barb and Susan. The Challenge "unit of the month" is the half square triangle (hst.) There will be a demo at break time on making hst's and on using the BlocLoc ruler for trimming.


Saturday is Support Your Local Quilt Shop Day, held annually on the fourth Saturday of January. Plan a visit to your favourite local shop and show it some love. ♥   Saturday is also our first workday of the year. The planned theme is Valentines projects but you can bring your own project to work on as well, it doesn't have to be a Valentines project.  If you are looking for ideas for a Valentines project here are a few links for various projects large and small, to get you going...
Valentine's Day Projects from Weallsew
Four Heart Table Topper
"LOVE" projects from The Crafty Quilter
Of course there is always Pinterest for ideas... oh my!  SO many ideas there...
So dig out those reds and pinks and join us on Saturday Jan. 25. See you tomorrow night at the meeting!

Christmas Quilting and Photography Helps

"Christmas Candy" made by Barb Frame,
quilted by Andrea Rennick, photographed by Craig Frame

The days are ticking by.. (am I the only one who has a slight panic attack when the calendar turns to December??)
Are you working on Christmas projects? gifts? perhaps a new Christmas quilt or wallhanging for yourself? One of our members has just finished a new Christmas quilt for her bed.. I hope we'll see it along with your Show and Tell items at our dinner on Dec.10.

Once a quilt is quilted and bound, there are two things you should do before you consider it totally "done."  One is add a label with pertinent information, such as name of quilt or design, who made it, where and when, and any other important info such as if it was made for a special person or occasion. Put as much info on the label as you can - future generations will thank you for the documentation.
The other thing to do is photograph the quilt. Following are two links to articles to help you with that, including a suggested list of shots to get and some great suggestions on lighting. Some of you may be familiar with Kathy Schwartz of Tamarack Shack, her blog is popular. Read her blog post on quilt photography here.  The other article comes from Emily Dennis of the Quiltylove blog, read it here.

And lastly, a Christmas riddle... Why are Christmas trees so bad at sewing?

They always drop their needles...

It's mid-November already!!

Time is flying by! We're well into Novembrrrrrr and it's beginning to feel like winter has arrived and is here to stay... a little too early for my taste. I guess I'll just have to begin my studio hibernation and get busy on Christmas sewing. Tuesday is meeting night - we'll have lots of sewing/gifting ideas for you! Have you purchased your ticket for our Christmas Social/Dinner yet?

We now have the photos from our Spring 2019 show added for your viewing pleasure- scroll down the sidebar and click on the photo to go to the album.

In case you missed it on our guild Facebook page, click here to see many of the winners from the International Quilt Festival in Houston a few weeks ago. What an incredible collection of  amazing quilts! Wouldn't this be a wonderful show to attend? Sigh... maybe someday.





Do you have any questions about batting?  Here is an excellent article on batting by Lori Kennedy - 
no doubt you will find your answers here!

Have you heard of Ian Berry? He is a very talented young British textile artist who works solely with denim. Check out his website here to view his incredible work.

That's all for now. See you Tuesday night!

Off to a Great Start!

We are off to an exciting start to our year - already two successful meetings, a workshop and a workday under our belt! We have some new members (welcome!) and there is lots of enthusiasm in our group. Quilting is alive and well!
We all share a love of sewing/quilting and we each take away something different from our projects, whether they be by hand or machine... I couldn't resist sharing this "poster" I saw on Facebook. Health benefits sounds good to me!!

Our November newsletter will be out in another few weeks so watch for it in your inbox/mailbox.


Coming Up.... the Embroiderers' Guild of Fredericton is holding a sale of new and gently used items tonight (Monday Oct. 28) at the Stepping Stone Centre, 15 Saunders St. Included will be even weave fabric, embroidery threads, patterns, books, kits, hoops, beads, etc. plus some general sewing supplies. The sale will be held from 6-8pm. All are welcome!

The Fredericton Guild of Fibre Artists and the Embroiderers' Guild of Fredericton are joining forces to present an exhibition of their work at Government House, 51 Woodstock Road, from Nov. 8 to Jan. 8. Hours are 10-4 Monday through Friday. Several of our own members belong to these talented groups and this show promises to be an amazing display of creative skills and talents. You won't want to miss a visit to Government House third floor gallery to see this show.











For those of you who like working with selvages, here's an idea for you... a new dress!!  Perhaps with your Christmas fabric selvages??!!  :)


For Sale: Pfaff Ambition 1.0 machine. Two years old but used VERY little - no more than ten hours at most. In perfect condition. Asking $800.00. Contact Sue at 457-2333.

One of our members has a new Pfaff Power Quilter 16 (sit down mid arm machine) and is looking to confer with others who have the same. If you own one, or know of someone in Fredericton who does, please leave a comment below.