It's What's Inside that Counts: Rethinking Stuffing.

Quilters love stuffed things. Toys. Pin cushions. Gadgets. It's an endless list.





 But stuffing has changed over time. Like many things in the sewing world, the options just get better. The dinosaurs among us remember stuffing things with chopped up nylons. If it sounds  wrong and  nasty, you've got the idea. Then we had Cotton stuffing. Kapok.

We went through a phase with polyester stuffing. That still works with dolls and toys. But there are functional items that need more weight and substance than poly stuffing can give you. And cotton stuffing is miserable to pin through.

So something old has become new again. They make a ground up nut shell stuffing that's pincushion perfect. It sharpens your pins and needles. And it has enough weight to use for an item that needs to stay put. And unlike gramma, we don't need to personally grind up the shells. Just open and pour.

It's great in a pin cushion. But we liked it even better in this gadget. This is a phone holder. The nutshell stuffing keeps it vertical and  solidly in place.

It starts with a cool stabilizer pattern. You iron the stabilizer on to you fabric. Sew it. Pour in the nutshells.

And then..... You glue it. How cool is that! Instead of trying to  keep the shells in as you sew it together, we've used Fabric Fusion Glue from Aileens. The clamps hold it together while it dries.

We tried this with bull clamps as well. Either way, it's a no sew closing that couldn't be easier. And a must have gadget for all of us.


Whenever you have a project you're not sure how to do, make sure you come talk to us about it. We try to bring in all the new things to make it easier, simpler and sew much more fun.

True to the Red, White and Blue!

Quilt Top By: Jo West
Quilting by Sunshine Quilt Company

For the Fourth of July, we're going to show some marvelous patriotic quilts. We have been celebrating this country with needle and thread since Betsy Ross made the first flag.

Auntie Chris' Quilt Fabric

Flying pinwheels are very like flags themselves. The use of stripes here really makes the pinwheels dimensional.

Squares and Triangles

There's nothing as simple or as showy as white lattice. And it frames every red and blue print.

McCall's Quilting

Love the bright white stars against the primitive looking background.

Quilting.about.comquilting.about.com

What a dramatic use of stripes!

1stdibs

Even Sunbonnet Sue waves the red, white and blue.

Celebrate our great country yourself with a quilt that reminds you that you are true to the red, white and blue.

Patterns: How Much Adventure Do You Need?

New Watermelon Runner Pattern

There's a lot of free wheeling quilting out there. You sew this to that and cross your fingers if it doesn't lie flat. It's fun. But if you're looking at the fabric you just spent a lot of money on and thinking you're just going to cut and sew and see what happens, it doesn't always have a happy ending. It's time to ask yourself a question.
How much sewing adventure and angst do you need?

Patterns are the safeguard for that. That's why we carry them at the store. 

• It's nice to have someone make the mistakes and fix them for you.
• It's nice to have a starting spot.
• It's nice not to have to guess what to do next.
• It's nice to have the pieces all fit together.
• It's nice to learn new techniques that make sewing time easier and more fun.

All of that works a lot better when we use a pattern.

Sue's quilt from Laundry Day Quilts

Although there's a lot of patterns available on line, there's no universal testing for them. Anyone can put it up. Anyone can write them. When there's an error in one, you don't know it until you're in the middle of it.

Which is why we usually make up a pattern when we get it into the store. We know how it works, and we can help you with it.
Do you have to use a pattern? The only two things you really have to do is pay taxes and die.  But how much adventure do you really need?
Come check out some of the great patterns we have at the store.  It's like having a sewing guide in a folding envelope.