Chatterbox Quilts News for July 2024

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Welcome to the July Chatterbox Quilts’ newsletter!

Happy end of July! Yes, we are officially halfway through the summer and while I know that many of you are gardeners, I hope that you’ve been doing a bit of quilting. Gardening at my house consists of making sure that at least a few on my plants survive – a gardener, I am not! 😉

What happened this month

There was a lot of stampeding going on this month with the annual Wrangle Your Scraps Challenge happening in the middle of July and the Calgary Stampede happening the week previous to it.

While participants in the Wrangle Your Scraps Challenge were working on corralling their fabric scraps, I was designing scrap blocks for the Mystery Scrappy Sampler for members of The Quilter’s Way. This newest project is a great way to learn new or revisit old quilting techniques while using up fabric scraps – a win-win! 😀 I decided to film the construction process of each block for TQW members to make it super easy for them to make this sampler project.

Christmas in July! I received my second box from Island Batik full of their luscious batik fabrics and gifts from sponsors, ByAnnie.com and Aurifil thread. I’ll be creating lots of fun projects in the next few months made with brand new Island Batik fabrics that will be shipping to your local quilt stores in the next few months. I’m looking forward to working with these fabrics and sharing my projects with you.

Tip

I’m big on pressing and this month’s tip is to press every seam after you stitch it. Stitch, press, stitch, press…develop this habit and your quilts will thank you for it! ❤️ And, of course, use Acorn Precision Piecing Product’s Easy Press solution on your seams for the flattest seams of all.

Although not a quilting tip… if you follow my Chatterbox Quilts’ Facebook or Instagram page, please like and comment on the posts to ensure that you’ll continue to receive notifications when I share new information. Several followers have commented that they haven’t seen anything from me for a while – if you don’t like and comment on my posts, Facebook (they run Instagram too) won’t “show” you when I post new information. Like and comment to get information from Chatterbox Quilts.

Recommended Tools

I was recently cleaning and replacing the blades in my Martelli Ergo rotary cutters and realized that I may not have shared my favourite rotary cutter with you. Martelli’s cutters are easy on your wrists and oh-so-sharp! I’ve found that I don’t need to replace blades very often (I’ve had the same blade in for more than four years!) and they are much easier on my body when cutting. Best of all: they come in 3 different sizes and in right or left-handed options!

YouTube Videos

Here are the new videos released in July for your viewing and learning pleasure (just click on the picture).

Coming Soon

In August, I’ll be sharing a new project made with Island Batik fabrics (of course 😉) and will also have new YouTube videos to share with you.

Until next month, remember: practice makes improvement – and you’re improving every time you sit down to quilt.

Take care,

Kim

P.S. Unlock a world of quilting opportunities by joining the Chatterbox Quilts' Crew! This community of helpful and happy quilters is the perfect place to share your knowledge, learn from others, and connect with like-minded individuals. The best part? It's free to join! Don’t miss out: click here to join today!