Welcome to the June Chatterbox Quilts’ newsletter! And just like that…it’s summer! I know that many quilters like to garden in the summertime – I’m not one of them 🤣and this year in Calgary, that’s been a good thing! With a major watermain break in our city, we’ve been under severe water restrictions for several weeks and that includes no outdoor watering – unless you have non-potable water. Luckily for us, we have two rain barrels and have been gathering water in large containers every time it rains just to water our planters. And then there are the water saving techniques we’ve been using indoors too. Let me just say that our recent trip to Edmonton for Quilt Canada 2024 was timely and I really enjoyed the long, hot showers.🚿 What happened this monthThe happy news this month (in addition to enjoying some wonderful showers) was that I attended Quilt Canada 2024 in Edmonton. I did two demos at the Janome booth using the ASR (Accurate Stitch Regulator) for free motion and ruler quilting on the Janome CM17. This month I also designed and created a new Island Batik project using Studio 180 design tools. Deb Tucker of Studio 180 Design is a sponsor of the Island Batik Ambassador program and kindly gave us each one of her tools as well as a Quilter’s Magic Wand. I received the Wing Clipper I which makes flying geese so this is one of the units I used to create my project. You can read all about “Flying Diamonds” here. I loved making this quilt and have just shipped it off to Island Batik where it will be donated to the Sleep in Heavenly Peace organization to be given to a little boy or girl to snuggle under. TipOne of the reasons I like using the Studio 180 Design tools is because they give accurate results. The units, whether they are flying geese, half square triangles or other ones, are made slightly larger and then trimmed to size. This makes for a very precise unit. Recommended ToolsRecently I’ve been using the Missouri Star 8” Everyday Scissors that I received from them. I’m really liking the comfortable grip and very sharp edges on these scissors. As quilters we mostly use rotary cutters but having a good pair of scissors comes in quite handy too. Click here to use my affiliate link and receive 20% off your entire purchase when you spend over $50.00 at Missouri Star Quilt Company. Terms and conditions apply. YouTube VideosHere are the new videos released in June for your viewing and learning pleasure (just click on the picture). Coming SoonComing up in July is the annual Wrangle Your Scraps Challenge! 🤠 Woohoo! During this 5-day online challenge, starting on July 15, 2024, you’ll learn everything you need to know to go through your fabric scraps and get rid of ones that you’ll never use, learn how to sort and organize the ones that you are keeping, and decide how you want to store them. Once the challenge is finished, you’ll have an efficient, well-organized scrap stash to use to make the Diamond Bright project (pattern and video instructions included FREE in the challenge). New Bonus for 2024: Wrangling Your Selvages. I’ve created a new mini-course for this year’s Wrangle Your Scraps Challenge all about getting your selvages in order. You’ll learn how to create, sort, organize, and store your selvages as well as get ideas for selvage projects. Click here for all the details and to register for the upcoming Wrangle Your Scraps Challenge. In The Quilter’s Way, we’re finishing up our uneven log cabin quilt project, learning how to use fabric choices to create a visually stunning circle or diamond log cabin wall hanging. This is such a fun and easy project with stunning results – my favourite kind of project! 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! |