Tips, Tutorials and Gift-Giving Ideas

I spent some time the other evening wandering around in cyber space and want to share a few things with you that I think are interesting and perhaps even useful.

If you are interested in the history of quilting in America then this website is perfect for you.  Being a native Californian, the article I most enjoyed is called "Road to California: A Quilt About a Destination".

The author explains how she believes the name Road To California may not represent a single quilt block but instead signifies the migration early pioneers made to California.  She even includes a free pattern if you would like to make your own Road to California quilt. There are also links to other stories about pioneer quilt patterns that you can click on and read.  Here's the address .


There are so many things folks are doing with Dawn dish washing liquid these days.  I even found a tip that may be useful to us quilters.  This stuff is great to wash your finished quilts. It's similar to Synthrapol, a detergent dyers use to keep fugitive dyes from redepositing on fabric. The tipster says to use just a tablespoon or two per quilt so it doesn't foam up the machine. You can also wash new fabric with it for the same reason. (Wash new fabric in HOT water.) Cheap and available everywhere.  You're welcome.


I found a couple of tutorials that look like fun...How about making some Christmas-themed place mats to decorate your holiday table!

You can find instructions at the Love By Hand website and can have these stitched up by the Big Day to either give as a gift or keep for yourself.  Or make several sets for keeping and giving.

Here's neat tutorial for making a reuseable grocery shopping bag at Craft Passion.com.  It's simple to make and will be so useful for those many shopping trips we all make during this time of year.  

There's lots more free tutorials...A Ton of them!... at the Sew She Can blogspot including a tutorial from Pleasant Home on how to turn a plain old Dollar Store Christmas stocking into a festive work of art.

                                                                                              

 If you are looking for a unique and beautiful gift for the quilter on your list then you need to check out Jacquelynn Steve's Quilt Block notecards.  You can even order personalized cards from her.

Well, this should keep us all busy and spark some creative ideas of our own to make this season bright and beautiful.  If you don't have the time to make special handmade gifts now, please visit my Etsy shop where you can find little treasures for that special person on your list...each handmade with love.

Grammy

Be sure to visit my Etsy Shop for holiday gift-giving ideas!