Any dancing quilters going to June ADC?

[Guest DancerLegs]

Hello,

I wonder if any of you dancers who quilt will be going to the June Adult Dance Camp in Richmond. I have pieces of a couple vintage ballet fabrics and would be delighted to do a fabric exchange if anyone is interested.

[Guest luna]

me, me! You can contact me directly by email:

ctibbetts@abtech.edu

[Xena]

Dancerlegs, what are 'vintage ballet fabrics'?

 

and do you do any 'ballet themed' quilts?

 

Sorry for the daft questions, just curious.

[Guest luna]

Xena,

I made a ballet-themed quilt last spring for a raffle fundraiser for my dance studio's new digs. There was a cute lavendar ballerina print out then (sweet without being too cutsie), and I paired it with some matching lavender, pink, and cream fabrics. It was very "girlie"--much more so than my usual quilts, but I thought it would appeal to the moms of the younger ballet students. I was right! I'll post a picture if I can find the photo.

Luna

 

P.S. you can buy the lavender fabric I mentioned plus several others through the equilter site:

http://equilter.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_search.html

 

In the "search" box, just enter "ballet"...

[Guest DancerLegs]

Xena,

I have not yet done a ballet-themed quilt, but it is on my (lengthy) list of future projects. I like to collect fabrics for a while before actually starting a quilt design. "Vintage ballet fabrics" would be fabric in patterns made 10-40 or so years ago, not available new today, only available now secondhand, such as on Ebay. Hope this answers your questions.

P.S. I hope you are getting happily resettled back home across the pond - I'm sure the SFDC folks miss you - that is a fun place!

[MJ]

Why don't you all make a square for a "ADC quilt"?

 

You could assemble the squares between classes, or would that be too much work?

 

MJY

[Guest luna]

MJ,

Good idea for a long-term project. It takes much longer than a week to make a quilt, however! First the cutting, then the piecing, then the layering, then the quilting, and then the binding! Perhaps we quilters can make a start a project to give to Heidi later (NEXT summer) as a thank you gift?

[buglady]

Luna,

 

The thought of a quilt for Heidi crossed my mind as I was flying home from ADC last summer, but I didn't see how we could get it done quickly enough. I never thought about giving it a year later.....duhhh.

 

Any quilters going to the first August session?

[old shoe]

I'm going. Haven't done a quilt in a really long time because of carpal tunnel problems, but could probably manage a patch or two over the course of a week.

[MJ]

If y'all make a square or three before you arrive, maybe? I can barely sew my elastics so don't look for my help.

 

MJy

[Rio]

Since you lot are talking about quilting, would you mind answering a question about it.

 

Do you use a sewing machine to quilt, or do you do it all by hand?

 

I've been wanting to try my hand at quilting for a while now (and imagine it popping up on Ballet Alert!). I have a sewing machine, but not an overlocker (and the zig zag on my sewing machine does not work!). Would I still be able to make quilts that are nicely finished off?

 

Also, if you could point me to any decent quilting sites with tips for beginners, it would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Rio

[Guest DancerLegs]

Hi Rio,

I am probably the least expert quilter around, but here goes.

I usually do the piecing on the machine, applique by hand, and quilting by hand. You may want to check out the website for Keepsake Quilting, a catalog site which has lots of books and materials. I think there is also a site called EQuilter.com, which has LOTS of fabrics. (Warning - it is dangerous to fabric addicts.)

Good luck!

[Guest luna]

I also piece by machine and quilt by hand. I don't normally do applique, as I don't have the patience to do it by hand, and don't like the look of it when done by machine. If you are interested in learning how to quilt, I would check out some "how to" books from the library and look into taking a beginner's quilting course from a local quilt store or continuing educatin dept. of your local community college. It also helps to have an experience quilter "mentor" to help you along the way. As far as materials, Hancock's of Paducah (different from Hancock's) has a great online and print catalog full of fabrics and other sewing supplies. Keepsake quilting's print catalog is also also a good source, although the fabrics and patterns in it tend to be too "cutsey" for my taste. The absolute best online catalog is equilter.com. The selection is varied, the site navigation excellent, the customer service superb, and part of their profits are donated to charity.

[Cabriole]

Originally posted by Rio

Since you lot are talking about quilting, would you mind answering a question about it.

 

Do you use a sewing machine to quilt, or do you do it all by hand?

 

I've been wanting to try my hand at quilting for a while now (and imagine it popping up on Ballet Alert!).  I have a sewing machine, but not an overlocker (and the zig zag on my sewing machine does not work!).  Would I still be able to make quilts that are nicely finished off?

 

Also, if you could point me to any decent quilting sites with tips for beginners, it would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Rio

 

I too, machine piece, but quilt by hand (though my first quilt was pieced by hand, without benefit of a thimble, because I couldn't quite figure it out...that has long since been rectified;)

 

Yes, all you need is a good straight stitch! I also, endorse Equilter.com

[old shoe]

I piece and quilt by hand because I'm terrible with a machine. Also, I like the smaller seams that are possible when sewing by hand.