Basket Sacks Tutorial

At our last SQ meeting in September, Nellie showed us the 'Basket Sacks' that will line the hand made baskets being made by her basketmaking group. The baskets will hold personal items for women/families in shelters.

This tutorial describes how to make the 'sacks'. Although the sewing instructions for the sacks are a bit different from the instructions we received at the September meeting, the final result is exactly the same as the prototype.... a 12" x 16" sack!

If everyone makes a few sacks, it will help to make this charibable project a success. If you took Nellie's (pre-cut) fabric home to make this sack, the sizes of those pieces are cut a little differently..... but you can sew those pieces together and make the sack per these directions. Read on and you'll see what I mean.....

Basket Sack Tutorial

Fabric Selection & Cutting

1. Cut 2 rectangles of fabric, each 13” x 33”. Both pieces can be of same print/color or they can be coordinating prints/colors. One piece is the outside of sack & the other is the sack lining. In the following photos, outside of the sack is purple and the lining is yellow.

Sewing
2. Place rectangles with RST (right sides together). Using ½” seam, sew rectangles together at both short ends …(13” sides). Fabric piece is now in the shape of a tube. Press seams.

3. Realign ‘tube’: Keeping RST, realign fabric tube so that seams lay on top of each other. Match these seams carefully and pin, while also aligning each raw-edge side…. 
                                              →

(you are pinning the long/33" sides together)

4. Sew sides of 'tube' with ½” seam with the following considerations:

4a. On one edge, sew seam along entire 33" edge.

4b. On the other edge, leave an opening

of about 4” in the seam to allow for

turning of the tube in next step. (This

opening is in the lining fabric and will not

show in the final product.)

5. Turn the whole piece right-side-out. Press, but don’t make deep creases on the seams of the

lining fabric. It is okay to crease the edges of the ‘outside’ (purple) sack fabric.

6a. Close the opening in the seam. Pin edges together…..                      →

6b. … and topstitch close to the edge.

                                                  →

This topstitching will not show when lining is tucked inside.

7. This is the fun part:

• Stuff the lining into the sack!

•Holding the lining in one hand, and

the sack in the other hand, push (invert)

the lining into the ‘hole/opening’ of the

top of the sack…and using the

(previously sewn)seam line as a guide,

fold the sack ‘top’ evenly all around.

•Press.

Casing

8a. Two lines of stitches are neded to make the casing.

• Turn sack inside-out…

•Using thread to match outside fabric, sew a stitching line all around top opening of sack approx ½” – ¾” from the top edge. Reinforce stitching line/backstitch as you sew over both side seams, for security.

8b. To enclose the casing, sew another line of stitches parallel to, and approximately
      1 ½” away from, first line of stitching.

•Reinforce stitching/backstitch as you sew over both side seams, for security.

• This will make a 1 ½” casing for the grosgrain ribbon.

Ribbon Opening

9. Note side seams where casing

stitches are reinforced. →

•Using seam ripper, carefully remove

some of the stitches (in the side seam)

between the backstitches.

Grosgrain ribbon will later be

inserted into casing here.      →

Here is the finished (blurry) photo of two "Basket Sacks"...

...... and thank you for participating in this sewing project for charity.

Happy quilting,
Tricia

2009 Meeting Schedule for Sunrise Quilters

Our meeting dates are scheduled for 2009, as follows:
..... 2nd Friday of each month, except December (no meeting).....
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January 9
February 13
March 13
April 10
May 8 OR May 15 (to be announced)
June 12
July 10
August 14
September 11
October 9
November 13
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..... at Blaine's Sewing Center ~ Oaklawn Avenue ~ Cranston ~ 10:30 AM.....
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Happy quilting, my friends!
Tricia
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Split 9-Patch - January 2009 BOM - Sunrise Quilters

This month's block is the Split 9-Patch - 12 1/2" raw, {pink & red} and {white/off white}.



Project for the February meeting will be to make the "Fireside Quilt" pattern. An outline for the Fireside Quilt can be found in the Blog Archives (scroll down) under 2008 posts, May 4, 2008.

Happy Quilting,
Tricia

Happy New Year!

Wishing the Quilting gods will grant us all yards and yards of colorful fabrics, threads and a new sewing machine of our dreams,
..... and the new year should also bestow upon us a 'gofer' to make lunch, a cup of tea and run to the store for that missing notion;
....and someone to massage our aching neck and shoulders so we can just continue sewing;
....and a sewing-room maid to clean-up after each project and neatly organize our stash and threads and notions and rotary rulers and buttons and books and patterns and pins and UFOs;
...and we should each have a personal sewing machine maintenance person (who makes house calls) to clean and oil and tune-it-up (the sewing machine, that is...);
.... and, of course, unlimited classes and tutorials.... and motivation.... and new creative ideas and inspiration.

Slap... slap.... now, back to reality. Wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous year are good, too.

Happy quilting, sewing and machine embroidery!

Hugs,
Tricia

September BOM

The September BOM for Sunrise Quilters is "Card Trick", 12"F, designed in
two coordinating small prints with white/wow background.
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Tricia
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July & August Blocks of the Month

The July BOM is the "Friendship Quilt" Block (top) ~ and August is "Sarah's Choice" (bottom)..... both 12" F.

Block of the Month for June, 2008

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Sunrise Quilters' June BOM is the "Thrifty Block" - 12" finished. The blocks should be

made in the colors of our country's flag: red, white & blue!!! Block origin is: http://www.blockcentral.com/ . A pdf copy of directions can be found here: http://www.blockcentral.com/thrifty.pdf

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Sunrise Quilters' July Meeting

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The July meeting of Sunrise Quilters' is scheduled for July 18 at 10:30. This is a change from the usual schedule. Our meetings are normally held on the 2nd Friday of the month, January through November. No meeting in December. Please see the entire 2008 Meeting Schedule below (in May 4, 2008 post).
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Block of the Month - May

Sunrise Quilters' BOM for May is an 8" x 10" pieced block designed by Sandy Bonsib.
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The block pattern (House Block) can be found on Sandy's website: www.sandybonsib.com ... click on -> 'Free Patterns'.....then click on -> 'House Block'. The 6" center square of the house can be of any pattern that fits into your house design. {House Block Pattern is also published in Sandy's book: "Folk Art Quilts-A Fresh Look" by Sandy Bonsib.}
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House Block 8" x 10" designed by Sandy Bonsib
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Happy Quilting!
Tricia

Meeting Schedule - Sunrise Quilters 2008

2008 Meeting Dates
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March 14
April 11
May 9
June 12* (meeting changed to Thursday 6/12 (instead of Friday 6/13)
July 18* (meeting changed to 3rd Friday for July only)
August 8
September 12
October 10
November 14
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If there are any schedule changes, they will be posted here.
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Happy Quilting!
Tricia
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'Fireside Quilt' Overview

This week is the 3rd meeting of our new group, Sunrise quilters. The project being shared is a quick and easy quilt pattern that Gail learned to make many moons ago with a quilting group located in Slocum... or was it Hope...? This brief overview will familiarize you with the steps to make the Fireside Quilt.

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Fabric requirements:

7/8 yard of Fabric A

7/8 yard of Fabric B - Fabrics should be of good contrast to one another.

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Step 1: Cut -across the grain (see diagram 1, below)

Fabric A: 4 strips, each 7" wide (pink example)

Fabric B: 4 strips, each 7" wide (yellow example)

Diagram 1

***Before sewing, set aside one strip of each color - one A and one B. (Do not sew these yet.)

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Step 2: Sew (see diagram 2, below)

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Take three (3) Fabric A strips and three (3) Fabric B strips - and sew the strips together lengthwise, alternating the colors (A>B >A>B>A>B). Press seam to one side.

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{Note the other two A & B single strips - (on the right of the page of diagram 2) - are still set aside for later.}

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Diagram 2

Step 3: Cross Cut (see diagram 2, bottom of page)

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Lay strip-set on cutting mat and cross-cut into five strips that are each 7" wide. (Set aside any extra yardage for another project.)

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***Here's the tricky part!! This part will be deom'd at the meeting....... (see diagram 3, below)

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Step 4a: Take three of the cross-cut patch-strips (A>B>A>B>A>B) and lay the short side of each of them to the long side of the single strip of Fabric A that was "set aside" in Step 2, above. They will lay perpendicular to each other with RST.... (right sides together)

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Step 4b: Take the other two cross-cut patch-strips (B>A>B>A>B>A) and lay the short side of each of them to the long side of the single strip of Fabric B that was "set aside" in Step 2, above. They will also lay perpendicular to each other with RST. Sew each segment together with 1/4" seams.

Diagram 3

*** This will be demonstrated at the meeting, so don't stress over it like I did!!

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Step 5: (see diagram 4, top of page)

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Now cut the patches between the '3-strip-piece' and the '2-strip-piece'. Square up the edges. Save the extra length from Fabric A strip and the extra length from Fabric B strip for another project.

Diagram 4

Step 6: (see layout at bottom of diagram 4)

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Lay-out Patch Strips, turning them around and alternating them to make a checkerboard pattern. Sew strips together, matching seams at the corner of each patch intersection. Finis!

Add borders according to your design plan.

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This quilt pattern was taught to a group of quilters a very long time ago, and there is no information about who designed it, so it's not possible to give-credit-where-credit-is-due, as they say. As I attempted to give credit to this pattern's creator, I found many quilts on the internet called "Fireside Quilt", but none resembles the pattern as described, above. ~Albeit, thank you to the creator!

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Happy quilting, my friends!

Tricia

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Mia's Quilt

For almost 2 years, Mia's quilt was a work in progress. I finished it in 2004. As soon as I make a label for it, I'll sew it to the backing and this project will be complete!

Word for today:

pro-`cras-ti-na-tor

Tricia