One of the most exciting things happening with fabric right now are all the different substrates included in fabric collections. In just the last year or two, we have seen an explosion of collections that include voile, velveteen, corduroy, linen, or knits along with the the regular quilting weight cottons.  While some might be hesitant with these new-to-quilting fabrics at first, I hope you’ll be a bit daring instead. Seeing quilters mix the different textures right into their quilts has reminded me that there really are no rules and that the possibilites are endless for making your quilts more interesting.  Right now I’m working on a pieced quilt that has: voile, velveteen, heavy sateen, and quilting weight cottons, all in each block. More on that later. For now, I want to share a few projects we’ve used the interlock knits with.

This quilt, paper-pieced for us by the wonderful Sharon Moran, used the City Weekend collection (by Liesl Gibson for Oliver + S for Moda) of woven cottons on the front. But for the back, we chose a coordinating interlock knit from the collection. We were a bit apologetic to our quilter, , about sending a knit back for her to quilt on, but she just brushed it off and had no trouble whatsoever. Fabulous! And now the back is so soft, with the kind of comfort you get from flannel, but more sophisticated.

The great thing about these Moda knits is the quality. They are 100% cotton interlock, which is a double-knit, and strong. Interlock is not jersey, which is single-knit and therefore usually thinner.

I was obsessing over the orange-red knit dot from City Weekend, so although I had no pattern and had never really sewn with knits before, I went for it.  I only dared do this with the encouragement of my friend Anita who is always able to construct amazing concoctions without a pattern. I had a knit shirt on, so I used it as a guide as I added Dolman sleeves and a couple extra inches since I wanted it to fit kinda loose and I hadn’t pre-shrunk (this is a no-no with knits, yikes!).

I didn’t use a Serger, just my regular machine with a ballpoint needle and a zig-zag stitch. I had to adjust what started out as pretty wild alien shoulders, but that was the only glitch. Phew! In fact, it turned out to fit perfectly after I washed it.  Here I am showing off those Dolman sleeves. And I can’t tell you how comfy it is.

After that I felt like I should use an actual pattern for my next project, so I rounded up one I had, written specifically for knits. It’s actually out of print, but I think it’d be pretty easy to draft. It just has a boatneck and Dolman sleeves (which apparently I’m loving lately) and the front piece is exactly the same as the back. (We also have this great knit top/dress pattern for adults, this one for kids, plus this and this from O+S)

It was pretty fast to sew, and I love it more than I thought I would.  I ended up using a contrasting woven fabric for the sleeve tabs, because I accidentally stretched my knit tabs too much, but I think it turned out better this way.

All in all, sewing with knits is not the intimidating thing you might think it is if you’ve never done it before. Here’s what you need to know:

• Pre-wash knits first. They’ll shrink more than wovens.
• Use a ballpoint needle, which will keep the fibers from snagging.
• Don’t fret if you don’t have a Serger. Just use a zig-zag stitch, which allows the fabric to stretch without breaking the stitch.
• In general, don’t pull or stretch the fabric as you sew it, or you’ll get a wavy seam. I also found that raising the position of my presser foot slightly can help it feed through more freely. (Hopefully your machine has this feature.)

Be sure to check out the Oliver + S tips for sewing with knits.  Patty Young also has some helpful showing hemming techniques for knits. Next on my to do list: piece a quilt top with knits. I’ve seen it done and I want one for myself!

I have about a million unfinished quilts in the works. I’m afraid to actually count for fear of the guilt that number would incur. So instead let’s focus on some projects I’ve actually finished!  Here are a few small things I’ve made in the last little while.

Meet Jaime Elefante, so named by my dear friend Amy, made with Indygo Junction’s Eloise & Elmore pattern, and featuring a print from Parisville.

Here is something that is true. I made the below zipper pouch in 5 minutes. It was to contain a birthday present for another dear friend, Erica. It might have been the most fun I’ve ever packed into 5 minutes. Raw edge appliqued with thread-doodling (is there a name for this style? idk.) on bamboo felt (soo soft). This is going on my Make More of These ASAP list.

A lot of what I make gets given away or displayed in the shop, but this is something I actually got to keep. I desperately needed a new everyday bag, and ended up with this Multi-Tasker Tote (one of my favorite bag patterns ever) out of an Innocent Crush home dec weight print. So far I am loving it, with my favorite part being the 4 handy outer pockets.

That’s not all, but it’s all for now.

It’s been a while since we posted some show & tell.  Just a few photos to hang up on this virtual refrigerator door in pride.

Theresa’s Summery Sunshine & Shadows quilt:

Jess’ tote bag, featuring Innocent Crush home dec fabrics:

Cutest little mermaid ever, from the Wee Wonderfuls book:

Flowery die-cut applique, featuring fabrics by Sanae for Moda:

One of two quilts Angie made for her little girls’ room, featuring fabrics from the Nicey Jane collection:

Seeing what you guys make is one of the most fun & rewarding parts of this job. No matter what stage you feel your skills are at, you should be proud of the things you make with your own hands. Bring your projects in to share when you come by the shop, or add photos to our Flickr group, and we’ll feature you on the blog too!

Over the last few months, my friends have created a masterpiece. They wanted to make a Denyse Schmidt style quilt, inspired by a quilt in one of her books.  So we began without a pattern, true to the Denyse Schmidt improv style (which has been hugely influenced by the quilters of Gee’s ).  With an orange-on-orange color scheme, we built wonky log cabin blocks. 
No measuring, no matching, no mistakes. I love this method of making it up as you go along–following your instincts instead of instructions.

We started out with 4 yards total of 2 shades of orange Kona Cotton solids, which actually turned out to be the perfect amount for what ended up being about a twin sized quilt. We each sewed several blocks over the course of our sewing nights, making them at least 14″ square. We used the Creative Grids Square-It-Up ruler to square up the blocks to 13.5″. The pieces in the blocks can be wonky, but the blocks themselves have to be a bit more perfect so they fit together easily.

Once you can lay the blocks out, the quilt starts to take on life. Then when it’s quilted it’s like a fully formed being. I have to say, I think it turned out pretty spectacular.

Sue Baddley of did the machine quilting, in one of my favorite patterns–the zig zag.  I hope the girls were impressed with what they were able to create, because I sure was. The icing on the cake was when Sandra found out she would actually get to keep the quilt for her birthday. (And I just realized that you don’t even get to see the complementary turquoise back in any of this photos, so I’ll have to add more soon.)

This freestyle method of patchwork is nice for taking some of the intimidation out of quilting. It’s great for beginners; some of these girls weren’t really sewists, let alone quilters, before this.  All you have to be able to do is use a rotary cutter and ruler, sew a straight line, and press a seam allowance. And yet for experienced quilters it can be a whole new way to challenge your creativity.

I’ll be teaching this method again this week at the . If you’re in the area and modern quilting is your thing, join us!

I can’t tell you enough how much I LOVE seeing what our customers make. If you ever wonder whether or not to bring something in to show, or to take a photo and add it to our Flickr photo pool, the answer is DO IT. Even if you’re worried about those mistakes. After all, it’s just all part of the process.

Marilyn designed this quilt herself, and the details are so lovely up close. The culmination of years of work! Btw, her grandson was the sweetest helper I’ve ever seen in this shop.

Cory & Lauree did us the great honor of bringing this finished quilt in, which she made for him for their 10th wedding anniversary. Memories are represented in each block–their homes, cars, vacations…  I love the melding of paper piecing, applique, embroidery, etc in this project.  And it was Lauree’s first big pieced quilt!  So proud.

See the rest of the blocks and the super cool back at Lauree’s Flickr.

Here we have Margene with her beautifully quilted Kaffe Fassett pillow. Well done!

Jennifer was the first to snatch up some of the Thea print from Alexander Henry and make something out of it. I think that bolt few out of here faster than any other fabric and is now long gone.  Let Jennifer’s bed quilt top with simple, neutral stripes make you jealous that you didn’t get any.

Oh, adorable Julie and her wall hanging. I love her fabric choices for this; it became an entirely different creation that what the pattern looked like because of it. The thing about this that you might not be able to tell is that Julie and the quilt totally matched that day. Notice the blue shoes/blue house… and her yellow vest hiding back there matches the star. And probably her lipstick was that perfect shade of coral.

Thanks for sharing your creativity, everyone. You inspire us. Can’t wait to see more!

Check out what our guild ladies have been working on. They never cease to impress.

Leann’s hardanger is amazing.  I think I have an idea for a guild class…

Jennifer completes another cross-stitch fairy.  2 down, 50 to go.

Nita finished the wedding anniversary kitteh quilt. So cute!

That cat with the glasses represents her bespectacled hubby.

A sweet Built by Wendy top with our favorite voile.

Faye’s machine embroidered rooster quilt is sashed with hay fabric. Perfect!

Is Debbie’s not the fanciest denim quilt you’ve ever seen?

Phew! Better get to work so I have something to show at the next meeting.

Tonight we had Creative Guild meeting so it’s about time that I put up some photos from last month’s meeting, eh? Here’s what some of our ladies were up to in February.

Emma Jean is the lucky inheritor of this vintage appliqued quilt top.  Anyone know what this block pattern would be called?

Jennifer’s been on a softie kick.  Here she’s got Hector Giraffe, Polly, and the monky who’s name I forget but who has the most awesome plaid pants & suspenders.  I believe these are all from Softies Only A Mother Could Love.

Nita recently made this ultra sweet Oliver + S Birthday Party Dress for her brand new niece with the AH Spotted Owl print. I’d wear it.

That’s just a taste of all the amazing things our guild members have going. More show & tell from the Suppose Creative Guild soon!

I’m happy to report that we are making good on the scheduled sewing nights. Recently Jennifer and I rummaged through the scrap bin and each made a Polly from the book Softies Only a Mother Could Love.

Adorbs, if I do say so myself.  But I’d like a lil rabbit boy to keep my lil rabbit girl company. (Mine is on the left, Jennifer’s on the right, in case you were wondering.)

You may know momma Suppose (Kathy) and daughter Suppose (Jo=me) but do you know sister Suppose? This is my little sissy Rosie, who’s only real job here is to, um, look cute.  But she does get flurries of inspiration and makes cute little things.  Here she shows off one of her recent projects.

This is Anna Maria Horner’s Multi-Tasker Tote pattern, for which Rosie used fabric from the Neptune collection by Tula Pink for Moda.  I had to have one too, and used a lovely linen-like cotton from Westrade.

After we took these photos, she hopped on her motorcycle and rode away, hair flowing in the wind.  If we’re lucky we’ll see Rosie some more on the blog, perhaps modeling, perhaps tutorialing…

Once Suppose fabric leaves the store some sort of magic happens, and if we’re lucky you bring it back in to show us the final result of the transformation.  Let’s check out some recent customer show & tells.

Little Elizabeths’ momma made this sweet skirt and matching headband for her using fabrics from the Sorbet collection by Sentimental Studios for Moda.

Jane’s family picked out greens and browns for this quilt made for her daughter and new son-in-law.  Can you spot the Erin Michael Wood Grains in there?

And here’s Terry modeling her Lucy & June apron made with Oh Cherry Oh oil cloth which she wore while working at Raspberry Days in Bear Lake, Idaho.  What a great use of this coated fabric–just wipe it off to clean!

Whenever you get the chance, or if you just need a little ego boost, come by the shop to show off what you’ve created with our fabric. Or just add your photos to our Flickr pool, as did Leigh who covered her card table in oilcloth by Anna Maria Horner.

Brilliant!