Miniature Quilts and Potato Bags

Hi,

Has anyone made the potato bag that you use in the microwave to make baked potatoes? What type of batting and fabric did you use to make it?

Does anyone make miniature quilts? Are they always paper pieced????? Could anyone recommend a good mini quilt magazine?

TIA
Linda in AZ

Sparkle quilt

What I like the best about your "quilt on the wall not finished" is the excitement you get at this stage of the game.
I haven't had a lot of chance to sew this summer and you brought that feeling back to me - the way a quilt sweeps you along once you get started and the fact you can't wait to share it with others.
The last quilt show I went to left me a little disappointed. It was full of Art Quilts - almost as though the ones that turn me on are getting passe. I admire the fabric art and fancy machine quilting but they are getting further away from the fun, excitement, enjoyment, of cutting material up into small pieces and sewing them back together and getting little surprises along the way.
I think it's time for shows to divide into two catagories.

Milli in MA

Merely Blocks Pinned to Design Wall

This is not a completed quilt .... it is not even a completed quilt top yet. But it is something I've been having so much fun with that I am eager to share my version of an adult "I Spy" that I am making for my daughter's Christmas gift. My DD is 37 years old and she has asked for a new couch quilt to replace the one I made for her college graduation gift, a quilt that is old and tired and doesn't go with her decor any more. The color scheme she chose was red, white and black. The design was my choice but "contemporary" was the style because her condo is done up in contemporary furnishings. I have a collection of black and white print FQs I have purchased on impulse over the years and they were perfect for this project .... prints with music and jigsaw puzzle designs and crossword puzzles and newspaper articles and butterflies and all kinds of things that interest my DD and me.

Life has been stressful lately (DH was facing back surgery) and so I didn't want this quilt to be too fussy, too demanding, too "matchy-matchy" and with DD's permission I went with a "wonky" string block where I could sort of slap and stitch in a carefree fashion. These blocks are the result. I am calling this quilt "Sparkle" because DD adds joy to our lives and because JudyPete of the BB suggested "Sparkle Plenty" when she first saw some of the blocks.

Judy

Laura's YLI Thread

Laura, I did a google search and based on what I found it sounds like that fine thread will be very useful in your bobbin ... Libby Lehman has "designed" a thread for Superior Threads called "The Bottom Line" that is a 60 weight thread and it is for bobbin use. Here is what I copied and pasted from a merchant who sells two sizes of spools of YLI 60/2 thread.

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60/2 ply Extra Long Staple Egyptian cotton. Smooth as silk, great for tight stippling or lots of piecing. 6000yd spools. #229-60- min order qty: 1 Thread->Cotton->60wt / 2 ply	22.00/SPL (retail)
YLI Soft Touch Cotton 60/2 1000yd 6/box (Click to see colors) YLI 60/2 ply Extra Long Staple Egyptian cotton. Smooth as silk, great for applique, heirloom sewing, bobbin thread, piecing and lace making. 1000-yard spools. Purchase by the box of 6 spools.

Thread Advice

I got some nice quilting supplies at an estate auction. There were 2 spools of YLI 60/2 long staple Egyptian cotton. I was wondering if this thread would be okay to use in piecing. All opinions welcomed and please post so all can read if you will.
Laura

Saving Little Pieces - I Bet You Do It Too!!! LOL

Lavinia left a comment about my small doll quilt and said, "What a wonderful job you did to save these precious pieces."

Upon reading her comment, I thought to myself, "Those really weren't the Littlest Pieces I've saved!" I've saved even smaller pieces, and I'll bet that a bunch of BBers have done the same. Admit it! Fess up!

I once had a pint jar full of little snipped dog-ears that I trimmed from stitching and pressing triangle shaped pieces. Do you have any idea how long it takes to save up a PINT of tiny dogears? They were very pretty in a vintage canning jar. I did the same with tiny snipped strips when I trimmed the edges of blocks to a straight edge. Talk about compulsive behavior! That's truly compulsive! LOL

And while Judy in Ohio is saving 1.5 inch wide selvedge pieces to try a new quilty idea, I've been saving 5/8 inch selvedge strips for years, rolling them into balls and using them when I needed a sturdy tie. They're great for tying a box securely - a box that will be stored in the basement. Or they're great for tying tomato plants to a stake. You get the drift.

So what kinds of CQD (Compulsive Quilting Disorder) do the rest of you quilters have? I'd hate to think I am alone in my weirdness. LOL
JudyPete
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My Dolly Has a Vintage Postage Stamp Quilt

A couple years ago I found these vintage shirting fabric samples in a box of linens purchased at an auction. A tiny tag indicated they were samples of fabric sold by Davidson Brothers Company, a department store established in Sioux City, Iowa in 1884. The potential buyer (who probably sewed nearly every shirt and dress worn by her family) could thumb through the samples and choose which ones she would purchase, either at the store or mail order. These samples probably date to about 1900 or thereabouts.

I've previously posted a photo of the partially completed top but now the quilt is finished and I thought you would like to see it in its completed form.

Every scrap in this quilt is vintage fabric, no repros. The darker fabrics were gleaned from vintage scraps or from poorly constructed vintage quilt blocks. Even the binding was pieced from itty-bittyscraps measuring no more than 4 or 5 inches square.

For the backing I dug out an old flour or sugar sack and cut a piece to size. Batting is 100 percent cotton.

I'm not a doll collector but when I spotted this American Girl doll at a yard sale I couldn't resist bringing her home. She looks perfect with this quilt (even if she is new! LOL).
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A pot holder perhaps Judy ?.....

I have just looked up the web site re. the selvage quilts ! They are very attractive and quite new to me. I also went to the blog sit where they showed some bags and even pot holders ! I thought that might be a good thing to start on !
Nice to be able to get onto this site. I never know whether the fault is with our computer or somewhere else . Our computer has taken to flicking off line without reason . Very frustrating.
I have recently finished a quilt , it's a good feeling isn't it ? I've been working on it for over a year.(I'm a hand quilter ) I'm not a quick worker and we have been away a lot...! I will post a photo later.
Our winter continues on its wet and weary way. A few signs of movement in the garden but it is still very cold . We even had some snow again this morning. Not enough to settle.
Off to put another log on the fire and finish a good book .
Marion.