Lansing Clippers Sew

  DAZZLING SCRAPS The scrappy quilt-making charity project is coming to a close.   The final two quilts are completed and ready for hand-off to the Lansing City Rescue Mission.   The agency has been most appreciative of the items received as part of the Lansing Clippers Community Service Program for the 2022 year.   Next year (2023) the Clippers will be sewing for the Ingham County Animal Control Shelter and the Infant & Children’s Closet at the Pilgrim Congregational   Church. In my last column I shared with you my plans for completing the Follow the Leader quilt pattern which I found in “Modern Quilts Illustrated”.   This quilt utilized some of my fat quarters collection of fabric and was bright.   My next quilt, Dazzling Scraps, did not live up to its name as I used some of my civil war reproduction fabric collection which is much more subdued in color.   This pattern I found in the December/January 2012 issue of “Quilt” magazine. ...

  2022 Lansing Clippers Retreat – Shipshewana Fall has arrived (maybe even a little early winter) and the annual retreat at Shipshewana is a memory of good times and fun sewing.   It was only a month ago but I am looking forward next August and the 2023 Retreat.   The weather in Shipshewana was pleasant in early September.   Sunny days, no rain, and warm but not overly hot.   The sewing machines were whirling, scissors were snipping, and shopping happened!   The room was different this year without the big windows but that did not slow down the sewing and creating. We were a group of 13 this year with just as varied a set of projects as in any year.   There were baby quilts for future great-grandchildren; quilts with directional fabric that caused a lot of ripping out to get all the patterns running in the same direction; one of Char Thelen’s wonderful bags and several “home deco” items.   There were shirts too, at least seven.   Then t...

  RICK RACK NINES   After a brief intermission for a knee replacement, I’m back to quilting!   The Rick Rack Nines quilt is complete and ready for Show and Tell.   See the picture below. My next project is called Follow the Leader.  This quilt was designed by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr and was printed in “Modern Quilts Illustrated”.  I’m not a big fan of the modern quilting method but this pattern seemed to be a quick project to get back into the groove.  Modern quilting generally is less about patchwork and scrappy piecing and more closely related to “modern art”, identified by use of bold colors and prints, high contrast and graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, and expansive negative space.  I chose bright colors for this quilt as you will see in the picture provided.  The Modern Quilt Guild ( www.modernquiltguild.com ) was established for adherents of this method. In my last column I talked about a Block...

  Fun with Linda McGehee The Lansing Clippers recently hosted a hands-on two-day purse class with Linda McGehee.   Linda also was the presenter at our August American Sewing Guild meeting in Lansing.   She talked about adding decorative stitching to all kinds of clothing and bags.   She is from Louisiana and had lots of stories to tell in that sweet southern drawl.   Linda is the owner of Ghees.   Ghees sells Linda’s handbag and purse patterns as well as zippers, embroidery designs, handbag hardware, fabrics and notions.   My favorite item of all the items she showed was the non-stick ironing mat.   It has lots of small holes that allow the steam to pass through.   The website for Ghees is https://ghees.com/ .   She showed many articles of clothing and bags that she made.   Her use of decorative stitching was amazing!   Some of the garments were strikingly beautiful simply because of the clever combination of fabrics and/or...

The Next Scrappy Quilt Project - Rick Rack Nines      The Pineapple Blossom block quilt is complete and ready for viewing.   This quilt is composed of 2-inch-wide strips and 3 ½ inch squares and, as previously mentioned, is a free pattern on Bonnie Hunter’s website, www.quiltville.com .   A picture of the completed quilt is shown below. My next project is called Rick Rack Nines.   This quilt is made by combining neutral 5 inch squares with colorful nine-patch squares and setting them on the diagonal.   This is another Bonnie Hunter pattern which is found in her book called “Adventures with Leaders & Enders” published by Kansas City Star Quilts.   For the uninitiated, a Leader or an Ender is two pieces of fabric sewn together either at the beginning or at the end of a line of chain piecing.   The Leader prevents fabric from becoming caught in the feed dogs at the beginning of a seam of chain piecing.   An Ender is two p...