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Hello and Happy November!
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November brings chilly mornings, falling leaves and the first real signs of winter. As the days grow shorter and the wind and rain arrive, it’s time to settle indoors, enjoy a warm drink and make the most of cosy evenings at home. It’s a month for soft quilts, warm colours and the simple comforts that make the colder days feel special.
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Although the regular craft fairs have ended for the year, I am still quite busy preparing for the Christmas season. If you live in County Galway or County Clare, don't forget that I will be at the Burren Christmas Family Fayre on Sunday, 6th December, at The Pavilion in Lisdoonvarna. You can read more about it here.
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Did you know that most of the posts from each monthly Newsletter are not lost once the email goes out? If you delete the Newsletters after reading them, you can always find the posts in the News & More section of my website. So should you remember something that you would like to read again, you will be able to find it there. Also, I have created a Newsletter Archive page where you can find and re-read all of the monthly Newsletters (like this one) from this year so far.
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As a reminder, Red Bridge Quilts offers free standard postage to anywhere within the island of Ireland. So those of you lucky enough to live on this beautiful Emerald Isle always have this advantage should you choose to order anything. All other destinations will incur the normal postage charge unless the total reaches the 'free postage' amount. We also offer a free local pick-up service for everyone.
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FEATURED CONTENT THIS MONTH
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Quilting news and tips
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New this month
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Following are the new posts up on the website this month. They are a gathering of various topics and articles from the world of quilting. I hope you find them of interest.
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The October Newsletter mentioned that it was Breast Cancer Awareness month. This month the annual "Movember" event, involving the growing of moustaches, draws our attention to men's health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's suicide. Quilters love to quilt for a cause. Read Jim and Bob's story here. And you can read about more men who quilt by clicking on the moustache below.
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If you attend quilt exhibitions or read the various quilt magazines, you will realise that many quilts these days don't look like your grandmother's quilts. Many quilters are into "art quilts", making quilts that look more like paintings. Quilt, Inc. is featuring a short video entitled "Hands All Around" with 11 quilts from various artists around the world which demonstrate the cultural influences in their work.
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Would you like to increase your quilt block collection? More quilt block patterns will give you more inspiration when it comes to designing a quilt. Perhaps you've seen a particular quilt block that you'd like to learn how to make but don't know where to find instructions. Quilting Daily offers 150+ quilt block patterns, and they are absolutely FREE. Some come with links to making an entire quilt or with video instructions.
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Recently finished
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The following new products are available and will be dropping in the Shop soon.
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"Shizuka" is a Japanese word meaning "silent, quiet or gentle". This is the feeling one has while gazing at this gorgeous quilted wall hanging. This striking fabric with pink, purple and aqua flowers in the foreground of a gold architectural scene with gold metallic accents is simply stunning. The teal grid is used to simulate looking through a window at this peaceful and beautiful hanging. Available and in the Shop soon.
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The "Change in Seasons" quilted throw is a lovely combination of seasonal colours. It's a great mix, and all the colours blend nicely to make a beautiful quilt. It's made with modern cotton batik fabrics, so with all the cultural qualities of ancient batiks but with the advantages of modern care methods. Available and in the Shop soon.
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Christmas is coming, and this beautiful Christmas Poinsettia Wreath will look fabulous on your holiday table. Made with both red and white poinsettia fabric, it also has gold metallic bows and gold jingle bells attached at each section. Use as a centrepiece or hang on a door. Available and in the Shop soon.
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Pre-Cuts with Pinked Edges
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When it comes to quilting, we all love pre-cuts. The convenience of not having to cut yardage down to that square or fabric strip that we need for piecing is worth the extra cost of purchasing these pre-cuts. However, many manufacturers these days cut their pre-cuts with pinked edges. This is done specifically to prevent the fabric edges from fraying so they can be handled more easily. This is a great idea until it comes to actually deciding where the actual edge of the pre-cut fabric is in order to determine a 1/4" seam when sewing. Is it in the valley or the peak?
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The only thing we can do is measure the pre-cut to determine this for ourselves. The photo below is a 10" pre-cut that I used in making the "Change in Seasons" quilted throw above. The entire 42-piece "layer cake" (10" squares) pack came with pinked edges. As you can see from the photo, 10" measured from the peak of the pinked edges on one side to the valley of the pinked edges on the opposite side. The same was true in the other direction. We don't want to waste time precisely cutting each square down to exactly 10". So what to do?
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The best way is to decide for yourself--peaks or valleys and stick to it throughout your project as you sew your blocks and pieces together. Your quilt might end up ever so slightly smaller or larger than the pattern says, but no one will ever notice that.
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Under my needle
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I am in a Christmas mood preparing for craft fairs, so I will be making another holiday wreath. I think these three fabrics will make a lovely wreath, again with metallic bows and bells.
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Looking for a Gift?
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Do you know someone who loves quilts? Or someone who appreciates a handmade item for the home? A Gift Card from Red Bridge Quilts takes away the hassle of trying to choose just the right gift. You won't have to worry if they will like what you choose or will want to return it or exchange it. Let them decide what they'd really like!! See RBQ's Gift Card options.
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Did you know?
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With every online order from Red Bridge Quilts you will receive a free quilted glasses case. These sturdy 100% cotton cases will protect reading glasses as well as sunglasses. The photo shows a few of the cases from the current selection.
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Red Bridge Quilts offers a Longarm Quilting Service. This means that if you are a quilter, and either don't have the time, are afraid of doing the quilting yourself, or you would like to have a professionally finished look to your quilt, then you might have a "longarmer" do the job for you. I have been "longarming" since 2018 and have hundreds of different designs/pantographs and more than 100 thread colours from which to choose. Contact Red Bridge Quilts for more information.
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Below is a zoomed-in photo of a quilt I recently longarmed for a customer. It's a lovely Christmas quilt in holiday fabrics. The quilter chose a swirl and star design in red thread.
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I hope you have enjoyed reading this newsletter. Please feel free to share it with anyone you think might like to read it. As always, thank you very much for being here.
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Julie
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Vectors designed by artists at Vecteezy
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