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I hope you are well. This March newsletter is full of interesting news for you.
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Ireland has another public holiday this month, and it's a BIG one! In fact, it is celebrated in many other parts of the world as well, not just in Ireland. You guessed it--well, the sticker at the top of this newsletter would have given you a clue. That's right, it's St. Patrick's Day! It's celebrated on 17th March in honour of Ireland's patron saint. It will be a long holiday weekend here, and there will be celebrations all across Ireland, with lots of flag waving and parades. You can be sure that every parade across the country will feature the Big Man himself!
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There's also another celebration this month in Ireland. Mother's Day is celebrated on 30th March, a special day to celebrate all mothers and to think about those mothers who are no longer with us.
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You may or may not have noticed, but I've gone from Winter to Spring on the top left of my website's homepage. That's being very optimistic considering some of the wintry days we've been experiencing lately in the west of Ireland. Hopefully Spring will soon be here to stay. I'm looking forward to lots of days filled with sunshine and the opportunity to enjoy it, whether on long walks or working in the garden. Or quilting!
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The cost of a stamp just went up here in Ireland for all letters and packages in every category and to every country. 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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*Just a note to say that I am having a small issue with my website where the News & More section (where the following posts are found) is returning a blank page. The following new posts are readable when clicking on the red "Read more" buttons, but aren't accessible directly through the website at the moment. I hope to get this issue sorted soon. I often wish I had a degree in IT!
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You love to quilt and your child loves to draw. Why not combine the two to make a special project with your child? You will both get satisfaction from creating something very special. Plus, you will be spending some quality time together. Your child will learn a bit about quilting, and you might just enjoy drawing and colouring again! Read how to use your child's art in your next quilt project. You will both enjoy it.
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You have been gifted a beautiful quilt. Lucky you! However, you would like to know how to machine-wash your quilt the correct way without stress. Will it shrink? Will the colours run? Will I ruin it? All these questions are running through your mind and are adding stress to the simple act of running your washing machine! Stress no more! Follow the advice in this article to have a stress-free experience when washing a new quilt.
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You most probably invested a lot of money when you purchased your sewing machine, so you will need to know how to clean it on a regular basis. It's very important to do so, otherwise your machine could end up in the repair shop. Try to give your machine a quick clean after every use. Then once a month or so, give it a complete clean. This post links to a great video on how to do just that. Your machine will love you for it!
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Back in stock! The Birds of a Feather Table Runner in sage green. No matter which background colour I use when making this table runner, it is always very popular. Although I also have two made up with a red background (especially popular at Christmas), my inventory of other colours had been reduced to zero. You can find this latest runner in the Shop.
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Another lovely item that is now back in stock is the Songbirds Wall Hanging. However, this one has a new twist. I found a new fabric to use for the borders of this hanging. Although I loved the original fabric I used and have exhausted, I think I like this new one better. It is a very colourful fabric showing lots of birds in trees and in birdhouses. The colours match perfectly with the 15 bird images that make up the central part of the hanging. See the new Songbirds Wall Hanging in the Shop.
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String Quilting
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String quilting is a great scrap buster! What is string quilting actually? It's using up your long, narrow scraps that are left over after finishing a quilt or other project. They could be any width you like up to about 3 inches. But they must also be long enough to cover your foundation.
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The "strings" are sewn onto a square or rectangular foundation, made normally of either muslin or paper. I prefer using muslin myself. If using paper as a foundation, the paper has to be pulled out before you can use your square. Some quilters might use no foundation at all, but I find it easier to control the shape by using a foundation. Using either a square or a rectangle, for example, an 8.5" square or a 5.5" x 8.5" rectangle, lay your first strip face up diagonally across the centre. Take your next strip and place it face down on top of the first strip. Make sure that both these strips extend beyond the outside of your foundation. Sew these two strips together down one side and then flip them open and press. Continue adding, stitching, flipping and pressing strips in the same direction from the centre, and then repeat the process on the other side of that first strip you placed in the centre. Always make sure that the strips you lay down will extend beyond the edges of the foundation piece. When the foundation piece is completely covered with strips, trim it to size. For example, trim that 8.5" square back down to 8.5". It's best to trim it from the back side so as not to cut off any of the foundation piece. You are effectively cutting off the strips that are hanging off the edges of the foundation piece. When this piece is used in a quilt, it will finish at 8" square.
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The first photo shows a cushion cover I made with this method. You can see that my strings were all a slightly different width giving a very scrappy effect. In the second photo of a quilt, I used a "wonky" string method. I cut the strings slightly wider to allow for laying each strip down at a slight angle on top of the previous strip, but still making sure to cover the foundation. Other than that, the method was still the same.
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I am down to only one tote bag in the Shop, so decided it was about time to make some more. Since spring is here, or at least on its way, I've gone for some pink florals. The photo shows what will eventually be the outside of the bag.
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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.
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I hope you have enjoyed reading this newsletter. Please feel free to forward it on to anyone you think might like to read it. As always, thank you very much for being here.
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Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!
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Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!
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