|
|
|
|
|
|
FEATURED CONTENT THIS MONTH
|
Quilting news and tips
|
New this month
|
Following are any new posts up on the website this month as well as links to outside posts. They are a gathering of various topics and articles from the world of quilting. I hope you find them of interest.
|
|
|
|
1
|
Harriet Powers (1837-1910) was an African American folk artist and quilt maker who was born into slavery in rural Georgia. She is celebrated as one of the most important quilt artists in American history because her quilts combined storytelling, religious themes, local history, and African American cultural traditions. She created remarkable "story quilts" using appliqué techniques. Find out more about her.
|
|
July marks the middle of the year and brings a change of pace around the world. In the Northern Hemisphere, it's a time of summer sunshine, school holidays, and outdoor adventures, while in the Southern Hemisphere, it's the heart of winter, with cosy days, crisp weather, and seasonal celebrations. Wherever you are, July is a month to enjoy the season and make lasting memories.
|
As you may know, July 4th marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the USA. To mark that event, a project entitled America's Tapestry was created. This consists of 13 embroidered panels (ok, this has nothing to do with quilting but the work is beautiful), each one representing one of the original 13 colonies which eventually formed the USA. Historical organisations are working with embroiderers from each of the original colonies (states) to make their panels. See these beautiful panels, listen to the embroiderers speak about them, and read more about the panels here.
|
In last month's Newsletter, I mentioned that I would be creating a new page on my website that would list all the recent Newsletters. However, MailPoet, the application I use to send out these Newsletters, is now purging emails older than 30 days in order to reduce database size. You can still find any of the posts on the News & More page of the website.
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
2
|
Do you know any men who quilt? I've featured several male quilters before in my posts and in my newsletters. Here's yet another male quilter to learn about. Joshua Dunn lives in North Carolina, and he's not only a quilter, but he's a vegan and a weight lifter as well! He took up quilting after his mother passed away, leaving all her fabrics. He's actually a fourth-generation quilter. Discover his story.
|
|
|
|
3
|
As a child or young person still living at home with your parents, did you ever forget to do something that your parents asked you to do? Something very important? I suspect that most of us can relate to that. In this month's Grandma's Corner story, the writer recalls the time when she was so immersed in a book that she completely forgot to do something simple that her Grandma requested--resulting in a disaster.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I just can't seem to keep "The Kiss Wall Hanging" in stock. One of these was "Under My Needle" last month and has since sold. As soon as I make one, it flies out the door! This is the latest one, just finished. Look for it in the Shop soon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keeping colours from running and bleeding
|
|
After finishing a quilt, I always wash it to make sure that the colours are not going to run. I wouldn't want a customer to run into this problem and then not be happy with their purchase. As quilters, I think we all are a bit scared to wash a quilt for the first time after we have worked so hard on it. To be safe, I always use colour catcher sheets in the washing machine. Even though I might have pre-washed the fabric before making the quilt, I still do this. I have never had an issue (knock on wood). There are various brands to use, and I'm not recommending any particular one. Recently, I have been using Dr. Beckmann's Colour & Dirt Collector and have been satisfied. Heather from "The Sewing Loft" delves deeper into this topic and offers a tip on keeping your whites bright.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Under my needle
|
|
|
|
Two projects are under my needle at the moment. The first is another "Lil Llamas Baby Rag Quilt" which has sold out twice already. The second is a new baby quilt I am calling "On the Farm". Look for these in the Shop within the next couple of weeks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looking for a Gift?
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Did you know?
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vectors designed by artists at Vecteezy
|
|
|
|
|
   
|
|
|
|
