Appleton Dance

Lots of news, tips, and fun at the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild (GAAQG) bi-monthly meeting today! Members of the General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society sold tickets for two quilts that will be raffled at their quilt show, "Piece by Piece" to be held April 25 and 26, 2014 at the Dearborn Historical Museum. They were also selling these adorable cupcake pincushions made from the ribbing of old sweaters. I couldn't resist picking one up! I found several Internet sites that show the construction process. Both of these look good: "Felt Cupcake Pincushions" at Tipjunkie and "How to make a no sew cupcake pincushion" at the brilliant UK site Red Ted Art. During announcements, we got a hand-saving tip from a guild member who loves  O'Keeffe's Working Hands hand cream , as recommended by her pharmacist. We also got a recommendation for the Missouri Star Quilt Co. for its great collection of pre-cut fabrics, enormous Moda selection, and ou...

Nametag/Document pouch to wear around your neck Cynthia Wilsher of the Greater Ann Arbor Quilt Guild shared her pattern for her "Gotta Have It Bag" that she uses to hold her guild nametag. The little bag has three pockets and a clear pouch on the front to hold a nametag or entrance ticket to an event. I made eight of these bags for the goodie bags we distributed on our friends trip to the Shipshewana Quilt Festival in Shipshewana, Indiana on June 26. The construction technique is fast and easy and the little bags are fun to make from scrap fabrics. I changed the design to make my bags slightly larger than the original, about 5 x 7-inches; I also added interfacing and used a different finish for the binding. I rewrote the directions and photographed the process; see below. All the how-to photos were taken by Alisa. Materials: Cut from clear plastic 5.5 x 3.5-inch piece (Note: you can use document covers available at office supply stores, or you can use hea...